Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) on Thursday reported stronger third quarter net income, beating analyst estimates even as merchandise sales declined modestly. Dillard's said its net income for the 13 weeks ended November 1, 2014 was $55.2 million, or $1.30 per share, compared with net income of $50.9 million, or $1.13 per share, for the prior year third quarter. Analysts expected earnings of $1.26 per share, according to Capital IQ estimates. Total merchandise sales at the retailer declined 1% to $1.46 billion, falling short of estimates of $1.50 billion."Although comparable sales declined 1%, we were pleased with a 69 basis point merchandise gross margin improvement, with our inventory control and with our strong operating cash flow," said Dillard's CEO William T. Dillard, II. "We believe we are positioned very well for the holiday season." During the quarter, Dillard's, Inc. (NYSE:DDS) repurchased $224.5 million of shares at an average price of $109.89 per share under the company's share repurchase plan.Click here for a free comprehensive Trend Analysis ReportChina XD Plastics Co Ltd (NASDAQ:CXDC), the maker of modified plastics used primarily for automotive applications in China reported a 5.1% increase in Q3 earnings as revenue and volume climbed, and reaffirmed its full-year revenue outlook. CXDC trades in a 52-week range of $4.51 to $13.24. Net income was $43.2 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, up from $41.1 million, or $0.64 per diluted share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 7.7% to $315.7 million as total volume shipped climbed 5.2% to 95,204 metric tons. No analyst estimates were available for comparison via Capital IQ.The greater sales volume "was driven by strong demand for polymer composite materials in the China and Asian markets, higher penetration in the East China and Southeast China markets, as well as marketing efforts to develop new customers," the company said. It noted the results were also up versus Q2, with revenue up nearly 20% sequentially while net income more than doubled from Q2. "Strong sequential growth confirms our view that business would accelerate over the course of the year," said Chairman and CEO Jie Han. Citing its Q3 results and a "positive outlook for growing customer demand in the fourth quarter," China XD Plastics Co Ltd (NASDAQ:CXDC) said it continues to expect full-year sales to range between $950 million and $1.05 billion and net income to range between $100 million and $120 million.Click here for a free comprehensive Trend Analysis ReportInterCloud Systems Inc (NASDAQ:ICLD), an information technology provider, reported Q3 revenue was up 37% year-over-year while its Q3 loss of $0.81 per share was a swing from a year ago profit of $0.12 in Q3 2013. The single analyst estimate on Capital IQ called for a loss of $0.23, which may not be comparable, on revenue of $21.5 million. The wider quarterly loss resulted from non-cash expenses including goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges, changes in the fair value of contingent consideration and derivative instruments and depreciation and amortization totaling $4.5 million. InterCloud Systems Inc (NASDAQ:ICLD) also had an increase of $4.3 million in salaries, wages and SG&A expense resulting from an increase in personnel to implement its growth strategy. Shares of ICLD are trading within a 52-week range of $2.20 - $19.39.Click here for a free comprehensive Trend Analysis Report
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