First Quarter

First Mariner Bancorp reported the best quarter in its history yesterday. The Baltimore-based banking company said its earnings rocketed 177 percent in the first quarter, with profit jumping from $312,000 in the first quarter last year to $863,000 in the latest period. Earnings per share rose 78 percent - from 9 cents in last year's first quarter to 16 cents this year. That marked the sixth straight quarter of increasing earnings and was the best performance to date for First Mariner, which was formed in 1995.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter earnings slid 45 percent as store sales slowed, inventory costs rose and the men's apparel chain sold more items at clearance prices. Earnings of 29 cents per share for the three months that ended May 4 fell within the company's forecast and met analysts' expectations. But shares fell nearly 3.9 percent Wednesday, closing at $42.96 on the Nasdaq. Net income decreased to $8.1 million, or 29 cents per share, compared with $14.8 million, or 53 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2012, the Hampstead-based retailer said.

M&T Bank Corp. reported yesterday a first-quarter profit increase of 3 percent that was slightly below expectations as expenses for acquiring Baltimore's Allfirst Financial Inc. cut into its bottom line. For the three months that ended March 31, M&T said it had net income of $117 million, up from the $114 million it earned in the first quarter of 2002. Earnings per diluted share were $1.23, a 4 percent increase from the $1.18 reported in the first quarter of last year. Earnings per share came in a penny below analysts' forecasts, according to surveys conducted by Thomson First Call and Zacks Investment Research, two financial-information services.

For five minutes, 17 seconds, it would not have been difficult to assume that Dimitri Pecunes felt as if he had let down his Stevenson teammates. The freshman goalkeeper had surrendered five goals in the first quarter of the No. 4 Mustangs' home contest against No. 11 Washington College at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills Saturday night and was promptly pulled for sophomore Kevin Cain at the start of the second period. But that was not the approach the Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate had taken as he stood on the sideline.

USF&G Corp. reported yesterday that sharply higher losses from natural disasters and other weather-related claims pushed operating earnings slightly lower in the first quarter.The Baltimore-based insurer earned $23 million, or 13 cents a share after the payment of preferred stock dividends, in the three months ended March 31. Last year, a one-time gain of $38 million from an accounting change boosted first-quarter earnings $61 million, or 58 cents a share.Total revenue fell to $766 million, compared with $875 million in the first quarter of 1993.

T. Rowe Price Group Inc. reported yesterday an 8 percent increase in first-quarter profit - despite a 14 percent decline in revenue - and has itself well-positioned for when the U.S. stock market rebounds, according to a securities analyst who follows the company. "T. Rowe Price had a pretty solid quarter, despite the ... uncertain market conditions it faced," said Bruce Brewington, a vice president with Putnam Lovell Securities in San Francisco and an expert on the asset-management industry.

Baltimore-based FTI Consulting Inc. said Wednesday that its profits declined 55 percent in the first quarter compared with the comparable period a year ago, to $14.2 million. The company took a $30.2 million hit in special charges, three-quarters of that in cash, because it laid off 144 employees and consolidated offices "to eliminate redundancies resulting from acquisitions completed over the last two years," it said. FTI, provider of forensic accounting, restructuring and other business services, said revenues increased about half a percent to $350 million in the first quarter.

A year and a half after the financial sector meltdown, those stocks are at the top of a rebound. Finance was the best-performing mutual-fund sector in the first three months of the year, boosting funds that specialize in that area. Among them: Rydex-SGI's banking fund and T. Rowe Price's financial services fund, which both ranked in the top five of mutual funds that invest by sector and are managed in Maryland. "The lows were so extreme that there's still a good deal of room to appreciate," said Jeff Arricale, portfolio manager of Price's Financial Services Fund, which had an 11.8 percent return in the first quarter.

Hunt Valley-based Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. reported a first-quarter profit Wednesday, a turnaround from a first-quarter loss in 2009, as sales of television advertising improved. Sinclair, owner or programmer of 58 TV stations including Fox 45 in Baltimore, said it earned net income of $11.5 million, or 14 cents per share, in the three months that ended March 31. The broadcaster had posted a loss of $85.7 million, or $1.06 per share, in the first three months of 2009, largely due to an after-tax, $100.

Baltimore County Police reported a decline in several crime categories including homicides and rape in the first quarter of this year when compared to last. Of the eight serious crime categories, seven have seen a decrease from January to March this year when compared with the same period in 2009, police said. Homicides declined by 55.6 percent, rape decreased by 44.7 percent, motor vehicle theft by 29.3 percent, robbery by 17.6 percent, burglary by 4.6 percent, arson by 13.2 percent and theft by 6.8 percent, according to police.

