DST Systems profit drops 59 percent

DST Systems Inc., a maker of financial services software, said Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit fell 59 percent, but came in ahead of Wall Street estimates.

Quarterly earnings were $66.9 million, or 79 cents per share, down from $163.5 million, or $1.54 per share, a year ago. Excluding charges and gains, the company would have earned $63 million, or 74 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expected earnings of 65 cents per share on sales of $425.7 million.

Kansas City, Mo.-based DST has a service center in Lawrence.

Earnings

K.C. pasta earnings sag as shares soar

American Italian Pasta Co. reported a 74 percent decline in first quarter profits Wednesday, but its shares soared as the company beat expectations and got back into the black after a string of losing quarters.

During the three months ending Dec. 31, the nation’s largest maker of dry pasta had earnings of $2.1 million, or 11 cents per share, compared to $8.1 million, or 44 cents per share, during the same period a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected earnings of 10 cents per share.

American Italian Pasta shares soared $4.50 to close at $25.45, up 21.5 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded between $18.69 and $41.90 in the past year.

Pharmaceuticals

Lilly suffers loss on restructuring, taxes

Eli Lilly and Co. on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter net loss on charges for restructuring and taxes related to the return of overseas profits, as sales of prescription drugs rose only slightly.

Global sales of schizophrenia treatment Zyprexa continued to fall during the quarter, and sales of diabetes drugs also declined amid competition with rival products.

The Indianapolis-based drugmaker had a net loss of $2.4 million, or break-even per share, compared with a net profit of $747 million, or 69 cents, in the year-ago quarter.

Lilly shares climbed 65 cents Wednesday to close at $55.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Agriculture

Dighton co-op OKs Garden City merger

After struggling with losses of more than $1 million in the last two years, members of the Dighton Farmer’s Co-op have approved a merger with another western Kansas cooperative.

The merger with the Garden City Co-op takes effect April 1. The Dighton co-op has operations in Alamota, Amy, Shields and Utica as well as in Dighton.