Starbucks annual earnings up 20 percent
Starbucks Corp. said Wednesday that its first fiscal-quarter earnings rose 20 percent over last year, driven by strong holiday sales of eggnog lattes and other coffee drinks.
The world’s largest specialty coffee retailer boosted its earnings targets for the year, saying it expects earnings will be 68 cents to 70 cents a share — 5 cents more than previously forecast.
Shares of Starbucks fell 34 cents, or 1.1 percent, to close at $31.36 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market, then surged $1.71, or 5.45 percent, to $33.07 in after-hours tracking.
The company, whose stock has traded between $22.29 and $32.46 over the past 52 weeks, released its latest earnings after the markets closed.
For the 13 weeks ended Jan. 1, Starbucks said it earned $174 million, or 22 cents per share, up from $145 million, or 17 cents per share, in the comparable period a year earlier.
Revenue for the latest quarter increased 22 percent to $1.93 billion, up from $1.59 billion in the comparable period last year.
The consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial was 20 cents per share on revenue of $1.93 billion.
Starbucks said it opened about 560 new stores in the latest quarter, bringing the number of its stores to 10,801 in 37 countries. The company said it expects to open approximately 1,800 new stores globally over the next year, about 1,300 of them in the United States.
Beer drinkers will have to pay more for Budweiser this year after Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., the nation’s biggest brewer, said Wednesday its fourth-quarter profit plunged 39.5 percent from a year ago.
The maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other beers earned $201 million, or 26 cents per share, for the period ending Dec. 31, down from $332 million, or 42 cents per share, a year earlier.
In the wake of those lackluster results, the company plans to boost profit by raising prices in 2006. Chief Financial Officer Randolph Baker said Wednesday price increases started in selected markets this month, with a jump of 2 percent to 3 percent to be initiated nationwide by year’s end.