12 Aug 11. After a series of failed takeover attempts and accounting
scandals, Computer Sciences Corp is attracting potential activist investors looking to take advantage of a weak share price to push for a breakup. The $4.5bn market cap company’s shares have dropped 40 percent so far this year to below $30, valuing it at a steep discount to peers.
Its government services business faces an uncertain outlook amid prospective cuts in U.S. government spending, dragging down the value of its higher growth Information Technology services. Adding to its problems, Computer Sciences is also caught up in an accounting investigation, shareholder lawsuits and a long dispute with the U.K. National Health Service regarding alleged delays in developing healthcare IT systems. Activist investors are doing the math, evaluating a breakup and other ways to boost Computer Sciences’ sagging share price, people familiar with the situation said. But Computer Sciences is aware of the pressure and has been reviewing it options as well, the people added.
Representatives for Computer Sciences declined comment. (Source: Reuters)

14 Aug 11. Kuwait’s Agility (Kuwait:AGLT.KW – News), the logistics firm facing U.S. fraud charges, posted a 57 percent drop in second-quarter net profit, but still slightly beat forecasts. Net profit in the three months to June 30 was 7.83m dinars ($28.7m), the company said in a statement, down from 18.09m dinars a year earlier. Two analysts had forecast in a Reuters survey that Agility’s second-quarter earnings would fall to an average of 7.4m dinars. Agility blamed the drop in earnings and a 23 percent fall in quarterly revenue to 331m dinars on “lost defense and government business.”The company said it expected “solid gains” in 2012 as its investments in emerging markets were helping the growth of its core business, and its customer base was expanding while operations were being streamlined. “Fresh initiatives intended to grow revenue and reduce costs should produce solid gains in 2012,” Agility said without giving details. Last month, a U.S. district judge ordered the arraignment of Agility in the latest step of the prosecution of the logistics company over charges that it defrauded the U.S. Army in multibillion-dollar contracts. The order came on the heels of a decision by a U.S. appeals court that ended about 18 months of legal wrangling over whether prosecutors correctly served the company in its initial indictment in November 2009. Agility was the largest supplier to the U.S. Army in the Middle East during the war in Iraq after 2001’s September 11 attacks, with contracts worth around $8.5bn. Agility’s shares ended 2 percent lower on Sunday. The results were released after the market closed. (Source: Reuters)

08 Aug 11. Ducommun Incorporated (NYSE:DCO) reported results for its second quarter and six months ended July 2, 2011. Net sales increased 5% for the second quarter of 2011 versus the second quarter of 2010, reflecting stronger shipment of commercial products. Net income, excluding transaction-related expenses, was $0.45 per fully diluted share. Generated $12.5m in cash flow from operations in second quarter 2011, excluding transaction-related costs. As previously announced, on June 28, 2011 the Company completed its acquisition of LaBarge, Inc. and combined the entity with Ducommun Technologies to form Ducommun LaBarge Technologies. Sales for the second quarter of 2011 rose 5% to $108.0m, as compared to $102.9m for the second quarter of 2010, reflecting increased sales from commercial aerospace products. Due to transaction-related expenses, the Company incurred a net loss for the second quarter of 2011 of $(3.0)m, or $(0.28) per fully diluted share, compared to net income of $5.7m, or $0.53 per diluted share, for the comparable period last year. The second quarter 2011 results include pre-tax transaction-related expenses of $10.9m ($7.8m after tax, or $0.73 per fully diluted share). Excluding transaction-re