Marshall & Ilsley Corp. today reported a second quarter net loss of $173.8 million, or 33 cents per share, which was an improvement over a net loss of $234.0 million, or 83 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The quarterly loss per share was deeper than the 26 cents estimated by a consensus of Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
The Milwaukee-based parent company of M&I Bank has lost money for seven consecutive quarters. Over the past 12 months, Marshall & Ilsley has lost $882.4 million.
The company said its early stage delinquencies fell 14 percent from the first quarter, the fifth consecutive quarterly decline and the lowest level since 2007.
The company’s non-performing loans decreased 8 percent from first quarter 2010 - the fourth consecutive quarterly decline and down 25 percent from second quarter 2009 high.
"Our second quarter results were in line with the prior quarter after adjusting for last quarter's gain on the sale of our merchant processing business," said Mark Furlong, president and chief executive officer of Marshall & Ilsley. "Loan loss provision and net charge-offs were consistent with the first quarter and substantially better than last year. This continues the progress we have made in addressing asset quality challenges through our early identification of problem credits. We will remain diligent in continuing to improve our credit profile, but our attention will increasingly shift toward a return to profitability and growth opportunities."
Given the reductions in new loan delinquencies, M&I believes that it is near the end of large losses related to residential real estate.
“The third quarter, given the delinquencies and inflows we are seeing is when we think we’ll see some more downward pressure in our reserves,” said Mark Hogan, senior vice president and chief credit officer. “When you look at our reserve now - they were 50-50 a year ago, with commercial and residential. Today, they’re 60-40, commercial and residential. And we expect, with the reductions in delinquency trends, some reductions in loss rates on the commercial side … We believe we’re at that point where the third quarter will be a very pivotal quarter. We think we’re very close to getting to the end of the credit issues.”

Harley-Davidson Inc. today reported second-quarter net income of $71.16 million, or 30 cents per share, from $19.75 million, or 8 cents a share, in the same period a year ago.
The Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer’s quarterly revenues remained flat at about $1.1 billion.
"Harley-Davidson is making steady progress at executing its strategy to deliver results through focus," said Keith Wandell, president and chief executive officer of Harley. "We are seeing the benefits of our restructuring and continuous improvement activities reflected in our earnings performance."
Wandell said he is encouraged by the continued moderation in the company’s rate of declining motorcycle sales.
“At the same time, we continue to believe conditions will remain challenging this year for new motorcycle purchases and we will manage the business based on that expectation, with a continued strong focus on managing supply in line with demand," Wandell said. "Despite the decline in second-quarter retail motorcycle sales, we believe interest in the Harley-Davidson brand remains strong among riders of all generations. In fact, Harley-Davidson is the U.S. market share leader of on-road motorcycles among young adults. We will continue to focus our resources on expanding the global reach of the brand and developing new products that will reach even more riders going forward. I would like to thank our employees for their continued hard work and support of our strategy."
The higher profits come as Harley is telling its union workforce in Wisconsin that the company must reduce its labor costs in the Badger State or it will move elsewhere.

MGIC Investment Corp. today reported its first quarterly profit in almost three years, a promising sign for the nation’s housing market.
The Milwaukee-based company reported second quarter net income of $24.6 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $339.8 million, or $2.74 per share, in the same period a year ago.
MGIC’s total quarterly revenues were $406.4 million, compared with $454.5 million a year ago. Net premiums written for the quarter were $295.3 million, down from $330.4 million last year.
MGIC is the nation's leading provider of private mortgage insurance coverage.
In a conference call with analysts this morning, MGIC chief executive officer Curt Culver said much of his company’s fate is tied to the nation’s employment trends.
“We hope we’re moving forward as a country on that, but that’s a challenge,” Culver said.

A.O. Smith Corp. today reported second quarter earnings of $16.6 million or 54 cents per share, including a one-time pre-tax charge of $34.2 million or 68 cents per share, associated with flood damage at its Ashland City, Tenn., facility.
The Milwaukee-based manufacturer of water heaters and electric motors reported earnings of $21.3 million, or 84 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company’s second quarter sales of $572.5 million were nearly 15 percent higher than sales of $498.7 million for the same period last year.
"We are pleased with the outstanding performance achieved by both operating segments in the second quarter," said Paul  Jones, chairman and chief executive officer of A.O. Smith. "Electrical Products, in particular, recorded impressive sales and operating profit gains, with operating margins of 13.1 percent. At the same time, we have made remarkable progress recovering from the disastrous flood in Ashland City.”
On July 1, the company created a joint venture with Takagi Industrial Co. Ltd. of Fuji-city, Shizuoka, Japan, to market and manufacture tankless water heaters in North America. As part of the venture, A. O. Smith is taking over management of Takagi's North American sales and distribution organization.
"This venture represents an important opportunity for A. O. Smith to expand our offering of high efficiency water heating products and to participate in the growing North American tankless market," Jones said.

