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Gymboree's profit rises 13% in fourth quarter

(5:25 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gymboree Corp. /quotes/comstock/15*!gymb/quotes/nls/gymb (GYMB 43.21, -0.94, -2.13%) said late Wednesday its fourth-quarter profit rose to $33.2 million, or $1.11 a share, from $29.5 million, or $1 a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters estimated a quarterly profit of $1.10 a share on a 4% sales rise to $300 million. Revenue rose to $299.6 million from $288.7 million a year ago. The company forecast earnings to be in the range 90 cents to 94 cents a share the first quarter. Shares of Gymboree were trading up 4.5% to $48.38 in after-hours trading.

Hot Topic quarterly profit down on weak sales

(4:13 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hot Topic Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!hott/quotes/nls/hott (HOTT 5.40, -0.08, -1.46%) late Wednesday reported its fourth-quarter net income fell to $8 million, or 18 cents a share, from $14.2 million, or 32 cents a share, in the same quarter last year. The results include expenses of 2 cents a share related to ShockHound. Revenue also slid to $214.2 million from $238 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had forecast earnings of 18 cents a share on revenue of $214.2 million. The retailer saw its same-store sales skid 13.5% in the latest quarter compared with a rise of 6.5% a year earlier. Hot Topic projected a first-quarter loss of 2 cents to 5 cents a share, based on expectations that comparable store sales will decline by a high single digit percentage.

Men's Wearhouse swings to loss but tops targets

(4:12 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Men's Wearhouse /quotes/comstock/13*!mw/quotes/nls/mw (MW 19.21, -0.07, -0.36%) on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $18.9 million, or 36 cents a share, vs. a profit of $1.5 million, or 3 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding a one-time asset impairment charge, the loss would have come in at 11 cents a share. Sales fell to $457.2 million from $476.4 million. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for a loss of 15 cents a share on sales of $465.2 million in sales. For the first quarter, the men's suits retailer forecast a profit of 12 cents to 16 cents a share, which is better than the per-share profit of 9 cents Wall Street previously predicted.

Royal Dutch Shell stops selling gasoline to Iran

(11:22 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Royal Dutch Shell /quotes/comstock/13*!rds.a/quotes/nls/rds.a (RDS.A 55.98, +0.07, +0.13%) spokesman Rainer Winzenried told MarketWatch that the oil major is not exporting gasoline to Iran. He declined to elaborate on how much gasoline Shell has typically sold to Iran, or how long ago the company stopped selling gasoline to the country.

Bank of America cuts Chevron to neutral from buy

(8:20 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Doug Leggate on Wednesday cut his rating on Chevron /quotes/comstock/13*!cvx/quotes/nls/cvx (CVX 76.02, +0.46, +0.61%) to neutral from buy and set a price target of $90 a share for the stock. The oil giant's meeting with Wall Street analysts on Tuesday, "had little new to influence an investment case that has been reassuringly consistent in recent years," Leggate said in a note to clients. He added that Exxon Mobil /quotes/comstock/13*!xom/quotes/nls/xom (XOM 60.34, -0.57, -0.94%) looks like a "better value" in the near-term. (Updated to correct Doug Leggate's affiliation.)

American Eagle Outfitters earnings higher

(8:19 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- American Eagle Outfitters Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!aeo/quotes/nls/aeo (AEO 12.46, -0.14, -1.11%) said Wednesday that it earned $59 million, or 28 cents a share in the fourth-quarter compared to $33 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales were $972 million compared to $906 million. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were 33 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated, on average, earnings per share of 33 cents. For the first quarter American Eagle sees earnings per share in the range of 15 cents to 17 cents. FactSet's average estimate was for 15 cents.

Children's Place profit dips 12%

(7:16 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!plce/quotes/nls/plce (PLCE 43.83, -1.18, -2.62%) said Wednesday its fourth-quarter net income fell to $34.1 million, or $1.23 a share, from $38.8 million, or $1.31 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted net income for the retailer rose to $1.03 a share, from 72 cents a share. Revenue rose to $462.8 million from $441.5 million. Wall Street analysts expected the company to earn $1.04 a share on revenue of $462.8 million, according to a survey by FactSet Research. The Children's Place expects first-quarter earnings of 85-90 cents a share and 2010 earnings of $2.90 a share to $3.10 a share, assuming positive low-single digit comparable retail sales. Analysts expect first-quarter profit of 88 cents a share and 2010 profit of $2.70 a share.

Abbott wins OK for cataract lens implant

(7:07 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Abbott Laboratories /quotes/comstock/13*!abt/quotes/nls/abt (ABT 48.98, -0.24, -0.49%) said Wednesday it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the Tecnis Multifocal 1-Piece intraocular lens for cataract patients with and without presbyopia. Intraocular lenses are implanted in a patient's eye after the removal of the natural lens that has become clouded by a cataract.

U.S. Concrete warns future is in doubt

(6:25 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. Concrete Inc. /quotes/comstock/11i!rmixq (RMIXQ 0.12, +0.01, +11.63%) on Wednesday reported a narrower fourth-quarter net loss, but warned that without a successful restructuring there's "substantial doubt about our ability to continue to operate as a going concern." The company's loss narrowed to $16.7 million, or 46 cents a share, from $132.2 million, or $3.63 a share, a year earlier, when it took a goodwill charge of $3.29 a share. Revenue fell 31% to $119.9 million as the slowdown in the construction industry further weighed on demand. The group said it had debts of $296.5 million at the end of December and cash and equivalents of $4.2 million, along with $45.3 million of available borrowing capacity. Chief Financial Officer Robert Hardy said liquidity -- comprising cash and available credit under the revolving credit facility -- had fallen to less than $25 million at the end of February.

Cathay Pacific's shares gain on 2009 profit result