Cendant Likely To Raise Forecasts

NEW YORK— Cendant Corp. will likely raise fourth-quarter 2001 and full-year 2002 adjusted earnings forecasts, citing recent business trends. Cendant said previously that the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States did not hurt earnings as much as first feared and has raised various quarterly and year earnings outlooks since it initially cut forecasts shortly after the attacks, reported Reuters. The company said it expects to reaffirm previous 2002 adjusted earnings per share forecasts of $1.26 a share and indicated that an upward revision is likely in a presentation at a Lehman Bros. investment conference on Jan. 11. Cendant raised its 2002 earnings per share forecast in December after announcing plans to buy vacation time-share operator Equivest Finance. Earlier in December it said it expected fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.21. Analysts fourth-quarter earnings estimates ranged from $0.17 to $0.22 per share, with a consensus at $0.21, according to Thomson Financial/First Call. Their 2002 forecasts ranged from $1.24 to $1.28 a share, with a consensus at $1.26, according to First Call. SOURCE: Reuters