Net Income

Linthicum telecommunications-equipment maker Ciena Corp. reported sharp gains in net income and revenue for its fiscal first quarter yesterday, but what really interested analysts was the company's coy disclosure of a "substantial" new sales contract. "The numbers themselves were fine," said James C. Kedersha of S. G. Cowen Securities Corp. in Boston, who said Ciena's earnings slightly exceeded expectations. But analysts were more excited by Ciena's words than its numbers. In a statement accompanying the earnings figures, Ciena said it had "received a substantial purchase order -- from a new, undisclosed customer."

Marriott International Inc. yesterday reported that net income jumped 27 percent to $75 million in the second quarter, a performance that keeps the company on pace to shatter last year's record earnings.The Bethesda-based lodging operator's earnings represent the latest evidence of robust hotel industry fundamentals such as average room and occupancy rates, a trend fueling lodging companies' desire to develop or acquire properties.Marriott, for instance, added 41 properties containing 5,600 rooms in the second quarter, part of its larger plan to add $H 120,000 by the end of the decade.

As Legg Mason Inc. reported Tuesday an 8.5 percent increase in quarterly profit, the Baltimore money manager said it doubled its quarterly dividend to 8 cents per share from a year ago to reflect the company's more solid financial position. But shares lost $1.97, or 5.3 percent, to close Tuesday at $35.13. Legg posted a net income of $69 million, or 45 cents per share, for the three months ending March 31. That's compared with a profit of $63.6 million, or 39 cents per share, in the corresponding period last year.

First Maryland Bancorp's net income rose 13 percent in the first quarter, propelled by strong consumer loan growth and higher sales of banking products and services.The banking company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dublin-based Allied Irish Banks PLC, said yesterday it had across-the-board gains in the quarter that ended March 31. Loans grew 9 percent to $6.8 billion, deposits rose 10 percent to $7.6 billion, and assets were up 6 percent to $11.2 billion."It was a great start for the year," said Jeremiah E. Casey, chairman of the Baltimore-based banking company.

Bell Atlantic Corp., the nation's largest local telephone company, reported yesterday that in the fourth quarter it earned $1.06 billion, or 65 cents per diluted share.This was a 12.7 percent increase from the same quarter in 1997, when New York-based Bell Atlantic had net income of $940 million, or 60 cents per diluted share.When one-time costs such as expenses from the 1997 merger with Nynex Corp. are excluded, Bell Atlantic's net income for its most recent quarter rises to $1.1 billion, 69 cents per diluted share.

Aegon NV, Europe's second-largest insurer, said yesterday that its net income rose 11.7 percent, fueled partly by its rapidly growing American operations, which are based in Baltimore.The Dutch company made $400 million, or 758 million guilders, in the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, compared with net income of $358 million, or 707 million guilders.Net income for the full year increased 22.6 percent to $1.385 billion, or 2.748 billion guilders.Kees Storm, Aegon's executive board chairman, said the results "demonstrate the healthy earnings capacity of our existing units."

Aegon NV, a giant European insurance company which has its U.S. headquarters in Baltimore, said yesterday that net income jumped 16.1 percent in the first quarter, powered by higher sales of annuities and other products in the United States.The Dutch company made $367 million, or 327 million euros, in the first quarter that ended March 31, compared with net income of $316 million, or 294 million euros, reported for the first quarter of 1998.Shares of Aegon, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at $89.875, down $1.6875.

U.S. Foodservice Inc. of Columbia, the nation's second-largest food service distributor, reported second-quarter net income yesterday of $17.86 million compared with a loss of $80.3 million in the same period in 1997.The profit was equal to 43 cents a common share for the three months that ended Dec. 26, compared with a loss of $1.56 per share in the second quarter of 1997.Income before extraordinary charges was $20.6 million, or 43 cents a share, compared with $12.8 million, or 28 cents a share, in the same period in 1997.

Provident Bankshares Corp. reported a 6.6 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income yesterday, saying its commercial loans and core deposits grew. The Baltimore-based bank reported net income of $14.2 million, or 56 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $13.3 million, or 53 cents per share, for the year-earlier period. The results beat analysts' estimates by a penny, according to Thomson First Call. "It feels pretty good," said Gary N. Geisel, Provident's chairman and chief executive.

US Airways Group Inc., the Arlington, Va.-based airline that is the largest carrier at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, reported that third-quarter profit rose 19.8 percent, as passengers filled more airplanes and paid more to fly.Earnings for the three months that ended Sept. 30 were $140.1 million or $1.49 a share, excluding a one-time gain from the sale of two aircraft. That compared with $116.9 million, or $1.14 a share, in the year-ago period before one-time gains and charges.