Goodyear reports record sales

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. reported a profit for the second quarter, the first for the nation’s largest tiremaker since the third quarter of 2002. Its shares rose nearly 5 percent.

The company said Thursday it earned $25.1 million, or 14 cents per share, on record sales of $4.5 billion, in the three months ended June 30. That’s compared to a loss of $53 million, or 30 cents per share, on sales of $3.8 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

Analysts surveyed for Thomson First Call expected second-quarter earnings on average of 8 cents a share.

Goodyear sold 55 million tires in the second quarter, up from 52.8 million in the same quarter last year.

For the first six months of the year, Goodyear lost $51.8 million, or 30 cents per share, on sales of $8.8 billion. The company lost $249.5 million, or $1.42 per share, on sales of $7.3 billion in the first six months of 2003.

• The DirecTV Group swung to a loss in the second quarter as subscriber acquisition and retention costs offset a 21 percent jump in revenue and a record number of new subscriptions to its satellite television service.

The company, based in El Segundo, reported a net loss of $13.3 million, or 1 cent per share for the three months ending June 30, compared to net income of $21.6 million, or 2 cents per share in the same period last year.

Revenue increased to $2.642 billion compared to $2.187 billion in the second quarter of 2003.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected net income of 4 cents per share.

• Cigna Corp. swung to a profit in the second quarter, citing improvement in its health, disability and life insurance programs and a boost from an asset sale, and raised its earnings guidance for the full year.

The employee benefits provider reported Wednesday it earned $515 million, or $3.67 per share, for the three months ended June 30, compared with a net loss of $53 million, or 38 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2003.

Revenue was steady at $4.6 billion, about the same as a year ago.

• Sara Lee Corp.’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 20 percent, as favorable foreign currency exchange rates and an extra week helped boost revenue.

The company said Thursday it earned $354 million, or 44 cents a share, for its fourth quarter ended July 3. That’s up from $296 million, or 37 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.

Earnings for the latest quarter beat a Thomson First Call profit forecast of 43 cents a share.