Early premarket gappers
Gapping up: VRML +17.7%, VDSI +14.7%, RTEC +12.9%, KEG +12.1%, PRAN +11.4%, GIG +10.3%, AEZS +9.4%, RCII +8.7%, MDXG +5.6%, MTL +5.6%, MRK +4.7%, BSX +4.5%, AU +4.3%, SIMO +3.6%, NBG +3%, WNC +2.9%, SYMX +2.7%, CMP +2.7%, TOT +2.6%, AAPL +2.5%, SAN +2.5%, BMY +2.1%, CNC +2.1%, FCX +2%, AVB +2%, PROV +1.9%, BP+1.8%, GOLD +1.7%, GENE +1.6%, SDRL +1.6%, IIVI +1.6%, UHS +1.5%, CVEO +1.4%, CNX +1.2%, FAC +1.1%, AET +1%, MAS +1%, SERV +1%, RIG +0.9%, TASR +0.8%, RDS.A +0.8%
Gapping down: UNXL -42.2%, TCS -26.7%, IPHS -9.9%, AMKR -9.2%, AI -8.1%, FLWS -7.9%, WHR -6.5%, ALSN -5.7%, CUDA -5.6%, OLN -5.4%, PHG -5.2%, SHLM -4.4%, PRCP -4.3%, AUDC -3.2%, CHRW -2.8%, DB -2.7%, OSTK -2.3%, AGNC -2.2%, ORAN -2.1%, COR -1.8%, YNDX -1.8%, PRTK -1.7%, ABX -1.6%, COH -1.6%, AZN -1.5%, ZGNX -1.4%, SWFT -1.4%,CR -1.4%, TEVA -1.3%, GWPH -1.1%, OSK -1.1%, CS -1%
Gapping down: UNXL -42.2%, TCS -26.7%, IPHS -9.9%, AMKR -9.2%, AI -8.1%, FLWS -7.9%, WHR -6.5%, ALSN -5.7%, CUDA -5.6%, OLN -5.4%, PHG -5.2%, SHLM -4.4%, PRCP -4.3%, AUDC -3.2%, CHRW -2.8%, DB -2.7%, OSTK -2.3%, AGNC -2.2%, ORAN -2.1%, COR -1.8%, YNDX -1.8%, PRTK -1.7%, ABX -1.6%, COH -1.6%, AZN -1.5%, ZGNX -1.4%, SWFT -1.4%,CR -1.4%, TEVA -1.3%, GWPH -1.1%, OSK -1.1%, CS -1%
Valero Energy beats by $0.20, beats on revs
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.87 per share, $0.20 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.67; revenues fell 36.6% year/year to $21.33 bln vs the $15.84 bln consensus.
- The refining segment reported Q1 2015 operating income of $1.6 billion versus $1.3 billion in Q1 of 2014.
- The $361 mln increase in operating income primarily resulted from the $1.49 increase in throughput margin per barrel from $10.90 in Q1 of 2014 to $12.39 in Q1 of 2015.
- The increase in throughput margin per barrel was mainly driven by stronger gasoline and secondary product margins per barrel relative to Brent crude oil and lower natural gas costs.
- These positive drivers were partially offset by lower discounts per barrel for most sweet and sour crude oils relative to Brent crude oil. First quarter 2015 refining throughput volumes averaged 2.7 million barrels per day, an increase of 9,000 barrels per day from Q1 of 2014. Valero's refineries operated at 92% throughput capacity utilization in Q1 of 2015.
- The ethanol segment reported Q1 2015 operating income of $12 million versus $243 million in Q1 of 2014.
- The $231 million decrease in operating income was mainly due to lower gross margin per gallon driven by a decline in gasoline and ethanol prices, which more than offset a decline in corn prices.
T-Mobile US misses by $0.05, beats on revs
Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.09 per share, $0.05 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of ($0.04); revenues rose 14.9% year/year to $7.8 bln vs the $7.69 bln consensus.
- 1.8 million total net adds
- 1.1 million branded postpaid net adds
- 1.0 million branded postpaid phone net adds
- Best-ever branded postpaid phone churn of 1.30%, down 43 bps QoQ and 17 bps YoY.
- Branded postpaid net customer additions for 2015 are now expected to be between 3.0 and 3.5 million, an increase from the previous guidance of 2.2 and 3.2 million.
- For the full-year of 2015, T-Mobile expects Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $6.8 to $7.2 billion, unchanged from previous guidance despite the increase in branded postpaid net customer additions guidance.
- Cash capital expenditures for 2015 are expected to be in the range of $4.4 to $4.7 billion, also unchanged from previous guidance.
UPS beats by $0.03, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.12 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.09; revenues rose 1.4% year/year (+3.6% ex-FX) to $13.98 bln vs the $14.25 bln consensus.
- Profitability improved across all segments, pricing initiatives drove yields higher
- international operating profit increased 14%; U.S. Domestic up 11%
- U.S. Domestic first quarter revenue increased 3.8% to $8.8 billion. Daily package volume improved 2.4%. Total revenue per package was up 1.3% primarily due to UPS Ground yield increasing 3.1%. Operating profit increased to $1.0 billion, an 11% improvement from the prior-year period. Operating margin expanded 70 basis points, driven by productivity gains.