St. Mary's had a 5-2 lead over host Lynchburg after three quarters of an NCAA Division III men's lacrosse tournament first-round game Wednesday night. But the Hornets scored four unanswered goals in the fourth to beat the Seahawks, 6-5. Vin Curran scored two of his three goals during the rally. Curran sparked the game-winning 4-0 run with his second of the game at 12:56. Jay Goldsmith then pulled the Hornets (13-5) within 5-4 with an unassisted goal before Max Voumard knotted the game at 5 two minutes later, firing one into the lower left corner.

Hunt Valley-based Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. reported a 42 percent drop in profit for the first quarter, as operating and interest costs rose and revenue increased but fell short of analysts' expectations. The television station owner and operator said Monday that its income fell to $17 million, or 21 cents per common share, from $29.4 million, or 36 cents per share, during the three months that ended March 31. Its earnings did beat Wall Street's expectations of 17 cents per share, yet its stock fell Monday, closing at $26.69 per share, down 2.9 percent.

Higher airfares and lower fuel prices combined to give Southwest Airlines $59 million in first-quarter net profits, or 8 cents a share, beating Wall Street's predictions. The Dallas-based airline's earnings fell 40 percent from $98 million, or 13 cents a share, of a year ago. Revenue rose 2.3 percent to a record $4.1 billion. The report exceeded the First Call consensus estimate of 2 cents per share. Southwest and its subsidiary AirTran Airways are the largest carriers at BWI Marshall Airport, accounting for 71 percent of all commercial passenger traffic.

Chemical maker W.R. Grace & Co. said Wednesday that its net income in the first quarter fell about 13 percent from the year-earlier period, in line with its warning to investors and analysts earlier in the month. The Columbia company said sales volumes didn't drop, but revenue took a hit as a result of lower pricing and an unfavorable change in the Venezuelan exchange rate. "Sales and earnings were below our expectations," CEO Fred Festa said in a statement. W.R. Grace said it produced $52.9 million in net income during the first three months of the year, compared with $60.9 million in the first quarter of last year.

T. Rowe Price Group reported Wednesday that profit rose 22 percent in the quarter from a year ago to $241.9 million, buoyed by an uptick in the market that pushed assets under management to a new record. The Baltimore-based money manager earned 91 cents a share, beating analysts' expectations of 89 cents. Still, Price's stock closed Wednesday down by more than 4 percent, at $72.75 per share, because of lower-than-anticipated cash inflows. "The flows were a little on the disappointing side," said Jeffrey Hopson, a senior analyst with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in St. Louis.

Venture capitalists poured $286.3 million into 30 deals in Maryland, Washington and Northern Virginia during the first quarter, compared with $219.7 million invested in 45 deals a year ago, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Much of the quarter's increase, though, was attributed to $110 million in venture funding for Washington-based LivingSocial Inc., a daily deal website. Unlike the country overall, the region that includes Maryland saw an increase in investment dollars from the fourth quarter, said Brad Phillips, director of PricewaterhouseCoopers' emerging company services.

Corporate Office Properties Trust posted Thursday a profit of nearly $7 million in the first quarter, reversing a loss from a year ago. Last year, the Columbia-based office real estate investment trust lost $18.6 million. On a per-share basis, COPT earned 4 cents, compared with a loss of 33 cents a year ago. "While we continue to operate in a challenging environment, 2012 is starting off well, as evidenced by our quarterly results," said Roger A. Waesche Jr., COPT's president and chief executive officer, in a statement.

Under Armour launched a new marketing plan earlier this year, touting its up-and-coming athletes and most innovative products in an intense but short burst they called “a brand holiday.” It appears to have paid off. The Baltimore-based athletic apparel maker delivered better than expected financial results for the three months ended March 31. Under Armour's income of 7 cents per share income topped analysts' consensus estimates of 3...

Syracuse attacker Michelle Tumolo will undergo season-ending surgery after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in the first half of Tuesday's game against Cornell. Tumolo, a senior and 2012 Tewaaraton Award finalist, ranks first in assists for the Orange with 24 and third in goals with 22. The Syracuse offense ranks sixth in Division I, averaging just under 15 goals per game. Alyssa Murray leads the team with 40 goals and 60 points, and coach Gary Gait sees an opportunity for other players to step up. "They're all capable," the former Maryland assistant said of his offense.