Earnings - 27th Aug 2008

6:42PM FuelCell Energy misses by $0.12, beats on revs (FCEL) 8.78 +0.40 : Reports Q3 (Jul) loss of $0.39 per share, $0.12 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.27); revenues rose 106.7% year/year to $27.9 mln vs the $21.1 mln consensus.

5:58PM Origin Agritech reports Q3 EPS of $0.38 vs $0.20; revs grew 7.7% to $71.5 mln (SEED) 4.74 +0.06 : Co sees FY08 revs of $75-80 mln vs $79 mln single-analyst est. Net income for the year ending September 30, 2008 will ~US$0.5-$2.0 mln.

4:36PM Giant Interactive reports ADS in-line, beats on revs; believes sequential growth in Q4 will be more in line with historic track record (GA) 9.65 +0.10 : Reports Q2 (Jun) ADS of $0.20 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.20; revenues rose 36.3% year/year to $73.6 mln vs the $72.2 mln consensus. In July, the co adjusted ZT Online's revenue model by reducing the scope of in-game monetization features. Co says, "Although this will affect our revenue in the near-term, we believe this will help us to continue to grow our player base and active paying accounts in the long run. To date, most ZT Online players have accepted these new changes. As part of the revenue model adjustments, we have also initiated our segmentation strategy by launching ZT Online Classic Edition into closed beta at the end of July. Thus far, the market reaction to ZT Online Classic Edition has exceeded our expectations. We plan to launch ZT Online Classic Edition into open beta at the end of September. Considering that these changes are taking place in Q3, it is difficult for us to have clear visibility into their potential financial impact. As a result, we will not be providing top-line revenue guidance for Q3 2008. However, the co remains fundamentally sound and we believe our sequential growth in Q4 2008 will be more in line with our historic track record."

4:20PM Coldwater Creek beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY09 EPS in-line, revs in-line (CWTR) 6.94 +0.45 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.04 per share, excluding $0.01 charge, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.01; revenues fell 0.9% year/year to $241.4 mln vs the $242.5 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.02-0.07 vs. $0.04 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $261-279 vs. $274.45 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $(0.01)-0.10 vs. $0.02 consensus; sees FY09 revs of $1.11-1.15 bln vs. $1.15 bln consensus.

4:11PM Solera reports Q4 results above consensus; issues upside FY09 guidance (SLH) 27.60 -0.28 : Co reports Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.34 vs $0.29 First Call consensus; revs rose 19% YoY to $145.5 mln vs $136.99 mln First Call consensus. SLH sees FY09 $1.45-1.55 vs $1.37 First Call consensus; sees revs $570-580 mln vs $570.61 mln First Call consensus.

4:10PM Men's Wearhouse beats by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus; guides FY09 EPS below consensus (MW) 20.01 -0.54 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.72 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.70; revs decreased 4.2% from a year ago to $545.29 mln vs. $554.62 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.36-0.40, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.53 consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $1.50-1.60, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.63 consensus... Co notes total company sales decreased 4.2% for the quarter. Gross margin before occupancy costs, as a percentage of total net sales, decreased 27 basis points from 60.20% to 59.93%.

4:08PM Benihana misses by $0.04, beats on revs; guides FY09 EPS in-line (BNHN) 6.70 -0.14 : Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.12 per share, $0.04 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.16; revenues rose 5.1% year/year to $94.5 mln vs the $92.7 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $0.60-0.65 vs. $0.61 consensus.

4:08PM Greif beats by $0.05, beats on revs; raises FY08 EPS guidance (GEF) 63.75 +0.55 : Reports Q3 (Jul) earnings of $1.18 per share, $0.05 better than the First Call consensus of $1.13; revenues rose 18.3% year/year to $1.03 bln vs the $0.93 bln consensus. Co raises guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $4.45-4.55, up from $4.25-4.45, vs. $4.10 consensus. The guidance includes the $0.35 per Class A share impact of the first quarter net gain related to the divestiture of businesses. This increase is primarily driven by improved profitability for industrial packaging products than previously anticipated in the 2008 guidance and partial realization of a $55 per ton containerboard price increase in the fourth quarter of this year.

