By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer Anne D’innocenzio, Ap Retail Writer – Mon Nov 15, 7:19 pm ET

NEW YORK – Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc. said Monday that its third-quarter net income rose 43 percent, boosted by an increase in regular-price selling and tight inventory controls.

The company, based in Seattle, also raised its earnings outlook, but not as high as analysts expected on average, and Nordstrom shares fell 25 cents in aftermarket trading to $41.58. The shares had ended regular trading up 43 cents.

Nordstrom said it earned $119 million, or 53 cents per share, for the period that ended Oct. 30. That compares with $83 million, or 38 cents per share, a year earlier.

As the chain’s mainly upper-income customers continued to spend more this year than last year, Nordstrom’s revenue rose 11 percent, to $2.18 billion from $1.96 billion.

Revenue at stores opened at least a year rose 5.8 percent. The measure is a key indicator of a retailer’s health because it excludes stores that open and close during the year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected Nordstrom to report earnings of 51 cents per share and revenue of $2.09 billion.

Among the best sellers across its businesses including online were jewelry, dresses and shoes.

“Our customers are highly receptive to newness and fashion in spite of the soft economic climate,” Blake Nordstrom, the company’s president, told investors during a conference call.

Revenue at its lower-price Nordstrom Rack division rose 17.9 percent to $65 million. But revenue at Rack stores open at least a year fell 2.2 percent, a drop executives attributed to new stores siphoning business from established ones. Blake Nordstrom told investors the company is addressing the problem.

“The overall picture of the Rack is a positive one,” he said. “It’s helping us achieve more total sales.”

The company expects to open 16 to 18 additional discount stores in 2011.

Nordstrom now expects to earn $2.60 to $2.65 per share for the year, up from a range of $2.50 to $2.65 per share it forecast in August. But analysts predicted $2.64 per share.

Nordstrom operates 118 Nordstrom stores and 86 Rack stores.

– Tue Nov 2, 5:36 am ET

FRANKFURT (AFP) – The German retail giant Metro raised on Tuesday its 2010 profit target following a strong third quarter that saw a pick-up in key eastern European markets.

“Eastern Europe is making a comeback as a growth driver,” Metro chief executive Eckhard Cordes was quoted by a statement as saying.

The global economic slowdown last year led to a slump in the region but it has now rebounded and favourable exchange rates have added to Metro sales figures.

The owner of Metro and Real supermarkets and the Media Markt and Saturn appliance and electronics chains posted a 4.5 percent rise in third quarter sales to 16.3 billion euros (22.7 billion dollars).

Metro has also carried out a cost-cutting programme which helped net profit more than double from the third quarter of 2009 to 149 million euros and core profit to rise by 27 percent to 445 million.

For the full year, Metro now forecasts core earnings of 2.3 billion euros, up from its previous estimate of 2.2 billion.

All of the group’s divisions reported core profits before interest and tax (Ebit) in the quarter, including problem units Real and the department store chain Kaufhof.

The latter has cut costs and also seen a return of German shoppers as unemployment in the biggest European economy remains on a steady downward path.

By EILEEN AJ CONNELLY, AP Business Writer Eileen Aj Connelly, Ap Business Writer – Wed Oct 27, 7:18 pm ET

NEW YORK – Visa Inc. on Wednesday said that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 51 percent, as consumers carrying cards with its brand used them more, and it collected more fees for processing transactions.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the San Francisco-based payments processing network posted net income of $774 million, or $1.06 per share, compared with $514 million, or 69 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted for a $79 million charge related to the revaluation of an option held by Visa Europe to sell its business back to Visa Inc., adjusted earnings came to 95 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, were expecting profit of 94 cents per share. Analyst estimates typically do not include one-time charges or gains.

Visa said revenue rose 13 percent to $2.12 billion, from $1.88 billion last year.

Analysts projected revenue of $2.09 billion.

“We count on Visa to deliver, and they delivered solid results this quarter,” said Edward Jones analyst Andy Miedler.

Total processed transactions rose 16 percent to 12.1 billion in the quarter. On a dollar basis, payments volume rose 14 percent to $802 billion. Cross-border volume grew 16 percent.

