6:15PM Itron reaffirms FY08 EPS and revs in-line with consensus (ITRI) 61.50 +0.64 : Co reaffirms FY08 EPS of $3.35-3.45 vs $3.39 First Call consensus. sees revs of $1.91-1.93 bln vs $1.93 bln consensus. Co says, "We talked about the possibility of year-end spending being lower than normal and in fact that happened, so at this point we feel more comfortable with the low end of the ranges for all of the above financial measures based on a tax rate of 26%."
5:44PM Bunge lowers FY08 EPS guidance below consensus; guides FY09 EPS below consensus (BG) 48.17 -0.14 : Co lowers FY08 EPS to $7.70, including an after tax charge of ~$160 mln related to counterparty risk, vs $10.22 First Call consensus, down from $11.60-11.90. Co issues downside FY09 EPS; co sees FY09 EPS of $6.90-7.60 vs $8.00 consensus. Co says, "Weak Q4 results were impacted by soft demand for soybean meal and oil due to challenging economic conditions in our end markets and substitutions of other agricultural commodity products. Farmers were reluctant sellers of crops in expectation of higher prices, while credit constraints affected the Brazilian farm sector and limited sales of fertilizer. Fertilizer segment performance was also impacted by foreign exchange losses of ~$225 mln from the 18% devaluation of the Brazilian real on U.S. dollar-denominated financing of working capital during Q4. Unlike in agribusiness, where inventories are marked to market, offsetting gains in fertilizer inventories are expected to occur in future quarters when these inventories are sold. The co expects to record an after tax charge of ~$160 million related to counterparty risk in its agribusiness segment. Depressed economic conditions and significant declines in agricultural commodity, freight and energy prices mln adversely affected certain customers and counterparties. In Q4, demand fell more than we anticipated. Periods of soft demand are typically short lived in our industry, and we expect to see fundamentals improve during 2009. The USDA forecasts global soybean meal consumption to be flat and vegetable oil to increase 4% in 2009 as compared to 2008. Stocks-to-use ratios of agricultural commodities remain near historically low levels. The recent increase in agricultural commodity prices has improved farm economics. This is encouraging farmers to sell their crops and should stimulate purchases of crop nutrients during the year.
9:06AM HMS Holdings raises full year guidance due to better than forecasted Q4 performance; sees Q4 EPS of $0.24-0.25 vs $0.24 First Call consensus (HMSY) 29.19 : Due to better than forecasted business performance for the 4Q08, the co is revising its 2008 full year EPS guidance from $0.77 to a range of $0.78-0.79 (consensus $0.77). The revised guidance results in a 4Q08 EPS range of $0.24-0.25 (consensus $0.24). The co is not providing any further details regarding the 2008 full year result as it is in its year end closing process.
8:41AM Freeport-McMoRan: Argus cuts '08, '09 estimate to reflect weak copper fundamentals (FCX) 25.44 : Argus notes that due to plunging copper prices, FCX plans to cut production by 200 mln pounds (or 5%) in 2009 and 500 mln pounds (or 11%) in 2010. In addition, the co will suspend its $2 per share annual dividend, saving approximately $755 mln per year. FCX will also reduce its 2009 capital expenditures by $1.1 bln. They are cutting our 2008 EPS estimate to $5.49 from $6.80 (consensus $5.54) and their 2009 estimate to $0.38 from $5.41 (consensus $0.75) to reflect weak copper market fundamentals.
8:34AM InSteel Industries reports better than expected results; reports Q1 loss of $0.08 vs ($0.26) consensus; beats on revs (IIIN) 10.87 : Reports Q1 (Dec) loss of $0.08 per share, excluding inventory write-down, $0.18 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.26); revenues fell 6.4% year/year to $61.8 mln vs the $54.4 mln consensus. Insteel's financial results for the first quarter were also unfavorably impacted by the reduction in shipments, the consumption of higher cost inventory that was purchased earlier in the year and the escalation in unit conversion costs resulting from reduced operating schedules at its manufacturing facilities. Co says, "Our level of visibility remains limited due to the ongoing tightness in the credit markets, the general downturn in the economy and the worldwide collapse of steel prices. Customers continue to be highly conservative with their purchasing activities in view of the weak outlook for construction markets and to minimize their inventories in this volatile pricing environment. Although the timing and magnitude remain uncertain, the substantial increase in federal infrastructure-related funding that is being contemplated by Congress and the incoming Administration could serve to offset the expected weakness in other categories of nonresidential construction, particularly in the commercial sector, which has been the most severely impacted by the economic downturn. As we move into the second quarter, we expect order levels to rise as the rebalancing of customer inventories is completed and demand for our products becomes more closely aligned with actual end user demand. We also expect margins to gradually improve over the remainder of the year as the lower replacement costs for raw materials begin to be reflected in cost of sales and through the cost reduction measures that have been implemented."
7:04AM Cepheid guides revs below consnesus for Q4 & FY09 (CPHD) 8.38 : Co issuesdownside guidance for Q4 (Dec), sees Q4 (Dec) revs of $38 mln vs. $42.56 mln First Call consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees FY08 (Dec) revs of $170 mln vs. $174.40 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09 (Dec), sees FY09 (Dec) revs of flat compared to FY08 revs of ~$170 mln vs. $198.64 mln consensus. "While interest in our GeneXpert system and expanding menu of Xpert tests continues to grow, ongoing economic turbulence and uncertainty proved to have more of an impact on our customers than we had anticipated..."
6:19AM Infosys beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs below consensus (INFY) 25.88 : Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.56 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.55; revenues rose 8.0% year/year to $1.17 bln vs the $1.18 bln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.55 vs. $0.55 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $1.128-1.170 bln vs. $1.18 bln consensus.
