Earnings - 25th Nov 2008

6:03PM Delia*s reports Q3 results (DLIA) 1.84 +0.00 : Reports Q3 (Oct) loss of $0.07 per share, excluding a $0.10 tax benefit, may not be comparable to the First Call consensus of $0.07. Including the tax benefit, co reported EPS from continuing operations of $0.03. Revenues from continuing operations rose 9.4% year/year to $56.9 mln, may not compare to the $78.3 mln two analyst est.

5:38PM Borders Group misses by $0.14, misses on revs; mgmt is no longer contemplating a sale of the co (BGP) 1.64 +0.01 : Reports Q3 (Oct) loss of $0.64 per share, $0.14 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.50); revenues fell 10.0% year/year to $682.1 mln vs the $726.5 mln consensus. With respect to the sale of the company, management is no longer contemplating a transaction. Regarding Paperchase, as previously disclosed, Borders Group retains its right to exercise its "put" option to sell its Paperchase business to Pershing Square Capital Management for $65 million and is also in discussions with Pershing Square regarding an alternative financing transaction. No assurance can be given as to whether an alternative financing transaction will be entered into or consummated. Borders Group plans to issue holiday sales results in mid-January. Fourth quarter 2008 results will be issued March 19 after market close with a conference call for investors the following day, March 20, at 8 a.m. "Borders has successfully reduced debt, improved operating cash flow, lowered expenses, improved gross margin-excluding occupancy-and improved inventory productivity during a time of extreme economic challenge... We stated at the beginning of this year that strengthening our balance sheet is our top priority and we are delivering results. We'll remain keenly focused on these critical initiatives, and in addition, will increase our efforts to drive further gross margin improvement. All of the changes we are making will position Borders Group to compete more effectively."

5:35PM McCormick revises 2008 guidance for impairment charge; affirms non-GAAP guidance excluding items (MKC) 30.30 -0.27 : Co announced that it will record a non-cash impairment charge in the fourth quarter to reduce the value of the Silvo brand. Aside from this adjustment, the Company affirmed its previous guidance on earnings per share for fiscal year 2008. Co now sees FY08 EPS of $1.86-1.92, which includes $0.16 to $0.18 of impairment charges, approximately $0.10 of restructuring charges, and related to the Lawry's acquisition, a $0.07 gain on the sale of the Season-All business and $0.03 payment to rebalance the debt portfolio. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes these items and the impact of restructuring charges in 2007, the Company has affirmed its previous outlook for a 9 to 11% growth rate in 2008 earnings per share. Although the Company has been challenged with a more difficult economic environment and less favorable currency exchange rates in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, its sales have been resilient and its profit performance has been in line with its earlier forecast.

5:25PM Hayes Lemmerz reschedules Q3 financial results conference call to December 4, 2008 (HAYZ) 0.60 +0.00 : Co announced today that the date of its fiscal year 2008 third quarter financial results conference call originally scheduled on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 has been moved to Thursday, December 4, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

5:11PM Thomas & Betts sees Q4 EPS closer to $0.84 vs $1.05 consensus (TNB) 18.96 : TNB has lowered its guidance for Q408 earnings as a result of a meaningful change in U.S. market conditions; particularly, commercial construction, Over the past few weeks. TNB now expects earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the Q4 to be closer to the $0.84 cents per share vs consensus $1.05 reported in the fourth quarter of 07 than the range implied by the company's previous full-year 2008 guidance of $5.35 to $5.45. Given the unpredictable macro-environment, TNB said that it is not planning to participate in investor conferences or provide additional updates on 2008/2009 earnings until after it releases year-end 2008 earnings early next year.

4:39PM Canadian Natl Rail disappointed in appeal court ruling sanctioning CTA grain rate reduction (CNI) 35.16 -0.02 : The co expresses disappointment in a Federal Court of Appeal of Canada ruling that lets stand a Canadian Transportation Agency decision issued earlier this year to reduce rail revenue entitlement for grain transportation retroactively under the Canada Transportation Act. The CTA in February 2008 cut grain rates by 8% under railway revenue caps retroactive to Aug. 1, 2007, to reflect its determination of actual railway maintenance expenditures for government-owned grain hopper cars. CN appealed the CTA decision, saying it was flawed and that its retroactive application was illegal. CN estimates the CTA decision will reduce its Canadian grain revenues by C$23 million for the 2007/08 grain crop year. The ruling transforms a business now generating slightly below average profits into CN's least-profitable commodity group. It is especially frustrating to CN that the rate reduction is retroactive: rates that were set in the spring of 2008 are to be applied to grain that moved in August of 2007.

4:26PM SeaChange beats by $0.05, reaffirms Q4 & FY09 guidance (SEAC) 6.49 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.11 per share, $0.05 better than the First Call consensus of $0.06; revenues rose 5.7% year/year to $51.8 mln vs the $51 mln consensus. co reaffirms they will be profitable in Q4. Co reaffirms guidance for FY09, sees FY09 revs of $197.88 (10% growth of FY08 revs) vs. $199.69 mln consensus; The Co also announces the acquisition of all the outstanding shares of Mobix Interactive. Under terms of the acquisition, the Co paid $4.5 mln upon the closing of the transaction on Nov. 19, of which $1.5 mln was held in escrow subject to potential post closing adjustments. In addition to the upfront payment, the purchase price includes additional contingent consideration of up to $12.5 mln based on Mobix achieving certain financial and commercial measures over the next three years.

4:16PM Coldwater Creek beats by $0.07, beats on revs (CWTR) 1.53 +0.15 : Reports Q3 (Oct) loss of $0.01 per share, $0.07 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.08); revenues fell 15.7% year/year to $228.5 mln vs the $225.5 mln consensus.

4:12PM SourceForge beats by $0.02, beats on revs (LNUX) 0.58 -0.06 : Reports Q1 (Oct) net of breakeven, ex-items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.02); revenues rose 17.5% year/year to $12.1 mln vs the $11.8 mln consensus.

4:07PM Netezza beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides FY09 revs in-line (NZ) 7.70 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.09 per share, $0.05 better than the First Call consensus of $0.04; revenues rose 51.5% year/year to $50.6 mln vs the $47.5 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09, Co isssues upside guidance for Q409 of $0.08 vs $0.04 consensus, sees FY09 revs of $182-187 vs. $184.11 mln consensus.

4:06PM Blue Coat beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (BCSI) 9.11 unch : Reports Q2 (Oct) earnings of $0.27 per share, $0.10 better than the First Call consensus of $0.17; revenues rose 62.1% year/year to $119 mln vs the $115.8 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.12-0.20 vs. $0.26 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $106-112 mln vs. $120.15 mln consensus.

4:04PM J. Crew beats by $0.03, beats on revs; lowers FY09 EPS guidance (JCG) 11.01 +1.03 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.30 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 9.1% year/year to $363.1 mln vs the $351.2 mln consensus. Co lowers guidance for FY09 (ends in Jan), sees EPS of $1.11-1.16, down from $1.44-1.54, vs. $1.35 consensus. Co's revised expectations for the balance of fiscal 2008 include comparable store sales declining high single digits, Direct sales growth in the range of flat to mid single-digits and net square footage expansion of ~10%.


9:05AM Eaton Vance misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line (EV) 14.90 : Co reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $0.28 per share, including $0.13 per diluted share net realized and unrealized investment losses, including impairment losses, $0.04 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.32; revenues fell 15.0% year/year to $249.8 mln vs the $250.8 mln consensus. Retail managed account net inflows increased 38% to $1.1 bln in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 from $0.8 bln in the same period last fiscal year. Long-term fund net outflows of $0.4 bln in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 consisted of $6.7 bln of fund sales and other inflows, $5.8 bln of fund redemptions and a $1.3 bln reduction in fund leverage. Net inflows into long-term funds were $0.9 bln in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Institutional and high- net-worth separate account net outflows were $0.3 bln in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 compared to net inflows of $0.6 bln in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, primarily reflecting outflows from Parametric Portfolio Associates and Atlanta Capital Management.

8:41AM Dollar Tree beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line (DLTR) 38.28 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.47 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 11.6% year/year to $1.11 bln vs the $1.11 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.07-1.15 vs. $1.12 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $1.38-1.42 bln vs. $1.42 bln consensus.

8:32AM Daktronics beats by $0.11, beats on revs (DAKT) 6.76 : Reports Q2 (Oct) earnings of $0.30 per share, $0.11 better than the First Call consensus of $0.19; revenues rose 29.1% year/year to $169.7 mln vs the $153.1 mln consensus. Orders for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 were up over 20 percent as compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2008. For the first half of fiscal 2009, order bookings increased approximately 18 percent as compared to the first half of fiscal 2008. These numbers exclude the recently announced orders for the New Meadowlands Stadium and two major league baseball facilities, which are expected to book in the third quarter of fiscal 2009.

8:03AM American Eagle reports EPS in-line, revs in-line, sales trends in Nov have remained challenging (AEO) 8.35 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.30 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 1.3% year/year to $754.0 mln vs the $752.9 mln consensus. Sales trends in November have remained challenging. Through the first two weeks of the month, comparable stores sales declined 17%. With one-third of November sales still ahead, and the importance of the Thanksgiving weekend needed to gauge holiday selling, the co will provide Q4 guidance next week.

8:03AM Camden Property reaffirms guidance, sees FY08 funds from operations of $3.57-3.61 vs $3.59 First Call consensus (CPT) 22.55 :


7:35AM Hormel Foods beats by $0.02, beats on revs; issues downside FY09 EPS guidance (HRL) 29.24 : Reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $0.50 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 12% year/year to $1.86 mbln vs the $1.79 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $2.15-$2.25 vs First Call consensus of $2.32.

7:33AM Chico's FAS beats by $0.03 (CHS) 2.35 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.01 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.02); revenues fell 5.2% year/year to $394.2 mln vs the $390.9 mln consensus. Co said, "Given the expectation of continued economic challenges for the next several quarters, we remain focused on conserving cash through reducing costs, limiting our capital expenditures to what is necessary, and managing inventories. To date, we have identified and implemented over $50 million in annual expense savings while trimming 2008 capital expenditures to approximately $110 million compared to the $202 million expended last year." The Company's capital position has been strengthened by its recent entry into a new credit facility with SunTrust Bank. This new $55 million facility has an increased aggregate principal amount of $10 million (above the prior $45 million facility), and also has a $45 million accordion feature providing additional debt capacity if and when needed. The new facility is secured by certain assets and contains terms and conditions common to facilities of this type. It will expire in November 2011.

7:32AM Utd Nat Foods beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (UNFI) 19.27 : Reports Q1 (Oct) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.30; revenues rose 17.4% year/year to $864.2 mln vs the $862.3 mln consensus. Gross margin was 19.4% for the first quarter of fiscal 2009, which represents a 99 basis point improvement from the gross margin of 18.4% for the first quarter of fiscal 2008. The improvement in gross margin over the prior year was due primarily to higher gross margin associated with the UNFI Specialty division and higher fuel surcharge revenues due to the higher average diesel prices compared to the quarter ended October 27, 2007. The fuel surcharge serves to partially offset higher diesel fuel costs in operating expenses.

7:25AM Brown Shoe beats by $0.32, misses on revs; issues downside Q4 guidance (BWS) 5.54 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.49 per share, ex-items, $0.32 better than the First Call consensus of $0.27; revenues decreased 2.2% year/year to $631.7 mln vs the $634.7 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees net loss per share of ($0.23)-($0.33), ex-items, vs consensus EPS of $0.41. In total, the company expects to reduce its capital spending plan for the 2009 to 2011 timeframe by $72.0 mln.

7:06AM DSW beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; lowers FY09 EPS range (DSW) 8.51 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.30 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 6.5% year/year to $391.4 mln vs the $394 mln consensus. Co lowers guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $0.62-0.72 (previous range $0.75-0.85), includes severance charge to be taken in Q4, uncollectible fees from the bankruptcy of Value City Department Stores and anticipated continued economic decline, vs. $0.80 consensus. Co reiterates its estimated annual same store sales in the negative mid-single digits.

7:03AM Zale misses by $0.48, misses on revs (ZLC) 9.11 : Reports Q1 (Oct) loss of $1.43 per share, $0.48 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.95); revenues fell 3.4% year/year to $364 mln vs the $381.9 mln consensus. In view of the uncertainties surrounding the national economy and consumer spending in these extraordinary times, co does not believe it can reliably gauge likely Holiday performance or sales in the balance of fiscal 2009 with any precision. As a result of this uncertainty, co pany does not believe that its previously issued earnings guidance should be relied upon. Co has experienced a significant decline in sales during October and November. However, if these current sales trends continue, the Company remains confident that it will still generate free cash flow of not less than $50 mln for fiscal year 2009.

6:40AM Warner Music Group beats by $0.06 (WMG) 2.80 : Reports Q4 (Sep) earnings of $0.04 per share, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.02); revenues fell 1.5% year/year to $854 mln vs the $837.6 mln consensus. Co said, "The volatile global economy and timing of our release schedule may result in back-end weighted fiscal 2009 results".

6:35AM Vimpel Comms misses by $0.07, reports revs in-line (VIP) 8.70 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.27 per ADS, $0.07 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.34; revenues rose 45.3% year/year to $2.84 bln vs the $2.86 bln consensus. Mobile subscribers increased by 7.1 mln vs Q307, reaching 57.8 mln. OIBDA reached $1.39 bln, an increase of 36.7% vs Q307. OIBDA margin improved quarter/quarter to 48.8%, including 50.0% in Russia and 53.4% in Kazakhstan.

6:33AM American Woodmark beats by $0.03, beats on revs (AMWD) 14.03 : Reports Q2 (Oct) loss of $0.03 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.06); revenues fell 15.8% year/year to $134.9 mln vs the $126.2 mln consensus.

4:21AM Elbit Systems beats by $0.02, beats on revs (ESLT) 43.33 : Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.83 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.81; revenues rose 29.4% year/year to $671.2 mln vs the $655 mln consensus. Co's backlog of orders as of September 30, 2008 totaled $4,872 mln, as compared with $5,050 mln as of June 30, 2008 and $4,624 mln as of December 31, 2007.

1:09AM Black Hills lowers FY08 and FY09 EPS guidance (BKH) 24.99 : Co revises its 2008 guidance and outlook for 2009 in light of lower natural gas and crude oil prices and related downturn in general economic conditions. Co issues downside guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees EPS of $2.00-2.10, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.20 First Call consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09 (Dec), sees EPS of $1.95-2.25, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.53 consensus. "During this time of unprecedented economic and market uncertainty, we are focused on maintaining efficient business operations, conserving cash, and prudently managing our capital expenditures. We are currently working with our bank lending group to extend the $383 million Aquila acquisition facility that expires in February 2009 and we expect to obtain the financing we need," said David Emery, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Black Hills Corp.