Business briefs | AVX profit down on order cuts

AVX profit down on order cuts

GREENVILLE Electronic components maker AVX Corp. said Wednesday that its fiscal third-quarter tumbled 39 percent on a drop in customer orders.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, AVX earned $36.9 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with $60.6 million, or 36 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue fell 16 percent to $340.9 million from $405.9 million, as the company's customers adjusted their inventories, reducing AVX's shipments.

The results fell short of Wall Street predictions. Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 27 cents per share on $387.9 million in revenue, according to a FactSet poll.

Contracts to buy homes near 19-month high

WASHINGTON The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes in December held near a 19-month high, showing the stabilization in the market that began in late 2011 will extend into the new year.

The index of pending home sales decreased 3.5 percent last month after jumping a combined 18 percent in October and November, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Wednesday in Washington. It was the best back-to-back reading since a buyer tax credit boosted demand in early 2010.

“We've had a clear turn toward positive momentum in the housing market,” Aaron Smith, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pa., and the third most accurate forecaster of pending home sales. “Lower unemployment and higher confidence, coupled with record low mortgage rates, are coalescing to spur increased buying.”

CEO: US Airways looks at American merger

CHARLOTTE, N.C. US Airways CEO Doug Parker confirmed Wednesday that his company is exploring a merger with American Airlines while that carrier is in bankruptcy, but said a merger is not imperative to US Airways' survival.

Parker's remarks came during a conference call Wednesday, when US Airways reported its fourth quarter and full-year earnings. Although profit was down in the face of higher fuel expenses, profit still fell less than analysts had predicted, and the airline avoided posting a loss.

Netflix adds subscribers

SAN FRANCISCO Netflix regained U.S. customers in the fourth quarter as the video subscription began to recover from a revolt against a big price increase.

Figures released Wednesday show Netflix Inc. ended December with 24.4 million subscribers in the U.S. That was 600,000 more than at the end of September.

The subscriber uptick is a positive sign for Netflix after several months of upheaval that battered its stock. Netflix lost 800,000 subscribers last summer after raising its U.S. prices by as much as 60 percent.

From wire reports