LAKEWOOD - Roofing improvements to the George Nye Library and the Lakewood Youth Center are scheduled to begin in about two weeks, following the City Council's Tuesday night contract approval for the project.

Ten private companies submitted proposals on the work, and the Placentia- based Roofing Standards made the lowest bid at $115,200.

Western States Roofing Systems, of Northridge, the second lowest bidder at $166,600, however, had sent the city a protest letter saying Roofing Standards' estimate was below the actual cost to complete the work, according the agenda staff reports.

In her presentation, Director of Public Works Lisa Rapp addressed Western States' concerns with the council. Roofing Standards gave city staff an accurate bid verification, she said.

City staff also contacted the roofing consultant, who supplied the roofing materials cost sheet. The material cost was below the amount allocated by Roofing Standards' bid. The company also provided evidence of their intent to comply with the California Labor Codes for wages, she said.

Each contractor is responsible for determining its own material quantities, labor hours, overhead and profit percentage that comprise the total bid amount.

Roofing Standards is one of the few contractors certified by the roofing materials manufacturer to install the 20-year warrantied roofing system at the library and youth center, she said.

The roofing projects are

phillip.zonkel@presstelegram.com, 562-714-2098, twitter.com/zonkelpt

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Lakewood council approves roofing contract for library, youth center

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. ( BECN ) reported second-quarter 2012 earnings of 7 cents per share, easily beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 8 cents. Results improved compared to a loss of 13 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Increase in sales and gross margin contributed to the growth. However, the positives were partially offset by higher operating expenses and income tax provision as compared to 2011.

Operational Update

Total revenues increased 33.4% year over year to $395.2 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $346 million. Organic growth increased 28.2% in the quarter.

Residential roofing product sales improved 46.0% while non-residential roofing product sales increased 17.4% from the prior-year quarter. Sales benefited from improved re-roofing and remodeling activities including impact of weather conditions, along with stronger businesses in many markets that experienced storms during 2011 as well as average selling prices. Complimentary product sales increased 6.7% in the quarter.

Cost of goods sold increased 30.4% to $301.4 million in the quarter. Gross profit rose 43.7% to $93.7 million. Operating income in the reported quarter improved to $9.75 million from a loss of $6.83 million in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

Cash and cash equivalents were $171.1 million as of March 31, 2012, compared with $178.4 million as of March 31, 2011. Current portion of long-term debt amounted to $86.7 million as of March 31, 2012, compared with $9.1 million as of March 31, 2011.

Cash inflow from operating activities was $80.3 million during the second-quarter of 2012 compared with $68.8 million during the second-quarter of 2011. Cash flows in the first half of 2012 were positively impacted by higher net income, partially offset by less favorable changes in working capital.

In conclusion

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Beacon Roofing Shines in 2Q - Analyst Blog

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc.(BECN) is slated to report its second-quarter 2012 earnings results before the market opens on May 10. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is a loss of 8 cents per share, representing an estimated year-over-year increase of 41.26%.

First Quarter Synopsis

The company, in the first quarter, reported adjusted earnings of 39 cents a share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents and exceeding the year-ago quarter earnings of 22 cents. On a reported basis, earnings were 41 cents a share compared with 22 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues in the first quarter were $489.39 million, outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $475 million.

Beacons top line improvement largely stemmed fro the double-digit sales in most geographic regions.

Estimate Revision Trend

Agreement

Out of the 11 analysts covering the stock, none have revised their estimates for the second quarter in either direction over the last 7 and 30 days. A similar trend applies for fiscal 2012.

Magnitude

The Zacks Consensus Estimate remained the same for both the second quarter and fiscal 2012 over the last 7 and 30 days.

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Earnings Preview: Beacon Roofing

Cincinnati, OH - Carlisle SynTec Systems, a leading manufacturer and supplier of single-ply roofing systems and products recently honored The Holland Roofing Group, with the 2012 Excellence in Single-Ply Award. One of the most prestigious awards in the commercial roofing industry, ESP was created 15 years ago to identify and reward Carlisle's most successful contractor partners.

"Holland Roofing is one of only 18 contractors in North America to have achieved ESP status every year since the award's inception 15 years ago," said Nick Shears, Carlisle's vice president of sales and marketing. ESP status is awarded annually to a small percentage of Carlisle's most dedicated and professionally minded applicators. Selection into this elite group is based on a company's volume and quality of Carlisle single-ply roofing system installations.

