Herbalife Ltd. reported that its board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share to shareholders of record effective November 25, 2008, payable on December 9, 2008.
The company will release its third quarter financial results Monday, November 3, 2008 after the close of trading on the NYSE. The following day, Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at 8 a.m. PT (11 a.m. ET), Herbalife's senior management team will host an investor conference call to discuss its third quarter 2008 financial results and provide an update on current business trends.
The dial-in number for this conference call for domestic callers is (866) 219-5268 and (703) 639-1120 for international callers. Live audio of the conference call will be simultaneously webcast in the Investor Relations section of the company’s Web site at http://ir.herbalife.com.
An audio replay will be available following the completion of the conference call in MP3 format or by dialing (866) 837-8032 (domestic callers) and (703) 925-2474 (international callers) and entering access code 611271. The webcast of the teleconference will be archived and available on Herbalife’s Web site.
About Herbalife Ltd.
Herbalife Ltd. is a global network marketing company that sells weight-management, nutrition, and personal care products intended to support a healthy lifestyle. Herbalife products are sold in 69 countries through a network of more than 1.8 million independent distributors. The company supports the Herbalife Family Foundation and its Casa Herbalife program to bring good nutrition to children. Please visit Herbalife Investor Relations for additional financial information.
Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are “forward-looking statements.” All statements other than statements of historical fact are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of federal and state securities laws, including any projections of earnings, revenue or other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning proposed new services or developments; any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance; any statements of belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements may include the words, “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue,” “believe,” “expect,” or “anticipate” and any other similar words.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in any of our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in any of our forward-looking statements. Our future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and to inherent risks and uncertainties, such as those disclosed or incorporated by reference in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Important factors that could cause our actual results, performance and achievements, or industry results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in our forward-looking statements include, among others, the following:
* adverse publicity associated with our products or network marketing organization;
* uncertainties relating to interpretation and enforcement of recently enacted legislation in China governing direct selling;
* our inability to obtain the necessary licenses to expand our direct selling business in China;
* adverse changes in the Chinese economy, Chinese legal system or Chinese governmental policies;
* improper action by our employees or international distributors in violation of applicable law;
* changing consumer preferences and demands;
* loss or departure of any member of our senior management team which could negatively impact our distributor relations and operating results;
* the competitive nature of our business;
* regulatory matters governing our products, including potential governmental or regulatory actions concerning the safety or efficacy of our products, and network marketing program including the direct selling market in which we operate;
* risks associated with operating internationally, including foreign exchange and devaluation risks;
* our dependence on increased penetration of existing markets;
* contractual limitations on our ability to expand our business;
* our reliance on our information technology infrastructure and outside manufacturers;
* the sufficiency of trademarks and other intellectual property rights;
* product concentration;
* our reliance on our management team;
* uncertainties relating to the application of transfer pricing, duties, value added taxes and similar tax regulations;
* taxation relating to our distributors;
* product liability claims;
* any collateral impact resulting from the ongoing worldwide financial “crisis”, including the availability of liquidity to Herbalife, its customers and its suppliers or the willingness of Herbalife’s customers to purchase products in a recessionary economic environment; and
* whether we will purchase any of our shares in the open markets or otherwise.
Contact:
Herbalife Ltd.
Media Contact:
Barbara Henderson, SVP, Worldwide Corp. Comm.
310-203-2436
or
Investor Contact:
Andrew L. Speller, VP, Investor Relations
310-203-2462
Source: Herbalife Ltd.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
AMERIGROUP Corporation Named One of Best Places to Work in Healthcare
AMERIGROUP Corporation has been named one of America's Best Places to Work In Healthcare -- and the best among the country's health insurers -- in a survey conducted by Modern Healthcare magazine.
The survey, which was the first of its kind conducted by Modern Healthcare, was open to all American hospitals, medical practices and other companies whose primary business is healthcare, including producers of medical equipment and health insurers. More than 260 organizations participated. The survey evaluated eight separate aspects of each organization's work environment, including leadership and planning, pay and benefits, and overall employee satisfaction.
Modern Healthcare ranked three separate categories of healthcare organizations -- providers, insurers and equipment suppliers -- and identified AMERIGROUP as the top insurer. AMERIGROUP was the only healthcare organization in Virginia to make the list of 100 best workplaces. The magazine includes a profile of AMERIGROUP in its October 27 issue.
"We are very pleased that this respected publication has recognized AMERIGROUP as a great place to work," said James G. Carlson, AMERIGROUP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We've often said that our Company's 4,000 associates are the best people in the industry and that they are responsible for our success. We have worked hard to create a culture of accountability and service to those who often need help. This environment enables our team to do their best work and rewards them for it. This honor from Modern Healthcare tells us we are on the right track."
About AMERIGROUP Corporation
AMERIGROUP Corporation, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, improves healthcare access and quality for the financially vulnerable, seniors and people with disabilities by developing innovative managed health services for the public sector. Through its subsidiaries, AMERIGROUP Corporation serves approximately 1.7 million people in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. For more information, visit www.amerigroupcorp.com.
CONTACTS:
Investors: Julie Loftus Trudell
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations
AMERIGROUP Corporation
(757) 321-3597
News Media: Kent Jenkins Jr.
Senior Vice President, External Communications
AMERIGROUP Corporation
(757) 769-7859
Source: AMERIGROUP Corporation
The survey, which was the first of its kind conducted by Modern Healthcare, was open to all American hospitals, medical practices and other companies whose primary business is healthcare, including producers of medical equipment and health insurers. More than 260 organizations participated. The survey evaluated eight separate aspects of each organization's work environment, including leadership and planning, pay and benefits, and overall employee satisfaction.
Modern Healthcare ranked three separate categories of healthcare organizations -- providers, insurers and equipment suppliers -- and identified AMERIGROUP as the top insurer. AMERIGROUP was the only healthcare organization in Virginia to make the list of 100 best workplaces. The magazine includes a profile of AMERIGROUP in its October 27 issue.
"We are very pleased that this respected publication has recognized AMERIGROUP as a great place to work," said James G. Carlson, AMERIGROUP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We've often said that our Company's 4,000 associates are the best people in the industry and that they are responsible for our success. We have worked hard to create a culture of accountability and service to those who often need help. This environment enables our team to do their best work and rewards them for it. This honor from Modern Healthcare tells us we are on the right track."
About AMERIGROUP Corporation
AMERIGROUP Corporation, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, improves healthcare access and quality for the financially vulnerable, seniors and people with disabilities by developing innovative managed health services for the public sector. Through its subsidiaries, AMERIGROUP Corporation serves approximately 1.7 million people in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. For more information, visit www.amerigroupcorp.com.
CONTACTS:
Investors: Julie Loftus Trudell
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations
AMERIGROUP Corporation
(757) 321-3597
News Media: Kent Jenkins Jr.
Senior Vice President, External Communications
AMERIGROUP Corporation
(757) 769-7859
Source: AMERIGROUP Corporation
Noven Announces 2008 Third Quarter Earnings Release Date
Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced its 2008 third quarter earnings release date.
On November 6, 2008, before the U.S. market opens, Noven is scheduled to issue a press release announcing its financial results for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2008. At 11:00 a.m. ET the same day, a conference call with management is scheduled to be webcast live at www.noven.com, and thereafter a rebroadcast will be available at the same site for at least two weeks. A taped replay of the call will be available beginning November 6 through November 8 by calling 877-660-6853 (from within the U.S.) or 201-612-7415 (from outside the U.S.) and entering the access code 286 and conference ID number 299214.
About Noven
Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development, manufacture, marketing and sale of prescription pharmaceutical products. Noven’s business and operations are focused in three principal areas – transdermal drug delivery, the Novogyne joint venture, and Noven Therapeutics, Noven’s specialty pharmaceutical unit. For more information about Noven Pharmaceuticals, visit www.noven.com.
Contact:
Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Miami
Alina Bowman, Investor Relations Coordinator
305-253-1916
Source: Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
On November 6, 2008, before the U.S. market opens, Noven is scheduled to issue a press release announcing its financial results for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2008. At 11:00 a.m. ET the same day, a conference call with management is scheduled to be webcast live at www.noven.com, and thereafter a rebroadcast will be available at the same site for at least two weeks. A taped replay of the call will be available beginning November 6 through November 8 by calling 877-660-6853 (from within the U.S.) or 201-612-7415 (from outside the U.S.) and entering the access code 286 and conference ID number 299214.
About Noven
Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development, manufacture, marketing and sale of prescription pharmaceutical products. Noven’s business and operations are focused in three principal areas – transdermal drug delivery, the Novogyne joint venture, and Noven Therapeutics, Noven’s specialty pharmaceutical unit. For more information about Noven Pharmaceuticals, visit www.noven.com.
Contact:
Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Miami
Alina Bowman, Investor Relations Coordinator
305-253-1916
Source: Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Timothy I. Still Appointed CEO at Accumetrics
Accumetrics, Inc. has appointed Timothy I. Still to the additional position of Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Still has been serving in the capacity of President and Chief Operating Officer for the company since earlier this year.
"Tim has the right combination of industry, management, and startup experience for our Board," says Tony Arnerich, General Partner of Arnerich & Massena and Executive Chairman of the Board at Accumetrics. "His commercialization expertise and diagnostic market experience will be invaluable as we build key partnerships and move forward with the commercialization of our technology."
Mr. Still's background includes over 18 years of sales, marketing and business development experience in healthcare and medical diagnostics. He has extensive experience in designing and implementing highly focused sales and marketing strategies within both large and small companies.
Prior to Accumetrics, Mr. Still was Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for HemoSense, a medical diagnostic company located in San Jose, California. He was instrumental in building HemoSense into a rapidly growing, publicly traded company which was acquired by Inverness Medical in November 2007.
Before joining HemoSense, Mr. Still served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Cholestech Corporation, and served in a variety of sales, marketing and business development roles for Boehringer Mannheim Corporation (now Roche Diagnostics).
Mr. Still received a B.S. degree (with Honors) in Biological Sciences from the University of California at Davis, and an MBA (Deans Scholar) in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California.
About Accumetrics (http://www.accumetrics.com):
Accumetrics is committed to advancing medical understanding of platelet function and enhancing quality of care for patients receiving antiplatelet therapies by providing industry-leading and widely accessible diagnostic tests for rapid platelet function assessment.
VerifyNow is the first simple and rapid system for measuring the individual response to multiple antiplatelet agents. Addressing every major antiplatelet drug, including FDA-cleared products for aspirin, Plavix®, ReoPro®, and Integrilin®, the VerifyNow system provides a valuable tool to help physicians make informed treatment decisions.
The Accumetrics logo and VerifyNow are registered trademarks of Accumetrics, Inc., ReoPro is a registered trademark of Centocor, Inc. Integrilin is a registered trademark of Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Plavix is a registered trademark of Sanofi-Aventis.
CONTACT: Jules Abraham
Lippert Heilshorn & Associates
212-838-3777
jabraham@lhai.com
Source: Accumetrics, Inc.
"Tim has the right combination of industry, management, and startup experience for our Board," says Tony Arnerich, General Partner of Arnerich & Massena and Executive Chairman of the Board at Accumetrics. "His commercialization expertise and diagnostic market experience will be invaluable as we build key partnerships and move forward with the commercialization of our technology."
Mr. Still's background includes over 18 years of sales, marketing and business development experience in healthcare and medical diagnostics. He has extensive experience in designing and implementing highly focused sales and marketing strategies within both large and small companies.
Prior to Accumetrics, Mr. Still was Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for HemoSense, a medical diagnostic company located in San Jose, California. He was instrumental in building HemoSense into a rapidly growing, publicly traded company which was acquired by Inverness Medical in November 2007.
Before joining HemoSense, Mr. Still served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Cholestech Corporation, and served in a variety of sales, marketing and business development roles for Boehringer Mannheim Corporation (now Roche Diagnostics).
Mr. Still received a B.S. degree (with Honors) in Biological Sciences from the University of California at Davis, and an MBA (Deans Scholar) in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California.
About Accumetrics (http://www.accumetrics.com):
Accumetrics is committed to advancing medical understanding of platelet function and enhancing quality of care for patients receiving antiplatelet therapies by providing industry-leading and widely accessible diagnostic tests for rapid platelet function assessment.
VerifyNow is the first simple and rapid system for measuring the individual response to multiple antiplatelet agents. Addressing every major antiplatelet drug, including FDA-cleared products for aspirin, Plavix®, ReoPro®, and Integrilin®, the VerifyNow system provides a valuable tool to help physicians make informed treatment decisions.
The Accumetrics logo and VerifyNow are registered trademarks of Accumetrics, Inc., ReoPro is a registered trademark of Centocor, Inc. Integrilin is a registered trademark of Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Plavix is a registered trademark of Sanofi-Aventis.
CONTACT: Jules Abraham
Lippert Heilshorn & Associates
212-838-3777
jabraham@lhai.com
Source: Accumetrics, Inc.
Know Your L-Dex(TM)' (Lymphedema Index) Awareness Campaign Attracts Large Numbers of Breast Cancer Survivors at Komen Race for the Cure(R) Events
A large number of breast cancer survivors received complimentary L-Dex readings as part of the "Know Your L-Dex" awareness campaign activities at recent Komen Race for the Cure® events in Houston and Dallas.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081030/NY43020 )
Dr. Walton Taylor, a breast surgeon at the Medical City Dallas Hospital, provided survivors with complimentary readings using an FDA-cleared L-Dex medical device developed by ImpediMed Ltd.
L-Dex readings serve as an aid for medical professionals to clinically assess female breast cancer patients for the early signs of unilateral lymphedema of the arm (swelling that occurs in one arm following breast cancer treatment), potentially before symptoms such as heaviness or visible swelling are present.
"Lymphedema is one of the major concerns of many breast cancer survivors, and it is important that they are educated on the importance of early detection and intervention," said Dr. Taylor. "With the help of ImpediMed's L-Dex devices, medical professionals can now perform pre-operative baseline assessments and conduct ongoing surveillance for the early signs of lymphedema in patients."
"The outcomes of the 'Know Your L-Dex' activities in Texas greatly exceeded our expectations," said Greg Brown, CEO of ImpediMed. "In addition to performing the readings, Dr. Taylor answered survivors' questions about lymphedema and helped Komen Race for the Cure® participants to gain a better understanding of the importance of early lymphedema detection and intervention. We look forward to bringing the 'Know Your L-Dex' activities to other markets this quarter and throughout next year."
Additional "Know Your L-Dex" activities are scheduled for November at the Komen San Diego Race for the Cure® and the Breast Cancer Network of Strength's Life in Balance: Breast Cancer Survivorship Forum in Chicago.
For additional information about L-Dex or the "Know Your L-Dex" campaign, call 858-412-0199 x1235 or visit www.l-dex.com.
About Lymphedema
Lymphedema is a condition that can cause significant swelling of the upper and lower extremities due to the build-up of excess lymph fluid. This can occur when the lymphatic system, which is responsible for draining excess fluid from the body and is a key component of the immune system, is damaged or altered. In breast cancer patients, this can occur after surgery, such as removal or biopsy of the lymph nodes, and/or radiation therapy. It is estimated that six percent to 40 percent of patients with breast cancer develop lymphedema, and that it often occurs within the first two years after surgery. For some cancer survivors and others at risk, a low level lymphedema can occur 10 years to 15 years following the initial primary treatment and develop into a condition that has a serious impact on overall health and quality of life.
About ImpediMed
ImpediMed Ltd. is the world leader in the development and distribution of medical devices employing Bioimpedence Spectroscopy (BIS) technologies to aid medical providers in the non-invasive clinical assessment and monitoring of fluid status. ImpediMed's primary product range consists of a number of medical devices that enable surgeons, oncologists, therapists and radiation oncologists to clinically assess patients for the potential onset of secondary lymphedema. Pre-operative clinical assessment in breast cancer survivors, before the onset of symptoms, may help prevent the condition from becoming a lifelong management issue and thus improve the quality of life of the cancer survivor. ImpediMed has the first medical device with an FDA clearance in the United States to aid health care professionals clinically assess secondary lymphedema of the arm in female breast cancer patients. For more information, visit www.impedimed.com.
Note: ImpediMed's device is not intended to diagnose or predict lymphedema of an extremity.
Media Contacts: Wendy Lau or Bianca Molina
Russo Partners
(212) 845-4272 office
wendy.lau@russopartnersllc.com
bianca.molina@russopartnersllc.com
Source: ImpediMed Ltd.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081030/NY43020 )
Dr. Walton Taylor, a breast surgeon at the Medical City Dallas Hospital, provided survivors with complimentary readings using an FDA-cleared L-Dex medical device developed by ImpediMed Ltd.
L-Dex readings serve as an aid for medical professionals to clinically assess female breast cancer patients for the early signs of unilateral lymphedema of the arm (swelling that occurs in one arm following breast cancer treatment), potentially before symptoms such as heaviness or visible swelling are present.
