STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Kloeckner & Co gains on Q2, guidance

LONDON, August 15 (Reuters) - STOCKS NEWS Reuters Results diary

Stocks on the move [HOT-RTRS] Real-time Equity News [E] [WEU/EQUITY]


09:12GMT 13Aug2008
Kloeckner & Co gains on Q2, guidance

Shares in Kloeckner & Co. <KCOGn.DE> rise as much as 4.9 percent after the German metals trader reports strong second quarter results and raises its profit target.

The company says the steel and steel distribution industries were able to decouple themselves from economic downturn in various regions of the world.

During a conference call, the company declines to comment on possible targets for 2009, but says the outlook remains positive thanks to steel demand for infrastructure although growth rates may slow.

Commerzbank keeps its 'buy' rating on the stock and says the new guidance is 'reassuring given recent market concerns about material prices,' while UniCredit says the company is clearly undervalued when considering its growth prospects.

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09:03GMT 13Aug2008
Arcandor falls after profit warning, T.Cook down 5 pct

Shares in Arcandor <AROG.DE> fall to the bottom of the MDAX <.MDAXI> after the German tourism and retail group issues a profit warning.

Shares fall 5.4 percent as the MDAX retreats 0.2 percent.

'There is only negative newsflow today,' says one analyst.

Arcandor lowers its outlook for 2008/2009 after posting a 20 percent fall in adjusted third-quarter core earnings as losses at its Kartadt department stores widened.

Shares in Arcandor's travel business, Thomas Cook <TCG.L>, slump 5 percent.

'How can one be upbeat about an economy that is very brittle,' says one trader on Thomas Cook. 'Why would folk buy holidays when they are uncertain about the future?'

Investec cuts its earnings forecasts for Thomas Cook, citing exchange rate effects, a weakened German airline business, and a significantly higher interest rate charge than previously anticipated.

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08:48GMT 13Aug2008-Q
Cells shares rise on improved outlook, strong Q2

Shares in Q-Cells <QCEG.DE> rise 3 percent after the world's largest solar cell maker raises its outlook as it reports a 35 percent advance in quarterly operating profit thanks to strong business in India and North America.

'Q-Cells delivered an excellent set of fist-half results,' says Sebastian Zank, analyst at WestLB, who upgrades the stock to 'buy' from 'add' and confirms his price target of 85 euros.

Analysts are particularly impressed by Q-Cells strong sales growth outside of Spain, which may see slower growth due to a revision of its subsidy scheme.

'Q-Cells showed in the second quarter that it is able to shift its sales to other markets where the company reduced its dependency on the Spanish market to around 20 percent but further increased its export quota to over 70 percent,' Zank adds.

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08:32GMT Aug132008
Insurer Sampo dives on weak Q2

Finnish Sampo <SAMAS.HE> shares fall 5.6 percent to 16.32 euros after the insurer reports disappointing April-June results, due to weak investment income in its Property & Casualty (P&C) unit.

'The results fell quite a bit short of expectations,' says Handelsbanken analyst Matti Ahokas. 'The reported investment income in (the) P&C unit was worse than expected, but it was partly due to one-time factors.'

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08:29GMT 13Aug2008
ASML rises on Applied Materials outlook

Shares in Dutch chip equipment maker ASML <ASML.AS> rise as much as 5 percent after the world's no.1 computer chip equipment producer Applied Materials <AMAT.O> gives an upbeat outlook and says the ongoing slump in the industry appears to be ending.

'The guidance for orders was strong,' says one trader in Amsterdam.

Despite posting sharply lower quarterly profit on Tuesday, Applied Materials' Chief Executive Michael Splinter said its just-reported third quarter was likely 'the trough in semiconductor equipment orders and revenue.'

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