About The Holland Roofing Group: Holland Roofing has been installing quality-roofing systems for over 25 years, specializing in new construction, roof replacement, roof repair and roof coatings. Holland Roofing is an award-winning, full-service commercial roofing company serving the Midwest and Southeastern regions of the United States with innovative roofing technology and superior customer service. Their extensive experience with a wide variety of roofing materials is the key to their ability to provide cost-effective solutions to their clients. And with fully developed system maintenance & asset management programs in place, Holland Roofing is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure customer satisfaction throughout the entire roofing process. To discuss a new roofing project, schedule an inspection of an existing roofing system or find out how you can benefit from the services offered at Holland Roofing call 877-455-ROOF or visit http://www.HollandRoofing.com

About Carlisle SynTec Systems: Carlisle SynTec, headquartered in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has been manufacturing single-ply membrane roofing systems for half a century. Carlisle SynTec is a business segment of Carlisle Construction Materials and has membrane manufacturing facilities in Carlisle, Pa; Greenville, Ill.; Senatobia, Miss.; and Tooele, Utah. For more information, call 800-479-6832 or visit http://www.carlislesyntec.com.

For More Information Contact: Brandon W. Peach Carlisle Creative Services 717-960-4420 Brandon.Peach@syntec.carlisle.com

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The Holland Roofing Group Receives Special Recognition from Leading Roofing Manufacturer

PEABODY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (the Company) (NASDAQ: BECN - News) announced results today for its second quarter and first half ended March 31, 2012 of the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012 (fiscal 2012).

Paul Isabella, the Companys President & Chief Executive Officer, stated: The positive momentum from our first quarter continued into our second quarter and we finished with record results for the first half of fiscal 2012. Our results for the second quarter and first half significantly exceeded our expectations and most of our regions are on track for a very successful year. Once again our company-wide residential and non-residential product sales in existing markets both showed double-digit percentage increases for the quarter, while our complementary product sales were up 7%. The much warmer winter conditions this year boosted roofing and exterior remodeling activities and seemed to accelerate the recent trend of increased residential re-roofing activities. In addition, our roofing businesses continued to benefit from industry-wide price increases, which mostly occurred during the second half of last year. Our commercial business has been consistently strong since the third quarter of fiscal 2010, and our year-over-year total gross margin and operating margin continued to improve. We were able to increase our cash holdings since our 2011 year-end and we utilized $79 million of that cash to pay down our term debt in April in connection with the closing on our new credit facility. The new credit facility, along with our further improved balance sheet, should enable us to accelerate our growth and we are confident that we will add additional quality companies this year that fit our target acquisition profile. We could not be more pleased with our first half performance and, although we will be up against much tougher comparisons, we expect to have a strong second half as well.

Second Quarter

Total sales increased 33.4% to $395.2 million in 2012 from $296.3 million in 2011. Existing market (organic) sales, which exclude branches acquired after the beginning of last years second quarter, increased 28.2%. In existing markets, residential and non-residential roofing product sales increased 46.0% and 17.4%, respectively, while complementary product sales increased 6.7%. Second quarter sales this year were favorably impacted by increased re-roofing and remodeling activities, including the impact from improved weather conditions and stronger business in several markets that experienced significant storms during the course of last fiscal year, and by higher average selling prices.

Net income for the second quarter was $3.1 million compared to a net loss of $6.2 million in 2011. Second quarter diluted net income per share was $0.07 compared to a net loss per share of $0.13 in 2011. The higher net income was due to the higher sales and gross margin rate, partially offset by the impact from higher operating expenses and a higher income tax provision compared to an income tax benefit in 2011.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation (Adjusted EBITDA), which are reconciled to the net income in this press release, were $17.8 million in 2012 compared to $0.9 million in 2011.

First Half

Total sales increased 26.2% to a record $885.0 million in 2012 from $701.1 million in 2011. Existing market sales increased 21.7%. In existing markets, residential and non-residential roofing product sales increased 34.2% and 16.2%, respectively, while complementary product sales increased 1.5%. Our first half sales this year were primarily impacted by the same favorable factors mentioned above for the second quarter.

Net income for the first half was a record $22.3 million compared to $3.9 million in 2011. First half diluted net income per share was a record $0.47 compared to $0.08 per share in 2011. The higher net income was due to the higher sales and gross margin rate, partially offset by the impact from higher operating expenses and a higher income tax provision.

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Beacon Roofing Supply Reports Second Quarter 2012 Results

Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc.(BECN) reported second-quarter 2012 earnings of 7 cents per share, easily beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 8 cents. Results improved compared to a loss of 13 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Increase in sales and gross margin contributed to the growth. However, the positives were partially offset by higher operating expenses and income tax provision as compared to 2011.

