Alarming signals at XM Satellite

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.’s losses soared in the fourth quarter on higher costs for marketing and acquiring subscribers, and a key director quit over disagreements about the company’s direction, warning of a looming “crisis.”

Investors punished the shares of the Washington, D.C.-based company, sending them down $1.27, or 5 percent, to close at $23.98 in very heavy volume Thursday afternoon on the Nasdaq Stock Market. They reached a 52-week low of $22.94 earlier in the day.

Of particular concern to investors was the unexpected departure of Pierce J. Roberts Jr. from XM’s board of directors, who said in his resignation letter that he was “troubled” by the company’s path.

“Given current course and speed there is, in my view, a significant chance of a crisis on the horizon,” Roberts wrote in the letter, which the company disclosed in a regulatory filing. “Even absent a crisis, I believe that XM will inevitably serve its shareholders poorly without major changes now.”

“Intermountain Community Bancorp. recorded record income of $7.5 million in 2005, up from $4.3 million in 2004.

The bank operates 15 branch locations in three states, under the names Panhandle State Bank and Intermountain Community Bank. Last June, the bank opened its first branch in Eastern Washington with a Spokane Valley location. It also has banks in Idaho and one in Eastern Oregon.

Other highlights of 2005 included a $12 million stock offering in December; a 23 percent increase in assets; and a 25 percent increase in book value per share, according to Curt Hecker, the bank’s president and chief executive officer.

“Spokane-based Red Lion Hotels Corp. earned $4.5 million, or 34 cents a share, last year. That compares with a net loss of $6.7 million, or 51 cents a share, in 2004.

For the fourth quarter, Red Lion announced a loss of $900,000, or 7 cents a share, versus a loss of $8.2 million, or 63 cents a share, in the like period a year ago.

Red Lion said its revenue per available room, a common measure of financial health in the hospitality industry, increased 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

“Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co. rose to their highest level in more than four years Thursday after the company said strong notebook computer sales and cost cutting helped drive a 30 percent increase in fiscal first-quarter earnings.

HP shares rose $2.35, or 7.4 percent, to close at $34.02 on the New York Stock Exchange, a level the stock has not seen since 2001.

HP’s earnings, released Wednesday after financial markets closed, were the latest sign that the Silicon Valley pioneer has overcome execution problems that led to a string of earnings disappointments under former CEO Carly Fiorina.

For the three months ended Jan. 31, HP earned $1.2 billion, or 42 cents per share, compared with a profit of $943 million, or 32 cents per share in the same period last year. Sales rose 6 percent, to $22.7 billion in the first quarter from $21.5 billion from the year-ago period.

Excluding one-time items, HP earned $1.39 billion, or 48 cents per share, compared with a profit of $1.08 billion, or 37 cents per share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2005.

“Dell Inc. said Thursday that fourth-quarter profit rose 52 percent as the world’s largest personal computer maker finally turned in stronger sales growth than expected, led by sales to businesses and to international customers.

Dell said it earned $1.01 billion, or 43 cents per share in the quarter ended Feb. 3, compared to $667 million, or 26 cents per share a year earlier.

Analysts had expected the PC maker to earn 41 cents per share in the most recent quarter, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

Dell said first-quarter earnings would be 39 cents to 41 cents per share excluding a cost of 3 cents per share for stock compensation. Analysts forecast 42 cents per share. The company said revenue would be $14.2 billion to $14.6 billion, a bit below analysts’ prediction of $14.73 billion.

“Retail powerhouses Target Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. offered bullish outlooks on consumer spending as they reported fourth-quarter profits that beat Wall Street estimates. Both are counting on improved merchandise assortments to lure shoppers away from rivals.

Target — helped by strong holiday sales and an increasing contribution from its credit card division — reported a 14 percent rise in profits in the fourth-quarter.

The Minneapolis-based company expects that same-store sales, or sales at stores open for at least a year, to rise 4 percent to 6 percent this year, compared to the 5.6 percent gain in its last fiscal year.