| Safe Harbor This presentation and our commentary contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Specifically, forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our future economic performance, business prospects, revenue, income, and financial condition; and statements preceded by, followed by, or that include the words "expects," "believes," "intends," "will," "anticipates," and similar terms that relate to future events, performance, or our results. Examples of forward-looking statements in this presentation and our commentary include but are not limited to: statements regarding the economic environment and the impact this environment has had or could have on our current and/or future financial results; statements regarding our expectations for pricing actions and gross margin performance; statements regarding benefits that we may realize from our acquisitions and our restructuring activities; statements regarding investments that may be made in the future to grow our business, either organically or otherwise, in accordance with our strategic plan, or that may be made for other purposes; and statements and related estimates concerning the benefits that the execution of our strategic initiatives are expected to have on future financial results. Specifically, the following statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements regarding our optimism about future results and our ability to implement measures that will result in profitable growth; statements regarding our ability to realize $9 million of cost savings in fiscal 2014 and reinvest a portion of those savings in strategic business initiatives; statements regarding our top-line results during fiscal 2014; statements regarding the impact of our restructuring and simplification activities on our free cash flow and outstanding indebtedness; statements regarding the expected magnitude of the reductions to our revenue from such activities and the timing of the reductions; statements regarding our second quarter fiscal 2014 gross margin, cash usage and earnings per share and statements regarding utilizing cash flow in our fiscal second half to make strategic investments, fund our dividend and reduce our debt balance. Our forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, expectations, or outcomes to differ materially from our historical experience as well as management's present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: economic conditions in general; the cost or availability of raw materials; competition; our ability to realize anticipated benefits from strategic planning and restructuring initiatives and the timing of the benefits of such actions; market demand our ability to maintain our customer relationships; and litigation and other contingent liabilities, such as environmental matters. A variety of other risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in our forward-looking statements. A number of those risks are discussed in Part I, "Item 1A. Risk Factors" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2013. We believe the forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly any of them in light of new information or future events. 2 © 2014 Zep Inc. - All rights reserved. |
