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Stocks to watch Friday
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March 16, 2000: 7:16 p.m. ET
Nike tops 3Q expectations; Ralston sets spin off of Energizer unit
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - A top shoe manufacturer posted strong third-quarter results despite declining revenue Thursday, while a well-known pet food company approved a plan to spin off a subsidiary known for producing batteries.
Nike Inc.
Nike Inc., the nation's top shoe vendor, reported a 17 percent jump in third-quarter earnings, topping Wall Street expectations, and despite falling revenue.
For the quarter ended Feb. 29, 2000, the Beaverton, Ore.-based company, which warned last month its earnings for the year would fall below analysts' estimates, earned net income of $145.3 million, or 52 cents per diluted share, up from $124.2 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts polled by First Call Corp., a market research firm, expected third-quarter 2000 earnings of 50 cents per share.
For the first nine months of its fiscal year, Nike earned $453 million, or $1.61 per share, compared to $357 million, or $1.24 a share, a year ago. Revenue during that span rose 2 percent to $6.7 billion.
Revenue fell to $2.16 billion, down slightly from $2.18 billion a year ago.
Ahead of the announcement, which came after the closing bell Thursday, Nike (NKE: Research, Estimates) shares added 7/8 to 33-7/8 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Jabil Circuit Inc.
Jabil Circuit Inc. a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based electronic circuit board manufacturer Thursday, posted second-quarter results that just met Wall Street expectations.
For the quarter ended Feb. 29, 2000, the company reported net income of $33.9 million, or 37 cents a share compared to the $22.3 million, or 27 cents a share it earned a year ago.
That's in line with the consensus forecast of 37 cents a share projected by analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial.
Second-quarter revenue totaled $837.6 million, a 50 percent increase over the $558.7 million it posted a year ago.
For the first six months of fiscal 2000, Jabil reported net income of $65.1 million, or 71 cents a share compared to $42.3 million, or 51 cents a share a year ago. That figure excludes the impact of an acquisition-related charge of $5 million, or 5 cents a share in the first-quarter of fiscal 2000, the company said.
Revenue for the first six months totaled $$1.5 billion, a 45 percent increase over the $1.1 billion it reported a year ago.
Jabil (JBL: Research, Estimates) shares jumped 5-7/8 to 84 on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday.
Compuware.com
Compuware.com, the Farmington Hills, Mich.-based software vendor, said it had joined bex.com, a San Diego-based developer of global e-marketplaces, to launch an online business-to-business e-commerce trading hub for Australian merchants.
The joint venture adds to bex.com's markets, which already include operations in Singapore, China, Japan and South Korea. Bex.com, which is planning to go public in the near future, employs 230 people and expects to handle about $10 billion in trade this year, said Erin Lutz, a company spokeswoman.
The new Australian marketplace will allow business customers to buy software configurations from Compuware, which has about $1.6 billion in annual revenue.
The marketplace is expected to cut transaction costs down to $10 from between $60 and $80, officials said.
Shares of Compuware (CPWR: Research, Estimates) closed up 9/16 to 24-1/2 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange Thursday.
Fairchild Semiconductor International
Fairchild Semiconductor International Thursday said first-quarter revenue is running 6 percent higher than the previous quarter.
The Phoenix-based semiconductor manufacturer, which reported revenue of $361 million for the last half of 1999, up from $319 at the end of the first half, said new product development would continue the company's growth. New product sales account for nearly 30 percent of the company's revenue.
Shares of Fairchild (FCS: Research, Estimates) slipped 9/16 to 31-7/8 on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday.
Ralston Purina Group
The Ralston Purina Group's Board of Directors Thursday approved the spin-off of its Energizer Holdings Inc. subsidiary tax-free to shareholders on April 1.
The St. Louis-based pet-food giant, which has annual revenue of about $4.7 billion, said Ralston shareholders will receive one share of Energizer stock for every three shares of Ralston stock owned.
In other developments, Energizer CEO J. Patrick Mulcahy resigned from the Ralston board of directors in order to exclusively focus on Energizer's giant dry cell battery business.
Company officials said the spin-off will reduce Ralston's size, making it more manageable, providing more flexibility for future investments and stock repurchases.
Shares of Ralston (RAL: Research, Estimates) finished the day up 1-1/16 to 26 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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At 8:30 a.m. Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release the consumer price index for the month of February. The report measures prices paid for all goods as well as a "core" measure of prices paid for goods excluding volatiles such as food and energy.
Also, at 10 a.m. Friday, the University of Michigan's survey of consumer confidence in the economy for March is scheduled for release.
 
-- from staff and wire reports
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