Posts Tagged ‘consumer discretionary’

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Monster Worldwide Inc. (MWW) is just that, let it BeKnown

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

Monster Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: MWW) shares rose 10.6% to $15.01, a day after the company announced the launch of BeKnown, a networking app designed to allow Facebook users to establish a professional network and find career opportunities. Volume for the stock was 4.6 million shares, outdistancing a daily average of 3.1 million.

The company, based in Maynard, Massachusetts, put out a press release Monday saying that with BeKnown, users can seamlessly identify and connect with friends and professional contacts from multiple sources and grow their professional network, enhance their online professional identity and discover enriching career opportunities.

BeKnown is now available for download at http://apps.facebook.com/beknown in 19 different languages, and is accessible by any Facebook user.

Monster Worldwide’s Chief Information Officer Darko Dejanovic was quoted in the same release as saying, “BeKnown answers the need and challenge in the marketplace for people to build their professional networks on Facebook while keeping personal and work-related contacts and content completely separate.

Dejanovic continued, “An estimated 700 million people globally live their lives through Facebook and 97% of the Fortune 500 companies turn to Monster to find talent. BeKnown now gives people and companies the ability to utilize that vast network for professional gain by tapping into the power of Monster and Facebook.”

Monster Worldwide, Inc., parent company of Monster®, the premier global online employment solution for more than a decade, strives to bring people together to advance their lives.

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Nike Inc. (NKE) just does it, tops earnings guesses, stock rockets

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) shares rose 6.9% to $87.27 a day after the athletic-shoe seller reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates. Volume for the stock was 4.7 million shares, topping an all-day average of 2.7 million.

This morning, an article from the Associated Press stated that the sports gear maker said net income for its fiscal fourth quarter, ended May 31, rose 14% to $594 million, or $1.24 a share. Net income for the year ago period was $522 million, or $1.06 a share.

Nike was expected to earn $1.16 a share, according to the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue for the quarter rose to $5.8 billion from $5.08-billion. Excluding currency movements, it increased 11%

Analysts expected $5.528 billion of revenue for the period.

The AP story quotes Matt Arnold, an analyst at Edward Jones as saying, “The best way to offset higher costs is to generate strong demand growth and Nike was able to do that.”

Futures orders, a closely watched measure of demand in coming months, came in ahead of Wall Street estimates. Orders for June through November jumped 15% to $10.3-billion. Excluding currency effects, orders rose 12%, Nike said.

Barclays Capital analyst Robert Drbul expected futures orders to be up 8 per cent to 10 per cent in constant dollars. Arnold was expecting future orders to be up at least 8%. Strong futures orders suggest Nike will be able to raise prices later this year, Arnold added.

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Timberland Co. (TBL) races north on VF takeover

Monday, June 13th, 2011

Timberland Co. (NYSE: TBL) shares jumped 42.6% to $42.76 Monday after clothing-brand owner VF Corp. (NYSE: VFC) said it would acquire the shoe seller. Volume for Timberland neared 13 million shares in the first two hours of trading Monday, routing an all-day average of 717,303.

The announcement came down early Monday that VF, a leader in branded lifestyle apparel, will pay Timberland shareholders $43 per share, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $2 billion net of cash acquired. The merger agreement was unanimously approved by both companies’ Boards of Directors.

In the June 13 press release outlining the details surrounding the purchase, VF CEO Eric Wiseman exulted, “the Timberland® brand is synonymous with high quality outdoor footwear and apparel.

Wiseman continued, “This will be a winning combination, leveraging VF’s international and direct-to-consumer platforms to drive growth in the Timberland® and Smartwool® brands globally. At the same time, VF will benefit from Timberland’s rugged outdoor footwear expertise, international penetration in markets such as Japan, and leadership position in sustainability.”

Concurred Timberland CEO Jeffrey Swartz in the same release, “Timberland is proud of its rich heritage, its track record of success and its reputation as a responsible and environmentally-conscious global citizen, all of which will be preserved and enhanced by becoming part of the VF family of brands.”

Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, VF Corporation is a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel with more than 30 brands, including Wrangler®, The North Face®, Lee®, Vans®, Nautica®, 7 For All Mankind®, and Splendid®.

Based in Stratham, New Hampshire, Timberland is a global leader in the design, engineering and marketing of premium-quality footwear, apparel and accessories for consumers who value the outdoors and their time in it. Timberland markets products under the Timberland®, Timberland PRO®, Mountain Athletics®, SmartWool®, Timberland Boot Company® and howies® brands, among others.

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Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) has beautiful bottom line, stock hikes

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (Nasdaq: ULTA) shares gained 8.7% to $53.92, a day after the beauty-products maker posted better-than-expected first-quarter results. Volume for the stock topped 1.9 million shares, towering over a daily average of 639,000.

Tuesday, Ulta, based in Bolingbrook, Ill., announced comparable store sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months) increased 11.1% in the period ended April 30, 2011, compared to an increase of 10.8% in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. Net income increased 70.5% to $23.3 million compared to $13.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010.

In the June 7, 2011 press release which divulged these numbers, Ulta CEO Chuck Rubin commented, “We had a terrific start to the year with total sales, comparable store sales and net income per share solidly ahead of our guidance, demonstrating the ongoing preference of our beauty experience and the continued success of our growth strategies.

Rubin continued, “Our first quarter results included net sales growth of 20.6% driven by an 11.1% increase in comparable store sales and the expansion of our store base. Operating income grew faster than sales climbing 67.4% from the first quarter last year to 10.1% of net sales. During the quarter, we gained market share advancing each of the priorities we set at the beginning of the year. To this end, we were pleased with our new store performance and remain on track to expand square footage by 16% this year.”

Ulta is the largest beauty retailer that provides one-stop shopping for prestige, mass and salon products and salon services in the United States.

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Temple-Inland Inc. (TIN) gallops on rejection of takeover bid

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011

Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE: TIN) shares climbed 41.6% to $29.75 Tuesday, a day after International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) made a $3.31-billion hostile bid for the maker of corrugated packaging and building products. Volume for Temple-Inland surpassed 10.8 million shares, trouncing an all-day average of 1.2 million.

The bid amounts to $30.60 per share. Monday, Temple-Inland’s Board of Directors, after careful consideration with its independent financial and legal advisors, voted unanimously to reject International Paper’s proposal after the Board determined unanimously that the proposal grossly undervalues Temple-Inland and is not in the best interest of Temple-Inland’s stockholders.

The Board authorized Temple-Inland CEO Doyle R. Simons, to communicate its rejection to John Faraci, International Paper’s Chairman and CEO. Simons stated, “Since we launched the ‘new’ Temple-Inland in January 2008, we have delivered superior results to our stockholders compared with our corrugated packaging peers (including IP), building products peers, and the S&P 500. Since that time, our total return to stockholders of 22% greatly exceeds the 5% total return that IP has achieved.

“Through our proven ability to execute our strategy focused on maximizing return on investment (ROI) and profitably growing our business, the Board believes the Company will continue to provide superior results for our stockholders,” continued Mr. Simons. “As the economic recovery continues and the benefits from our strategy continue to be realized, it is the stockholders of Temple-Inland who should gain from those anticipated benefits, not the stockholders of IP.”

The Austin-based Temple-Inland Inc. is a manufacturing company focused on corrugated packaging and building products. The fully integrated corrugated packaging operation consists of seven mills and 59 converting facilities.

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