ADR Shares End Mixed; SAP, Unilever Shares Active

   By Anna Prior 
 

International companies trading in New York closed mixed Tuesday, with the Bank of New York index of American depositary receipts adding 0.3% to 151.08. The European index rose 0.6% to 150.61; the Asian index edged up 0.1% to 146.75; the Latin America index fell 0.8% to 267.20; and the emerging markets index dropped 0.1% to 267.63. Among companies with shares that actively traded were SAP AG (SAP, SAP.XE) and Unilever PLC (UL, ULVR.LN).

German business-software maker SAP pushed its profitability target back by two years, conceding it had been too ambitious as it shifts focus to web-based applications from traditional software. After a rise in fourth-quarter profit, SAP forecast further growth but now expects to reach its 35% operating margin goal only by 2017 rather than 2015 as it makes investments necessary to beef up market share in the area of web-based, or cloud, applications. Shares fell 1.1% to $81.41.

Consumer-products giant Unilever warned Tuesday intense competition in developed markets, especially the U.S., and uncertainty in emerging economies would hold back growth in the year ahead. Still, shares of the Anglo-Dutch company rose 3.3% to $41.13 as the company reported a profit for the year up slightly from 2012.

Amarin Corp. (AMRN) said Tuesday a division of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it doesn't plan to reinstate a special protocol assessment agreement for a study related to the company's Vascepa drug. The biopharmaceutical company said in a statement that it plans to appeal the decision by the Division of Metabolism and Endocrinology Products to the agency's director of the office of the Office of Drug Evaluation II, the next level under FDA resolution guidance. Shares slumped 24% to $1.73.

Luxottica Group SpA (LUX, LUX.MI) shares jumped a day after Deutsche Bank raises the Italian eyeglass frames and sunglasses maker to buy from hold, saying "the luxury sector is shaping up in 2014 to deliver 8% sales and 12% EPS growth, assuming a weaker relationship with GDP than historically seen." Shares rose 7% to $53.86.

Write to Anna Prior at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires