Earnings - July 21st 2008

4:47PM Celanese beats by $0.06, beats on revs; reaffirms FY08 EPS guidance (CE) 44.52 +0.13 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $1.20 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $1.14; revenues rose 20.1% year/year to $1.87 bln vs the $1.84 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $3.60-3.85 vs. $3.98 consensus based on the strength of its performance in 1H and continued execution of its earnings growth strategy. Co reaffirms operating EBITDA guidance of $1.355-1.415 bln.

4:43PM Merck beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line (MRK) 35.33 -2.35 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.86 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.83; revenues fell 1.0% year/year to $6.05 bln vs the $6.05 bln consensus. MRK guides worldwide sales: Co sees 2008 SINGULAIR sales of $4.4-4.6 bln, COZAAR/HYZAAR sales of $3.5-3.7 bln, GARDASIL sales of $1.4-1.6 bln, Other Vaccines sales of $2.7-2.9 bln, FOSAMAX sales of $1.4-1.7 bln... The results of the Simvastatin plus Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis (SEAS) study were released earlier today. MRK is currently assessing the impact of the results on the contribution from the Merck/Schering-Plough joint venture and therefore at this time is not providing 2008 equity income guidance; 2008 GAAP and non-GAAP EPS guidance; and any long-term financial performance guidance. MRK anticipates providing additional financial guidance at a later date.

4:38PM QLogic beats by $0.02, beats on revs (QLGC) 16.48 -0.12 : Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.29; revenues rose 20.5% year/year to $168.4 mln vs the $161.9 mln consensus. "Our strong revenue performance was driven by sequential growth of 9% for both our Host Products and Network Products from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008."

4:38PM Apple beats by $0.11, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (AAPL) 166.29 +1.14 : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $1.19 per share, $0.11 better than the First Call consensus of $1.08; revenues rose 38.0% year/year to $7.46 bln vs the $7.37 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.00 vs. $1.24 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $7.8 bln vs. $8.32 bln consensus. Gross margin was 34.8 percent (vs flat guidance from Q2 of 32.9%), down from 36.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. Apple shipped 2,496,000 Macintosh computers during the quarter, representing 41 percent unit growth and 43 percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 11,011,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 12 percent unit growth and seven percent revenue growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone units sold were 717,000 (vs over 700K guidance) compared to 270,000 in the year-ago-quarter.

4:36PM Texas Instruments misses by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (TXN) 28.52 -0.30 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.44 per share, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.46; revenues fell 2.2% year/year to $3.4 bln vs the $3.39 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.41-0.47 vs. $0.51 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $3.26-3.54 bln vs. $3.56 bln consensus. The co says demand slowed unexpectedly in June primarily because distributors reduced inventory levels and did not replenish them late in the quarter. Additionally, Wireless revenue declined in the quarter, continuing its first-quarter weakness. "We believe this slower demand was due to a mix of reasons, including a weaker economic environment and greater confidence in TI's ability to deliver products within short lead times," Templeton said. "Our orders were up in the quarter and backlog grew, but we are cautious given the demand environment we just experienced. If demand strengthens as quickly as it slowed, we are well-positioned to meet it." (stock is halted)

4:35PM Woodward Governor beats by $0.04, beats on revs; raises FY08 guidance (WGOV) 38.24 +0.92 : Reports Q3 (Jun) earnings of $0.47 per share, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 22.6% year/year to $329.8 mln vs the $308.9 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of ~$1.75, up from $1.61-1.66, vs. $1.67 consensus; sees FY08 revs growth of ~20%, up from 14-16%, (which calculates to ~1.25 bln vs. $1.21 bln consensus.

