Newell Co. Statement of Computation of Earnings to Fixed Charges (in Thousands, Except Ratio Data) 3 Months Ended 3/31/97 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 --------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Earnings Available for Fixed Charges: Income before income taxes $62,521 $424,634 $370,785 $329,292 $275,556 $277,564 Fixed charges Interest expense 12,785 56,989 49,812 29,970 19,062 20,417 Portion of rent determined to be interest (1) 3,713 14,855 12,634 10,494 8,580 6,237 Equity Earnings (264) (6,400) (6,000) (5,700) (3,800) (3,400) Total Earnings Available for Fixed $78,755 $490,078 $427,231 $364,056 $299,398 $300,818 Charges Fixed Charges Interest expense $12,785 $56,989 $49,812 $29,970 $19,062 $20,417 Portion of rent determined to be interest (1) 3,713 14,855 12,634 10,494 8,580 6,237 Total Fixed Charges $16,498 $71,844 $62,446 $40,464 $27,642 $26,654 Ratio Earnings to Fixed Charges 4.77 6.82 6.84 9.00 10.83 11.29 ------------------- (1) 33% of gross rent expense was deemed to approximate the interest portion of short-term and long-term leases.