Under those changes, the company said one of its chicken suppliers has installed a low atmospheric pressure system, called LAPS, that permanently knocks a chicken unconscious before handling, replacing what it said is the industry’s standard practice of electrically stunning chickens.

“We’ve studied the LAPS system and agree that it’s a major improvement to industry practices,” said Dennis Hecker, Wendy’s senior vice president of quality assurance. “We encourage all chicken producers to embrace this practice.”

Wendy’s also said it is continuing its work with pork suppliers to eliminate the use of sow gestation stalls, now requiring all of its U.S. and Canadian suppliers to provide their plans to phase out the use of gestation stalls.

A number of other restaurant chains and some grocers have been pushing for producers to move completely away from using gestation stalls, though progress has been slow.

Wendy’s has seen its bottom line pressured recently by rising commodity costs and increased marketing efforts, though sales growth and some price increases allowed it improve margins at company-owned restaurants in the fourth quarter.

Shares were recently off 1% to $4.94.

–Curt Thacker contributed to this article.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wendys-brokering-improvements-on-livestock-rules-2012-03-23

Shares rose 5.2%, to $8.93 after hours, as the company posted the $139.6 million in net deferred tax assets, saying it is likely to continue generating taxable income amid substantially improved performance, so a substantial portion of the tax assets will be realized. As of Tuesday’s close, the stock was up 32% over the past three months amid the company’s expansion efforts.

Krispy Kreme lowered its earnings forecast for the new year, now expecting 21 cents to 24 cents a share, due to a higher tax rate since the tax credit was reported. In November, its guidance was 35 cents to 41 cents.

The company, which had contended with healthier-eating trends and allegations of management misconduct, has reported sharply higher profits recently as same-store sales have grown. Krispy Kreme has been looking to drive sales by boosting the frequency of customer visits, adding on coffee and other beverages to its menu, and expanding both domestically and abroad.

Ahead of results, Roth Capital Partners said Monday that the company and most U.S. franchisees are now planning new store openings, reversing a previous trend of closings and reflecting improved store economics. International expansion in Latin America, Asia and Europe is expected to ramp up this year, but the company has plenty of room to grow domestically, as well, Roth said. In the U.S., Krispy Kreme has 230 stores, most in the Southeast, compared to 7,000 operated under the Dunkin’ Donuts brand, Roth said.

Krispy Kreme said that during fiscal 2013 it anticipates opening five to 10 company stores, between 10 and 15 domestic franchise stores and about 75 international franchise stores.

For the quarter ended Jan. 29, Krispy Kreme reported a profit of $143.5 million, or $2.01 a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $1.5 million, or 2 cents a share. The latest period included a one-time credit of $1.95 a share from the reversal of valuation allowances on deferred income tax assets. Excluding those tax-related effects, income was 6 cents a share in the latest period.

Revenue rose 11%, to $102 million, with increases in all four business segments. Company same-store sales improved 8.3%. Franchise same-store sales grew 7.9% in the U.S. and fell 9.5% internationally.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a per-share profit of 6 cents on revenue of $101 million.

Gross margin–based on direct operating costs–widened to 13.8% from 12.6%. Direct operating expenses rose 9.7%

KK Supply Chain, the unit that makes doughnut mixes and doughnut-making equipment that all factory stores are required to purchase, posted a 14% increase in revenue, driven by selling price increases.

The company ended the period with 694 locations, a net gain of 16 stores during the quarter. There were 92 company stores and 602 franchise stores.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/krispy-kreme-swings-to-profit-on-sales-rise-2012-03-20

The telecommunications contractor plans to fund the repurchase program, which will expire after 18 months, using cash on hand. It said it used the remainder of its previous buyback program, which held about $10.9 million in January, during its current quarter. As of Wednesday, the company said it had 33.5 million outstanding shares. Its market value is about $786 million, according to FactSet.

Dycom provides engineering, construction, installation and maintenance services to telecom companies and utilities. It has reported revenue growth for more than a year and seen its sales momentum accelerate.

The company last month said it swung to a better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter profit, after it had been hurt by debt and acquisition-related costs in the year-earlier period.

Shares were up 19 cents at $23.15. The stock is up 18% over the past three months.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dycom-board-approves-40-million-buyback-program-2012-03-15

The Shanghai head office will oversee the bank’s trading businesses, including for interbank lending, bonds, gold and other precious metals, as well as its cross-border trade settlement business, said the report.

The launch of the Shanghai head office, which Bank of China has planned for two years, is part of the Chinese government’s efforts to support Shanghai’s ambition of becoming a global financial hub.

Currently, major Chinese financial institutions and the country’s financial regulators have their headquarters in Beijing, which has impeded Shanghai’s efforts to become China’s financial center, analysts have said.

Besides Bank of China, the other three large banks–Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., and China Construction Bank Corp., are also planning to set up their second headquarters in Shanghai, regulators have said.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bank-of-china-to-open-new-shanghai-office-in-march-2012-02-21

American, whose parent filed for bankruptcy protection in November, said traffic rose 1.4% in January while capacity slid 2.1% on the year. As fuel prices climb, airlines have been reining in capacity to stay as close to demand levels as possible. Load factor–a measure of plane fullness–rose to 78.5% from 75.8%.

American Airlines said domestic capacity fell 4.4% as domestic traffic slid 1.1%. International traffic grew 5% and capacity improved 1.2%.

On Nov. 29, AMR filed for Chapter 11 protection after a decade of trying to avoid it while competitors slimmed down their cost structures in their own bankruptcy-court restructurings.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amrs-american-air-traffic-up-14-in-january-2012-02-06

Shares jumped 8.7% after hours Tuesday to $24.79 on the stronger-than-expected results.