"Lymphedema is one of the major concerns of many breast cancer survivors, and it is important that they are educated on the importance of early detection and intervention," said Dr. Taylor. "With the help of ImpediMed's L-Dex devices, medical professionals can now perform pre-operative baseline assessments and conduct ongoing surveillance for the early signs of lymphedema in patients."
"The outcomes of the 'Know Your L-Dex' activities in Texas greatly exceeded our expectations," said Greg Brown, CEO of ImpediMed. "In addition to performing the readings, Dr. Taylor answered survivors' questions about lymphedema and helped Komen Race for the Cure® participants to gain a better understanding of the importance of early lymphedema detection and intervention. We look forward to bringing the 'Know Your L-Dex' activities to other markets this quarter and throughout next year."
Additional "Know Your L-Dex" activities are scheduled for November at the Komen San Diego Race for the Cure® and the Breast Cancer Network of Strength's Life in Balance: Breast Cancer Survivorship Forum in Chicago.
For additional information about L-Dex or the "Know Your L-Dex" campaign, call 858-412-0199 x1235 or visit www.l-dex.com.
About Lymphedema
Lymphedema is a condition that can cause significant swelling of the upper and lower extremities due to the build-up of excess lymph fluid. This can occur when the lymphatic system, which is responsible for draining excess fluid from the body and is a key component of the immune system, is damaged or altered. In breast cancer patients, this can occur after surgery, such as removal or biopsy of the lymph nodes, and/or radiation therapy. It is estimated that six percent to 40 percent of patients with breast cancer develop lymphedema, and that it often occurs within the first two years after surgery. For some cancer survivors and others at risk, a low level lymphedema can occur 10 years to 15 years following the initial primary treatment and develop into a condition that has a serious impact on overall health and quality of life.
About ImpediMed
ImpediMed Ltd. is the world leader in the development and distribution of medical devices employing Bioimpedence Spectroscopy (BIS) technologies to aid medical providers in the non-invasive clinical assessment and monitoring of fluid status. ImpediMed's primary product range consists of a number of medical devices that enable surgeons, oncologists, therapists and radiation oncologists to clinically assess patients for the potential onset of secondary lymphedema. Pre-operative clinical assessment in breast cancer survivors, before the onset of symptoms, may help prevent the condition from becoming a lifelong management issue and thus improve the quality of life of the cancer survivor. ImpediMed has the first medical device with an FDA clearance in the United States to aid health care professionals clinically assess secondary lymphedema of the arm in female breast cancer patients. For more information, visit www.impedimed.com.
Note: ImpediMed's device is not intended to diagnose or predict lymphedema of an extremity.
Media Contacts: Wendy Lau or Bianca Molina
Russo Partners
(212) 845-4272 office
wendy.lau@russopartnersllc.com
bianca.molina@russopartnersllc.com
Source: ImpediMed Ltd.
US STOCKS-Wall St rallies on rate cuts, bargain hunting
* Optimism about global interest-rate cuts buoy sentiment
* Low levels tempt investors to pick up bargains
* GDP data shows U.S. economy shrank less than expected
* Colgate-Palmolive, Exxon Mobil top profit estimates
* Dow up 2.1 pct, S&P 500 up 2.6 pct, Nasdaq up 2.5 pct (Updates to close)
By Leah Schnurr
U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday as investors snapped up shares trading near their lowest levels in five years on optimism that aggressive rate cuts by global central banks, including the Federal Reserve, will help cushion a worldwide economic downturn.
Investors also found support in signs that efforts to loosen up clogged credit markets were taking hold as the rate that banks charge to lend dollars to each other fell, freeing up cash needed to avert a sharp slowdown.
With just a day left in October, stocks are on course to post their biggest one-month loss since the 1987 crash.
In the latest batch of earnings results, Colgate-Palmolive Co (CL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 7.1 percent to $64.23 on the New York Stock Exchange after the consumer products maker posted quarterly profit that beat estimates. For details, see [ID:nN30326612].
Although data showed the U.S. economy experienced its sharpest contraction in seven years in the third quarter, the reading on gross domestic product was slightly better than expected.
"Is it going to be perhaps shallower than we were all fearing or is it something that's going to build like a snowball?" said Matt Kaufler, portfolio manager and equity analyst at Clover Capital Management in Rochester, New York.
"There's perhaps more room for optimism today that we can get through this than there was perhaps two weeks ago."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 189.73 points, or 2.11 percent, to 9,180.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 24.00 points, or 2.58 percent, to 954.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 41.31 points, or 2.49 percent, at 1,698.52.
On Nasdaq, shares of Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), maker of the iPhone and the iPod, rose 6.2 percent to $111.04, while Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shot up 8.2 percent to $16.17.
Technology is among the sectors that analysts see poised to be the biggest beneficiaries of an economic revival.
Office Depot Inc (ODP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) leaped 48.6 percent to $3.12 and ranked near the top of the NYSE's biggest percentage gainers on the day after it said it would delay opening new stores in a weak economy.
Rival Staples Inc (SPLS.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ran up 15.6 percent to $18.42 after the world's largest office products retailer said its third-quarter adjusted profit would beat estimates.
The market's gains came a day after the Fed cut its benchmark fed funds rate for overnight bank loans by 50 basis points, or a half-percentage point, to 1 percent. The move was followed by rate cuts in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
Japan is expected to cut rates on Friday, while the European Central Bank, the central bank of Australia and the Bank of England are expected to cut rates next week.
But investors remain concerned that the efforts to shore up the economy might take longer to yield sustainable results and brighten the profit picture.
The price of oil fell more that 2 percent to settle under $66 a barrel as the U.S. economic data prompted worries that demand could be further dampened.
Airlines' shares jumped on the sharp drop in U.S. crude futures CLc1 prices. The Airline Index .XAL surged 10.7 percent.
Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reversed course in afternoon trading and edged up 0.5 percent to $75.05 after the major oil company's profit exceeded expectations. Exxon, however, said its quarterly oil output fell.
Shares of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sank 51.6 percent to $9.62 after the property and life insurer reported a surprisingly large quarterly loss, raising concern that it may need to raise more capital. [ID:nN30172795] The insurer's stock was the biggest percentage loser on the Big Board.
Prudential Financial Inc (PRU.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shed 18.1 percent to $28.87 the day after it swung to a quarterly loss that marginally missed the Street's expectations.
Trading was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.38 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.54 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by about 4 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about three stocks rose for every one that fell.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
* Low levels tempt investors to pick up bargains
* GDP data shows U.S. economy shrank less than expected
* Colgate-Palmolive, Exxon Mobil top profit estimates
* Dow up 2.1 pct, S&P 500 up 2.6 pct, Nasdaq up 2.5 pct (Updates to close)
By Leah Schnurr
U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday as investors snapped up shares trading near their lowest levels in five years on optimism that aggressive rate cuts by global central banks, including the Federal Reserve, will help cushion a worldwide economic downturn.
Investors also found support in signs that efforts to loosen up clogged credit markets were taking hold as the rate that banks charge to lend dollars to each other fell, freeing up cash needed to avert a sharp slowdown.
With just a day left in October, stocks are on course to post their biggest one-month loss since the 1987 crash.
In the latest batch of earnings results, Colgate-Palmolive Co (CL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 7.1 percent to $64.23 on the New York Stock Exchange after the consumer products maker posted quarterly profit that beat estimates. For details, see [ID:nN30326612].
Although data showed the U.S. economy experienced its sharpest contraction in seven years in the third quarter, the reading on gross domestic product was slightly better than expected.
"Is it going to be perhaps shallower than we were all fearing or is it something that's going to build like a snowball?" said Matt Kaufler, portfolio manager and equity analyst at Clover Capital Management in Rochester, New York.
"There's perhaps more room for optimism today that we can get through this than there was perhaps two weeks ago."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 189.73 points, or 2.11 percent, to 9,180.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 24.00 points, or 2.58 percent, to 954.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 41.31 points, or 2.49 percent, at 1,698.52.
On Nasdaq, shares of Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), maker of the iPhone and the iPod, rose 6.2 percent to $111.04, while Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shot up 8.2 percent to $16.17.
Technology is among the sectors that analysts see poised to be the biggest beneficiaries of an economic revival.
Office Depot Inc (ODP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) leaped 48.6 percent to $3.12 and ranked near the top of the NYSE's biggest percentage gainers on the day after it said it would delay opening new stores in a weak economy.
Rival Staples Inc (SPLS.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ran up 15.6 percent to $18.42 after the world's largest office products retailer said its third-quarter adjusted profit would beat estimates.
The market's gains came a day after the Fed cut its benchmark fed funds rate for overnight bank loans by 50 basis points, or a half-percentage point, to 1 percent. The move was followed by rate cuts in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
Japan is expected to cut rates on Friday, while the European Central Bank, the central bank of Australia and the Bank of England are expected to cut rates next week.
But investors remain concerned that the efforts to shore up the economy might take longer to yield sustainable results and brighten the profit picture.
The price of oil fell more that 2 percent to settle under $66 a barrel as the U.S. economic data prompted worries that demand could be further dampened.
Airlines' shares jumped on the sharp drop in U.S. crude futures CLc1 prices. The Airline Index .XAL surged 10.7 percent.
Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reversed course in afternoon trading and edged up 0.5 percent to $75.05 after the major oil company's profit exceeded expectations. Exxon, however, said its quarterly oil output fell.
Shares of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sank 51.6 percent to $9.62 after the property and life insurer reported a surprisingly large quarterly loss, raising concern that it may need to raise more capital. [ID:nN30172795] The insurer's stock was the biggest percentage loser on the Big Board.
Prudential Financial Inc (PRU.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shed 18.1 percent to $28.87 the day after it swung to a quarterly loss that marginally missed the Street's expectations.
Trading was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.38 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.54 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by about 4 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about three stocks rose for every one that fell.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
Wall Street rallies on rate cuts, bargain hunting
Stocks climbed on Thursday as investors snapped up shares trading near their lowest levels in five years on optimism that aggressive rate cuts by global central banks, including the Federal Reserve, will help cushion a worldwide economic downturn.
Investors also found support in signs that efforts to loosen up clogged credit markets were taking hold as the rate that banks charge to lend dollars to each other fell, freeing up cash needed to avert a sharp slowdown.
With just a day left in October, stocks are on course to post their biggest one-month loss since the 1987 crash.
In the latest batch of earnings results, Colgate-Palmolive Co rose 7.1 percent to $64.23 on the New York Stock Exchange after the consumer products maker posted quarterly profit that beat estimates.
Although data showed the U.S. economy experienced its sharpest contraction in seven years in the third quarter, the reading on gross domestic product was slightly better than expected.
"Is it going to be perhaps shallower than we were all fearing or is it something that's going to build like a snowball?" said Matt Kaufler, portfolio manager and equity analyst at Clover Capital Management in Rochester, New York.
"There's perhaps more room for optimism today that we can get through this than there was perhaps two weeks ago."
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 189.73 points, or 2.11 percent, to 9,180.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 24.00 points, or 2.58 percent, to 954.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 41.31 points, or 2.49 percent, at 1,698.52.
On Nasdaq, shares of Apple Inc, maker of the iPhone and the iPod, rose 6.2 percent to $111.04, while Intel shot up 8.2 percent to $16.17.
Technology is among the sectors that analysts see poised to be the biggest beneficiaries of an economic revival.
Office Depot Inc eaped 48.6 percent to $3.12 and ranked near the top of the NYSE's biggest percentage gainers on the day after it said it would delay opening new stores in a weak economy.
Rival Staples Inc ran up 15.6 percent to $18.42 after the world's largest office products retailer said its third-quarter adjusted profit would beat estimates.
The market's gains came a day after the Fed cut its benchmark fed funds rate for overnight bank loans by 50 basis points, or a half-percentage point, to 1 percent. The move was followed by rate cuts in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
Japan is expected to cut rates on Friday, while the European Central Bank, the central bank of Australia and the Bank of England are expected to cut rates next week.
But investors remain concerned that the efforts to shore up the economy might take longer to yield sustainable results and brighten the profit picture.
The price of oil fell more that 2 percent to settle under $66 a barrel as the U.S. economic data prompted worries that demand could be further dampened.
Airlines' shares jumped on the sharp drop in U.S. crude futures prices. The Airline Index surged 10.7 percent.
Exxon Mobil reversed course in afternoon trading and edged up 0.5 percent to $75.05 after the major oil company's profit exceeded expectations. Exxon, however, said its quarterly oil output fell.
Shares of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc sank 51.6 percent to $9.62 after the property and life insurer reported a surprisingly large quarterly loss, raising concern that it may need to raise more capital. The insurer's stock was the biggest percentage loser on the Big Board.
Prudential Financial Inc shed 18.1 percent to $28.87 the day after it swung to a quarterly loss that marginally missed the Street's expectations.
Trading was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.38 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.54 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by about 4 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about three stocks rose for every one that fell.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
Investors also found support in signs that efforts to loosen up clogged credit markets were taking hold as the rate that banks charge to lend dollars to each other fell, freeing up cash needed to avert a sharp slowdown.
With just a day left in October, stocks are on course to post their biggest one-month loss since the 1987 crash.
In the latest batch of earnings results, Colgate-Palmolive Co rose 7.1 percent to $64.23 on the New York Stock Exchange after the consumer products maker posted quarterly profit that beat estimates.
Although data showed the U.S. economy experienced its sharpest contraction in seven years in the third quarter, the reading on gross domestic product was slightly better than expected.
"Is it going to be perhaps shallower than we were all fearing or is it something that's going to build like a snowball?" said Matt Kaufler, portfolio manager and equity analyst at Clover Capital Management in Rochester, New York.
"There's perhaps more room for optimism today that we can get through this than there was perhaps two weeks ago."
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 189.73 points, or 2.11 percent, to 9,180.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 24.00 points, or 2.58 percent, to 954.09. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 41.31 points, or 2.49 percent, at 1,698.52.
On Nasdaq, shares of Apple Inc, maker of the iPhone and the iPod, rose 6.2 percent to $111.04, while Intel shot up 8.2 percent to $16.17.
Technology is among the sectors that analysts see poised to be the biggest beneficiaries of an economic revival.
Office Depot Inc eaped 48.6 percent to $3.12 and ranked near the top of the NYSE's biggest percentage gainers on the day after it said it would delay opening new stores in a weak economy.
Rival Staples Inc ran up 15.6 percent to $18.42 after the world's largest office products retailer said its third-quarter adjusted profit would beat estimates.
The market's gains came a day after the Fed cut its benchmark fed funds rate for overnight bank loans by 50 basis points, or a half-percentage point, to 1 percent. The move was followed by rate cuts in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
Japan is expected to cut rates on Friday, while the European Central Bank, the central bank of Australia and the Bank of England are expected to cut rates next week.
But investors remain concerned that the efforts to shore up the economy might take longer to yield sustainable results and brighten the profit picture.
The price of oil fell more that 2 percent to settle under $66 a barrel as the U.S. economic data prompted worries that demand could be further dampened.
Airlines' shares jumped on the sharp drop in U.S. crude futures prices. The Airline Index surged 10.7 percent.
Exxon Mobil reversed course in afternoon trading and edged up 0.5 percent to $75.05 after the major oil company's profit exceeded expectations. Exxon, however, said its quarterly oil output fell.
Shares of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc sank 51.6 percent to $9.62 after the property and life insurer reported a surprisingly large quarterly loss, raising concern that it may need to raise more capital. The insurer's stock was the biggest percentage loser on the Big Board.
Prudential Financial Inc shed 18.1 percent to $28.87 the day after it swung to a quarterly loss that marginally missed the Street's expectations.
Trading was moderate on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.38 billion shares changing hands, below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.54 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by about 4 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about three stocks rose for every one that fell.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
AMN Healthcare Announces Third Quarter 2008 Results and Updates Full Year Guidance
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. announced operating results for the third quarter of 2008. Highlights include:
-- Revenue of $315 million, up 5% over last year and 1% over last quarter
but slightly below Company guidance.
-- Revenue growth primarily driven by year-over-year volume increases in
the Company's two largest segments, Nurse & Allied and Locum Tenens.
-- EPS of $0.28, up 12% over last quarter, down 20% from last year,
primarily due to certain non-recurring expenses and a tax adjustment
during this quarter. These results were $0.03 below guidance.
-- Free cash flow of $19 million as days sales outstanding improved by 2
days from last quarter to 56 days in the third quarter. Cash flow from
operations was $21 million.
"While the healthcare staffing industry is not insulated from the impact of our nation's economic uncertainties, we do believe our industry leadership position and our diversified strategy is enabling AMN to deliver solid results that will translate into an even stronger market position in the future. While we are disappointed to be reporting operating performance slightly below our previous higher growth expectations, we do believe these results are more than respectable given the worsening financial and employment environment and the lower patient admissions and procedures reported by the healthcare industry," said Susan R. Nowakowski, President and Chief Executive Officer of AMN Healthcare. "We were especially pleased with our largest business line of travel nurse staffing, where we experienced year-over-year and sequential revenue growth and likely the most significant market share gains we have seen in several quarters. The lower than expected overall results came primarily from our allied business and certain specialties within our locum tenens division."
