11:01AM Steel Dynamics sees Q2 EPS of ($0.10)-(0.15) vs ($0.09) First Call consensus (STLD) 15.87 +0.62 : Co provides its Q2 outlook, now anticipates a Q2 loss of $0.10-0.15 per diluted share after taking into account the recent issuance of common stock and convertible securities. The effect of the increase in share count in calculating diluted earnings per share for the second quarter is predominantly offset by certain expenses related to the repayment of our term loan in June, resulting in little impact on diluted per-share earnings this quarter. Co had provided qualitative guidance in April suggesting the possibility of improving results in the second quarter, indicating that the second quarter could be close to breakeven, possibly showing a small loss or a small profit. "The outlook for the remainder of the year remains uncertain, but is improving, as demand is strengthening for some of our steel products and recycled metals. We now expect to be profitable in the third and fourth quarters of 2009 assuming only a modest increase in production volume. Steel Dynamics is in an excellent position to take advantage of any improvement in order flow in the second half as our operations are poised to increase production rates."
7:51AM CarMax beats by $0.07, beats on revs (KMX) 13.09 : Reports Q1 (May) earnings of $0.11 per share, excluding a $0.02 gain and including $0.11 per share for increased funding costs and other adjustments related to CarMax Auto Finance, $0.07 better than the First Call consensus of $0.04; revenues fell 17.0% year/year to $1.83 bln vs the $1.72 bln consensus. Co said, "While our customer traffic trend continued to be weak, we did see improvement in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009".
7:20AM Perfect World raises Q2 rev guidance; sees revs of RMB489-510 mln vs the RMB437 mln consensus (PWRD) 26.68 : Co announces that, due to stronger than expected ramp-up and traction of the newly launched "Battle of the Immortals," especially in the past month, and better than anticipated results from recently launched expansion packs on some of the existing games during the second half of the quarter, the co now raises its Q2 rev guidance to be between RMB489-510 mln, which represents a sequential increase of 15% to 20%, vs previous sequential guidance of a 2% decline to a 2% increase in rev. Co says, "The visibility on our second quarter performance is increasing and we believe our results will come in ahead of our previous expectations. We are now beginning to benefit from our fine-tuned strategy of devoting more resources to longer-term projects. A good example is 'Battle of the Immortals,' our newly launched 2.5D mysterious adventure MMORPG, which has been very well-received as we devoted more resources to further developing the game prior to its debut. This successful launch also allows us to demonstrate our ability to leverage our leading technology and rich R&D and operating experience in the 3D market in penetrating into 2.5D and 2D markets more competitively. We are also seeing an encouraging outcome from our diversification strategy as we expand our game portfolio to benefit from multiple growth drivers... Going forward, we will continue to allocate more resources to longer-term projects and larger expansion packs to lengthen the growth cycle of our games."
7:19AM China Medical Tech guides Q3 EPS & revs above consensus (CMED) 22.90 : Co issues upside guidance for Q4 (Mar), sees EPS of $0.60 vs. $0.43 First Call consensus; sees Q4 (Mar) revs of $36 mln vs. $35.28 mln consensus.
6:15AM Sasol expects EPS for FY09 to decrease 40-50% from FY08 (SSL) 36.18 : Co reports attributable EPS and headline EPS for the year ending 30 June 2009 are estimated to decrease by 40-50% compared to the prior year. The expected decrease in earnings is mainly due to the lower crude oil and chemical prices, together with a considerable reduction in refining margins and a further deterioration in chemical markets. This earnings guidance includes the impact of the non-cash charges relating to the Sasol Inzalo BEE transaction and the administrative penalties paid to the European Commission and the South African Competition Commission. Overall group production volumes are up mainly due to increased production volumes at the Oryx GTL plant and the additional production volumes at the Arya Sasol Polymers plant. The Synfuels operations in Secunda, South Africa, are expecting production volumes to be about 4% lower than last year. The overall deterioration in market conditions will also result in negative stock effects, net realizable value stock write-downs and impairments.