In the U.S., growth in debit card use continued to outpace credit use, but credit did have its second straight quarter of growth after stumbling last year.

Visa’s Chief Financial Officer Bryon H. Pollitt, during a conference call to discuss the results, said card use and spending so far in October continued to be positive. UBS analyst Jason Kupferberg said that was encouraging news.

Service revenue, the fees merchants pay for transaction processing, rose 13 percent to $912 million. Data processing revenue rose 15 percent to $840 million. International transaction revenue spiked 22 percent to $619 million.
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For the full fiscal year, Visa posted net income of $2.97 billion, or $4.03 per share, up from $2.35 billion, or $3.10 per share, in the prior year. Revenue rose to $8.07 billion, from $6.91 billion last year.

For its fiscal 2011, Visa said it still expects better-than-20 percent earnings per share growth, implying earnings of at least $4.84 per share. Wall Street was expecting, on average, $4.73 per share, with estimates ranging from $4.52 to $5.

Visa forecast revenue growth between 11 and 15 percent for the new fiscal year, implying guidance ranging between $8.95 billion and $9.11 billion. Analysts project $8.03 billion, with estimates ranging from $7.89 billion to $8.12 billion.

Executives speaking on the conference call declined to offer guidance for more than a year, in part because of the pending federal rules related to limits on debit card transaction fees paid by merchants.

In aftermarket electronic trading, Visa shares slipped $2.03, or 2.5 percent, to $77.89. The stock closed Wednesday’s regular session at $79.92.

Mayank Tandon, an analyst with Signal Hill Capital Group, said the stock dip reflected slight disappointment with both results and guidance. “Expectations were a little high, waiting for a stronger beat,” he said. He added that Visa tends to offer conservative guidance.

The company said its board approved a new $1 billion share-buyback plan.

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – 1 hr 49 mins ago

NEW YORK – Chip-maker Texas Instruments Inc. said Monday that third-quarter income soared 60 percent as it continued to satisfy pent-up demand after the recession, but the company expects things to cool down for the rest of the year, as consumer demand is tepid.

The forecast echoes that of other chip-makers including Intel Corp., which are also expecting sales to moderate in the fourth quarter.

TI, whose chips go into everything from cell phones to cars, said it earned $859 million, or 71 cents per share, in the July to September period. That topped the average forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters by 2 cents.

In the same period last year, the Dallas-based company earned $538 million, or 42 cents per share.

Revenue rose 30 percent to $3.74 billion, beating the analyst forecast of $3.69 billion. A year ago, revenue was $2.88 billion.

“Demand from industrial markets was especially strong, while consumer demand cooled, impacting markets such as computing and televisions,” said TI CEO Rich Templeton.

TI chips regulate and convert electric power in TVs and PCs and handle other tasks such as communication with hard drives.

Fourth quarter revenue already tends to be lower because manufacturers have already stocked up parts for the holiday season. Templeton also expects weakness this quarter because of “continued soft demand in computing and consumer markets, and slowing growth in the industrial market.”

For the fourth quarter, TI forecast net income of 59 cents to 67 cents per share, and revenue of $3.36 billion to $3.64 billion. Analysts had been expecting 63 cents per share in earnings and $3.51 billion in revenue.

TI shares were down 32 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $28.66 in extended trading, after the release of the results. In the regular session, shares closed up 32 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $28.98.

TI went on a shopping spree during the recession, snapping up chip factories from manufacturers that had fallen on hard times. It opened its first factory in China during the quarter, and bought another one in Japan.

On a conference call with analysts, CFO Kevin March said the company now has enough capacity for what it believes will be the next wave of demand, but it might buy more plants if it finds them at rock-bottom prices, like it has recently.

As usual, TI’s best sellers were analog chips, which are used in phones and other electronics to regulate power and convert sound into electric pulses. Revenue from that division was up 35 percent from a year ago to $1.581 billion. Sales of embedded processors, used in communications networks, car electronics and many other applications, grew 47 percent to $579 million. TI is winding down what was once an important business of making “baseband” chips for cell phones, which handle communications with cell towers. Its wireless business now focuses on chips that handle functions like GPS navigation, Wi-Fi connections and running programs. That business saw an 11 percent revenue increase, to $767 million.