For the third quarter of 2008, revenue for the Nurse and Allied staffing segment was $217.1 million, an increase of 6.4% from the same quarter last year. The Locum Tenens staffing segment generated revenue of $85.3 million, an increase of 2.8% from the same quarter last year, and the Physician Permanent Placement segment provided revenue of $12.6 million, decreasing from $13.2 million reported the same quarter last year.
Gross profit for the third quarter of 2008 was $81.1 million, an increase of 1.7% from the same quarter last year. Gross margin this quarter decreased to 25.7% from 26.6% in the same quarter last year mainly reflecting lower gross profit contribution from higher margin business lines such as international nursing and physician permanent placement and a shift in the mix of specialties within our locum tenens staffing segment.
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses increased to 19.1% of revenue in the third quarter of 2008 from 18.6% in the same quarter last year due primarily to restructuring and legal expenses associated with the Company's pharmacy staffing business which included a change in management, certain headcount reductions, and other non-recurring expenses. Excluding these costs, SG&A expenses would have been 18.6% of revenue, consistent with the same quarter last year.
Income tax expense was 34.4% of taxable income in the third quarter of 2008 as compared to 32.9% in the same quarter last year. During this quarter, the Company identified a tax matter that impacts the travel healthcare staffing industry. Since nearly the inception of the industry over two decades ago, it has been common industry practice for companies to offer lodging per diem payments; however, we recently became aware that a portion of these per diem payments may not be fully deductible for income tax purposes. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements reflect this uncertain tax position under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Earnings per share was $0.28 in the third quarter which included $0.03 for the restructuring charge and legal expenses, $0.01 for a sales allowance adjustment lowering revenue in the permanent placement segment, offset with $0.04 for the income tax benefit. These results came in $0.03 lower than the low end of guidance due mainly to lower than expected volumes in both nurse and allied and locum tenens segments, along with higher income taxes before recognizing the tax benefit mentioned above.
Revenue and Earnings Guidance for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008
In light of the current uncertain economic conditions and the potential effect on the healthcare staffing industry on both demand and supply for flexible healthcare staffing, the Company revised its projected full-year 2008 revenue to $1.22 billion and its fourth quarter 2008 revenue to a range from $295 million to $300 million. Fourth quarter and full-year EPS are estimated to be negatively impacted by $0.03 and $0.04, respectively, as a result of the income tax matter. Fourth quarter EPS is expected to range from $0.20 to $0.23, including an estimated $0.02 negative income tax adjustment, and full year EPS is now expected to range from $0.99 to $1.02. Pro forma EPS for the full year excluding an estimated $0.03 negative effect of the income tax adjustment, $0.03 impact of the restructuring and legal expense and the $0.01 impact of the sales allowance would range from $1.06 to $1.09.
Nowakowski added, "Despite the recent short-term challenges, the long-term fundamentals of our business opportunity have not changed. The demand for clinicians will continue to rise as the population ages and the shortages of physicians, nurses and allied professionals become more severe. We do expect to continue to see an impact from the current uncertain economic and political environment, which limits our short-term growth opportunities. During these times we have rededicated ourselves to focus on three key aspects of our strategy: Continuing to (1) capture more market share, (2) capture efficiency and productivity gains which should drive reductions in our cost structure, and (3) expand and diversify our business to respond to changing modes of healthcare delivery. Two good examples of such expansion are the recent launch of AMN's Recruitment Process Outsourcing and surgical center staffing service offerings. We will utilize this downturn to implement changes that can drive greater profitability through operating leverage when stability returns to the economy and the healthcare sector."
Stock Repurchase Program Update
The Company is authorized to purchase up to $38 million of its outstanding common stock in the open market through March 31, 2009. Since June 2008, the Company has repurchased 1,554,600 shares of its common stock for approximately $28.4 million. Diluted shares outstanding at September 30, 2008 were approximately 33.9 million.
Company Summary
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. is the largest healthcare staffing company in the United States and the largest nationwide provider in all three of its business segments: travel nurse and allied staffing, locum tenens staffing (temporary physician staffing), and physician permanent placement services. AMN Healthcare recruits healthcare professionals both nationally and internationally and places them on variable lengths of assignments and in permanent positions at acute-care hospitals, physician practice groups and other healthcare settings throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.amnhealthcare.com.
Conference Call on October 30, 2008
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.'s third quarter 2008 conference call will be held on Thursday, October 30, 2008, at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. A live webcast of the call can be accessed through AMN Healthcare's website at http://www.amnhealthcare.com/investors. Please log in at least 10 minutes prior to the conference call in order to download the applicable audio software. Interested parties may participate live via telephone by dialing (888) 428-4479 in the U.S. or (651) 291-5254 internationally. Following the conclusion of the call, a replay of the webcast will be available at the Company's website. Alternatively, a telephonic replay of the call will be available at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on October 30, 2008, and can be accessed until November 13, 2008 at midnight Eastern Time, by calling (800) 475-6701 in the U.S. or (320) 365-3844 internationally, with access code 962588.
This earnings release contains certain non-GAAP financial information. These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), and may be different from non-GAAP measures reported by other companies. From time to time, additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures may be made available on the Company's website at http://www.amnhealthcare.com/investors.
-- Revenue of $315 million, up 5% over last year and 1% over last quarter
but slightly below Company guidance.
-- Revenue growth primarily driven by year-over-year volume increases in
the Company's two largest segments, Nurse & Allied and Locum Tenens.
-- EPS of $0.28, up 12% over last quarter, down 20% from last year,
primarily due to certain non-recurring expenses and a tax adjustment
during this quarter. These results were $0.03 below guidance.
-- Free cash flow of $19 million as days sales outstanding improved by 2
days from last quarter to 56 days in the third quarter. Cash flow from
operations was $21 million.
"While the healthcare staffing industry is not insulated from the impact of our nation's economic uncertainties, we do believe our industry leadership position and our diversified strategy is enabling AMN to deliver solid results that will translate into an even stronger market position in the future. While we are disappointed to be reporting operating performance slightly below our previous higher growth expectations, we do believe these results are more than respectable given the worsening financial and employment environment and the lower patient admissions and procedures reported by the healthcare industry," said Susan R. Nowakowski, President and Chief Executive Officer of AMN Healthcare. "We were especially pleased with our largest business line of travel nurse staffing, where we experienced year-over-year and sequential revenue growth and likely the most significant market share gains we have seen in several quarters. The lower than expected overall results came primarily from our allied business and certain specialties within our locum tenens division."
For the third quarter of 2008, revenue for the Nurse and Allied staffing segment was $217.1 million, an increase of 6.4% from the same quarter last year. The Locum Tenens staffing segment generated revenue of $85.3 million, an increase of 2.8% from the same quarter last year, and the Physician Permanent Placement segment provided revenue of $12.6 million, decreasing from $13.2 million reported the same quarter last year.
Gross profit for the third quarter of 2008 was $81.1 million, an increase of 1.7% from the same quarter last year. Gross margin this quarter decreased to 25.7% from 26.6% in the same quarter last year mainly reflecting lower gross profit contribution from higher margin business lines such as international nursing and physician permanent placement and a shift in the mix of specialties within our locum tenens staffing segment.
Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses increased to 19.1% of revenue in the third quarter of 2008 from 18.6% in the same quarter last year due primarily to restructuring and legal expenses associated with the Company's pharmacy staffing business which included a change in management, certain headcount reductions, and other non-recurring expenses. Excluding these costs, SG&A expenses would have been 18.6% of revenue, consistent with the same quarter last year.
Income tax expense was 34.4% of taxable income in the third quarter of 2008 as compared to 32.9% in the same quarter last year. During this quarter, the Company identified a tax matter that impacts the travel healthcare staffing industry. Since nearly the inception of the industry over two decades ago, it has been common industry practice for companies to offer lodging per diem payments; however, we recently became aware that a portion of these per diem payments may not be fully deductible for income tax purposes. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements reflect this uncertain tax position under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Earnings per share was $0.28 in the third quarter which included $0.03 for the restructuring charge and legal expenses, $0.01 for a sales allowance adjustment lowering revenue in the permanent placement segment, offset with $0.04 for the income tax benefit. These results came in $0.03 lower than the low end of guidance due mainly to lower than expected volumes in both nurse and allied and locum tenens segments, along with higher income taxes before recognizing the tax benefit mentioned above.
Revenue and Earnings Guidance for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008
In light of the current uncertain economic conditions and the potential effect on the healthcare staffing industry on both demand and supply for flexible healthcare staffing, the Company revised its projected full-year 2008 revenue to $1.22 billion and its fourth quarter 2008 revenue to a range from $295 million to $300 million. Fourth quarter and full-year EPS are estimated to be negatively impacted by $0.03 and $0.04, respectively, as a result of the income tax matter. Fourth quarter EPS is expected to range from $0.20 to $0.23, including an estimated $0.02 negative income tax adjustment, and full year EPS is now expected to range from $0.99 to $1.02. Pro forma EPS for the full year excluding an estimated $0.03 negative effect of the income tax adjustment, $0.03 impact of the restructuring and legal expense and the $0.01 impact of the sales allowance would range from $1.06 to $1.09.
Nowakowski added, "Despite the recent short-term challenges, the long-term fundamentals of our business opportunity have not changed. The demand for clinicians will continue to rise as the population ages and the shortages of physicians, nurses and allied professionals become more severe. We do expect to continue to see an impact from the current uncertain economic and political environment, which limits our short-term growth opportunities. During these times we have rededicated ourselves to focus on three key aspects of our strategy: Continuing to (1) capture more market share, (2) capture efficiency and productivity gains which should drive reductions in our cost structure, and (3) expand and diversify our business to respond to changing modes of healthcare delivery. Two good examples of such expansion are the recent launch of AMN's Recruitment Process Outsourcing and surgical center staffing service offerings. We will utilize this downturn to implement changes that can drive greater profitability through operating leverage when stability returns to the economy and the healthcare sector."
Stock Repurchase Program Update
The Company is authorized to purchase up to $38 million of its outstanding common stock in the open market through March 31, 2009. Since June 2008, the Company has repurchased 1,554,600 shares of its common stock for approximately $28.4 million. Diluted shares outstanding at September 30, 2008 were approximately 33.9 million.
Company Summary
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. is the largest healthcare staffing company in the United States and the largest nationwide provider in all three of its business segments: travel nurse and allied staffing, locum tenens staffing (temporary physician staffing), and physician permanent placement services. AMN Healthcare recruits healthcare professionals both nationally and internationally and places them on variable lengths of assignments and in permanent positions at acute-care hospitals, physician practice groups and other healthcare settings throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.amnhealthcare.com.
Conference Call on October 30, 2008
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.'s third quarter 2008 conference call will be held on Thursday, October 30, 2008, at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. A live webcast of the call can be accessed through AMN Healthcare's website at http://www.amnhealthcare.com/investors. Please log in at least 10 minutes prior to the conference call in order to download the applicable audio software. Interested parties may participate live via telephone by dialing (888) 428-4479 in the U.S. or (651) 291-5254 internationally. Following the conclusion of the call, a replay of the webcast will be available at the Company's website. Alternatively, a telephonic replay of the call will be available at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on October 30, 2008, and can be accessed until November 13, 2008 at midnight Eastern Time, by calling (800) 475-6701 in the U.S. or (320) 365-3844 internationally, with access code 962588.
This earnings release contains certain non-GAAP financial information. These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), and may be different from non-GAAP measures reported by other companies. From time to time, additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures may be made available on the Company's website at http://www.amnhealthcare.com/investors.
DEALTALK-Stronger U.S. dollar only small factor in deals
(For more Reuters DEALTALKS, click [DEALTALK/])
By Jessica Hall
While the strengthening U.S. dollar may give corporations more buying power as they look for international acquisitions, the global gloom will overshadow any benefits.
For much of this year, the weak dollar gave international companies some leverage in making acquisitions of U.S. companies by making assets relatively cheap to acquire.
The timing of the dollar's rebound, however, will likely prevent the reverse trend from happening since U.S. corporations may be reluctant to part with cash during the economic crisis, investment bankers and analysts said.
"The dollar is strengthening this time because the U.S. is a source of strength at a time of great tumult. You have to put the dollar's rebound in context -- it's coming at a time of indescribable global chaos," said Herald Ritch, president and co-chief executive officer of investment bank Sagent Advisers.
"Strategic deal-doers don't wake up and look at the currency spreads and say 'Let's do a deal.' That's not where things start. On the margins, does it factor in to many decisions? Yes. But currency doesn't dictate deals," Ritch said.
WEAK DOLLAR HAD PUT U.S. ON SALE
So far this year, international deals involving U.S. companies totaled $365.2 billion, down 40 percent from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. Yet the volume of deals in which a U.S. company had been the target had dropped by only 28.5 percent, the data showed.
Some major U.S. companies to fall into foreign hands this year included beer brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc (BUD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which is being bought for $52 billion by InBev NV (INTB.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz); and eye care company Alcon Inc (ACL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which is being bought by Switzerland's Novartis AG (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for about $27.7 billion.
While some investment bankers said U.S. companies became more attractive targets earlier this year due in part to the weak dollar, the greenback's recent rebound will not be enough to offset the global financial crisis.
So far this year, the euro has lost about 11 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar, while sterling has fallen more than 17 percent against the greenback.
"Currency exchange should be a minor factor in doing a deal," said Phil Stamatakos, a partner specializing in mergers and acquisitions with law firm Jones Day.
"It may play a role for some companies, but M&A decisions ought to be based on the fundamentals of the deal and the assets you're buying," Stamatakos said.
WHERE CURRENCY CHANGES MIGHT HURT
Some international deals could be affected by currency fluctuations if a buyer needs to borrow significant funds to finance the purchase or has offered a foreign stock as currency in the deal, investment bankers said.
When drugmaker Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) made its $43.7 billion offer in July to buy the 44 percent of Genentech Inc (DNA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) it does not already own, it cited the weak dollar as an attractive incentive.
Since then, the more than 10 percent increase in the value of the U.S. dollar versus the Swiss franc has prompted some analysts to question whether the deal has become too costly for Roche to pursue. The stronger dollar would make it more expensive to raise funds for the deal.
Genentech has rejected the $89 per share offer, saying it undervalued the company. Roche said earlier this month it remained committed to its offer and aimed to reach a negotiated deal.
Until the overall economic gloom lifts, the strengthening U.S. dollar should have minimal affect on dealmaking, analysts and investment bankers said.
"Strategic and financial buyers shouldn't be making purchasing decisions based on a currency play. If they have that much foresight into currency, they should be in forex (foreign exchange) arbitrage, not M&A," Stamatakos said. (Reporting by Jessica Hall, editing by Matthew Lewis) (For more M&A news and our DealZone blog, go to here).
By Jessica Hall
While the strengthening U.S. dollar may give corporations more buying power as they look for international acquisitions, the global gloom will overshadow any benefits.
For much of this year, the weak dollar gave international companies some leverage in making acquisitions of U.S. companies by making assets relatively cheap to acquire.
The timing of the dollar's rebound, however, will likely prevent the reverse trend from happening since U.S. corporations may be reluctant to part with cash during the economic crisis, investment bankers and analysts said.
"The dollar is strengthening this time because the U.S. is a source of strength at a time of great tumult. You have to put the dollar's rebound in context -- it's coming at a time of indescribable global chaos," said Herald Ritch, president and co-chief executive officer of investment bank Sagent Advisers.
"Strategic deal-doers don't wake up and look at the currency spreads and say 'Let's do a deal.' That's not where things start. On the margins, does it factor in to many decisions? Yes. But currency doesn't dictate deals," Ritch said.
WEAK DOLLAR HAD PUT U.S. ON SALE
So far this year, international deals involving U.S. companies totaled $365.2 billion, down 40 percent from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. Yet the volume of deals in which a U.S. company had been the target had dropped by only 28.5 percent, the data showed.
Some major U.S. companies to fall into foreign hands this year included beer brewer Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc (BUD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which is being bought for $52 billion by InBev NV (INTB.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz); and eye care company Alcon Inc (ACL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which is being bought by Switzerland's Novartis AG (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) for about $27.7 billion.
While some investment bankers said U.S. companies became more attractive targets earlier this year due in part to the weak dollar, the greenback's recent rebound will not be enough to offset the global financial crisis.
So far this year, the euro has lost about 11 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar, while sterling has fallen more than 17 percent against the greenback.
"Currency exchange should be a minor factor in doing a deal," said Phil Stamatakos, a partner specializing in mergers and acquisitions with law firm Jones Day.
"It may play a role for some companies, but M&A decisions ought to be based on the fundamentals of the deal and the assets you're buying," Stamatakos said.
