Acterna Announces New Cost-Savings Initiatives.Business Editors GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2002 Acterna (Nasdaq: ACTR ACTR American Council of Teachers of Russian ACTR Actuator ACTR Association for Canadian Theatre Research ACTR A Christmas To Remember ACTR Assistant Contract Technical Representative (NMCI liaison) ) today announced new cost-savings initiatives, including the elimination of approximately 500 positions across its worldwide operations. Acterna will also further reduce its operational costs by consolidating manufacturing operations Manufacturing operations concern the operation of a facility, as opposed to maintenance, supply and distribution, health, and safety, emergency response, human resources, security, information technology and other infrastructural support organizations. and expanding its work with contract manufacturers. A restructuring charge restructuring charge The expense of reorganizing a company's operations. A restructuring charge is an infrequent expense that generally results from asset writedowns or facility closings. of approximately $10 million will be taken in the current fiscal year related specifically to these actions. "We have seen a new round of capital spending capital spending Spending for long-term assets such as factories, equipment, machinery, and buildings that permits the production of more goods and services in future years. reductions indicating that the global telecommunications industry is still struggling to find its footing," said John Peeler, president of Acterna Corporation. "These are very difficult decisions, but are necessary in order to align Acterna's cost structure with the projected growth of the industry." Acterna's cost-savings initiatives closely follow other steps the company recently completed to strengthen its financial position. On August 14, Acterna closed cash tender offers for $150 million of its outstanding 9 3/4 percent bonds. In addition, on August 9, Acterna completed the sale of its Airshow business unit to Rockwell Collins Rockwell Collins, Inc. (NYSE: COL) is a large United States-based international company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, primarily providing aviation and information technology systems, solutions, and services to governmental agencies and aircraft manufacturers. for $160 million in cash. Through these two transactions, Acterna has reduced its debt by more than $230 million and its annual interest expense by approximately $17 million. "We are pleased with the progress we have made to restructure and focus the business on the industry's best growth opportunities," added Peeler. "Our customers, including the world's largest providers of telecommunications service In telecommunication, the term telecommunications service has the following meanings: 1. Any service provided by a telecommunication provider. 2. for businesses and consumers, require communications tests solutions that accelerate the provisioning of new services and help reduce network maintenance costs. We are committed to delivering this value to our customers around the world." About Acterna Corporation Based in Germantown, Maryland, Acterna Corporation is the holding company for Acterna, da Vinci da Vinci Surgery A surgical robot for performing certain surgeries–eg, mitral valve repair and laparoscopic procedures–eg, cholecystectomy and gastric ulcer repair. See Laparoscopic surgery, Robotics, Surgical robot. Systems and Itronix. Acterna is the world's second largest communications test and management company. The company offers instruments, systems, software and services used by service providers, equipment manufacturers and enterprise users to test and optimize performance of their optical transport, access, cable, data/IP and wireless networks and services. da Vinci Systems designs and markets video color correction Altering the colors in an image in order to print or display it properly or for special effects. Depending on the application, color correction can be a significant problem if the resulting image must be approved or a purchase is made because of color choice. systems to the video postproduction industry. Itronix sells ruggedized computing devices for field service applications to a range of industries. Additional information on Acterna is available at http://www.acterna.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which statements reflect the company's current judgment on the matters addressed by these statements. However, because such statements apply to future events, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual events and the company's results to differ materially. Important factors that could cause actual events and the company's results to differ materially are described in the company's reports on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. and 10-Q on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
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