Ormat Reports 1st Quarter 2008 Results

Why this took so long to come out, I am not quite sure, but here are the 1st quarter 2008 results for Ormat Technologies ticker NYSE:(ORA).

The Company reported net income of $10.1 million, or $0.24 per share of common stock (basic and diluted), as compared to a net loss of $5.8 million, or $0.15 per share of common stock (basic and diluted), for the first quarter of 2007. This smashed analyst's estimates of $0.18 per share!

On the revenue side though they came in a little light, revenues for the first quarter were $69.4 million, versus $61.7 million for the first quarter of 2007, an increase of 12.4%. This trailed analyst's estimates of 76.5 million.

Ormat's Board of Directors approved the payment of a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share pursuant to the Company's dividend policy, which targets an annual payout ratio of at least 20% of the Company's net income, subject to Board approval. The dividend will be paid on May 27, 2008 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 20, 2008. The Company expects to pay a dividend of $0.05 per share in the next two quarters as well.

Here is what the big bosses had to say...

Dita Bronicki, Chief Executive Officer of Ormat, stated: "The first quarter performance was in line with our expectations for 2008 and highlighted our improved operating performance, increase in our overall generating capacity and improvement in power prices in certain projects.

"Since the beginning of the first quarter, we declared commercial operation for the Galena 3 and Heber South projects and continued to make progress on our exploration work to secure geothermal resources for 2010 and beyond. Also during the quarter, we strengthened our products backlog signing three EPC agreements for a total amount of over $100 million, consisting of one geothermal and two recovered energy generation power plants, out of which approximately $50 million are still subject to a Notice to Proceed. We expect to add an additional 174 MW by the end of 2009 from projects that are currently under construction, including Olkaria and Brawley," Ms. Bronicki continued.

Commenting on the outlook for 2008, Ms. Bronicki said, "Following our first quarter earnings results, we maintain our guidance for 2008 and expect our 2008 Electricity Segment revenues to be approximately $245 million. We also expect an additional approximately $9 million of revenues from our share of electricity revenues generated by Mammoth that is accounted for under the equity method. With regard to our Products Segment, we maintain our guidance for 2008 revenues and expect them to be between $70 million and $80 million."

Ms. Bronicki concluded, "We are excited with the progress we have made this quarter, especially in recovered energy generation, which has experienced increasing interest as the need for energy efficiency begins to play a greater role in combating global warming."

We will have to see what tomorrow brings for this stock as it did not appear to be traded after the earnings were released...

To see all of our posts on Ormat Technologies including an in-depth analysis click here!

Another Yummy Quarter From Yum Brands

Yum Brands Inc. (yum) the world's largest restaurant chain which owns Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and A & W restaurants announced a 31% jump in quarterly profit today April 22, 2008. Of course, growth was fueled by China were they saw 12% year over year growth!

Things will only be getting stronger for Yum Brands in China were they open up a KFC every single day of the year! Not only do the Chinese people love KFC, but the upcoming Olympics should also bode well for them, as Westerners will flock to the restaurants they know in China like KFC and Taco Bell.

Let get to the numbers, first-quarter net income rose to $254 million, or 50 cents per share compared to $194 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier.

Earnings per share were 42 cents a share after backing out a gain from the sale of KFC in Japan, analysts were looking for 40 cents, so they beat that handily, even in this tough economic environment. Revenues for the quarter were $2.4 billion up from $2.2 billion.

One of the more promising signs from the earnings from Yum Brands was that they posted growth at established restaurants in the United States, reversing year-earlier declines and quelling fears that a slowdown in the US would hurt Yum's bottom line.

Yum Brands (yum) also raised its forecast for 2008 per-share earnings to $1.87 from $1.85, another encouraging sign from the fast food giant!


Of course, here at Stock Picky we have been behind this slow moving giant for quite some time now. Sure, it is not the most exciting stock to watch, but it pays a decent dividend of 0.15 cents per share or a 1.56% dividend yield. Nothing too exciting, but this company still has a lot of room to grow not just in China, but all over the world! Everyone knows about KFC, Taco Bell, A & W and Pizza Hut, they are strong brands that will always draw in customers time and time again as they spread across the globe.

Yum Brands is a great long term investment for anyone who wants own a stock they don't have to watch every day. For more reasons to own Yum Brands check out Yum Brands in China.

Google Blows Out The Numbers!

Nervous Google investors got a big reassurance as Google (goog) reported 1st quarter earnings per share today 4-17-08 of $4.84 per share. The analysts were looking for $4.52 per share. Gross revenue rose 42 percent to $5.19 billion, analysts were looking for $5.13 billion.

With the ridiculous news coming out of comscore a few weeks back, the stock was punished for inaccurate comscore's paid click data. If you were paying attention you would know that Google had already told us that they were reducing bad clicks, and that there click data could suffer, but that it would generate higher revenue per paid click. Obviously, they were correct and comscore now has zero credibility! Here is a couple highlights from the quarter...

• Revenue growth of 42% Y/Y and 7% Q/Q
– Google properties revenue growth of 49% Y/Y and 9% Q/Q
– Network revenues increased 25% Y/Y and 3% Q/Q
– Growth in international markets continued to be strong, with $2.7 billion in Q1 international revenue

• Operational Highlights
– Improvements in search quality remain key focus
– Continued ads quality initiatives to show users better, more relevant ads
– Increasing value for advertisers and publishers with broader and deeper solutions

• Acquisition of DoubleClick gives Google the leading display ad platform
– Strong Apps traction and addition of functionality to Google Apps suite of products

Take a look a these slides from their earnings report and let me know if you notice a pattern...

Google's Quarterly Revenue Growth Graph

Google's US Vs. International Revenue Growth

In summary, I have been behind Google since very near the beginning and their growth has still only just begun the way I see it. If you have been waiting on the sidelines to jump in now is the time. Google's stock has been beaten down with the rest of the market unfairly, and they have silenced all the critics with this beat. The shorts are running to cover as Google is up over $80 in after hours!

Internet advertising and mobile advertising are the waves of the future because of their unique ability to target. This makes a for great return on investment for advertisers which is exactly what they are all looking for. The advertising market is estimated at 1 trillion dollars and Google is only going to capture more of that quarter after quarter, year after year. One of the best long term investments out there.

Think about this, many analysts had lowered their first-quarter estimates by 12 cents a share on average. So, 1st quarter 2008 earnings still beat by those lofty analyst's targets by 0.20 cents! Those same analysts that have price targets as high as $900... Google still beat them. This story is far from over...

For more reasons to own Google check out these posts...

Yahoo Tests Outsourcing Search To Google

The Google Checkout Effect

Google Misses By A Penny, Does It Matter In The Long Term?

Stock Outlook 2008

The Real Winner Of Cyber Monday Is...

Or you can view all of them on one page here!