Breeze-Eastern Charts Strategic Direction.UNION, N.J. -- Breeze-Eastern Corporation (AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :BZC BZC Bionicle Zone Community BZC Buzios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Airport Code) ) today announced that the Board of Directors has unanimously approved a five year strategic plan for the Company. The plan was the result of a six-month process in which management worked closely with the Strategic Planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. Committee of the Board and outside consultants with the goal of presenting a comprehensive plan to the Board which takes into account and balances the Company's need to reduce debt with the management of its capital resources and the maintenance of its franchise. The plan calls for the Company to continue to build upon its reputation in the markets it serves by selectively pursuing opportunities for increased penetration in niche markets that will further improve profitability, earnings growth and shareholder value, while continuing to enhance the Company's balance sheet through debt reduction. Robert L. G. White, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, said, "Our specific objectives during this five year period are to eliminate our current debt, achieve double digit sales growth and increase net income, EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become , and Operating Income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. at a rate which is greater than sales growth. We plan to do this by selectively increasing our geographic market penetration and developing enhanced products incorporating technical improvements while improving our operating and financial leverage. Regarding our current debt, based on the current assumptions underlying the strategic plan, we anticipate a paydown on debt in a range of $5 to $7 million in FY08 with commensurate paydowns in succeeding fiscal years." Mr. White continued, "We expect our growth to come through internally developed products. This strategy focuses on our core businesses and competencies and on operating improvements that we expect will yield improvements in operating leverage Operating Leverage A measurement of the degree to which a firm or project relies on fixed rather than variable costs. Notes: The higher the degree of operating leverage, the greater the potential danger from forecasting risk. and thus returns on invested capital. Mr. White concluded, "The Company subscribes to the premise that the Aerospace and Defense markets are very dynamic and extremely competitive, and that success in these markets demands an ongoing commitment to provide the best possible equipment to the customer to enable the success of the extraordinarily important missions for which this equipment is designed." Breeze-Eastern Corporation (http://www.breeze-eastern.com) is the world's leading designer and manufacturer of sophisticated lifting devices for military and civilian aircraft, including rescue hoists, cargo hooks, and weapons-lifting systems. The Company, formerly known as TransTechnology Corporation, employs approximately 195 people at its facility in Union, New Jersey, and reported sales from continuing operations continuing operations Parts of a business that are expected to be maintained as an ongoing segment of an overall business operation. Income and losses from continuing operations are reported separately if any segments have been discontinued during the of $64.4 million in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006. Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company refers to Operating Income (gross profit less general, administrative and selling expenses) and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP metric that can be used to evaluate a company's profitability.
Losses that a firm can take advantage of to reduce taxes. ) and the age and book depreciation of facilities and equipment (affecting relative depreciation expense). EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company's results as reported under GAAP GAAP See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). . Some of the limitations of EBITDA are that (i) it does not reflect the Company's cash expenditures for capital assets capital assets n. equipment, property, and funds owned by a business. (See: capital, capital account) , (ii) it does not reflect the significant interest expense or cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on the Company's debt, and (iii) it does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, the Company's working capital. Furthermore, other companies in the aerospace and defense industry may calculate these measures differently than the Company. Accordingly, the Company focuses primarily on its GAAP results and uses EBITDA only supplementally. INFORMATION ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Acts"). Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact are deemed to be forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on current beliefs, estimates and assumptions concerning the operations, future results, and prospects of the Company. As actual operations and results may materially differ from those assumed in forward-looking statements, there is no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements are subject to the safe harbors created in the Acts. Any number of factors could affect future operations and results, including, without limitation, competition from other companies; changes in applicable laws, rules and regulations affecting the Company in the locations in which it conducts its business; the availability of equity and/or debt financing Debt Financing When a firm raises money for working capital or capital expenditures by selling bonds, bills, or notes to individual and/or institutional investors. In return for lending the money, the individuals or institutions become creditors and receive a promise to repay in the amounts and on the terms necessary to support the Company's future business; interest rate trends; determination by the Company to dispose of To determine the fate of; to exercise the power of control over; to fix the condition, application, employment, etc. of; to direct or assign for a use. See also: Dispose or acquire additional assets; general industry and economic conditions; events impacting the U.S. and world financial markets and economies; and those specific risks that are discussed in the Company's previously filed 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 the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the period ended October 1, 2006. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or future events. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion