DIRECTV, CVS Caremark And Emerson Electric Release Earnings

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DIRECTV (NASDAQ:DTV) seems to have been the beneficiary of the battle between Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) and CBS (NYSE:CBS), garnering more customers as a result of the feud. Time Warner lost subscribers over a re-transmission fee dispute with CBS. The cable company blocked CBS channels in major markets across the country causing consumers to turn to satellite providers in droves. DIRECTV came out an unwitting winner for the quarter, as the two larger companies duked it out. The company attained domestic net subscriber additions of 139,000.

For Q3 DIRECTV posted net income of $699 million which is up 23.7 percent from last year’s same period. DTV reported revenues of $7.88 billion, up 6.3 percent year-on-year. Analysts had predicted that number would be lower, at $7.85 billion. Earnings of $1.28 a share were well ahead of forecasts for $1.

DIRECTV’s diversified portfolio of businesses across the Americas delivered another solid quarter of consolidated results highlighted by strong top-line growth and continued operational discipline across disparate geographies, macro-economic conditions and competitive environments,” said Mike White, President and CEO of DIRECTV. “We continue to extend our position as the world’s largest Pay TV service by leveraging the strength of our premier brands and our differentiated suite of products and services across the Americas to drive industry leading growth.” White added, “At the same time, our commitment to profitably grow our businesses through disciplined expense management and productivity improvements was clearly a highlight as operating profit before depreciation and amortization margin expanded driving double digit OPBDA and cash flow growth in the quarter.”

Another company that beat the Street’s expectations was CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE:CVS). The Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based pharmacy and healthcare provider saw third-quarter net income jump 25 percent. After the company released the report, shares rocketed past all-time highs reached last month before markets opened this morning.

CVS earned $1.25 billion, or $1.02 per share, in the quarter. That compares with $1.01 billion, or $0.79 per share in the same quarter last year. Revenue climbed almost 6 percent to $31.97 billion. Adjusted earnings totaled $1.05 per share. Analysts expected $1.02 per share on about $31.52 billion in revenue. The company adjusted guidance for fiscal 2013 and now expects earnings to range between $3.98 and $4.01 per share. In August it had expected $3.90 to $3.96 per share.

President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Merlo stated: “Our third quarter results reflect strong operating performance across the enterprise. Adjusted earnings per share excluding the settlement gain exceeded the high end of our guidance by 2 cents per share, primarily reflecting better-than-expected third quarter performance in the PBM. We are well on track for another year of strong growth in 2013.”

Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) saw fourth-quarter earnings rise nicely driven by strong revenue in its climate technologies and process management segments. Process-management sales grew 5.5 percent. Industrial automation revenue dipped 3 percent, and network power sales worsened by 3.3 percent. Climate technology sales were up 5.8 percent.

For the quarter, EMR reported a profit of $795 million, or $1.10 a share, up from $282 million, or $0.39 a share last year’s same quarter. Revenue was up 1.7 percent to $6.81 billion. Analysts had forecast earnings of $1.11 a share on revenue of $6.76 billion. During 2013, 63 percent of operating cash flow was returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

The global macroeconomic climate remained under pressure and difficult to predict throughout 2013,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David N. Farr.  “I am very pleased by how we executed in this environment, achieving a number of record performance measures and important milestones despite the slow pace of growth in our markets, particularly in the second half of the year.  Our operating leadership remained focused on our strategic imperatives, investing for the future while also delivering strong margins and cash flow.  We remain keenly focused on positioning the business for growth and superior returns for our shareholders.”

Disclosure: Author represents that she has no position in any stocks mentioned in this article at the time this article was submitted.