Greenville, SC — KEMET Corporation today reported preliminary results for fiscal year 2008 and the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2008. Net sales for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, were $241.2 million, which is a 53.5% increase over the same quarter last year and 5.5% higher than the prior quarter. Net loss before special charges was $2.0 million, or $0.02 per share, compared to net income before special charges last quarter of $3.9 million, or $0.05 per share, and net income before special charges of $8.3 million, or $0.10 per share, for the same quarter last year. On a GAAP basis, net loss was $20.7 million, or $0.25 per share for the current quarter, compared to net loss of $8.2 million for the prior quarter and net income of $0.1 million for the same quarter last year. KEMET reports results before special charges because the results offer an alternative depiction of normal operations.
“Fiscal 2008 revenue grew 29% over fiscal 2007 as a result of our acquisition strategy and growth in our core business,” stated Per Loof, Chief Executive Officer. “Revenue in the March 2008 quarter was up 5% over the December 2007 quarter. Increased shipments, particularly to the U.S. and European markets, were the drivers behind our improved revenue performance. Book to bill was positive and end market demand was relatively strong in the quarter, particularly in the European automotive and U.S. and European industrial markets. We are now approaching our sales objective of $1 billion annually, as presented in our plan three years ago; however, the bottom-line is not where it needs to be.”
“Consistent with others in the industry, we are experiencing margin pressures as the macro-economic environment continues to be challenging. Raw material price increases and higher fuel costs put additional strains on margins. To address margin pressure, we initiated a number of cost reduction initiatives during the quarter. We are confident of an improvement to our operating performance as a result of these initiatives. Our Arcotronics business experienced unanticipated work stoppages in connection with labor strikes in Italy. This delayed our integration efforts, and resulted in a negative impact on margins. However, I am pleased to report that we have now come to an agreement with the unions that will allow us to move forward quickly with our integration activities and the movement of production to lower cost regions. These planned moves and consolidations will commence in the near future.”
“We continue to be very pleased with our integration efforts at Evox Rifa, which turned in above target performance for the entire fiscal year. Because Arcotronics has taken longer to integrate, we have not been able to achieve the benefits of the planned synergies between Arcotronics and Evox Rifa as quickly as projected. With the labor and union issues concerning the Arcotronics integration finally behind us, our current focus is now on cutting costs and achieving the planned synergies.”
“We believe we have addressed the challenges presented during this quarter effectively, and will be relentless in our focus to improve the future operating performance of KEMET.”
via KEMET
