On Feb. 26, 2014, General Growth Properties Inc. (NYSE: GGP) will report its financial and operational results for the first quarter 2014 after the close of business on Mon., Apr. 28, 2014, and host ad conference call for investors and other interested parties at 9:00 a.m. CDT (10:00 a.m. EDT) on Tuesday, April 29, 2014.
The conference call will be accessible by telephone and through the Internet. Interested parties can access the call by dialing 877.845.1018 (international 707.287.9345). A live webcast of the conference call will be available in listen-only mode in the Investors section at www.ggp.com. Interested parties should access the conference call or website 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call in order to register.
The Chicago-based retail property management company's board of directors recently declared a first quarter common stock dividend of 15 cents per share payable on Apr. 30 to stockholders of record on Apr.15, representing an increase of 1 cent per share from the prior quarter.
It also declared a quarterly dividend on the 6.375% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (NYSE: GGP PrA) of $0.3984 per share payable on Apr. 1 to stockholders of record on Mar. 1.
General growth property has been making some interesting strategic moves recently. On Feb. 10, the company put its money where its mouth when it purchased back 27,624,282 of its common shares from affiliates of Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. at $20.12 per share, or $556 million.
The transaction reduces General Growth Properties' total diluted common shares outstanding to approximately 937 million shares. Some industry experts think buying back its stock was a good move considering that retail property values could be currently undervalued. This will quickly change if the economy starts to gain steam in 2014, which is exactly what some economists are predicting.
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General Growth Properties Reports Full Year 2013 Results
On Feb 3, General Growth Properties Inc. reported results for the three and twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2013.
For the three months Dec. 31, 2013 Company Funds from Operations ("Company FFO") per share increased 17.0% to $0.36 per diluted share from $0.31 per diluted share in the prior year period. Company FFO increased 11.3% to $347 million from $311 million in the prior year period.
Company Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization ("Company EBITDA") increased 3.7% to $556 million from $536 million in the prior year period.
Comparable Net Operating Income ("Same Store NOI") increased 6.2% to $582 million from $548 million in the prior year period.
Net income attributable to GGP, which is impacted primarily by depreciation expense, provisions for impairment and a gain from change in control of investment properties, was $77 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, as compared to $32 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, in the prior year period.
For the 12 Months Ended December 31, 2013 Company FFO per share increased 18.2% to $1.16 per diluted share from $0.98 per diluted share in the prior year period. Company FFO increased 15.7% to $1,148 million from $992 million in the prior year period.
Company EBITDA increased 4.3% to $2,015 million from $1,932 million in the prior year period.
Same Store NOI increased 6.0% to $2,112 million from $1,993 million in the prior year period.
On Mar. 26, GGP's share price closed at $ 21.45, down 36 cents from its closing price of $21.81 the previous day.
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Monster Beverage's Share Volume Continues to Soar
In other news, Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:MNST) stock volume continued to soar Mar. 26 with 947,986 changing hands.
The uptick in volume is in part a residual effect of the Corona, Calif.-beverage company’s strong fourth quarter financials, according to some industry experts.
2013 Fourth Quarter
Monster Beverage's recently reported net income for the fourth quarter was $76.1 million, up 12% from $68 million in the comparable 2012 quarter. However, the company's 12-month net income was flat coming in at $338.7 million compared with $340 million for the 12 months ending 2012.
Here's the full breakdown:
Gross sales for the 2013 fourth quarter increased 14.0 percent to $621.1 million from $545.0 million in the same period last year. Net sales for the three-months ended December 31, 2013 increased 14.7 percent to $540.8 million from $471.5 million a year ago.
Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, for the 2013 fourth quarter was 51.2 percent, compared with 51.7 percent for the comparable 2012 quarter. The 2013 fourth quarter gross profit was impacted by certain inventory damages and reserves. Operating expenses for the 2013 fourth quarter increased to $142.4 million from $130.0 million in the same quarter last year.
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Distribution costs as a percentage of net sales were 4.5 percent for the 2013 fourth quarter, compared with 4.7 percent in the same quarter last year.
Selling expenses as a percentage of net sales were 10.8 percent for the 2013 fourth quarter, compared with 12.5 percent in the same quarter a year ago.
General and administrative expenses for the 2013 fourth quarter were $59.6 million, or 11.0 percent of net sales, compared with $48.8 million, or 10.3 percent of net sales, for the corresponding quarter last year. Stock-based compensation (a non-cash item) was $7.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, compared with $6.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Operating income for the 2013 fourth quarter increased 18.3 percent to $134.8 million from $113.9 million in the comparable 2012 quarter.
