Earnings Per Share

With its share price up nearly 70 percent over the past two years and its annual profit hitting an all-time high, McCormick & Co. Inc. said yesterday that it will split its stock for the first time in a decade. The 2-for-1 split will go into effect April 8 for shares held at the close of business on March 25. The announcement was made after the markets closed. "This demonstrates management's confidence in the company's prospects and outlook for the future," said Robert J. Lawless, chairman, president and chief executive of the Sparks-based spice giant.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. expects first quarter earnings of 27 cents to 30 cents per diluted share, down from 53 cents per share in the first quarter of 2012, the Hampstead-based retailer said Monday. Sales for the quarter that ended May 4 dipped 3 percent, with unseasonably cool weather hurting spring business, the company said. The men's apparel seller was able to control expenses and improve advertising efficiency but had higher inventory sourcing costs during the quarter, the company said.

BETHESDA -- Martin Marietta Corp. said first-quarter earnings per share rose 6.6 percent, reflecting an increase in operating margins.The space and defense industry giant reported income before charges for the quarter ended March 31 rose to $76.4 million, or $1.61 a share, from $74.6 million, or $1.51, for the same period in 1992."

Micros Systems Inc., a maker of software for the hospitality and retail industries, reported third-quarter net income of $44.3 million Thursday, a 2.4 percent increase compared with the same period in 2013 and a record for a third quarter. The Columbia-based company said it also set third-quarter records for earnings per share and sales. Diluted earnings per share rose 3.8 percent to 55 cents per share, the company said. Sales grew 13.3 percent to $315.1 million for the quarter that ended March 31. "We continue to execute in a difficult environment and I am confident in our ability to meet not just the challenges but the opportunities which lie ahead," Micros CEO Peter A. Altabef said in a statement.

Columbia Bancorp earnings increased 8.3 percent in the first quarter, with strong loan growth helping to lead the charge, the company said yesterday. The Columbia firm is the parent to Columbia Bank. For the three months that ended March 31, earnings were $2.34 million, up from $2.16 million reported in first quarter 2001. Earnings per share were 32 cents on a fully diluted basis, a slight increase from the 30 cents per share in last year's first quarter. Total loans rose to $616.5 million, a 13.6 percent increase on an annualized basis.

Beset by debt and a resulting capital crunch, Prime Retail Inc. reported yesterday that its third-quarter earnings fell 4 percent, the first time in more than two years that the company has failed to post an increase in its income.Prime Retail, the Baltimore-based owner of outlet centers, said its funds from operations dropped to $26.1 million, or 38 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. The company noted, though, that its earnings per share rose 2.7 percent.At the same time, the real estate investment trust's revenue was $77.4 million, an increase of 5.2 percent from the comparable period in 1998.

Recent divestitures left Lockheed Martin Corp. with slightly lower earnings for the first quarter of 1998 than for the same period a year ago, but earnings per share rose because there are fewer shares outstanding, the company said yesterday.The Bethesda defense contractor posted net income of $269 million for this year's first quarter, a 7.2 percent decline from the $290 million in earnings reported this time last year.The quarterly earnings translated to $1.42 per fully diluted share, up 5.2 percent from the $1.35 per share earned in the same quarter a year ago.The performance was "pretty uninspiring, but not unexpected," said Roger Threlfall, a defense analyst with J. P. Morgan Securities.

Mercantile Bankshares Corp. reported a 3 percent decrease in third-quarter net income as low interest rates, the fallout from a management shake-up in its wealth management division and merger costs related to its acquisition of F&M Bancorp cut into profits. Net income in the quarter that ended Sept. 30 was $47.2 million, compared with $48.6 million in the third quarter last year. Earnings per diluted share were 63 cents, down 9 percent from the 69 cents reported for the same period last year.

Orion Power Holdings Inc., an independent electric power generating company, announced yesterday that its third-quarter earnings surged, because of newly acquired plants in the Midwest and New York. In the three months that ended Sept. 30, the Baltimore company generated earnings of $3.9 million, or 5 cents per share, a 44 percent increase from $2.7 million, or 13 cents per share, in the third period of 1999. Revenue increased 863 percent, to $343 million from $35.6 million in the third quarter last year.