WHERE CURRENCY CHANGES MIGHT HURT
Some international deals could be affected by currency fluctuations if a buyer needs to borrow significant funds to finance the purchase or has offered a foreign stock as currency in the deal, investment bankers said.
When drugmaker Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) made its $43.7 billion offer in July to buy the 44 percent of Genentech Inc (DNA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) it does not already own, it cited the weak dollar as an attractive incentive.
Since then, the more than 10 percent increase in the value of the U.S. dollar versus the Swiss franc has prompted some analysts to question whether the deal has become too costly for Roche to pursue. The stronger dollar would make it more expensive to raise funds for the deal.
Genentech has rejected the $89 per share offer, saying it undervalued the company. Roche said earlier this month it remained committed to its offer and aimed to reach a negotiated deal.
Until the overall economic gloom lifts, the strengthening U.S. dollar should have minimal affect on dealmaking, analysts and investment bankers said.
"Strategic and financial buyers shouldn't be making purchasing decisions based on a currency play. If they have that much foresight into currency, they should be in forex (foreign exchange) arbitrage, not M&A," Stamatakos said. (Reporting by Jessica Hall, editing by Matthew Lewis) (For more M&A news and our DealZone blog, go to here).
Robbins & Myers to Present at Sidoti & Company Investor Conference on November 10, 2008
Robbins & Myers, Inc. announced that it will present at an investor conference hosted by Sidoti & Company on November 10th at 11:35 a.m. (Eastern) at The Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. Peter C. Wallace, President and Chief Executive Officer and Christopher M. Hix, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will represent the Company. A copy of the presentation will be made available on the Company's website at www.robn.com.
Robbins & Myers, Inc. is a leading supplier of engineered equipment and systems for critical applications in global energy, industrial, chemical and pharmaceutical markets.
Source: Robbins & Myers, Inc.
Robbins & Myers, Inc. is a leading supplier of engineered equipment and systems for critical applications in global energy, industrial, chemical and pharmaceutical markets.
Source: Robbins & Myers, Inc.
ERBITUX(R) Supplemental Biologics License Application for First-Line Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer Accepted for Priority Review by U.S.
ImClone Systems Incorporated and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing and review the companies’ supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to broaden the indication for ERBITUX® (cetuximab) to include use in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). The companies also announced today that, as requested, the application has been granted a priority review designation by the FDA. Priority review status indicates that the FDA will aim to complete its review of the sBLA within six months.
The sBLA submission is based on data from the randomized Phase 3 EXTREME (ERBITUX in first-line Treatment of REcurrent or MEtastatic head and neck cancer) study1 investigating the efficacy of ERBITUX in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN. The study was conducted by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, the partner of ImClone for ERBITUX outside of North America, and showed that ERBITUX, in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy, resulted in a statistically significant improvement in median overall survival time compared with chemotherapy alone.
If approved, this will be the third U.S. indication for ERBITUX in head and neck cancer. ERBITUX was initially approved to treat locally or regionally advanced SCCHN in combination with radiation therapy, and as a single agent for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN for whom prior platinum-based therapy has failed, in March 2006. At that time, the FDA noted that ERBITUX was the first drug approved for head and neck cancer since the 1950’s, and that the data showed a survival benefit for ERBITUX in combination with radiation compared with radiation alone in locally or regionally advanced SCCHN.1 ERBITUX remains the first and only monoclonal antibody to be approved by the FDA for this type of cancer.
“There is a significant need for new therapeutic options in the first-line treatment of patients with head and neck cancer,” said Eric K. Rowinsky, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of ImClone. “The granting of a priority review for this sBLA by the FDA underscores this unmet need and is a designation given to drugs that potentially offer a significant therapeutic advance over currently available treatments for serious diseases.”
The EXTREME study randomized 442 patients with previously untreated recurrent or metastatic SCCHN to receive treatment with either ERBITUX plus platinum-based chemotherapy (cisplatin or carboplatin plus infusional 5-fluorouracil [5-FU]) or platinum-based chemotherapy alone, for a maximum of 6 cycles.2 ERBITUX was administered at a 400 mg/m2 initial dose, followed by a 250 mg/m2 weekly dose in combination with chemotherapy. After completing chemotherapy plus ERBITUX, patients were able to continue on a 250 mg/m2 weekly dose of ERBITUX. Results showed that patients who received ERBITUX plus platinum-based chemotherapy experienced a statistically significant increase in the primary endpoint of median overall survival compared to patients who received chemotherapy alone (10.1 months vs. 7.4 months, respectively; Hazard Ratio [HR]=0.80; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=0.64-0.99; p = 0.04).1 Patients who received ERBITUX plus platinum-based chemotherapy also showed a significant increase in median progression-free survival (5.6 months vs. 3.3 months, respectively; HR=0.54; 95% CI=0.43-0.67; p<0.001) and a significantly higher tumor response rate (36% vs. 20%, respectively; p<0.001) compared to those that received chemotherapy alone. Both were secondary endpoints of the study. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurring in >5% of patients in either treatment group included: neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, skin reactions, hypokalemia, cardiac events, asthenia, and dyspnea.
Findings from the EXTREME study were recently published in the September 11, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Also, as previously announced, Merck KGaA submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in June 2008 to broaden the use of ERBITUX to include first-line treatment of patients with recurrent and/or metastatic SCCHN.3
About Head and Neck Cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, 87,290 Americans will be diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2008, including cancers of the tongue, the rest of the mouth, the salivary glands and inside the throat, the voice box, eye and orbit, thyroid and the lymph nodes in the upper neck. In addition, it is estimated that more than 13,090 Americans will die from this disease this year. Head and neck cancer most often affects people over the age of 50, and men are twice as likely to be diagnosed as women. The most common risk factors are tobacco and excessive alcohol use.
About ERBITUX® (Cetuximab)
ERBITUX (cetuximab) is a monoclonal antibody (IgG1 Mab) designed to inhibit the function of a molecular structure expressed on the surface of normal and tumor cells called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, HER1, c-ErbB-1). In vitro assays and in vivo animal studies have shown that binding of ERBITUX to the EGFR blocks phosphorylation and activation of receptor-associated kinases, resulting in inhibition of cell growth, induction of apoptosis, and decreased matrix metalloproteinase and vascular endothelial growth factor production. In vitro, ERBITUX can mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against certain human tumor types. In vitro assays and in vivo animal studies have shown that ERBITUX inhibits the growth and survival of tumor cells that express the EGFR. No anti-tumor effects of ERBITUX were observed in human tumor xenografts lacking EGFR expression.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck (SCCHN)
ERBITUX, in combination with radiation therapy, is indicated for the initial treatment of locally or regionally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
ERBITUX, as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck for whom prior platinum-based therapy has failed.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Infusion Reactions
-- Grade 3/4 infusion reactions occurred in approximately 3% of patients receiving ERBITUX(R) (cetuximab) in clinical trials, with fatal outcome reported in less than 1 in 1000
-- Serious infusion reactions, requiring medical intervention and immediate, permanent discontinuation of ERBITUX, included rapid onset of airway obstruction (bronchospasm, stridor, hoarseness), hypotension, shock, loss of consciousness, myocardial infarction, and/or cardiac arrest
-- Most (90%) of the severe infusion reactions were associated with the first infusion of ERBITUX despite premedication with antihistamines
-- Caution must be exercised with every ERBITUX infusion, as there were patients who experienced their first severe infusion reaction during later infusions
-- Monitor patients for 1 hour following ERBITUX infusions in a setting with resuscitation equipment and other agents necessary to treat anaphylaxis (eg, epinephrine, corticosteroids, intravenous antihistamines, bronchodilators, and oxygen). Longer observation periods may be required in patients who require treatment for infusion reactions
Cardiopulmonary Arrest
-- Cardiopulmonary arrest and/or sudden death occurred in 4 (2%) of 208 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated with radiation therapy and ERBITUX, as compared to none of 212 patients treated with radiation therapy alone. Fatal events occurred within 1 to 43 days after the last ERBITUX treatment
-- Carefully consider the use of ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy in head and neck cancer patients with a history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure or arrhythmias in light of these risks
-- Closely monitor serum electrolytes including serum magnesium, potassium, and calcium during and after ERBITUX therapy
Pulmonary Toxicity
-- Interstitial lung disease (ILD), which was fatal in one case, occurred in 4 of 1570 (0.5%) patients receiving ERBITUX in clinical trials. Interrupt ERBITUX for acute onset or worsening of pulmonary symptoms. Permanently discontinue ERBITUX where ILD is confirmed
Dermatologic Toxicities
-- In clinical studies of ERBITUX, dermatologic toxicities, including acneform rash, skin drying and fissuring, paronychial inflammation, infectious sequelae (eg, S. aureus sepsis, abscess formation, cellulitis, blepharitis, conjunctivitis, keratitis, cheilitis), and hypertrichosis, occurred in patients receiving ERBITUX therapy. Acneform rash occurred in 76-88% of 1373 patients receiving ERBITUX in clinical trials. Severe acneform rash occurred in 1-17% of patients
-- Acneform rash usually developed within the first two weeks of therapy and resolved in a majority of the patients after cessation of treatment, although in nearly half, the event continued beyond 28 days
-- Monitor patients receiving ERBITUX for dermatologic toxicities and infectious sequelae
-- Sun exposure may exacerbate these effects
ERBITUX Plus Radiation Therapy and Cisplatin
-- The safety of ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy and cisplatin has not been established
-- Death and serious cardiotoxicity were observed in a single-arm trial with ERBITUX, radiation therapy, and cisplatin (100 mg/m(2)) in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
-- Two of 21 patients died, one as a result of pneumonia and one of an unknown cause
-- Four patients discontinued treatment due to adverse events. Two of these discontinuations were due to cardiac events
Electrolyte Depletion
-- Hypomagnesemia occurred in 55% (199/365) of patients receiving ERBITUX and was severe (NCI CTC grades 3 & 4) in 6-17%. The onset of hypomagnesemia and accompanying electrolyte abnormalities occurred days to months after initiation of ERBITUX therapy
-- Monitor patients periodically for hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia and hypokalemia, during, and for at least 8 weeks following the completion of, ERBITUX therapy
-- Replete electrolytes as necessary
Late Radiation Toxicities
-- The overall incidence of late radiation toxicities (any grade) was higher with ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy compared with radiation therapy alone. The following sites were affected: salivary glands (65%/56%), larynx (52%/36%), subcutaneous tissue (49%/45%), mucous membranes (48%/39%), esophagus (44%/35%), and skin (42%/33%) in the ERBITUX and radiation versus radiation alone arms, respectively
-- The incidence of grade 3 or 4 late radiation toxicities were similar between the radiation therapy alone and the ERBITUX plus radiation therapy arms
Pregnancy
-- In women of childbearing potential, appropriate contraceptive measures must be used during treatment with ERBITUX and for 6 months following the last dose of ERBITUX. ERBITUX should only be used during pregnancy if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus
Adverse Events
-- The most serious adverse reactions associated with ERBITUX across all studies were infusion reactions, cardiopulmonary arrest, dermatologic toxicity and radiation dermatitis, sepsis, renal failure, interstitial lung disease, and pulmonary embolus
-- The most common adverse reactions associated with ERBITUX (incidence (>=)25%) are cutaneous adverse reactions (including rash, pruritus, and nail changes), headache, diarrhea, and infection
-- The most frequent adverse events seen in patients with carcinomas of the head and neck receiving ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy (n=208) versus radiation alone (n=212) (incidence >=50%) were acneform rash (87%/10%), radiation dermatitis (86%/90%), weight loss (84%/72%), and asthenia (56%/49%). The most common grade 3/4 adverse events for ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy ((>=)10%) included: radiation dermatitis (23%), acneform rash (17%), and weight loss (11%)
About ImClone Systems
ImClone Systems Incorporated is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing oncology care by developing and commercializing a portfolio of targeted biologic treatments designed to address the medical needs of patients with a variety of cancers. The Company’s research and development programs include growth factor blockers and angiogenesis inhibitors. ImClone Systems’ headquarters and research operations are located in New York City, with additional administration and manufacturing facilities in Branchburg, New Jersey. For more information about ImClone Systems, please visit the Company’s web site at http://www.imclone.com.
ERBITUX® is a registered trademark of ImClone Systems Incorporated.
Certain matters discussed in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Federal securities laws. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently expected. Many of these factors are beyond the company's ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and could impact the company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those factors identified as “risk factors” in the Company’s most recent annual report of Form 10-K and in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. For forward-looking statements in this news release, the company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to extend and enhance human life. For more information, visit www.bms.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding product development. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, and could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations. Among other risks, there can be no guarantee that the supplemental application will be approved. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect Bristol-Myers Squibb's business, particularly those identified in the cautionary factors discussion in Bristol-Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Bristol-Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
(1) FDA News, FDA Approves First Head & Neck Cancer Treatment in 45 Years; Data Shows Treatment with Erbitux Extends Survival. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2006/new01329.html. Accessed October 14, 2008.
(2) Vermoken JB, Mesia R, Rivera F, et al. Platinum-based chemotherapy plus cetuximab in head and neck cancer. N Engl J Med. 2008; 358:116-1127.
(3) News Release. Merck Applies to Extend Use of Erbitux for First-Line Head and Neck Cancer in Europe. http://news.merck.de/emd/cc/newsrelease.nsf/d6db9bdc0c08af7ec 1257243005130ee/13d501339b5c59f7c125746d00358437?OpenDocument. Accessed October 14, 2008. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)
Contact:
Media and Investor:
ImClone Systems Incorporated
Tracy Henrikson, 908-243-9945
Corporate Communications
Tracy.Henrikson@imclone.com
or
ImClone Systems Incorporated
Rebecca Gregory, 646-638-5058
Corporate Communications
Rebecca.Gregory@imclone.com
or
Media:
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Brian Henry, 609-252-3337
Brian.Henry@bms.com
or
Investors:
Bristol-Myers Squibb
John Elicker, 212-546-3775
John.Elicker@bms.com
Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb
The sBLA submission is based on data from the randomized Phase 3 EXTREME (ERBITUX in first-line Treatment of REcurrent or MEtastatic head and neck cancer) study1 investigating the efficacy of ERBITUX in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN. The study was conducted by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, the partner of ImClone for ERBITUX outside of North America, and showed that ERBITUX, in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy, resulted in a statistically significant improvement in median overall survival time compared with chemotherapy alone.
If approved, this will be the third U.S. indication for ERBITUX in head and neck cancer. ERBITUX was initially approved to treat locally or regionally advanced SCCHN in combination with radiation therapy, and as a single agent for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN for whom prior platinum-based therapy has failed, in March 2006. At that time, the FDA noted that ERBITUX was the first drug approved for head and neck cancer since the 1950’s, and that the data showed a survival benefit for ERBITUX in combination with radiation compared with radiation alone in locally or regionally advanced SCCHN.1 ERBITUX remains the first and only monoclonal antibody to be approved by the FDA for this type of cancer.
“There is a significant need for new therapeutic options in the first-line treatment of patients with head and neck cancer,” said Eric K. Rowinsky, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of ImClone. “The granting of a priority review for this sBLA by the FDA underscores this unmet need and is a designation given to drugs that potentially offer a significant therapeutic advance over currently available treatments for serious diseases.”
The EXTREME study randomized 442 patients with previously untreated recurrent or metastatic SCCHN to receive treatment with either ERBITUX plus platinum-based chemotherapy (cisplatin or carboplatin plus infusional 5-fluorouracil [5-FU]) or platinum-based chemotherapy alone, for a maximum of 6 cycles.2 ERBITUX was administered at a 400 mg/m2 initial dose, followed by a 250 mg/m2 weekly dose in combination with chemotherapy. After completing chemotherapy plus ERBITUX, patients were able to continue on a 250 mg/m2 weekly dose of ERBITUX. Results showed that patients who received ERBITUX plus platinum-based chemotherapy experienced a statistically significant increase in the primary endpoint of median overall survival compared to patients who received chemotherapy alone (10.1 months vs. 7.4 months, respectively; Hazard Ratio [HR]=0.80; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=0.64-0.99; p = 0.04).1 Patients who received ERBITUX plus platinum-based chemotherapy also showed a significant increase in median progression-free survival (5.6 months vs. 3.3 months, respectively; HR=0.54; 95% CI=0.43-0.67; p<0.001) and a significantly higher tumor response rate (36% vs. 20%, respectively; p<0.001) compared to those that received chemotherapy alone. Both were secondary endpoints of the study. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurring in >5% of patients in either treatment group included: neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, skin reactions, hypokalemia, cardiac events, asthenia, and dyspnea.
Findings from the EXTREME study were recently published in the September 11, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Also, as previously announced, Merck KGaA submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in June 2008 to broaden the use of ERBITUX to include first-line treatment of patients with recurrent and/or metastatic SCCHN.3
About Head and Neck Cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, 87,290 Americans will be diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2008, including cancers of the tongue, the rest of the mouth, the salivary glands and inside the throat, the voice box, eye and orbit, thyroid and the lymph nodes in the upper neck. In addition, it is estimated that more than 13,090 Americans will die from this disease this year. Head and neck cancer most often affects people over the age of 50, and men are twice as likely to be diagnosed as women. The most common risk factors are tobacco and excessive alcohol use.
