Ferro Q3 Earnings Increases; Revenue Up On Segmental Growth; Guides Q4 Friday, November 09, 2007; Posted: 03:32 AM Thursday, Ferro Corp. (FOE | charts | news | PowerRating) reported an increase in its third-quarter net income, on higher segmental results. The company also provided fourth quarter outlook.
Ferro's net income in the third quarter rose to $5.585 million from $5.531 million in the previous year. Earnings per share stood at a flat rate of $0.12 in both the years.
In the third quarter, the company's income from continuing operations increased to $5.587 million or $0.12 per share from $5.469 million or $0.12 per share last year.
On average, 7 analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial estimated earnings per share of $0.21 for the reported quarter.
Third-quarter net sales of the company rose to $550.70 million from $500.57 million in the prior year. Four analysts estimated revenue of $528.00 million in the third quarter.
The company's net sales from performance coatings grew to $153.74 million from last year's $134.95 million. Net sales from electronics materials rose to $116.65 million from $104.96 million in the year-ago period. Color and Glass Perf. Materials generated net sales of $113.58 million, up from $94.92 million last year.
The company's gross margin in the third quarter decreased to 18.2% from 19.7% in the same quarter last year primarily due to accelerated depreciation and other costs in connection with manufacturing rationalization activities.
In the first nine months of fiscal 2007, the company's net income fell to $16.20 million from $23.97 million in the previous year. Earnings per share were down to $0.36 from $0.54 in the earlier year.
Nine-month revenue of the company rose to $1.63 billion from $1.54 billion reported a year ago.
Looking ahead, the company expects fourth-quarter net income per share to be in the range of 7-12 cents, including approximately 8 cents per share for charges related to the company's manufacturing rationalization activities. In the last year, the company reported a net loss of 10 cents per share. Analysts' forecasts earnings per share of $0.24 fro the fourth quarter.
Sales in the fourth-quarter are anticipated to be in the range of $500 million -$525 million. Analysts expect revenue of $521.35 million in the fourth quarter.
The company said it expects sales in the fourth quarter to match or exceed sales of $497 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. Meanwhile, the company expects a sequential decline in the fourth quarter sales consistent with normal seasonality.
JA Solar Gets No Reward From Investors The Chinese company's stock takes a beating despite exceeding analysts' third-quarter expectations. by: Rachel Barron Bullet Arrow November 9, 2007
Despite posting a third-quarter profit that beat analyst expectations and raising its full-year revenue forecast Friday, solar-cell maker JA Solar's stock took a 21.64-percent nose dive.
The Chinese company (NSDQ: JASO) reported its net income jumped to $22.1 million, or 47 cents per American Depository Share (ADS), from $553,135, or 2 cents per ADS, during the same quarter last year. Each ADS represents three common shares.
Analysts were expecting to see net income of 36 cents per ADS.
JA Solar also raised its revenue expectation for the full year of 2007 by about $20 million, to $320 million.
The company now expects its production capacity to reach 425 megawatts annually by the end of 2008, compared with its current 175-megawatt production capacity.
Still, Wall Street sent JA Solar shares down $15.04 Friday to close at $54.51 per share.
Nick Perry, an equity analyst for Schaeffer's Investment Research who writes for the Trading Floor Blog, said this might be a situation where short-term expectations became too lofty.
His conclusion comes after investors responded favorably to impressive earnings posted by thin-film solar manufacturer First Solar (NSDQ: FSLR) on Thursday.
First Solar shares jumped 34.3 percent from Wednesday's closing price to close at $224.43 per share Thursday after the company announced an increase in third-quarter profit and an improved 2007 sales outlook following plans to expand production (see Thin Film Solar Gets Another Boost, Thin-Film Solar Production to Leap Forward).
"I think some may have thought that if First Solar could surge after their report, then it was reasonable to expect the same type of move out of JA Solar," Perry said.
As a result, Perry said, investors raised the bar on company expectations to an unrealistic level.
"While the report looked solid, it wasn't the blowout that needed to be there," he said.
Perhaps investors shouldn't read too much into the day's events, he said. "The stock is still sitting verynear its all-time highs and is poised to show a small gain on the week."
Not bad considering that many Chinese stocks have been taking a hit.
Chinese solar companies, along with other new entrants, have struggled with high prices for the solar-grade silicon used to make solar panels (see Could China Steal the Solar Throne?).
