Crocs Skyrocketing Hansen Plunged

The shoe maker Crocs Inc.'s earnings were better than expected. It was snapped up by investors, and its share price soared, but Hansen Natural Corp. fell sharply due to lower than expected performance.

Crocs Inc. (CROX) jumped 15% to $11.41 in after hours trading.

After closing Wednesday, the company said it lost $4 million 500 thousand in the first quarter to a loss of 5 cents per share.

The company made a profit of 24 million 900 thousand US dollars last year and 31 cents per share.

If the item is not included in the one-off project, the company's earnings per share are 9 cents per quarter.

Analysts surveyed by Thomsen Reuters expect their earnings per share to be 10 cents per quarter.

Crocs's first quarter revenue increased from $142 million a year ago to $198 million 500 thousand.

The company expects earnings per share to reach 45 to 50 cents per share in the second quarter, with earnings of 1.70 to 1.80 dollars a year.

Analysts expect their earnings per share to be 43 cents in the second quarter and $1.60 a year.

The stock closed 9.96 U.S. dollars on Wednesday, down 6 cents, or 0.6%.

Hansen Natural Corp. (HANS) plummeted 13% to $30.95 in after hours trading.

The company reported a net profit in the first quarter of, up from $20 million 200 thousand a year, or 21 cents per share, to $28 million 800 thousand, or 29 cents per share.

The beverage company based in Corona, California, adjusted 31 cents a share in the quarter.

Revenue rose from $165 million 900 thousand a year ago to $212 million 200 thousand.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research average expected earnings of 36 cents per share and $221 million 600 thousand in revenue.

The stock closed 35.60 U.S. dollars on Wednesday, up 27 cents, or 0.8%.

News group (NWS) rose 1.3% to $19.45 in after hours trading.

The company reiterated that its operating profit in the 2008 fiscal year will increase by about 15% over the 2007 fiscal year, which did not consider the acquisition of Dow Jones's contribution.

The company's performance in selling DirecTV shares and broadcasting and cable networks has offset the decline in the performance of film and television studios, which was more than three times the profit in the first quarter of last year.

The media giant said its third quarter profit was $2 billion 700 million, or 91 cents per share, which earned 871 million dollars in the same period last year and 27 cents per share.

News group's third quarter revenue grew 16% to $8 billion 750 million.

The average estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet Research is US $8 billion 660 million.

The stock closed 18.42 U.S. dollars on Wednesday, down 38 cents, or 2%.

Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) fell 5.6% to $10.50 in after hours trading.

The housing developer said it had begun to issue 14 million shares of A shares of common stock.

The company also plans to give underwriters 2 million 100 thousand oversubscribed options, and the additional financing will be used for business operations.