Genesee & Wyoming (GWR) Lowers Q1 Revenue Guidance

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) (NYSE: GWR) announced that it has completed the acquisition of approximately 94% of Freightliner Group Limited (Freightliner) for approximately £492 million (approximately US$733 million at current exchange rates), plus the assumption of approximately £19 million (approximately US$29 million at current exchange rates) of net debt and capitalized leases. Members of the existing Freightliner management team will retain an approximate 6% economic interest in Freightliner, with G&W to have 100% by mid-2020.

In connection with the Freightliner acquisition, G&W also entered into a new five-year senior secured credit facility comprised of a $2.175 billion term loan and a $625 million revolving credit facility. G&W expects to have approximately $475 million of revolver capacity after the Freightliner closing.

The acquisition and related financing will result in one-time expenses in the first quarter of 2015 totaling approximately US$29 million comprised of:

(1) Approximately $15 million of foreign exchange loss resulting from the difference between the actual U.S. dollar cost of the pound sterling acquisition (US$748 million), which included forward purchases of pound sterling at a weighted average exchange rate of 1.52 USD/GBP, and the U.S. dollar acquisition price of approximately $733 million; and

(2) Approximately US$14 million of advisory fees, legal fees and transfer taxes associated with the Freightliner acquisition and related financing.

First Quarter 2015 Business Update

G&W’s traffic in the first quarter of 2015 has been weaker than the Company’s expectations due to severe winter weather in four of G&W’s North American regions, as well as weakness in certain commodity groups, including steam coal and metals. Based on first quarter results to date, G&W expects total revenues in the first quarter to be approximately $375 million, or $25 million below its guidance of $400 million provided on February 10, 2015. In addition, G&W expects costs to be approximately $5 million higher as a result of the extreme winter conditions. As a result of these factors, G&W expects net income in the first quarter of 2015 to be approximately $10 million below guidance.

(Street sees Q1 revenue of $395.90 million).

About G&W

Genesee & Wyoming owns or leases 120 freight railroads worldwide that are organized in 11 operating regions with 7,700 employees and more than 2,500 customers.

• G&W’s nine North American regions serve 41 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces and include 113 short line and regional freight railroads with more than 13,000 track-miles.
• G&W’s Australia Region provides rail freight services in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and South Australia and operates the 1,400-mile Tarcoola-to-Darwin rail line.
• G&W’s U.K./Europe Region is led by Freightliner, the U.K.’s largest rail maritime intermodal operator and second-largest rail freight company. Operations also include heavy-haul in Poland and Germany and cross-border intermodal services connecting Northern European seaports with key industrial regions throughout the continent.

G&W subsidiaries provide rail service at more than 40 major ports in North America, Australia and Europe and perform contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers.

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