9th Oct 2008

9:57PM Brinker sees Q1 EPS below consensus, lowers FY09 EPS (EAT) 13.15 -1.16 : Co issues downside guidance; co sees Q1 EPS of $0.19-0.20, before special items and excluding Macaroni Grill, vs $0.32 First Call consensus. Co says, "While we expected our Q1 results to be down sharply versus a year ago due to rising commodity costs and the lap of the successful Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers promotion, we did not foresee the sequential pressure on the consumer as the quarter unfolded. Co says, "As a result, we have revised our full-year FY09 guidance to reflect this challenging sales environment. Despite these ongoing pressures, EAT's disciplined capital allocation, strong balance sheet and growing free cash flow will allow us to focus on the recently-outlined strategies and invest in the initiatives that will create long-term financial health and bolster our competitive position in the industry." The co expects FY09 EPS, before special items and excluding the operating results of Macaroni Grill, to decline between 15-25% as compared to FY08 and down from to the co's previous guidance of 8-10%. The revised guidance is based on a full-year FY09 decrease in comparable restaurant sales of ~2-4%.

5:31PM Olin announced Q3 EPS to be at high end of $0.65-0.70 vs $0.70 consensus; Co announced that its third quarter 2008 earnings are expected to include an impairment charge of the full value of a $26.6 million investment in corporate debt securities. (OLN) 14.62 -0.78 : Co raised Q3 EPS guidance; co expects Q3 EPS to be at high end of $0.65-0.70, excluding the impairment charge mentioned later, vs $0.70 consensus. Co announced that its Q3 2008 earnings are expected to include an impairment charge of the full value of a $26.6 mln investment in corporate debt securities. The impairment occurred as a result of a decline in market values. On October 1, 2008, the issuer of these debt securities announced it would cease trading and appoint a receiver as a result of financial market turmoil.

5:22PM Cytec lowers FY08 EPS below consensus (CYT) 29.70 -2.51 : Co lowers FY08 EPS to $3.75-3.85 vs $4.27 consensus, down from $4.15-4.35. Co says, "Our third quarter results have met our previous expectations. The principal reasons for the reduced outlook are a continuing strike at a major customer, a further weakening global economy, particularly in Europe, and the impacts in our Building Block Chemicals segment from weakening acrylic fiber demand as well as the adverse effects from Hurricane Gustav... In these difficult and uncertain times we are accelerating our reviews of company-wide operations to ensure our organization and asset base is right-sized with our latest view of the global economy. As a first step, the third quarter is expected to include a restructuring charge of about $5 million relating to a reduction of approximately 40 employees principally in Specialty Chemicals. While we are confident in the long-term growth rates of our principal product lines, we must take the decisive action during these difficult times to deliver greater results to our investors and to ensure we remain a strong company able to invest in our future."
5:16PM CYT lowers FY08 EPS to $3.75-3.85 vs $4.27 consensus, down from $4.15-4.35 :

5:08PM Chevron expects Q2 earnings to exceed those of 2008's Q2 (CVX) 64.00 -9.10 : Co issues guidance; co expects Q3 2008 earnings to exceed those of 2008's Q2. Downstream results are expected to improve significantly compared with Q2. Upstream earnings are expected to decline between quarters, in part due to the effect of September hurricanes, as well as lower commodity prices. The production volumes, realizations, margins and certain other items in the report are based on a portion of the quarter and are not necessarily indicative of CVX's quarterly results to be reported on October 31, 2008. The reader should not place undue reliance on this data. Unless noted otherwise, all commentary is based on two months of Q3 2008 vs. full Q2 2008 results. Total U.S. production declined about 1% during the first two months of Q3. However, hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico are expected to reduce oil-equivalent production in the United States for the month of September by about 150 thousand barrels per day. International liquids production fell nearly 6% in the first two months of the third quarter, primarily due to facilities downtime associated with the expansion project and annual turnaround activities at the Tengiz Field in Kazakhstan. The Tengiz Field expansion project was completed in late September. Worldwide realizations for crude oil and natural gas in September 2008 are expected to be lower than those of July and August. In addition to hurricane-related production curtailments, Q3 results will also include an estimated $400 mln in charges for incremental costs to abandon toppled platforms, asset write-offs, and initial expenses associated with the repair of facilities. Preliminary projections suggest that approximately 5 MBD of oil-equivalent production will be permanently shut-in as a result of facilities damage from the September hurricanes. Partly offsetting these costs are gains of roughly $350 million on the sale of the co's 9.2% interest in the K2 development, along with other asset sales in the Gulf of Mexico.

