Earnings - 3rd July 2008

4:49PM NVIDIA lowers Q2 revs below consensus; EPS and gross margins to be lower than previous guidance (NVDA) 18.03 -0.72 : Co sees Q2 revs $875-950 mln vs $1.10 bln First Call consensus. Second quarter revenue and gross margin are expected to be lower than guidance provided during its first quarter financial conference call held May 8, 2008. The estimated decrease in revenue and gross margin is due to several reasons: end-market weakness around the world, the delayed ramp of a next generation MCP, and price adjustments of our GPU products to respond to competitive products. Separately, NVIDIA plans to take a one-time charge from $150 million to $200 million against cost of revenue for the second quarter to cover anticipated warranty, repair, return, replacement and other costs and expenses, arising from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of its previous generation GPU and MCP products used in notebook systems. Certain notebook configurations with GPUs and MCPs manufactured with a certain die/packaging material set are failing in the field at higher than normal rates. No conference call will be held in conjunction with this business update.
4:46PM NVDA lowers financial outlook for Q2 and plans to take one-time charge for certain notebook field failures :
4:42PM NVIDIA discloses $150-200 mln charge related to weak die/packaging material in certain versions of previous generation MCP and GPU products (NVDA) 18.03 -0.72 : From filing: On July 2, 2008, NVIDIA Corporation stated that it would take a $150-200 mln charge against cost of revenue to cover anticipated customer warranty, repair, return, replacement and other consequential costs and expenses arising from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of our previous generation MCP and GPU products used in notebook systems. All newly manufactured products and all products currently shipping in volume have a different and more robust material set. The previous generation MCP and GPU products that are impacted were included in a number of notebook products that were shipped and sold in significant quantities. Certain notebook configurations of these MCP and GPU products are failing in the field at higher than normal rates. While we have not been able to determine a root cause for these failures, testing suggests a weak material set of die/package combination, system thermal management designs, and customer use patterns are contributing factors. We have developed and have made available for download a software driver to cause the system fan to begin operation at the powering up of the system and reduce the thermal stress on these chips. We have also recommended to our customers that they consider changing the thermal management of the MCP and GPU products in their notebook system designs. We intend to fully support our customers in their repair and replacement of these impacted MCP and GPU products that fail. We have begun discussions with our supply chain regarding reimbursement to us for some or all of the costs we have incurred and may incur in the future relating to the weak material set. We will also seek to access our insurance coverage. We continue to not see any abnormal failure rates in any systems using NVIDIA products other than certain notebook configurations. However, we are continuing to test and otherwise investigate other products. There can be no assurance that we will not discover defects in other MCP or GPU products. (Stock is halted)

4:02PM WD-40 Company beats by $0.02, misses on revs; guides FY08 EPS below consensus, reaffirms FY08 revs guidance (WDFC) 26.96 -0.97 : Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $0.49 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.47; revenues rose 5.8% year/year to $82.1 mln vs the $83.1 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $1.78-1.85, compared to previous guidance of $1.80-1.90, vs. $1.86 consensus; sees FY08 revs of $320-332 mln vs. $325.09 mln consensus. "Our cost of goods have been impacted by the general increases in commodity prices, particularly the sharp increases in oil and steel. We are working hard to minimize the impact of these cost increases on our gross margin through a combination of price increases, innovation and cost reduction strategies around the globe."

8:03AM Avis Budget says Q2 has turned out to be significantly more challenging operating environment than expected; expects 2008 earnings below 2007 results (CAR) 7.29 : Co comments on events and trends impacting the vehicle services operating climate and financial performance. "While our cost-saving efforts related to our Performance Excellence initiative are accelerating as planned, the second quarter has turned out to be a significantly more challenging operating environment than expected. As with our entire industry, we are confronting rising fuel costs, weaker-than-expected enplanements, lower commercial travel volumes and lower time and mileage rates per day. As a result, our second quarter results will be below last year's (Note co reported Q2 2007 EPS of $0.24 on revs of $1.5 bln and First Call consensus for Q2 2008 EPS is $0.20 on revs of $1.58 bln). We believe that vehicle rental demand in the summer months may outpace supply, as we and others in the industry have trimmed peak fleet levels. This should result in favorable pricing comparisons and our advance reservations would support that view. But the recently announced capacity reductions by the airline industry are expected to contribute to a more difficult fourth quarter operating environment. Given these dynamics, we expect that full-year earnings will be below our 2007 results. In particular, while it is difficult in the current environment to accurately forecast our future results, we currently estimate that our 2008 EBITDA will be ~$350 mln and our 2008 pretax income will be ~$140 mln, excluding any unusual items."

