Cummins Announces 2002 Outlook; Improvement in Profitability Despite Flat Sales.Business Editors COLUMBUS, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2001 Cummins Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :CUM) today released its expectation for improved profitability despite essentially flat revenues for 2002. Cummins Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , Tim Solso, said, "continuing efforts to reduce costs will enable Cummins to achieve a profitability improvement over 2001 with little to no improvement in revenue." During the October 11th teleconference on third quarter earnings Solso noted that rapid market changes in the U.S. and around the world following the September 11th terrorist attacks caused Cummins to revisit its 2002 planning process. Solso stated that, "a public outlook on 2002 would be delayed until the end of November when market visibility and economic direction may be clearer." Based on recently completed plans, the company is forecasting a 2002 PBIT in the range of $155 to $165 million, with net earnings of $35 to $45 million, resulting in diluted earnings per share diluted earnings per share An earnings measure calculated by dividing net income less preferred stock dividends for a period by the average number of shares of common stock that would be outstanding if all convertible securities were converted into shares of of approximately $1 per share. Solso stated, "The completion of our restructuring actions combined with indirect and direct material cost initiatives and Six Sigma Not to be confused with Sigma 6. Six Sigma is a set of practices originally developed by Motorola to systematically improve processes by eliminating defects.[1] A defect is defined as nonconformity of a product or service to its specifications. improvement projects will result in a net savings of $75 million. "Despite depressed market Depressed market Market in which supply overwhelms demand, leading to weak and lower prices. conditions around the world, Cummins expects to be modestly profitable in the fourth quarter of 2001. We expect to deliver a profit in three out of four quarters during terrible market conditions," said Solso. "Cummins will continue to do what it takes to cut costs, improve performance and maintain profitability." Power Generation Power Generation revenues are expected to grow 5 to 10 percent despite weak markets. The growth will come in distributed generation Distributed generation generates electricity from many small energy sources. It has also been called also called on-site generation, dispersed generation, embedded generation, decentralized generation, decentralized energy or and in selling energy solutions and maintaining a strong market position in standby power Standby power, also called Vampire power, refers to the electric power consumed by electronic appliances in a standby mode. A very common "electricity vampire" is a power adaptor built on a plug with no power switch. applications. Power Generation sales across the world are expected to be level with or slightly above 2001 levels, with the exception of India. Sales to consumer markets continue to be weak due to declining consumer confidence. Engine Business Engine Business revenues for 2002 are anticipated to be near 2001 levels. The North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. heavy-duty truck market build is expected to be in the 150,000 unit range. Chrysler volumes for the full year will be similar to 2001, with lower shipments in the first half of 2002, due to the mid-year model changeover. Filtration and Other Sales in the filtration business are expected to be approximately level with 2001. Due to gains in small engine sales for consumer markets a slight increase is expected in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . A projected drop in sales to European OEM's is expected to be partially offset by sales growth in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. and Asia. Sales of our international distributors are expected to be up slightly from 2001 due to growth in East Asia East Asia A region of Asia coextensive with the Far East. East Asian adj. & n. and Latin America. First Quarter 2002 Outlook The company is anticipating revenues for the first quarter of 2002 to be level with the Q1 2001 levels. However, cost reduction efforts will improve PBIT by approximately $25 million over Q1 2001 to a range of $15 to $20 million, resulting in a loss of approximately $.20 per share. The remainder of the year is expected to be profitable. Cummins, headquartered in Columbus, Ind., is the world's largest producer of commercial diesel engines above 50 horsepower. The company provides products and services for customers in markets worldwide for engines, power generation, and filtration. In 2000, Cummins reported sales of $6.6 billion. Press releases by fax may be requested by calling News on Demand at 888-329-2305. Cummins home page on the Internet may be found at www.cummins.com. Information provided and statements made in this release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995, including statements regarding the company's expectations, hopes, beliefs and intentions on strategies regarding the future. It is important to note that the company's actual future results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements because of a number of factors, including but not limited to general economic, business and financing conditions, labor relations, governmental action, competitor pricing activity, expense volatility, and other risks detailed from time to time in Cummins Securities and Exchange Commission filings. |
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