BMC |
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| BMC Industries, Inc. |
| 7000 Sunwood Drive NW |
| Ramsey, MN 55303 |
| Website: www.bmcind.com |
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NEWS RELEASE |
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CONTACT: | CURTIS E. PETERSEN | (NYSE: BMM) |
| (763) 506-9053 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
BMC Industries Receives Bank Waiver Extension
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., January 21, 2004 - BMC Industries, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BMMI) today announced that its bank group has granted the company an additional waiver on certain covenants under its credit agreement. Following notice by BMC to its bank group that the company expected to be out of compliance with certain covenants and obligations under its credit agreement as of June 30, 2003, the company's banks granted an initial two-week waiver to BMC on June 30, 2003, and subsequent waivers on July 15, 2003, September 15, 2003, and November 19, 2003.
The waiver announced today also extends the time period for BMC to make certain scheduled principal and fee payments, and defers all interest payment obligations until March 15, 2004, the termination date of this waiver extension. In addition, the agreement continues to require the company to remit net proceeds of asset sales and certain other cash flows to its lenders in partial repayment of interest and principal obligations. Since July 30, 2003, the date of the first interest deferral, the company has incurred interest obligations of $4.4 million and made interest payments of $2.4 million. The latest waiver agreement defers current and projected interest payments totaling approximately $3.3 million, subject to certain mandatory repayments to lenders.
As in previous waivers, the banks and the company have agreed that no additional borrowings will be extended during the waiver period. Discussions continue between BMC, its banks and the company's advisors, regarding a longer-term financial resolution.
About BMC Industries
BMC Industries Inc., founded in 1907, is currently comprised of two business segments: Optical Products and Buckbee-Mears. The Optical Products group, operating under the Vision-Ease Lens trade name, is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of polycarbonate and glass eyewear lenses. Vision-Ease Lens also distributes plastic eyewear lenses. Vision-Ease Lens is a technology and a market share leader in the polycarbonate lens segment of the market. Polycarbonate lenses are thinner and lighter than lenses made of other materials, while providing inherent ultraviolet (UV) filtering and impact resistant characteristics. The Buckbee-Mears group is the only North American manufacturer of aperture masks, a key component in color television picture tubes. The company has announced its plans to wind down the operations of its Buckbee-Mears division by June 2004. For more information about BMC Industries, visit the company's Web site at www.bmcind.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains various "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Statements made in this news release that are not statements of historical facts, including statements regarding future performance, are Forward-Looking Statements. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause, and in certain instances have caused, actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those projected, including, among other things: our ability to obtain a further waiver or other relief from our lenders beyond the March 15, 2004, expiration date of the current waiver under the company's credit agreement; the possibility that the bank group will accelerate the repayment obligation of all amounts outstanding under the credit agreement due to the defaults covered by the current waiver or any other defaults that may arise in the future; ability to negotiate financing arrangements or other solutions in replacement of our existing credit facility; our ability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet obligations during any future waiver periods and future availability of borrowing capacity to the company; the ability to meet future financial covenants under our credit agreement or other financial documents; ability to realize anticipated cash proceeds in the sale of the Buckbee-Mears group assets; possible unforeseen costs and future potential liabilities in connection with the exit of the Buckbee-Mears group business; ability to maintain credit terms with vendors; ability to manage working capital and align costs with market conditions; ability to achieve higher yields at Vision-Ease Lens; ability to reduce inventories while maintaining consistently high customer service levels and product fill rates; ability to increase sales of products at both Vision-Ease Lens and Buckbee-Mears, in particular our ability to replace lost NAFTA and European aperture mask sales with sales in Asia and other areas of the world; further aperture mask price declines; slowdown in growth of, or price reductions in, high-end optical lens products; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; rising raw material costs; availability of acceptable terms with our trade creditors; ability to develop new products to grow within our markets; and the effect of ongoing economic uncertainty on the company's operations. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include those set forth in BMC's Annual Report and Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, and in other filings made, from time to time, by BMC with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made and BMC does not undertake to update such statements.
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