JPMorgan records record $4.79b

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JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third-largest US bank, said first-quarter profit rose to a record, led by fees from arranging mergers and underwriting stock and bond sales.

Net income climbed 55 percent to $4.79 billion, or $1.34 a share, from $3.08 billion, or 86 cents, a year earlier, the bank said . Earnings topped expectations for a ninth straight quarter, beating analysts' $1.02 average estimate .

Profit from investment banking surged 81 percent to $1.54 billion, almost as much as the combined earnings of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. That helped chief executive Jamie Dimon counter losses on subprime mortgages and higher provisions for bad credit-card debts.

Revenue increased 25 percent to $19.7 billion, while expenses rose 9 percent to $10.6 billion . (Bloomberg)

Abbott Labs posts 19% less earnings

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Abbott Laboratories' first-quarter earnings fell 19 percent because of a write-down in the value of Boston Scientific Corp. shares and costs from firing workers.

Revenue from the top-selling arthritis drug, Humira, also missed analysts' estimates . Net income fell to $698 million, or 45 cents a share, from $864.9 million, or 56 cents, a year earlier, the drug maker said.

Sales of Humira rose 46 percent to $571 million. Some analysts estimated the drug's revenue would be $40 million to $50 million higher after the company won approval to sell it for three new uses: a spine condition, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn's disease.

Analysts expected Abbott to earn 52 cents a share, based on the average of 11 estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Earnings excluding costs from buying Kos Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Guidant Corp.'s stent division were 55 cents, partly because of a gain from a patent settlement. (Bloomberg)

Restructurings cut Sovereign by 66%

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Sovereign Bancorp Inc., the second-largest US savings and loan, said first-quarter profit fell 66 percent, hurt by charges for a cost-cutting plan, a balance sheet restructuring, and losses in a home equity portfolio.

Net income for the Philadelphia-based thrift fell to $48.1 million, or 9 cents per share, from $141.4 million, or 36 cents, a year earlier.

Operating profit excluding items rose 16 percent to $179.6 million, or 35 cents per share, Sovereign said. On that basis, analysts on average forecast 31 cents per share .

Results included a $52.3 million charge, or 11 cents per share, for cost cuts including the 800 jobs, and for selling more than $9 billion of loans and securities to reduce interest-rate risk .

The thrift said it also took a $76.4 million charge, or 15 cents per share, for the sale of some home equity loans, including the establishment of a reserve in case some go sour, and writing down the value of some loans it kept.

The thrift operates about 785 banking offices in eight Northeast states, including Massachusetts. (Reuters)

Cubicin drives Cubist to profit

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Lexington biotechnology company Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it swung to a profit in the first quarter due to a big jump in revenue for its leading drug, Cubicin.

For the quarter ended March 31, Cubist reported profit of $5.6 million, or 10 cents per share, versus a loss of $5.8 million, or 11 cents per share, in the prior-year period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of 10 cents per share, on average.

Revenue grew 48 percent to $59.5 million from $40.1 million in the first quarter of 2006. Sales of Cubicin, which treats bacterial infections of the skin, increased 57 percent from the prior year. (AP)

Ebay exceeds Wall St. forecasts

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Online auction leader eBay Inc. reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations and said its outlook for the rest of the year would be at the high end of analysts' predictions.

EBay posted a 52 percent jump in profit on a 27 percent revenue rise, led by growth in its core auctions business and the rising prominence of international sales.

Net income for the first quarter rose to $377 million, or 27 cents per share, compared with $248.3 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding stock-based compensation and acquisition costs, profit rose 34 percent to $460 million, or 33 cents per share.

Revenue rose to $1.77 billion from $1.39 billion. The split between US and international revenue is now 50-50, a shift since a year ago when the United States accounted for 54 percent of revenue.

Analysts had predicted an average profit of 24 cents per share . (Reuters)

Price cuts lead to Motorola loss

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Motorola Inc., the world's second-largest maker of mobile phones, posted a first-quarter loss of $181 million after price cuts led to its first sales decline in almost four years.

The loss was 8 cents a share, compared with a profit of $686 million, or 27 cents, a year earlier, the company said . Sales slid 1.8 percent to $9.43 billion .

Motorola also forecast second-quarter sales and profit that trailed analysts' estimates after losing almost 6 percentage points of market share last quarter. The stumble could lend ammunition to Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor who is fighting for a seat on the company's board.

Excluding costs from acquisitions, legal settlements, and a reorganization, profit was 2 cents a share. That matched the 2-cent average of estimates . (Bloomberg)