Gentex (GNTX)

Gentex Corporation (GNTX) is an international company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide automotive industry and North American fire protection market. The Company develops, manufactures and markets proprietary electro-optic products, including interior and exterior electrochromic, automatic-dimming Night Vision Safety automotive rearview mirrors that dim in proportion to the amount of headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps, and an extensive line of fire protection products for commercial applications.

29-Jan-08 08:08 ET
Gentex reports EPS in-line, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs below consensus (16.56 ) : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.23 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.23; revenues rose 14.1% year/year to $170.7 mln vs the $168.6 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees Q1 yr/yr rev growth of +10% which computes to $173 mln vs. $177 mln consensus.

28-Jan-08 09:45 ET

Gentex: KeyBanc previews tomorrow's earnings, believes GNTX will rise 5-15% (16.12 +0.43) -Update : KeyBanc believes investors should buy GNTX before the co reports earnings tomorrow before the open. They believe the stock will react positively to a number of expectations, including:

1) solid 4Q07 earnings;
2) the realization that lower GMT900 will not prevent GNTX from achieving 2008 mirror growth of +10-15% and offers material upside to their 2008 earnings estimate;
3) encouraging updates on SmartBeam and Rear Camera Display (i.e., maybe GNTX is ready to tell them that the fact is that Toyota will soon become its largest RCD customer). The firm thinks the stock could increase 5-15% on Tuesday just like BorgWarner (BWA) and Tenneco (TEN) did recently.

Borg Warner issues in line Y08 EPS guidance (41.64 ) : Co sees Y08 EPS of $2.85-3.00 vs $2.85 consensus; co sees revs up 8-10% yr/yr, despite lower sales in the US market and moderate global vehicle production growth. North American industry vehicle production is expected to be down, European industry vehicle production is expected to be relatively flat, and solid growth is anticipated in Asia. The expectation of improved margins can be largely attributed to incremental income from net new business and an intensified focus on cost reductions, which is expected to more than offset the incremental margin lost on lower sales in North America, continued raw material cost pressures, and the costs related to global expansion.

Tenneco (TEN) reports EPS in-line, revs in-line (22.42 ) : Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.34 per share, in-line with the First Call consensus of $0.34. The co anticipates ongoing industry volatility in 2008. The co expects that North America industry OE production volumes will be lower, Europe OE volumes will remain relatively stable, and strong sales growth in expanding markets like China, India and Brazil will continue. In Q1, the co expects higher year-over-year revenues in North America given its market position and the anticipated benefit of incremental sales from new OE emission control business it launched in 2007, which will be at higher production levels compared to first quarter last year. In Europe, the co also expects to benefit from its strong position in Eastern Europe and Russia, where industry growth is predicted. The co estimates that its global original equipment revenues will be approx $5.5 bln in 2008 and $6.0 bln in 2009. Adjusted for substrate sales, original equipment value-added sales are estimated to be approx $3.7 bln in 2008 and $4.1 bln in 2009. The co expects the pricing environment for steel will increase gross steel costs year-over-year by up to $40 mln in 2008, which it anticipates fully offsetting through cost reductions, manufacturing efficiencies, material substitutions, low-cost country sourcing and customer recovery. As part of its five year strategic vision, the co projects it will achieve an average compounded annual OE revenue growth rate of 11% to 13% between 2008 and 2012, primarily driven by tightening emission control regulations globally.