Sotheby’s, EchoStar And DISH Network Release Earnings
Billionaire activist investor Daniel Loeb’s war with Sotheby’s (NYSE:BID) may be paying off. Losses narrowed considerably during the third-quarter as private commissions rose by 77 percent and auction commissions rose by some 16 percent. The company lost $30.1 million, or $0.44 a share as opposed to a loss of $32.6 million, or $0.48 cents a share in last year’s same quarter. BID beat Wall Street’s consensus estimate by a penny. As Loeb continues to goad Sotheby’s to increase shareholder value, quarterly revenue jumped 58 percent to $107.9 million. Shares in the company are up by 52 percent this year thus far and by 20 percent since July, when Loeb began his siege on the company garnering a 9.2 percent stake.
Loeb, a noted Modern Art collector, has openly criticized the company for its lack of Modern Art sales. Surprisingly, Impressionist and Modern Art sales came in at $348 million, up over 71 percent from Q3 of 2012. This is the second highest total for the category in Sotheby’s history.
“Our third quarter results have improved since a year ago, with sizable revenue growth. Private sales, which continues to be an area of focus for Sotheby’s, contributed more than a third of auction and related revenues in the third quarter – a significant shift from just a short time ago,” said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Ruprecht.”
Tech company Echostar Corporation (NASDAQ:STATS) released Q3 earnings this morning that saw total revenue of $849 million for the quarter versus $765 million for the matching period in 2012. Net income was $4.3 million and diluted earnings per share was $0.05. This is in comparison to $22.6 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.26 during the third-quarter of 2012. The company develops and distributes digital set-top boxes and related products primarily for satellite television service providers, telecommunication and cable companies. EchoStar will host its third-quarter 2013 financial results conference call today at 11 a.m. ET.
Pay television provider DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) today reported revenue for the third-totaling $3.60 billion versus $3.52 billion for the same quarter in 2012. Subscriber income improved 6.1 percent to $3.47 billion from $3.27 billion in Q3 of 2012. This translates into an additional 35,000 subscribers. Net income totaled $315 million for the quarter, compared to a net loss of $158 million from last year’s same quarter. Diluted earnings per share were $0.68 while last year quarter saw a net loss per share of $0.35. Shares were up 4.25 percent in premarket trading this morning. An earnings call is scheduled for noon today with CEO Charlie Ergen.
Disclosure: Author represents that she has no position in any stocks mentioned in this article at the time this article was submitted.