8:38AM Dollar Tree beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY09 (DLTR) 39.18 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.41; revenues rose 12.5% year/year to $1.09 bln vs the $1.08 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.40-0.43 vs. $0.42 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $1.075-1.105 bln vs. $1.08 bln consensus. Co issues guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $2.33-2.43, compared to previous guidance of $2.23-2.39, vs. $2.44 consensus; sees FY09 revs of $4.61-4.68 bln, compared to previous guidance of $4.52-4.63 bln, vs. $4.64 bln consensus.
8:32AM S&P futures vs fair value: +3.1. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.3. : Futures rebound to session highs on the release of a better-than-expected durable goods report. Just reported, July durable goods orders rose 1.3% month-over-month, compared to the expected unchanged reading. Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.7%, versus the expected 0.7% decline. Meanwhile, Crude oil futures (+1.7%, $118.27) climb higher as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association says that tropical storm Gustav is on track to hit Louisiana early Monday as a category four hurricane.

7:54AM Solarfun Power beats by RMB$0.13, beats on revs; raises Y08 shipment guidance (SOLF) 18.94 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of RMB$1.62 per share, RMB$0.13 better than the First Call consensus of RMB$1.49; revenues rose 192.2% year/year to RMB$1.35 bln vs the RMB$1.25 bln consensus. Co raises Y08 shipment guidance, sees shipments of 175-190 MW, up from previous guidance of 160-180 MW. Co sees pricing to be relatively stable for the remainder of the year. Co sees 2H gross margins to improve from Q2, although co sees polysilicon and wafer pricing to continue to be high during Q3. Margin improvements from lower supply costs and other benefits related to greater vertical integration are expected to become more meaningful during Q4. Co issues guidance for Y09, sees total shipments up 50% yr/yr from 2008 guidance of 175-190 MW. Co has good visibility on 200 MW of contracted sales volume for Y09, one-half of which is secured through signed contracts. Co sees Y09 ASP's to decline 5-10% from 2008. "We are pleased with the progress achieved during the second quarter as we continued to see healthy demand and firm pricing. The tight supply and higher costs for polysilicon and wafers constrained both our top and bottom line growth, and our gross margins. This is a temporary situation with visibility improving on both measures during the second half of 2008, most notably during the fourth quarter. A number of important initiatives were completed following the close of the quarter which position us for continued growth going forward."

7:34AM Charming Shoppes beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (CHRS) 5.62 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.02 per share, excluding $0.05 charge related to related to the severance agreement between Charming Shoppes and its former Chief Executive Officer, and including $0.03 of charges for previously announced streamlining initiatives, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.01); revenues fell 6.6% year/year to $648.6 mln vs the $628.2 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of ($0.10)-($0.08), excluding non-recurring items, vs. ($0.01) consensus; sees Q3 revs of $560-570 mln vs. $563.80 mln consensus.

7:33AM Dillard's misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line (DDS) 11.37 : Reports Q2 (Jul) loss of $0.58 per share, excluding $0.15 gain related to the sale of an airplane and asset impairment and store closing charges of $0.08, $0.04 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.54); revenues fell 2.5% year/year to $1.61 bln vs the $1.62 bln consensus.

6:00AM Solarfun signs letter of intent for three year supply agremment with Q-Cells (SOLF) 18.94 : Co announces that it has entered into a letter-of-intent for a three-year supply agreement with Q-Cells International, a 100% subsidiary of Q-Cells AG. Under the letter of intent, Q-Cells International intends to purchase from Solarfun a minimum of 100 MW of PV modules per annum using PV cells supplied by Q-Cells from 2009 through 2011.

4:46AM CNOOC reports 1H08 results (CEO) 145.71 : Co reports oil and gas sales increased 63.9% compared with the same period last year and reached 54.46 bln RMB, while its net profit recorded 27.54 bln RMB, representing year/year growth of 89.3%. For 1H08, oil and gas production increased to 92.4 mln BOE, representing an 8.3% increase over the same period last year. Net production of crude oil increased by 7.1% to reach 72.9 mln barrels, while its gas production saw a 12.8% increase to reach 112.5 bln cubic feet.

Earnings - 14th July 2008

4:08PM Activision Blizzard raises guidance above consensus; says FY09 is largest and most profitable year in co's history (ATVI) 32.92 +0.39 : Co (ATVID) announced that Activision's stand-alone preliminary financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009, which ended on June 30, 2008, prior to the closing of the transaction with Vivendi, on July 9, 2008, were higher than co's previously provided first quarter outlook. Co sees Q1 EPS of $0.21-0.23 vs $0.13 First Call consensus; revs $650 mln vs $513.95 mln First Call consensus, an increase from co's prior outlook of $500 mln in net revenues and non-GAAP EPS of $0.13 on a stand-alone basis. Activision's performance was driven by the North American launch of Kung Fu Panda early in the quarter, which was the largest launch of a DreamWorks Animation licensed property by Activision. Late in the quarter, Activision had two record setting North American launches from the Guitar Hero franchise. "Activision's first quarter stand-alone net revenues and earnings were the highest ever for a non-holiday quarter... Our significant overperformance in Q1 would have further added to our previously given stand-alone fiscal 2009 net revenues and earnings outlook, making it by far the largest and most profitable year in Activision's history. As we have recently closed our transaction with Vivendi Games, we will be providing an outlook for Activision Blizzard as a combined company moving forward."

