Earnings - 2nd Sept 2008

4:36PM Shanda Interactive beats by $0.05, beats on revs (SNDA) 26.43 -0.07 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings per diluted ADS of $0.56, $0.05 better than the First Call consensus of $0.51; revenues rose 48.4% year/year to $122.1 mln vs the $115.3 mln consensus. Revenues from massively multiplayer online role-playing games increased 47.0% year-over-year and 8.5% quarter-over-quarter to a record high of RMB695.1 mln (US$101.3 mln).

4:31PM ConAgra says Q1 EPS to be affected by underperformance in consumer business; earnings will be slightly below EPS guidance of $0.26-0.28 (First Call Consensus $0.29) (CAG) 21.46 +0.19 : The co announces that underperformance in the Consumer Foods segment will negatively impact its fiscal 2009 first quarter diluted EPS from continuing operations. Excluding gains and losses impacting comparability earnings are expected to be slightly below the previously announced estimate of $0.26-$0.28 per diluted share. While the company does not expect any material change in its full year fiscal 2009 outlook, it is in the process of determining whether the first quarter results would cause any downward revision to the low end of the expected EPS range for the full fiscal year. The first-quarter earnings softness is driven by lower-than-planned profits for the Consumer Foods segment, which generated high single-digit sales growth on essentially flat volume, but incurred higher-than-planned inflation. Consumer Foods segment operating profits will be below prior-year first-quarter amounts.

4:05PM NCI Building Sys beats by $0.40, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line; guides FY08 EPS above consensus (NCS) 37.09 -1.19 : Reports Q3 (Jul) earnings of $1.63 per share, $0.40 better than the First Call consensus of $1.23; revenues rose 10.0% year/year to $477.6 mln vs the $480.1 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.06-1.21 vs. $1.20 consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $3.85-4.00 vs. $3.55 consensus. "Rising steel prices have caused a shift in our traditional quarterly seasonality this year, as we saw a number of our Components and Buildings group customers, in particular, accelerate orders to lock-in their costs," Mr. Chambers said. "Therefore, while second half results will account for the historical 65% to 75% of NCI's full year earnings, third quarter results are expected to be the strongest of the year."

6:35AM Double Hull Tankers beats by $0.03, beats on revs (DHT) 8.91 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.29 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 34.3% year/year to $27.8 mln vs the $26.2 mln consensus. Q2 benefited from the surge in the freight market that started at the end of 2007 and has continued through first and second quarter. This is primarily a result of strong Far East demand and ample supply of OPEC oil increasing the demand for long haul transportation of crude oil. The demand for oil import to China and the industrialization of the developing economies of the Far East continue to be the key drivers for the growth in tanker demand.