About ERBITUX® (Cetuximab)
ERBITUX (cetuximab) is a monoclonal antibody (IgG1 Mab) designed to inhibit the function of a molecular structure expressed on the surface of normal and tumor cells called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, HER1, c-ErbB-1). In vitro assays and in vivo animal studies have shown that binding of ERBITUX to the EGFR blocks phosphorylation and activation of receptor-associated kinases, resulting in inhibition of cell growth, induction of apoptosis, and decreased matrix metalloproteinase and vascular endothelial growth factor production. In vitro, ERBITUX can mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) against certain human tumor types. In vitro assays and in vivo animal studies have shown that ERBITUX inhibits the growth and survival of tumor cells that express the EGFR. No anti-tumor effects of ERBITUX were observed in human tumor xenografts lacking EGFR expression.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck (SCCHN)
ERBITUX, in combination with radiation therapy, is indicated for the initial treatment of locally or regionally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
ERBITUX, as a single agent, is indicated for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck for whom prior platinum-based therapy has failed.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Infusion Reactions
-- Grade 3/4 infusion reactions occurred in approximately 3% of patients receiving ERBITUX(R) (cetuximab) in clinical trials, with fatal outcome reported in less than 1 in 1000
-- Serious infusion reactions, requiring medical intervention and immediate, permanent discontinuation of ERBITUX, included rapid onset of airway obstruction (bronchospasm, stridor, hoarseness), hypotension, shock, loss of consciousness, myocardial infarction, and/or cardiac arrest
-- Most (90%) of the severe infusion reactions were associated with the first infusion of ERBITUX despite premedication with antihistamines
-- Caution must be exercised with every ERBITUX infusion, as there were patients who experienced their first severe infusion reaction during later infusions
-- Monitor patients for 1 hour following ERBITUX infusions in a setting with resuscitation equipment and other agents necessary to treat anaphylaxis (eg, epinephrine, corticosteroids, intravenous antihistamines, bronchodilators, and oxygen). Longer observation periods may be required in patients who require treatment for infusion reactions
Cardiopulmonary Arrest
-- Cardiopulmonary arrest and/or sudden death occurred in 4 (2%) of 208 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated with radiation therapy and ERBITUX, as compared to none of 212 patients treated with radiation therapy alone. Fatal events occurred within 1 to 43 days after the last ERBITUX treatment
-- Carefully consider the use of ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy in head and neck cancer patients with a history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure or arrhythmias in light of these risks
-- Closely monitor serum electrolytes including serum magnesium, potassium, and calcium during and after ERBITUX therapy
Pulmonary Toxicity
-- Interstitial lung disease (ILD), which was fatal in one case, occurred in 4 of 1570 (0.5%) patients receiving ERBITUX in clinical trials. Interrupt ERBITUX for acute onset or worsening of pulmonary symptoms. Permanently discontinue ERBITUX where ILD is confirmed
Dermatologic Toxicities
-- In clinical studies of ERBITUX, dermatologic toxicities, including acneform rash, skin drying and fissuring, paronychial inflammation, infectious sequelae (eg, S. aureus sepsis, abscess formation, cellulitis, blepharitis, conjunctivitis, keratitis, cheilitis), and hypertrichosis, occurred in patients receiving ERBITUX therapy. Acneform rash occurred in 76-88% of 1373 patients receiving ERBITUX in clinical trials. Severe acneform rash occurred in 1-17% of patients
-- Acneform rash usually developed within the first two weeks of therapy and resolved in a majority of the patients after cessation of treatment, although in nearly half, the event continued beyond 28 days
-- Monitor patients receiving ERBITUX for dermatologic toxicities and infectious sequelae
-- Sun exposure may exacerbate these effects
ERBITUX Plus Radiation Therapy and Cisplatin
-- The safety of ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy and cisplatin has not been established
-- Death and serious cardiotoxicity were observed in a single-arm trial with ERBITUX, radiation therapy, and cisplatin (100 mg/m(2)) in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
-- Two of 21 patients died, one as a result of pneumonia and one of an unknown cause
-- Four patients discontinued treatment due to adverse events. Two of these discontinuations were due to cardiac events
Electrolyte Depletion
-- Hypomagnesemia occurred in 55% (199/365) of patients receiving ERBITUX and was severe (NCI CTC grades 3 & 4) in 6-17%. The onset of hypomagnesemia and accompanying electrolyte abnormalities occurred days to months after initiation of ERBITUX therapy
-- Monitor patients periodically for hypomagnesemia, hypocalcemia and hypokalemia, during, and for at least 8 weeks following the completion of, ERBITUX therapy
-- Replete electrolytes as necessary
Late Radiation Toxicities
-- The overall incidence of late radiation toxicities (any grade) was higher with ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy compared with radiation therapy alone. The following sites were affected: salivary glands (65%/56%), larynx (52%/36%), subcutaneous tissue (49%/45%), mucous membranes (48%/39%), esophagus (44%/35%), and skin (42%/33%) in the ERBITUX and radiation versus radiation alone arms, respectively
-- The incidence of grade 3 or 4 late radiation toxicities were similar between the radiation therapy alone and the ERBITUX plus radiation therapy arms
Pregnancy
-- In women of childbearing potential, appropriate contraceptive measures must be used during treatment with ERBITUX and for 6 months following the last dose of ERBITUX. ERBITUX should only be used during pregnancy if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus
Adverse Events
-- The most serious adverse reactions associated with ERBITUX across all studies were infusion reactions, cardiopulmonary arrest, dermatologic toxicity and radiation dermatitis, sepsis, renal failure, interstitial lung disease, and pulmonary embolus
-- The most common adverse reactions associated with ERBITUX (incidence (>=)25%) are cutaneous adverse reactions (including rash, pruritus, and nail changes), headache, diarrhea, and infection
-- The most frequent adverse events seen in patients with carcinomas of the head and neck receiving ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy (n=208) versus radiation alone (n=212) (incidence >=50%) were acneform rash (87%/10%), radiation dermatitis (86%/90%), weight loss (84%/72%), and asthenia (56%/49%). The most common grade 3/4 adverse events for ERBITUX in combination with radiation therapy ((>=)10%) included: radiation dermatitis (23%), acneform rash (17%), and weight loss (11%)
About ImClone Systems
ImClone Systems Incorporated is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing oncology care by developing and commercializing a portfolio of targeted biologic treatments designed to address the medical needs of patients with a variety of cancers. The Company’s research and development programs include growth factor blockers and angiogenesis inhibitors. ImClone Systems’ headquarters and research operations are located in New York City, with additional administration and manufacturing facilities in Branchburg, New Jersey. For more information about ImClone Systems, please visit the Company’s web site at http://www.imclone.com.
ERBITUX® is a registered trademark of ImClone Systems Incorporated.
Certain matters discussed in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Federal securities laws. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently expected. Many of these factors are beyond the company's ability to control or predict. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ materially and could impact the company and the statements contained in this news release can be found in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those factors identified as “risk factors” in the Company’s most recent annual report of Form 10-K and in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. For forward-looking statements in this news release, the company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company assumes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to extend and enhance human life. For more information, visit www.bms.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding product development. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, and could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations. Among other risks, there can be no guarantee that the supplemental application will be approved. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect Bristol-Myers Squibb's business, particularly those identified in the cautionary factors discussion in Bristol-Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Bristol-Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
(1) FDA News, FDA Approves First Head & Neck Cancer Treatment in 45 Years; Data Shows Treatment with Erbitux Extends Survival. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2006/new01329.html. Accessed October 14, 2008.
(2) Vermoken JB, Mesia R, Rivera F, et al. Platinum-based chemotherapy plus cetuximab in head and neck cancer. N Engl J Med. 2008; 358:116-1127.
(3) News Release. Merck Applies to Extend Use of Erbitux for First-Line Head and Neck Cancer in Europe. http://news.merck.de/emd/cc/newsrelease.nsf/d6db9bdc0c08af7ec 1257243005130ee/13d501339b5c59f7c125746d00358437?OpenDocument. Accessed October 14, 2008. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)
Contact:
Media and Investor:
ImClone Systems Incorporated
Tracy Henrikson, 908-243-9945
Corporate Communications
Tracy.Henrikson@imclone.com
or
ImClone Systems Incorporated
Rebecca Gregory, 646-638-5058
Corporate Communications
Rebecca.Gregory@imclone.com
or
Media:
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Brian Henry, 609-252-3337
Brian.Henry@bms.com
or
Investors:
Bristol-Myers Squibb
John Elicker, 212-546-3775
John.Elicker@bms.com
Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb
UPDATE 1-Express Scripts 3rd-quarter profit up, tops Street
* Express Scripts Q3 EPS $0.81, tops Street View
* Raises low end of 2008 earnings forecast
* Generic utilization increased to 66.2 pct
Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Inc (ESRX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday, helped by increased use of more profitable generic drugs.
The company, which administers prescription drug benefits for employers and health plans, posted a net profit of $201.9 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with a profit of $143 million, or 56 cents per share, a year ago.
That topped analysts' average expectations by three cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
The St. Louis-based company said the economic slowdown has made its ability to negotiate lower health care costs for its customers even more attractive.
Express said its generic utilization rate increased to 66.2 percent from 62.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. Cheaper generic medicines have a higher profit margin than more expensive branded drugs.
Total revenue for the quarter rose to $5.45 billion from $5.36 billion and topped Wall Street estimates of $4.65 billion.
"In the current economic environment, plan sponsors need us more than ever to help lower their pharmacy spend," Chief Executive George Paz said in a statement.
Express raised the low end of its full-year earnings forecast by 4 cents and now expects $3.07 to $3.10 per share.
For 2009, the company expects generic usage, its home delivery business and specialty pharmacy management to grow. It also sees lower drug purchasing costs. As a result, Express is forecasting earnings to rise to $3.63 to $3.73 per share.
Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates are looking for 2009 earnings of $3.63 per share.
Express Scripts shares were relatively unchanged in extended trading after climbing 12.7 percent to $57.57 on Nasdaq during the day. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
* Raises low end of 2008 earnings forecast
* Generic utilization increased to 66.2 pct
Pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Inc (ESRX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday, helped by increased use of more profitable generic drugs.
The company, which administers prescription drug benefits for employers and health plans, posted a net profit of $201.9 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with a profit of $143 million, or 56 cents per share, a year ago.
That topped analysts' average expectations by three cents, according to Reuters Estimates.
The St. Louis-based company said the economic slowdown has made its ability to negotiate lower health care costs for its customers even more attractive.
Express said its generic utilization rate increased to 66.2 percent from 62.2 percent in the year-ago quarter. Cheaper generic medicines have a higher profit margin than more expensive branded drugs.
Total revenue for the quarter rose to $5.45 billion from $5.36 billion and topped Wall Street estimates of $4.65 billion.
"In the current economic environment, plan sponsors need us more than ever to help lower their pharmacy spend," Chief Executive George Paz said in a statement.
Express raised the low end of its full-year earnings forecast by 4 cents and now expects $3.07 to $3.10 per share.
For 2009, the company expects generic usage, its home delivery business and specialty pharmacy management to grow. It also sees lower drug purchasing costs. As a result, Express is forecasting earnings to rise to $3.63 to $3.73 per share.
Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates are looking for 2009 earnings of $3.63 per share.
Express Scripts shares were relatively unchanged in extended trading after climbing 12.7 percent to $57.57 on Nasdaq during the day. (Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
Arcadia Resources Announces Webcast of its FY2009 Second Quarter Conference Call
Arcadia Resources, Inc. which provides innovative consumer health care services under the trade name Arcadia HealthCareSM, will issue its financial results for fiscal 2009 second quarter, prior to the opening of the U.S. financial markets on Thursday, November 6, 2008.
Arcadia will conduct a conference call and simultaneous Internet webcast to review these financial results on Thursday, November 6, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time). Marvin R. Richardson, Arcadia HealthCare’s President and Chief Executive Officer, will host the call. Also participating will be Matthew R. Middendorf, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer.
To access the webcast, visit the Company’s website at www.arcadiahealthcare.com, 5-10 minutes prior to the start time and click on the webcast link. The webcast will also be accessible on www.investorcalendar.com. The Company’s press release, which will contain financial and statistical information to be discussed in the presentation, will also be available on the Company’s website.
The conference call also may be accessed by telephone by dialing 1-866-524-3160 (for US-based callers) or 1-412-317-6760 (for international callers).
A replay of the webcast will be available approximately one hour after the completion of the call and will be accessible on www.investorcalendar.com for 90 days following the call. A telephone replay will be available by dialing 1-877-344-7529 (for US-based callers) or 1-412-317-0088 (for international callers). For the replay, callers must use the Conference ID number 425023. The telephone replay will be available until November 21, 2008.
About Arcadia HealthCareSM
Arcadia HealthCareSM is a service mark of Arcadia Resources, Inc. and is a leading provider of home health care / medical staffing; respiratory / home health equipment and specialty pharmacy services under its proprietary DailyMed™ program.
DailyMed™ transfers a patient’s prescriptions, over-the-counter medications and vitamins, and organizes them into pre-sorted packets clearly marked with the date and time they should be taken. The entire 30-day supply is delivered directly to a patient’s home in a convenient dispensing box - with “peace of mind” a pharmacist has reviewed the entire medication profile for that month’s supply. This consumer product is aimed at reducing medication errors, improving medication compliance and ultimately lowering the cost of care, and is available at www.DailyMedRx.com.
Additionally, Arcadia extends its health care offerings through affiliated and managed locations on a fee for service basis.
The Company, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, has grown to 92 locations in 22 states, and currently services over 50,000 homes annually through its 5,000 full and part-time associates. Arcadia HealthCare’s comprehensive solutions and business strategies support the Company’s overall vision of “Keeping People at Home and Healthier Longer.”
The Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2008, the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended June 30, 2008 and September 30, 2008 and the current reports filed from time to time on Form 8-K are available on the Company’s website (http://www.arcadiahealthcare.com) and the SEC website (http://www.sec.gov).
Contact:
Arcadia HealthCare
Michelle M. Molin, 317-569-8234 x109
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
mmolin@arcadiahealthcare.com
Source: Arcadia HealthCare
Arcadia will conduct a conference call and simultaneous Internet webcast to review these financial results on Thursday, November 6, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time). Marvin R. Richardson, Arcadia HealthCare’s President and Chief Executive Officer, will host the call. Also participating will be Matthew R. Middendorf, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer.
To access the webcast, visit the Company’s website at www.arcadiahealthcare.com, 5-10 minutes prior to the start time and click on the webcast link. The webcast will also be accessible on www.investorcalendar.com. The Company’s press release, which will contain financial and statistical information to be discussed in the presentation, will also be available on the Company’s website.
The conference call also may be accessed by telephone by dialing 1-866-524-3160 (for US-based callers) or 1-412-317-6760 (for international callers).
A replay of the webcast will be available approximately one hour after the completion of the call and will be accessible on www.investorcalendar.com for 90 days following the call. A telephone replay will be available by dialing 1-877-344-7529 (for US-based callers) or 1-412-317-0088 (for international callers). For the replay, callers must use the Conference ID number 425023. The telephone replay will be available until November 21, 2008.
About Arcadia HealthCareSM
Arcadia HealthCareSM is a service mark of Arcadia Resources, Inc. and is a leading provider of home health care / medical staffing; respiratory / home health equipment and specialty pharmacy services under its proprietary DailyMed™ program.
DailyMed™ transfers a patient’s prescriptions, over-the-counter medications and vitamins, and organizes them into pre-sorted packets clearly marked with the date and time they should be taken. The entire 30-day supply is delivered directly to a patient’s home in a convenient dispensing box - with “peace of mind” a pharmacist has reviewed the entire medication profile for that month’s supply. This consumer product is aimed at reducing medication errors, improving medication compliance and ultimately lowering the cost of care, and is available at www.DailyMedRx.com.
Additionally, Arcadia extends its health care offerings through affiliated and managed locations on a fee for service basis.
The Company, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, has grown to 92 locations in 22 states, and currently services over 50,000 homes annually through its 5,000 full and part-time associates. Arcadia HealthCare’s comprehensive solutions and business strategies support the Company’s overall vision of “Keeping People at Home and Healthier Longer.”
The Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2008, the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended June 30, 2008 and September 30, 2008 and the current reports filed from time to time on Form 8-K are available on the Company’s website (http://www.arcadiahealthcare.com) and the SEC website (http://www.sec.gov).
