(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)

Late on Wednesday, Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE: AGO) announced that its fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to $243.8 million, or $2.68 a share compared to a loss of $260.1 million, or $3.77 a share in the corresponding quarter, a year ago. Operating income, which excludes after-tax realized investment losses and after-tax unrealized losses on credit derivatives, plunged to $3.5 million, or 4 cents a share from $37 million, or 53 cents a share. Analysts expected the company to earn one cent a share. President and Chief Executive Officer Dominic Frederico commented “Assured’s long-standing focus on disciplined underwriting and proactive risk management helped protect our Company from the catastrophic losses experienced by so many other leading financial institutions this year.”

Circor International Inc. (NYSE: CIR) swung to a fourth-quarter net loss of $110.1 million or $6.52 a share, compared to profit of $10.1 million or 60 cents a share in the prior year quarter. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $19.0 million or $1.12 a share, compared to $9.5 million or 56 cents a share. Revenue rose to $202.0 million from $174.5 million. Analysts on average were looking for earnings of 81 cents a share on revenue of $194.93 million. Looking ahead, for the first quarter, the company expects to report earnings in the range 56 cents to 68 cents a share and revenue in the range of $170 million to $176 million. Commenting on the results, President and CEO Bill Higgins said "We entered 2009 with the goal of emerging from the global recession stronger than our competitors," said Higgins. "Even though we expect to face significant headwinds as a result of slowdowns in many end markets in both segments, we are well positioned for these challenging times. Our strong balance sheet, commitment to further enhancing our culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement and a diversified business portfolio should enable Circor to capture market opportunities and maintain a high quality of earnings in 2009." Circor rose 4.15% in extended trading.

Donaldson Co. Inc. (NYSE: DCI) reported that fiscal second quarter profit slipped to $33.8 million or 43 cents a share from $34.1 million or 42 cents a share in the comparable quarter, a year ago. Revenue decreased to $460.6 million from $511.8 million. Consensus expectations were for earnings of 42 cents a share on revenue of $502.09 million for the quarter. Chairman, President and CEO Bill Cook stated "The drop in our sales volume was widespread, particularly in our Engine Products segment. We did see continued strong sales in our aerospace and defense, retrofit emissions, and gas turbine businesses, which helped to offset the weaknesses in our other end markets." Shares of the company tumbled 8% in late trading.

Express Scripts Inc.