Diluted Share

Martek posts slight 1Q earnings gain Martek Biosciences Corp., the Columbia-based maker of nutritional oils for foods and baby formula, said its first-quarter earnings increased slightly as it moved beyond the infant formula market. The company reported net income of $9.6 million, or 29 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31. That compared with $8.7 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, during the corresponding period a year ago. Revenues were $87.4 million, up 5 percent from a year ago. Martek expects second-quarter revenues to be between $87 million and $92 million and net income between $8.9 million and $10.3 million.

AAI Corp. parent United Industrial Corp. saw sales and profit rise in the first quarter, with the war continuing to fuel demand for AAI's unmanned aircraft systems and aircraft maintenance trainers. Net income from continuing operations rose 31 percent to $10 million, or 75 cents per diluted share, from $7.7 million, or 61 cents per share, for the comparable period a year ago. The Hunt Valley-based company reported a loss of $800,000 on discontinued operations after divesting Detroit Stoker Co., which makes combustion equipment for alternative-energy companies.

Provident Bankshares Corp., Maryland's largest independent bank, said yesterday that net income fell nearly 12 percent in the first quarter because of a tough interest rate environment and changes in consumer banking habits. Net income for the three months that ended March 31 was $16.1 million, or 50 cents per diluted share, compared with $18.3 million, or 55 cents per diluted share a year ago. The latest results met the estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Provident stock fell 14 cents to close at $33.07 yesterday on the Nasdaq stock market.

Despite shrinking cash and questions from shareholders about whether it can survive, TVI Corp. said yesterday that its turnaround is on track. The Glenn Dale manufacturer of decontamination shelters reported improved sales for the third quarter but still posted a loss. "While we all would like to speed up the process, we believe our management team is setting realistic, tangible, short- and long-term goals for TVI and is working at a steady, substantial pace," interim chief executive Harley A. Hughes told shareholders during a conference call to discuss third-quarter results.

Shares of Visual Networks Inc. shot up 31 percent yesterday as investors reacted to a strong earnings report and equity analysts upgraded their ratings on the Rockville telecommunications software company.Visual Networks' stock gained $10.5625 to finish at $44.50.The main cause of the ascent was the company's positive second-quarter earnings, reported after the close of trading Thursday.Visual Networks posted net income of $3.4 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, compared with a loss of $5.6 million, or 28 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Strong demand for business and consumer loans drove Columbia Bancorp's profit up 3.6 percent to a record $1.33 million in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, the banking company said yesterday.The earnings translate into 29 cents per diluted share and are up from the $1.29 million, or 28 cents per diluted share, posted for the third quarter of 1998. The performance beat by a penny the estimates of two analysts who follow the company, according to Zacks Research Inc."We are feeling pretty good about it," said John M. Bond Jr., Columbia's chief executive.

Provident Bankshares Corp.'s profit rose 14.2 percent in the third quarter, propelled by strong demand for consumer loans and banking products, the company said yesterday.Provident made $11.3 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with $9.9 million for the corresponding period in 1998. The year-ago figure was boosted by $1.6 million in net securities gains.The company made 43 cents per diluted share, up 16 percent from the prior year. The results beat analysts' estimates by a penny, according to Zacks Investment Research, which surveyed five analysts who follow the company.

Rite Aid Corp., the problem-plagued drugstore chain, is expecting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an investigation into accounting practices that are forcing the company to revise its financial statements and slash past profit by $500 million, a company official said yesterday.Rite Aid has been contacted by the SEC's enforcement division, said Karen Rugen, Rite Aid's senior vice president of communications."There is no formal investigation right now," she said. "But given the size of the restatement -- approximately $500 million -- one can be anticipated."

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. reported losses for the fourth quarter and the year yesterday in spite of large gains in revenue and cash flow.Baltimore-based Sinclair, which has emerged as one of the country's biggest owners of radio and television stations, had a net loss of $10.6 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, in the quarter ending Dec. 31. In the same quarter of the previous year, the company incurred a net loss of $4.7 million, or 9 cents per...

Less than two years after buying Timonium-based Riparius Development Corp. for nearly $94 million, Highwoods Properties Inc. said yesterday that it has found buyers for virtually all of its assets in the Baltimore area.The North Carolina-based real estate investment trust has been under pressure from Wall Street to generate higher returns, and the sale fits in with the REIT's plan to raise capital after spending $2 billion on expansion in 1997 and 1998.Highwoods, which is also shedding its south Florida holdings for $323.