Contact:
Arcadia HealthCare
Michelle M. Molin, 317-569-8234 x109
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
mmolin@arcadiahealthcare.com
Source: Arcadia HealthCare
Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. Invites You to Join Its Fiscal 2008 Fourth Quarter and Year End Earnings Webcast
Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.'s, fiscal 2008 fourth quarter and year end earnings release will be issued Monday, November 10, 2008. You are invited to participate in a webcast the following morning on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 8 a.m. EST.
Earnings Release: Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.'s Fiscal 2008 Fourth Quarter and Year End Earnings Release for the quarter and year ended September 30, 2008 will be released to the public after the NYSE close on Monday, November 10, 2008. The release will also be available on the Hill-Rom website at http://ir.hill-rom.com/releases.cfm .
Webcast: A webcast hosted by management will be held Tuesday, November 11, 2008 starting at 8 a.m. EST / 7 a.m. CST / 6 a.m. MST / 5 a.m. PST. The webcast will last approximately one hour. To join the live webcast with audio on November 11, 2008, go to http://ir.hill-rom.com/events.cfm or http://ir.hill-rom.com/eventdetail.cfm?eventid=61082 .
The call will be available for telephone replay through November 18, 2008 domestically at 888-203-1112 and internationally at 719-457-0820. For the replay, callers will need to use confirmation code 9788491. If you are unable to listen to the live webcast or the replay, the call will be archived at http://ir.hill-rom.com/events.cfm through November 10, 2009.
ABOUT HILL-ROM HOLDINGS, INC.
Hill-Rom is a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of medical technologies and related services for the health care industry, including patient support systems, safe mobility and handling solutions, non-invasive therapeutic products for a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions, medical equipment rentals, and information technology solutions. Hill-Rom's comprehensive product and service offerings are used by health care providers across the health care continuum in hospitals, extended care facilities and home care settings to enhance the safety and quality of patient care.
Hill-Rom ... enhancing outcomes for patients and their caregivers.
www.hill-rom.com
Source: Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.
Earnings Release: Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.'s Fiscal 2008 Fourth Quarter and Year End Earnings Release for the quarter and year ended September 30, 2008 will be released to the public after the NYSE close on Monday, November 10, 2008. The release will also be available on the Hill-Rom website at http://ir.hill-rom.com/releases.cfm .
Webcast: A webcast hosted by management will be held Tuesday, November 11, 2008 starting at 8 a.m. EST / 7 a.m. CST / 6 a.m. MST / 5 a.m. PST. The webcast will last approximately one hour. To join the live webcast with audio on November 11, 2008, go to http://ir.hill-rom.com/events.cfm or http://ir.hill-rom.com/eventdetail.cfm?eventid=61082 .
The call will be available for telephone replay through November 18, 2008 domestically at 888-203-1112 and internationally at 719-457-0820. For the replay, callers will need to use confirmation code 9788491. If you are unable to listen to the live webcast or the replay, the call will be archived at http://ir.hill-rom.com/events.cfm through November 10, 2009.
ABOUT HILL-ROM HOLDINGS, INC.
Hill-Rom is a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of medical technologies and related services for the health care industry, including patient support systems, safe mobility and handling solutions, non-invasive therapeutic products for a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions, medical equipment rentals, and information technology solutions. Hill-Rom's comprehensive product and service offerings are used by health care providers across the health care continuum in hospitals, extended care facilities and home care settings to enhance the safety and quality of patient care.
Hill-Rom ... enhancing outcomes for patients and their caregivers.
www.hill-rom.com
Source: Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.
Almost Family, Inc. to Report Third Quarter 2008 Financial Results
- Conference Call Scheduled Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. ET -
Almost Family, Inc. a leading regional provider of home health nursing services, announced that it will report results for its third quarter 2008 ended September 30, 2008 on Wednesday, November 5, 2008, before the market open.
A conference call to review the results will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET on November 5, 2008 and will be hosted by William B. Yarmuth, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Steve Guenthner, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-800-762-8779 (USA) or 1-480-248-5081 (International). In addition, a dial-up replay of the conference call will be available beginning November 5, 2008 at 12:00 p.m. ET and ending on November 19, 2008. The replay telephone number is 1-800-406-7325 (USA) or 1-303-590-3030 (International). Account Number: 3055 and Passcode: 3938754.
A live web cast of the call will also be available from the Investor Relations section on the corporate web site at http://www.almostfamily.com. A web cast replay can be accessed on the corporate web site beginning November 5, 2008 at approximately 12:00 p.m. ET and will remain available until December 5, 2008.
About Almost Family
Almost Family, Inc., founded in 1976, is a leading regional provider of home health nursing services, with branch locations in Florida, Kentucky, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, Massachusetts, Alabama, Missouri, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Indiana (in order of revenue significance). Almost Family, Inc. and its subsidiaries operate a Medicare-certified segment and a personal care segment. Altogether, Almost Family operates over 90 branch locations in 11 U.S. states.
Source: Almost Family, Inc.
Almost Family, Inc. a leading regional provider of home health nursing services, announced that it will report results for its third quarter 2008 ended September 30, 2008 on Wednesday, November 5, 2008, before the market open.
A conference call to review the results will begin at 11:00 a.m. ET on November 5, 2008 and will be hosted by William B. Yarmuth, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Steve Guenthner, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-800-762-8779 (USA) or 1-480-248-5081 (International). In addition, a dial-up replay of the conference call will be available beginning November 5, 2008 at 12:00 p.m. ET and ending on November 19, 2008. The replay telephone number is 1-800-406-7325 (USA) or 1-303-590-3030 (International). Account Number: 3055 and Passcode: 3938754.
A live web cast of the call will also be available from the Investor Relations section on the corporate web site at http://www.almostfamily.com. A web cast replay can be accessed on the corporate web site beginning November 5, 2008 at approximately 12:00 p.m. ET and will remain available until December 5, 2008.
About Almost Family
Almost Family, Inc., founded in 1976, is a leading regional provider of home health nursing services, with branch locations in Florida, Kentucky, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, Massachusetts, Alabama, Missouri, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Indiana (in order of revenue significance). Almost Family, Inc. and its subsidiaries operate a Medicare-certified segment and a personal care segment. Altogether, Almost Family operates over 90 branch locations in 11 U.S. states.
Source: Almost Family, Inc.
Health Care REIT, Inc. Declares Third Quarter Dividend
Health Care REIT, Inc. announced that its Board of Directors declared a dividend for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 of $0.68 per share as compared to the prior year rate of $0.66 per share. The dividend will be the company's 150th consecutive quarterly payment, payable November 20, 2008, to stockholders of record on November 10, 2008.
Health Care REIT, Inc., with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate investment trust that invests across the full spectrum of senior housing and health care real estate. The company also provides a full array of property management and development services. As of September 30, 2008, the company’s broadly diversified portfolio consisted of 641 properties in 39 states. More information is available on the Internet at www.hcreit.com.
Contact:
Health Care REIT, Inc.
Scott Estes, 419-247-2800
or
Mike Crabtree, 419-247-2800
Source: Health Care REIT, Inc.
Health Care REIT, Inc., with headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, is a real estate investment trust that invests across the full spectrum of senior housing and health care real estate. The company also provides a full array of property management and development services. As of September 30, 2008, the company’s broadly diversified portfolio consisted of 641 properties in 39 states. More information is available on the Internet at www.hcreit.com.
Contact:
Health Care REIT, Inc.
Scott Estes, 419-247-2800
or
Mike Crabtree, 419-247-2800
Source: Health Care REIT, Inc.
Medical Staffing Network Announces Realignment of Its Business Model
Medical Staffing Network Holdings, Inc. announced that it is realigning its per diem branch network. The Company will be increasingly focused on expanding its local contract business. Local contract staffing is assignments that range two weeks in length or longer and are filled through a local branch. Over the past few months, the Company has increased its local contract staffing to approximately 25% of the per diem division’s revenue.
In addition, the Company’s actions are in response to recent successes in its vendor management services (VMS) operations. The VMS group has been awarded six contracts during 2008, which further reduces its dependency on daily transactional business. The success of the VMS division together with the focus on local contract staffing has enabled the Company to increase the visibility of its revenue stream. As a result, on October 28, 2008, the Company decided to consolidate its national branch footprint by closing 20 per diem locations where local contract and VMS business opportunities were less evident.
Through technological advancements and focusing on local contract business, a majority of these closed branch locations will be serviced either from a nearby location or from a “virtual” office setting from the Company’s corporate location. The Company anticipates that the loss of the closed locations’ income from operations will be entirely offset by a reduction in salaries and related expenses for operations and corporate personnel. The Company expects to incur a charge of approximately $6.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. The charge will be comprised of approximately $1.0 million relating to severance costs and lease termination and approximately $5.7 million in non-cash goodwill impairment relating to the closure of the branches.
Commenting on the action plan, Robert Adamson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “While the current environment of the temporary nurse staffing industry remains difficult, our third quarter AEBITDA will be sequentially higher than that of the second quarter. Over the past few quarters, we have considered fine tuning our per diem division’s business plan model as we believe local contract staffing and VMS arrangements provide more visibility to the Company’s revenue stream as well as more stability to a local healthcare professional’s work week. We expect that this realignment to the per diem division’s business model in conjunction with the recent VMS wins will increase the quality of our future earnings as well as allow us to focus more of our attention on increasing local contract staffing and our other product lines.”
Company Summary
Medical Staffing Network Holdings, Inc. is the third largest diversified healthcare staffing company in the United States as measured by revenues. The Company is the leading provider of per diem nurse staffing services and is also a leading provider of travel, allied health and vendor managed services.
Discussion of AEBITDA
AEBITDA consists of net income (loss) before income taxes, interest, loss on early extinguishment of debt, depreciation and amortization, restructuring and other charges, outsourcing implementation costs and non-cash impairment of goodwill, which might not be calculated in the same manner as, and thus might not be comparable to, similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include all statements other than those made solely with respect to historical fact. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the registrant’s actual results and performance to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include our ability to recognize the benefits of the realignment of our per diem branch network, the amount of costs, expenses, and charges related to the realignment of our per diem branch network, and other factors, which can be found in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2007 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Although the registrant believes that these statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, the registrant cannot provide any assurances regarding future results. The registrant undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Medical Staffing Network Holdings, Inc.
Jeff Yesner, Chief Accounting Officer, 561-322-1303
Source: Medical Staffing Network Holdings, Inc.
In addition, the Company’s actions are in response to recent successes in its vendor management services (VMS) operations. The VMS group has been awarded six contracts during 2008, which further reduces its dependency on daily transactional business. The success of the VMS division together with the focus on local contract staffing has enabled the Company to increase the visibility of its revenue stream. As a result, on October 28, 2008, the Company decided to consolidate its national branch footprint by closing 20 per diem locations where local contract and VMS business opportunities were less evident.
Through technological advancements and focusing on local contract business, a majority of these closed branch locations will be serviced either from a nearby location or from a “virtual” office setting from the Company’s corporate location. The Company anticipates that the loss of the closed locations’ income from operations will be entirely offset by a reduction in salaries and related expenses for operations and corporate personnel. The Company expects to incur a charge of approximately $6.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. The charge will be comprised of approximately $1.0 million relating to severance costs and lease termination and approximately $5.7 million in non-cash goodwill impairment relating to the closure of the branches.
Commenting on the action plan, Robert Adamson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “While the current environment of the temporary nurse staffing industry remains difficult, our third quarter AEBITDA will be sequentially higher than that of the second quarter. Over the past few quarters, we have considered fine tuning our per diem division’s business plan model as we believe local contract staffing and VMS arrangements provide more visibility to the Company’s revenue stream as well as more stability to a local healthcare professional’s work week. We expect that this realignment to the per diem division’s business model in conjunction with the recent VMS wins will increase the quality of our future earnings as well as allow us to focus more of our attention on increasing local contract staffing and our other product lines.”
Company Summary
Medical Staffing Network Holdings, Inc. is the third largest diversified healthcare staffing company in the United States as measured by revenues. The Company is the leading provider of per diem nurse staffing services and is also a leading provider of travel, allied health and vendor managed services.
Discussion of AEBITDA
AEBITDA consists of net income (loss) before income taxes, interest, loss on early extinguishment of debt, depreciation and amortization, restructuring and other charges, outsourcing implementation costs and non-cash impairment of goodwill, which might not be calculated in the same manner as, and thus might not be comparable to, similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include all statements other than those made solely with respect to historical fact. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the registrant’s actual results and performance to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include our ability to recognize the benefits of the realignment of our per diem branch network, the amount of costs, expenses, and charges related to the realignment of our per diem branch network, and other factors, which can be found in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 2007 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Although the registrant believes that these statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, the registrant cannot provide any assurances regarding future results. The registrant undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Medical Staffing Network Holdings, Inc.
Jeff Yesner, Chief Accounting Officer, 561-322-1303
Source: Medical Staffing Network Holdings, Inc.
'The Age Factor' on the Campaign Trail: When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Keep Moving
New Survey Reports Sore Joints Won't Keep Seniors on the Sidelines
Political pundits studying the Presidential candidates' every move on the campaign trail may ponder the impact of "the age factor," but seniors say sore joints won't keep America's aging population on the sidelines, according to a recent survey of men and women age 50+ from Schiff Nutrition International, makers of Move Free® Advanced, a daily dietary supplement for joint health that starts comforting sore joints in less than seven days.(1) In fact, these mature adults report they are more determined than ever to make staying active a part of their daily wellness routine.
Americans 50 and older are determined to outpace their advancing years, the Move Free® Advanced Make Your Move...with Freedom online survey(2) found. Though 69 percent of this age group say they experience body aches and discomfort at least weekly, and 59 percent say they suffer joint discomfort just as frequently, older Americans are defying these issues on a daily basis with a can-do attitude and a strong ethic of staying active and involved.
Staying Active - Their Primary Concern
Despite the frequency with which they experience aches and discomfort, Americans 50 and over responded that they worry more about not being able to keep doing the things they want to do (62%) than about dealing with increasing physical discomfort as they age (48%). Even in today's uncertain economy, they report that they are more concerned about continuing to do the things they love than being able to afford a comfortable lifestyle (54%) or proper healthcare (48%) as they get older.
True Grit
Among surveyed Americans 50 and older who have experienced joint discomfort, 59 percent say it has rarely interfered with their quality of life or their ability to be productive. More men make this claim than women (64% vs. 55%). And when joint discomfort does interfere with their lives, nearly four in ten (39%) of those who experience it say their first reaction is a gritty resolve to persevere.
From Senator John McCain to the average citizen, America's mature population shows a special determination not to give up important parts of their lives as they age. Among those surveyed, these include family activities (77%), doing chores and gardening around the home (71%) and continuing to go to work (43%).
In Red States and Blue, Supplements Win
When it comes to aging gracefully, the respondents in the Make Your Move...with Freedom online survey vote for supplements so they can continue to live healthy and full lives, particularly as a way to manage their joint discomfort. They reported that taking vitamin supplements is the one preferred way of managing joint discomfort among those who deal with it.
Glucosamine plus Chondroitin is cited as the top choice for older Americans in the survey with joint discomfort who have tried natural remedies (66%); fish oil comes in second (56%).
How Move Free® Advanced is Different
Move Free® Advanced is the joint care supplement that combines Glucosamine and Chondroitin with two ingredients - Uniflex® and Joint Fluid. Uniflex® protects your joints; Joint Fluid replenishes your joints, and Glucosamine and Chondroitin help to rebuild your joints. Move Free® Advanced starts comforting sore joints in less than seven days(1) vs. 4 to 6 weeks for Glucosamine and Chondroitin alone. And Move Free Advanced has been clinically tested.
For more information, please visit http://www.MakeYourMoveWithFreedom.com.
About Schiff Nutrition International and Move Free® Advanced
Move Free® Advanced is a dietary supplement for joint health from Salt Lake City-based Schiff®, one of the most trusted and respected brands in the nutritional supplement industry, having provided consumers with pure and high quality nutrition products for more than 70 years. Schiff® guarantees the purity and potency of its products with stringent quality controls at every point throughout the sourcing, manufacturing, packaging and distribution processes. For more information, visit www.schiffvitamins.com.
(1) Independent human clinical study (Los Angeles, 2008).
(2) The Move Free® Advanced Make Your Move...With Freedom survey was sponsored by Schiff Nutrition International and conducted online by Kelton Research in July 2008.
THE STATEMENTS IN THIS PRESS RELEASE HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THESE PRODUCTS ARE NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT DISEASE.
Patients should always consult their physicians and pharmacists with questions regarding drug interactions.
Source: Schiff
Political pundits studying the Presidential candidates' every move on the campaign trail may ponder the impact of "the age factor," but seniors say sore joints won't keep America's aging population on the sidelines, according to a recent survey of men and women age 50+ from Schiff Nutrition International, makers of Move Free® Advanced, a daily dietary supplement for joint health that starts comforting sore joints in less than seven days.(1) In fact, these mature adults report they are more determined than ever to make staying active a part of their daily wellness routine.
