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Business Today

By wire services
Published January 28, 2005

SYNIVERSE TO BUY BACK STOCK: Syniverse Holdings Inc., the Tampa parent of Syniverse Technologies, said Thursday it has launched a tender offer to buy back up to $85.75-million of its 12.75 percent senior subordinated notes. The offer, which is contingent on the successful completion of its planned initial public offering of common stock, will expire at midnight Feb. 24. The telecommunications services company said it would use part of the proceeds of its IPO to pay for the tender offer. Syniverse also said it has received approval to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SVR.

BRIGHT HOUSE SUFFERS PHONE OUTAGE: About 5,000 customers of Bright House Networks' Internet phone service suffered intermittent service outages Thursday because of a software problem. The glitch caused outages from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and affected about a quarter of Bright House's phone customers throughout the area, company spokesman Dan Ballister said.

Nicholas Financial Inc.: The fast-growing Clearwater car finance company turned in another record quarter with net income up 70 percent on a 34 percent increase in revenues. The company has 35 branches, including its first in Kentucky, which opened in Florence during the fiscal third quarter.

AstraZeneca PLC: Europe's third-largest drugmaker reported a 52 percent increase in fourth-quarter earnings, as demand for its more-established drugs, including Nexium, outweighed problems with several of its new products last year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.: The drugmaker said its earnings fell 73 percent in the fourth quarter, largely because of a large tax provision. But after excluding certain items, the company beat analysts' estimates.

Colgate-Palmolive Co.: The big consumer-products maker said fourth-quarter profits skidded 23 percent as the company spent aggressively to restructure its operations and promote its products.

Microsoft Corp.: The software giant said on Thursday its fiscal second-quarter earnings more than doubled, beating Wall Street estimates with strong sales of server software and its Halo 2 video game. The company also raised its earnings forecast for its full fiscal year, which ends in June. For the full fiscal year, Microsoft expects to earn between $1.09 and $1.11 per share, up from previous guidance of between $1.07 and $1.09.

Sears, Roebuck and Co.: The department-store giant reported a profit in the fourth quarter Thursday, citing lower costs that enabled it to outpace estimates despite a weak holiday sales season. But, the company reported sluggish sales for the quarter and the year as its lengthy retail slump continued. But company executives voiced confidence for improvement as a result of the impending merger with Kmart Holding Corp.

UPS Inc.: The world's largest shipping carrier reported a slim 1.2 percent increase in its fourth quarter profit, saying it was disappointed with its domestic ground volume for the last three months of the year but was heartened by strong sales.

Verizon Communications Inc.: The largest U.S. telephone operator posted a 6 percent revenue gain in the fourth quarter as another powerful showing by the cellular business more than compensated for the continuing decline of traditional local phone service. Its wireless customer base grew by 1.7-million customers to finish the year at 43.8-million.

[Last modified January 28, 2005, 00:31:01]