Earnings - 22nd Dec 2008

4:07PM Red Hat beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line (RHT) 11.93 -0.44 : Reports Q3 (Nov) earnings of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the First Call consensus of $0.18; revenues rose 22.1% year/year to $165.3 mln vs the $166.4 mln consensus.

11:57AM PPG Industries announces Q4 2008 earnings per share will likely be in the range of $0.35 to $0.45 vs $0.67 consensus (PPG) 39.58 -1.46 : Co issues downside guidance for Q4 (Dec), sees EPS of $0.35-0.45 vs. $0.67 First Call consensus. The lower level of expected earnings reflects the accelerating rate of decline in the global economy that has emerged in the fourth quarter 2008. "Market softness seen initially in the U.S. industrial markets is now prevalent on a global basis. Our businesses that serve these industrial end-markets are experiencing significant volume deterioration, as our customers react to lower consumer demand and tight credit markets by curtailing their production and reducing their inventory levels... As a result, in addition to the restructuring actions announced in September of this year, we have taken additional cost-reduction measures during the quarter, including lowering our operating rates and furloughing workers. We will continue to monitor economic activity levels as we enter the first quarter 2009 to determine what further cost-cutting actions may be warranted... PPG has redoubled its focus on cash in the fourth quarter, seasonally a stronger cash-flow quarter, as we are managing our working capital and capital spending aggressively," Hernandez said. "Currently, we have approximately $800 mln cash on hand, up about $300 mln from September 30, and our commercial paper borrowings total just over $200 mln."

10:06AM CVS Caremark confirms earnings guidance (CVS) 26.15 -0.74 : Co reaffirms guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees EPS of $2.42-2.47 vs. $2.44 First Call consensus. "There is no question that the economy continues to be difficult and consumers are reacting with increasing caution... Our total same store sales for October grew 4.3%, and in November were up 6.1%. It appears that December's comps will be well short of those levels. Nevertheless, through careful margin and cost management, we expect to be able to deliver results within our previously announced earnings range for 2008."

8:34AM Aaron Rents raises FY09 EPS guidance; reaffirms Q408 and FY08 EPS guidance (RNT) 28.66 : Co raises guidance for FY09 (Dec), sees EPS of $1.70-1.85 (previous $1.65-1.80) vs. $1.74 First Call consensus. "We expect same store revenues for the fourth quarter to increase 5% to 7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007," Robert Loudermilk, CEO, commented. "Our earnings guidance for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2008 is unchanged, with diluted EPS for the year expected to be in the range of $1.60 to $1.65, excluding gains from fourth quarter store sales and any gain or loss on the previous announced sale of the Aaron's Corporate Furnishings division." "We are altering our 2009 square footage growth plans somewhat, and expect to increase overall store growth next year approximately 5% to 9% over the store base at the end of 2008. This will be net store growth after opening a combination of Company-operated and franchised stores, less any opportunistic merging or disposition of stores. This rate of growth should allow us to improve margins as well as fund our expansion without the need to seek additional sources of capital. Due to the current strength of our business and our outlook for next year, we are increasing our earnings guidance for 2009 from previously expecting to achieve diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.65 to $1.80 to now expecting $1.70 to $1.85 per share."

8:03AM Walgreen misses by $0.05; cutting store opening rate (WAG) 26.08 : Reports Q1 (Nov) earnings of $0.41 per share, $0.05 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 6.6% year/year to $14.95 bln vs the $15.08 bln consensus. The company is also announcing plans to further reduce its organic store openings to a rate between 4.0 and 4.5 percent in 2010 and between 2.5 and 3.0 percent in 2011. This is a further reduction from plans announced last July to slow organic store openings to 5 percent by 2011. The company will continue to open new stores in strategic markets, on the best corners, and which offer the greatest rates of return. The new target growth rate will reduce capital expenditures through 2011 by approximately an additional $500 million beyond the $500 million capital expenditure savings announced last July.

