Freddie Mac eschews federal aid as loss narrows Freddie Mac escaped the second fiscal quarter without asking the government for any new financial aid, but still expects to need more federal help in the future. The government-controlled mortgage finance company yesterday posted a quarterly loss of $374 million, or 11 cents a share, including $1.1 billion in dividends paid to the government.

Fannie Mae is seeking nearly $11 billion in new government aid after posting another massive quarterly loss as the taxpayer bill from the housing market bust keeps growing. The mounting price tag for the rescue of Fannie and its government-sponsored sibling, Freddie Mac, is surpassed only by insurer American International Group Inc., which has received $182.5 billion in financial support from the government so far.

Dynex Capital Inc., a specialty finance company based in Henrico County, said net income for the second quarter was $3.4 million, or 25 cents a share, compared with $3.3 million, or 26 cents a share, for the same period in 2008. The company said the results for the second quarter benefited from a strong net interest income earned on the company’s investment portfolio. Dynex had a net interest income of $5.9 million for the second quarter, compared with $5 million in the first quarter and $2.5 million for the second quarter of 2008.

Profit fell 59 percent in the second quarter at Markel Corp., a property and casualty insurance company based in Henrico County. The company had net income of $32.8 million, or $3.34 per share, compared with $82.2 million, or $8.29 per share, for the year-earlier period. Total operating revenue was $504.8 million, down from $605 million in the same period of 2008.

Universal Corp.‘s profit more than doubled in the company’s first fiscal quarter as it benefited from earlier product shipments. The Richmond-based tobacco leaf company reported a profit of $43.8 million, or $1.47 per share, for the quarter that ended June 30, compared with profit of $21.1 million, or 64 cents per share, in the same period of 2008.

Changes at Tyson Foods Inc. over the past year have begun to help the bottom line of the world’s largest meat producer, which posted a strong third-quarter profit yesterday. Tyson earned $134 million, or 35 cents per share, compared with $9 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier, mainly through its chicken business. Earnings from continuing operations were $127 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with a loss of $3 million, or a penny per share. The company has closed some operations, cleared excess inventory and put in place other cuts.

Chevron said yesterday that its second-quarter profits fell 71 percent and the second-largest U.S. oil company put its entire land-based natural-gas drilling operations on hold, citing dismal demand. “By the end of the year, we will not have a single gas land-rig running,“ George Kirkland, Chevron’s executive vice president for global upstream and gas said in a conference call.

Cost-cutting at Verizon Communications Inc.‘s wireline business failed to keep pace with falling revenues as the nation’s largest wireless carrier reported a 21 percent drop in second-quarter profit and announced further job cuts. The company said yesterday that it will cut more than 8,000 employee and contractor jobs before the end of the year in the wireline business, speeding up its efforts to keep costs in line.

Union Bankshares Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $953,000, down from $4.3 million for the same period a year ago. The decrease was driven by an increase in the provision for loan losses, increased Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insurance assessments and a decline in net-interest income. The Bowling Green-based bank also incurred costs related to its merger with Richmond-based First Market Bank, which is expected to be completed by year’s end.

Corporate America is turning a profit again, but only by spending less, not making more. While recent bullish profit reports have fueled the stock market, a true economic revival will depend on consumers opening their wallets. So far, there’s little evidence of that. Big names such as Caterpillar, IBM, Whirlpool, Pfizer, 3M and Lowe’s boosted profit forecasts for 2009 after a slew of second-quarter earnings reports that blew past lackluster expectations.

Capital One Financial Corp., one of the nation’s largest credit-card issuers, reported a second-quarter loss of $275.5 million as the amount of uncollectible debt grew. But the McLean-based company, a major local employer, noted that delinquencies slowed in the quarter. The company, which also owns banks, lost 65 cents per share in the quarter compared with a profit of $452.9 million, or $1.21 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Altria Group Inc., the largest U.S. tobacco company, said second-quarter profit rose 8.6 percent after price increases. The Henrico County-based maker of Marlboro cigarettes also raised its full-year forecast. Net income increased to $1.01 billion, or 49 cents a share, from $930 million, or 45 cents, a year earlier. Excluding items, adjusted earnings were 50 cents a share, beating the analysts’ estimates of 47 cents.

Lower sales and the costs of cutting thousands of jobs helped push second-quarter profits down 61 percent for chemical giant DuPont, overshadowing a strong showing by its agriculture and nutrition business. DuPont, a major employer in the Richmond area, reported earnings of $417 million, or 46 cents per share, in the three months ended June 30, down from $1.08 billion, or $1.18 per share, a year earlier.

For the week that ended July 17. Dividends Quarterly unless noted Increased Anworth Mortgage .32 from .30 Duncan Engy Ptrs .435 from .43 Enterprise GP .50 from .485 Fastenal Co .37S from .35S Harleysville Svgs .19 from .18 Healthcare Svcs .19 from .18 Landstar System .045 from .04

General Electric Co.‘s second-quarter profit was sliced nearly in half, the company said yesterday, as the recession drove down earnings at its finance unit and smothered demand for its wide-ranging industrial goods. Although earnings beat Wall Street forecasts by a penny, GE’s revenue fell $3 billion short of expectations, helping push down shares 6 percent. Quarterly sales fell across its divisions, from health care to broadcasting, suggesting that the recession is still sapping demand for goods and services.