A&B Provides Guidance on First Quarter 2009 Performance
20 Marzo 2009 - 2:00PM
Business Wire
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE: AXB)(�Company�), today
announced that it expects first quarter 2009 performance to be
negatively impacted by increased weakness in its transportation
segments and by workforce reduction restructuring costs. Net income
is expected to approximate break-even in the quarter, and is
expected to include two commercial property sales currently in
escrow and a workforce restructuring charge of $5-6 million. These
results may be further impacted by market conditions and the timing
of the aforementioned property sales.
�Our early year earnings prospects were diminished by continued
national and international economic contraction and seasonality in
our transportation businesses,� said Allen Doane, chairman and
chief executive officer. �Historically, our first quarter results
are lower than performance later in the year due to normal
transportation patterns. Through the first two months of the year,
however, cargo demand and freight movement have been lower than
expected. Matson Navigation�s eastbound volume from China and
westbound volume to Hawaii, for example, are off 20 and 12 percent,
respectively, from 2008 levels. In addition, the Company�s
Logistics volume is down 24 percent through February, as its
intermodal volume has dropped significantly, driven by lower import
and export activity and related inland rail movements.�
Doane continued, �While we do continue to see opportunities for
commercial properties and land sales, we note that the timing of
these sales will be irregular.�
�In anticipation of these earnings challenges, we took
deliberate steps to strengthen our cost and capital structure. We
are reducing our non-union workforce by approximately 10 percent,
which is expected to save about $8 million annually. We have pared
$50 million from our 2009 capital budget of $325 million. We
renewed a long-term debt facility to better match financing to the
investments we make in long-lived assets. And later this month we
will shift to a 9-ship fleet deployment in our ocean services
segment for additional efficiencies. Other cost reduction
initiatives will be implemented throughout the year to improve
earnings, while we maintain our strong balance sheet and cash flows
to pursue acquisitions and investments that create sustained value
in future years.�
The Company will report its first quarter 2009 earnings on April
30, 2009 and will host a webcast to discuss results on May 1,
2009.
About Alexander &
Baldwin: A&B is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii and is
engaged in ocean transportation and logistics services through its
subsidiaries, Matson Navigation Company, Inc., Matson Integrated
Logistics, Inc. and Matson Global Distribution Services; in real
estate through A&B Properties, Inc.; and in food products
through Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company and Kauai Coffee
Company, Inc. Additional information about A&B may be found at
its web site: www.alexanderbaldwin.com.
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts
are �forward-looking statements,� within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve a number of
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking
statement. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance. This release should be read in conjunction with
our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC
through the date of this release, which identify important factors
that could affect the forward-looking statements in this
release.
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