5:19PM Kimberly-Clark reports prelim Q2 EPS below consensus and below prior guidancel lowers FY08 EPS; guides Q3 EPS below consensus (KMB) 58.80 -0.52 : Co reports Q2 prelime EPS of $1.03 vs $1.09 consensus, below prior guidane of $1.08-1.11; lowers FY08 EPS to $4.20-4.30 vs $4.52 consensus, down from $4.45-4.60; guides Q2 revs of $5.0 bln vs $4.9 bln consensus. Co guides Q2 EPS of $0.98-1.03 vs $1.16 consensus. Co said "the shortfall in adjusted earnings per share versus its previous guidance was driven primarily by the rapid escalation in costs that occurred during the second quarter. Inflation was ~$50 million higher than estimated heading into the quarter, with the greatest increases in energy costs, particularly natural gas, oil-based materials and distribution costs. Margins were adversely impacted across all businesses.

4:23PM Coldwater Creek raises Q2 and FY08 guidance (CWTR) 4.94 +0.08 : Co issues mixed guidance for Q2 (Jul), sees EPS of $0.00-0.02 vs. ($0.05) First Call consensus, up from $(0.09)-(0.03) previously; sees Q2 (Jul) revs of $235-240 vs. $238.44 mln consensus, up from $215-239 mln previously. Co issues mixed guidance for FY09 (Jan), sees EPS of $(0.04)-0.09 vs. ($0.06) consensus, up from $(0.13)-0.04 previously; sees FY09 (Jan) revs of 1105-1151 vs. $1.14 bln consensus, up from $1.085-1.15 bln previously.

4:06PM JB Hunt Trans beats by $0.03, beats on revs (JBHT) 32.57 +0.09 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.36; revenues rose 14.2% year/year to $977.3 mln vs the $925.4 mln consensus. "We are delighted to report earnings per share growth in the second quarter 2008 (excluding the tax benefit in second quarter 2007) despite a significant freight recession and soaring fuel prices. We continue to offer our customers supply chain solutions that best suit their service and cost parameters without bias toward a particular mode or asset class. Importantly, this value enhancing strategy has allowed our customers to partially mitigate the impact of historically higher fuel prices by growing their use of intermodal vs. truckload."

8:39AM Waste Mgt issues Q2 upside guidance (WMI) 36.61 : Co issues upside guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.61-0.62, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.58 First Call consensus; sees Q2 (Jun) revs of $3.49 bln vs. $3.42 bln consensus. "Our preliminary second quarter 2008 revenue and earnings per diluted share reflect the strength of our operations and our continued ability to achieve our financial objectives. Our internal revenue growth from yield on base business and volume are similar in this quarter to those in the first quarter of 2008." Co also proposes to acquire Republic Services (RSG) for $34.00/share in cash. See 8:30 comment for details.

8:36AM Canadian Solar issues Q2 upside guidance; co expects to meet or exceed previous Y08 guidance (CSIQ) 32.40 : Co issues upside guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees Q2 (Jun) revs of $210-214 mln, compared to previous guidance o f$185-190 mln, vs. $186.62 mln First Call consensus; co sees gross profit of $33-35 mln. Co shipped approx 47MW of solar module products. Co expects to meet or exceed previous guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees FY08 (Dec) revs to meet or exceed $750-870 mln vs. $849.16 mln consensus, based on solar module shipments of 23-260 MW. Co reaffirms Y09 solar modules of 500-550 MW including both its high-efficiency regular module products and lower-cost e-Modules.

4:06AM Allegheny Tech Q208 earnings to be better than expected (ATI) 50.35 : Co issues upside guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of $1.65-1.67, including a $0.11 per share one-time net tax benefit, vs. $1.53 First Call consensus. ATI had previously said that it expected second quarter earnings to be somewhat higher than the $1.40 per share achieved in the first quarter 2008. "ATI is benefiting from the ongoing transformation of the Company, and our product, market, and geographic diversification," said L. Patrick Hassey, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, our enterprise risk management programs are reducing the impact of volatile input costs on our earnings results. Our transformation and diversification strategies are designed to position ATI for growth and improved earnings, as well as providing stability of earnings and cash flows through market cycles."