Home Depot builds earnings confidence

The Home Depot Inc. raised its full-year earnings outlook on Tuesday after posting a 19 percent increase in net income.

The results sent shares of Home Depot, a component of the Dow Jones industrials, up more than 3 percent and easily surpassed Wall Street expectations.

The nation’s largest home-improvement store chain said it earned $1.55 billion, or 70 cents a share, in the three months ending Aug. 1, compared to a profit of $1.30 billion, or 56 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.

Pharmaceuticals

CyDex lands $17 million from venture capitalists

A Lenexa-based pharmaceutical company that uses technology developed at Kansas University has received $17 million in venture capital funding.

Officials with CyDex Inc. announced Tuesday that the company had received the investment from a global syndicate of venture capital investors. The investment is expected to allow the company to develop new pharmaceutical products in the areas of anti-infective, respiratory, central nervous system and oncology treatments.

The investment group was led by the life sciences fund of Houston-based Sanders Morris Harris. It also included the venture capital arms of GlaxoSmithKline and Eastman Chemical Co.

CyDex uses a drug delivery technology developed by researchers at KU’s Higuchi Biosciences Center. The university continues to have licensing and other agreements with the company that will allow the university to share in the company’s future earnings.

Publishing

Borders books profits

Borders Group Inc.’s second-quarter profits rose 89 percent on stronger-than-anticipated book sales and topped Wall Street’s estimates. The company also increased its full-year earnings outlook.

The nation’s second-largest bookseller said Tuesday it earned $8.5 million, or 11 cents per share, for the quarter ended July 25, compared to $4.5 million, or 6 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Retail

Penney’s reverses loss

Department store operator J.C. Penney Co. Inc. on Tuesday posted a quarterly operating profit, reversing a year-earlier loss, on inventory controls and strong sales of jeans, home furnishings and career clothes.

The company said early back-to-school sales have been better than expected but cautioned that energy prices and terrorism worries could sap consumer spending.

Plano, Texas-based Penney reported operating earnings of $72 million, or 23 cents per share, for the second quarter ended July 31, compared with a loss of $3 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier.