Earnings - 11th Dec 2008

6:38PM Borg Warner lowers 2008 EPS guidance below consensus (BWA) 22.38 -2.27 : Co lowers 2008 EPS to $1.85-1.95, excluding non-recurring charges, vs $2.25 First Call consensus, down from $2.25-2.35. Co says, "The downward spiral of the auto industry continues to accelerate across the globe. The crisis is not solely a North American automotive industry issue, nor about perceptions of domestic automakers not having the right products for the market. Rather, this is a situation where consumers in every geographic region of the world have become paralyzed by the global financial and economic crisis. We are actively adjusting our cost structure, but are struggling to respond fast enough to the daily stream of new customer information on plant closings, extended holiday shutdowns and production schedule reductions."

6:21PM United Tech reaffirms FY08 EPS below consensus, guides FY09 EPS in-line with consensus, guides FY09 revs below consensus (UTX) 47.08 -0.93 : Co reaffirms FY08 EPS of $4.90 vs $4.93 First Call consensus, sees FY09 EPS of $4.65-5.15 vs $5.03 consensus. Co sees FY09 revs of $57 bln vs $59.1 bln consensus. Co says, "Strength in our long cycle businesses and benefits from early cost reduction actions should more than offset adverse impacts from the stronger U.S. dollar and rapidly deteriorating end markets in the second half of the year... We expect difficult and uncertain economic conditions through much of 2009. We are confident UTX's strong global franchises and experienced management team will continue to outperform even in this environment. We anticipate that further deployment of our ACE operating system, continued focus on cost controls, and benefits from early and substantial restructuring actions taken in 2008 will help offset significant foreign currency related headwind on earnings in 2009. All six operating divisions are expected to expand margins in 2009. Liquidity is not an issue at UTX and we continue to expect cash flow from operations less capital expenditures to equal or exceed net income in 2009. These strong cash flows, coupled with continued access to the commercial paper market and low levels of long-term debt maturing over the next year, give us confidence that we can continue our acquisition agenda along with our share repurchase program."

5:01PM Danaher sees FY09 EPS of $3.70-$4.10 vs First Call consensus of $4.10 (DHR) 49.68 -1.52 : Co issues downside guidance, sees FY09 EPS of $3.70-$4.10 vs $4.10 First Call consensus. CEO stated, "We have taken significant steps to prepare our businesses for what we believe will be a difficult year ahead. However, despite the current economic backdrop, we believe we are well positioned for 2009."

4:44PM Waters lowers Q4 EPS and revs guidance below consensus (WAT) 41.88 +0.68 : Co lowers Q4 EPS to $0.94-0.99 vs $1.08 First Call consensus, down from $1.08-1.12, lowers revs to $410-420 mln vs $449.8 mln consensus, down from ~$454 mln. Co lowered its outlook due to weaker than expected orders for new instruments resulting from deterioration in global economic conditions. Co says, "Global economic conditions have weakened since our October conference call and we now see a generally more difficult business environment ahead of us. Capital spending is more constrained as our customers are more cautious given the recent economic turbulence in many regions of the world. Additionally, foreign exchange impacts are unfavorably affecting our business growth and profitability. These conditions are likely to continue into next year and we are presently assessing our spending plans to align with lower sales expectations going forward."

4:08PM Martek Biosci reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs in-line (MATK) 27.32 -1.58 : Reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $0.27 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 10.2% year/year to $90.4 mln vs the $89.3 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.27-0.29 vs. $0.29 consensus; sees Q1 revs of $86-89 mln vs. $89.75 mln consensus. For 2009 the Company expects moderate growth of both revenues and profitability over fiscal 2008 with profitability growing at a higher rate than revenues primarily due to improvements in gross profit margins; however, a deep, prolonged economic recession would yield additional uncertainty with respect to the Company's attainment of its forecasted operating results.

8:32AM Edwards Lifesci issues mixed guidance for FY09; gets an approvable for the LifeStent product line (EW) 46.44 : Co issues mixed guidance for FY09 (Dec), sees EPS of $2.93-3.03 vs. $2.93 First Call consensus; sees FY09 (Dec) revs of $1.24-1.30 bln vs. $1.33 bln consensus. Co announced that it has received an approvable letter from the FDA for the LifeStent product line and has completed the transfer of its PMA application to C.R. Bard, Inc., which purchased the line in January 2008. In exchange, Bard has paid Edwards $23 million of the previously negotiated $50 million milestone payment. The remaining $27 million will be paid upon receipt of the PMA, which is expected in 2009.
8:00AM Cummins lower 2008 outlook to reflect worsening economic conditions (CMI) 26.86 : Co revises its outlook for 2008 due to the continuing decline in many of its key markets around the world. Co now expects 2008 sales to increase by 9% over 2007, compared to its previous guidance of a 12% increase (current consensus is for FY08 revs increase of ~11.9% YoY). Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) is forecast to be slightly more than 9% of sales, compared to the earlier guidance of 10%. Co has taken a number of steps to address the slowing demand over the past month, including: Initiated temporary plant shutdowns, shortened work weeks and extended traditional holiday closing periods; Eliminated temporary employees in a number of plant locations; Reduced permanent employee levels at some manufacturing locations; Prioritized capital and IT project spending to focus on the Company's most pressing needs; Initiated a hiring freeze across most of the Company; Significantly curtailed discretionary spending. The Company also announced last week that it will reduce its professional workforce worldwide by at least 500 employees by the end of 2008. The costs associated with the employee reductions are estimated to be between $30-$40 million and will be recognized in the Company's fourth quarter earnings. The revised guidance for 2008 excludes the severance costs associated with these actions.

7:51AM Baidu.com issues downside Q4 rev guidance; sees revs of $130-$133 mln vs $140.31 mln consensus (BIDU) 104.54 : Co issues downside guidance, sees Q4 revs of $131-$133 mln vs $140.31 mln First Call consensus, and vs prior guidance of $151-$155 mln. The company noted that several factors contributed to the guidance revision. First, the economic slowdown in China is having a greater than expected impact on online marketing particularly in machinery and franchising; second, Baidu recently removed the paid search listings of customers in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors without licenses on file with Baidu; and third, after a thorough inspection of its customer base, the company removed a number of questionable paid search listings outside of the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. The company noted that a portion of its customers in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors have returned to its paid search listings following the submission of required licenses.

7:31AM Lululemon Athletica beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (LULU) 10.46 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.13 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.12; revenues rose 34.1% year/year to $87 mln vs the $86.5 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.15-0.17 vs. $0.26 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $90-95 mln vs. $130.40 mln consensus.

7:03AM Ciena misses by $0.16, misses on revs; guides Q1 revs below consensus (CIEN) 7.56 : Reports Q4 (Oct) loss of $0.10 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.16 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.06; revenues fell 29.0% year/year to $179.7 mln vs the $198.8 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $170-185 mln vs. $190.45 mln consensus.

6:13AM Gildan Activewear misses by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus; guides FY09 EPS below consensus (GIL) 14.17 : Reports Q4 (Sep) earnings of $0.41 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 27.4% year/year to $324.7 mln vs the $341.4 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.00-0.05, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.27 consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $1.10-1.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.86 consensus. Gildan is now projecting total capital expenditures of approx $115.0 mln in FY09, compared with its previous estimate of approx $160.0 mln. The co's objective in FY09 is to remain cash positive after taking account of capital expenditures, approx $70.0 mln of projected additional working capital to support its planned growth in fiscal 2010 and the cash payments required following the settlement of the CRA audit.

5:09AM PMC-Sierra lowers Q408 revenue guidance (PMCS) 3.81 : Co issues downside guidance for Q4 (Dec), sees Q4 (Dec) revs of $118.0-122.0 mln vs. $128.86 mln First Call consensus. Co attributes downward revision to slower sales activity within the quarter due to a weaker macroeconomic environment.

3:27AM Costco beats by $0.03, misses on revs (COST) 53.69 : Reports Q1 (Nov) earnings of $0.65 per share, excluding pretax charge of $0.05/share related to the 'mark-to-market' adjustment of the cash surrender value of certain life insurance contracts and the impairment of corporate investments and includes negative impact of currencies, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.62; revenues rose 3.7% year/year to $16.39 bln vs the $16.68 bln consensus. According to Richard Galanti, Chief Financial Officer, "First quarter 2009 results benefited from very strong gasoline profitability when compared to last year. Results were hurt by a slowdown in non-food discretionary sales and related reductions in margins associated with these sales, primarily in the latter half of the quarter..."