7:39AM Dominion affirms 2008 guidance and lowers 2009 outlook (D) 34.98 : After the close, co reaffirmed guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees EPS of $3.10-3.15 vs. $3.12 First Call consensus. Co lowers guidance for FY09 (Dec), sees EPS of $3.20-3.30, down from $3.30-3.45, vs. $3.30 consensus.

7:36AM Steelcase reports Q3 (Nov) results; guides Q4 revs below consensus (SCS)5.73 : Reports Q3 (Nov) net of breakeven, includes a $27.5 million pre-tax charge related to a decrease in the cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance policies and $4.7 million of pre-tax restructuring costs, may not be comparable to the First Call consensus of $0.09; revenues fell 0.5% year/year to $881.3 mln vs the $805.2 mln consensus. Co issues guidance for Q4, sees EPS of ($0.04)-($0.10), ioncludes $9 mln charge, may not be comparable to $0.11 consensus; sees Q4 revs of $650-700 mln vs. $747.04 mln consensus.  Co said, "We believe that the slowing of the global economy and related uncertainty will lead to significant reduction in industry demand for the next several quarters... Accordingly, we have been preparing for a difficult year in fiscal 2010, but we believe the strength of our balance sheet will allow us to continue investing in growth initiatives that will further strengthen our leadership position coming out of this economic cycle."

Earnings - 25th June 2008

4:35PM Energen raises FY08 and FY09 EPS guidance on higher commodity price assumptions (EGN) 15.62 -0.38 : Co announced that it is raising the underlying commodity price assumptions applicable to the unhedged production of its oil and gas exploration and production unit for the remainder of 2008 and for 2009. Co sees FY08 $4.30-4.70 vs $4.50 First Call consensus, up from previous guidance of $4.15-4.55; sees FY09 $5.15-5.55 vs $5.03 First Call consensus, up from previous guidance of $4.65-5.05. Energen's revised NYMEX price assumptions for unhedged production for the rest of 2008 and for the year 2009 are $10 per thousand cubic feet of natural gas and $100 per barrel of oil; its new natural gas liquids price assumption is $1.30 per gallon for the remainder of 2008 and for 2009.

4:28PM Autodesk reaffirms Q2 guidance; narrows Q3 EPS, lowers Q3 revs; sees FY09 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (ADSK) 36.35 +0.61 : Co reaffirms Q2 EPS of $0.50-0.52 vs $0.53 consensus, sees revs of $600-610 mln vs $605.4 mln consensus; narrows Q3 EPS of $0.53-0.55 vs $0.55 consensus, from $0.53-0.56, lowers revs to $615-630 mln vs $611.8 mln consensus, down from $605-620 mln. Co sees FY09 EPS of $2.20-2.30 vs $2.25 consensus, revs of $2.48-2.53 bln vs $2.47 bln consensus. Co updated its financial guidance to reflect the anticipated effects of the acquisition of Moldflow. ADSK acquired Moldflow for $22 per share, or ~$297 million, less the amount in Moldflow's cash balance and proceeds from options exercises.

4:28PM CKE Restaurants beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line (CKR) 12.30 +0.54 : Reports Q1 (Apr) earnings of $0.31 per share, $0.04 better than the First Call consensus of $0.27; revenues fell 3.2% year/year to $466.2 mln vs the $465.5 mln consensus. Blended company-operated same-store sales for the first fiscal quarter of fiscal 2009 increased 1.8%. Same-store sales increased 3.9% at Carl's Jr. and decreased 0.6% at Hardee's company-operated restaurants.

4:20PM Nike beats by $0.02, beats on revs (NKE) 65.97 +0.00 : Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.98 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.96; revenues rose 16.1% year/year to $5.09 bln vs the $4.95 bln consensus. "The Company reported worldwide futures orders for athletic footwear and apparel, scheduled for delivery from June 2008 through November 2008, totaling $8.8 bln, 11 percent higher than such orders reported for the same period last year. Changes in currency exchange rates increased reported orders growth by 3 percentage points."

