Earnings - 17th Dec 2008

4:39PM Nordson beats by $0.19, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (NDSN) 32.80 +1.76 : Reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $1.00 per share, excluding $0.10 per share charge related to previously announced severance and restructuring activity, $0.19 better than the First Call consensus of $0.81; revenues rose 2.5% year/year to $298 mln vs the $288.7 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.18-0.29, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.52 consensus; sees Q1 revs of $186.0-195.8 mln vs. $220.08 mln consensus.

4:18PM Nike beats by $0.02, misses on revs (NKE) 50.64 +1.00 : Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.80 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.78; revenues rose 6.0% year/year to $4.6 bln vs the $4.69 bln consensus. The co reported worldwide futures orders for athletic footwear and apparel, scheduled for delivery from December 2008 through April 2009, totaling $6.7 bln, 1% lower than such orders reported for the same period last year. Excluding the effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, reported orders grew 6%... By region, futures orders for the U.S. were up 6%; EMEA (which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa) decreased 13%; Asia Pacific increased 11% and the Americas grew 6%. By region, changes in currency exchange rates decreased reported futures orders growth by 12 percentage points in Europe; by 1 percentage point in Asia Pacific; and by 20 percentage points in the Americas region.

4:15PM Ryder System announces strategic initiatives; workforce reduction; guides Q4 to low end of previous range (R) 36.60 +1.95 : Co announced several strategic and tactical initiatives to address current global economic conditions and drive long- term profitable growth. The initiatives include discontinuing current operations in several international markets and eliminating positions primarily in the U.S., to align costs with current and anticipated levels of business. In addition, the Company is responding to near-term challenges in the overall economy by eliminating approximately 700 positions primarily in the U.S. In total, the Company expects the fourth quarter 2008 pre-tax charges to be approximately $60 million to $67 million (approximately $53 million to $60 million, after-tax). "We expect fourth quarter 2008 earnings per share, excluding restructuring and other charges, to be at the low end of our previously established range of $1.03 to $1.13." (vs $0.86 First Call consensus)

4:13PM Atheros Communications lowers Q4 EPS and revs below consensus (ATHR) 15.99 +1.16 : Co lowers Q4 EPS to $0.14-0.19, ex-items, vs $0.35 consensus, down from $0.36-0.40; lowers revs to $95-100 mln vs $130.6 mln consensus, down from flat to down 5% sequentially, which equates to ~$131.2-138.1 mln. Co says, "The economic environment deteriorated significantly throughout Q4 and consumer demand across multiple geographies weakened. Additionally throughout the supply chain there have been aggressive reductions in inventory levels as the quarter progressed resulting in order cancellations and rescheduling of existing backlog. While we anticipated a weakening economy in the fourth quarter, demand from our PC OEM channel and to a lesser extent, our networking channel, slowed considerably more than expected."

4:05PM Paychex misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides FY09 revs in-line (PAYX) 26.61 -0.01 : Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.39 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.40; revenues rose 3.2% year/year to $524.2 mln vs the $533 mln consensus. Co issues guidance slightly below consensus for FY09, sees FY09 revs growing 2-4% or to ~$2.11-2.15 bln vs. $2.18 bln consensus. "During the second quarter, the effects of the credit crisis and weakening economic conditions were clearly seen in our financial results. While the credit crisis reduced the returns on our investment portfolios, we managed our investments in a manner that protected principal and ensured we met the liquidity needs of our clients each and every day. The weakening economy was apparent in many of our key financial indicators. Over the past six months, we experienced companies going out of business increasing 12%, new business starts declining 13%, checks per client decreasing 1.5%, and we saw lower levels of new hire reporting."

4:01PM Herman Miller beats by $0.01, misses on revs (MLHR) 14.23 +0.24 : Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.60 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.59; revenues fell 5.8% year/year to $476.6 mln vs the $486.9 mln consensus.

