Profit

Toy giant Mattel Inc.reported a 53% decline in profit in the first quarter, sending its stock down more than 9%, after higher production costs, slower sales of Barbie and Hot Wheels and a recent acquisition affected its bottom line. For the three months ended March 31, sales totaled $928.4 million, down 2% compared with $951.9 million in the same quarter last year, the company said Monday. Profit dropped to $7.8 million, or 2 cents a share, from $16.6 million, or 5 cents. The results fell below analyst expectations of a profit of 7 cents a share.

City Nationa l Corp. shares were trading higher following the L.A. bank's earnings report saying  profit rose 17% during the first quarter, with deposits and assets each up 11%. The bank, which mainly serves businesses and wealthy individuals, earned $46.3 million, 86 cents a share, compared with $39.7 million, 74 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2011. Revenue was $276 million compared with $275 million a year earlier, but down 4% from the fourth quarter.

LinkedIn Corp., the largest professional-networking website, unexpectedly reported a second-quarter profit as it lured new members following a May initial public offering. Profit excluding certain costs was $10.8 million, or 10 cents a share, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said Thursday. Sales soared to $121 million. Analysts on average had predicted a loss of 1 cent a share on $106.4 million in revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. LinkedIn, the first U.S. social network to sell shares to the public, has been hiring sales staff and working to add features in an effort to attract more professionals to its site internationally.

Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore retailer, said fiscal fourth-quarter profit dropped 55% after the loss of customers to rivals hurt sales. Net income in the quarter ended Aug. 31 fell to $353 million, or 39 cents a share, from $792 million, or 87 cents, a year earlier, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company said today in a statement. Sales declined 5% to $17.1 billion. The end of Walgreen's agreement to provide prescriptions for Express Scripts Holding Co. customers reduced quarterly profit by 6 cents a share as traffic shifted to CVS Caremark Corp.

Cal State trustees vote to hire two new presidents at $324,550 and $303,660, respectively, 10% more than their predecessors. Meanwhile, students face tuition hikes, shrinking services and canceled classes. What will become of these Cal State students? Cartoonist Ted Rall takes an educated guess. ALSO: Cal State's closed-door plan Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Santa Monica College: Lost opportunity costs Photo: Ted Rall cartoon.

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration expects to recoup all the bailout money spent on banking and insurance firms, auto companies, mortgage finance companies and struggling homeowners during and after the 2008 financial crisis -- and likely turn a profit. By 2022, the bailouts are expected to produce a profit for taxpayers - as much as $163 billion in a best-case scenario. That's a stark turnaround from predictions of hundreds of billions of dollars in losses in the immediate aftermath of the unprecedented interventions.

Best Buy Co., the largest electronics retailer, reported fourth-quarter profit that exceeded some analysts' estimates, bolstered by demand for televisions and laptops. The shares rose in early trading. Earnings rose to $1.82 in the quarter ended Feb. 27, the Richfield, Minn.-based retailer said Thursday. Analysts projected $1.79, the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Best Buy cut prices of flat-panel TVs before the National Football League's championship game on Feb. 7 and offered discounts during the holidays to spur revenue.

Chrysler Group reported its first quarterly profit since emerging from bankruptcy nearly two years ago, helped by a revamped lineup of cars and trucks as well as higher vehicle prices. Chrysler's first-quarter net income came to $116 million, compared with a loss of $197 million a year earlier, as revenue shot up 35% to $13.1 billion. The Auburn Hills, Mich., company reported an operating profit of $477 million in the first quarter, compared with $143 million a year earlier.

Oracle Corp. reported third-quarter profit Thursday that met analysts' estimates after customers bought programs they had delayed purchasing during the recession. Profit before acquisition and some other costs was 38 cents a share in the period ended Feb. 28, the company said. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey estimated 38 cents on average. Including deferred revenue from Sun Microsystems Inc., which Oracle acquired in January, sales were $6.47 billion. Analysts estimated $6.32 billion.

The Wall Street doomsday prophets may want to revisit their crystal balls: Metals producer Alcoa Inc.  launched the first quarter earnings parade -- which many analysts had worried would be a dud -- with a profit. The aluminum company had posted a loss in its fourth quarter, but income from continuing operations rose $287 million to $94 million, or 9 cents a share, in the first quarter due to “strong productivity growth and improved market conditions.” Year over year, however, profit plunged from the $309 million, or 27 cents a share, from the first quarter of 2011.