Press Release
Park Electrochemical Corp.
(516) 354-4100
PARK ELECTROCHEMICAL CORP. REPORTS THIRD QUARTER RESULTS
LAKE SUCCESS, New York, December 19, 2001...Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE-PKE) reported sales of $52,625,000 for the third quarter ended November 25, 2001 compared to $142,608,000 for the third quarter of last year. Park’s sales for the first nine months were $173,470,000 compared to last year’s first nine months’ sales of $392,669,000. Park reported a net loss of $3,985,000, before non-recurring pre-tax charges of $3,046,000 described below, for the third quarter compared to net earnings of $14,827,000 for last year’s third quarter and a net loss of $10,904,000 for the first nine months, before non-recurring pre-tax charges of $19,434,000, compared to net earnings of $35,311,000 for last year’s first nine months. Park’s loss per share for the third quarter before the non-recurring charges was $0.20 basic and diluted compared to earnings per share of $.93 basic and $.78 diluted for last year’s third quarter and a loss per share of $0.56 for the first nine months compared to earnings per share of $2.22 basic and $1.91 diluted for last year’s nine month period. The loss per share for the third quarter and nine month period ended November 25, 2001 including the non-recurring charges was $0.31 and $1.26, respectively.
The average number of shares outstanding for the quarter ended November 25, 2001 was 19,559,000 basic and diluted compared to 15,940,000 basic and 20,217,000 diluted for last year’s third quarter. For the nine month period ended November 25, 2001, the average basic and diluted shares outstanding was 19,508,000 compared to 15,894,000 basic and 19,920,000 diluted for last year’s first nine month period. The increase in the number of basic shares outstanding in the current year was principally due to the conversion of $95,934,000 principal amount of the Company’s 5.5% Convertible Subordinated Notes into 3,411,000 shares of the Company’s common stock on March 1, 2001.
As previously reported, the Company incurred pre-tax charges totaling $2,921,000 during the quarter ended November 25, 2001 in connection with the realignment of the operations of its German subsidiary, Dielektra GmbH. The Company also incurred $125,000 in pre-tax charges during the third quarter for a workforce reduction at another business unit. In addition, the Company incurred non-recurring pre-tax charges totaling $16,388,000 in the first quarter ended May 27, 2001 in connection with the sale of the assets and business of its Nelco Technology subsidiary and the closure of a related support facility in Arizona and in connection with workforce reductions at the Company’s continuing operations.
Brian Shore, Park’s President and CEO, said, “When we announced our second quarter results on September 26, 2001, we indicated that our sales volume for the months of May, June, July and August of 2001 was running at approximately 40% of the average sales levels of the 2001 fiscal year, or approximately $4,000,000 per week. Our sales continued at this level of approximately $4,000,000 per week throughout the third quarter. Obviously, no recovery from the pervasive worldwide electronics industry downturn occurred during the quarter. At this time, although there may be some glimmers of hope on the horizon, we are clearly not in a position to predict when the global electronics markets will recover. Notwithstanding all this, I must tell you that I feel very good and very optimistic about our business and our future. We continue to work every day, giving it our all, to help our customers succeed. We are very fortunate that we have been able to continue to grow our market share with some of the world’s best electronics manufacturing companies. In addition, we continue our mission to enhance and grow our capability around the world. We continue to invest our time and resources toward developing tomorrow’s manufacturing technology at our global facilities. Our Nelco New York and Nelco California expansions are both in the home stretch. The installation of our RF/microwave manufacturing capability at our Neltec facility in Tempe, Arizona is proceeding on schedule. We are continuing the enhancements of our Nelco Singapore and Nelco S.A. facilities. As we have previously informed you, Roland Erismann has joined our company to lead our China business, and we are proceeding vigorously with our initiatives in China.”
Brian Shore concluded, “Of course, the global electronics industry climate is very difficult at this time. However, we have no time to complain or whine about the state of the industry, as we are consumed every day with finding ways to help our customers succeed. We continue with our mission, and we are not backing down. We feel good about our company and our prospects.”
The Company will conduct a conference call to discuss its financial results at 11:00 a.m. EST today. Forward-looking and other material information may be discussed in this conference call. The conference call dial-in number is (800) 967-7140.
For those unable to listen to the call live, a conference call replay will be available from approximately 2:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, December 19, 2001 through 2:00 p.m. EST on Friday, December 21, 2001. The conference call replay can be accessed by dialing (888) 203-1112 and entering passcode 628787.
Certain portions of this press release may be deemed to constitute forward looking statements that are subject to various factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from Park’s expectations. Such factors include, but are not limited to, general conditions in the electronics industry, Park’s competitive position, the status of Park’s relationships with its customers, economic conditions in international markets, the cost and availability of utilities, and the various factors set forth under the caption “Factors That May Affect Future Results” after Item 7 of Park’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 25, 2001.
Park Electrochemical Corp. is a leading global designer and producer of electronic materials used to fabricate complex multilayer printed circuit boards and interconnection systems. Park specializes in advanced materials for high layer count circuit boards and high speed digital broadband telecommunications, internet and networking applications. Park’s electronic materials business operates through fully integrated business units in Asia, Europe and North America. The Company’s manufacturing facilities are located in Singapore, China, Germany, France, England, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Arizona and California. Park’s electronic materials business operates under the “Nelco” name.
Additional corporate information is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.parkelectro.com.
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