Updates, advisories and surprises

By MarketWatch

Last Update: 4:31 PM ET Apr 10, 2008

(4:18 PM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Genentech Inc.(DNA)reported a 12% boost in
its bottom-line late Thursday, due largely to increased sales for its cancer
medications. For the quarter ended March 31, Genentech posted net income of $790
million, compared with $706 million for the previous year’s quarter. Earnings per
share including stock options were 74 cents versus 66 cents. Excluding stock
options and other items, Genentech would have reported adjusted earnings per
share of 84 cents. Operating revenue increased to $3.06 billion. A poll of
analysts by FactSet pegged Genentech at reporting earnings of 76 cents a share,
adjusted earnings of 82 cents a share and revenue of $3.12 billion.

(4:12 PM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Lehman Brothers analyst Jason Goldberg in a
note to clients Thursday said he expects Bank of America
Corp.’s(BAC)first-quarter earnings “to continue to be weighed down by
collateralized debt obligation-related write-downs, as well as a heightened loan
loss provision,” while IPO gains should only provide a modest offset. Other
headwinds include pressured fee income, higher expenses, credit quality
deterioration and no share repurchases, according to the note. “Fee income should
continue to be adversely impacted by weak trading due to CDO marks and pressured
private equity,” Goldberg said. “Investment banking should be pressured, hurt by
its recent downsizing, while mortgage, service charges and card show seasonal
weakness.” The analyst expects Bank of America, which is scheduled to hold its
first-quarter earnings conference call on April 21, to report profit of 65 cents
a share, but still above the consensus estimate of 41 cents. (Corrects analyst
consensus forecast.)

(12:03 PM ET) WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — In a bid to help the housing market,
the Senate passed a package of tax breaks and funds for foreclosure counseling on
Thursday, a day after the White House took separate action to expand a federal
program to allow more homeowners to refinance mortgages. By a vote of 84-to-12,
senators approved a package including funds for housing counseling, $4 billion
for local communities to buy and redevelop foreclosed homes and a provision that
allows losses incurred by businesses to be applied retroactively for four years.

(9:43 AM ET) CHICAGO (MarketWatch)– Retail stocks were holding up fairly well in
early Thursday action even after generally disappointing March same-store results
- especially among those chains reliant on discretionary purchases. The sector’s
main indicator — the S&P Retail Index($RLX)– rose a couple points to 390.37
while sector titans including Wal-Mart(WMT), Target(TGT)and Macy’s(M)all had
modest gains out of the open.

(9:41 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Natural gas stocks moved higher Thursday
in early action in the energy sector. The Amex Natural Gas Index(XNG)rose 0.5% to
645. The Amex Oil Index(XOI)dipped 0.3% to 1,414. Crude futures fell 7 cents to
$110.80.

(9:28 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Tween Brands Inc.(TWB)on Thursday cut its
fiscal first-quarter earnings forecast to 12 cents to 17 cents a share from 35 to
40 cents a share. The New Albany, Ohio, specialty retailer said the expected
earnings shortfall is due to Limited Too’s projected 7% to 9% decline in
same-store sales in the first quarter, as well a charge of 4 cents a share from
severance costs that were not factored into the previous forecast. The company
said Justice same-store sales are expected to increase in line with the previous
forecast of mid- to high-teens growth.

(8:54 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Hayes Lemmerz International Inc.(HAYZ)said
Thursday that its fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed to $29.3 million from $62.8
million the year before. The Northville, Mich., auto parts maker said sales for
the period ended Jan. 31 increased 20% to $529 million from $442 million the
previous year. Hayes Lemmerz reported a loss of $2.41 a share for 2007 compared
to a loss of $4.35 a share the year before. For fiscal 2008, the company forecast
sales of $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion and capital expenditures of $95 million to
$105 million.

(8:53 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Retailer Saks Incorporated(SKS)said
Thursday its March sales at stores open at least one year fell 2.9%. Analysts, on
average, had expected same-store sales to rise 3.5%, according to Thomson
Financial. Owned sales for the five weeks ended April 5 fell 2.9% to $276.2
million.