The effective tax rate for the 2013 fourth quarter was 42.2 percent, compared with 39.1 percent in the same quarter last year. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily the result of the establishment of a full valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets of certain foreign subsidiaries, as well as losses in certain foreign subsidiaries for which no tax benefit is recorded.
Net income for the 2013 fourth quarter increased 12.0 percent to $76.1 million from $68.0 million in the same quarter last year. Net income per diluted share increased 13.7 percent to $0.44 from $0.39 per diluted share in the 2012 comparable quarter.
Net sales for the Company's DSD segment for the 2013 fourth quarter increased 15.2 percent to $519.4 million from $451.0 million for the same period in 2012.
Gross sales to customers outside the United States rose to $137.9 million in the 2013 fourth quarter, compared with $115.2 million in the corresponding quarter in 2012.
During the 2013 fourth quarter, the Company purchased approximately 1.0 million shares of its common stock at an average purchase price of $56.98 per share pursuant to the share repurchase program previously authorized by the Board of Directors in April 2013.
2013 Fiscal Year
For the 2013 fiscal year, gross sales increased 9.0 percent to $2.6 billion from $2.4 billion a year earlier. Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2013 increased 9.0 percent to $2.2 billion from $2.1 billion a year ago.
Gross profit as a percentage of net sales was 52.2 percent for the year ended December 31, 2013, compared with 51.7 percent a year earlier.
Operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2013 increased 16.5 percent to $600.0 million from $515.0 million a year ago. Operating income for the year ended December 31, 2013 increased 4.0 percent to $572.9 million from $550.6 million a year ago.
Net income for the 2013 fiscal year was $338.7 million, compared to $340.0 million a year ago. Net income per diluted share increased to $1.95 from $1.86 per diluted share for 2012.
On Mar. 26, MNST's share price closed at $ 68.18, down 2 cents from its closing price of $68.20 the previous day.
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Sirius XM to Launch Billy Joel Channel
Meanwhile, Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) share price continues to nudge upwards, with little good or bad news being circulated about the company.
The New York-based satellite-radio provider Sirius XM announced today that it will launch The Billy Joel Channel, an exclusive channel featuring the works of iconic artist, Billy Joel.
The limited-run channel will launch on Wednesday, Mar. 26 at 6:00 pm ET and will run through June 25, via satellite on channel 4. The Billy Joel Channel will also be available online and through the Sirius XM Internet Radio App.
The Billy Joel Channel will feature music spanning the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer's 50-year career: from his earliest work with The Echoes in 1964, to his solo debut Cold Spring Harbor from 1971, through his upcoming release, A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia.
The Billy Joel Channel will also feature 40 years of archival interviews, including excerpts from his "Masters Class" sessions that he conducts periodically to music students around the world, as well as rarities from the vaults, previously unavailable studio tracks and live performances captured in his earliest days as a performer.
Sirius Holding Its Own
Sirius' is coming off a strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2013 earnings report.
The company generated record revenue of $1.0 billion and $3.8 billion in the fourth quarter and full-year, respectively, each up 12%. Net income for the fourth quarter and full-year were $65 million and $377 million, respectively, or $0.01 and $0.06 per diluted common share, respectively.
Income from operations was $245 million and $1.0 billion in the fourth quarter and full-year 2013, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA increased 41% in the fourth quarter to a record $326 million. Full-year 2013 adjusted EBITDA was $1.17 billion, an increase of 27% from $920 million in 2012.
Potential Lawsuits Not Hurting SIRI
Despite a myriad of law-firm of Sirius XM for potential stockholder claims as a result of the satellite-radio investigations company's proposed acquisition by Liberty Media Corp., its stock price is holding its own.
On Jan. 3, 2014, Liberty Media make an offer to buy Sirius for about $10.4 billion at a rate of $3.68 per share. The deal involves creating a new class of stock called Series C, adding 0.076 per share to give the company a total market value of as much as $27 billion.
Although the pending acquisition has triggered a slew of potential stockholder lawsuits, without Liberty Media, Sirius XM might not have been here today.
That's because in 2009, Liberty Media kept Sirius XM from going bankrupt with a $530 million loan. As a result, Sirius XM has been able to build a subscriber base 25.6 million strong. It's done so with a line-up of paid-radio choices including classical, rock, alternative, country, sports and live concerts, including the extremely-popular morning man Howard Stern serving as the company's anchor. Moreover, having new cars equipped with XM receivers has also boosted the company's popularity and acceptability. However, Sirius XM still faces brutal competition from such digital radio competitors as Pandora Media Inc., AOLRadio and Apple Inc.
On Mar. 26, SIRI's share price closed at $3.15, down 2 cents from its closing price of $3.17 the previous day on volume of 28,312,572 shares.
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