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companies listed below reported quarterly profit substantially different from the average of analysts ' estimates
the companies are followed by at least three analysts and had a minimum five-cent change in actual earnings per share
estimated and actual results involving losses are omitted
the percent difference compares actual profit with the 30-day estimate where at least three analysts have issues forecasts in the past N days
otherwise actual profit is compared with the 300-day estimate
<unk> j. <unk> was named an executive vice president of the american express travel related services co. unit of this travel and financial services firm
she retains her duties of <unk> director
joe f. lynch the <unk> chairman and chief executive officer of first continental real estate investment trust was named to the new post of vice chairman of this bank holding company
every <unk> at N a.m. 40-year-old mike sinyard <unk> cycling clothes <unk> on a bike he keeps at his morgan hill calif. office and sets out to cover a distance most people would travel only by car
as many as N of his employees at specialized bicycle components inc. ride with him
when they return to their desks at N p.m. they have <unk> N miles
such <unk> for cycling helped mr. sinyard build a creative company at the <unk> of its industry
founded by bike enthusiasts rather than businessmen specialized spotted the appeal of <unk> bikes that go almost anywhere and began <unk> them in N
in the past five years the company 's sales have grown to $ N million from $ N million
today so-called mountain bikes account for two-thirds of the $ N billion spent annually on all <unk> in the u.s.
with N N of its sales coming from mountain bikes specialized is widely considered to be a market leader
accessories largely for mountain-bike users account for much of the rest of sales
but today the company needs its entrepreneurial spirit more than ever
one large competitor after another is leaping into the booming market specialized helped create turning out mountain bikes with such well-known names as <unk> <unk> <unk> and <unk>
thus mr. sinyard 's company must <unk> more than ever to stay ahead of them by developing new products specifically for mountain <unk>
at the same time though it must become more structured to better manage its growth
<unk> both will be a <unk> act as challenging as riding a <unk>
it is a problem common to small companies that have grown fast especially when their success attracts big-time competitors
the big word around specialized is passion says <unk> eidsmo a former <unk> executive whom mr. sinyard recruited from citicorp to run marketing and sales
what i hope to bring to this is another word process
that 's my challenge
it 's mike 's challenge as well
mr. eidsmo is one of several key people from outside the cycling industry who were hired to bring the <unk> fast-growing company under tighter control
we had a lot of problems mr. sinyard says
while the company 's sales were soaring we still had a system that was probably appropriate for $ N million to $ N million in sales
adds mr. eidsmo what felt good that day was done that day
since his <unk> in may mr. eidsmo has put in place techniques learned while working for citicorp such as <unk> detailed project plans and forecasts of company sales and product trends
we 're finally getting and it 's been very painful some understanding of what the company 's long-term horizon should begin to look like mr. eidsmo says
but it 's risky he says of specialized 's attempt to adopt a corporate structure
you do n't want to lose the magic of the company 's creative drive
hoping to stay ahead of the pack the company is <unk> innovation
at a recent trade show <unk> lined up to view a new specialized bike frame that <unk> just N pounds a pound less than the <unk> mountain-bike frame on the market
by replacing the frame 's steel <unk> with titanium ones mr. sinyard 's company plans to make its next generation of <unk> even lighter
at the trade show specialized also unveiled a revolutionary <unk> bike <unk> developed jointly by specialized and du pont co
made of <unk> materials the <unk> <unk> are designed like <unk> wings to <unk> N minutes off the time of a rider in a <unk> race the company claims
it currently costs $ N though mr. sinyard thinks the price can be reduced within three years to between $ N and $ N
he was able to slash the price of the company 's least expensive mountain bike to $ N from $ N in
but demands on the company 's creativity are certain to grow
competition is <unk> as larger companies <unk> a mountain-bike market mr. sinyard 's company once had virtually all to itself
u.s. cycling federation official philip <unk> says mountain <unk> is growing at such a <unk> rate that a lot of companies are getting into this
one especially <unk> specialized market the new players are targeting is mountain-bike accessories which mr. eidsmo calls the future of our business
accessories not only sell faster than whole bikes they also offer profit margins nearly double the N N to N N or so on sales of complete cycles
to get a piece of the business <unk> inc. <unk> ore. introduced a line of mountain-bike shoes
about a month ago michelin tire corp. greenville s.c. began selling mountain-bike tires for years a specialized <unk>
competition in the sale of complete bikes is heating up too
<unk> bicycle corp. which accounts for <unk> of the $ N million in annual sales at its <unk> parent <unk> corp. entered the mountain-bike business in N
<unk> previously made only traditional road bikes but it did n't take a rocket scientist to change a road bike into a mountain bike says <unk> 's president dick burke