(8:52 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Target Corp. said Thursday it expects April
sales at stores open at least one year to rise in the mid single digits. For the
combined March and April periods, the discount retailer expects same-store sales
to be at the low end of a range of a 1% decline to a 1% rise. Shares fell 1% in
premarket trading.

(8:51 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Ross Stores Inc.(ROST)on Thursday lifted
its first-quarter profit view to 56-58 cents a share from 52-54 cents a share.
The Pleasanton, Calif. retailer said March same-store sales fell 2%. Analysts
surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast a loss of 4.3%.

(8:44 AM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Ikon Office Solutions(IKN)raised it fiscal
second-quarter guidance early Thursday, citing better-than-expected sales from
its equipment division. The company said it now sees quarterly earnings per share
to come in between 22 cents and 24 cents, up from its previously-issued forecast
of 16 cents to 19 cents. Revenue is expected to grow 1% over last year’s quarter.
Ikon added that while equipment sales will be roughly flat with those of last
year’s, they will still be an improvement over those of the fiscal first quarter,
which showed a 6% decrease. Ikon also maintained its fiscal 2008 forecast of
adjusted earnings of 92 cents to 98 cents a share, excluding restructuring
charges.

(8:41 AM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) — M/I Homes Inc.(MHO)Thursday said new
contracts in the first quarter plunged to 554 from 931 in the year-ago period, as
the cancellation rate dropped to 23% from 25%. “Selling conditions in most of our
markets remain difficult. We continue to focus on our predominantly defensive
operating strategy and are making meaningful progress on a number of fronts,”
said Chief Executive Robert Schottenstein, in a statement. “During the first
quarter, we reduced our homebuilding bank borrowings from $115 million to $42
million, and we successfully amended our unsecured credit facility thereby
providing us with additional financial flexibility. We are positioning M/I Homes
for improved market conditions.” (Corrects company name in headline.)

(8:20 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Aeropostale Inc.(ARO)said Thursday its
March sales at stores open at least one year rose 2.5%. Analysts, on average, had
expected same-store sales to rise 0.6%, according to Thomson Financial. Total net
sales for the five weeks ended April 5 rose 13.6% to $141.8 million.

(8:17 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - American Eagle Outfitters(AEO)said Thursday
its March sales at stores open at least one year fell 12%. Analysts, on average,
had expected its same-store sales to fall 8.9%, according to Thomson Financial.
Total sales for the five weeks ended April 5 fell 2% to $267.3 million. The teen
apparel retailer cut its first-quarter earnings target to 18 cents to 20 cents a
share, down from its prior guidance of 25 cents to 27 cents a share.

(8:15 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Family Dollar Stores Inc.(FDO)said
Thursday its March sales at stores open at least one year fell 4.4%. Analysts, on
average, had expected same-store sales to fall 3.5%, according to Thomson
Financial. Net sales for the five weeks ended April 5 fell 1.6% to $641.2
million. The retailer said it expects April same-store sales to increase 4% to
6%.

(8:04 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.(BONT)said Thursday
its March sales at stores open at least one year fell 5.3%. Analysts, on average,
had expected same-store sales to fall 13% according to Thomson Financial. Total
sales for the five weeks ended April 5 fell 4.9% to $274 million.

(7:55 AM ET) BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Cato Corp.(CTR)said early Thursday that
sales for stores open at least one year for the period ending April 5 fell 9%.
According to a poll of analysts by Thomson Financial, sales were only expected to
fall 5%. Total sales for the period slid 6% to $89.2 million. Cato also
reaffirmed its first quarter financial forecast, which calls for adjusted
earnings to come in between 49 cents a share and 55 cents a share, a decrease of
17% to 7% from last year’s quarter.

(7:52 AM ET) NEW YORK - Off-price retailer Stein Mart, Inc.(SMRT)said that its
same-store sales fell 17.1% in March, with total sales for the quarter to date
down 14.5% to $234.8 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average,
expected a same-store sales drop of 11.3% for the month. The company attributed
its March sales drop to the move of a major promotional event from March of last
year to April of this year and to the loss of an additional selling day due to an
earlier Easter. Jacksonville, Fla.-based Stein Mart said that Northern tier
stores had performed significantly better than stores in the South and West.

(7:12 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Bebe Stores Inc.(BEBE)on Thursday said
third-quarter same-store sales fell 7.6%. Sales for the 13-week period ended
April 5 fell to $147.5 million from $151.3 million for the 14-week period ended
April 7, 2007.

(6:28 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) — Stage Stores Inc.,(SSI)the Houston
retailer, cut its first-quarter earnings estimate as it reported that March
same-store sales fell 10.3%. A survey of analysts by Thomson Financial was
looking for a drop of 2.7% in March comparable sales. Total sales fell 6.6% to
$141.1 million from $151 million. Stage Stores estimated first-quarter earnings
at 5 cents to 8 cents a share, compared with its earlier expectation of 13 to 16
cents. Three analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for an average of 13
cents. The quarter’s same-store sales — those from outlets open at least a year
to eliminate the effect of acquisitions and divestitures — will drop
mid-single-digits percent as profit margins come in thinner than expected, Stage
Stores said. The previous estimate of same-store sales for the quarter was flat
to down low-single-digits percent.

(6:28 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Maternity apparel retailer Mothers Work,
Inc.(MWRK)said Thursday its March sales at stores open at least one year fell 6%.
Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to drop 7%, according to
Thomson Financial. Total sales for the month ended March 31 fell 7.6% to $54.6
million. The company said that after a “nice improvement” in its sales trends in
January and February, it saw “much weaker-than-planned” sales in March. The
decline was due to the weak performance of its spring merchandise, partly because
of unseasonably cold weather that month.

(6:14 AM ET) WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.(DD)said
it’s revising higher its first-quarter profit outlook. The Wilmington, Del.-based
chemicals giant and Dow Jones Industrial Average component now sees a profit of
$1.29 a share, up from a prior range pegged at $1.14 to $1.19 a share. The mean
estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet Research has been for DuPont to earn
$1.17 a share for the March quarter. DuPont cited strength in its agriculture
businesses as well as rapid growth in emerging markets as factors behind the
upward revision. But for the second quarter, the company sees a profit of $1.05 a
share, less than the FactSet-derived mean forecast of $1.12 a share. DuPont also
raised the lower end of its full-year earnings outlook by 5 cents a share, to a
range of $3.40 to $3.55 a share; analysts’ average view stands at $3.45 a share.

(3:08 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) — Costco Wholesale Corp.,(COST)the Issaquah,
Wash., warehouse retailer, reported that for March, same-store sales rose 7%. A
survey of analysts by Thomson Financial produced a consensus estimate of a rise
of 5.9% for the month. Costco reported that same-store sales, those from outlets
open at least a year to eliminate the effect of acquisitions and divestitures,
rose 5% in the U.S. and 17% elsewhere. Total sales for the March period rose 11%
to $6.57 billion from $5.93 billion in the year-earlier period.

(2:41 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) — Electrical Goods retailer DSG
International(uk:UK:DSGI)warned Thursday that its underlying pretax profit for
the year will fall short of market expectations due to falling margins. The group
said it expects to report pretax profit in a range of 200 million pounds ($395
million) to 210 million pounds. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting pretax
profit of around 243 million pounds. It’s the second warning this year for DSG,
which cut its forecasts in January after a disappointing Christmas period. The
retailer said Thursday that total sales in the 25 weeks to April 5 were up 6%,
but comparable sales slipped 1%. Gross margin has fallen around 0.8 percentage
points due to increased promotional activity, the company added.

(2:26 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) — British Energy s[: uk:bgy] said Thursday
that its nuclear output for the year ended March 31 slipped 2% to 50.3 terawatt
hours from 51.2 terawatt hours, marginally ahead of market expectations. It
added, however, that the reduction in output from planned refuelling operations
in the coming year is now expected to increase to 4 terawatt hours from 3
terawatt hours. Increased refuelling losses are largely due to a
slower-than-expected recovery to normal operations at its Dungeness B power
station.

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