Shares of genetics analysis company Illumina reached a record trading high of $92.50 yesterday after the company on Tuesday reported that second-quarter revenue and profit topped analysts' projections. The shares, which began trading in July 2000, closed at $91.95 and dropped in after-hours trading to $90.57.

Cowen and Co. analyst Doug Schenkel said the San Diego-based company reported strong quarterly sales of consumables such as disposable products for use with the Genome Analyzer system. Schenkel said sales of the Genome Analyzer II could be better than expected in the second half of the year.

Lehman Brothers analyst Charles Butler said higher sales and prices allowed the business to beat expectations, and demand for genome association products is strong.

Cubic cuts 105 from San Diego work force

San Diego's Cubic Corp. said it has trimmed its defense segment work force by 105 employees, or about 2.2 percent. All of the people terminated were from Cubic's San Diego operations. Cubic said the layoffs were intended to streamline operations, enhance competitiveness and to better position the company's defense operations.

Etc.

San Diego Trust Bank reported net income of $300,000 for the first six months of this year, down from $473,000 a year earlier. The bank had no nonperforming loans at the quarter's end and had no charge-offs, CEO Michael Perry said. Total assets increased 12 percent to $108 million at the quarter's end compared with the previous year. Total deposits increased 16.5 percent to $89.7 million. Total loans decreased to $68 million from $72.5 million a year ago. The bank has reduced its exposure to certain sectors of the real estate market over the past 24 months, which led to the loan decline. The bank is well-capitalized under regulatory standards.

Security Business Bancorp of San Diego reported second-quarter net income of $276,000, or 15 cents a share, compared with net income of $374,000, or 20 cents a share, for the same quarter last year. The bank reported no nonperforming loans or foreclosed real estate at the quarter's end. It had total assets of $209 million at the end of the quarter, up 26 percent from a year earlier. Deposits rose 33 percent to $168.3 million, and loans grew 21 percent to $166 million.

McDonald's Corp. earned $1.19 billion in the second quarter, including a gain from the sale of its stake in sandwich chain Pret A Manger, solidly surpassing Wall Street estimates. A year earlier, the company posted a loss of $711.7 million stemming from charges on the sale of its Latin America and Caribbean businesses. The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said revenue rose 4 percent to $6.08 billion, also beating analysts' predictions.

McDonald's specifically credited its breakfast items, new chicken offerings and beverages for the sales increases. The chain introduced a chicken biscuit sandwich for breakfast, a chicken sandwich for lunch and espresso-based coffee drinks in some locations.

Associated Press

Amazon.com Inc., the world's largest Internet retailer, posted second-quarter profit that exceeded analysts' estimates after consumers bought more toys and video-game consoles and overseas sales soared. Helped by the sale of the company's European DVD rental unit, net income increased to $158 million, or 37 cents a share, from $78 million, or 19 cents, a year earlier, Seattle-based Amazon.com said. Revenue increased 41 percent to $4.06 billion.

Bloomberg News

Washington Mutual Inc.'s share price fell 20 percent after it failed to convince some analysts that it has enough cash to weather more declines in the housing market. Piper Jaffray Cos. analyst Robert Napoli cut his rating to “sell” in a report yesterday because the Seattle-based lender's balance sheet is “burdened with high-risk mortgage loans.” Napoli and analysts at Merrill Lynch & Co. and Friedman Billings Ramsey Group Inc. said Washington Mutual may need more capital. WaMu fell $1.17 to $4.65 m. in New York Stock Exchange trading. The stock has tumbled 66 percent this year.

Bloomberg News

General Dynamics Corp. said second-quarter earnings rose to $641 million, or $1.60 per share, compared with $513 million, or $1.26 per share, a year earlier. Excluding a 9-cent gain from a tax refund lawsuit settlement, earnings were $1.51 per share. Revenue rose nearly 11 percent to $7.3 billion. GenDyn has reaped profits in recent quarters as the Pentagon scrambles to buy and replace equipment for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Associated Press

The Technology Integration Group, a San Diego-based provider of technology consulting services, acquired Entre Business Technology Group of Atlanta. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Entre, founded in 1981, has $17 million in annual revenue. As a result of the acquisition, TIG has opened a branch office in Atlanta. Entre founder Jim Hindy will head the new location, TIG said.

Optimer Pharmaceuticals said it has completed enrollment in the first of two pivotal Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of OPT-80, an experimental treatment of Clostridium difficile infection, or CDI, which causes a severe diarrhea that is difficult to treat with many antibiotics. The company said the drug may eradicate CDI with minimal disruption to the normal intestinal bacteria.