The company posted a profit of $16.5 million, or 10 cents a share, up from $16.1 million, also 10 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding stock-based compensation costs and other effects, per-share earnings rose to 14 cents from 11 cents as revenue jumped 29% to $120.9 million.

The company’s upbeat guidance in October had called for a per-share profit of about 12 cents, and $114 million to $116 million in revenue.

Gross margin narrowed to 73.1% from 74.1%.

Billings reached $475.8 million, up 27% from a year ago.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fortinet-quarterly-profit-up-22-as-billings-jump-2012-01-31

Samsung, the world’s largest technology firm by revenue, said its net profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 rose to KRW4 trillion (US$3.57 billion) from KRW3.42 trillion a year earlier. In the third quarter, Samsung reported a net profit of KRW3.44 trillion.

The result was lower than the average KRW4.12 trillion net profit forecast in a poll of six analysts.

Samsung’s new revenue generators, such as high-end organic light-emitting diode displays and mobile processing semiconductors, cushioned the impact of a continued profit squeeze at the company’s liquid crystal display and computer memory chip businesses. The deal to sell Samsung’s hard disk drive business to U.S.-based Seagate Technology Inc. for $1.4 billion and the reversal of some provisions on royalties to Microsoft Corp. for Samsung’s Android-based smartphones and tablets also boosted income in the fourth quarter.

The firm’s operating profit and sales were in line with the company’s guidance issued earlier this month. Operating profit rose 75.8% to a record KRW5.3 trillion, from KRW3.01 trillion a year earlier, while sales rose 13% KRW47.3 trillion, from KRW41.87 trillion. Samsung had forecast a consolidated operating profit of between KRW5.0 trillion and KRW5.4 trillion on sales of between KRW46 trillion and KRW48 trillion.

Analysts said conditions in the global technology industry will remain challenging this year due to the lingering uncertainties over the global economy and Europe’s debt troubles, but the electronics giant’s earnings momentum will remain robust as its brisk sales of smartphones will continue to drive sales of its components.

“Samsung’s operating profit will decrease to about KRW4.48 trillion in the first quarter due to the traditionally slower selling season, but will rebound from the second quarter as smartphone sales growth will continue, which will help strengthen the synergies between the company’s set products and components,” Solomon Investment & Securities said in a report.

For the full year in 2011, Samsung posted a net profit of KRW13.73 trillion on record sales of KRW165 trillion.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/samsung-profit-up-17-on-record-smartphone-sales-2012-01-26

Harvey had been chairman and chief for the last six years, having worked at the utility company and its predecessor for 25 years.

Alliant named Chief Operating Officer Patricia L. Kampling to become chief executive and chairman after he retires. She joined the company in 2005, most recently serving as operating chief and financial chief and treasurer before that.

Before joining Alliant, Kampling spent more than 20 years in various finance, regulatory and engineering positions at Exelon Corp. EXC +0.33% .

Recently, results at Alliant–an electric and natural-gas utility centered in the upper Midwest–have been uneven results because of tepid demand for power and low gas volume. In its latest quarterly results, profit fell 18% on lower electric revenue despite a revenue jump in its nonregulated business.

Shares were up nine cents at $42.99 after hours. Through the close, the stock has risen 15% in the last year, better than the market at large.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alliant-energy-ceo-to-retire-in-march-2012-01-21

The projected expenditures include roughly $300 million of sustaining capital and $700 million of funds aimed at improving growth and productivity.

The coal and iron-ore producer’s earnings have been soaring in recent quarters as both sales volume and prices climb. Cliffs has said it is looking to consolidate its foothold in Asian markets as part of a plan to push its share of revenue from international sales above 50%.

On Thursday, Cliffs said it will spend $60 million in the U.S. to extend the life of its Empire iron ore mine to 2015, among other projects.

In eastern Canada, the company plans to spend $470 million boosting iron ore production at a major mine, with an additional $45 million earmarked for port and rail upgrades. Cliffs plans to spend $40 million on capacity expansion in Western Australia.

The company also expects to spend about $50 million on growing production of steelmaking coal from its mines in West Virginia.

Cliffs plans to start production at a chromite deposit in northern Ontario in 2015. A recent study of the area led the company to expand its output estimate to 1 million tons of chromite ore on top of the 600,000 tons of ferrochrome expected from the site.

Shares closed at $72.03 and were inactive after hours. The stock is off 18% over the past year.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cliffs-natural-resources-outlines-1b-capex-plan-2012-01-19

Shares rose 7.1% to $37.82 after hours as the company predicted its fourth-quarter revenue would rebound by 2% to 6% sequentially, delivering between $521.3 million and $541.8 million in sales. Analysts’ average estimate called for $511 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Xilinx’s sales have soured over the past two quarters as the semiconductor company’s communications customers, particularly in the wireless sector, hold back on new orders.

At the same time, President and Chief Executive Moshe Gavrielov has touted the company’s efforts to improve its margins during the sales downturn. Xilinx makes chips for devices ranging from cellphone-base stations to DVD players, though communications products still accounted for 43% of its top line in the latest quarter.

For the period ended Dec. 31, earnings fell to $127 million, or 47 cents a share, down from $152.3 million, or 58 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest quarter’s result included a six-cent per-share tax benefit. Analysts were expecting a 37-cent profit.

Revenue was $511.1 million, down 9.9% from a year earlier and 7.9% below the second-quarter result. The company’s lowered December projection called for a 9% to 12% sequential decline, which would have delivered between $488.6 million and $505.2 million.

Gross margin edged up to 65.8% from 65.7%, above the company’s December target of about 65%.

Sales to Xilinx’s communications end market fell 13%, while the company’s Asia Pacific region reported the steepest revenue drop with a 17% decline in sales.

SOURCE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/xilinxs-net-falls-17-on-wireless-weakness-2012-01-18