Bausch & Lomb Obtains Additional Bank Waivers, Announces Consent Solicitation on Public Debt and Updates Financial Projections.ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Bausch & Lomb (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BOL BOL Bolivia (ISO Country code) BOL Books Online BOL Bole (SIL code, Nigeria) BOL Bill Of Lading BOL Beginning Of Line BOL Best Of Luck BOL Buzz Out Loud BOL Bruin Online BOL Beginning Of Life ) today filed a Form 8-K Form 8-K The form required by the SEC when a publicly held company incurs any event that might affect its financial situation or the share value of its stock. Form 8-K See 8-K. with the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that provided information concerning its outstanding bank and public debt, and provided updated information concerning its expectations for 2006 and 2007 financial performance. Company Obtains Additional Bank Waivers On January 26, 2007, the Company amended the letter waivers (the "Letter Waivers") in connection with its $400 Million Five Year Revolving Credit Agreement Revolving credit agreement A legal commitment in which a bank promises to lend a customer up to a specified maximum amount during a specified period. revolving credit agreement See line of credit. , dated July 26, 2005 (the "U.S. Credit Agreement") and the five-year $375 million term loan agreement, dated November 29, 2005 in favor of Bausch & Lomb B.V. and guaranteed by the Company (the "Term Loan Agreement"). The amended Letter Waivers take effect on January 31, 2007, the termination date termination date, n See expiration date. of currently existing waivers, and extend the termination date to April 30, 2007. The waivers would terminate if, prior to April 30, 2007, there were to be a final determination to delist delist To drop a security from trading on an organized exchange. Delisting may occur for a number of reasons including failure to meet an exchange's standards or placement of a new listing on another exchange. Compare list. the Company's securities from the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. (the "NYSE"). Bausch & Lomb currently has a trading extension from the NYSE through March 1, 2007, subject to the Company's anticipated filing of its delayed Annual Report 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. for 2005, which filing the Company believes is imminent as noted below, and to review by the NYSE. Further information concerning the bank waivers and the extension is detailed in the Form 8-K. Company Seeking Consents from Public Bondholders On January 30, 2007, the Company announced a solicitation of consents with respect to four issues of its outstanding debt and two additional issues of its outstanding convertible debt. The solicitations are seeking, for a fee, permission from the holders for amendments to the indenture applicable to each series of notes that would, among other things, extend until April 30, 2007 the Company's deadline to file periodic reports with the SEC and to deliver compliance certificates to the Trustee under each indenture. Holders of the notes have until February 6, 2007 to provide their consent. Details concerning the consent solicitation Consent Solicitation A solicitation by one party to the stakeholders of a particular security for the consent of a material change. Notes: Should the majority of stakeholders provide valid consent prior to the consent expiry date, the issuer may then follow through with can also be found in the Form 8-K. Company Comments on 2006 and 2007 Financial Performance Expectations Bausch & Lomb's prior guidance for 2006 called for sales at the lower end of a range between $2.325 billion and $2.4 billion, and income before income taxes and minority interest between $70 million and $80 million. The Company currently expects to report sales of approximately $2.295 billion. As compared to the original range of estimates, these lowered expectations reflect the slower than anticipated rate of recovery of the Company's contact lens contact lens, thin plastic lens worn between the eye and eyelid that may be used instead of eyeglasses. Actors, models, and others wear them for appearance, and athletes use them for safety and convenience. and lens care businesses in Asia following the recall of MoistureLoc contact lens solution early in 2006, as well as slower than anticipated growth in the U.S. contact lens market. Bausch & Lomb noted that it currently expects to report full-year 2006 income before income taxes and minority interest of approximately $74 million, which is within the range of previous guidance. The Company continues to expect 2006 cash flow from operating activities to be essentially offset by 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. . There can be no assurance that these preliminary, unaudited estimates will not differ, including materially, when the Company issues its 2006 financial statements. The Company is in the process of finalizing the calculation of its effective income tax rate and, as a result, is not yet able to estimate 2006 net earnings or earnings per share. However, as previously disclosed in Forms 12b-25 and 8-K dated August 8, 2006, the Company expects that (1) its U.S. operations will be unprofitable in 2006, as a result of lower lens care sales and costs associated with the MoistureLoc recall; (2) no tax benefit will be recorded on U.S. operations as a result of the determination of the need for a valuation allowance that will be recorded in 2005 on deferred tax assets; and (3) its effective tax rate in 2006 and beyond could differ materially from historical levels and prior expectations. Bausch & Lomb continues to project 2007 sales at the lower end of its previously communicated range of $2.5 billion to $2.625 billion, and income before income taxes and minority interest at the lower end of its previously communicated range of $220 million to $270 million. Those projections do not reflect any earnings benefit associated with the anticipated reversal of interest and penalties associated with a previously recorded Brazilian tax assessment. Bausch & Lomb has applied for, and expects to be granted, amnesty from the state government of Sao Paulo as to a portion of the penalties and interest associated with one such assessment that was recorded as part of the financial restatement Restatement A revision in a company's earlier financial statements. Notes: The need for restating financial figures can result from fraud, misrepresentation, or a simple clerical error. . The Company expects to reverse approximately $20 million of penalties and interest when it receives formal notification of cancellation by the state government of Sao Paulo. The Company indicated that its projections for 2006 and 2007 are subject to the risk factors contained in the Company's consent solicitation statement filed with today's Form 8-K as well as those noted below. The Company is currently working to finalize and file its delayed Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2005, which filing it believes is imminent. Following that filing, the Company will work to complete its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the third quarter of 2005 and the first three quarters of 2006, and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2006. At this time, the Company intends to first complete and file its 2006 Form 10-K, followed by the outstanding quarterly filings. While the Company is working diligently to complete those filings, there can be no assurance as to when it will be current in its reporting obligations. In any event, the Company intends to provide investors with preliminary unaudited information about the results of 2006 operations around the end of February 2007. This news release contains, among other things, certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc future events or the future business performance of Bausch & Lomb. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including those concerning the ability of the Company and the parties with which it contracts to develop and introduce products successfully as well as the risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including but not limited to filings on Form 8-K and on Form 12b-25, each dated November 9, 2006 and in Exhibit 99.2 of Form 8-K, dated January 31, 2007. Bausch & Lomb is the eye health company, dedicated to perfecting vision and enhancing life for consumers around the world. Its core businesses include soft and rigid gas permeable gas permeable gas adj (lenses) → luftdurchlässig contact lenses contact lenses contact npl → verres mpl de contact contact lenses contact npl → Kontaktlinsen pl contact lenses npl and lens care products, and ophthalmic surgical and pharmaceutical products. The Bausch & Lomb name is one of the best known and most respected healthcare brands in the world. Founded in 1853, the Company is headquartered in Rochester, New York This article is about the city of Rochester in Monroe County. For the town in Ulster County, see Rochester, Ulster County, New York. Rochester, once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City or , and employs approximately 13,000 people worldwide. Its products are available in more than 100 countries. More information about the Company can be found on the Bausch & Lomb Web site at www.bausch.com. Copyright Bausch & Lomb Incorporated. |
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