8:09AM Morgan Stanley reports wider than expected loss (MS) 16.13 : Reports Q4 (Nov) loss of $2.24 per share, $1.90 worse than the First Call consensus of ($0.34) (analyst EPS estimates ranged from -$1.15 to +$0.50). Net revenues were $1.8 bln, compared with negative $0.4 bln in last year's fourth quarter. Total capital as of November 30, 2008 was $192.3 bln, including $61.1 bln of common equity, preferred equity and junior subordinated debt issued to capital trusts. As of November 30, 2008, the Company has repurchased 39 mln shares of its common stock during this fiscal year as part of its capital management share repurchase program and book value per common share was $30.24, based on 1.0 bln shares outstanding. On December 16, 2008, the Board of Directors of Morgan Stanley approved a change in the Firm's fiscal year end from November 30 to December 31 of each year. This change to a calendar year reporting cycle will begin January 1, 2009... Co says it is targeting an additional $2 bln in cost savings including the annualized effect of the previously announced headcount reductions and additional non-compensation expense savings. Co also announces it is launching a Retail Banking Group and recruiting veteran senior bankers Cece S. Sutton and Jonathan W. Witter to lead the business and to build bank deposits leveraging Morgan Stanley's existing retail banking capabilities and financial holding company structure. The Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a $0.27 quarterly dividend per common share.

8:01AM Lindsay Corp misses by $0.01, beats on revs (LNN) 38.30 : Reports Q1 (Nov) earnings of $0.51 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.52; revenues rose 49.0% year/year to $113.1 mln vs the $94.1 mln consensus. Lindsay's backlog of unshipped orders at November 30, 2008 was $40.1 million compared with $51.2 million at November 30, 2007. Irrigation backlog of $23.8 million decreased $6.1 million ($9.0 million prior to the inclusion of Watertronics) from the first quarter of fiscal 2008, and decreased $47.9 million from August 31, 2008. Infrastructure backlog of $16.3 million decreased $5.0 million from the first quarter of fiscal 2008 and decreased $4.3 million from the fiscal 2008 year-end.

7:34AM Schnitzer Steel expects to report a Q1 net loss due to a $60 mln write down of
inventories; consensus is for EPS of $0.30 (SCHN) 35.96 : Schnitzer Steel expects to report a Q1 (Nov) net loss vs $0.30 consensus, resulting from a $60 mln write down of inventories. A number of renegotiations, deferrals and cancellations of customer contracts have been experienced, this led to lower sales volumes and reduced sales prices. This is anticipated to result in a non-cash write down of the value of the co's Metals Recycling and Steel Manufacturing inventories by an amount currently estimated to be in the range of $60 million. Co says "While we will be reporting a first quarter net loss, we are encouraged by the fact that the financial results for our Metals Recycling and Steel Manufacturing Businesses are expected to be approximately breakeven prior to the inventory write downs." The co is making this announcement due to the unprecedented market conditions in which it is operating. The co does not plan to provide any further updates prior to Jan 8, 2009. In the future, the co does not intend to provide updated guidance except when it releases full quarterly results.

7:32AM ConAgra beats by $0.06, beats on revs; reaffirms FY09 EPS guidance (CAG) 15.05 : Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.43 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 10.6% year/year to $3.26 bln vs the $3.16 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY09, sees EPS of slightly above $1.50, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.43 consensus.

7:30AM Newell Rubbermaid cuts Q4 and FY08 EPS guidance (NWL) 13.18 : Co announces that in light of the continuing significant deterioration of global economic conditions and the resulting impact on many of its retail customers, particularly in recent weeks, it now sees Q4 EPS of $0.06-$0.10 (vs $0.32 consensus), down from its previous range of $0.29-$0.34. For FY08, the cut their EPS range to a range of $1.17-$1.21 (vs $1.43 consensus) from the previous range of $1.40-$1.45. The co also said that net sales for Q4 are expected to show a year over year decline in the low teens percentage range. The company anticipates it will generate full year operating cash flow of $375 to $400 million, in line with previous guidance. "We are seeing extraordinary volatility, weaker than expected demand, and customer inventory reductions across virtually all geographies and market segments, with trends worsening as we near the end of our fourth quarter."

