Weakness in Asian Market Lowers Revenue at Vitesse

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. narrowed its net loss in the first quarter when compared to the same period from a year ago. The Camarillo-based technology company reported a net loss of $7.7 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, on revenues of $37.7 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31. For the same period in 2009, the company had a net loss of $34 million, or $1.95 per diluted share, on revenues of $41.7 million. The drop in revenue for the first quarter was attributed to ongoing weakness in the Asian market. For the remainder of the year, Vitesse will continue to focus on building market traction for the 30 new products introduced in 2010, said CEO Chris Gardner. “We anticipate a successful new product cycle beginning towards the end of this year and having these products account for 25 percent of product revenues by the end of 2012,” Gardner said. Income Rises for Disney The Walt Disney Co. saw revenue increases in all of its business divisions for the first quarter when compared to a year ago, with the exception of studio entertainment, which had flat revenues. The Burbank-based entertainment and media conglomerate reported net income of $1.3 billion, or $0.68 per diluted share, on revenues of $10.7 billion for the quarter ending Jan. 1. That is a 54 percent increase over the net income of $844 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, on revenues of $9.7 billion for the same period in 2009. The net income increase was a great start to the fiscal year, Disney CEO and President Robert Iger. Out of the five business units, only filmed entertainment showed no growth in revenue. For the first quarter, features films and home entertainment releases brought in $1.9 billion, the same amount as for the first quarter a year ago. Media networks showed an 11 percent increase in revenues, attributed to higher advertising rates, sold inventory, and affiliate fees. Higher guest spending at both U.S. and overseas theme parks contributed to an revenues of $2.9 billion in the first quarter, an 8 percent increase over the $2.7 billion from the first quarter from the year before. Acquisitions Paying Off for Ixia Performance test systems manufacturer Ixia improved its earnings in 2010 helped primarily by acquisitions from the year before. Incorporating the purchase of a testing systems product line from Agilent Technologies and the purchase of Catapult Communications into Ixia’s operations was a key strategy that resulted in the desired earnings performance, company officials said. “Our success in these integration efforts allowed us to take advantage of improved market conditions in 2010,” said Ixia President and CEO Atul Bhatnagar. Much of the company’s growth came from North America, Europe, China and India, Bhatnagar said. The Calabasas-based company reported net income of $5.3 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, on revenues of $77.8 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31. For the same period in the prior year, Ixia reported a net loss of $31.3 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, on revenues of $56.1 million. For the 2010 fiscal year, Ixia had net income of $10.7 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, on revenues of $276.8 million. For the previous fiscal year, the company had a net loss of $44.2 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, on revenues of $178.0 million. The Agilent testing product line and Catapult acquisitions brought in $70 million of the revenue for 2010. Game Maker Posts Loss Video game publisher THQ Inc. posted a poor third quarter with a net loss when compared to a year ago. The Agoura Hills-based gaming company reported a net loss of $15 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, on revenues of $314.6 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31. For the same period in 2009, the company had net income of $542,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, on revenues of $356.7 million. The revenue amount was at the high end of the company’s guidance for the quarter. For the fourth quarter, however, THQ adjusted its guidance, dropping it to sales between $245 million to $260 million from the previously stated $295 million to $310 million. The new guidance numbers reflect pushing the UFC Personal Trainer game into the next fiscal year and lower than expected sales of games based on children’s movies. Fiscal 2012 will see the release of core gamer titles that the company expects to sell well, including the new installment in the Saints Row franchise, Red Faction Armageddon, MX vs. ATV Alive, and Warhammer 40,00 Space Marine. Revenues Help Time Warner Higher television license fees contributed to an increase in fourth quarter revenues from Time Warner Inc.’s filmed entertainment division when compared to a year ago. Full year results for the media and entertainment conglomerate were helped by the strong slate of films from Burbank-based Warner Bros., of which seven brought in more than $100 million in worldwide box office receipts. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, Time Warner reported net income of $769 million, or $0.68 per diluted share, on revenues of $7.8 billion. For the same period a year earlier, the company reported a net income of $631 million, or $0.53 per diluted share, on revenues of $7.2 billion. Filmed entertainment revenues were $3.6 billion for the fourth quarter, a 9.5 percent increase over the revenues of $3.3 billion for the same period a year earlier. For the 2010 fiscal year, Time Warner reported net income of $2.6 billion, or $2.25 per diluted share, on revenues of $26.9 billion. That is a 4.1 percent increase over the net income of $2.5 billion, or $2.07 per diluted share, on revenues of $25.4 billion for the previous fiscal year. Yearly revenue for the filmed entertainment division was $11.6 billion, a 5 percent increase over the $11.1 billion from the previous year. The company attributed the boost in television license fees to an increase in off-network availabilities as well as stronger television availabilities of feature films. In 2010, the Warner Bros. Pictures Group led the Hollywood studios with a domestic box office of $1.9 billion and $2.9 billion in international box office. Warner Bros. Television Group was the largest provider of network programming with 40 television shows. Sport Chalet Decreases Loss Sport Chalet Inc. narrowed its net loss and increased revenues for the third quarter of its fiscal year, the La Cañada-based sporting goods retail company announced. For the 2011 fiscal third quarter that ended on Dec. 26, company had a net loss of $0.9 million, or $0.06 per share, on sales of $95.8 million. For the same quarter during the previous year, the company had a net loss of $3.8 million, or $0.27 per share, on sales of $95.3 million. The increase in revenues reflects improvements in the company’s e-commerce and team sales divisions, partially offset by a 0.4 percent decrease in comparable store sales. The comparable store sales dropped because of a reduction in promotional activity and continuing macroeconomics weakness, partially offset by favorable weather experienced in the company’s markets. The company also reduced the outstanding balance on its revolving credit facility as of Dec. 26 to $41.9 million, down from $56.2 million the year before. “Although macroeconomic conditions in our markets continued to be difficult, we were pleased with the continued growth of our Team Sales and ECommerce divisions, the improved strength in gross profit margins and the reduction in borrowing under our credit facility,” said Craig Levra, chairman and CEO of Sport Chalet. “We went back to doing business the Sport Chalet way, creating full margin sales by providing outstanding customer service.” Net Loss for Capstone Capstone Turbine Corp. widened its net loss in the third quarter when compared to a year ago due to a change in the company’s accounting standards. Without the accounting change, the Chatsworth-based manufacturer of micro-turbines would have reported a lower net loss. Capstone reported a net loss of $8.1 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, on revenues of $24.2 million for the quarter ending Dec. 31. For the same period in the previous year, the company had a net loss of $7.2 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, on revenues of $16 million. In the third quarter Capstone shipped 171 micro-turbines compared to the 122 units shipped in the same period in 2009.