4:17PM Bed Bath & Beyond beats by $0.03, beats on revs (BBBY) 28.57 +0.27 : Reports Q1 (May) earnings of $0.30 per share, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 6.1% year/year to $1.65 bln vs the $1.62 bln consensus. Comparable store sales for the fiscal first quarter of 2008 increased by approximately 0.8%, compared with an increase of approximately 1.6% in last year's fiscal first quarter.

4:10PM Research In Motion misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus (RIMM) 142.33 +1.85 : Reports Q1 (May) earnings of $0.84 per share, $0.01 worse than the First Call consensus of $0.85; revenues rose 19.1% year/year to $2.24 bln vs the $2.27 bln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.84-0.89 vs. $0.90 consensus; sees Q2 revs of $2.55-2.65 bln vs. $2.44 bln consensus. RIMM Q1 (May) net Blackberry subscriber additions 2.3 mln vs. guidance of 2.20 mln. RIMM sees Q2 (Aug) net subs of 2.6 mln... The revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 82% for devices, 13% for service, 3% for software and 2% for other revenue. During the quarter, RIM shipped approximately 5.4 mln devices. "We are pleased to report another record quarter with revenue increasing 107% as the popularity of the BlackBerry platform continued to spread in business, government and consumer segments. Our comprehensive technology and business strategies continue to reap strong results in the market and RIMM is well positioned to build on its momentum throughout the remainder of fiscal 2009... As we prepare this summer to ship our 40 millionth BlackBerry smartphone, we continue to steadily scale our business and partnerships to support the opportunities ahead in this thriving sector."

4:07PM Herman Miller beats by $0.14, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS in-line, revs in-line (MLHR) 23.99 +0.18 : Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.71 per share, $0.14 better than the First Call consensus of $0.57; revenues rose 7.0% year/year to $519.1 mln vs the $488.4 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.49-0.56 vs. $0.55 consensus; sees Q1 revs of $470-495 mln vs. $491.05 mln consensus. Co said, "Changing economic conditions required us to closely examine how and where we invest our resources to optimize our growth and minimize the impact of ongoing challenges in the U.S. market. As a result, we are well positioned for what we expect will continue to be a difficult near-term environment."

4:05PM Oracle beats by $0.03, beats on revs (ORCL) 22.47 +0.24 : Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.47 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the First Call consensus of $0.44; revenues rose 23.8% year/year to $7.28 bln vs the $6.85 bln consensus. "Non-GAAP operating margins were up 200 basis points in FY08 to a record 43.0%. Non-GAAP earnings per share were up 29% for the year and non-GAAP EPS has tripled over the last five years. Oracle has delivered solid results year-after-year." "Oracle's application new software license revenues grew 38% in FY08, while SAP's new software license revenues grew only 13% in their most recent fiscal year. This is the third consecutive year we've taken applications market share from SAP." "Four years ago we publicly announced a five year plan to deliver non-GAAP earnings per share at a compound annual growth rate of 20%. During the past four years we exceeded our plan and delivered a non-GAAP EPS CAGR of over 26%."

4:03PM Red Hat reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (RHT) 22.21 +0.72 : Reports Q1 (May) earnings of $0.18 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.18; revenues rose 52.0% year/year to $156.6 mln vs the $153 mln consensus.

11:23AM Industrial Services sees Q2 EPS of $0.42-0.44 vs $0.22 a year ago (IDSA) 15.99 +1.66 : Co provides financial guidance for the second quarter and first six months of 2008. Based on actual results from the first two months of the period and on projected trends, the company said Q2 2008 earnings are expected to be in the range of $0.42-0.44 per share vs $0.22 a year ago. For the first six months of 2008, co estimates EPS of $0.72-0.74 vs $0.44 a year ago. "Global demand for commodities continues to be strong, as does pricing for ferrous and non-ferrous materials. We are well positioned to benefit from these demand and pricing trends."

