Exhibit 12
STEWART ENTERPRISES, INC.
AND SUBSIDIARIES
AND SUBSIDIARIES
Calculation of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
(Dollars in thousands)
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
| Years Ended October 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | ||||||||||||||||
| (Restated) | (Restated) | (Restated) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes | $ | 67,539 | (3) | $ | 26,518 | (4) | $ | 47,442 | (5)(6) | $ | (197,890 | )(7)(8) | $ | 103,130 | ||||||
| Fixed charges: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Interest charges(1) | 47,735 | 53,797 | 62,655 | 64,235 | 62,748 | |||||||||||||||
Interest portion of lease expense(2) | 1,918 | 1,933 | 2,258 | 2,882 | 3,379 | |||||||||||||||
| Total fixed charges | 49,653 | 55,730 | 64,913 | 67,117 | 66,127 | |||||||||||||||
| Earnings (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes and fixed charges, less capitalized interest | $ | 116,792 | (3) | $ | 81,929 | (4) | $ | 112,039 | (5)(6) | $ | (131,436 | )(7)(8) | $ | 167,903 | ||||||
| Ratio of earnings to fixed charges | 2.35 | (3) | 1.47 | (4) | 1.73 | (5)(6) | — | (7)(8) | 2.54 | |||||||||||
| (1) | Includes capitalized interest expense of $400, $319, $316, $663 and $1,354 for 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001 and 2000, respectively. | |
| (2) | The interest portion of lease expense is one-third of total lease expense. | |
| (3) | Includes a charge of $3,435 for severance and other charges relating to the workforce reduction announced in December 2003 and separation payments to a former executive and $96 of gains on dispositions, net of impairment losses. | |
| (4) | Includes a charge of $11,289 for the loss on early extinguishment of debt recorded in connection with the redemption of the Remarketable Or Redeemable Securities, a noncash charge of $10,506 recorded in connection with long-lived asset impairment and $2,450 of separation payments to former executives. | |
| (5) | Includes a noncash charge of $18,500 recorded in connection with the write-down of assets held for sale. | |
| (6) | Excludes cumulative effect of change in accounting principle of $193,090 (net of a $16,310 income tax benefit). | |
| (7) | Excludes cumulative effect of change in accounting principles of $250,004 (net of a $166,669 income tax benefit). | |
| (8) | Includes a noncash charge of $269,158 recorded in connection with the write-down of assets held for sale and other charges and a charge of $9,120 for the loss on early extinguishment of debt. As a result of these charges, the Company’s earnings for fiscal year 2001 were insufficient to cover its fixed charges, and an additional $198,553 in pretax earnings would have been required to eliminate the coverage deficiency. |
During the periods presented, the Company had no preferred stock outstanding. Therefore, the ratio of earnings to combined fixed charges and preference dividends was the same as the ratio of earnings to fixed charges for each of the periods presented.
See the Explanatory Note on page 2 for important information.
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