Month: August 2011

Ian Gilson, CFA America West Resources ( AWSR ) Second quarter results: Although the company reported record revenue based on an all time high production rate, revenue was below our estimate due to some mine safety issues. The mine has been worked on and off for many years and removing some of the pillars and expanding the mine required some remediation work on the bolts holding up the roof. The new bolts were three times as expensive as the standard ones, much work was needed to ensure safety and the mine was re-inspected (the inspectors took some time in approving the work). […]

Companhia Siderurgica Nacional ( SID ) or CSN recently raised funds through the public issue of non-convertible unsecured debentures having a maturity life of 8 years. Funds raised through the issuance will be used to finance working capital and other activities of CSN. […]

One of China’s largest petrochemical companies, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited ( SHI ) announced first half 2011 net income of RMB 1.4 billion or RMB 0.198 per diluted share, compared with RMB 1.5 billion or RMB 0.210 per diluted share a year earlier. The negative comparisons can be primarily attributable to higher costs, partially offset by a surge in revenues. In the first six months of 2011, Shanghai’s crude oil costs amounted to RMB 27.4 billion – a substantial increase of 42.89% year over year – representing 61.76% of its total cost of sales for the period. […]

After tropical storm Irene hit the East coast, major airline companies were forced to cancel approximately 9500 flight, completely halting operations at the busiest airports in the U.S. including the New York Airport . […]

We recently downgraded our rating on Vistaprint N.V. ( VPRT ) from Neutral to Underperform. […]

Following the clearance from the Oslo Stock Exchange, Transocean Ltd. ( RIG ) formally launched an all-cash acquisition bid worth 7.93 billion kroner or $1.46 billion for Norway's Aker Drilling ASA along with a net debt of $800 million. Transocean’s purchase price remains unaltered from the previously announced 26.50 kroner per share. […]

Even as Hurricane Irene turned out to be less damaging than initially feared, it was nevertheless quite disruptive. Many Wall Street workers may find it difficult to get back to work today, though the New York City financial district and the public transportation system has largely resumed normal operations. As such volumes will likely be even thinner than is typically the case in this seasonally low-volume period. […]

Benihana Inc. ( BNHN ) reported earnings of 10 cents per share in first quarter 2012, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 14 cents, but were 25% higher than the year-ago quarter earnings of 8 cents. […]

Unilever Plc. ( UL ) has decided to offload some of its hair care brands that it had bought from Alberto Culver in 2010, to settle matters with the U.S. […]

St. Louis, Missouri-based Brown Shoe Company, Inc ( BWS ) recently posted a second quarter 2011 adjusted loss of 6 cents per share, significantly worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings of 6 cents per share and the year-ago quarter earnings of 15 cents per share. […]

Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) has won another injunction against Samsung Electronics Co., which will delay the launch of the latter’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 until the end of September, in Australia. Samsung had originally scheduled the launch of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia in the middle of September. […]