Dow Chemical May See A Slowdown

Zacks.com submits: Chemical giant The Dow Chemical Company (DOW) earned 37 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2010, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents as well as last year’s 8 cents. However, including one-time charges, the company earned 47 cents compared with 18 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Toronto-Dominion Bank reported first-quarter profits that topped analysts’ estimates on record earnings from personal and commercial lending. Royal Bank, Canada’s largest lender by assets, said net income for the period ended Jan. 31 rose 12% to $2.07-billion, or $1.36 a share. CIBC, the fifth-biggest bank, said profit fell 4.4% to $798-million, while Toronto-Dominion, the No. 2 bank, said profit climbed 21% to $1.79-billion, or $1.86 a share.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. reported a decline in fourth quarter earnings on Thursday as the company generated weaker results from all of its nutrients and absorbed a couple of one-time charges. Chief executive Bill Doyle noted that global fertilizer markets “paused” in the quarter in the absence of “significant immediate needs” and a lack of direction.

By Robert Broens: Shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) fell up to 5% in afterhours trading on Wednesday. The troubled global information technology, and personal computer producer, reported its largest quarterly loss in its corporate history. Third Quarter Results

(Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co , the largest U.S. chemical maker by sales, posted a 34 percent drop in first-quarter profit as declining specialty chemicals and materials offset strong agricultural sales. For the quarter ended March 31, the company posted net income of $412 million, or 35 cents per share, compared with $625 million, or 54 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding restructuring charges and other one-time items, the company earned 61 cents per share. Revenue fell less than 1 percent to $14.72 billion. ...

Zacks.com submits: Chemical giant The Dow Chemical Company (DOW) expects its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to rise by $1 billion by 2016, driven by expansion in the U.S. market.