MIAMI, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R), a
global leader in transportation and supply chain management solutions,
announced today that its board of directors has authorized a new share
repurchase program, under which Ryder is authorized to repurchase up to
$175 million of outstanding Ryder common stock over a period not to exceed two
years. Based on Ryder's current stock price, $175 million represents
approximately 8% of the Company's total shares outstanding.
"This program is consistent with our commitment to deliver value to
shareholders through sales growth, margin improvement and a more efficient
capital structure. The Company remains well positioned to grow the business
and take advantage of strategic opportunities," said Ryder Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer Tracy Leinbach.
The share repurchase program announced today replaces all unused
repurchase authority remaining under the share repurchase plan approved by the
board of directors in July 2004. The new program provides more flexibility
than the previous program, which was limited to mitigating the dilutive impact
of shares issued under the Company's various employee stock option and
employee stock purchase plans. A total of 2.4 million shares of Ryder's
common stock were repurchased under the previous program at an average price
of $43.98 per share.
Share repurchases will be made periodically in open-market transactions,
and are subject to market conditions, legal requirements and other factors.
Additionally, Ryder management has been granted authority to establish a
trading plan under Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as part
of the repurchase program. This will allow the Company to repurchase shares
in the open market during periods in which the stock trading window is
otherwise closed for the Company. As of September 30, 2005, the Company had
64.2 million shares of common stock outstanding.
About Ryder
Ryder provides leading-edge transportation, logistics and supply chain
management solutions worldwide. Ryder's product offerings range from full
service leasing, commercial rental and programmed maintenance of vehicles to
integrated services such as dedicated contract carriage and carrier
management. Additionally, Ryder offers comprehensive supply chain solutions,
consulting, lead logistics management services and e-Business solutions that
support customers' entire supply chains, from inbound raw materials and parts
through distribution and delivery of finished goods. Ryder serves customer
needs throughout North America, in Latin America, Europe and Asia.
The National Safety Council selected Ryder to receive the 2002 Green Cross
for Safety Medal -- its highest honor -- for exemplary commitment to workplace
safety and corporate citizenship. For the ninth consecutive year, Ryder was
featured in the 2005 Fortune Most Admired Companies survey of corporate
reputations. InternetWeek named Ryder as one of the top 100 U.S. companies
for effectiveness in using the Internet to achieve tangible business benefits.
For the eighth consecutive year, Ryder has been named a top five third-party
logistics provider by Inbound Logistics.
Ryder's stock is a component of the Dow Jones Transportation Average and
the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. With 2004 revenue of more than $5 billion,
Ryder ranks 381st on the Fortune 500.
For more information on Ryder System, Inc., visit http://www.ryder.com .
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements and
information included in this presentation are "forward-looking statements"
under the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Accordingly, these forward-looking statements should be evaluated with
consideration given to the many risks and uncertainties inherent in our
business that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause
such differences include, among others, our ability to obtain adequate profit
margins for our services, our inability to maintain current pricing levels due
to customer acceptance or competition, customer retention levels, unexpected
volume declines, loss of key customers in the Supply Chain Solutions (SCS)
business segment, unexpected reserves or write-offs due to the deterioration
of the credit worthiness or bankruptcy of certain customers in our SCS
business segment, the possibility that changes in customers' business
environments will limit their ability to commit to long-term vehicle leases,
changes in market conditions affecting the commercial rental market or the
sale of used vehicles, increased competition from vehicle manufacturers and
large service providers, higher borrowing costs and possible decreases in
available funding sources caused by adverse changes in debt ratings, changes
in accounting assumptions, adequacy of accounting accruals, changes in general
economic conditions, unexpected reserves or losses due to the effects of
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on our operations and the economy, availability of
heavy- and medium-duty vehicles, increases in fuel prices, availability of
qualified drivers, our ability to create operating synergies in connection
with our acquisitions, our ability to manage our cost structure and changes in
government regulations, including regulations regarding vehicle emissions,
drivers' hours of service and security regulations issued by the Department of
Homeland Security. The risks included here are not exhaustive. New risks
emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all
such risk factors or to assess the impact of such risks on our business.
Accordingly, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events, or otherwise.
SOURCE Ryder System, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.ryder.com
CONTACT:
Media, David Bruce, +1-305-500-4999, or
Investor Relations, Bob Brunn, +1-305-500-4053, both of Ryder
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