American Axle & Manufacturing Announces Earnings Outlook for Full Year 2004
30 Ottobre 2003 - 3:15PM
PR Newswire (US)
American Axle & Manufacturing Announces Earnings Outlook for
Full Year 2004 DETROIT, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American
Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AAM), which is traded as
AXL on the NYSE, today announced that it expects earnings results
for the full year 2004 to approximate $4.00 per share, excluding
the impact of expected one-time debt refinancing costs of
approximately $0.26 per share. This compares to the current 2004
analyst consensus estimate of $3.87 per share and represents
earnings growth of 10% versus the company's full year 2003 guidance
of $3.65 per share. The company is also targeting $200 million in
positive free cash flow for 2004 and a further improvement in its
net debt to capital ratio to below 25% from 38.6% at the end of the
third quarter of 2003. "We currently anticipate a slight increase
in North American light vehicle builds for 2004 to 16.3 million
units. While our unit volumes are also projected to increase next
year, changes in product mix will offset net new business growth of
approximately $100 million, resulting in a slight decrease in
annual sales for AAM. In addition, through our focus on
productivity and cost reduction we continue to project margin
improvements in 2004 which will drive our projected 10% earnings
growth," said American Axle & Manufacturing Co-Founder,
Chairman of the Board & CEO Richard E. Dauch. "The continued
strong cash flow generation and continued improvement of our
capital structure will position AAM to provide a return to our
shareholders and enable the company to fund strategic growth
initiatives." AAM is a world leader in the manufacture,
engineering, design and validation of driveline systems and related
components and modules, chassis systems and forged products for
light trucks, sport utility vehicles and passenger cars. In
addition to its 14 locations in the United States (in Michigan, New
York and Ohio), AAM also has offices and facilities in Brazil,
England, Germany, Japan, Mexico and Scotland. This release contains
both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements,
including "Outlook," other than statements of historical fact are,
or may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Such statements relate to, among other things, operating costs,
earnings estimates, EBITDA, sales and capital expenditures and are
indicated by words or phrases such as "guidance," "expects,"
"continues," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," and similar words
and phrases. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks,
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on
management's assumptions and beliefs in the light of information
currently available to it and assume no significant changes in
general economic trends, consumer confidence or other risk factors
that may affect the forward-looking statements. American Axle &
Manufacturing, Inc. (the "Company") expressly disclaims any current
intention to update the information contained herein. Factors that
may affect results include changes in business and economic
conditions generally and in the Company's operating areas, the
competitive environment in which the Company operates and other
risks detailed from time to time in the Company's reports and
filings available from the Securities and Exchange Commission. For
more information: Media relations contact: Investor relations
contact: Carrie L.P. Gray Richard F. (Rick) Dauch Director,
Corporate Relations Vice President Investor Relations (313)
758-4880 (313) 758-4767 Or visit the AAM website at
http://www.aam.com/ . DATASOURCE: American Axle & Manufacturing
Holdings, Inc. CONTACT: Media relations contact: Carrie L.P. Gray,
Director, Corporate Relations, +1-313-758-4880, , or Investor
relations contact: Richard F. (Rick) Dauch, Vice President,
Investor Relations, +1-313-758-4767, , both of American Axle &
Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. Web site: http://www.aam.com/ Company
News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/033813.html
Copyright