Bausch & Lomb to take a $15 million restructuring reserve to improve business performance and cut costs.ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 2, 1996-- $50 Million Expense-Reduction Implementation Plan Nears Completion; Company Announces Logistics Reorganization in Europe Financial Impact of Changes in Asia-Pacific and Global Vision Care is Quantified Bausch & Lomb (NYSE/BOL) announced today that it will take a one-time pre-tax 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 $15 million in the second quarter. This action is part of the company's continuing efforts to enhance its competitive position in the global marketplace, and significantly reduce the annual impact of general and administrative overhead, logistics and distribution costs distribution costs distribute npl → Vertriebskosten pl . The restructuring charge will reduce 1996 second-quarter earnings by approximately 19 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. , after taxes. The actual business restructuring measures associated with this charge, the $27 million charge taken last December, and other ongoing expense-reduction actions, are expected to save Bausch & Lomb more than $50 million in annualized annualized Of or relating to a variable that has been mathematically converted to a yearly rate. Inflation and interest rates are generally annualized since it is on this basis that these two variables are ordinarily stated and compared. operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. by 1998. "The attainment of our expense-reduction goal represents more than cost cutting," said William H. Waltrip, chairman and chief executive officer. "We are maximizing our resources and making our businesses more efficient, productive and responsive to the needs of the consumer." European Reorganization A major component of the restructuring reserve is the reorganization of European operations, primarily warehousing and logistics. Bausch & Lomb will consolidate the current 14 distribution centers for contact lenses contact lenses contact npl → verres mpl de contact contact lenses contact npl → Kontaktlinsen pl contact lenses npl , solutions and sunglasses into three warehouse facilities. This will occur over a 16-month period, beginning in July. The main center will be in Holland with secondary centers in Italy and Sweden. Approximately 90 positions will be eliminated as a result of the consolidation measures. "The consolidation of our European distribution centers will provide for the effective utilization of resources through better inventory management controls, while improving product delivery times and reducing intra-company shipping expenses," said Waltrip. "While the initial cost of restructuring will be close to $5-and-a-half million, we will realize an annual savings of $2 to $4 million in 1997, and $5 to $7 million in 1998 and beyond." Asia-Pacific Reorganization and Global Vision Care Quantified More than 30 percent of the restructuring reserve is attributed to severance packages and lease buy-outs related to the reorganization of Asia-Pacific operations and the initial steps to implement an integrated global vision-care strategy. Dividing the Asia-Pacific business operations Business operations are those activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. Compare business processes. The outcome of business operations is the harvesting of value from assets into a North Asia North Asia or Northern Asia is a subregion of Asia. The most common definition of the term is;
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia region, to be headquartered in Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. and Malaysia, respectively, will cost $1.9 million. Leveraging the vision-care synergy between the 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. Division, Polymer Technology Corporation and the Personal Products Division to form a new Global Vision Care business will cost $3.6 million. The balance of the restructuring charge, approximately $4 million, includes miscellaneous actions taken in the U.S. Commercial Eyewear division, Mexico, Spain, Thin Film Technology, and Corporate staff areas. In addition to this restructuring charge, the company will incur one-time period costs in the range of $5 million during the second half of 1996. These include operating expenses that cannot be recorded as part of the restructuring reserve, for example systems development (e.g. computer hardware and programming for inventory), relocation and training, and the cost of maintaining redundant functions during the time of transition. "Our expense-reduction program is right on target. In fact, we believe we can exceed our initial $50-million goal," said Waltrip. "More importantly, however, Bausch & Lomb is being positioned to better produce and quickly deliver the quality products and services consumers demand and deserve for their vision-care needs." -0- Bausch & Lomb is scheduled to release its second-quarter earnings report on Thursday, July 18, 1996. CONTACT: Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. Contact: Angela Panzarella 716/338-6025 office or Media Contacts: Holly Echols Barbara M. Kelley 716-338-8064 office 716-338-5386 office 716-473-7104 home 716-621-7141 home 800-405-5314 pager |
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