HOUSTON, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kirby Corporation ("Kirby") announced today that no personnel were injured and no boats or barges suffered any material damage due to Hurricane Ike which struck the upper Texas coast on September 13.
Joe Pyne, Kirby's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Houston is our most significant operating area and is also home to almost 50% of the US Petrochemical facilities. We had 303 barges and 83 tow boats in Houston when Hurricane Ike passed through the area. We are pleased to report that no Kirby personnel were injured and our entire barge and boat fleet was intact with no material damage following the passage of the hurricane. Our operations and our customers' operations will obviously be negatively impacted by delays in reopening the waterways and by damage to plant facilities. We did incur some damage to our headquarters building in Houston but we have been able to work around this issue without disrupting operations. Many plants and waterways were affected by the storm and it's too early to access the impact on Kirby or when operations will be back to normal."
Mr. Pyne further commented, "We are currently assessing the impact on Kirby and will confirm or revise our third quarter earnings when the assessment is complete."
Kirby Corporation, based in Houston, Texas, operates inland tank barges and towing vessels, transporting petrochemicals, black oil products, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals throughout the United States inland waterway system. Through the diesel engine services segment, Kirby provides after-market service for large medium-speed and high-speed diesel engines and reduction gears used in marine, power generation and railroad applications.
Statements contained in this press release with respect to the future are forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's reasonable judgment with respect to future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated as a result of various factors, including cyclical or other downturns in demand, significant pricing competition, unanticipated additions to industry capacity, changes in the Jones Act or in U.S. maritime policy and practice, fuel costs, interest rates, weather conditions, and the timing, magnitude and number of acquisitions made by Kirby. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and Kirby assumes no obligation to update any such statements. A list of additional risk factors can be found in Kirby's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