Legg Mason Inc. announced Monday a profit for the three months ending June 30, reversing five straight quarterly losses as a market rebound, lower operating costs and improved performance of its key mutual funds helped the Baltimore money manager. Net income was $50.1 million, or 35 cents per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $36.1 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, in the corresponding period last year. "While our mission is not fully accomplished, we are pleased to return Legg Mason to profitability," Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Mark R. Fetting told analysts during a conference call.

Black & Decker Corp.'s first-quarter profit plunged 93 percent as a weak economy hurt sales of its power tools and other products much worse than it had anticipated. Executives at the Towson-based company don't believe the economy will improve any time soon, saying they expect sales to decline just as much in the second quarter as the first three months of the year. The company also lowered its outlook for the year. The company on Thursday reported earnings for the quarter that ended March 29 of $4.9 million, or 8 cents per diluted share.

Martek posts slight 1Q earnings gain Martek Biosciences Corp., the Columbia-based maker of nutritional oils for foods and baby formula, said its first-quarter earnings increased slightly as it moved beyond the infant formula market. The company reported net income of $9.6 million, or 29 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31. That compared with $8.7 million, or 26 cents per diluted share, during the corresponding period a year ago. Revenues were $87.4 million, up 5 percent from a year ago. Martek expects second-quarter revenues to be between $87 million and $92 million and net income between $8.9 million and $10.3 million.

Sinclair Broadcast Group said yesterday that it has eliminated 200 jobs, or 7 percent of its work force, and suspended its quarterly dividend to cut costs as it expects falling advertising revenues this year amid a recession. Besides layoffs, the Hunt Valley broadcaster is cutting back on capital expenditures, freezing salaries, and reducing promotional spending and travel. David Amy, Sinclair's chief financial officer, declined to provide further details yesterday. Such moves are expected to save the company $19 million but are not enough to offset the decline in advertising, particularly in a nonelection year, Sinclair said.

Martek income is down Columbia-based Martek Biosciences Corp. reported yesterday net income of $10.5 million, or 31 cents per diluted share, for the fourth quarter that ended Oct. 31, down from $18.3 million, or 55 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2007. The manufacturer of infant formula reported revenue of $90.4 million, up 10 percent from $82 million in the corresponding period in 2007. Excluding the impact of tax benefits, the company's net income would have been $8.9 million, or 27 cents per diluted share, compared with $7.5 million or 23 cents per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Baltimore's T. Rowe Price Group saw its quarterly profit drop for the first time in five years as continued market volatility hurt the value of its assets and clients pulled back on making new investments. The money manager, which analysts said still performed better than many of its peers, reported yesterday that net income fell 12.6 percent to $152.8 million, or 56 cents per diluted share, in the three months that ended Sept. 30, compared with a profit of $174.8 million, or 63 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago period.

Track down tax refund or stimulus check More than $4 million worth of stimulus checks and tax refunds belonging to thousands of Marylanders have been returned to the Internal Revenue Service as undeliverable. If your tax rebate or refund hasn't arrived, check with the IRS to make sure it has your correct address. Review the status of your check or refund online at www.irs.gov, clicking on "Where's My Stimulus Payment?" or "Where's My Refund?" Those without Internet access can call 866-234-2942 to find out about their stimulus check and 800-829-1954 to inquire about a refund.

Legg Mason Inc. suffered its first quarterly loss in the public company's 25-year history after spending millions to support several of its money market funds hampered by mortgage-backed debt. The Baltimore asset manager reported yesterday a bigger-than-expected loss of $255.5 million, or $1.81 per diluted share, in the fiscal fourth quarter that ended March 31, compared with a net profit of $172.5 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, in the corresponding period last year. Besides more cash infusions to shore up its troubled money market funds, yesterday's results showed investors continuing to pull money from underperforming stock funds overseen by star managers, such as Bill Miller and Bruce Sherman.

Penny-pinching consumers have switched from McCormick & Co.'s gourmet spices to company products that are more economically priced. They're also eating out less at the restaurants where McCormick supplies spices, flavorings and condiments. But by raising prices, McCormick managed to offset weaknesses in the economy as well as higher costs for commodities. And it allowed the local food company to report yesterday a 16 percent increase in fiscal first-quarter earnings. Net income for the three months that ended Feb. 29 was $51.4 million, or 39 cents per diluted share.

A month after Provident Bankshares Corp. wrote off nearly $48 million in soured mortgage-related investments and said it did not anticipate any more, the Baltimore bank announced last night that it could take additional charges of up to $47.7 million in the first quarter. Maryland's largest independent bank said it could write down some or all of the remaining $32.8 million in securities it holds in real estate investment trust securities, or REITs, amid a continuing decline in housing and credit markets.