Earnings - 3rd Sept 2008

6:20PM China BAK Battery raises FY08 revs above single-analyst est; guides FY09 revs above single-analyst est (CBAK) 3.95 +0.02 : CBAK announced in conf call slides, the co raised FY08 revs to $240 mln vs $213.5 mln single-analyst est, up from $210 mln prior guidance. Co issues upside guidance; co sees FY09 revs of $370-410 mln vs $276.6 mln single-analyst est.

6:14PM Mindray Medical misses by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY08 revs in-line (MR) 37.75 -0.35 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.22; revenues rose 99.6% year/year to $145.7 mln vs the $140.8 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $1.16-1.18, may not be comparable to $1.00 consensus; reaffirms FY08 revs of $560-580 mln vs. $571.18 mln consensus.

5:28PM Navistar reports Q3; raises FY08 EPS guidance (NAV) 54.05 -0.48 : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $3.68, may not be comparable to the First Call dual-analyst est of $1.22; revenues were $4.0 bln vs the $3.90 bln First Call consensus. Co raised FY08 EPS to $6.35-7.35 vs $4.63 consensus, up from $4.26-5.72; sees revs of $15 bln vs $14.7 bln consensus. Co says, "Increased military revenue as well as strong demand for our fuel-efficient heavy trucks drove our overall results in the third quarter. Although we continue to face a weak truck market in North America and anticipate our results to moderate in the fourth quarter, we are revising our full-year guidance upward," said Daniel C. Ustian, Navistar chairman, president and chief executive officer.

5:14PM Massey Energy reaffirms produced tons sold in FY08 (MEE) 55.77 -3.58 : Co stated that it expects produced tons sold in Q3 to be in the range of 10.3-10.7 mln at an average price of $64.00-66.00 per ton. MEE further stated that it still expects full-year 2008 results, excluding the litigation charge recorded in Q2, to be within the ranges of full-year guidance provided previously but with produced tons sold and average price per ton trending toward the lower end of the respective ranges.

4:12PM H & R Block misses by $0.05, misses on revs; maintains FY09 EPS guidance (HRB) 26.50 +0.94 : Reports Q1 (Jul) loss of $0.40 per share, $0.05 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.35); revenues fell 10.9% year/year to $339.6 mln vs the $378.3 mln consensus. Co maintains guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $1.60-1.70 vs. $1.66 consensus. On Sept. 3, 2008, the company announced that it plans to acquire the operator of H&R Block franchises in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. This acquisition is expected to add approximately $0.05 to earnings per share for FY09. Co said it is maintaining guidance at this time in light of the fact that it generates its earnings almost entirely in the fiscal fourth quarter. This decision (to maintain guidance) also reflects consideration of other factors including higher loss reserves for H&R Block Bank in the first quarter and an assumed earnings contribution from HRBFA that will now be reported in discontinued operations starting in the fiscal second quarter... Improved off-season results from Tax Services were offset by a loss in the Consumer Financial Services segment, mainly due to an approximately $20.4 million increase in loss reserves and asset write-downs at H&R Block Bank. "Compared with a year ago, operating results have improved, and losses from discontinued operations have diminished significantly. The decision to take additional loss reserves against the Bank's mortgage portfolio lowered performance slightly from what it would otherwise have been, but the company intends to maintain appropriate financial reserves while this portfolio runs off... Our Texas acquisition increases opportunities to grow the client base and to use franchising more aggressively in that market. Selling our securities brokerage unit should enhance returns on invested capital while reducing operating risks. These and other strategic steps improve opportunities to grow earnings and shareholder value."

4:02PM Guess beats by $0.08, beats on revs; raises Y09 guidance range, raises dividend (GES) 38.25 +1.09 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.57 per share, $0.08 better than the First Call consensus of $0.49; revenues rose 32.7% year/year to $515.2 mln vs the $460.9 mln consensus. Co raises guidance range for FY09, sees EPS of $2.47-2.53, compared to previous guidance of $2.40-2.48, vs. $2.49 consensus; sees FY09 revs of $2.06-2.11 bln, compared to previous guidance of $2.03-2.08 bln, vs. $2.09 bln consensus. Co also raises its qtrly dividend to $0.10 from $0.08 which equates to a 1.1% annual yield.

2:10PM Jos. A. Bank beats by $0.02, beats on revs (JOSB) 27.12 +1.36 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.48 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 13.7% year/year to $152.7 mln vs the $147.4 mln consensus.

9:12AM LMI Aerospace reaffirms FY08 revs; issues FY09 revs in-line (LMIA) 23.05 : Co reaffirms guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees FY08 (Dec) revs of $249-265 mln vs. $257.03 mln First Call consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09 (Dec), sees FY09 (Dec) revs of $289-304 mln vs. $290.30 mln consensus. FY09 gross margins will be approximately 24 percent to 25 percent, with selling, general and administrative expenses expected to be between $33.8 million and $34.3 million. "Due to the rapid increase in sales experienced in 2008 and the lower visibility of future sales in our Engineering Services segment, we are assuming our revenue in 2009 will be approximately the same as in 2008."

9:05AM Corning issues Q3 downside guidance (GLW) 19.50 : Co issues downside guidance for Q3 (Sep), sees EPS of $0.43-0.45, excluding non-recurring items, compared to previous guidance of $0.48-0.51, vs. $0.50 First Call consensus; sees Q3 (Sep) revs of $1.58-1.62 bln, compared to previous guidance of $1.65-1.72 bln, vs. $1.7 bln consensus. Co sees Q3 gross margins of about 47%, compared to previous guidance of at least 50%. The guidance reductions are primarily related to lower-than-expected shipments of LCD glass in the co's wholly owned display business. "We continue to see evidence of ongoing strength in the retail market for LCD TVs, a key growth area for the LCD glass industry. However, the supply chain correction, as outlined in our second-quarter conference call, is taking longer than we expected. We believe that the set assembly portion of the supply chain built too much inventory in the first half of this year. As set assemblers have continued to hold back on orders, panel makers have lowered prices and reduced utilization rates to balance the supply chain. We think these utilization cutbacks will continue into September in Taiwan. As a result, we now expect third-quarter sequential volume for Corning's wholly owned display glass business to be down about 5% versus our previous guidance of flat to up 5%."

9:04AM United Tech reaffirms FY08 EPS and revenue guidance (UTX) 66.16 : Co reaffirms guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees EPS of $4.80-4.95 vs. $4.94 First Call consensus; sees FY08 (Dec) revs of more than $60 bln vs. $60.13 bln consensus.

6:33AM Staples reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (SPLS) 24.77 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.21 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 18.3% year/year to $5.07 bln vs the $4.69 bln consensus. Co reaffirms Y08 GAAP guidance, sees low single-digit EPS growth yr/yr on a GAAP basis.