T. Rowe Price Group Inc.'s profit sank 27 percent in the first quarter, and revenue and assets under management also fell, as stock market volatility continued to ravage money managers, the company said yesterday. Price, a global investment management firm based in Baltimore, made $38.8 million in the first quarter, which ended March 31, down from $53 million in the corresponding period a year earlier. Earnings per diluted share slipped 24 percent in the quarter to 31 cents, down from 41 cents a year earlier.

KEYW Holding Corp., a Hanover cybersecurity company, said Wednesday that it had $1 million in profit last year, nearly double its profit of $535,000 in 2011. The company reported $243.5 million in revenue last year, up 28 percent from $190.6 million the previous year. Earnings per share were 3 cents last year, up from 2 cents in 2011. The company said one-time expenses, including acquisition costs, reduced per-share earnings by 42 cents in 2012. KEYW, which specializes in intelligence and defense work, said it employed 1,104 people at the end of December.

Spice maker McCormick & Co. said yesterday that fourth-quarter earnings fell because of a write-down on a Dutch company it owns and that it expects a challenging year because of unfavorable exchange rates. The Sparks-based company reported net income of $82.5 million, or 62 cents a share, compared with $87.6 million, or 67 cents a share, for the quarter ended Nov. 30. The company said acquisitions, product innovation and increased marketing have helped it weather a weak global economy.

FTI reports 20 percent increase in earnings Baltimore-based FTI Consulting Inc., a business advisory firm best known for helping struggling companies reorganize, said yesterday that its third-quarter earnings increased 20 percent, but it was delaying a public offering of its technology division because of market conditions. Net income was $27.5 million, or 51 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30. That compared with $23 million, or 50 cents per share, in the corresponding period a year ago. Revenue increased 29 percent to $325.

Under Armour Inc. shares plummeted yesterday to less than half of the high they hit last summer, as investors showed concern about the company's decision to sacrifice earnings in the first half of this year to spend heavily on advertising. The shares begin falling - to finally close at $37.06, down $5.79, in regular trading - after Wachovia Securities analysts reported that the Baltimore athletic apparel company will front-load its 2008 ad spending by, among other things, running a 60-second commercial during the Super Bowl on Feb. 3. Under Armour confirmed the report after the markets closed, adding that earnings for the first half of 2008 would probably be only 3 to 5 cents a share because of the unbalanced ad spending.

Jos. A. Bank reported strong earnings yesterday as healthy sportswear sales helped offset a weak demand for suits across the industry. The Hampstead-based company reported a 34 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income, to $24.8 million from $18.5 million in the comparable period last year. Earnings per share were $1.36, beating analysts' projections of $1.25. Net income for the fiscal year, which ended Feb. 3, increased 21 percent, to $43.2 million from $35.3 million for the previous year.

The slowdown in the housing market that cast a pall over power tools sales last year was reflected in the paychecks for executives at Towson-based Black & Decker Corp. According to a Black & Decker filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Nolan D. Archibald and several other top executives did not receive bonuses in 2006. The company filing put Archibald's total compensation, including his base salary of $1.5 million, at $10.3 million last year, compared with $11.8 million in 2005.

M&T Bank Corp.'s profit rose 19 percent in the third quarter, driven by an increase in credit-related fees and less money set aside for problem loans, the company said yesterday. The Buffalo, N.Y., banking company, which acquired Baltimore's Allfirst Financial Inc. in April last year, made $186 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with $156 million in last year's third quarter. Diluted earnings per share rose 22 percent to $1.56, compared with $1.28 in the quarter a year ago, the company said.

Municipal Mortgage & Equity LLC, the Baltimore-based company better known as MuniMae, reported an 8 percent decrease in first-quarter earnings yesterday and announced its 25th consecutive quarterly dividend increase. MuniMae reported net income of $13.9 million for the quarter that ended March 31, down from the $15.1 million earned in the first quarter of 2002. The decrease was attributed in part to the adoption of an accounting standard that required MuniMae to assess noncash gains and losses for hedging to smooth out its cash flow.

When corporate earnings have been climbing at a double-digit rate for a historic 18 quarters in a row and are projected to climb at close to 10 percent in the next year, it's tough to sing the blues. And most of Wall Street is not. The consensus for the next year is that corporate profit growth will slow but continue to climb, along with a slower-growing, but still sound, economy. Yet, as profit growth projections cool to 9.7 percent in 2007 from about 15 percent this year, some strategists are warning investors to be careful about expecting too much from the stock market.