Bristol-Myers beats by $0.21, beats on revs; raises low end of FY15 EPS, just below estimates
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.71 per share, $0.21 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.50; revenues rose 6.0% year/year to $4.04 bln vs the $3.8 bln consensus.
- Excluding the divested Diabetes Alliance, global revenues increased 10% or 17% adjusted for foreign exchange impact. U.S. revenues increased 16% to $2.0 billion in the quarter compared to the same period a year ago. International revenues decreased 2% to $2.0 billion.
Oshkosh beats by $0.02, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance, revs guidance
Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.81 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.79; revenues fell 7.4% year/year to $1.55 bln vs the $1.52 bln consensus. Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $4.00-4.25, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.99 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $6.50-6.60 bln vs. $6.39 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Germany’s Kaufhof Said for Sale; Hudson’s Bay Interested
Germany’s retail landscape is on the brink of change.
Sources tell WWD that the Kaufhof department store chain, considered the Macy’s of Germany, is up for sale and that a bidding war is in progress.
Karstadt, the other major department store operator in Germany, as well as the Toronto-based Hudson’s Bay Co. are interested parties, according to sources.
The sources said that German retail giant Metro AG is once again interested in selling its Kaufhof chain of department stores. As far back as 2008, Metro considered selling Kaufhof, determining that the retailer was no longer strategic to its core business.
“There is a process going on,” a source close to the situation said Monday.
Karstadt is fighting for its survival and would seek to consolidate with the healthier Kaufhof to gain economies of scale and cut more costs and jobs. Karstadt has been closing stores and battling with unions over cutbacks, but reportedly has rounded up some third-party financial backing to pull off a deal.
In August, Karstadt was bought by Signa, the Austrian real estate company and investor, which acquired it from Nicolas Berggruen. The Karstadt chain has been struggling for more than a decade and attempts to revamp and reposition it have borne little fruit.
Last week, there was an emergency meeting at Karstadt to figure out its future.
“This is a last-ditch effort for survival,” said the source, referring to the possible merger with Kaufhof.
Merger talks between Karstadt and Kaufhof have been on and off for years.
“Karstadt is in real trouble. They will close a great number of stores and ultimately could close them all,” said a source familiar with the retail scene in Germany. “But combining Karstadt with Kaufhof, one department store for the whole country, that could still happen.”
Richard Baker, governor and executive chairman of Hudson’s Bay Co., could not be reached for comment Monday. Baker has been interested in expanding his retail empire into Germany. HBC includes Hudson’s Bay in Canada, and Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off-5th and Lord & Taylor in the U.S.
Rather than coming at Kaufhof from a position of distress, his retail operations had a strong 2014 and Baker has been investing in his retail operations, including budgeting $250 million to renovate the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan over a few years beginning this summer.
Kaufhof does have much owned retail real estate that would be of interest to Baker. Of Kaufhof’s 120 stores, about 60 are owned and the remaining units are leased. His acquisition strategy entails seeking companies with strong brand recognition, healthy operations and valuable real estate.
Karstadt operates 83 department stores as well as 28 Karstadt Sports stores.
“It is our company policy not to comment on rumor or speculation,” said Andrew Blecher, spokesman for HBC.
A merger of Karstadt and Kaufhof could lead to a spinoff of the three-unit KaDeWe premium group owned by Karstadt. Several parties are interested, among them Thailand’s Central Group, an international department store operator that already owns the La Rinascente department store in Milan Sources on Monday said HBC is not in the running for KaDeWe, though the company was believed to have been interested.
KaDeWe includes the KaDeWe Berlin flagship, Alsterhaus in Hamburg and Oberpollinger in Munich. KaDeWe and Alsterhaus are performing well while Oberpollinger is said to be oversized and underperforming.
Metro, which operates cash & carry, hypermarket, electronics and department store business, had a difficult first quarter with the retail group’s profits slipping 10.7 percent, partly due to negative currency effects. Earnings before interest and taxes at Kaufhof slipped 12.6 percent, partly due to the warm winter hurting sales.
Pfizer beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides FY15 EPS below consensus, revs in-line
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.51 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.49. Include a $0.03 negative impact associated with an upfront payment to OPKO Health, Inc. (OPKO); revenues fell 4.0% year/year to $10.9 bln vs the $10.73 bln consensus.
Co issues mixed guidance (Guidance solely updated to reflect impact of FX) for FY15, sees EPS of $1.95-2.05 (Prior $2.00-2.10) vs. $2.11 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $44-46 bln (Prior $44.5-46.54 bln) vs. $45.98 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Co issues mixed guidance (Guidance solely updated to reflect impact of FX) for FY15, sees EPS of $1.95-2.05 (Prior $2.00-2.10) vs. $2.11 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $44-46 bln (Prior $44.5-46.54 bln) vs. $45.98 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Natl Oilwell Varco beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line
Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.14 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $1.09; revenues fell 15.6% year/year to $4.82 bln vs the $4.82 bln consensus.
- Ending backlog for the first quarter of 2015 was $10.43 billion for the Company's Rig Systems segment and $1.46 billion for the Company's Completion & Production Solutions segment.
- "We have the financial resources to invest in acquisitions, as well as the transformative new technologies we have a long history of pioneering. Cyclical downturns provide extraordinary opportunities to deploy capital to better position our enterprise for a recovery. While we don't know the duration of this downturn, we know that we will be better when the recovery comes."