Week in Review 44/14

Welcome and thanks for reading! In this review, I will gather together important and interesting news and events over the last week related to my portfolio holdings. In my week review, I put also together some interesting articles from other websites that caught my attention during the past week.

Dividends from My Portfolio Holdings:

• On October 27 I received a dividend of € 161.75 from Avance Gas Holding Ltd.
• On October 27 I received a dividend of € 10.33 from General Electric Co.
• On October 30 I received a dividend of € 34.91 from Bank of Nova Scotia.
• On October 31 I received a dividend of € 142.88 from NCC AB.
• On October 31 I received a dividend of € 32.08 from Kraft Foods Group Inc.
• On October 31 I received a dividend of € 11.17 from Toronto-Dominion Bank. 

Dividend income reported after the deduction of taxes. I have also updated my Monthly Dividend sheet.

News from My Portfolio Holdings:

UPM-Kymmene Corporation: October 28, 2014 Third Quarter Result (More here)

Q3 2014 compared with Q3 2013

• Earnings per share excluding special items were EUR 0.32 (0.26), and reported EUR 0.34 (0.26)
• Operating profit excluding special items increased to EUR 235 million, 9.7% of sales (194 million, 7.8% of sales), due to the success of the profit improvement programme
• EBITDA was EUR 346 million, 14.3% of sales (311 million, 12.6% of sales)
• The full targeted annualised cost savings of EUR 200 million were achieved in Q3 2014, ahead of schedule

Q1–Q3 2014 compared with Q1–Q3 2013

• Earnings per share excluding special items were EUR 0.85 (0.64), and reported EUR 0.95 (0.57)
• Operating profit excluding special items increased to EUR 617 million, 8.4% of sales (476 million, 6.4% of sales), due to the success of the profit improvement programme
• EBITDA was EUR 957 million, 13.0% of sales (853 million, 11.4% of sales)
• Growth projects progressed in UPM Biorefining, UPM Paper Asia and UPM Raflatac
• Strong operating cash flow at EUR 779 million (473 million), net debt decreased to EUR 2,726 million

TELE2 AB: October 28, 2014

• Tele2 and Cubic Telecom announce M2M partnership (More here)

Pfizer Inc. October 28, 2014 Third Quarter Result (More here)

• Third-Quarter 2014 Reported Revenues of $12.4 Billion
• Third-Quarter 2014 Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.57, Reported Diluted EPS of $0.42
• Repurchased $4.2 Billion of Common Stock to Date in 2014
• Updated Ranges for Certain 2014 Financial Guidance Components

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. October 28, 2014 Third Quarter Result (More here)

• Reported FFO per share of $1.22 in 3Q14, compared to $1.10 in 3Q13
• Reported core FFO per share of $1.22 in 3Q14, compared to $1.16 in 3Q13
• Signed leases during 3Q14 expected to generate $31 million in annualized GAAP rental revenue
• Improved portfolio occupancy 20 basis points to 93.0% in 3Q14, compared to 92.8% in 2Q14
• Revised 2014 core FFO per share outlook to $4.90 - $4.95 from the prior range of $4.85 - $4.95

Chevron Corporation: October 28, 2014

• Chevron Announces First Gas from Bangladesh Bibiyana Expansion Project (More here)
• Chevron Sanctions Stampede Project in the Deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico (More here)

Ensco plc: October 29, 2014 Third Quarter Result (More here)

• Revenues grew 9% to $1.261 billion in third quarter 2014, up from $1.162 billion a year ago, due to the addition of ENSCO DS-7, ENSCO 120 and ENSCO 121 to the active fleet. The average day rate increased 5% to $237,000, more than offsetting a decline in reported utilization.
• Reported utilization, which includes the impact of uncontracted rigs and planned downtime, declined to 88% from 90% in third quarter 2013. The decline was due to a year-over-year increase in uncontracted days. Adjusted for uncontracted rigs and planned downtime such as rig upgrades and surveys, operational utilization was 96% in third quarter 2014, equal to a year ago.
• Contract drilling expense was $531 million in third quarter 2014, down from $534 million in third quarter 2013. The year-to-year comparisons were influenced by an $8 million gain on the sale of four jackups that reduced contract drilling expense in third quarter 2014 and an $11 million provision for doubtful accounts related to one customer in third quarter 2013. Adjusted for these items, contract drilling expense increased 3%.
• Depreciation expense increased to $141 million from $133 million in third quarter 2013, as three rigs were added to the active fleet. General and administrative expense declined to $29 million in third quarter 2014 from $37 million last year.
• Other expense was $38 million for third quarter 2014 compared to $2 million last year that included a $31 million favorable tax settlement. Interest expense in third quarter 2014 was $38 million, net of $18 million of interest that was capitalized, compared to interest expense of $40 million in third quarter 2013, net of $16 million of interest that was capitalized.
• The effective tax rate was 12.6% compared to 14.3% in third quarter 2013.

