Providian to Shed an Additional 2,600 Jobs

Troubled credit card issuer Providian Financial Corp. said Monday that it expected to eliminate 2,600 more jobs as a new management team continues to dig out from loan losses that nearly buried the company last year. The plan was revealed after the San Francisco firm reported a first-quarter profit of $10 million, or 3 cents a share, a 96% drop from $230.5 million, or 81 cents, a year earlier.

If not for a series of one-time gains and losses recorded in the first quarter, Providian said, it would have made $6.8 million, or 2 cents a share. The results outstripped the consensus estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call of a loss of 6 cents per share.

Before the company announced its results Monday, Providian’s shares declined 25 cents to close at $6.35 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares surged by 71 cents in after-hours trading.

Other earnings from California firms, excluding one-time items:

Chicago Pizza & Brewery Inc., a Huntington Beach restaurant operator, reported net income for the first quarter of $736,000, or 6 cents a share, down 4% from the $763,000, or 10 cents, posted a year ago. Revenue increased 13% to $17.4 million.

Global Outdoors Inc. reported net income of $507,937 or 9 cents a share, compared with $14,796 or 0 cents per share a year ago. The Temecula-based operator of the Outdoor Channel on cable television said revenue was up 26% to $4.5 million.

Panavision Inc. reported a net loss of $3.3 million or 38 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.4 million, or 15 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue for the Woodland Hills-based maker of cameras for the movie industry was $45.6 million, down 15% from a year ago.