American Homestar Corporation Announces Plant Closing; And Revised First Quarter Expectations.HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 1999-- American Homestar Corporation (Nasdaq/NM:HSTR HSTR Harry S Truman National Historic Site (US National Park Service) HSTR High Speed Token Ring ) today announced that it is closing its Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi. It is located 234 miles (377 km) north by west of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and 40 miles (65 km) due west of Jackson, the state capital. , plant and will be shifting that production to its other facilities in Alabama and Texas. As a result, the Company will incur one-time charges in the first quarter totaling between $1.4 million and $1.9 million for the restructuring and related activities. The Vicksburg plant currently employs 194 people who will be provided severance and outplacement out·place·ment n. The process of facilitating a terminated employee's search for a new job by provision of professional services, such as counseling, paid for by the former employer. support or, in some cases, employment opportunities at other American Homestar plants. Commenting on the plant closing, Co-Chief Executive Officers Finis Teeter and Laurence Dawson, Jr. said, "More than 80% of the Vicksburg plant's production is sold through our own dedicated retail distribution channels in the Southwest and Southeast. By shifting that production to our plants in Texas and Alabama, we will more closely match our regional production capacity to current demand levels and enhance the operating efficiencies and capacity utilization Capacity Utilization measures the rate at which a firm makes use of their capital productive capacities, such as factories and machinery. Capacity Utilization generally rises when the economy is healthy and falls when demand softens. of the Texas and Alabama facilities." The Company also announced that earnings for the quarter will be lower than originally expected due to these one-time charges and other costs and expenses associated with the plant closing, which are not included in the charge. While still early in the quarter and amidst signs of improving sales activity, the Company also noted that lower than expected retail sales in July could result in lower than expected sales and earnings for the quarter ended September 30. The Company has scheduled a conference call with its analysts and institutional investors Institutional Investor A non-bank person or organization that trades securities in large enough share quantities or dollar amounts that they qualify for preferential treatment and lower commissions. at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Friday, August 27, 1999. The number for the call is 913/981-5519 with a replay available through September 3 by dialing 719/457-0820. American Homestar is one of the leading vertically integrated manufactured housing Manufactured housing (also known as prefab housing) is a type of housing unit that is largely assembled in factories and then transported to sites of use. In the United States, the term "manufactured home" specifically refers to a house built entirely in a protected companies. The Company currently operates 13 manufacturing plants (after this closing), 125 Company-owned retail sales centers, 12 joint venture retail sales centers, and serves 80 retail franchisees and over 300 independent retail locations in 28 states. The Company also provides retail financing through its finance affiliate, 21st Century Mortgage, and provides insurance and transportation services to its customers. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. and information based on the beliefs of the Company's management as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company's management. Words like "anticipate," believe," "estimate," "should," "expect," and similar expressions used in this press release are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including the risk factors described in the Company's most recently filed registration statement and 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. . Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize ma·te·ri·al·ize v. ma·te·ri·al·ized, ma·te·ri·al·iz·ing, ma·te·ri·al·iz·es v.tr. 1. To cause to become real or actual: By building the house, we materialized a dream. or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual events or results may vary from those described herein as anticipated, expected, believed, or estimated. For more information about the Company, visit its Website at www.americanhomestar.com. |
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