By Noel Randewich Noel Randewich   – Tue Oct 12, 9:03 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Intel Corp forecast upbeat fourth-quarter sales and margins as resilient demand from emerging markets and corporations offset weak consumer spending, raising hopes that the technology sector could end 2010 on a strong note.

Shares of Intel and rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc, which have warned about weak consumer demand for computers, climbed 1 percent in after-hours trade.

In Asia, shares of Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker, rose 2.4 percent and Elpida Memory gained 2.3 percent as Intel improved the outlook for the latest tech earnings, which some have feared could spell a disappointing holiday shopping season.

After investors lowered their expectations for chip companies, semiconductor stocks surged through September in part on the belief that the worst might be over for the technology sector.

Intel’s forecast for a better-than-expected December quarter gross margin of 67 percent — plus or minus a couple percentage points — affirmed hopes that higher-end spending on servers or data centers may help offset a loss of computer sales to a booming tablet segment.

And Chief Executive Paul Otellini told analysts on a conference call on Tuesday that early demand for Sandy Bridge — its next-generation chip combining central processing and graphical functions — was much greater than originally anticipated.

“Intel has set a high bar for tech earnings,” said Canaccord Genuity analyst Bobby Burleson. “There was concern about Q4 … and the number is better than the Street expected.”

The world’s largest chipmaker forecast revenue of $11.0 billion to $11.8 billion in the final three months of 2010, in line with analysts’ expectations of $11.32 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (For a graphic on Intel earnings, click: http://link.reuters.com/byj28p)

“We’ll see the consumer market growing but likely a little less than you’d normally expect. I attribute that to consumers pulling back a little bit based on economic uncertainty,” Intel Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith told Reuters.

LITTLE NUMBERS DRAMA

Analysts also warned that not all semiconductor makers would do as well as Intel.

Linear Technology Corp, which makes products such as amplifiers and voltage regulators, said on Tuesday its total bookings fell sequentially in the quarter.

“PCs have been beaten up a lot so sentiment is low enough that it’s hard to disappoint,” said Patrick Wang, an analyst at Wedbush.

Shares of Intel rose to $20 in extended trading after closing 1.07 percent higher at $19.77 on Nasdaq.

Its third-quarter net profit was $2.955 billion, or 52 cents a share, versus $1.86 billion in the year-ago quarter. That was slightly higher than the 50 cents per share expected by analysts.

Revenue in the quarter ended September 25 was $11.1 billion, slightly above the $10.99 billion expected.

Longer term, Wall Street remains concerned about the threat to Intel, whose microprocessor brains drive eight out of 10 of the world’s personal computers, from the fast-growing tablet segment popularized by Apple’s iPad.

“Consumers will have a limited amount of discretionary income and some will choose to purchase a tablet instead of upgrading an existing PC or purchasing a netbook in any given period,” Otellini conceded on the conference call.

On top of soft U.S. and European demand, the PC industry has faced rising inventories for chips and other components that have led some customers to reduce their orders for new parts.

Global semiconductor sales could grow just 5 percent next year as the economy continues to struggle, according to market research firm iSuppli.

Intel’s results were buoyed by a 3 percent sequential increase in data center sales, a business with higher margins than chips for PCs.

Some investors also believe tech vendors’ sales will pick up in the final months of 2010 as shoppers warily spend on holiday gifts — but an out-sized amount will go to smartphones and tablets while sales of PCs flounder.

Smith said computer manufacturers are using up stock to make way for the Sandy Bridge microchips due out early next year.

Intel would like to see its new microprocessors counted on to handle the mainstream graphics needs of new PCs, although manufacturers might continue to include specialized graphics chips in their products.

Intel’s new chips are not expected to satisfy high-end users, such as gamers willing to splash out hundreds of dollars separately for top-of-the-line graphics cards. That market is now dominated by Nvidia and AMD.

Intel said that by early 2011 it should close its acquisitions of the wireless unit of German chipmaker Infineon for $1.4 billion and security software specialist McAfee Inc for $7.7 billion. Both deals were announced in August and seen as helping Intel establish itself in the fast-growing mobile market.

(Editing by Edwin Chan and Richard Chang)