Lindsay (LNN): Lindsay Corporation is a snapback earnings play this week. Recently, Lindsay’s fiscal first-quarter profit rose 45 percent. For the three months ended Nov. 30, net income rose to $6.3 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with $4.4 million, or 36 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Operating income for Lindsay has grown from just $16 million in 2003 to over $62 million, with a compounded annual growth rate of 20% for the 5-year period. In total, for the full-year 2008, revenues are up $475 million compared to just $282 million in 2007---that’s an increase of over 65% in a single year. Domestic Irrigation revenues of $239M, up 63% from 2007,International Irrigation revenues of $136M, up 95% and Infrastructure revenues of $100M, up 53%. More importantly gross margins improved to 26.1% from 24.7% from last year. Operating costs dropped from 16.3% in 07 to 13% in 2008. Interestingly enough Lindsay has a very strong highway safety business, which fits right into Obama’s infrastructure plan. Here revenues have gone from just $12.1 million in 2003 to over $100.2 million in 2008 with operating income of $1.2 million in 2003 to over $16.7 million in 2008.

Suck in some Apollo option volatility, by selling/shorting the APOL $95 calls for 60 cents or so.

Worthington said it lost $159.5 million, or $2.02 a share, for the quarter ended Nov. 30, vs. a profit of $14.7 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. Worthington’s CEO John McConnell said: “We anticipated a softening in our markets and some headwinds as we entered the second quarter, but no one predicted the financial collapse that contributed to a massive and swift decline in steel prices and demand.” For full-year 2008, Worthington sold $1.5 billion worth of processed steel, with operating income of just $57 million, which equates to just 3.9% of total sales. EBITDA for the processed steel business has been relatively flat since 2006, at $85 million dollars for the past three years or so. Metal framing earned $789 million, with an operating loss of $7 million. This business is highly dependent on the spot price of steel and has seen declining EBITDA since 2006 at $63 million to just $10 million in 2008. Shares of Worthington, which closed down 10% or so after the company reported that horrific quarter, trade with a current P/E of 6.3, which is slightly above the industry average of 4.47%. Operating margins are 5.9% firm-wide, which is below the industry average of 14.4%, and gross margins are 13.3%, which is below the industry average of 21.1%. Astute investors shorted shares of Worthington ahead of its quarter, based on the company’s hidden economic exposure to the auto sector.

MON - the largest player in the space of food genomics. Even in a recession people need to eat and using the cylon food created by MON people around the world can eat cheaper and more. The global corn stocks to use, or the amount of corn stocks which can be sold right now, over the amount of corn that can be consumption ration is at its lowest level in 50 years. Just today MON says that between now and fiscal 2012, Monsanto expects the gross profit of its Seeds & Genomics segment to grow by more than 60%. For FY09 (ends Aug), Monsanto expects to achieve 20%-plus ongoing earnings growth and generate more than $1.8 bln in free cash. Worrying about genetic engineering with food is a luxury for good times but in bad times the world needs what MON has to offer. At 14x earnings and with RenTec picking up 3mm shares right with the stock at its lows, this is worth looking at.

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