Operational Update

Total revenues increased 33.4% year over year to $395.2 million, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $346 million. Organic growth increased 28.2% in the quarter.

Residential roofing product sales improved 46.0% while non-residential roofing product sales increased 17.4% from the prior-year quarter. Sales benefited from improved re-roofing and remodeling activities including impact of weather conditions, along with stronger businesses in many markets that experienced storms during 2011 as well as average selling prices. Complimentary product sales increased 6.7% in the quarter.

Cost of goods sold increased 30.4% to $301.4 million in the quarter. Gross profit rose 43.7% to $93.7 million. Operating income in the reported quarter improved to $9.75 million from a loss of $6.83 million in the year-ago quarter.

Financial Position

Cash and cash equivalents were $171.1 million as of March 31, 2012, compared with $178.4 million as of March 31, 2011. Current portion of long-term debt amounted to $86.7 million as of March 31, 2012, compared with $9.1 million as of March 31, 2011.

Cash inflow from operating activities was $80.3 million during the second-quarter of 2012 compared with $68.8 million during the second-quarter of 2011. Cash flows in the first half of 2012 were positively impacted by higher net income, partially offset by less favorable changes in working capital.

In conclusion

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Beacon Roofing Shines in 2Q

When I was in AP Biology in high school, my fantastic teacher Mr. Backiel would occasionally favor us with what he termed a birdwalk. This basically meant an anecdote or story only tangentially related to what we were supposed to be studying. For example, a story about a whole family who died at Thanksgiving dinner when they ate three-bean salad that had been infected with a bacteria in the canning process. Obviously, these were the best class periods. What follows is a birdwalk of epic proportions*.

With the arrival of the playoffs and another chance at redemption-via-championship for LeBron James, the doubters and the cheerleaders are up in arms. With the Heat trailing as time wound down in Game 4 of the series against the Knicks, James wasnt the one with the ball in his hand. He didnt even touch the ball on the final play. For some, its just more evidence. Theyonly see him giving up the ball or not asserting himself and concluding that hes not the equal of Bryant or Michael Jordan. But what if hes the equal of Eric Clapton?

Seriously. Hear me out. Although not a high school phenom like James, Clapton joined the Yardbirds in 1963 at the age of 18 but after the Yardbirds scored a hit with For Your Love in 1965, they began pushing their sound more towards pop and Clapton left to join John Mayalls Bluesbreakers, with whom he recorded Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton. The album showcases Claptons prodigious guitar talent and contains several of what remain his finest guitar solos on tracks like Steppin Out and Have You Heard. As it was with LeBron James play for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, what became known as The Beano Album (because Clapton is reading a copy of the comic Beano on the cover) brought Clapton to national prominence. Some of James high school games were broadcast on national television, and it was difficult not to see what he could become, looking like a man among boys with tattoos covered up by decals. He seemed like the total package, in much the way that Clapton appeared ready to become and stay the best guitarist on the planet for some time.

Given his complete physical dominance of his high school competition, its possible that the notion of whether or not James had the killer instinct hes broadly felt to lack never really came up. It was perhaps just assumed. But Claptons greatest shortcoming was put on display midway through the second side of the Bluesbreakers debut when he took the mic from Mayall to perform Robert Johnsons Rambling On My Mind. Its not a terrible performance or anything; as people should remember when it comes to James, the average aspects of Claptons musical repertoire are far better than 95% of the populations. But in comparison to his muscular, ragged and often terrifying guitar work, his voice is tentative, polite.

When Clapton left the Bluesbreakers in 1966 to form Cream with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce, his reputation as a world-class guitarist only grew. In 1967, a scrawled CLAPTON IS GOD infamously appeared on the wall of an Underground station in Islington. His reputation as a game-changer was written almost from the start. And so it went with LeBron James, who notched 25 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in his NBA debut. But while Creams star rose on the backs of the combined effort and virtuosity of Bruce, Baker and Clapton, James Cleveland Cavaliers endured two lackluster seasons, missing out on the playoffs twice before advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in his third year and losing to the Detroit Pistons in seven games. During James first few years in Cleveland, there was little opportunity for anyone to question his heart simply because he wasnt in a position to make a difference to his team in the playoffs. Although Jack Bruce was undeniably the lead singer of Cream and a fabulously talented vocalist, Claptons confidence in his own voice improved with Cream and he stepped up to sing lead on many of Creams best-known songs, including Strange Brew, Badge, Crossroads and co-lead on the biggest hit, Sunshine of Your Love. Its telling that on the live version of Crossroads from Wheels of Fire that Bruce introduces Clapton at the end of the tune as Eric Clapton, lead vocals. That pause there says a lot about how Clapton was thought of at the time: a guitarist first, vocalist second.

