GlaxoSmithKline says net profits drop 13% in Q1

British bank Barclays on Friday said its net profits dropped 16 percent to £3.0 billion (3.57 billion euros, $4.74 billion) in 2011 from a year earlier and cut its bonus pool by a quarter.Barclays said it was reducing the bonus pot to £2.15 billion, down 25 percent compared with 2010, amid a backlash in Britain over bankers' pay."I am proud of what our people at Barclays achieved in 2011," the bank's chief executive Bob Diamond said in the company's results statement.

Spain's second largest bank, BBVA, reported on Wednesday a drop in net profit in 2009 with a 94 percent fall in fourth-quarter profits as it took large provisions to cover bad debt.Net profit fell to 31 million euros in the fourth quarter compared to 519 million euros a year earlier as the bank set aside 1.05 billion euros (1.47 billion dollars) in provisions, BBVA said in a statement.For the full year, the bank said net profit dropped by 16.1 percent to 4.21 billion euros.

By Steve Alexander:Quest Diagnostics (DGX) is the largest independent clinical testing laboratory firm in the U.S., operating 2,000 service locations nationwide. About 65% of sales are generated through routine testing such as blood cholesterol or disease markers. 25% of sales come from esoteric testing, very complex tests involving gene-based or molecular analysis.

By Steven Dotsch:Blaming, in particular, lower demand for vaccines and Europe's spending cuts in health care budgets, UK's pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) released third quarter sales down 8 percent to £6.5bn (US$10.4bn), while net profits fell 18.5 percent from a year earlier to £1.12bn (US$1.8bn).

ByWM Analyst:Sanofi (SNY) shares, which have gained about 25 percent in the last twelve months, announced earnings for fiscal year 2012 today. Shares are currently trading down over 3.8% pre-market. The company sees 2013 business EPS flat to 5% lower than in 2012. Further, Q4 business net income was down 24.3% to 1.57 billion euros.

By VFC: The good news didn't last long for Human Genome Sciences (HGSI).

Steve Alexander submits:The Magic Formula (MFI) screens can often be used to find entire industries that are out-of-favor with investors, but have attractive business models from a return on capital standpoint. In many cases, several of the top players (and often smaller players) within the industry will all show up at once, presenting investors with a choice as to which horse to ride if he/she wants exposure.