Gross Profit

Cost-savings initiatives and a focus on selling higher-margin products drove McCormick & Co. Inc.'s profit up nearly 10 percent in the third quarter, the spice maker said yesterday. Net income was $34.3 million, up from $31.3 million in the year-ago period. Net sales were $570.7 million, a gain of 15 percent, from $495.9 million. Earnings per share were in line with analysts' expectations at 49 cents versus 45 cents in the year-ago period. "I think McCormick is just firing on all engines from a sales, profit improvement and growth standpoint," said Francis A. Contino, executive vice president and chief financial officer.

With the sale of its Essex branch, Irvington Federal Savings and Loan Association of Baltimore said it is now in compliance with two of three federal capital requirements."

RICHMOND, Va. -- Circuit City Stores Inc. said yesterday that its fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 23 percent because of spending on special promotions and less demand for consumer electronics.Net income fell to $31.6 million, or 32 cents a share, in the quarter ended Aug. 31, from $41.2 million, or 42 cents, in the year-earlier period.Wall Street expected the nation's largest electronics retailer to earn 30 cents a share, according to 17 analysts polled by IBES International Inc.Sales rose 10 percent to $1.77 billion, from $1.60 billion in the year-earlier period, on sales of major appliances, the company said.

Despite relatively low interest rates for consumers and a robust economy -- conditions that typically help homebuilders -- the Ryland Group Inc. yesterday reported that net income in the second quarter declined almost 29 percent.The Columbia-based homebuilder's earnings dropped to $3.9 million, or 22 cents per share, from $5.4 million, or 31 cents per share, a year ago.The company attributed the apparent 1997 second-quarter decline to net gains from land sales in San Francisco in the first half of 1996, which boosted its results at that time.

The financial turnaround that began at the end of last year has continued for the Ryland Group Inc., which said yesterday that net income for the first quarter nearly tripled from a year ago.Earnings for the first three months of this year were $4.7 million, or 30 cents per share -- a 176 percent leap from the $1.7 million, or 8 cents per share, reported for the same part of 1997.The Columbia-based homebuilder had suffered slow sales and sluggish financial performance for several years until the fourth quarter of last year.

Driven by the highest second-quarter home construction earnings in the company's history, Ryland Group Inc. said yesterday that its net earnings doubled to $17.6 million compared with the year-ago quarter.The Columbia-based company's second-quarter profit rose to $1.12 per diluted share from 57 cents in the comparable period a year ago.Ryland surpassed the expectations of analysts, who estimated the company would earn 93 cents a share in the second quarter, according to a Wall Street consensus compiled by Zacks Investment Research.

The Ryland Group Inc. reported record results yesterday for its fourth quarter and the year. The Columbia-based homebuilder said net income for the three months that ended Dec. 31 was $20.8 million, or $1.40 per diluted share, 18 percent higher than the $17.6 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, posted in the fourth quarter a year earlier. Ryland's earnings in the quarter beat the $1.36 average forecast of four analysts surveyed by Zack's Investment Research. Homebuilding revenue in the quarter was $582.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. reported yesterday a 45 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit, capping a record year that exceeded analysts' estimates. Net income in Bank's fiscal 2002 fourth quarter, which ended Feb. 1, was $6.4 million, up 45 percent from the $4.4 million earned in the comparable period the year before, the company said. Net income per share was 89 cents, up increase of 27 percent, from 70 cents reported for the corresponding quarter in 2001. Sales were $77.9 million, up 15.8 percent, from $67.3 million reported for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001, the company said.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Intel Corp., the world's biggest computer chip maker, said yesterday that its first-quarter profit declined 2.2 percent as sales of flash-memory chips used in mobile phones dropped. Net income fell to $915 million, or 14 cents a share, from $936 million, or 14 cents, in the same period a year earlier, Chief Financial Officer Andy Bryant said. Revenue decreased 0.4 percent to $6.75 billion from $6.78 billion. Some memory-chip customers switched to rivals after Intel raised prices by 20 percent to 40 percent, Bryant said.

Here are answers from members of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants to readers' tax questions. The Sun will publish answers through April 15.Q: If a seller holds the entire first mortgage on a property, can the capital gains tax be spread over the life of the mortgage or does he have to declare all of the capital gains the year of the sale?A: Unless the seller is considered a "dealer" in real property, he can spread the gain on the sale over the life of the mortgage based on the gross profit ratio and the amount of principal collected in a given year.