The public is invited to a “brown bag lunch” to learn about the economic benefits of high-speed rail at informal hearing by the Midwest High Speed Rail Association at the Milwaukee Public Market on Thursday, July 22, at noon.
In January, the federal government awarded $823 million to Wisconsin to develop the Milwaukee-to-Madison high speed rail system, with $810 million earmarked for upgrading existing rail lines and constructing stations.
The state Department of Transportation is already moving forward with contracts for upgrading the existing rail lines between Milwaukee and Madison to accommodate high speed passenger trains.
“The high-speed rail infrastructure is becoming a reality, and with that will come economic development that could create thousands of good-paying jobs in Milwaukee and communities stretching from Waukesha to Madison,” said Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is expected to let contracts for all or most of the $823 million prior to January 2011.
Republican gubernatorial candidates Scott Walker and Mark Neumann have threatened to derail the Wisconsin project, but Bauman said that would set up “the rather ridiculous situation of having a new and upgraded rail line with no trains running on it. It would be like spending $823 million on a new highway and then refusing to fund the cost of policing, snow plowing, routine maintenance, or even street lights, thereby effectively preventing motor vehicles from using that new road.”
Because the necessary funding agreements for the work have been entered into between the DOT and the Federal Railroad Administration, “they are immovable and set in stone,” Bauman said.
“This high-speed rail line will become reality no matter what talk radio says, so even opponents would be well advised to make the best of this infrastructure investment,” Bauman said.

For the first time in its nearly 75-year history, Franklin-based Carma Laboratories Inc. is expanding its product line beyond lip balm.
The company, which manufactures Carmex lip balm products, today announced the launch of a new skin care product line, including Carmex Healing Lotion and Carmex Healing Cream.
Carmex skin care products will be available exclusively at all Walgreens drug stores in the United States and Walgreens.com beginning in August and through Drugstore.com beginning in September.
“For years, customers have asked us to develop a skin care product that works as well as the lip balm,” said Paul Woelbing, president of Carma Laboratories. “We’re leveraging our 73 years of experience to bring the healing power of Carmex to skin and to give our customers what they’ve been asking for.”
The new Carmex lotion and cream is intended for treatment of dry, rough skin. The lotion is for everyday use, while the cream is intended for more intensive healing.

Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. will open its first Chicagoland store, Mariano’s Fresh Market, with a series of festivities next week, including an appearance by former Chicago Bears Coach Mike Ditka.
Mariano’s, named after Roundy’s chairman and chief executive officer Bob Mariano, will open on Tuesday, July 20, at 802 E. Northwest Highway in downtown Arlington Heights.
“We’re a one-stop shop that will satisfy the diverse and particular needs of our valued clientele.” Mariano said.
The opening day will include appearances by Chicago Black Hawks and Stanley Cup champions Dave Bolland and Adam Burish. Ditka will appear at the store on Thursday, July 22, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Roundy’s is based in downtown Milwaukee, where it operates the Pick ‘n Save stores throughout Wisconsin.
County inspects buildings at zoo
Contrary to some rumors going around the community, no public buildings at the Milwaukee County Zoo are being closed.
Fran McLaughlin, director of communications for Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, provided the following advisory to media outlets this morning: “ People are calling the zoo indicating that they are hearing coverage that several buildings at the zoo are closed.  Please correct your reports to reflect that inspection teams only cordoned off several areas for closer review, not public access to any of the zoo buildings or exhibits.  The zoo buildings are not closed. “
The inspections of all county buildings are ongoing in the aftermath of the June 24 death of 15-year-old Jared Kellner, who died when a 13-ton slab of concrete fell from a wall in a parking structure at O’Donnell Park in downtown Milwaukee.

Ladish Co. reported second quarter net income of $7.5 million, or 48 cents per share, up from net income of $650,000, or 4 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The Cudahy-based company’s quarterly sales grew to $99.4 million from $84.7 million a year earlier.
"Ladish delivered solid second quarter and first half results driven by our employees' continued focus on cost control coupled with improved operating performance," said Gary  Vroman, Ladish president and chief executive officer. "We see the second half of 2010 as a period of transition and preparation. Customer demand looks flat for the next few months, but we know we must continue to prepare for more growth in 2011 and beyond. Our general industrial and aerospace markets have been solid, but jet engine demand has been inconsistent this year. We remain bullish on our long-term opportunities but cautious about predicting the precise rate of recovery. When commercial aerospace markets improve, jet engine requirements will firm up, and we will be ready. Our $520 million of contract backlog at the end of June positions us well for the growth expected in our served markets."
Ladish is a leading producer of highly engineered, technically advanced metal components for the jet engine, aerospace and general industrial markets.

The U.S. stock market was mixed today, as investors digested a wide array of quarterly earnings reports on Wall Street.
The largest local gainers in the BizTimes Stock Index this morning were Harley-Davidson Inc. (up $2.66 to $26.67), Bucyrus International Inc. (up $1.24 to $53.87) and Joy Global Inc. (up 74 cents to $55.59). The largest local decliners this morning were A.O. Smith Corp. (down $1.22 to $50.70) and Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (down 66 cents to $7.05).

A start-up Janesville company that once planned to create 500 sustainable "green jobs" in Janesville is in operation, but on a much smaller scale than its partners had planned, because of the Great Recession. Read more in today’s edition of the BizTimes Wisconsin Morning Headlines bulletin.

The financial reforms approved by the U.S. Senate last week will help liquidate large and complex financial institutions in an orderly way, improve market discipline and protect taxpayers and consumers, according to Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). Read more in the new edition of the BizTimes Money Weekly.

State Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) says Wisconsin needs an amendment to prohibit money from the state’s transportation fund from being used for other purposes. Read more in today’s Milwaukee Biz Blog.