Earnings Review: Pfizer, Archer Daniels, Avon and Thomson Reuters

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Earnings Review: Pfizer, Archer Daniels, Avon and Thomson Reuters

Tuesday 1st May has seen first quarter 2012 earnings releases from several big players in the American market.  Others are tipped to follow during the week.  Here is a roundup of what investors should expect from breaking news.

Pfizer: World’s largest drug manufacturer gets a rise from anti-cancer treatments

The Viagra manufacturer is expected to announce a buoyant quarter of earnings; largely focusing on its pioneering anti-cancer medications.  Inlyta, a revolutionary twice daily treatment for sufferers of kidney cancer, was approved by the FDA for use in January.  This obviously good news for cancer patients and their families is also likely to go down well with Pfizer’s investors, too.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) will also benefit from last Monday’s sale of its infant nutrition business to Nestle for a cool $11.85 billion.

Analysts are expecting an ESP of around 85 cents and a quarterly revenue in the region of $15.5 billion.

Trouble in the fields for Archer Daniels

Agribusiness giant Archer Daniels (ADM.N) released its first quarter 2012 earnings at a conference call at 9:30 EST this morning.  Profits per share came in at $0.78, beating the analysts more conservative estimate of $0.59.  Archer Daniel’s directors are optimistic about these results, despite a tough quarter and an overall drop in revenues.

The company has been hit by a 36% drop in profits from corn processing to $130 million and a 23% drop in Oilseed profits to $395 million, largely due to poor margins in ADM’s European markets.

Gloomy first Quarter for Avon

Cosmetics industry leader Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) also released its first offerings from 2012 before the markets opened this morning.  The New York company saw its revenue fall by a painful 82% compared with the previous quarter.  New CEO Sherilyn McCoy clearly has her work cut out in order to reverse a trend of sluggish growth that has dragged on for three years.

McCoy blamed restructuring costs, rising labor expenses and increased prices of fuel and raw materials for Avon’s disappointing results.

Avon announced a paltry ESP of just $0.06 per share, a fall from a $0.33 ESP this time last year. Revenue fell by 2% on the previous quarter to $2.58 billion.

Good news for information brokers Thomson Reuters

Financial news corporation Thomson Reuters (TOC) have released positive earnings for 2012’s first fiscal quarter.  The Canadian company announced profits of $314 million since January 2012 – 25% up on the same quarter in 2011 and amounting to an ESP of $0.44.

A 31% revenue increase in Thomson Reuter’s tax and accounting department was followed by positive soundings in each of the company’s departments.

Chief Executive James Smith was upbeat about the results, confirming that his company was on track to meet its 5% revenue growth forecast for fiscal 2012.

The news was greeted positively on Wall St; the news corporation’s shares experienced a 1.5% increase to $30.27 per share in early morning trading.

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