the segment now makes up roughly two-thirds of his company 's total sales
at giant bicycle inc. <unk> <unk> calif. sales have tripled since the company entered the u.s. mountain-bike business in N
a subsidiary of a taiwanese holding company with world-wide sales of $ N million giant is one example of the sudden <unk> of mr. sinyard 's <unk> market niche
<unk> bicycle co. chicago established joint ventures with bike companies in <unk> china and hungary to sell bikes
in the past year <unk> international corp. <unk> has acquired such major brands as <unk> <unk> and <unk>
in response to the <unk> of the business mr. sinyard 's company is replacing independent distributors overseas with wholly owned subsidiaries
the move will cut out the cost of a <unk> and give specialized more control over marketing and sales
but as bill austin giant 's president puts it with some of the bigger players consolidating their strength the game has changed
carl e. pfeiffer chief executive officer was named to the additional post of chairman of this <unk> manufacturing concern
robert c. <unk> a director and chief operating officer of the company succeeds mr. pfeiffer as president
roger m. <unk> president was named to the new post of vice chairman
michael <unk> who had been executive vice president operations was named president and chief operating officer
<unk> manufactures <unk> systems for mainframes and minicomputers
richard j. <unk> was elected a director of this single-family home <unk> increasing the board to nine
he is a senior partner with the law firm of <unk> & <unk> and is a partner in <unk> venture management
john franco N years old formerly vice chairman of capital holding corp. and president of its accumulation investment group was named chief executive officer of this insurance holding company effective dec. N succeeding robert t. shaw who remains chairman
<unk> also named steven b. <unk> N senior vice president since N as president succeeding john w. <unk> who will join the <unk> acquisition corp. division of <unk> <unk> & co. which has agreed to buy most of <unk> 's <unk> subsidiaries
mci communications corp. said it won a $ N million contract from <unk> co. a denver investment banking concern to provide voice and data telecommunications services
the agreement calls for mci to provide data service N and <unk> service a <unk> private network service
the companies would n't disclose the length of the contract except to say it was a <unk> agreement
the head of british satellite broadcasting ltd. said he hopes to raise about # N million $ N million before the <unk> venture makes its delayed debut next spring with a major chunk coming from new investors
we 'll raise it through bank loans
we 'll raise it through new equity
and we 'll raise it through existing shareholders as well as through junk bonds said anthony <unk> the private consortium 's chief executive
he said he believes the bank loan to be arranged by february will supply about half of the financing
british satellite which already has raised # N million from N backers initially expected to seek an additional # N million
mr. <unk> said the additional financing may leave british satellite owned by about N investors including australian entrepreneur alan bond whose nearly N N stake would be reduced to as little as N N
bond corp. british satellite 's biggest investor would like to withdraw from the <unk> consortium and analysts have speculated hollywood studios might buy the bond stake
but mr. <unk> said he is n't talking to any studios about investing
besides bond corp. british satellite 's other backers include <unk> plc reed international plc and <unk> group plc
the consortium faced a setback in may when technical problems forced it to postpone the september launch until next spring
continued uncertainty about the timing of the consortium 's debut could make it hard to find a # N million cash injection
mr. <unk> conceded that british satellite 's potential u.k. lenders are saying when you 're on the air you 'll actually get the money
the bankers also insist that the loans depend on the consortium raising more money from new and existing backers
british satellite today is <unk> a # N million advertising and promotional drive for the consortium 's planned five channels of movies sports entertainment and news shows
as part of the drive the first N viewers who put up # N each will get a package valued at # N including a satellite receiving <unk> equipment installation and a three-month subscription to its <unk> service
british satellite faces competition from sky television a <unk> venture begun last february and owned by rupert murdoch 's news corp
the rivals currently are locked in a costly bidding contest for hollywood film rights
shares closed sharply higher in london in the year 's <unk> volume monday supported largely by a technical bounce after last week 's sharp declines
tokyo stocks posted a <unk> loss monday while trading in frankfurt west germany was mixed
in london the financial times 100-share index finished N points higher at N
the index settled off the high of N posted after wall street opened stronger
but it showed strength throughout the session hitting a low of only N within the first few minutes of dealings
the 30-share index settled N points higher at N
volume was only N million shares breaking the previous N low of N million shares recorded oct. N
turnover was also down substantially from N million shares on friday
dealers said the market was supported to some extent by a firmer pound gains on wall street and shopping by market-makers to cover internal requirements for selected stocks in the 100-share index
dealers attributed most of the day 's gains to market-makers moving prices higher rather than an <unk> of significant buying interest