Google does it again

Google Inc.’s rapidly rising profits soared to new heights in the third quarter as its Internet-leading search engine churned out a sevenfold earnings improvement that blew past analyst expectations.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said Thursday that it made $381.2 million, or $1.32 per share, during the three months ended in September. That compared with net income of $52 million, or 19 cents per share, a year ago. Last year’s results included a $201 million charge to account for a legal settlement with rival Yahoo Inc.

If not for charges related to a recent acquisition and employee stock options issued before the company went public 14 months ago, Google said it would have earned $1.51 per share.

That figure easily exceeded the consensus estimate of $1.36 per share among 31 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Even the most bullish analysts hadn’t expected Google to fare as well as it did; the highest earnings estimate had been $1.46 per share.

Google’s revenue for the quarter totaled $1.58 billion, nearly doubling from $805.9 million last year. After subtracting the commissions that Google paid to other Web sites in its advertising network, the revenue stood at $1.05 billion, exceeding the Wall Street estimate of $944 million.

The results were released after the stock market closed Thursday. Google’s shares fell $5.50 to close at $303.20 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, then surged by $26.23, or 8.7 percent, in extended trading.

“Ford Motor Co., its profits dragged down by continuing poor performance in North America, will announce “significant” U.S. plant closings and layoffs in January in another heavy blow to the nation’s autoworkers. The company reported a third-quarter loss of $284 million on Thursday.

Ford shares fell 5 cents Thursday to close at $8.42 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have traded in a 52-week range of $8.26 to $15.00.

The nation’s second biggest automaker lost 15 cents per share for the three months ended Sept. 30 in contrast to a profit of $266 million, or 15 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue for the quarter rose to $40.9 billion from $39.1 billion in 2004.

“McDonald’s Corp.’s third-quarter earnings slipped 6 percent and its stock price also sank Thursday after the fast-food chain said higher beef prices and labor costs had hurt its operating margins.

The earnings were in line with those previewed by the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company last week, when it disclosed profit figures above Wall Street forecasts thanks in part to improved sales in Europe. But analysts expressed disappointment in the weaker operating margins.

Shares fell as much as 5 percent and ended the trading day down $1.28, or 3.8 percent, at $32.40 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock is up just 1 percent in 2005.

“Pfizer Inc., the world’s biggest drug company, said Thursday its third-quarter earnings plunged 52 percent and a sluggish sales outlook for key drugs like pain reliever Celebrex and Viagra prompted it to cut profit estimates for this year and withdraw guidance beyond that. Its shares slumped to their lowest level in almost a decade.

Profits at competitor Eli Lilly & Co. rose 5 percent in the third quarter, but it said sales of its top-selling product, the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa, rose only 1 percent. And MedImmune Inc., the maker of FluMist nasal spray vaccine, reported a slightly narrower third-quarter loss.

For the quarter, Pfizer earned $1.59 billion, or 22 cents per share, down from a net of $3.34 billion, or 44 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue fell 5 percent to $12.19 billion.

Pfizer shares plunged $2.04, or 8.5 percent, to close at $21.93 in trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. That’s their lowest level since December 1997. Shares of Eli Lilly fell 43 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $51.17 on the NYSE and MedImmune shares rose 40 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $33.75 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Lilly said eight newer drugs accounted for 18 percent of its total sales, compared to 12 percent during the same period last year. Osteoporosis drug Forteo sales increased 77 percent to $102.6 million while cancer treatment Alimta revenues rose 10 percent to $122 million from the second quarter. The drug was introduced over the summer.

Lilly’s quarterly profit rose to $794.4 million, or 73 cents per share, from $755.2 million, or 69 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 10 percent to $3.6 billion.

“The Hershey Co., the nation’s largest candy maker, said Thursday third-quarter profit fell almost 30 percent even as sales rose because of costs related to closing a plant and other consolidation.

Hershey had net profit of $119.5 million, or 48 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 2, down from $166.2 million, or 66 cents per share, for the same period a year ago.

Excluding costs, the company earned $185.3 million, or 75 cents per share, a penny better than analysts’ estimates of 74 cents per share, according to a Thomson Financial survey. Charges include $101.4 million as part of a cost-cutting program to shut a Puerto Rico plant, buy out employees and consolidate Canadian operations.

Sales surged 9.1 percent from a year ago to almost $1.37 billion on the strength of core candy lines, such as Hershey chocolate bars, Hershey’s Kisses and Reese’s peanut butter cups, as well as new snack products, the company said. The company’s U.S. market share has increased from 29 percent to 29.8 percent this year, while that of chief rival Nestle’s has remained flat at about 7 percent, analysts say.