CUDAHY, Wis., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ladish Co., Inc.
(Nasdaq: LDSH) (http://www.ladishco.com) today reported 2003 net income was $0.019
million on sales of $179.9 million. During the fourth quarter of 2003 the
Company experienced a ($0.06) loss per share, largely attributable to a
decrease in sales, a charge for a retirement incentive and an inventory
adjustment, partially offset by an export tax credit.
Ladish will host a conference call on Monday, February 2, 2004 at 9:00
a.m. EST to discuss the Company's performance for 2003. The telephone number
to call to participate in the conference call is (800) 362-0571.
For the Three Months For the Twelve Months
(Dollars in thousands, Ended December 31, Ended December 31,
except earnings per share) 2003 2002 2003 2002
Net sales $41,343 $44,289 $179,927 $188,544
Cost of goods 40,845 42,763 169,999 176,163
Gross profit 498 1,526 9,928 12,381
SG&A 2,170 2,353 8,724 9,085
Operating income (1,672) (827) 1,204 3,296
Interest expense & other 579 360 2,151 1,616
Pretax income (loss) (2,251) (1,187) (947) 1,680
Taxes (benefit) (1,445) (983) (966) 49
Net income (loss) $(806) $(204) $19 $1,631
Basic earnings per share ($0.06) ($0.02) $0.00 $0.13
Basic weighted average
shares outstanding 13,023,393 13,023,393 13,023,393 13,002,224
Diluted earnings per share ($0.06) ($0.02) $0.00 $0.12
Diluted weighted average
shares outstanding 13,023,393 13,023,393 13,057,703 13,113,203
December 31,
(Dollars in thousands) 2003 2002
Cash $10,981 $8,959
Accounts receivable 29,683 32,237
Inventory 43,845 45,849
Capital expenditures 4,259 11,475
Total Assets $216,642 $225,810
Accounts payable $13,205 $17,134
Senior debt 30,000 30,000
Pensions 9,120 11,993
Postretirement benefits 39,811 41,056
Stockholders' equity $116,723 $118,369
"We believe 2003 represented the bottom of the trough for the aerospace
cycle as it relates to Ladish. Our focus throughout the year was to
streamline our processes and reduce our costs while still meeting our
customers' needs," says Kerry L Woody, Ladish's President and CEO. "The
results for the year were negatively impacted by reduced sales and
underabsorbed costs, start-up costs on new programs, retirement incentives and
unusually high legal and external administrative expenses. Given the impact
upon Ladish of the downturn in the commercial aerospace industry in 2003, we
focused our efforts on reducing the cost structure of the operations for the
near and long term. In addition, we were able to conclude six new labor
agreements which cover all of the production employees at our Wisconsin
facility."
Looking forward to 2004, Woody remarked, "Based upon the build forecasts
of our customer base, we do not anticipate a significant recovery in the
commercial aerospace market during the year. However, our new order volume in
2003 and year ending contract backlog both showed significant improvement over
year end 2002. Also, the success we had in 2003 in reducing our cost
structure and on improving our responsiveness to our customers should enable
us to leverage these gains for improvements in profitability and cash
generation in 2004. With our 100th anniversary rapidly approaching, we are
mindful of the fact Ladish has managed through difficult cycles before and we
will emerge from the current downturn in a position to take advantage of the
recovery."
Ladish Co., Inc. is a leading producer of highly engineered, technically
advanced components for the jet engine, aerospace and general industrial
markets. Ladish is headquartered in Cudahy, Wisconsin with operations in
Wisconsin, Oregon and Connecticut. Ladish common stock trades on Nasdaq under
the symbol LDSH.
This release includes forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in
them. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
anticipated slowdowns in the company's major markets, the impact of
competition, the effectiveness of operational changes expected to increase
efficiency and productivity, worldwide economic and political conditions and
the effect of foreign currency fluctuations.
SOURCE Ladish Co., Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.ladishco.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/131444.html
CONTACT:
Wayne E. Larsen of Ladish Co., Inc.,
+1-414-747-2935, +1-414-747-2890 Fax; or William J. Libby of
Libby Communications, +1-203-431-8480, +1-203-431-6132 Fax, for
Ladish Co.
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