IBM earnings up 50 percent

Third-quarter earnings jumped nearly 50 percent to $2.22 billion at International Business Machines Corp., thanks largely to a lower tax bill. The results topped expectations by a wide margin as sales of software and hardware helped offset continued weak growth in the key computer services business.

Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 amounted to $1.45 per share. In the same period last year, IBM earned $1.52 billion, or 94 cents a share, as the company absorbed a $525 million tax expense on foreign earnings that were repatriated to the United States.

Wall Street analysts expected a per share profit of $1.35, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

IBM’s share price jumped more than 4 percent following the report, rising $3.55 to $90.50 in after-hours trading. The stock had risen 24 cents to $86.95 on the New York Stock Exchange in advance of the report, which came after the close of Tuesday’s regular session.

“Office Depot Inc., the nation’s second-largest office supplies retailer, said Tuesday recent acquisitions and a strong back-to-school season helped it swing to a third-quarter profit from a year-ago quarter burdened by charges.

The Delray Beach, Fla.-based company reported a profit of $133.3 million, or 47 cents per share, compared with a loss of $47.9 million, or 15 cents per share, a year earlier. That beat the average estimate of 44 cents per share from analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Earnings adjusted to exclude items rose to $139 million versus $111 million last year. The third quarter last year was weaker due to asset impairment charges related to store closings and other changes.

Sales gained 10 percent to $3.86 billion from $3.49 billion last year, beating Wall Street’s average estimate of $3.73 billion. North America sales added 10 percent, while international sales climbed 13 percent. Same-store sales, or sales open at least a year, rose 3 percent in the period.

“Johnson & Johnson’s third-quarter profit rose 9 percent on strong sales of prescription drugs and consumer products, as well as lower tax rates and administrative costs. Shares rose 1.8 percent after the company raised earnings projections for the year.

The New Brunswick, N.J.-based maker of contraceptives, contact lenses, Band-Aids and baby products on Tuesday reported net income of $2.76 billion, or 94 cents per share, for the July-September period. Excluding $115 million in charges for two small companies, net income would have been $2.9 billion, or 98 cents per share. A year ago, net income was $2.54 billion, or 85 cents per share.

“Newspaper publishers continued to struggle with a weak business climate in the third quarter, as McClatchy Co. and Scripps Co. reported lower advertising results. Scripps, however, got another boost from its thriving cable networks.

McClatchy, reporting its first full quarter since its acquisition of Knight Ridder Inc., posted higher third quarter profits Tuesday as it added 20 Knight Ridder newspapers, although the figures also reflected costs from carrying the 12 other newspapers it later sold.

McClatchy said it would spend all its available cash and also draw down on its credit facility in December in order to pay an income tax bill related to the Knight Ridder transactions and other factors including a land sale.

“Motorola Inc., the world’s second-largest cell-phone maker behind Finland’s Nokia Corp., reported a 45 percent decline in third-quarter profit Tuesday on revenue that came in well below analysts’ expectations. Its after-hours stock price tumbled.

The earnings met Wall Street’s estimates, but sales of the company’s popular Razr phones left total revenue still nearly half a billion dollars lower than forecast.

Earnings for the July-through-September period were $968 million, or 39 cents a share, down from $1.75 billion, or 69 cents a share, a year earlier.

“Yahoo Inc.‘s third-quarter profit slid 38 percent amid slowing revenue growth that has raised investor doubts about the Internet bellwether’s strategy and execution. Management also dimmed the outlook for the current quarter.

The Sunnyvale-based company said Tuesday that it earned $158.5 million, or 11 cents per share, for the three months ended in September. That compared with net income of $253.8 million, or 17 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Revenue for this year’s quarter totaled $1.58 billion, a 19 percent increase from $1.33 billion last year.

“Intel Corp. reported a 35 percent decline in third-quarter profits and a 12 percent decline in revenues Tuesday, but the chip maker beat Wall Street’s tepid expectations and shipped record numbers of microprocessors for mobile devices and computer servers.

Net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 was $1.3 billion, or 22 cents a share, compared with $2 billion, or 32 cents, in the same period last year.

Revenue fell to $8.74 billion from $9.96 billion.