Earnings In Focus: Feb 15 (AVP, OMC, WM)

(RTTNews) - Check out the few notables companies that are slated to publish their financial results on Thursday, February 15, 2018.

* AVP sees some positive trends in Q4 * OMC likely to benefit from cost reduction measures * WM expects its strong performance to continue into Q4

Avon Products Inc. (AVP) is scheduled to release its Q4 financial results before market opens today. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimate earnings of $0.07 per share and revenue of $1.6 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude certain special items.

Year-Ago Numbers:

* Revenue - $1.6 bln * Loss from cont. ops. - $10 mln * Loss from cont. ops. - $0.03/Shr * Adj. Income from cont. ops. - $9 mln * Adj. Eps from cont. ops. - $0.01.

The company sees modest improvement in trends to continue in fourth quarter. However, Avon expects annual results to fall below its 2017 guidance. The company has been focused on fixing the business fundamentals to improve operating performance, particularly in its largest markets.

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Marketing communications company Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) is due to publish its Q4 results before the bell today, with Wall Street analysts expecting earnings of $1.54 per share and revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter.

Year-Ago Numbers:

* Worldwide revenue - $4.24 bln * Net income - $348.7 mln * EPS - $1.47.

Omnicom is likely to benefit from its cost management initiaves and improving market conditions. The company has a large and diverse client base, and is still expanding its global footprint to maintain healthy performance across its businesses.

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When Waste Management Inc. (WM) publish its Q4 results, analysts expect the company to report earnings of $0.83 per share and revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter.

Year-Ago Numbers:

* Revenues - $3.46 bln * Net income - $335 mln * EPS - $0.75

Updated FY17 Guidance:

* Now sees adj. EPS of $3.19 - $3.21; Consensus - $3.20/Shr. * Now expects free cash flow to range between $1.7 bln and $1.75 bln

The results are likely to reflect an anticipated negative $0.03 per share impact from the company's recycling operations in the fourth quarter.

Most recently, Waste Management said its Board has approved a 9.4% increase in the planned quarterly dividend rate, from $0.425 to $0.465 per share. On an annual basis, the per share dividend increases from $1.70 to $1.86. The company also received authorization from its Board of Directors to repurchase $1.25 billion of the company's common stock. This new authorization is effective immediately.