EXHIBIT 99.1
[SPARTECH LOGO]
Company Contacts:
Bradley B. Buechler Randy C. Martin
Chairman, President and Executive Vice President and
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
(314) 721-4242 (314) 721-4242
For Immediate Release
Friday, August 15, 2003
SPARTECH PROVIDES GUIDANCE AND ANNOUNCES CONFERENCE CALL/
WEBCAST ON FIRST QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS FOR THIRD QUARTER OF
FISCAL 2003
ST. LOUIS, August 15, 2003 -- Spartech Corporation (NYSE:SEH)
announced today that sales for its third quarter ended
August 2, 2003 will total nearly $239 million, which represents an
approximate 1% increase from the Company's $237 million of sales for
the comparable third quarter of 2002.
Spartech Chairman, President & CEO, Bradley B. Buechler, stated
that, "Our fiscal 2003 third quarter sales included continued
solid performances from our packaging and home improvement related
customers and were basically in line with our general expectations
leading into the quarter. However, in light of competitive pricing
pressures, caused by the sluggish economic environment and near
record high resin prices early in the quarter,
we currently estimate our fiscal third
quarter earnings will be at the low end of analyst expectations,
representing a diluted earnings per share in the 27 cents to 29 cents
range. On a more positive note, with resin prices declining as the quarter
progressed and the collection of certain seasonal sales related
receivables, we were able to decrease our investment in working
capital and correspondingly paid down over $30 million in debt during
the quarter."
Mr. Buechler added, "We are obviously not satisfied with our
third quarter performance (diluted earnings per share projected to
decline by more than 25% compared to the prior year's 39 cents), and
therefore, early in the fourth quarter, we began our new Lean Process
Initiative that is targeted to assist us in returning to an operating
margin of 11% or more. Measures to adopt this initiative include:
1) a workforce reduction of nearly 350 employees, 2) the realignment
of work schedules for several operations, and 3) the consolidation or
elimination of certain warehouse facilities. We expect to end the
year with just over 3,000 employees and achieve annual pre-tax
savings from these changes of nearly $12 million, when our fiscal
2004 begins in November of this year. The cost of implementing these
measures in our fourth quarter will not have a significant effect on
our operating results."
The Company will hold a conference call with investors and
financial analysts at 11:00 a.m. EST, Thursday, August 28, 2003 to
discuss Spartech's third quarter financial results, which will be
released before the market opens that morning. The call will be
hosted by Bradley B. Buechler, Chairman, President & CEO; Randy C.
Martin, Executive Vice President & CFO; and David G. Pocost,
Executive Vice President Custom Sheet & Rollstock. Investors can
listen to the call live via a Webcast by logging onto
www.spartech.com, or via phone by dialing 1-888-520-5981 and entering
the confirmation code 77875 followed by the "#" key.
Spartech Corporation is a leading producer of engineered
thermoplastic materials, polymeric compounds, and molded & profile
products, which has 46 facilities located throughout North America
and Europe, with annual production capacity and sales of more than
1.2 billion pounds and nearly $950 million, respectively.
Safe Harbor For Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained herein which are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act
of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 which are intended to
be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. For a summary of
important facts, which could cause the Company's actual results to
differ materially from those included in, or inferred by, the forward-
looking statements, refer to the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended November 2, 2002, which is on file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
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