Business Briefs - Tuesday

ENERGY

XTO tops on higher prices for fuel

The oil and gas producer said its Q4 EPS rose 4.4% to 95 cents, beating views by 3 cents. Revenue jumped 32.9% to $1.59 bil, above views. XTO Energy XTO said higher prices for oil and natural gas liquids offset lower natural-gas prices. XTO lifted overall production nearly 30%. The company also agreed to buy more than 25 sites in Texas, La., N.M. and Colo. It fell 1% to 55.98.

Alpha Natural misses, tumbles 9%

The coal supplier said Q4 EPS fell 64% to 9 cents ex items, missing forecasts by 3 cents. Revenue rose 11% to $509 mil, beating estimates. Alpha Natural Resources ANR said volumes rose 6% and the average profit per ton was up by $1.03. It said conditions favor coal producers, with U.S. thermal coal exports expected to rise again in '08, given the dollar's continued weakness and disruptions in operations in competing countries. It fell 3.42 to 33.01.

Newfield profit meets, sales beat

The oil and natural gas company said its Q4 EPS fell 26% to 64 cents ex items, matching views. Revenue dropped 6.8% to $398 mil, above views. Newfield Exploration NFX said a large write-down on the value of derivative contracts hurt results. The company sold less oil and natural gas during Q4, but posted an 11% rise in prices. Newfield now expects to reduce Q1 natural gas production to 36 bil-40 bil cubic feet. It slipped 3.8% to 50.72.

CONSUMER

Ecolab beats, but guides lower

The provider of cleaning and pest-control products and services said Q4 EPS rose 18% to 40 cents ex items, meeting views. Revenue rose 13% to $1.44 bil, above views. Ecolab ECL cited strong sales to U.S. institutional, food and health care customers, a lower tax rate and cost controls. It sees Q1 EPS of 38-40 cents and '08 EPS of $1.86-$1.90 vs. forecasts of 41 cents and $1.90. Shares edged up 0.2% to 48.08.

TECHNOLOGY

Yahoo, AOL in talks, paper says

The search icon will restart merger talks with AOL TWX, a unit of Time Warner, in order to defend itself against an unsolicited bid from Microsoft MSFT, according to the Times of London. The report said Yahoo YHOO was also considering tie-ups with groups such as Google GOOG and Disney DIS. The companies declined to comment on the report. Meanwhile, Yahoo YHOO is reportedly cutting 1,000 employees this week. Yahoo fell 1% to 29.57. Time surged 3.8% to 16.22.

Yahoo YHOO said it bought Maven Networks, a provider of online video technology, for about $160 mil. Yahoo said it will incorporate Maven's technology to expand its consumer video and ad businesses. Yahoo YHOO and cell phone carrier T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom DT, joined up to provide Yahoo's Net search service oneSearch to T-Mobile's European customers. The service will begin at the end of March. Sun beefs up virtualization tech

The maker of servers and software will pay an undisclosed sum for Germany-based Innotek, a privately held provider of open-source virtualization software. Innotek's VirtualBox lets PCs run different operating systems at the same time. Sun Microsystem JAVAs, which paid $1 bil for software developer MySQL last month, said Innotek will bolster its competitive position in the virtualization market, currently dominated by VMware VMW. Sun was unchanged at 16.81.

BEVERAGES

Coors tops on strong U.S. sales

The beer maker said its Q4 EPS rose 18% to 73 cents ex items, beating views by 8 cents. Revenue grew 5% to $1.6 bil, slightly above views. Molson Coors Brewing TAP said sales to retail stores rose in the U.S. and Canada, but dropped 6% in Europe. Sales volume fell 4% to 10.5 mil barrels, which the brewer attributed to an additional week in the year-ago quarter. It surged 9.5% to 49.66.

MEDICAL

Heartburn drug helps Teva beat

The generic drug maker said its Q4 EPS rose 23% to 69 cents, topping views by 3 cents. Revenue grew 13% to $2.58 bil, also topping projections. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries TEVA said the launch of heartburn drug pantoprazole, which is a generic version of Wyeth WYE's Protonix, boosted the result. A patent dispute between Wyeth and Teva followed Teva's rollout of the generic drug last Dec. Teva expects '08 EPS of $2.60-$2.75 vs. views of $2.69. Shares fell 0.8% to 46.53.

Schering tops, stands by Vytorin

The drug maker said Q4 EPS jumped 59% to 27 cents ex items, topping forecasts by 3 cents. Revenue climbed 40% to $3.72 bil, also above views. Schering-Plough SGP, which acquired Organon Biosciences in Q4, cited double-digit sales growth in its three segments: prescription drugs, consumer health care and animal health. It said a controversial Vytorin trial has been mischaracterized and a full understanding of the data will be possible after a major presentation next month. Shares rose 5.9% to 21.83.

Boston Scientific to pay $431 mil

The medical device maker rose after it was ordered to pay $431 mil in damages to a doctor who claims the company's drug-coated heart stents violate his 1997 patent. The award covers Boston Scientific BSX's top-selling stent, the Taxus Express, sold in the U.S. since '04 and now available globally, and the next-generation Taxus Liberte. Boston Scientific last week recorded a $365 mil charge to cover potential losses. It rose 0.9% to 12.52.

Genentech DNA, a biotech company, rose 3% after hours after it disclosed its drug Avastin increased survival of breast cancer patients in a late-stage trial. GAMBLING

Macau expansion boosts Wynn

The casino operator said after hours that its Q4 EPS rose 36% to 72 cents ex items, beating views by 4 cents. Revenue grew 26% to $711.3 mil, also above views. Wynn Resorts WYNN cited the ramp-up in its operations in Macau and strong performance in Las Vegas. Wynn has completed the expansion of one resort in Macau and is building another there. Shares fell 5% in late trading.

FINANCE

Credit Suisse profit, revenue fall

The Swiss bank's Q4 profit fell 72% to $1.2 bil. Revenue dropped 13% to $8.5 bil. Credit Suisse CS cited a write-down of $1.88 bil for subprime-related assets. Analysts praised the disclosures on loan losses, but the bank said it has received subpoenas and requests from regulators for information about subprime mortgages. It rose 1.4% to 51.56.

IndyMac Bancorp IMB, a mortgage lender, lost $6.43 a share, worse than expected. It rose 8.4% on hopes for a mortgage rescue plan.