7:06AM General Mills beats by $0.13, reports revs in-line; guides FY09 EPS slightly above prior range (GIS) 61.25 : Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $1.36 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 better than the First Call consensus of $1.23; revenues rose 8.3% year/year to $4.01 bln vs the $4.01 bln consensus. Co issues guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $3.83-3.87 vs. $3.89 consensus, prior range $3.81-3.85.

7:02AM Joy Global beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides FY09 EPS & revs below consensus (JOYG) 22.66 : Reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $1.11 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $1.08; revenues rose 40.2% year/year to $1.03 bln vs the $1.01 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $3.60-4.00 vs. $4.20 consensus; co sees revs of $3.5-3.7 bln vs $3.98 bln consensus.

6:32AM Magellan Health issues in-line guidance for FY09 (MGLN) 32.50 : Co issues in-line guidance for FY09 (Dec), sees EPS of $1.96-2.51 vs. $2.02 First Call consensus; sees FY09 (Dec) revs of $2.5-2.6 bln vs. $2.44 bln consensus. Cash flow from operations is expected to be in the range of $129 million to $178 million in 2009, with a net increase in cash, cash equivalents and unrestricted investments of $96 million to $157 million by the end of 2009, excluding the impact of any further share repurchases.

Earnings - 16th Sept 2008

4:36PM Darden Restaurants reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides FY09 revs in-line (DRI) 29.89 +0.37 : Reports Q1 (Aug) earnings of $0.61 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.61; revenues rose 20.9% year/year to $1.77 bln vs the $1.76 bln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09, sees FY09 revs growth of 12-13%, which equates to ~$7.43-7.49 bln vs. $7.44 bln consensus; sees FY09 EPS growth of 5-10%. On a blended basis, same-restaurant sales for Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse were down 1.0% compared to prior year.

4:19PM Morgan Stanley beats on top and bottom line (MS) 28.70 -3.49 : Reports Q3 (Aug) earnings of $1.32 per share, $0.54 better than the First Call consensus of $0.78; revenues rose 1.1% year/year to $8.05 bln vs the $6.32 bln consensus. The annualized return on average common equity from continuing operations was 16.5% in the current quarter, compared with 17.2% in the prior year. Co cites strong results in commodities, foreign exchange and equity trading, including a record in prime brokerage. The Firm continued to maintain strong liquidity and capital positions in the quarter with average total and parent liquidity of $175 billion and $81 billion, respectively, and leverage and adjusted leverage ratios of 23.5x and 12.9x, respectively. "Despite unprecedented market conditions, Morgan Stanley's core client franchise achieved solid revenue growth, profitability and ROE this quarter. Our people delivered particularly strong performance across our prime brokerage, commodities, foreign exchange and equities businesses, and we saw continued growth in our international business. We have continued to actively reduce our legacy positions and carefully manage our risk, capital and liquidity. I am confident that Morgan Stanley's strong balance sheet and product and geographic diversification leave us well-positioned to serve our clients and realize opportunities in these challenging markets." Equity sales and trading net revenues of $2.7 bln were 42% above last year's third quarter and included $0.5 bln from the widening of Morgan Stanley's credit spreads on certain long-term debt. The quarter's results reflect a decrease in the Company's annual effective tax rate from 30.0% in the second quarter to 29.0%, reflecting higher domestic tax credits. As of August 31, 2008, the co has not repurchased any shares of its common stock this fiscal year as part of its capital management share repurchase program. Total capital as of August 31, 2008 was $202.6 bln, including $46.1 billion of common equity, preferred equity and junior subordinated debt issued to capital trusts. Book value per common share was $31.25, based on 1.1 bln shares outstanding. The Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a $0.27 quarterly dividend per common share (unchanged from prior qtr).