Americans 50 and older are determined to outpace their advancing years, the Move Free® Advanced Make Your Move...with Freedom online survey(2) found. Though 69 percent of this age group say they experience body aches and discomfort at least weekly, and 59 percent say they suffer joint discomfort just as frequently, older Americans are defying these issues on a daily basis with a can-do attitude and a strong ethic of staying active and involved.
Staying Active - Their Primary Concern
Despite the frequency with which they experience aches and discomfort, Americans 50 and over responded that they worry more about not being able to keep doing the things they want to do (62%) than about dealing with increasing physical discomfort as they age (48%). Even in today's uncertain economy, they report that they are more concerned about continuing to do the things they love than being able to afford a comfortable lifestyle (54%) or proper healthcare (48%) as they get older.
True Grit
Among surveyed Americans 50 and older who have experienced joint discomfort, 59 percent say it has rarely interfered with their quality of life or their ability to be productive. More men make this claim than women (64% vs. 55%). And when joint discomfort does interfere with their lives, nearly four in ten (39%) of those who experience it say their first reaction is a gritty resolve to persevere.
From Senator John McCain to the average citizen, America's mature population shows a special determination not to give up important parts of their lives as they age. Among those surveyed, these include family activities (77%), doing chores and gardening around the home (71%) and continuing to go to work (43%).
In Red States and Blue, Supplements Win
When it comes to aging gracefully, the respondents in the Make Your Move...with Freedom online survey vote for supplements so they can continue to live healthy and full lives, particularly as a way to manage their joint discomfort. They reported that taking vitamin supplements is the one preferred way of managing joint discomfort among those who deal with it.
Glucosamine plus Chondroitin is cited as the top choice for older Americans in the survey with joint discomfort who have tried natural remedies (66%); fish oil comes in second (56%).
How Move Free® Advanced is Different
Move Free® Advanced is the joint care supplement that combines Glucosamine and Chondroitin with two ingredients - Uniflex® and Joint Fluid. Uniflex® protects your joints; Joint Fluid replenishes your joints, and Glucosamine and Chondroitin help to rebuild your joints. Move Free® Advanced starts comforting sore joints in less than seven days(1) vs. 4 to 6 weeks for Glucosamine and Chondroitin alone. And Move Free Advanced has been clinically tested.
For more information, please visit http://www.MakeYourMoveWithFreedom.com.
About Schiff Nutrition International and Move Free® Advanced
Move Free® Advanced is a dietary supplement for joint health from Salt Lake City-based Schiff®, one of the most trusted and respected brands in the nutritional supplement industry, having provided consumers with pure and high quality nutrition products for more than 70 years. Schiff® guarantees the purity and potency of its products with stringent quality controls at every point throughout the sourcing, manufacturing, packaging and distribution processes. For more information, visit www.schiffvitamins.com.
(1) Independent human clinical study (Los Angeles, 2008).
(2) The Move Free® Advanced Make Your Move...With Freedom survey was sponsored by Schiff Nutrition International and conducted online by Kelton Research in July 2008.
THE STATEMENTS IN THIS PRESS RELEASE HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THESE PRODUCTS ARE NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT DISEASE.
Patients should always consult their physicians and pharmacists with questions regarding drug interactions.
Source: Schiff
Extendicare REIT Calls Lawsuit Claims Baseless
Extendicare Real Estate Investment Trust ("Extendicare REIT") said claims made in a class action lawsuit filed in United States District Court, District of Minnesota, in Minneapolis against Extendicare Health Services, Inc. and Extendicare Homes, Inc. (collectively "Extendicare"), two wholly owned U.S. based subsidiaries of Extendicare REIT, are incorrect and misleading. Extendicare will vigorously defend against the lawsuit in court. The lawsuit is brought as a class action under Minnesota's Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act; Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
"We have just received the lawsuit and have not had sufficient time to fully evaluate the complaint. However, based on the information we have seen, this is a duplicate of the lawsuit that was recently filed in the state of Washington, and those same law firms are involved as co-counsel with this Minnesota firm. It would appear that Extendicare is the latest in a long list of nursing home providers targeted by the same lawyer who previously filed a series of similar class-action style lawsuits in other states," said Tim Lukenda, President and CEO of Extendicare REIT. "Those lawsuits also alleged that nursing home providers falsely advertised the quality of care they provided to residents. This lawyer has not been successful in proving such allegations in a court of law. Many providers have undoubtedly been forced to settle these cases out of court rather than fight the allegations and prove them to be false because of the costs of litigation," Lukenda said.
"We intend to vigorously and successfully defend this lawsuit. The allegations being made are incorrect and misleading, and clearly designed to maximize the recovery of attorney's fees rather than benefit residents," said Lukenda.
Extendicare says it is remains committed to continuing to provide quality care and services to its residents as it defends the inflammatory allegations in this baseless lawsuit.
About Us
Extendicare REIT, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a major provider of short and long-term care services for seniors in North America. We operate 268 nursing and assisted living facilities in North America, with capacity for approximately 30,300 residents. As well, we offer medical specialty services such as subacute care and rehabilitative therapy services in the United States, and home health care services in Canada, and employ approximately 38,100 people in North America.
Extendicare facilities have won numerous awards for quality over the years, including four facilities that were recently recognized for quality achievement by receiving the Step 1 National Quality Award presented by the American Health Care Association. These awards are modeled after the criteria of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award.
Contact:
Contacts:
Extendicare Real Estate Investment Trust
Holly Gould
Executive Director of Communications and Consumer Relations
(414) 908-8147
(414) 908-8111 (FAX)
Email: hgould@extendicare.com
Visit Extendicare's Website at http://www.extendicare.com
Source: Extendicare REIT
"We have just received the lawsuit and have not had sufficient time to fully evaluate the complaint. However, based on the information we have seen, this is a duplicate of the lawsuit that was recently filed in the state of Washington, and those same law firms are involved as co-counsel with this Minnesota firm. It would appear that Extendicare is the latest in a long list of nursing home providers targeted by the same lawyer who previously filed a series of similar class-action style lawsuits in other states," said Tim Lukenda, President and CEO of Extendicare REIT. "Those lawsuits also alleged that nursing home providers falsely advertised the quality of care they provided to residents. This lawyer has not been successful in proving such allegations in a court of law. Many providers have undoubtedly been forced to settle these cases out of court rather than fight the allegations and prove them to be false because of the costs of litigation," Lukenda said.
"We intend to vigorously and successfully defend this lawsuit. The allegations being made are incorrect and misleading, and clearly designed to maximize the recovery of attorney's fees rather than benefit residents," said Lukenda.
Extendicare says it is remains committed to continuing to provide quality care and services to its residents as it defends the inflammatory allegations in this baseless lawsuit.
About Us
Extendicare REIT, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a major provider of short and long-term care services for seniors in North America. We operate 268 nursing and assisted living facilities in North America, with capacity for approximately 30,300 residents. As well, we offer medical specialty services such as subacute care and rehabilitative therapy services in the United States, and home health care services in Canada, and employ approximately 38,100 people in North America.
Extendicare facilities have won numerous awards for quality over the years, including four facilities that were recently recognized for quality achievement by receiving the Step 1 National Quality Award presented by the American Health Care Association. These awards are modeled after the criteria of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award.
Contact:
Contacts:
Extendicare Real Estate Investment Trust
Holly Gould
Executive Director of Communications and Consumer Relations
(414) 908-8147
(414) 908-8111 (FAX)
Email: hgould@extendicare.com
Visit Extendicare's Website at http://www.extendicare.com
Source: Extendicare REIT
UPDATE 1-Biogen, Genentech developing new blood cancer drug
* Biogen, Genentech broaden cancer-drug relationship
* To pay Genentech $31.5 mln upfront to co-develop drug
* Says drug in early stages of testing
* Shares unchanged after hours at $40.30
Biogen Idec (BIIB.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday it would help Genentech Inc (DNA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) develop an experimental cancer treatment that works through a similar mechanism as their shared blockbuster Rituxan treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Genentech recently acquired U.S. rights to the new medicine, called GA101, from Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the Swiss drugmaker that has a majority stake in Genentech and is attempting to acquire its remaining shares.
Biogen said it opted to help develop GA101 pursuant to terms of its ongoing Rituxan collaboration with Genentech, and will make an upfront payment of $31.5 million to its larger partner and record it as a fourth-quarter charge.
The companies will share operating profits and losses in the United States, Biogen said, while Roche retains rights in other markets. Additional terms were not disclosed.
Like Rituxan, GA101 works by targeting immune system cells known as CD20-positive B cells. It is being studied in early-stage trials for non-Hodgkins lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, another type of blood cancer, Biogen said.
Biogen said Roche would provide an update on Phase 1 data for the new medicine at a medical meeting in December, Biogen said.
Biogen shares closed down 3.9 percent at $40.30 on Thursday. (Reporting by Ransdell Pierson)
* To pay Genentech $31.5 mln upfront to co-develop drug
* Says drug in early stages of testing
* Shares unchanged after hours at $40.30
Biogen Idec (BIIB.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday it would help Genentech Inc (DNA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) develop an experimental cancer treatment that works through a similar mechanism as their shared blockbuster Rituxan treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Genentech recently acquired U.S. rights to the new medicine, called GA101, from Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the Swiss drugmaker that has a majority stake in Genentech and is attempting to acquire its remaining shares.
Biogen said it opted to help develop GA101 pursuant to terms of its ongoing Rituxan collaboration with Genentech, and will make an upfront payment of $31.5 million to its larger partner and record it as a fourth-quarter charge.
The companies will share operating profits and losses in the United States, Biogen said, while Roche retains rights in other markets. Additional terms were not disclosed.
Like Rituxan, GA101 works by targeting immune system cells known as CD20-positive B cells. It is being studied in early-stage trials for non-Hodgkins lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, another type of blood cancer, Biogen said.
Biogen said Roche would provide an update on Phase 1 data for the new medicine at a medical meeting in December, Biogen said.
Biogen shares closed down 3.9 percent at $40.30 on Thursday. (Reporting by Ransdell Pierson)
Business Leaders Join Fight Against Illegal Drugs by Donating CDEX Meth Scanner(TM) to Local Law Enforcement
CDEX Inc. announces that a subsidiary of BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, donated a CDEX ID2 Meth Scanner™ to the Globe, Arizona Police Department for use in its battle against illegal drugs. The ID2 Meth Scanner™ is a hand-held, battery operated device that detects trace quantities of methamphetamine while scanning surfaces.
Francis McAllister, Finance Manager of the BHP Billiton Base Metals Group, which owns the Pinto Valley mine located near Globe, stated, “BHP Billiton is committed to the communities where we operate and we support their efforts to educate people about the harmful effects of drugs and to fight drug abuse. To this end, we donated a Meth Scanner to the Globe Police Department to assist in their efforts to fight drugs in our community. No community is immune to the dangerous grasp meth has taken and we will continue to support the community in the battle against this non-discriminating, devastating drug.”
Steve Schmidt, Vice-President of CDEX’s Security Division, thanked BHP Billiton for their leadership, activism and concern for the Miami-Globe community. “We are grateful for the exemplary participation of this community-minded company,” Schmidt said. “CDEX is honored to have its Meth Scanner selected as the tool to assist police in their fight against drug use and trafficking.
“CDEX pledges to work closely with Police Chief Lt. David Mullin, Sgt. James Durnan and local law enforcement to use the Meth Scanner to its maximum potential in the field,” Schmidt continued. “The devastating and growing impact of methamphetamine on our communities demands that we provide better weapons to law enforcement and Child Protective Service agencies to fight this war. We are inspired by the actions of BHP Billiton management and are pleased that CDEX can assist with their efforts to make this community a safer place to live and work.”
BHP Billiton, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, is the world’s largest mining company and one of the world’s top producers of copper, silver, lead, uranium and zinc. BHP Billiton owns and operates the large Pinto Valley copper mine in the heart of Arizona’s Globe-Miami Mining District located about 90 miles east of metro Phoenix.
CDEX is a technology development company, currently manufacturing and globally distributing chemical detection products in the medication safety and security markets. The Valimed™ product line provides life-saving validation of high-risk medications and returned narcotics. The ID2™ product line is a revolutionary new tool in the global battle against abuse of illegal drugs such as methamphetamine. CDEX expects to advance its patented technologies to serve additional markets and applications. For more information, visit www.cdexinc.com or contact Dale Jahr, Director of Investor Relations, (djahr@cdex-inc.com) at (605) 431-7106.
Any non-historical statements are forward-looking, as defined in federal securities laws, and generally can be identified by words such as "expects," "plans, " "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates," and other similar words. These statements pose risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the effectiveness, profitability and marketability of products, the protection of intellectual property and proprietary information, and other risks such as those detailed from time-to-time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There is no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements.
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5818717
Contact:
CDEX Inc.
Dale Jahr, Director of Investor Relations, 605-431-7106
djahr@cdex-inc.com
Source: CDEX Inc.
Francis McAllister, Finance Manager of the BHP Billiton Base Metals Group, which owns the Pinto Valley mine located near Globe, stated, “BHP Billiton is committed to the communities where we operate and we support their efforts to educate people about the harmful effects of drugs and to fight drug abuse. To this end, we donated a Meth Scanner to the Globe Police Department to assist in their efforts to fight drugs in our community. No community is immune to the dangerous grasp meth has taken and we will continue to support the community in the battle against this non-discriminating, devastating drug.”
Steve Schmidt, Vice-President of CDEX’s Security Division, thanked BHP Billiton for their leadership, activism and concern for the Miami-Globe community. “We are grateful for the exemplary participation of this community-minded company,” Schmidt said. “CDEX is honored to have its Meth Scanner selected as the tool to assist police in their fight against drug use and trafficking.
“CDEX pledges to work closely with Police Chief Lt. David Mullin, Sgt. James Durnan and local law enforcement to use the Meth Scanner to its maximum potential in the field,” Schmidt continued. “The devastating and growing impact of methamphetamine on our communities demands that we provide better weapons to law enforcement and Child Protective Service agencies to fight this war. We are inspired by the actions of BHP Billiton management and are pleased that CDEX can assist with their efforts to make this community a safer place to live and work.”
BHP Billiton, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, is the world’s largest mining company and one of the world’s top producers of copper, silver, lead, uranium and zinc. BHP Billiton owns and operates the large Pinto Valley copper mine in the heart of Arizona’s Globe-Miami Mining District located about 90 miles east of metro Phoenix.
CDEX is a technology development company, currently manufacturing and globally distributing chemical detection products in the medication safety and security markets. The Valimed™ product line provides life-saving validation of high-risk medications and returned narcotics. The ID2™ product line is a revolutionary new tool in the global battle against abuse of illegal drugs such as methamphetamine. CDEX expects to advance its patented technologies to serve additional markets and applications. For more information, visit www.cdexinc.com or contact Dale Jahr, Director of Investor Relations, (djahr@cdex-inc.com) at (605) 431-7106.
Any non-historical statements are forward-looking, as defined in federal securities laws, and generally can be identified by words such as "expects," "plans, " "may," "anticipates," "believes," "should," "intends," "estimates," and other similar words. These statements pose risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the effectiveness, profitability and marketability of products, the protection of intellectual property and proprietary information, and other risks such as those detailed from time-to-time in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There is no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements.
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5818717
Contact:
CDEX Inc.
Dale Jahr, Director of Investor Relations, 605-431-7106
djahr@cdex-inc.com
Source: CDEX Inc.
UPDATE 1-Thoratec Q3 beats Street, raises '08 view; shares jump
* Q3 non-GAAP EPS $0.17, revenue $80.8 mln
* Raises 2008 outlook
* Shares rise 10 pct
Cardiac device maker Thoratec Corp (THOR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted quarterly results that topped market estimates, helped by strength in its heart device HeartMate II LVAS, and raised its full-year outlook for the second time in less than three months. [ID:nWNAB5369]
Shares of the company rose 10 percent to $24 in trading after the bell. They closed at $21.85 Thursday on Nasdaq.
The company said its implanted heart pump HeartMate II LVAS helped generate a 68 percent rise in revenue at its cardiovascular division, and it added 17 new HeartMate II centres in the quarter. [ID:nPnAQTH065]
Last week, the company's shares had lost more than half of their value after it said wear and fatigue related to HeartMate II LVAS may require surgical replacement that could potentially be fatal. [ID:nBNG396083]
Looking ahead, the company now sees earnings of 54 cents to 59 cents a share and revenue of $302 million to $308 million for fiscal 2008.
In August, it had raised its full-year outlook and had forecast earnings of 47 cents to 52 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $285 million to $295 million. (Reporting by Vidya L Nathan in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)
* Raises 2008 outlook
* Shares rise 10 pct
Cardiac device maker Thoratec Corp (THOR.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted quarterly results that topped market estimates, helped by strength in its heart device HeartMate II LVAS, and raised its full-year outlook for the second time in less than three months. [ID:nWNAB5369]
Shares of the company rose 10 percent to $24 in trading after the bell. They closed at $21.85 Thursday on Nasdaq.