7:33AM Isle of Capri beats by $0.06, misses on revs (ISLE) 4.45 : Reports Q4 (Apr) loss of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.12); revenues rose 17.7% year/year to $298.3 mln vs the $301.8 mln consensus. "Through the strategic planning process, the Company identified several capital projects which we will seek to implement over the next 18 to 24 months and beyond, aimed at enhancing the experience of our customers and consistent with a brand strategy that is designed to clearly define the experience that will be delivered by each brand. This will enable us to manage the expectations of our customers, employees and the investment community, and will align our operating strategy with the needs of our customers in each market. We believe that these internal projects offer us the highest potential uses of the free cash flow that we expect to generate in the intermediate term, as we look to improve our properties and also begin to de-lever our Company."

7:06AM Aladdin Knowledge Systems issues downside Q2, Y08 guidance (ALDN) 13.26 : Co issues downside guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of approx $0.01 vs. $0.24 First Call consensus; sees Q2 (Jun) revs of $26-26.5 mln vs. $30.29 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees EPS of $0.36-0.44, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.13 consensus; sees FY08 (Dec) revs of $112-120 mln vs. $125.84 mln consensus. "Our preliminary second quarter revenues fell short of our expectations primarily due to a weaker global economy as well as several anticipated customer orders slipping from the second quarter, which we expect to recognize in future periods. Including the effect of lower top line revenue for the quarter, our bottom line earnings per share were also impacted by a further acceleration of the unfavorable exchange rate between the strengthening Israeli shekel against the U.S. dollar, as well as higher expenses associated with ongoing merger and acquisition activity."

7:06AM AgFeed Industries expects to report favorable 2nd quarter financial results (FEED) 13.89 : Co announces that it expects to report favorable 2nd quarter financial results before the August 14 reporting deadline. During the 2nd quarter ended June 30, 2008, AgFeed sold a record number of hogs. The co experienced significant revenues and earnings in a continued, favorable market environment in China. The co believes that lowered overall production costs due to greater operating efficiency resulted in expanded profit margins in both of their two synergistic business lines -premix animal feed and hog production. "We believe that our 2nd quarter results will reflect management execution of our financial projections and growth strategies. We successfully integrated recent hog farm acquisitions. Our significantly expanded economies of scale should more than offset small increases in certain raw materials costs. AgFeed is in the process of enlarging our sow population in order to further increase hog production. With a strong balance sheet, AgFeed intends to continue to acquire additional producing hog farms. We expect to report a strong 2nd quarter."

7:04AM DTE Energy raises its 2008 operating earnings guidance for the Power & Industrial Projects segment to $25-$35 mln, and maintaines its 2008 operating earnings guidance of $2.80 to $3.20 (DTE) 42.82 : Co announces it will conduct a conference call for the investment community on Wednesday, July 2, to provide a midyear business update. DTE Energy will also provide an update on its non-utility businesses. Strong market conditions and continued successful development of the company's Barnett Shale acreage could create opportunities to sell acreage in some areas by year-end 2008. As a result, DTE Energy is raising its 2008 operating earnings guidance for the Power & Industrial Projects segment to $25-$35 mln, and is initiating a 2009 early earnings outlook for this segment of $-$50 mln. Overall, DTE Energy is maintaining its 2008 operating earnings guidance of $2.80-$3.20 (consensus $3.05), since higher Power & Industrial Projects earnings are expected to be offset by higher shares outstanding as the co no longer expects to buy back additional stock in 2008.

7:03AM Family Dollar beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS above consensus (FDO) 20.29 : Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $0.46 per share, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 2.9% year/year to $1.7 bln vs the $1.7 bln consensus. Co reports Q3 comparable store sales +0.1%. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.30-0.35 vs. $0.29 consensus, seeing consumables continuing to drive comparable store sales increases. Co sees Q4 comparable store sales +4-6%.

6:12AM UnitedHealth issues downside EPS guidance for Q208 and FY08 (UNH) 25.63 : Co issues downside guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.64-0.66 vs. $0.81 First Call consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees EPS of $2.95-3.05 vs. $3.52 consensus. Co expects FY08 revenue in the $81 bln range, with adjusted earnings from operations of approx $6.5 bln and cash flows from operations approaching $5 bln, prior to consideration of cash payments for litigation settlements, for which the timing for a portion of the payment is uncertain. "During the second quarter, our risk-based businesses produced a lower level of gross margin than expected, and we also experienced a continuation of the pressures we saw in the first quarter" stated Stephen J. Hemsley, chief executive officer. "We are continuing to take the aggressive specific steps necessary to improve our operating performance, as well as to better position our organization for sustained future growth. We believe the initiatives we have underway will yield these results."