ATLANTA, Nov. 26, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Newell Rubbermaid
(NYSE: NWL) today announced that the company believes fourth quarter sales
will be essentially flat to those recorded a year ago, and full year sales
are expected to increase between 3 percent and 3.5 percent. The previously
communicated expectation assumed sales growth of approximately 2 percent
for the fourth quarter and about 4 percent for the full year. The company
maintained its previous EPS guidance despite softer sales. The recent
slowdown in the North American office products retail environment and
commensurate inventory reductions taken at key retailers are the main
contributors to the change in outlook. The company now expects fourth
quarter sales in its Office Products segment to be down high single digits,
compared to the previous expectation that sales would be down low single
digits.
For the fourth quarter, the company also raised its guidance for gross
margin expansion to the range of 200 and 225 basis points driven primarily
by improved mix.
"While this inventory correction by North American office retailers
poses a near-term challenge, we remain confident in our ability to drive
long-term sales growth," said Mark Ketchum, president and chief executive
officer of Newell Rubbermaid. "In addition, we continue to make strong
progress on improving our profitability driven importantly by healthy gross
margin expansion."
All other expectations for the fourth quarter and full year 2007 and
full year 2008 remain unchanged. Newell Rubbermaid's fourth quarter and
most recent full year 2007 guidance, as well as preliminary outlook for
2008, was originally published as part of the company's third quarter 2007
earnings release, available on the company's Web site,
http://www.newellrubbermaid.com.
A reconciliation of the 2007 and 2008 earnings outlook is as follows:
Q4 2007 FY 2007 FY 2008
Diluted earnings per share
from continuing
operations (as reported): $0.35-$0.37 $1.69-$1.71 $1.53-$1.58
Project Acceleration
restructuring costs: $0.06-$0.12 $0.22-$0.28 $0.38-$0.47
Diluted earnings per share
from continuing
operations (excluding
charges): $0.44-$0.46 $1.94-$1.96 $1.95-$2.00
Tax benefits: $0.00 ($0.15) $0.00
"Normalized" EPS: $0.44-$0.46 $1.79-$1.81 $1.95-$2.00
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This release contains non-GAAP financial measures within the meaning of
Regulation G promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Included in this release is a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial
measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated in
accordance with GAAP.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release that are not historical in nature
constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
relate to information or assumptions about the effects of Project
Acceleration, sales, income/(loss), earnings per share, operating income or
gross margin improvements, capital and other expenditures, cash flow,
dividends, restructuring costs, costs and cost savings, debt ratings, and
management's plans, projections and objectives for future operations and
performance. These statements are accompanied by words such as "expect,"
"project," "will," "believes," "estimate" and similar expressions. Actual
results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, our dependence on the strength
of retail economies; competition with other manufacturers and distributors
of consumer products; major retailers' strong bargaining power; changes in
the prices of raw materials; our ability to develop innovative new products
and to develop, maintain and strengthen our end-user brands; our ability to
expeditiously close facilities and move operations while managing foreign
regulations and other impediments; our ability to implement successfully
information technology solutions throughout our organization; our ability
to improve productivity and streamline operations; the risks inherent in
our foreign operations and those factors listed in the company's most
recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, and Exhibit 99.1 thereto, filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Changes in such assumptions or
factors could produce significantly different results. The information
contained in this news release is as of the date indicated. The company
assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in
this news release as a result of new information or future events or
developments.
About Newell Rubbermaid
Newell Rubbermaid Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a global marketer of
consumer and commercial products that touch the lives of people where they
work, live and play. The company's strong portfolio of brands includes
Sharpie(R), Paper Mate(R), DYMO(R), EXPO(R), Waterman(R), Parker(R),
Rolodex(R), IRWIN(R), LENOX(R), BernzOmatic(R), Rubbermaid(R), Levolor(R),
Graco(R), Calphalon(R) and Goody(R). The company, with sales of
approximately $6 billion, is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., and employs
approximately 22,500 employees worldwide.
This press release and additional information about the company are
available on the company's Web site http://www.newellrubbermaid.com.
NWL-EA
SOURCE Newell Rubbermaid Inc.
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CONTACT:
Ron Hardnock, Vice President, Investor
Relations, or David Doolittle, Vice President, Corporate
Communications, +1-770-407-3994, Fax: +1-770-407-3983
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