4:28PM American Express misses by $0.27, misses on revs; says fallout from a weaker U.S. economy accelerated during June (AXP) 40.90 -1.29 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.56 per share, $0.27 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.83; revenues rose 7.9% year/year to $7.48 bln vs the $7.6 bln consensus. The second quarter results included a $600 mln ($374 mln after-tax) addition to U.S. lending credit reserves that reflects a deterioration of credit indicators beyond our prior expectation, and a $136 mln ($85 mln after-tax) charge to the fair market value of the co's retained interest in securitized Cardmember loans. The second quarter also included a tax benefit of $101 mln primarily related to resolution of certain prior years' tax items. "Fallout from a weaker U.S. economy accelerated during June with consumer confidence dropping, unemployment rates moving sharply higher and home prices declining at the fastest rate in decades... Consumer spending slowed during the latter part of the quarter and credit indicators deteriorated beyond our expectations... In light of the weakening economy, we are no longer tracking to our prior forecast of 4-6% earnings per share growth. That outlook was based on business and economic conditions in line with, or moderately worse than, January 2008. The environment has weakened significantly since then, particularly during the month of June... The scope of the economic fallout was evident even among our longer term, superprime Cardmembers... Newer Cardmembers -- whose write-off levels are typically higher than the total portfolio -- are also feeling the impact, but we are confident that the relationships we've built during the last several years will generate attractive economics over their life cycle... Despite the weakness in our bottom line, revenue grew a strong 8 percent and many of our key business metrics performed very well as we benefited from the strength of our international consumer and Global Business-to-Business operations... While we are obviously disappointed in the impact that the higher reserves had on earnings, our coverage levels are now substantially higher than at any point during the last three years. The current reserves reflect our expectation that write-offs will continue to rise in the remainder of 2008... We remain focused on gaining profitable share but, as you would expect in this environment, we will be very selective with our investment dollars. While we continue to scale back some card acquisition efforts and reduce credit lines selectively, we also plan to take advantage of growth opportunities in the marketplace. "Our reengineering efforts over the past decade have resulted in a well controlled expense base, but in order to give us greater flexibility to invest in the business, we are accelerating those efforts. Our aim is to free-up resources by reducing overall costs and staffing levels. While we have not yet quantified the impact of these activities, we expect them to result in restructuring-related charges during the second half. "While we have been able to generate substantial earnings and returns relative to many in the financial sector, we do not expect to meet or exceed our long-term financial targets until we see improvements in the economy... We do not know the extent of the current downturn, but the position of our company today is financially sound and competitively strong. We've lowered our risk profile by divesting some businesses and we are well-positioned to execute against growth opportunities in a manner that continues to appropriately balance our short, medium and long-term objectives."

4:19PM Eagle Materials misses by $0.11, misses on revs (EXP) 23.52 +0.03 : Reports Q1 (Jun) earnings of $0.18 per share, $0.11 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.29; revenues fell 20.1% year/year to $176.8 mln vs the $198.1 mln consensus. Co says, "The continued contraction in U.S. homebuilding activity and escalating energy costs negatively impacted our wallboard sales prices and costs. In addition, our cement sales volumes were negatively impacted by adverse weather conditions in the Midwest. (Stock is halted).

4:13PM Schering-Plough beats by $0.03, beats on revs (SGP) 18.95 -2.49 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 54.8% year/year to $4.92 bln vs the $4.77 bln consensus. "We remain confident in VYTORIN and ZETIA and the ability of these medicines to help patients get to lower LDL cholesterol goals. While the overall U.S. prescription market continues to get tougher, we achieved good sales growth internationally, with strong results for REMICADE, NASONEX and TEMODAR."

4:12PM Mohawk beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 below consensus (MHK) 64.06 -0.79 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $1.29 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $1.27; revenues fell 6.9% year/year to $1.84 bln vs the $1.84 bln consensus. Co sees Q3 EPS of $1.06-1.15 vs. $1.40 consensus. Co's results for the second quarter were impacted by the slowing economies in the U.S. and Europe and rapidly increasing commodity costs. Declining new U.S. home construction and residential remodeling, slowing European demand and rising raw material and energy costs have contributed to the flooring industry cyclical decline. The rapidly increasing costs are impacting co's margins even as they raise selling prices to offset these costs.

4:08PM Canadian Natl Rail beats by C$0.04, beats on revs (CNI) 50.95 -0.22 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of C$0.90 per share, excluding non-recurring items, C$0.04 better than the First Call consensus of C$0.86; revenues rose 3.5% year/year to C$2.1 bln vs the C$2.06 bln consensus. CNI's sees 2008 diluted EPS growth growth in the mid-single-digit range over 2007 adjusted diluted EPS of C$3.40

