Microsoft did not issue earnings guidance for the rest of the year, and it offered no hope for a rebound in the current quarter.

Microsoft said that in its fiscal third quarter, which ended March 31, profit was $2.98 billion, or 33 cents per share. In the same quarter of 2008, Microsoft earned $4.39 billion, or 47 cents per share.

Microsoft's profit included a $290 million charge for severance from some layoffs announced in January. The software maker also wrote down $420 million related to investments that lost value.

Excluding such items, Microsoft said it would have earned 39 cents per share, matching the estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue in the last quarter slipped 6 percent to $13.6 billion, missing analysts' expectations for $14.1 billion.

Microsoft shares gained 4 percent in extended trading after the release of the earnings report, having closed earlier at $18.92, up 14 cents.

- The Associated Press

Major local employers: UPS

UPS Inc.'s first-quarter profit plunged as fewer people sent packages and used premium services like next-day air amid the global financial crisis.

The world's largest shipping carrier also gave a disappointing second-quarter outlook and disclosed it shed 10,000 domestic jobs during the first three months of the year.

UPS, a major Richmond-area employer, said earnings in the January- March period fell more than 55 percent to $401 million as revenue dropped more than 13 percent, compared with profit of $906 million a year ago.

The first-quarter profit was 40 cents a share, compared with year- ago earnings of 87 cents a share.

Revenue in the quarter was $10.94 billion, versus $12.68 billion a year ago. The results missed Wall Street expectations.

UPS shares fell $1.42, or 2.6 percent, to close at $53.33.

- The Associated Press

Supervalu

Supervalu Inc. reported a loss for its fiscal fourth quarter because of hefty charges, but its adjusted earnings beat Wall Street estimates.

Supervalu - a grocery distributor and supermarket-chain operator, including Farm Fresh in Virginia - reported a loss of $201 million, or 95 cents per share, down from a profit of $156 million, or 73 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding adjustments related to the one-time items, profit was 87 cents per share. The quarter also included one extra week, which added about 6 cents per share to results. Analysts, whose estimates generally exclude one-time items, expected earnings of 79 cents per share.

For the fiscal year, Supervalu lost $2.86 billion, or $13.51 per share, compared with a profit of $593 million, or $2.76 per share, in the previous year. Adjusted earnings were $615 million, or $2.89 per share.

Annual revenue improved to $44.56 billion from $44.05 billion.

Supervalu shares rose $1.86, or 12.4 percent, to $16.84.

- The Associated Press

Community banks: First Capital Bancorp

First Capital Bancorp Inc. reported first-quarter earnings of $102,000, or 3 cents per share, compared with $415,000, or 14 cents per share, for the same period in 2008.

Bad loans written off during the first quarter totaled $198,000 compared with no charge-offs in the year-earlier quarter.

On April 3, the company reported that it had accepted $10.9 million in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds from the U.S. Treasury.

The Glen Allen-based bank has seven branches in the Richmond area. It has announced plans to merge with Tappahannock-based Eastern Virginia Bankshares Inc. The $105 million deal is expected to close by year's end, pending shareholder and regulatory approval.

First Capital shares closed at $7.93, down 78 cents, or 8.96 percent.

- Carol Hazard

MEMO: EARNINGS

(c) 2009 Richmond Times - Dispatch. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.