By now it should be clear that theres more than one problem with the analogy Im working with. The most glaring one is that the goal in professional sports is very clear cut: a championship is what marks a player as great. Its a lot more muddy in the musical world. A Grammy? Cream didnt win a Grammy until 2006 and that was a Lifetime Achievement Award. Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Who and many, many others have never won a Grammy. Sales? Creams third album, Wheels of Fire, was the first double-album to go platinum. And yet Cream were only together a little over two years before they broke up at the height of their powers in 1968. A large part of it was the ongoing contentiousness between Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker (which stretched back to their time in Cream-precursor The Graham Bond Organisation), but Clapton was also growing tired of the giant expectations that were being inspired by the groups success and the fact that they barely listened to one another while playing live. To all outsiders, it must have looked like Cream had won whatever you could call the championship of music, but to Clapton remained musically dissatisfied and so the band called it quits in 1969.

Their loss in the NBA Finals to the champion San Antonio Spurs in 2006-07 inspired a similar rebuild by the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the trade deadline in 2008, the team shipped out players including Donyell Marshall, Shannon Brown, Drew Gooden, and Larry Hughes in exchange for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, Joe Smith, and Ben Wallace. But neither this lineup, nor any of the ones that were tweaked for the two years after (which included bringing in players like Antawn Jamison and Shaquille ONeal), could climb the mountain and bring home the NBA Championship. It was over these three years, from the 2007-08 season to the 2009-10 season, that the rumbles about James inability to lead his team to a championship started. Even as his personal numbers grew to near-legendary levels, he continued to falter on the leagues biggest stagethe playoffsand the storm clouds of his departure began to loom.

In spite of his misgivings about the course that Creams career had taken, Clapton went from one supergroup to another in 1969. Hed long admired singer/keyboardist Steve Winwood and so he approached him about forming the group that would become Blind Faith. Winwood was, in a way, the Shaquille ONeal of this analogyan experienced player with his own success brought in as a counterweight. And as it went with the re-tooled Cavaliers, the expectations for Blind Faith were skyhigh immediately. When the group (with Ginger Baker once again on drums and Rick Grech on bass) made their concert debut in Hyde Park on June 7, 1969, it was in front of 100,000 people. As James discovered when Shaq came to the Cavs, its never as simple as just plugging people in. Blind Faith only had a handful of songs and the set devolved into lengthy jamsone of the things Clapton had wanted to leave behind with Creamand the crowd roared their approval. When the group embarked on a U.S. tour in the summer of 1969, there were riots, and Clapton found himself a victim of the same kind of success and pressures that had brought down Cream. He had sought to spread the responsibility out (as a singer, he had once again retreated, with Winwood handling all the vocals on the groups self-titled debut), but the expectations had only increased. In somewhat the same way, all the additions and mini-rebuilds in Cleveland had been undertaken for the purpose of building a supporting cast around James to help him share the burden, but every addition of a former All-Star or future Hall-of-Famer only made the teams failures in the playoffs more acute.

And so James left Cleveland in a very public and fairly brutal way, joining up with his friends Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat. Theres no end to the ways this has been dissected and discussed, but it seems the end of Blind Faith was altogether more of a whimper than a bang. During the groups only American tour, Clapton struck up a friendship with the opening act, Delaney & Bonnie. With the dissolution of the ill-fated supergroup, Clapton joined that group as a sideman, eventually using their rhythm sectionbassist Carl Radle, drummer Jim Gordon, and keyboardist/vocalist Bobby Whitlockto start Derek and the Dominos.

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LeBron James and Other Assorted Love Songs

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

By: Lynn Elber, The Associated Press

10/05/2012 6:31 PM | Comments: 0

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FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2011 file photo, singer Britney Spears performs on a stage during a concert in Moscow, Russia, during her European tour. A source says she is joining Simon Cowell's singing contest as a judge on the singing competition series "The X-Factor." (AP Photo, file)

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Britney Spears is coming to the rescue of Fox's "The X Factor," the singing contest in search of a ratings boost.

The Grammy-winning pop star has signed on as a judge for the show's second season, a person familiar with the deal said Thursday. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A call to Spears' publicist seeking comment was not immediately returned.

"The X Factor" debuted last fall to ratings that fell short of creator Simon Cowell's sky-high predictions. The show's slate was wiped nearly clean in January when judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger exited along with host Steve Jones.