4:05PM SanDisk misses by $0.23, misses on revs (SNDK) 18.01 +0.44 : Reports Q2 (Jun) loss of $0.10 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.23 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.13; revenues fell 1.3% year/year to $816 mln vs the $906.1 mln consensus. Co is delaying the start of the next phase of production ramp in Fab 4 and now expects it to start no sooner than April 2009. The co is also pushing out its decision to invest in Fab 5 until market conditions improve. These actions are aimed at reducing future capital expenditures and inventory growth in order to maintain a strong balance sheet... Co says, "Our Q2 sales were well below our expectations due to the rapid deterioration in consumer confidence which impacted our sales in U.S. retail and to handset OEMs. Product gross margin was negatively impacted by the lower sales volume and a substantial inventory write-down. Overall demand is expected to improve in the upcoming holiday season; however, industry-wide Flash inventories remain excessive and pricing and margins will therefore remain under pressure until supply and demand come into balance. We are taking significant actions to slow our captive supply growth, which will reduce our capital expenditure commitments, and allow us to better manage our inventory. We are also continuing to improve our cost structure through transitions to 43-nanometer MLC and the industry's first commercialized 3-bits per cell NAND flash. While the industry downturn has been more pronounced and severe than expected, we are optimistic about our long-term renewed growth when the market rebounds."

Sport Supply Group Sees Q408 And FY08 EPS Well Above Estimates; Raises FY08 EPS Guidance And Introduces FY09 EPS Guidance >RBI 9:59AM Sport Supply Group raises FY08 EPS guidance to $0.75 - $0.77 per share; introduces FY09 EPS guidance of $0.85 - $0.95 per share (RBI) 11.45 +1.25 : Co raised its FY08 EPS guidance to $0.75-0.77, up from $0.65-0.73, vs. $0.71 consensus. Co also introduced FY09 EPS guidance of $0.85-0.90 vs. $0.80 consensus. "Our Fourth Fiscal Quarter appears to have delivered an outstanding finish to what has been a very impressive year. Preliminary results for the Quarter ended June 30, 2008 indicate near 10% organic sales growth, significant gross margin expansion, and SG&A expenses lower than the prior year for the second straight quarterly period. We have continued to focus on bottom line performance as we expand market share. Results suggest the plan is working. The business is well positioned for continued organic growth and growth via acquisition or joint-venture opportunity. We continue to evaluate a number of options to expand our footprint in the space and further leverage our scalable business platform and ever strengthening balance sheet, which as of June 30, 2008 had approximately $20.5 Million cash on-hand, up 58% from $13.0 Million on March 30, 2008. Other uses of excess cash and our untapped credit facility may include the repurchase of common stock and/or the repurchase of outstanding convertible debentures as conditions merit. Fiscal 2008 will likely represent the second straight year of 100%+ earnings growth for the Company. This earnings expansion is a credit to our hard working employees across the Nation."

8:32AM Badger Meter beats by $0.05, beats on revs (BMI) 51.30 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.48 per share, $0.05 better than the First Call consensus of $0.43; revenues rose 20.1% year/year to $74.7 mln vs the $70.2 mln consensus. "While the current economic environment is a concern, to this point we have not seen an impact on sales of our utility products. We have seen some weakening in certain products in our industrial markets, however, which are being somewhat offset by increased sales of our small precision valves into the petroleum and certain other industries."

8:05AM China Wind Systems sees Q2 EPS of $0.023-0.026; expects Q2 revs to rise 143-150% YoY to $10.9-11.2 mln - no ests (CWSI) 4.05 : For the year ended December 31, 2008, CWSI.OB expects to report revenues of approximately $40 mln and net income of approximately $7 mln. The guidance reflects the expectation that the co's new large scale facility to manufacture high precision components for the wind energy industry will begin to contribute to results in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. ''We remain quite optimistic about achieving our long-term goal in becoming a leading provider of wind energy components in China. The planned rapid growth in wind generation capacity in China is creating strong demand for precision components such as forged rolled rings and shafts for use in the next generation of large scale windmills... We expect the pace of our involvement in the wind energy industry to increase dramatically over the course of the next few years, as we gain move into manufacturing critical wind components such as gear boxes and yaw bearings.''

7:36AM Timken rasies Q2 and FY08 EPS guidance above consensus (TKR) 28.68 : Co issues upside guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.96, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.78 First Call consensus, up from $0.73-0.83 previously. Co issues upside guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees EPS of $2.95-3.10 vs. $2.90 consensus, up from $2.75-2.95 previously. Q2 EPS guidance excludes manufacturing rationalization, impairment and restructuring charges, net of tax. Second-quarter performance benefited from the company's ability to capitalize on strong industrial markets, with higher volume, improved mix and better execution more than offsetting the impact of declining automotive demand. (Machine Tool Maker - Growing business globally - global growth play)

