Gateway posts loss

Computer maker Gateway Inc. posted a first-quarter loss Tuesday, as declining revenue kept the company from meeting Wall Street’s expectations for a slight profit.

Lower operating costs meant losses after paying preferred dividends did narrow to $8.6 million, or 2 cents per share, from $12.3 million, or 3 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.

However, Wall Street was looking for profit of a penny per share in the latest quarter, according to a Thomson Financial poll.

Revenue fell 6 percent to $1.01 billion from $1.08 billion but still topped analysts’ $983.6 million consensus estimate.

“Cisco Systems Inc.’s fiscal third-quarter profit surged 34 percent as widespread networking upgrades and consumers’ thirst for more bandwidth continued to fuel the company’s robust growth.

The company narrowly beat Wall Street’s expectations. However, the report disappointed investors hoping for more from the tech bellwether. Cisco’s stock, which had climbed 8 percent in the last month, plunged in after-hours trading.

Net income for the three months ended April 28 was $1.87 billion, or 30 cents per share, compared with $1.4 billion, or 22 cents per share, during the same period last year.

“Net income at The Walt Disney Co. increased 27 percent in the second quarter, boosted by strong results from its film studio, advertising sales at ESPN and international sales of its TV shows, including “Desperate Housewives.”

The media conglomerate, based in Burbank, said Tuesday its net income for the quarter ended March 31 was $931 million, or 44 cents per share, compared with $733 million, or 37 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Revenue grew slightly to $8.07 billion from $8.03 billion in the same period last year.

“Electronic Arts Inc.’s fiscal fourth-quarter losses widened by 56 percent because of industrywide disruptions caused by new gaming consoles, but the world’s largest video game publisher surpassed tepid expectations on Wall Street.

EA said Tuesday that its net loss for the three months ended March 31 was $25 million or 8 cents per share, down 56 percent from a $16 million or 5 cents per share loss in the same quarter of 2006.

Not including one-time costs, EA earned $19 million, or 6 cents per share, down 56 percent from $43 million, or 14 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Revenue for the quarter was $613 million, down 4 percent from $641 million in the year-ago period.

“Molson Coors Co., one of the world’s largest brewers, said Tuesday it swung to a first-quarter profit as it boosted sales in Canada and the United States and achieved additional savings from its union.

The results from the maker of Coors Light beer beat Wall Street’s expectations, which helped send its stock price 3 percent higher.

For the quarter ending April 1, the Denver-based Molson Coors reported a profit of $4.4 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $30.2 million, or 35 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2006.

Excluding $8.2 million in restructuring charges, the company said its income from continuing operations was 28 cents per share, compared with a loss of a penny per share in the 2006 quarter.

“Revlon Inc., which is undergoing a restructuring to turn around the beauty business, said Tuesday its loss narrowed in the first quarter amid cost-cutting moves and an modest sales increase.

The New York-based company controlled by financier Ron Perelman reported a loss of $35.2 million, or 7 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31 compared to a loss of $58.2 million, or 15 cents per share in the year-ago period.

The company, which markets such products as Charlie perfume and Almay cosmetics, posted revenues of $328.6 million, up slightly from $325.5 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 7 cents per share on revenue of $328 million. Their earnings forecasts typically exclude one-time items.

Revlon shares rose 4 cents, or 3 percent, to $1.35 Tuesday.

“Our focus remains on building the Revlon brand, the Almay brand and our other key brands around the world, continuing to improve our execution by working with our retail customers and intensely controlling our costs,” David Kennedy, president and CEO of Revlon, said in a statement.