Yet again, the former CEO of Tyco
The new CEO of Tyco, Ed Breen, is not thinking of buying high-priced apartments. He has more mundane issues to work out -- like growing Tyco.
Yesterday, Tyco announced its earnings results. In the fourth quarter, the company posted net income of $709 million, or $0.33 per share, a bit lower than the $719 million, or $0.34 cents per share, earned over the same period in 2003. During the quarter, sales increased 4.1% to $10.1 billion.
Basically, Breen needed to handle some more cleanup. There was a charge of $18 million for various divestitures, a $156 million charge for early retirement of debt, and roughly $32 million for dumping some business units. Tyco's stock fell $1.63 to $34.51 upon that news. Then again, the 52-week high is $36.58.
In a way, Tyco is like a mini-GE
True, these are mostly mature industries. Then again, they produce significant cash flows. For example, in the fourth quarter, Tyco generated $475 million in free cash flow.
And expect the cash to keep rolling in. Tyco estimates that free cash flow will be roughly $4.5 billion in 2005.
So, with the return of mega-mergers -- SBC
Fool contributor Tom Taulli does not own shares mentioned in this article.