Kraft Foods Group, Inc. October 29, 2014 Third Quarter Result (More here)

• Net revenues in the third quarter increased 0.1 percent to $4.4 billion.
• Operating income in the third quarter decreased 16.6 percent to $0.7 billion.
• Earnings per share in the third quarter were $0.74.
• Free Cash Flow was $554 million year-to-date.

American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. October 29, 2014

• American Realty Capital Properties Announces Non-Reliance on Previously
  Issued Financial Statements and Changes in Accounting Personnel (More here) 

NCC AB: October 30, 2014

• The municipality of Järvenpää in southern Finland has selected NCC to build a new district healthcare center. The order is worth SEK 310 million. (More here)  

Altria Group, Inc. October 30, 2014 Third Quarter Result (More here)

• Altria’s 2014 third-quarter reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) increased 1.4% to $0.71, as comparisons were affected by special items.
• Altria’s 2014 third-quarter adjusted diluted EPS, which excludes the impact of special items, increased 6.2% to $0.69.
• Altria’s 2014 nine-month reported diluted EPS decreased 4.5% to $1.93, as comparisons were affected by special items.
• Altria’s 2014 nine-month adjusted diluted EPS, which excludes the impact of special items, increased 5.5% to $1.91.
• In August 2014, Altria’s Board of Directors (Board) increased the regular quarterly dividend by 8.3% to $0.52 per share.
• Altria reaffirms its guidance for 2014 full-year reported diluted EPS to be in a range of $2.54 to $2.59.
• Altria reaffirms its guidance for 2014 full-year adjusted diluted EPS to be in a range of $2.54 to $2.59, representing a growth rate of 7% to 9% from an adjusted diluted EPS base of $2.38 in 2013.

  

Chevron Corporation: October 31, 2014 Third Quarter Result (More here)

• Earnings of $5.6 billion ($2.95 per share – diluted) for third quarter 2014, compared with $5.0 billion ($2.57 per share – diluted) in the 2013 third quarter.
• Foreign currency effects increased earnings in the 2014 quarter by $366 million, compared with a decrease of $276 million a year earlier.
• Sales and other operating revenues in third quarter 2014 were $52 billion, compared to $57 billion in the year-ago period.
• Cash flow from operations in the first nine months of 2014 was $25.0 billion, compared with $24.6 billion in the corresponding 2013 period.

Articles that caught my attention:   

• My 7 Investing Rules by The Passive Income Earner
• Dividends Make Investing Easier During Market Declines by Dividend Growth Investor
• Bank of Nova Scotia Dividend Stock Analysis by Roadmap2Retire on Seeking Alpha
• Weighting a dividend growth portfolio – is market capitalization useful? by Dividend Life
• Financial Stocks In A Conservative Dividend Portfolio by Tim McAleenan Jr. on The Financial Home Of Tim McAleenan Jr
• Key Ingredients for Successful Dividend Investing by Dividend Growth Investor
• Dividend Aristocrats In Focus Part 31: Sysco (SYY) by Ben Reynolds on Sure Dividend
• Falling Knife, Iron Glove by Retire Before Dad
• My Watch List For November 2014 by Dividend Mantra
• Visa Stock Continues To Be A Spectacular Investment Choice by Tim McAleenan Jr. on The Financial Home Of Tim McAleenan Jr.
• Verizon (VZ): Another High Yield Telecom for Current Income by Dividend Growth Investor on Seeking Alpha
• DRIP Investing Benefits by DivHut
• The Accounting Fraud At American Realty Capital Properties by Tim McAleenan Jr. on The Financial Home Of Tim McAleenan Jr.

I wish all readers a nice next week.