7:15AM Ametek beats by $0.11, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; guides FY08 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (AME) 50.30 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.68 per share, excluding $0.07 charge of $0.07 related to the performance-based accelerated vesting of restricted stock, $0.11 better than the First Call consensus of $0.57; revenues rose 24.9% year/year to $648.8 mln vs the $626.7 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.61-0.63 vs. $0.62 consensus; sees Q3 rev growth of 20%, which equates to $634.2 mln vs. $619.50 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for FY08, sees EPS of $2.50-2.54 vs. $2.47 consensus; sees FY08 rev growth of 20%, which equates to $2.564 bln vs. $2.51 bln consensus. (Industrial Equipment)

7:15AM Bank of America beats by $0.19, beats on revs (BAC) 27.49 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.72 per share, $0.19 better than the First Call consensus of $0.53; revenues rose 3.5% year/year to $20.32 bln vs the $18.37 bln consensus. Co reports $1.22 bln of market writedowns. Co reports provision expense of $5.83 bln, reflecting net charge-offs of $3.62 bln and additions to the allowance for loan and lease losses of $2.21 bln. The additions were mainly in consumer and commercial portfolios directly tied to housing, including home equity, residential mortgage and homebuilders. BAC has added $7.29 bln to the reserve through increased provision over the past 12 months. Co reports Countrywide had a Q2 net loss of $2.33 bln, and expects Countrywide to be accretive in 2008. Countrywide's results are not reflected in BAC's Q2 results. "Credit quality continued to weaken, particularly in markets that experienced the most significant home price declines. The slowing economy resulted in credit deterioration concentrated in the domestic consumer, small business and homebuilder portfolios. Both net charge-offs and nonperforming assets continued to increase."

7:08AM Weatherford misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line (WFT) 40.68 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.43 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.45; revenues rose 22.8% year/year to $2.23 bln vs the $2.21 bln consensus. The $0.09 non-recurring items in the second quarter of 2008 results include a gain on the restructuring of a Qatar operation into a JV, partially offset by investigation and exit costs incurred in connection with the company's withdrawal from sanctioned countries.

7:02AM Astec Industries misses by $0.02, beats on revs (ASTE) 34.93 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.93 per share, $0.02 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.95; revenues rose 22.7% year/year to $277.7 mln vs the $269.3 mln consensus.

6:32AM Hasbro beats by $0.03, beats on revs (HAS) 37.99 : Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.25 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.22; revenues rose 13.4% year/year to $784.3 mln vs the $675.4 mln consensus. "I'm very pleased with the earnings we announced today, while input cost inflation continues to be challenging, thus far we have been able to mitigate most of the impact through cost savings initiatives and pricing actions."

Earnings - 9th July 2008

6:28PM Energy Transfer raises guidance and recommends increase in unitholder distributions (ETP) 42.86 +0.61 : Co announced that the Partnership has raised its 2008 and 2009 EBITDA guidance to reflect the Partnership's continued confidence in its operations and the overall natural gas market environment. The Partnership expects EBITDA for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2008 to total $1.35 bln, an increase of $100 mln, or 8%, from the $1.25 bln previously forecasted. The Partnership also increased its EBITDA guidance for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2009 by $150 mln, resulting in an EBITDA forecast range of $1.7-1.8 bln, up from the previous forecast range of $1.55-1.65 bln. In addition, ETP announced that management will recommend that the Board of Directors of ETP approve a quarterly distribution of $0.89375 per common unit ($3.575 annualize

5:41PM AAR Corp beats by $0.01, beats on revs (AIR) 14.43 +0.22 : Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.52 per share, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.51; revenues rose 28.1% year/year to $391.7 mln vs the $372.7 mln consensus.

4:26PM Ruby Tuesday beats by $0.07, reports revs in-line; guides FY09 EPS in-line (RT) 5.29 -0.51 : Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.27 per share, including a $0.02 charge, $0.07 better than the First Call consensus of $0.20; revenues fell 4.3% year/year to $341.4 mln vs the $341.8 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $0.50-0.70 vs. $0.51 consensus. Co says, "Same-restaurant sales are expected to decline at a rate in the low to mid-single digits for the year, improving sequentially throughout the year. We expect Q1 same-restaurant sales to be down 8-9%... Restaurant operating margins are anticipated to be down marginally, reflecting higher labor and other operating costs that are partially offset by lower food costs."

