American Ecology Corporation (NASDAQ: ECOL) reported that the revenues for the third quarter of 2008 increased 4% to $41.1 million, up from $39.4 million in the same quarter last year. Net income was $4.3 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2008, compared to net income of $4.5 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, in the third quarter last year. Disposal volumes in the first nine months of 2008 climbed to 931,000 tons, a 15% increase over the same period in 2007. The resulting operating leverage drove gross profit to $37.0 million for the first nine months of 2008, up 11% from gross profit of $33.4 million in the first nine months of 2007. Based on year-to-date performance and fourth quarter outlook, the Company is narrowing its 2008 earnings guidance to $1.17 to $1.20 per diluted share from its initial range of $1.17 to $1.23 per diluted share. The Company had declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per common share for stockholders earlier.
Amerigon (NASDAQ: ARGN) reported that the revenues for this year's third quarter were $16.6 million, up from $15.9 million for last year's third quarter. Net income for this year's third quarter was $648,000, or $0.03 per share, compared with net income in last year's third quarter of $3.1 million, or $0.14 per basic and $0.13 per diluted share. This year's third quarter results included year-over-year increases in research and development expenses of $603,000 due to increased research activities associated with the Company's advanced TE program and lower research and development reimbursements combined with costs associated with a number of new vehicle programs. An important non-automotive application that the company intends to launch my mid next year is the line of heated and cooled sleep systems using Amerigon's TE technology that is being developed in partnership with Sealy Corporation (NYSE: ZZ). Gross margin as a percentage of revenue for the 2008 third quarter was 29.1 percent compared with 32.5 percent in the year-earlier period, primarily attributable to higher raw material costs and a change in the mix of products. The Company expects product revenues in the 2008 fourth quarter to be between $14 million and $15 million and for the full year revenues are expected to be flat to marginally up over 2007. This compares with the Company's prior guidance of a 10 to 20 percent year-over-year increase for 2008.