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Posts Tagged ‘2Q’

Software trade group spent $160,000 to lobby in 2Q

August 31st, 2010

The Software & Information Industry Association spent $160,000 in the second quarter to lobby the federal government on patent reform efforts, tax matters and education funding, among other issues, according to a quarterly disclosure report.

That compares with $130,000 that the group spent to lobby in the first quarter and in the second quarter of last year.

Other issues that the group lobbied on in the second quarter include immigration issues and H-1B visas and the Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband plan, which lays out a roadmap for bringing high-speed Internet connections to all Americans.

In addition, the Software & Information Industry Association lobbied on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, an international trade agreement that is currently being drafted. Many tech companies warn that the pact could expose Internet access providers, Web search engines and other online businesses to damaging legal risks by holding them responsible for copyright infringement by their users.

Members of the Software & Information Industry Association, which represents software and digital-content companies, include International Business Machines Corp., Symantec Corp., Saleforce.com and Adobe Systems Inc.

The group lobbied Congress, the Department of Education, the Commerce Department, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Trade Representative and the Federal Communications Commission, among other government agencies, during the second quarter.

Source:http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9HUJV6G4.htm

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Tags: 2Q Software

Icahn Increases Exposure To Energy Companies In 2Q

August 16th, 2010

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-Billionaire investor Carl Icahn widened his exposure to energy-related holdings in the second quarter, according to regulatory filings Monday.

Icahn, known as a corporate activist who holds his shares through various funds, aggressively boosted his stake in Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and reported new investments in NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC), as of June 30.

At that time, Icahn owned 12.7 million shares of Chesapeake Energy, up from 2.1 million shares at the end of March. The holdings give him a 2% stake in the natural-gas company and place him among the top-10 shareholders. He reported his initial investment in the company last quarter.

In the latest quarter, he reported a new two-million-share stake in oil and natural-gas company Anadarko, amounting to less than 0.5% of the company, and a 2.4-million-share investment in power producer NRG Energy, a 1% holding.

Icahn also showed activity in the technology sector, where he has been active in the past. He reported a 9.5-million-share holding in Lawson Software Inc. (LWSN), or a 5.9% stake. On June 8, Icahn had filed that he beneficially owned 15.6 million shares of the company, with some portion of that being in call options.

Icahn reported a 7.8-million-share investment in chip-design software company Mentor Graphics Corp. (MENT), a 7.3% stake. In July, Icahn reported that he beneficially owned 14 million shares of the company, with a portion being call options.

In both cases, he has called the stocks undervalued and said he wants to meet with management.

He reported a new stake in Micro Systems Inc. (MCRS) of 654,960 shares, amounting to less than 1% of the total outstanding.

Icahn also reported a new 2.4-million-share stake in Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (SWHC), equaling about 4% of the firearms maker.

In the period, Icahn reported no change to his biotechnology holdings, including stakes in Biogen Idec Inc. (BIIB), Genzyme Corp. (GENZ) and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMLN), all companies in which he has board representation.

He reported no stake in Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ANX) after having a 4.3-million-share investment, or 30% of shares outstanding, in the small specialty pharmaceutical company last quarter.

Monday’s disclosures don’t include a complete picture of Icahn’s holdings because he has been permitted to keep some of his investments confidential. Prominent investors are sometimes permitted to temporarily withhold information from their quarterly reports if the disclosure would interfere with an investment strategy.

Some of the holdings reported on Icahn’s 13-F are outdated, because he often buys more than 5% of companies’ outstanding shares, forcing him to make more frequent filings regarding those holdings.

Since the end of the second quarter, Icahn exercised options to increase his stake in Hain Celestial Group Inc. (HAIN) by two million shares, bringing his total ownership to 5.65 million shares, or 13.8% of shares outstanding. Icahn reached a deal with the food company to put two people on its board, including his son Brett.

Meanwhile, Icahn is trying to take over Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (LGF) and recently extended his tender offer of $6.50 a share until Oct. 22, as he fights the film studio in Canadian court. He is attempting to block a July debt-to-equity swap that essentially shrinks his stake in Lions Gate as it tries to thwart the buyout effort.

Earlier this month, Icahn bought 10.2 million shares of Motorola Inc. (MOT), a telecommunications company that is preparing to split itself in two. The purchase boosted his stake to a total of 232.2 million shares, or 9.99% of shares outstanding.

Icahn has sharply increased his stake in recent months, as some have speculated that he sees Motorola’s value rising when it completes its split, which is set for early next year. At the end of 2009, he owned 119.8 million shares.

Many investors that manage more than $100 million are required to file 13-Fs with their stock holdings 45 days after the end of a given quarter, giving the public its freshest possible glimpse into the portfolios of well-known money managers. Most hedge-fund managers and others wait until the last possible moment to make these filings.

Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100816-707691.html

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Tags: 2Q Icahn Software

Adobe systems posts strong 2q

June 23rd, 2010

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Software maker Adobe Systems Inc. posted higher net income for its most recent quarter, driven by strong demand for the software package it sells to professional designers and developers.

Adobe earned $148.6 million, or 28 cents per share, in the fiscal second quarter, which ended June 4. This is up 18 percent from $126.1 million, or 24 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings were 44 cents per share. On that basis, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a profit of 42 cents per share.

President and CEO Shantanu Narayen said in addition to the successful launch of Creative Suite 5, Adobe had solid results across all of its business segment and geographic regions.

The company’s ongoing spat with Apple Inc. over Adobe’s Flash technology, used for Web videos and other content, did not seem to soften demand for the latest version of its flagship Creative Suite software package. Apple bans Flash from the iPad, the iPhone and the iPod Touch, and CEO Steve Jobs had described it as outdated, unreliable and unfit for the handheld gadgets because it’s meant for PCs.

Narayen said the Flash debate has not affected demand for the Flash creation tools that are part of Creative Suite 5. And in a reference to Apple’s popular iPhone, he said that as mobile devices with Flash become available during the rest of the year, “those that don’t have Flash on their smart phones will wish they did.”

By providing Flash for smart phones Narayen says Adobe is “serving a pent-up need,” from the growing number of people who use devices other than PCs to connect to access Web content.

Adobe’s revenue grew 34 percent to $943 million from $704.7 million, largely driven by strong demand for Creative Suite 5, which launched at the end of April, two months into the quarter. This handily surpassed Wall Street’s expectations of $905.9 million.

Creative Suite, which includes programs such as Photoshop for photo editing and Illustrator for graphic design and illustration, brings in the bulk of Adobe’s revenue. Poor timing hurt sales of the previous version, Creative Suite 4, which went on sale in the fall of 2008 just as the financial crisis hit.

As a result, CS5 is getting a boost from pent-up demand from customers who have held back on upgrades and are now two versions behind.

For the current quarter, Adobe forecast adjusted earnings of 46 cents to 50 cents per share on revenue of $950 million to $1 billion. Analysts have been expecting a profit of 48 cents per share, excluding items, on revenue of $958.7 million.

Adobe also said it plans to buy back up to $1.6 billion of its shares by November 2012. Andy Miedler, an analyst with Edward Jones, praised the move and said it shows confidence in the strength of Adobe’s long-term prospects.

Miedler, who has a “Buy” rating on Adobe’s stock, called the Adobe vs. Apple controversy “overblown,” and said there is room for both Flash and HTML5, the latter an emerging programming standard with features that compete with Flash.

Shares of Adobe, which is based in San Jose, Calif., fell 81 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $31.95 in after-hours trading. Before the release of results, the stock had closed down 37 cents.