4:34PM Robbins & Myers beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus; guides FY09 EPS in-line (RBN) 21.44 -1.39 : Reports Q4 (Aug) earnings of $0.74 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $0.70; revenues rose 10.0% year/year to $227.8 mln vs the $230 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.45-0.50 vs. $0.51 consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $2.40-2.55 vs. $2.52 consensus.

4:30PM Deckers Outdoor sees Q3 revs of ~$195 mln vs $175.04 mln First Call consensus; expects to also exceed its previously issued Q3 EPS growth target of 12% YoY (DECK) 76.96 -1.25 : Co announces that it expects Q3 sales to be ~$195 mln (vs $175.04 mln First Call consensus). Based on higher than forecasted sales, co expects to also exceed its previously issued Q3 EPS growth target of 12% over the same period in fiscal 2007 (which calc to ~$1.65 vs $1.70 First Call consensus). Co also stated that it still expects Q4 revenue and diluted EPS to increase ~45% and 42%, respectively, over 2007 levels. (which calc to Q4 EPS of ~$3.82 vs $3.84 First Call consensus and revs of ~$281.65 mln vs $284.30 mln First Call consensus).

4:18PM Imation guides Q3 revs below consensus; FY08 results expected to be well below prior outlook (IMN) 16.99 -0.74 : Co issues downside guidance; co sees Q3 revs of $525 mln vs $601.5 mln First Call consensus and expect to report an operating loss, excluding restructuring and other charges, between $6-8 mln. Co says, "These preliminary results are below the co's expectations and were driven by economic weakness, which accelerated late in the quarter. Given the softness in the current quarter and continued concerns about the economic environment for the rest of the year, the co believes full year results will be well below the revenue and earnings outlook provided on July 22nd, and investors should not rely on that outlook.

4:04PM Total System misses by $0.01, beats on revs; co reaffirms net income guidance (TSS) 13.75 -0.47 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.33 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 9.4% year/year to $500.4 mln vs the $490 mln consensus. Co says, "While much depends on consumer confidence and, as always, the upcoming holiday shopping season, which we now believe will be slow, we are reaffirming our net income guidance of an increase of 5-7%."

8:27AM TJX Cos confirms lowered Q3 EPS guidance of $0.55-$0.58 vs $0.61 First Call consensus; Sept comparable sales of -1.0% vs +0.3% Briefing consensus (TJX) 27.61 : Co confirms lowered Q3 EPS guidance of $0.55-$0.58 vs $0.61 First Call consensus. Consolidated comparable sales for Sept was -1.0% vs. +0.3% Briefing consensus. Co states, "Although September consolidated comparable store sales were below plan, customer transactions were up across virtually all divisions. Also, despite economic concerns internationally, our divisions in these markets had strong performance. With the volatile economic environment in the U.S. and a generally warmer September than last year, we were pleased to see sales trends in the U.S. dramatically improve at the end of the month as the weather turned more seasonable in key regions..."

7:46AM American Apparel reports Sept same store sales of +15% (APP) 6.41 : Co announces that for the month of September 2008, sales for stores open for more than twelve months increased 15% over the year ago period, on a constant currency basis. For the month of September 2007, comparable store sales increased 35%.

6:34AM Quantum Fuel announces it has signed an exclusive agreement to establish a joint venture in Morocco (QTWW) 0.99 : Co announces that it's German solar photovoltaic partner Asola has signed an exclusive agreement to establish a joint venture in Morocco, to ensure availability of solar photovoltaic modules in support of the growing demand for renewable energy in Northern African countries. Asola and the Moroccan partner Majdaline Holding will implement a solar module manufacturing facility in Casablanca, with initial capacity of 30 MW solar modules, with a potential to generate revenues in excess of $100 mln annually. Asola will hold the controlling stake in this joint venture.