Earnings - 17th Nov 2008

5:06PM Ctrip.com reports EPS in-line, revs in-line (CTRP) 23.66 +0.67 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.22 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.22; revenues rose 19.6% year/year to $55 mln vs the $54.7 mln consensus. For the fourth quarter of 2008, Ctrip expects the year-on-year net revenue growth rate to be in the range of 5-15%.

5:03PM The9 Ltd misses by $0.03, misses on revs (NCTY) 12.30 +0.26 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.52 per share, $0.03 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.55; revenues rose 29.3% year/year to $63.5 mln vs the $68.2 mln consensus. "As we prepare for the launch of Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard Entertainment's second World of Warcraft expansion, in China, we see anticipation of the game continue to mount and expect increasing number of new players to sign up for subscription. We're also working with our other developer partners to launch new games, including FIFA Online 2, Audition 2 and Atlantica. And we are proud of our efforts in in-house game development with five games underway. Among them, Warriors of Fate Online has started close-beta test in Nantong City and we have received very positive feedback from players. We believe by focusing on our core strength of operational excellence and developing proprietary games, we will continue to solidify our leading position in the Chinese gaming market."

5:02PM Xinhua Finance misses by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY08 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (XFML) 0.96 -0.06 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.10 per share, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.12; revenues rose 25.6% year/year to $51.1 mln vs the $53.4 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.04-$0.06 vs. $0.11 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $48-$50 mln vs. $61.67 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $0.28-$0.30 vs. $0.34 consensus; sees FY08 revs of $185-$187 mln vs. $200.96 mln consensus.

4:02PM MEMC Elec lowers Q4 rev guidance (WFR) 13.38 -1.96 : Co issues downside guidance for Q4 (Dec), sees Q4 (Dec) revs of ~$475-525 mln vs. $569.64 mln First Call consensus; with gross margin of approx 48%, plus or minus two percentage points, and operating expenses of approx $27 mln. This compares to the company's previously announced targets of $540-$600 mln in revenue with gross margin of over 50% and operating expenses of approx $41 mln. The decrease in targeted operating expenses is due to the decrease in stock compensation expense resulting from the forfeiture of option grants in connection with the decision of the company's former Chief Executive Officer, Nabeel Gareeb, to step down from his positions with the Company. "The weak macroeconomic environment has continued to deteriorate, and has had an increasingly negative effect on the semiconductor and solar markets over the past few weeks. These effects are quickly cascading backward through global supply chains, and we cannot expect to be immune to the impact on our customers in all the markets we serve. This recent sequence of events has increased pricing pressure in the short term solar market and exacerbated the demand weakness in the semiconductor market. We expect to use our increased polysilicon production in the fourth quarter to offset some of the effects of this reduced pricing through increased wafer sales. Given these variables and the rapidly evolving macroeconomic environment, we are maintaining a wide range of financial targets to indicate our current understanding of these uncertain market conditions..."

9:04AM Genzyme announces that the FDA plans an Accelerated Approval for Myozyme; reaffirms 2009 EPS of $4.70 (vs $4.74 consensus) (GENZ) 69.14 : Co announces that the FDA plans an Accelerated Approval for Myozyme produced at the 2000 L bioreactor scale for the treatment of Late Onset Pompe disease. The co and the agency first need to agree on the design of a post-approval verification study and the FDA must complete its review of the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy for the product. Genzyme submitted the REMS earlier this month. The FDA has classified this submission as a major amendment to the BLA for Myozyme produced at the 2000 L scale, and therefore has extended the PDUFA date by 90 days to February 28, 2009. Genzyme will be required to submit the final protocol for the verification study after approval. The co does not expect this extension to affect its 2009 non-GAAP earnings per share. The co reconfirmed its non-GAAP earnings guidance of $4.70 per share for next year (vs $4.74 consensus).

8:32AM Target reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; temporarily suspends buyback (TGT) 33.03 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.49 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.49; revenues rose 1.9% year/year to $15.11 bln vs the $15.24 bln consensus. "On an ongoing basis we evaluate our deployment of capital resources, both for investment in our business and execution of our share repurchase program... The current environment and our financial outlook have naturally reduced our appetite for investment in our business, and we have also temporarily suspended substantially all of our share repurchase activity. At this time, we have reduced our expected 2009 capital expenditures by about $1 billion. Overall, we believe these related decisions will help to protect our liquidity and strong debt ratings as we continue to operate in a very challenging retail and credit environment."

7:02AM Lowe's beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS below consensus (LOW) 18.23 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.33 per share, $0.05 better than the First Call consensus of $0.28; revenues rose 1.4% year/year to $11.73 bln vs the $11.62 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.08-0.16 vs. $0.18 consensus. Co said, "During the quarter, products related to ongoing home maintenance and outdoor projects continued to perform relatively well. Also, we experienced a hurricane-related sales lift in the Gulf Coast as residents repaired storm damage. However, consumers continued to delay discretionary home improvement and bigger ticket purchases, which resulted in negative comparable store sales in the quarter."

6:04AM Covidien beats by $0.05, beats on revs; updates FY09 guidance (COV) 38.10 : Reports Q4 (Sep) earnings of $0.73 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the First Call consensus of $0.68; revenues rose 12.0% year/year to $2.57 bln vs the $2.54 bln consensus. Q4 gross margin was 54.6%, up 2.8 percentage points from prior year period. Co estimates that sales in FY09 will be flat to up 3%, including foreign exchange at current rates. Operational growth, excluding foreign exchange, remains at the previously communicated range of 6% to 9% for FY09. Including foreign exchange at current rates, net sales are expected to be -3% to flat versus 2008 in the Medical Devices segment and -4% to -1% in Imaging Solutions. There are no changes to previous 2009 guidance for the Pharmaceutical Products or Medical Supplies segments, where sales are expected to increase 20%+ and 2% to 5%, respectively. Including foreign exchange at current rates and excluding the impact of one-time items, the operating margin is expected to be in the 21.5% to 22.5% range, consistent with prior guidance.

3:23AM VanceInfo Tech beats by $0.02, beats on revenue; issues upside guidance for FY08 (VIT) 6.88 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.12 per share, excludes share-based compensation, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.10; revenues increased 53.3% year/year to $27.67 mln vs the $2.27 mln consensus. Operating margin was 15.5%, compared to 14.4% in Q307. Co issues upside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $0.40-0.43 vs the $0.39 consensus; sees revenue of $100.0-101.0 mln vs the $98.65 mln consensus.

12:15AM Longtop Financial Technologies beats by $0.06, beats on revenue; issues upside guidance for Q3 and FY09 (LFT) 13.19 : Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $0.31, excludes items, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.25; revenues increased 40.8% year/year to $28.19 mln vs the $26.0 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q309, sees EPS of $0.30 per share, excluding items, vs the $0.27 estimate; sees Q309 revenue of $29.0 mln vs the $25.84 mln estimate. Co issues upside guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $0.94 per share, excluding items, vs the $0.87 estimate; sees FY09 revenue of $98.5 mln vs $93.1 mln estimate.