Earnings Roundup

General Motors Co

reported a strong rise in its second-quarter earnings. GM reported its quarterly earnings at $2.5 billion, or $1.54 per share, up from $1.3 billion, or $0.85 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its revenue surged to $39.4 billion from $33.2 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.18 per share on revenue of $36.71 billion. GM sold 2.3 million vehicles in the second quarter, up 7% from a year-ago period. Kraft Foods Inc

reported a 4.2% rise in its second-quarter profit and raised its projections for the year. Kraft's quarterly profit rose to $976 million, or $0.55 per share, from $937 million, or $0.53 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue climbed 13% to $13.88 billion. Kraft's operating earnings per share came in at $0.62. However, analysts were expecting operating earnings of $0.58 per share on revenue of $13.08 billion. Kraft raised its forecast for organic net revenue growth for the year to at least 5%, versus at least 4%. It also lifted its operating earnings outlook to at least $2.25 per share, versus at least $2.20 per share. Analysts were expecting operating earnings of $2.23 per share. El Paso Corp

reported upbeat second-quarter earnings. El Paso reported its quarterly earnings at $262 million, or $0.34 per share, up from $157 billion, or $0.21 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its revenue climbed 21% y/y to $1.23 billion. El Paso's adjusted earnings came in at $0.25 per share. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.24 per share on revenue of $1.19 billion. Southwest Airlines Co

reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter profit. Southwest reported its quarterly net income at $161 million, or $0.21 per share, up from $112 million, or $0.15 per share, in the year-earlier period. Southwest Airlines' adjusted profit came in at $0.15 per share. Its revenue surged to $4.14 billion from $3.17 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.21 per share on revenue of $4.01 billion. Cigna Corp

reported a 39% rise in its second quarter profit. Cigna's quarterly profit surged to $408 million, or $1.50 per share, from $294 million, or $1.06 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted profit came in at $1.53 per share. The company's consolidated revenue climbed to $5.51 billion from $5.35 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.29 per share on revenue of $5.32 billion. CVS Caremark Corp

reported a drop in its second-quarter earnings. CVS reported its quarterly earnings at $816 million, or $0.60 per share, down from $821 million, or $0.60 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its revenue climbed to $26.63 billion from $24 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.64 per share on revenue of $26.76 billion. CVS narrowed its 2011 adjusted earnings forecast from continuing operations to $2.75 to $2.81 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $2.78 per share. Cardinal Health

reported a 9% decline in its fourth-quarter profit. Cardinal Health's quarterly profit dropped to $202.7 million, or $0.57 per share, from $223.5 million, or $0.62 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.59 per share. Its revenue surged 9% to $26.8 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.58 per share on revenue of $26.2 billion. Cardinal Health projects 2012 adjusted earnings of $3.04 to $3.19 per share. NRG Energy Inc

reported a rise in its second-quarter profit. NRG reported its quarterly profit at $621 million, or $2.53 per share, up from $211 million, or $0.81 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its revenue climbed to $2.28 billion from $2.13 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.38 per share on revenue of $2.2 billion. NRG lifted its 2011 stock repurchase program by $250 million. DirecTV Group

reported a rise in its profit rose for the second quarter. DirecTV's quarterly net income climbed to $701 million, or $0.91 per share, up from $543 million, or $0.42 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue surged to $6.6 billion, versus analysts' estimates of $6.5 billion. DirecTV added 26,000 US subscribers in the quarter. Church & Dwight Co

reported an 11% surge in its second-quarter earnings. Church & Dwight reported its quarterly profit at $82.6 million, or $0.57 per share, up from $74.3 million, or $0.51 per share, in the year-ago period. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.56 per share. Its net sales rose 5.3% to $674.9 million. Alpha Natural Resources Inc

swung to a second-quarter loss. Alpha posted a quarterly loss of $56.4 million, or $0.36 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $38.8 million, or $0.32 per share. Excluding one-time items, Alpha's income from continuing operations came in at $0.96 per share. Its revenue climbed 59% to $1.59 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.08 per share on revenue of $1.51 billion. Fortune Brands Inc

reported a drop in Q2 earnings from continuing operations. Fortune's earnings from continuing operations, excluding charges and gains, came in at $0.71 per share, versus $0.74 per share, in the year-ago period. Fortune's net income rose to $330 million, or $2.09 per share, from $229.4 million, or $1.49 per share, in the year-ago period. Its sales from continuing operations climbed 5% to $1.59 billion. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co

reported a 74% drop in its second-quarter profit. Cooper Tire reported its quarterly earnings at $11.5 million, or $0.18 per share, down from $44.1 million, or $0.70 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue climbed 15% to $922 million. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.41 per share on revenue of $980 million. SCANA Corp

reported downbeat second-quarter earnings. SCANA posted its quarterly profit at $56 million, or $0.44 per share, up from $54 million, or $0.43 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue surged 6.5% to $1 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.48 per share on revenue of $918 million. SCANA's operating margin narrowed to 14.2% from 14.6%. Swiss Reinsurance Co

reported an 18% rise in its second-quarter net profit. Swiss Reinsurance reported its quarterly net profit at $960 million, or $2.74 per share, up from $812 million, or $1.85 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its revenue surged 41% to $7.4 billion. However, analysts were expecting a net profit of $548.4 million. Lloyds Banking Group PLC

swung to a first-half net loss on Thursday. Lloyds Banking posted a net loss of 2.31 billion pounds ($3.79 billion), versus a profit of 596 million pounds, in the year-ago period. In its core business, its pretax profit dropped 28% to 2.66 billion pounds and declined 6% on an underlying basis to 2.9 billion pounds. Rio Tinto Ltd

reported a 30% rise in its first-half net profit. Rio Tinto reported its net profit at $7.59 billion. Its revenue surged to $29.1 billion, from $24.5 billion, in the year-ago period. It also increased its share buy-back program by $2 billion to $7 billion. ING Groep NV

reported a 24% rise in its second-quarter net profit. ING's quarterly net profit surged to 1.51 billion euros ($2.16 billion). However, analysts were expecting a net profit of 1.44 billion euros. Aviva PLC

reported a 5% surge in its first-half operating profit. Aviva's operating profit on an IFRS basis rose to GBP1.34 billion, from GBP1.27 billion, in the year-ago period. However, analysts were expecting an operating profit of GBP1.28 billion. Aviva also lifted its interim dividend by 5% to 10 pence per share, versus 9.5 pence, in the year-ago period. Unilever NV

reported a 10% rise in its first half earnings. Unilever's net profit surged to euro2.235 billion ($3.12 billion), from euro2.035 billion, in the year-ago period. Its sales climbed 4.1% to euro22.1 billion. Unilever said "underlying" sales growth was 7.1% in the second quarter. Unilever's Q2 total sales climbed to EUR11.93 billion, from EUR11.75 billion, in the year-ago period. Deutsche Telekom AG

reported a decline in its second-quarter operating profit. Deutsche Telekom's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and one-off items, or adjusted EBITDA, fell 2.6% to EUR3.79 billion. Its sales dropped 3.3%. Deutsche Telekom's European unit reported an 8% decline in its operating profit.