Business Briefs - Tuesday

MEDICAL

Perrigo tops, raises '08 outlook

The generic drug and health care products maker said its Q2 EPS rose 74% to 40 cents ex items, beating views by 6 cents. Revenue grew 17% to $435.5 mil, also surpassing expectations. Perrigo PRGO also raised its '08 EPS outlook to $1.50-$1.60, above views, citing volume gains and ongoing problems at an unnamed rival. In Dec., Perrigo got FDA approval for over-the-counter Prilosec, once patented by AstraZeneca. Perrigo expects yearly sales of the heartburn drug could hit $200 mil. Shares climbed 4.5% to 33.48.

OSI Systems swings to Q2 profit

The provider of electronics to the security and health care industries said it swung to a Q2 EPS of 27 cents ex items, topping views by 12 cents. Revenue rose 20% to $164.2 mil. OSI Systems OSIS said its security business rose 44% to $63.9 mil on demand for its cargo and vehicle inspection lines. The company also boosted its '08 EPS outlook to 65-77 cents vs. views of 70 cents. Shares climbed 5% to 25.33.

Myriad Genetics MYGN, a biotech, narrowed its Q2 EPS loss to 11 cents, half of what it lost last year and 7 cents better than views. Sales rose 53% to $56.7 mil, also surpassing expectations. It fell 2.7% to 41.60. CONSUMER

Whirlpool blows by views, soars

The world's biggest appliance maker surged 10.3% to 90 after it said Q4 EPS rose 42.5% to $2.38, beating forecasts by 23 cents. Revenue grew 7.5% to $5.33 bil, above forecasts. Whirlpool WHR was helped by its '06 acquisition of Maytag, an improved product mix and the weak dollar. Analysts said the strong results in a weakening market show Whirlpool is taking rivals' market share. The company sees '08 EPS of $8.50-$9 vs. views of $8.81.

Avon Products AVP, a seller of beauty products, said Q4 EPS rose 65% to 64 cents a share ex items, more than double the 28 cents expected. Sales climbed 18% to 3.1 bil, also above views. Shares rose 5% to 37.81. INTERNET/TECHNOLOGY

Bankrate's Q4 profit falls short

The Web site, which lists rates on mortgages, CDs and other financial products from hundreds of institutions, said after hours that it earned 33 cents a share ex items on $25.2mil in revenue, both up 22% from the year before. Analysts had expected 39 cents on sales of $26.8mil. Bankrate RATE blamed canceled ads in Dec. amid credit woes, but it raised '08 targets. Shares fell 8.7% to 49 in late trading.

Google offers increased security

The Internet search giant is adding to its e-mail security and storage products for businesses. The tools build on technology that Google GOOG acquired last year with its $625 mil purchase of e-mail specialist Postini. Google's push into business software is a challenge to Microsoft MSFT. It rose 2.3% to 506.80. More on A5

Apple doubles down on memory

The maker of the iPhone, iPod and Mac computer introduced a 16-gigabyte iPhone and a 32-gigabyte iPod Touch, offering twice the memory of previous models. The move follows Apple's AAPL launch of an online movie rental service that downloads films onto the devices. The 2 new devices will sell for $499, with an 8-gigabyte iPhone and 16-gigabyte iPod Touch still available for $399. Shares fell 1.7% to 129.36.

CGI Group GIB, an outsourcing and IT services firm, said its Q1 profit rose 51.8% to $99.6 mil ex items. Revenue rose 6% to $908 mil, below views. It fell 1.7% to 10.19. TELECOM

KPN sets restructuring, job cuts

The Dutch telecom said Q4 net profit surged 270% to $2.35 bil, boosted by tax credits on its mobile phone unit in Germany. Revenue climbed 20% to $5.36 bil. Royal KPN KPN plans a period of restructuring, which will include an additional 2,000 job cuts on top of 2,500 previously announced cuts. KPN also disclosed plans to sell its Getronics Australia unit. It fell 1.3% to 17.95.

CHEMICALS

Celanese beats, raises outlook

The chemicals maker said Q4 EPS rose 21% to 93 cents ex items, topping forecasts by 12 cents. Revenue grew 23% to $1.76 bil, also above views. Celanese CE cited strong pricing and demand, along with gains from a recent plant startup and acquisition. It raised its '08 EPS outlook by a nickel to $3.40-$3.70, the midpoint below views of $3.66. It rose 3.7% to 39.95.

FINANCE

GMAC continues mortgage skid

The lender, 49% owned by General Motors GM, lost $724 mil in Q4 due to rising home-loan defaults. GMAC's mortgage lending unit Residential Capital, or ResCap, lost $921 mil, marking its fifth straight quarterly loss because of write-downs for mortgage loans. GMAC bought $740 mil of ResCap's debt to keep the unit from violating minimum standards. GM fell 4% to 26.47.

Standard & Poor's warned that it may downgrade banks because of their exposure to the troubled bond insurance business. It pointed to banks that have increased loan loss reserves, including Citigroup C and Merrill Lynch MER. Citi fell 7.4% and Merrill slipped 5.6%. Fitch Ratings said it may cut its top triple-A rating on MBIA's MBI insurance unit and bond insurers as a whole. MBIA fell 3.2% to 14.90. MEDIA

Disney profit, revenue top views

The entertainment giant said after hours that its Q2 EPS rose 20% to 63 cents ex items, 11 cents over views. Revenue grew 9% to $10.5 bil, above views. Walt Disney DIS said the writers' strike didn't hurt results. Costs dropped as production dropped, and ad rates rose despite lower TV ratings, Disney said. It climbed 5% in late trading.