Earnings Reports - Westfair Communications

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. (AAWW), a Harrison-based provider of global air cargo services, reported sharply higher earnings for the second quarter compared with the same period in 2006.

Quarterly earnings included a substantial tax benefit related to DHL Express”™ investment in Polar Air Cargo Worldwide Inc., in which DHL acquired a 49 percent equity interest in exchange for $150 million in cash, $75 million of which was paid at closing in late June, with the balance scheduled to be received in 2008.

For the second quarter, AAWW earned $43.2 million, 304 percent more than in the second quarter of 2006. Earnings per diluted share were $2.01, nearly four times the year-ago level. Revenues totaled $370.4 million, with operating income of $31.2 million and pretax income of $25.2 million.

Net income reflected a tax benefit of $18 million, which was driven by a net tax benefit from the DHL transaction that reduced income tax expense in the quarter by $27.7 million, or the equivalent of $1.29 per diluted share.

The company recorded a deferred gain of $151.4 million in the quarter as a result of the DHL transaction. The gain will be recognized as income in the period in which the blocked-space agreement between Polar Air Cargo Worldwide and DHL commences, which is scheduled no later than Oct. 31, 2008.

“We substantially improved our operating performance in the second quarter of 2007,” said William J. Flynn, president and CEO of AAWW. “With a 16 percent smaller fleet, we generated better revenues, operating earnings and margins.”

Drew Industries Inc. of White Plains, a supplier of components for recreational vehicles (RVs) and manufactured homes, reported a 23 percent year-over-year increase in second-quarter net income to $12.6 million, or 57 cents per diluted share, compared with $10.2 million, or 47 cents per diluted share, in 2006.

Second-quarter net sales declined 9 percent to $184 million from net sales of $202 million a year ago. Drew officials said the drop was due to a 13 percent decline in industry shipments of travel-trailer and fifth-wheel RVs in the second quarter and a 19 percent decline in industry shipments of manufactured homes in April and May.

Net income increased 8 percent to $22.2 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, compared with net income of $20.4 million, or 93 cents per diluted share, for the same period last year.

Midyear sales dropped 13 percent to $357 million, compared with net sales of $410 million for the first six months of 2006. Drew officials noted the first quarter of 2006 was buoyed by approximately $20 million in sales and net income of about 9 cents per diluted share as a result of manufactured-housing industry orders in the wake of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Drew Industries president and CEO Leigh J. Abrams said the company”™s “aggressive” cost-cutting program was a significant factor in the improved results despite the current weakness in the RV and manufactured housing industry.

The company closed and consolidated 10 facilities in the last year and plans to close about five more in the coming months and integrate those operations into existing facilities, Abrams said. Last September, Drew shut down its Indiana-based specialty trailer operation, which reported a $1 million operating loss in the second quarter last year.

Abrams said the company eliminated more than 90 salaried positions in the last year.

Hudson Valley Holding Corp., the Yonkers-based parent company of Hudson Valley Bank and NYNB Bank, reported $16.7 million in midyear earnings, a 1.6 percent increase from the same period in 2006. Diluted earnings were $1.80 per share, compared with $1.78 per share a year ago.

Hudson Valley Corp. President and CEO James J. Landy said stiff competition in the company”™s metropolitan market, especially for deposits, and unfavorable interest rates slowed the rate of earnings growth in the first half of the year. That trend is expected to continue for the rest of the year, he said.

As of June 30, company assets totaled $2.4 billion, deposits totaled $1.8 billion and net loans totaled $1.2 billion.

MasterCard Inc. of Purchase reported second-quarter net income of $195 million, or $1.43 per diluted share, excluding special items, and net income of $252 million, or $1.85 per diluted share, including special items.

Special items included a $3.4 million reserve recorded for a litigation settlement and $90 million in other income related to a settlement received under an agreement to discontinue the company”™s sponsorship of the 2010 and 2014 World Cup soccer events.

Net revenues for the quarter were a record-setting $997 million, a 17.8 percent increase from the same period in 2006. MasterCard officials said currency fluctuation, driven by the movement of the euro relative to the U.S. dollar, contributed some 2 percent of the increase in revenues.

Fueling the higher revenue in the second quarter versus the same period in 2006 was growth in MasterCard”™s gross dollar volume (GDV), which increased 13.3 percent on a local currency basis to $555 billion; a 15.2 percent increase in the number of transactions processed to 4.6 billion and an increase in cross-border transaction volumes of 17.3 percent.

Worldwide purchase volume rose 14.8 percent on a local currency basis to $414 billion, driven by increased cardholder spending on a growing number of MasterCard cards. As of June 30, the company”™s customers had issued 855 million MasterCard cards, an increase of 10.7 percent from the previous year.

“We are very pleased with our second-quarter financial results, which reflect strong growth across all regions and represent the highest quarterly net revenue in MasterCard”™s history,” said Robert W. Selander, MasterCard president and CEO.

Total second-quarter operating expenses increased 3.2 percent to $725 million compared with the same period in 2006.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. of White Plains reported strong second-quarter financial results.

Excluding special items, earnings per share from continuing operations were 82 cents compared with 74 cents for the second quarter of 2006. Including special items, share earnings from continuing operations were 67 cents compared with $3.01 in the second quarter of 2006 when the company netted a $511 million benefit, or $2.27 per share, primarily due to the sale of 33 hotels.

Income from continuing operations was $145 million in the second quarter of 2007

compared with $680 million in 2006. Excluding special items, which net to a $33 million

charge in 2007 and a $511 million credit in 2006, income from continuing operations was

$178 million for the second quarter of 2007, compared with $169 million in 2006.

Worldwide systemwide revenue per available room (REVPAR) for same-store hotels increased 8.4 percent compared with the second quarter of 2006. System-wide REVPAR for same-store hotels in North America increased 5 percent.

Management and franchise revenues increased 13.8 percent when compared to 2006.

Reported revenues from vacation ownership and residential sales increased 17.1 percent

when compared with 2006. Strong increases in revenues from vacation ownership

sales were partially offset by a decline in residential sales.

Excluding special items, income from continuing operations was $178 million, compared with $169 million in the same period of 2006. Net income, including special items, was $145 million, compared with $680 million in the second quarter of 2006.

The company signed 33 hotel management and franchise contracts in the quarter

representing approximately 7,000 rooms.

“Starwood”™s strong second-quarter results are indicative of our globally diversified revenue streams, with worldwide systemwide REVPAR up 8.4 percent, fueled by our international business where REVPAR grew by 13.1 percent,” said Chairman and interim CEO Bruce Duncan in a statement.