By Anna Prior
International companies trading in New York closed mixed
Tuesday, with the Bank of New York index of American depositary
receipts adding 0.3% to 151.08. The European index rose 0.6% to
150.61; the Asian index edged up 0.1% to 146.75; the Latin America
index fell 0.8% to 267.20; and the emerging markets index dropped
0.1% to 267.63. Among companies with shares that actively traded
were SAP AG (SAP, SAP.XE) and Unilever PLC (UL, ULVR.LN).
German business-software maker SAP pushed its profitability
target back by two years, conceding it had been too ambitious as it
shifts focus to web-based applications from traditional software.
After a rise in fourth-quarter profit, SAP forecast further growth
but now expects to reach its 35% operating margin goal only by 2017
rather than 2015 as it makes investments necessary to beef up
market share in the area of web-based, or cloud, applications.
Shares fell 1.1% to $81.41.
Consumer-products giant Unilever warned Tuesday intense
competition in developed markets, especially the U.S., and
uncertainty in emerging economies would hold back growth in the
year ahead. Still, shares of the Anglo-Dutch company rose 3.3% to
$41.13 as the company reported a profit for the year up slightly
from 2012.
Amarin Corp. (AMRN) said Tuesday a division of the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration has said it doesn't plan to reinstate a special
protocol assessment agreement for a study related to the company's
Vascepa drug. The biopharmaceutical company said in a statement
that it plans to appeal the decision by the Division of Metabolism
and Endocrinology Products to the agency's director of the office
of the Office of Drug Evaluation II, the next level under FDA
resolution guidance. Shares slumped 24% to $1.73.
Luxottica Group SpA (LUX, LUX.MI) shares jumped a day after
Deutsche Bank raises the Italian eyeglass frames and sunglasses
maker to buy from hold, saying "the luxury sector is shaping up in
2014 to deliver 8% sales and 12% EPS growth, assuming a weaker
relationship with GDP than historically seen." Shares rose 7% to
$53.86.
Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com
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