ZEELAND, Mich., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gentex Corporation
(Nasdaq: GNTX), the Zeeland, Michigan-based manufacturer of automatic-dimming
automotive rearview mirrors and commercial fire protection products, today
announced that its Board of Directors approved a 13 percent increase in its
quarterly cash dividend rate from $0.15 to $0.17 per share. The Board
subsequently declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share that will
be payable October 21, 2004, to shareholders of record of the common stock at
the close of business on October 7, 2004. The ex-dividend date is October 5,
2004. Due to the required period of time for the settlement of stock trades,
this means that a holder must have purchased shares of Gentex common stock on
or before October 4, 2004, in order to receive this cash dividend.
"This increase in our cash dividend rate signifies our confidence in the
Company's future growth prospects, despite the fact that we sell our auto-
dimming mirrors into the automotive market, which can be and has been
unpredictable this year," said Gentex Executive Vice President Garth Deur.
"The third quarter of each year has historically been the weakest
seasonally and the most uncertain, since the automakers in North America and
Europe typically schedule at least a two-week summer shutdown at their vehicle
assembly plants. This year, some North American and European assembly plants
extended their regularly scheduled shutdowns to address excess inventory of
certain vehicle models. For the month of July, total North American light
vehicle production declined by a greater-than-expected 11 percent.
"The decline in vehicle production, coupled with some last-minute
inventory adjustments at certain of the tier one suppliers to whom we ship
exterior mirrors, resulted in lower-than-expected mirror unit shipments for
Gentex during the month of July. J.D. Power also reduced its light vehicle
production forecast for North America and Western Europe for the remainder of
the quarter. The cumulative effect of these factors has resulted in a
reduction to our auto-dimming mirror unit shipment growth forecast from 15
percent to approximately ten percent for the third quarter."
The Company's expectation of 15 percent unit shipment growth for the
fourth quarter remains unchanged, according to Deur.
"We believe that the 'Big Three' automakers made good progress during July
in significantly reducing the high level of vehicle inventories they had been
carrying."
Deur stated that the reduction in mirror unit volume, coupled with the
introduction of several new automated manufacturing processes and related
start-up costs, may place some short-term pressure on the Company's
manufacturing margins.
"We have experienced higher-than-expected start-up costs. It's difficult
to predict with a high degree of accuracy what impact change will have when
you're implementing something for the first time," said Deur. "The good news
is that the anticipated longer term impact of these improvements will be
important competitive advantages in the auto-dimming mirror market."
Certain matters discussed in this news release, including the impact of
auto-dimming mirror unit shipment projections and estimates and the impact of
manufacturing improvements, are forward-looking statements which involve
certain risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various
market, industry and other important factors. The Company cautions investors
that numerous factors (some of which are outlined in the Company's Form 10-K
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other interim reports)
and future events may affect the Company's actual results, and may cause those
results to differ materially from those expressed in this news release.
Furthermore, Gentex undertakes no obligation to update, amend, or clarify
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future
events, or otherwise.
Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (The Nasdaq Stock Market: GNTX) is an
international company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide
automotive industry and North American fire protection market. Based in
Zeeland, Michigan, the Company develops, manufactures and markets interior and
exterior automatic-dimming automotive rearview mirrors that utilize
proprietary electrochromic technology to dim in proportion to the amount of
headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps. Many of the mirrors are sold
with advanced electronic features, and more than 95 percent of the Company's
revenues are derived from the sales of auto-dimming mirrors to nearly every
major automaker in the world.
SOURCE Gentex Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.gentex.com
CONTACT:
Connie Hamblin of Gentex Corporation,
+1-616-772-1800
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