H&E Equipment Services, which sells and rents out cranes, posted better-than-expected quarterly profits, thanks to lowered expenses. For the fourth quarter, the company posted a net loss of $600,000, or 2 cents a share, compared with net income of $17.1 million, or 45 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2007. Goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges reduced fourth-quarter net income by 41 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 40 cents a share. Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 34 cents a share, before special items. For the year, Baton Rouge-based H&E had $43.3 million in net income, or $1.22 a share, compared with earnings of $64.6 million, or $1.70 a share in 2007. Despite the tough economic conditions, which have greatly slowed down construction projects, H&E saw its revenues go up in 2008, from $1 billion in 2007, to $1.07 billion.
H beats quarterly earnings estimates
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