Sale of Doctor Groups Helps Boost Foundation Health Profit 12%

Foundation Health said Monday that its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 12%, thanks to one-time gains from the sale of two independent-practice associations and lower taxes.

The Rancho Cordova, Calif.-based operator of managed-health-care plans said that for the three months ended June 30, net income rose to $43.6 million, or 74 cents a share, from $38.8 million, or 68 cents, a year ago. However, 12 cents of the per-share earnings came from the sale of doctor practice associations in Arizona and Florida, so operating earnings were well under the 74 cents Wall Street analysts had predicted.

For the year, Foundation Health reported net income of $166.4 million, or $2.86 cents a share, up from $49.4 million, or 90 cents, a year earlier.

Foundation, which operates in 10 Western and Southern states, serves 3.1 million members, twice as many as a year ago, largely because of contracts to care for the families of military personnel.

At a Glance:

Food distributor TLC Beatrice International Holdings said second-quarter earnings rose 32% to $7.6 million, or 83 cents a share, up from $5.8 million, or 63 cents, in the same period a year earlier.

Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing said strong growth in Asia and Latin America lifted profit 8% in the second quarter to $381 million, or 91 cents a share, compared with $353 million, or 84 cents, in the year-ago quarter.

Adolph Coors said second-quarter earnings rose 11% to $23.8 million, or 63 cents a share, compared with $21.4 million, or 56 cents, in the year-ago period.

W.R. Grace’s second-quarter earnings rose 13% to $50.8 million, or 52 cents a share, from $45.0 million, or 47 cents, a year ago.

Tyson Foods said its third-quarter profit plunged 75% to $14.6 million, or 10 cents a share, for the period ended July 1, compared with $57.7 million, or 40 cents, for the same period a year ago.

Caremark International said earnings rose a better-than-expected 32% in the second quarter to $23 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with profit from operations of $17.4 million, or 23 cents, in the year-earlier period.

Uunet Technologies said it reported a second-quarter profit of $1.07 million, or 3 cents a share, contrasted with a loss of $1.85 million, or 7 cents, in the year-ago period.

Catellus Development said its profit nearly tripled in the second quarter to $8.82 million, or 4 cents a share, up from $3.14 million, or a loss of 4 cents, a year ago.

Castle & Cooke reported second-quarter net income of $3.1 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with $4.1 million, or 21 cents, in the year-ago quarter.