4:18PM Central European Dist closes strategic investment in the Russian Alcohol Group; Increases FY08 and 09 EPS guidance, reiterates FY08 and 09 rev guidance (CEDC) 74.02 +2.57 : As a result of this investment, the Co is raising its full year 2008 comparable fully-diluted earnings per share guidance from $2.50-$2.65 to $2.65-$2.80 vs $2.73 First Call consensus. The Company is also increasing its full year 2009 comparable fully-diluted earnings per share guidance from $3.50-$3.70 to $3.75-$4.00 vs $3.76 First Call consensus. As the investment will be accounted for under the equity method of accounting, there is no change to the Company's full year guidance on net sales of $1.57-$1.70 billion for 2008, vs $1.68 bln First Call consensus, and $1.93-$2.03 billion for 2009, vs $2.00 bln First Call consensus.


4:09PM California Pizza raises Q2 EPS guidance, reports Q2 revs in line with consensus; reaffirms Y08 guidance; announces buyback (CPKI) 11.20 -0.66 : Co raises Q2 EPS guidance to $0.25-0.26, compared to previous guidance of $0.16-0.17, vs. $0.17 First Call consensus; sees Q2 (Jun) revs of $176.6 mln vs. $175.31 mln consensus. Co reports comparable restaurant sales +1.4%. Co raised EPS guidance due to Q2 revenues, positive comparable restaurant sales from the co's Thank You Card Program and a continued focus on operating efficiencies. Co announces that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $50 mln of common stock over the next 2 years. "We are very pleased with our second quarter preliminary results given the challenging market conditions. However, despite our better-than-expected performance, we are not adjusting full year 2008 guidance at this time due to limited sales visibility and an ongoing concern for the economy. We will address our outlook in greater detail on our second quarter earnings conference call on August 7, 2008."

4:07PM Men's Wearhouse sees Q2 EPS of $0.70-0.74, ex items, down from previous guidance of $0.75-0.79 vs $0.75 First Call consensus (MW) 16.72 -0.84 : "There are two principal reasons for the Q2 estimate update. First, severance costs related to the closing of the Canadian based manufacturing facility operated by the co's subsidiary, Golden Brand, have been finalized. Total closing costs for the second quarter are now estimated at diluted EPS of $0.09. This compares to previous estimates of diluted EPS of $0.06. Second, tuxedo rental unit volume from the Company's MW Tux stores is running below previous estimates for the quarter. As a result, consolidated tuxedo rental revenues for the second quarter are now estimated to decrease in the mid single digit range from the prior year versus the previous estimate of a decrease in the low single digit range. While the updated estimates for second quarter rental revenues are below our initial expectations they are still better year-over-year than we experienced in the first quarter."

4:02PM Shaw Group beats by $0.07, misses on revs (SGR) 55.31 +1.36 : Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $0.70 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 better than the First Call consensus of $0.63; revenues rose 13.6% year/year to $1.82 bln vs the $1.89 bln consensus.

9:15AM A-Power Energy completes the construction of the "largest wind turbine production facility in China"; On track to begin its production of wind turbines (APWR) 22.89 : Co announces that it has completed the construction of the first phase of its wind turbine production facility in Shenyang, China. The first phase is a 310,000 square foot production facility with an annual capacity to produce 300 2.5MW wind turbines and 420 750kW wind turbines. It is estimated that construction on phase 2 will commence in Q4 2009 and will be completed in about 4 months at a cost of approx $10 mln. After phase 2 is completed, APWR will have the capacity to produce 400 2.5MW wind turbines and 550 750kW wind turbines each year. Co states, "Production of our wind turbines is expected to begin later this quarter and we expect it will become a significant revenue contributor beginning in 2009."

9:12AM Rudolph Tech guides Q2 revs above consensus; reafirms EPS guidance; sees sequential revenue growth in Q3 (RTEC) 7.73 : Co guides revs for Q2 (Jun) above consensus, sees rev above $38 mln vs. $36.50 mln consensus; says EPS guidance remains unchanged. Co also said that it now anticipates quarterly sequential revenue growth in the 2008 third quarter. Co said, "The strengthening of our back-end business, the early acceptance of some of our new products, and an acceleration of product sales resulting from our recent acquisitions have enabled us to exceed our previous revenue guidance of flat to down five percent for the second quarter of 2008 ending June 30th."

8:31AM QLogic raises guidance for Q1 above consensus (QLGC) 13.96 : Co issues upside guidance for Q1 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.30-0.31 vs. $0.27 First Call consensus, prior guidance $0.26-0.28; sees Q1 (Jun) revs of $166-168 mln vs. $156.40 mln consensus, prior guidance $154-158 mln. Co said that "performance was driven by sequential growth of approximately 9% for our Host Products and approximately 8% for our Network Products from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008."