Earnings- 4th March 2009

4:50PM Giant Interactive beats by $0.08, beats on revs (GA) 6.57 +0.18 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.18 per share, $0.08 better than the First Call consensus of $0.10; revenues rose 33.2% year/year to $51.7 mln vs the $48.3 mln consensus. Co says based on the current estimates, GA expects to generate total net revenue for Q1 2009 in the range of RMB370-RMB388 mln.

4:36PM American Commercial Lines beats by $0.09, misses on revs (ACLI) 2.58 -0.12 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.47 per share, $0.09 better than the First Call consensus of $0.38; revenues fell 4.2% year/year to $289.9 mln vs the $310.5 mln consensus. Co said,  "We recognize that the economic environment is going to remain difficult, so we remain cautious about our 2009 outlook. As a consequence, we are continuing and accelerating efforts to drive costs out of the business in every area. We have frozen salaries for 2009. Last week we implemented a reduction of approximately 15% of our land-based salaried headcount which is expected to generate annualized savings of $9.1 million, and approximately $3.3 million in 2009 after related severance and other costs, including the estimated cost of approximately $2.5 million of closing the Houston office, primarily a non-cash charge for the write-off of office leasehold improvements. With the amendment of our credit facility, extending the term through March 31, 2011, we believe we have the flexibility and liquidity to operate strategically through today's challenging economic conditions, allowing us to concentrate on achieving our business objectives."

4:21PM Adobe Systems announces prelim Q1 results; sees Q1 EPS of $0.44-0.45 vs $0.42 First Call consensus; revs of $783-786 mln vs $792.02 mln First Call consensus (ADBE) 16.32 +0.34 : The co lowers Q1 guidance, sees Q1 EPS of $0.44-0.45 vs $0.42 First Call consensus; revs of $783-786 mln vs $792.02 mln First Call consensus. Sees Q2 revs $675-725 mln vs $776.27 mln First Call consensus. The co cited weakness in its creative and knowledge worker businesses as the primary reason for the revenue shortfall. Seasonal strength in Japan, as well as continued success with its LiveCycle enterprise business, helped to offset some of the weakness in the quarter. "Despite worsening market conditions, we were able to manage expenses to deliver earnings and margin results within the target ranges we provided at the outset of the quarter," said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer... Co is targeting a Q2 operating margin range of 21-26% on a GAAP basis, and 32-36% on a non-GAAP basis.

4:09PM Gymboree beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS below consensus (GYMB) 22.66 -1.37 : Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $1.00 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.98. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.18-0.25 vs. $0.76 consensus. Co expects the current challenging retail selling environment to continue throughout fiscal 2009 making it very difficult to anticipate quarterly sales. In light of this uncertainty, co plans to provide guidance only one quarter at a time during fiscal 2009. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2009, co is planning for negative comparable store sales in the range of 20 to 25% due in large part to the continuing difficult retail selling environment and the temporary impact of the recently enacted regulations on current product assortments.

4:07PM Sigma Designs beats by $0.20, beats on revs (SIGM) 14.21 +0.08 : Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $0.38 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.20 better than the First Call consensus of $0.18; revenues fell 38.1% year/year to $47.3 mln vs the $43.5 mln consensus. Co says, "The IPTV market is showing resiliency to the current economic turmoil and we are confident that it will continue to demonstrate strength throughout this year. We are also pursuing design activity in the cable industry and helping to drive the transition to Tru2way IP cable solutions which we believe will increase our market opportunities. We are also pushing forward with our consumer products agenda by working with a wide range of vendors for Blu-ray player designs, digital media adapter products and UWB-based devices. Additionally, we are excited about our recent acquisition of the Z-Wave? brand home control products and anticipate a growing synergy within the set-top box market,"

7:32AM Almost Family beats by $0.06, beats on revs (AFAM) 18.10 : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.62 per share, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.56; revenues rose 84.4% year/year to $66.2 mln vs the $59.7 mln consensus. "Our success during the quarter was highlighted by 84% total revenue growth and 47% growth in our VN segment. We have been extremely successful during the year rolling out our Senior Advocacy Mission to all of our existing and a branches."

7:03AM Joy Global beats by $0.07, misses on revs; reaffirms FY09 EPS guidance, revs guidance (JOYG) 15.85 : Reports Q1 (Jan) earnings of $0.83 per share, $0.07 better thanthe First Call consensus of $0.76; revenues rose 18.0% year/year to $755 mln vs the $782.3 mln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $3.60-4.00 vs. $3.51 consensus; sees FY09 revs of $3.5-3.7 bln vs. $3.45 bln consensus. Bookings in the first quarter were $538 million compared to $870 million in last year's first quarter. Although co continues to believe that the path toward industrialization of emerging markets will drive high rates of commodity demand over the long term, it also expects the near-term markets to remain uncertain and volatile. Co continues to take precautionary steps to reduce its risk exposure through expense controls and reduction of operating costs. These efforts include hiring freezes, control of discretionary expense, aggressive management of its supply chain, and more critical reviews of the financial stability of its operating partners, including suppliers, subcontractors and customers. Just as the Company expects the conditions of uncertainty and volatility to persist through 2009, it also expects the booking rates for its original equipment during this period to remain substantially below the comparable booking levels of 2008. The Company believes that lower demand for its original equipment could persist for a period longer than that covered by its current backlog, and is therefore developing plans to ensure it fulfills its commitments to customers and investors during 2009 while reducing the scale and scope of the business to be appropriate for the range of market conditions that could exist in fiscal 2010.

6:08AM Big Lots beats by $0.07, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS above consensus; guides FY10 EPS above consensus (BIG) 14.54 : Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $1.00 per share, excluding discontinued operations, $0.07 better than the First Call consensus of $0.93; revenues fell 3.2% year/year to $1.37 bln vs the $1.36 bln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of 0.34-0.40, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.35 consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees EPS of $1.75-1.90, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.74 consensus. Co estimates Q1 comparable store sales will decrease 1-3% which is consistent with quarter to date trends experienced through March 3, 2009.

3:50AM Costco misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line; reports February comparable store sales decreased 3.0% vs -3.8% consensus (COST) 40.69 : Reports Q2 (Feb) earnings of $0.55 per share, $0.04 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.59; revenues fell 0.7% year/year to $16.84 bln vs the $16.85 bln consensus. Comparable store sales for Q209 declined 3.0%. Excluding the negative impacts from gasoline and F/X, comparable sales for Q2 increased 5.0%. February comparable store sales decreased 3.0% vs -3.8% consensus. Excluding negative impacts from gasoline deflation and F/X, comparable store sales for February increased 5.0%.

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.