That left Cowell and music producer Antonio "L.A." Reid as judges on "X Factor," which is based on Cowell's hit U.K. series.

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AP source: Britney Spears to join 'X Factor'; singing contest still short 1 judge, host

After the 2-1 win last night, the seventh seeded Washington Capitals have forced a game seven against the top seeded New York Rangers in round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Despite the inspirational story of how the Capitals have gotten here, we must first look at why they finished seventh in the first place.

For years, the Capitals have been one of most dominant regular season teams, handily leading the Southeast division.

After getting swept by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round last year, Washington went on to acquire Joel Ward and Tomas Vokoun in the offseason. Because of those additions, it was expected that the Caps would once again be a top contender this year.

Unfortunately, a series of injuries to Mike Green limited him to just 22 regular season games, and a serious concussion halfway through the year removed Nicklas Backstrom for the remainder. With those injuries, the high expectations for the season quickly shifted to a desperate fight to reach the playoffs; resulting in a seventh place finish.

As the regular season came to an end, the Caps were faced with two more significant injuries (without these two they would be on the golf course right now). These two injuries were the ones to Tomas Vokoun and Michal Neuvirththe injuries that forced the team to start the playoffs with their third string goalie, Braden Holtby.

The young Holtby dominated the first round against the Boston Bruins. After a hard-fought seven-game series with both Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom back in the lineup, and an overtime goal by Joel Ward, the Capitals advanced to the second round.

Now, with Green, Backstrom and Holtby all at the top of their game, the "underdog" Washington Capitals have an opportunity to knock out the best team in the East.

The deciding game is slated for a 7:30PM ET start on Saturday, May 12th. Because of the players listed in this article, I am predicting a Capitals win. Braden Holtby is the real deal; with more composure and consistency than we've seen from a goaltender his age in years. In addition, each game further into the playoffs, Backstrom and Green get that much closer to the dominant stars we know they can be. In game six, all three, along with captain Alex Ovechkin were game-changers, and I wouldn't expect anything less on Saturday.

If they do lose, however, it's not a season to be forgotten. This team battled through bad injuries to key players and a coaching change to make the playoffs. In which they started their third string goalie and completely altered their game style to knock out the Cup Champions. They also went on to bring the No. 1 seeded Rangers to the brink of elimination.

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NHL Playoffs 2012: Washington Capitals Are Where They Are Because of Injuries

By David Fickling and Andrea Tan - Thu May 10 06:18:41 GMT 2012

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. (ST), Southeast Asias biggest phone company, may buy non-phone businesses in China, India or the U.S. as it shifts focus from slower-growing core markets in Singapore and Australia.

SingTel, as the company is known, may raise its stakes in associates in Asia and Africa and make other strategic investments, the carrier said in a statement today, while reporting a 30 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit. Net income climbed to S$1.29 billion ($1 billion) in the three months ended March 31, beating the S$966 million average of seven analysts estimates, helped by a one-time tax credit.

The Singapore-based carrier plans to boost investments in emerging markets and add businesses at its digital services division as the Optus unit in Australia faces continued intense competition and growth slows at home. The company would benefit from acquiring operations such as mobile advertising, according to Carey Wong, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research Pte. in Singapore.

Being a pure carrier doesnt cut it at this stage, Wong said before the earnings announcement. SingTel needs to come up with something new that can monetize the changing trends were seeing among consumers.

SingTel rose 1.6 percent to S$3.21 as of 2:05 p.m. in Singapore, poised for its highest close since Dec. 12, while the benchmark Straits Times Index (FSSTI) fell 0.2 percent. The stock had gained 2.3 percent this year up to yesterdays close, trailing a 9.6 percent climb by the index.

The carrier, which in March announced an agreement to acquire Redwood City, California-based mobile advertising company Amobee Inc. for $321 million, said it planned to add assets at its Digital Life division.

When we look at acquiring the technology know how in the start up space, we could be looking at quite a few different places, Chief Executive Officer Chua Sock Koong told a media conference in Singapore today. It could be startups in Silicon Valley, California or in countries such as India and China, she said.

Group revenue at the Singapore and Australia operations are forecast to grow at low single-digit rates this year while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization may be stable, SingTel said. Dividends from associates in Asia and Africa are expected to grow, it said.

SingTel owns all of its domestic business and Optus, Australias second-largest phone company, and has minority stakes in associated carriers in more than 10 countries in Asia and Africa.

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SingTel Fourth-Quarter Profit Rises 30%, Beats Estimates