9:13AM Airmedia raises Q2 rev guidance above consensus (AMCN) 13.47 : Co issues upside guidance for Q2 (Jun), raises Q2 (Jun) revenue guidance to $29-30 mln from $26-28 mln vs. $26.86 mln First Call consensus. Co said that despite the impact of the Sichuan earthquake and the slowdown of air passenger volume growth, they are able to raise guidance due to stronger than expected results of all products lines, especially the digital frame business

8:10AM Monsanto beats by $0.11, misses on revs; guides FY08 EPS above consensus (MON) 135.79 : Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $1.45 per share, $0.11 better than the First Call consensus of $1.34; revenues rose 26.2% year/year to $3.59 bln vs the $3.71 bln consensus. Co raised guidance for FY08, sees EPS of ~$3.40 vs. $3.39 consensus, up from $3.15-3.25. Co now expects that its free cash flow for fiscal year 2008 will be $550 million. The co expects net cash provided by operating activities to be in the range of $2.6 bln. As part of today's announcement, MON also published a preliminary report on the co's biotech trait acreage for fiscal year 2008 on its website.

8:06AM Dean Foods guides Q2 EPS above consensus; reaffirms FY08 guidance (DF) 18.39 : Co issues upside guidance for Q2 (Jun), sees EPS of at least $0.32, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.29 First Call consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY08 (Dec), sees EPS of at least $1.20 vs. $1.25 consensus. Co said, "Our DSD Dairy business is performing particularly well in the second quarter... Our team's efforts to reduce the cost of production and distribution, combined with effective management of the pass through of increased dairy commodity and energy costs through this inflationary period, is resulting in a strong overall performance in the second quarter."

7:37AM Williams Cos raised FY08 and FY09 EPS guidance above consensus (WMB) 39.13 : Co raises FY08 EPS guidance to $2.30-2.80 vs $2.21 consensus, up from prior $1.70-2.10; raises FY09 EPS to $2.05-2.90 vs $2.48 consensus, up from $1.80-2.30. Co says, "The increase in earnings guidance primarily reflects the co's more favorable outlook for commodity prices during 2008 and 2009. The more favorable prices are expected to benefit the company's exploration & production and midstream businesses. A chart attached to the end of this press release includes the guidance updates for the business segments and WMB in total. For 2008 the company now expects unhedged natural gas prices ranging from $9.00-10.50 per Mcfe (Henry Hub) and crude oil pricing in the range of $100-120 per barrel (West Texas Intermediate). For 2009, the co now expects unhedged natural gas prices ranging from $8.00-10.50 per Mcfe (Henry Hub) and crude oil pricing in the range of $80-120 per barrel (WTI). WMB also is updating its capital expenditure guidance for 2008 and 2009. The new range for 2008 is $3.03-3.38 bln, up from the previous range of $2.6-2.95 bln. For 2009, the new range is $2.63-3.03 bln, compared with the previous range of $2.3-2.7 bln.

7:31AM EMCOR Group raises guidance for FY08 (EME) 27.75 : Co raises guidance for FY08 (Dec), to EPS of $2.22-2.42 from $2.08-2.28 vs. $2.31 First Call consensus; raises FY08 (Dec) revenue guidance to $6.8-7.0 bln from $6.3-6.5 bln vs. $6.76 bln consensus. The increased guidance reflects continuing indications of strong demand for the Company's services in many of its markets.

7:02AM Rockwell Automation guides Q3 below consensus; will not meet previous FY08 guidance (ROK) 52.19 : Co issues downside guidance for Q3 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.93-1.00 vs. $1.13 First Call consensus. Given the expected third quarter earnings, and what appear to be less favorable market conditions in the U.S. and Europe, the Company no longer believes that full year EPS will fall within the previous annual guidance range of $4.25-4.45 (consensus $4.29).

6:32AM General Mills reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides FY09 EPS below consensus (GIS) 62.40 : Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.73 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.73; revenues rose 13.4% year/year to $3.47 bln vs the $3.37 bln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for FY09, sees EPS of $3.78-3.83 vs. $3.84 consensus.