General Motors on Friday disclosed that it plans to bring to an end production of its Chevrolet Sonic in Thailand by mid-2015. The announcement comes just a day after saying it would stop making GM-branded cars in Indonesia. GM will continue selling cars like the Cruze sedan in parts of Southeast Asia, which is seen as an emerging markets battleground for automakers across the globe. But, it is giving priority to push the ‘American heritage’ of its SUVs and pickups such as the Trailblazer and Colorado.
Today, Lloyds Banking Group came up with a success in its revival from the financial crisis. It has posted an annual profit and announced a dividend for the first time since its bailout by British taxpayers. The bank reported net income of 1.13 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) as compared to a loss of 838 million pounds in 2013. The London-based company is ready to distribute a dividend of 0.75 pence per share, making a total payment of 535 million pounds.
After Thursday’s closing bell, Herbalife Ltd. posted adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.41 a share with $1.13 billion in revenue. Analysts were looking for earnings of $1.22 a share with $1.16 billion in revenue. Looking forward, it foresees a sales decline in a range of 12.5% to 15.5% in the current quarter, and 6% to 9% for the full year.
Gap Inc. said it is raising its yearly payout by 4.5% to 92 cents a share and that it is retaining $1 billion to repurchase stock. The company had already approved $500 million in October for the same purpose.
The company reported its fourth-quarter net income grew to $319 million or 75 cents a share as compared to $307 million or 68 cents in the year-ago quarter. The average estimate was for 67 cents a share. Sales for the quarter grew 3% to $4.71 billion.
For the full year, the San Francisco retailer expects to report EPS of $2.75 to $2.80 versus the consensus of $3.01 a share. The reasons for this muted forecast include the stronger dollar and delayed shippings at West Coast ports. Capital spending is likely to go up to about $800 million from $714 million in the past year.
Ross Stores Inc. posted its fourth-quarter EPS reached to $1.20 a share as compared to $1.02 a share a year ago. Sales for the quarter moved to $3 billion, with comparable-store sales up 6%. Analysts were looking for earnings of $1.11 a share with $2.9 billion in revenue.
The company also declared plans to repurchase $1.4 billion in shares and is raising its quarterly dividend by $0.35 a share to 23.5 cents from 20 cents thanks to ongoing confidence in its ability to generate cash.