And allegations of silicon-inventory discrepancies at LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK) have raised concerns about the quality of solar material coming from China (see New Details Surface as LDK's Stock Continues to Plunge, China Sunergy Snags Silicon).
Lower share prices could be an indication that investors fear JA Solar might suffer from some of the same issues in spite of solid third-quarter earnings.
In a research note Friday, Goldman Sachs analyst Cheryl Tang wrote that JA Solar is "unlikely to sustain" margins next quarter as some of JA Solar's customers start making their own solar cells.
FTD Group Q1 Profit Rises On Higher Revenues; Raises FY08 Guidance - Update [FTD]
11/9/2007 12:41:59 PM Friday, FTD Group, Inc. (FTD), a floral and specialty gift products and services provider, announced first quarter financial results, reporting a net income that increased from the prior year quarter on higher revenues. The company has also raised its outlook for fiscal 2008.
The Downers Grove, Illinois-based company's first quarter net income increased to $8.16 million from $5.44 million in the prior year. On a per share basis, earnings rose to $0.28 per share from $0.18 per share in the same quarter a year ago. The company said the recent quarter net income included $0.05 earnings per share benefit the company got as a result of an enacted tax rate change in the U.K.
Analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial estimated earnings of $0.21 per share for the quarter.
Quarterly revenues were $123.75 million, up 13.8% from $108.77 million in the same quarter a year ago. Wall Street analysts expected the company to post revenues of $121.12 million for the quarter.
Total gross profit grew to $52.58 million from $48.35 million last year. The company's total income from operations during the first quarter increased to $16.85 million from $15.37 million in the year ago quarter.
FTD Group's cash and cash equivalents were $13.68 million as of September 30, 2007, compared to $25.46 million as of June 30, 2007.
Outlook - 2008
Looking forward, the company has reaffirmed its fiscal 2008 guidance. Accordingly, the company expects fiscal 2008 net income of $37.10 million or $1.23 per share following the tax rate change in the U.K. enacted during the first quarter of fiscal 2008. The company anticipates revenue target of approximately $645.00 million for fiscal 2008.
Street analysts expect the company to record earnings of $1.18 per share on revenues of $645.50 million for fiscal 2008.
Brooks Automation Posts Q4 Net Loss Compared To Profit Last Year; Friday morning, Brooks Automation, Inc. (BRKS | charts | news | PowerRating),a provider of automation solutions and integrated subsystems to semiconductor and related industries, announced a fourth quarter loss hurt by charges and lower revenues. The company also provided guidance for first quarter of fiscal 2008.
The company said income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter ended September 30, 2007 amounted to a loss of $1.3 million, or a loss of $0.02 per share, compared to income from continuing operations of $10.8 million, or $0.14 per share for the fourth quarter of 2006.
Brooks said the net loss for the fourth quarter was $1.29 million or a loss of $0.02 per share compared with net income of $16.12 million or $0.22 per share in the prior year period.
Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 included $7.5 million, or $0.11 per share relating to charges for the amortization of intangible assets and restructuring.
The company said pro forma net income for the third quarter of 2007 amounted to $6.18 million or $0.09 per share. 11 analysts, on average, expected quarterly earnings of $0.10 per share, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.
Brooks said operating loss for the quarter amounted to $5.14 million compared with operating income of $12.25 million in the year-ago period. Gross margin declined to 24% of sales or $39.98 million from 32.2% of sales or $60.06 million of sales in the corresponding period last year.
Revenues for the three-month period were $166.5 million, compared to revenues of $186.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, a decrease of 10.9%. 10 analysts had a revenue consensus estimate of $166.15 million for the quarter.
For the twelve month period income from continuing operations was $54.3 million, or $0.73 per share compared to prior year income from continuing operations of $22.3 million or $0.31 per share Revenues for fiscal 2007 were $743.3 million, up 22.4% from previous year revenues of $607.5 million.
Looking ahead, for first quarter of fiscal 2008, the company said it expects earnings per share are expected to be in the range of a loss of $0.04 per share to earnings of $0.04 per share on revenues to be in the range of $155.0 million to $165.0 million. Currently, 10 street analysts expect the company to earn $0.13 per share on revenues $165.18 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2008.
4 KIDS ENTERTAINMENT INC (KDE.N: Quote, Profile, Research): * Third quarter per share loss $0.31 from continuing operations * Third quarter revenue $12.2 million * Reuters Estimates third quarter earnings per share view $-0.15, revenue view $14.00 million http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSWNAS178920071109
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