ST. LOUIS, March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Belden today announced plans to further restructure its North American manufacturing operations and to reduce its worldwide production overhead and expenses.
The Company will cease production activities at its plant located in Manchester, Connecticut, by September 2008. The facility manufactures copper cable products primarily for data networking. Other company facilities will assume the production activities of the plant. The Manchester plant is part of the Company's Specialty Division.
The number of associates affected by these actions is approximately 132. Associates will be eligible for severance benefits, and the Company will make every effort to help associates transition into other employment opportunities.
"We regret the impact of these actions on the affected associates," said John Stroup, President and Chief Executive Officer of Belden. "It is a difficult, but necessary step in the implementation of our regional manufacturing strategy. The expected cost savings associated with this action are further benefit of this strategy and take advantage of our lower cost capacity at the recently completed Nogales, Mexico facility."
In connection with the actions announced today, Belden expects to incur severance charges of approximately $1 to $2 million pretax during the shut-down period and non-cash asset impairment charges and accelerated depreciation expense of $8 to $11 million pretax mostly in the first quarter of 2008. The after-tax impact will be between $0.11 and $0.16 per diluted share. The Company estimates that the cost savings associated with these actions will be approximately $5 million annually, beginning in 2009.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" made in reliance upon the safe harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on forecasts and projections about the industries served by the Company and about general economic conditions. They reflect management's beliefs and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance and they involve risk and uncertainty. The Company's actual results may differ materially from these expectations. Some of the factors that may cause actual results to differ from the Company's expectations include demand for the Company's products; the Company's ability to successfully transfer production among plants; and other factors. For a more complete discussion of risk factors, please see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, filed with the SEC on February 29, 2008. Belden disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.
About Belden
Belden is a leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of signal transmission solutions for data networking and a wide range of specialty electronics markets including entertainment, industrial, security and aerospace applications. To obtain additional information contact Investor Relations at 314-854-8054, or visit our website at http://www.belden.com/.
From: Belden Dee Johnson Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications 314.854.8054