The company said its implanted heart pump HeartMate II LVAS helped generate a 68 percent rise in revenue at its cardiovascular division, and it added 17 new HeartMate II centres in the quarter. [ID:nPnAQTH065]
Last week, the company's shares had lost more than half of their value after it said wear and fatigue related to HeartMate II LVAS may require surgical replacement that could potentially be fatal. [ID:nBNG396083]
Looking ahead, the company now sees earnings of 54 cents to 59 cents a share and revenue of $302 million to $308 million for fiscal 2008.
In August, it had raised its full-year outlook and had forecast earnings of 47 cents to 52 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $285 million to $295 million. (Reporting by Vidya L Nathan in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)
Type-1 Diabetes Not So Much Bad Genes as Good Genes Behaving Badly, Stanford Research Shows
Investigators combing the genome in the hope of finding genetic variants responsible for triggering early-onset diabetes may be looking in the wrong place, new research at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests.
Early-onset diabetes, also known as type-1 diabetes, is an autoimmune disease, caused when the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in a person’s pancreas.
What triggers that immune response apparently has less to do with having a distinct set of gene variants than how the behavior of genes may differ in people with the disease. That is the finding of a study published in the November issue of Clinical Immunology, by Garry Fathman, MD, professor of immunology and rheumatology, and his colleagues.
The paper builds upon the knowledge that particular immune-system-related gene variants confer type-1 diabetes susceptibility. Many people have those genes, but only a fraction actually develop the disease. This has led many investigators to conduct exhaustive searches of the genome for other elusive genes that, when defective, may predispose someone to type-1 diabetes. Fathman suggests they may be on the wrong track.
Fathman explained it this way: “Take a pair of identical twins, with one having type-1 diabetes. Although both have precisely the same genes, roughly half the time the other twin doesn’t get the disease.” The same holds true for other autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, he added.
The situation, Fathman said, is reminiscent of the 1988 movie “Twins,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. They may have started out identical, but something diverged, somewhere. Fathman set out to find out what it was seven years ago, in what he described, tongue-in cheek, as “an interesting study that started at the dawn of history.”
Rather than try to implicate a faulty gene, Fathman’s team looked for genes in the diabetic twin that act differently from the same genes in the other twin who doesn’t get diabetes.
To do this, the Stanford researchers used two types of bioengineered mice that share a common genome, with just one key difference. So-called NOD mice (the acronym stands for “non-obese diabetic”) are extremely likely to get type-1 diabetes and have an immune-related gene variant closely resembling the one predisposing humans to the disease. The other strain of mice, known as NOD.B10, has had its chromosomal segment containing the troublesome gene variant replaced with another, harmless version. NOD.B10 mice never get type-1 diabetes.
The Stanford team compared the activity level (“gene-expression,” in scientific parlance) of each of the NOD mouse’s genes—all 35,000 of them— with that of its counterpart in the NOD.B10 animals. To make these comparisons as meaningful as possible, the researchers assembled the mice into groups of three to 10 and took samples from various tissues from each group at 10 days of age, then four, eight, 12, 16 and 20 weeks, always comparing like tissues from one mouse strain to the next at the same stage of life. This required the use of a sophisticated but increasingly commonplace hybrid between a microscope slide and a computer chip—called a microarray—that can emit fluorescent signals corresponding to the activity levels of each of the mouse’s genes.
By comparing the strength of the signal from any given gene from a particular tissue from NOD mice of a specific age to the corresponding gene in the NOD.B10 mice, it was possible to see which genes’ activity levels were turned up, or dialed down, throughout the course of disease progression including the earliest stages. The NOD.B1O mice served as controls; by monitoring their tissues, scientists could determine any changes in gene expression that were merely a matter of aging (20 weeks is a long time in the life of a mouse) or that merely reflected characteristics of different tissues were ignored in the analysis.
The results, said Fathman, were surprising. Most genes in any given tissue of the diabetes-prone NOD mice at any given time showed about the same activity levels as their disease-free NOD.B10 counterparts. But in each tissue the scientists monitored, certain clusters of genes in NOD-mice—including many genes never previously identified as germane to the disease process—seemed to participate in coordinated zigzags of swooping and soaring expression over time, when compared with their healthy NOD-B10 “twins.” These patterns varied from one tissue to the next and from time to time. But in any given tissue at any given time, they were remarkably consistent.
These time-dependent gene-expression “signatures” could be observed in the NOD mice’s peripheral blood, for example, well before the mice began to show characteristic signs of diabetes such as hyperglycemia. Fathman said preliminary work done in his lab indicates an exquisite similarity to the gene-expression signatures found in the blood of humans with type-1 diabetes well before the onset of symptoms.
This finding may provide an early warning for pre-diabetics, Fathman said. “We need to know that people are on their way to diabetes before they get hyperglycemic or, better, even before their insulin-producing pancreas cells have taken a hit.” Plus, the newly identified genes in these clusters with orchestrated, disease-associated activity changes may, in their own right, point the way to new therapies, he said.
One matter still unresolved is exactly why a diabetic identical twin’s genes began acting differently from the non-diabetic twin’s in the first place. Fathman believes this may be due to random differences in exactly which part of some invading or internal pathogen the immune system responds to, with one response setting off the diabetes-causing gene-activity cascade while another doesn’t. His group is focused on unraveling this mystery.
Other study co-authors from the Fathman group are postdoctoral researchers Keiichi Kodama, MD, PhD; Hideyuki Iwai, MD, PhD; Luis Soares, PhD, (now in Brazil); and Deqiao Shen, PhD (now associate professor and vice president, Three Gorges University, China); and research associate Remi Creusot, PhD. Additional co-authors are Atul Butte, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and of pediatrics, and Mark Hartnett PhD, of Agilent Technologies, who provided microarray support. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health, as a part of the Cooperative Study Group for Autoimmune Disease Prevention.
Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions — Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. For more information, please visit the Web site of the medical center’s Office of Communication & Public Affairs at http://mednews.stanford.edu.
Contact:
Stanford University Medical Center
PRINT MEDIA:
Bruce Goldman, 650-725-2106
goldmanb@stanford.edu
or
BROADCAST MEDIA:
M.A. Malone, 650-723-6912
mamalone@stanford.edu
Source: Stanford University Medical Center
Early-onset diabetes, also known as type-1 diabetes, is an autoimmune disease, caused when the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in a person’s pancreas.
What triggers that immune response apparently has less to do with having a distinct set of gene variants than how the behavior of genes may differ in people with the disease. That is the finding of a study published in the November issue of Clinical Immunology, by Garry Fathman, MD, professor of immunology and rheumatology, and his colleagues.
The paper builds upon the knowledge that particular immune-system-related gene variants confer type-1 diabetes susceptibility. Many people have those genes, but only a fraction actually develop the disease. This has led many investigators to conduct exhaustive searches of the genome for other elusive genes that, when defective, may predispose someone to type-1 diabetes. Fathman suggests they may be on the wrong track.
Fathman explained it this way: “Take a pair of identical twins, with one having type-1 diabetes. Although both have precisely the same genes, roughly half the time the other twin doesn’t get the disease.” The same holds true for other autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, he added.
The situation, Fathman said, is reminiscent of the 1988 movie “Twins,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. They may have started out identical, but something diverged, somewhere. Fathman set out to find out what it was seven years ago, in what he described, tongue-in cheek, as “an interesting study that started at the dawn of history.”
Rather than try to implicate a faulty gene, Fathman’s team looked for genes in the diabetic twin that act differently from the same genes in the other twin who doesn’t get diabetes.
To do this, the Stanford researchers used two types of bioengineered mice that share a common genome, with just one key difference. So-called NOD mice (the acronym stands for “non-obese diabetic”) are extremely likely to get type-1 diabetes and have an immune-related gene variant closely resembling the one predisposing humans to the disease. The other strain of mice, known as NOD.B10, has had its chromosomal segment containing the troublesome gene variant replaced with another, harmless version. NOD.B10 mice never get type-1 diabetes.
The Stanford team compared the activity level (“gene-expression,” in scientific parlance) of each of the NOD mouse’s genes—all 35,000 of them— with that of its counterpart in the NOD.B10 animals. To make these comparisons as meaningful as possible, the researchers assembled the mice into groups of three to 10 and took samples from various tissues from each group at 10 days of age, then four, eight, 12, 16 and 20 weeks, always comparing like tissues from one mouse strain to the next at the same stage of life. This required the use of a sophisticated but increasingly commonplace hybrid between a microscope slide and a computer chip—called a microarray—that can emit fluorescent signals corresponding to the activity levels of each of the mouse’s genes.
By comparing the strength of the signal from any given gene from a particular tissue from NOD mice of a specific age to the corresponding gene in the NOD.B10 mice, it was possible to see which genes’ activity levels were turned up, or dialed down, throughout the course of disease progression including the earliest stages. The NOD.B1O mice served as controls; by monitoring their tissues, scientists could determine any changes in gene expression that were merely a matter of aging (20 weeks is a long time in the life of a mouse) or that merely reflected characteristics of different tissues were ignored in the analysis.
The results, said Fathman, were surprising. Most genes in any given tissue of the diabetes-prone NOD mice at any given time showed about the same activity levels as their disease-free NOD.B10 counterparts. But in each tissue the scientists monitored, certain clusters of genes in NOD-mice—including many genes never previously identified as germane to the disease process—seemed to participate in coordinated zigzags of swooping and soaring expression over time, when compared with their healthy NOD-B10 “twins.” These patterns varied from one tissue to the next and from time to time. But in any given tissue at any given time, they were remarkably consistent.
These time-dependent gene-expression “signatures” could be observed in the NOD mice’s peripheral blood, for example, well before the mice began to show characteristic signs of diabetes such as hyperglycemia. Fathman said preliminary work done in his lab indicates an exquisite similarity to the gene-expression signatures found in the blood of humans with type-1 diabetes well before the onset of symptoms.
This finding may provide an early warning for pre-diabetics, Fathman said. “We need to know that people are on their way to diabetes before they get hyperglycemic or, better, even before their insulin-producing pancreas cells have taken a hit.” Plus, the newly identified genes in these clusters with orchestrated, disease-associated activity changes may, in their own right, point the way to new therapies, he said.
One matter still unresolved is exactly why a diabetic identical twin’s genes began acting differently from the non-diabetic twin’s in the first place. Fathman believes this may be due to random differences in exactly which part of some invading or internal pathogen the immune system responds to, with one response setting off the diabetes-causing gene-activity cascade while another doesn’t. His group is focused on unraveling this mystery.
Other study co-authors from the Fathman group are postdoctoral researchers Keiichi Kodama, MD, PhD; Hideyuki Iwai, MD, PhD; Luis Soares, PhD, (now in Brazil); and Deqiao Shen, PhD (now associate professor and vice president, Three Gorges University, China); and research associate Remi Creusot, PhD. Additional co-authors are Atul Butte, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and of pediatrics, and Mark Hartnett PhD, of Agilent Technologies, who provided microarray support. The work was funded by the National Institutes of Health, as a part of the Cooperative Study Group for Autoimmune Disease Prevention.
Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions — Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. For more information, please visit the Web site of the medical center’s Office of Communication & Public Affairs at http://mednews.stanford.edu.
Contact:
Stanford University Medical Center
PRINT MEDIA:
Bruce Goldman, 650-725-2106
goldmanb@stanford.edu
or
BROADCAST MEDIA:
M.A. Malone, 650-723-6912
mamalone@stanford.edu
Source: Stanford University Medical Center
UPDATE 1-Bare Escentuals Q3 trails Street; 2008 outlook cut
* Q3 EPS 25 cents trails Street by 1 cent
* Q3 sales $130.2 mln lags est. $143.1 mln
* 2008 outlook cut on challenging consumer environment
* Shares down 24 pct
Cosmetics maker Bare Escentuals Inc (BARE.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted lower-than-expected third-quarter results and cut its 2008 outlook, citing a weak consumer environment and business trends, sending its shares down 24 percent. [ID:nWNAB5356]
The company, which sells skin care and body care products under the bareMinerals, RareMinerals and its namesake brands, expects sales and earnings growth of about 10 percent for fiscal-year 2008, including charges. [ID:nBw306170a]
The company reported earnings of 95 cents a share on revenue of $511.0 million in the 2007 financial year.
The San Francisco-based company had earlier forecast sales growth of 15 percent to 20 percent and earnings of about $1.13 to $1.18 a share for the current fiscal year.
Bare Escentuals, which competes with Elizabeth Arden Inc (RDEN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and larger rivals like Estee Lauder Cos Inc (EL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), posted net income of $22.9 million for the third quarter, compared with $20.5 million a year earlier.
Shares of the company were down at $5.25 in extended-hours trade, after closing at $6.87 Thursday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Dilipp S Nag in Bangalore; Editing by Pratish Narayanan)
* Q3 sales $130.2 mln lags est. $143.1 mln
* 2008 outlook cut on challenging consumer environment
* Shares down 24 pct
Cosmetics maker Bare Escentuals Inc (BARE.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted lower-than-expected third-quarter results and cut its 2008 outlook, citing a weak consumer environment and business trends, sending its shares down 24 percent. [ID:nWNAB5356]
The company, which sells skin care and body care products under the bareMinerals, RareMinerals and its namesake brands, expects sales and earnings growth of about 10 percent for fiscal-year 2008, including charges. [ID:nBw306170a]
The company reported earnings of 95 cents a share on revenue of $511.0 million in the 2007 financial year.
The San Francisco-based company had earlier forecast sales growth of 15 percent to 20 percent and earnings of about $1.13 to $1.18 a share for the current fiscal year.
Bare Escentuals, which competes with Elizabeth Arden Inc (RDEN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and larger rivals like Estee Lauder Cos Inc (EL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), posted net income of $22.9 million for the third quarter, compared with $20.5 million a year earlier.
Shares of the company were down at $5.25 in extended-hours trade, after closing at $6.87 Thursday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Dilipp S Nag in Bangalore; Editing by Pratish Narayanan)
Fitness Equipment Guru Launches New Fitness Equipment Site
Fitness Equipment Guru (www.FitnessEquipmentGuru.com), an eCommerce company that provides fitness equipment, nutritional products, customer reviews and content tailored to individuals over the age of forty, announced the launch of their site.
Fitness Equipment Guru provides various types of home fitness equipment at discount prices. In addition, customers are provided with a forum to review the equipment, allowing them to share feedback and collaborate with other buyers. Finally, the company also provides customized fitness and diet-related articles, tips and blog entries for the over 40 crowd.
The founder of Fitness Equipment Guru, Richard Spillane, noticed a need while looking for fitness programs and equipment tailored to him. “Our research indicates more and more people over 40 are working out and are looking to purchase fitness equipment for their home,” Spillane stated. “Many of them can’t find a one-stop site that offers fitness content tailored to their needs as well as fitness equipment. In addition, we want to provide a forum where they can connect with like-minded people while focusing on performance towards their personal health goals.”
“We not only provide excellent products for customers over 40, but we also provide an experience and educational content tailored to the older athlete.” Spillane goes on to say, “We noticed a gap in the marketplace for this crowd and believe we’re well-positioned to become the leading 'go to' site for their fitness-related equipment and questions.”
About Fitness Equipment Guru
FitnessEquipmentGuru.com provides fitness equipment products, targeted, unique content and nutritional solutions. FitnessEquipmentGuru.com is a resource for people over the age of 40 that are looking for state-of-the-art cardio and weight training equipment.
Contact:
Fitness Equipment Guru
David Jones, 877-535-5575
info@fitnessequipmentguru.com
Source: Fitness Equipment Guru
Fitness Equipment Guru provides various types of home fitness equipment at discount prices. In addition, customers are provided with a forum to review the equipment, allowing them to share feedback and collaborate with other buyers. Finally, the company also provides customized fitness and diet-related articles, tips and blog entries for the over 40 crowd.
The founder of Fitness Equipment Guru, Richard Spillane, noticed a need while looking for fitness programs and equipment tailored to him. “Our research indicates more and more people over 40 are working out and are looking to purchase fitness equipment for their home,” Spillane stated. “Many of them can’t find a one-stop site that offers fitness content tailored to their needs as well as fitness equipment. In addition, we want to provide a forum where they can connect with like-minded people while focusing on performance towards their personal health goals.”
“We not only provide excellent products for customers over 40, but we also provide an experience and educational content tailored to the older athlete.” Spillane goes on to say, “We noticed a gap in the marketplace for this crowd and believe we’re well-positioned to become the leading 'go to' site for their fitness-related equipment and questions.”
About Fitness Equipment Guru
FitnessEquipmentGuru.com provides fitness equipment products, targeted, unique content and nutritional solutions. FitnessEquipmentGuru.com is a resource for people over the age of 40 that are looking for state-of-the-art cardio and weight training equipment.
Contact:
Fitness Equipment Guru
David Jones, 877-535-5575
info@fitnessequipmentguru.com
Source: Fitness Equipment Guru
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