4:07PM Adobe Systems beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line (ADBE) 38.35 +0.27 : Reports Q3 (Aug) earnings of $0.50 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 4.2% year/year to $887.3 mln vs the $876.7 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of 0.51-0.53 vs. $0.51 consensus; sees Q4 revs of 925-955 vs. $939.41 mln consensus. The co also stated it is targeting an operating margin of ~39.5% on a non-GAAP basis.

9:07AM Monsanto raises guidance (MON) 105.04 : Mon raises FY08 ongoing EPS guidance to $3.58-3.60 vs $3.45 consensus; up from prior guidance of $3.37. The change in ongoing earnings reflected higher-than-expected sales and gross profit in the co's seeds and traits business and its Roundup and other glyphosate- based herbicide business. The ongoing EPS represents approximately 80% growth over last year's ongoing EPS of $1.99, and last year's reported EPS of $1.79 had even greater growth. Monsanto now expects its seeds and genomics segment will generate above $3.8 bln in gross profit for its 2008 fiscal year, up from the earlier expectation of $3.7 bln, representing a growth rate of more than 25% compared with 2007 gross profit. The increased expectation for segment gross profit reflects higher than expected sales from the company's corn, soybean and vegetable platforms... CFO Crews will indicate that Monsanto's Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides business is on track to be above $1.9 bln of gross profit for the 2008 fiscal year, ahead of the previous forecast. During Crews's presentation, he will also announce that Monsanto's guidance for free cash for fiscal year 2008 is now at approximately $750 mln, compared with previous guidance of $550 mln. Higher collections from accounts receivable and customer prepayments contributed to the increase in free cash flow. The co's free cash flow guidance for the 2008 fiscal year reflects the cash effect of Monsanto's acquisitions of the De Ruiter vegetable seed business and the Semillas Cristiani Burkard corn seed business.

8:55AM Kroger beats by $0.01, beats on revs; reaffirms FY09 EPS guidance, slightly below consensus (KR) 26.59 : Reports Q2 (Jul) earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.41; revenues rose 12.4% year/year to $18.1 mln vs the $17625.9 mln consensus. Co reaffirms FY09 guidance, sees EPS of $1.80-$1.90 vs. $1.91 consensus. As stated in previous guidance, the Company anticipates that its lowest year-over-year earnings per share growth rate will occur in the third quarter. As a result, the Company anticipates its third quarter 2008 earnings per share results will range from slightly below to slightly above prior year results. Kroger expects its fourth quarter earnings per share growth rate will be higher than its annual growth rate.

8:22AM Goldman Sachs beats by $0.10, misses on revs (GS) 135.50 : Reports Q3 (Aug) earnings of $1.81 per share, $0.10 better than the First Call consensus of $1.71; revenues fell 35.9% year/year to $6.04 bln vs the $6.23 bln consensus. Annualized return on average tangible common shareholders' equity was 8.8% for the third quarter of 2008 and 16.3% for the first nine months of 2008. Annualized return on average common shareholders' equity was 7.7% for the third quarter of 2008 and 14.2% for the first nine months of 2008. Book value per common share increased 2% during the quarter to $99.30. The firm's Tier 1 Ratio was 11.6% at the end of the quarter. "This was a challenging quarter as we saw a marked decrease in client activity and declining asset valuations... Despite the deteriorating market conditions, the focus of our people and strength and breadth of our client franchise produced a solid performance in a tough environment. We remain well-positioned to meet the needs of our clients and identify and act on the right market opportunities." The firm repurchased 1.5 mln shares of its common stock at an average cost per share of $180.07, for a total cost of $271 mln during the quarter. The remaining share authorization under the firm's existing share repurchase program is 60.9 mln shares. Stock is trading at 128.39 in pre-mkt following earnings.