Press Releases

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quality Distribution, Inc. (Nasdaq: QLTY) ("Quality") today announced the following estimated preliminary fourth quarter 2011 results:

• For the three-month period ended December 31, 2011, Quality expects its total revenue to be approximately $178.0 million, operating income to be within the range of $13.0 million to $13.3 million, net income to be within the range of $5.5 million to $5.8 million and consolidated adjusted EBITDA to be within the range of $17.6 million to $17.9 million. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA excludes approximately $0.7 million of employee non-cash compensation expense (a reconciliation of estimated operating income to estimated consolidated adjusted EBITDA is included in the attached financial exhibits);  
• For the three-month period ended December 31, 2011, Quality expects revenue from its energy logistics business to be approximately $9.8 million;  
• Expected operating income for the three-month period ended December 31, 2011 includes an insurance premium refund of approximately $1.1 million and increased environmental expense of approximately $0.7 million;  
• For the three-month period ended December 31, 2011, Quality expects net income to be within the range of $0.22 and $0.23 per diluted share. After applying a normalized tax rate of 39%, Quality expects adjusted net income to be within the range of $0.14 to $0.15 per diluted share (a reconciliation of estimated net income to estimated adjusted net income is included in the attached financial exhibits);  
• Cash and total debt at December 31, 2011 were approximately $4.0 million and $307.1 million, respectively;  
• Availability under Quality's asset-based revolving credit facility was $82.3 million at December 31, 2011, and the outstanding borrowings under this facility were $65.5 million; and  
• For the three-month period ended December 31, 2011, capital expenditures were approximately $17.6 million, of which approximately $8.3 million were for purchases of energy equipment, and net proceeds from sales of property and equipment were approximately $9.2 million, of which approximately $7.5 million were primarily for sales of energy equipment to affiliates.

"Our anticipated fourth quarter results were in line with our expectations, reflecting the typical seasonal slowdown versus the third quarter, and showed significant improvement in year-over-year earnings," stated Gary Enzor, Chief Executive Officer. "We are optimistic about our growth prospects for 2012, especially as we expand our entry into the shale energy markets."

Reconciliation of Estimated Adjusted Net Income and Estimated Adjusted Net Income per Share to Estimated Net Income

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per Share are not measures of financial performance or liquidity under United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per Share are presented herein because they are important metrics used by management to evaluate and understand the performance of the ongoing operations of Quality's business. For Adjusted Net Income, management uses a 39% tax rate for calculating the provision for income taxes to normalize Quality's tax rate to that of competitors, and to compare Quality's reporting periods with different effective tax rates. In addition, in arriving at Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per Share, Quality adjusts for significant items that are not part of regular operating activities. For the reconciliation below, the adjustments include the write-off of deferred financing costs, and a restructuring credit.

The following table presents the calculation of Estimated Adjusted Net Income and Estimated Adjusted Net Income per Share ranges for the periods presented:

Reconciliation of Estimated Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to Estimated Operating Income

Quality's Estimated Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the reconciliation below is defined as operating income before depreciation and amortization, employee non-cash compensation, other expense items, and a restructuring credit. Estimated Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance or liquidity under United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). Estimated Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies due to differences in accounting policies and items excluded or included in the adjustments, which limits its usefulness as a comparative measure. Estimated Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is a measure used by our management to facilitate internal comparisons to competitors' results and the bulk transportation industry in general. We believe that financial information based on GAAP for highly leveraged businesses, such as ours, should be supplemented by Estimated Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA so investors better understand our financial information in connection with their evaluation of our business.

The following table presents the calculation of Estimated Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the periods presented: 

About Quality

Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, Quality operates the largest chemical bulk tank truck network in North America through its wholly owned subsidiary, Quality Carriers, Inc., and is the largest North American provider of intermodal tank container and depot services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Boasso America Corporation. Quality also provides logistics and transportation services for fresh water, disposal water and oil hauling, serving the gas and oil frac shale energy markets through its wholly owned subsidiaries QC Energy Resources, Inc. and QC Energy Resources, LLC. Quality's network of independent affiliates and independent owner-operators provides nationwide bulk transportation and related services. Quality is an American Chemistry Council Responsible Care® Partner and is a core carrier for many of the Fortune 500 companies that are engaged in chemical production and processing.

The Quality Distribution, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5285

This press release may contain certain forward-looking information that is subject to the safe harbor provisions created by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements. Without limitation, additional risks and uncertainties regarding forward-looking statements include the effect of local and national economic, credit and capital market conditions on the economy in general, on our ability to obtain desired debt financing and on the particular industries in which we operate, including excess capacity in the industry, the availability of qualified drivers, changes in fuel and insurance prices, interest rate fluctuations, and downturns in customers' business cycles and shipping requirements; our substantial leverage and our ability to make required payments and restrictions contained in our debt arrangements; competition and rate fluctuations; our reliance on independent affiliates and independent owner-operators; the loss of or material reduction in the services to one or more of our major customers; our liability as a self-insurer to the extent of our deductibles as well as changing conditions and pricing in the insurance marketplace; changes in health insurance benefit regulations; changes in the future, or our inability to comply with, governmental regulations and legislative changes affecting the transportation industry; increased unionization, which could increase our operating costs or constrain operating flexibility; our ability to comply with current and future environmental regulations and the increasing costs relating to environmental compliance; potential disruption at U.S. ports of entry; diesel fuel prices and our ability to recover costs through fuel surcharges; our ability to attract and retain qualified drivers; terrorist attacks and the cost of complying with existing and future anti-terrorism security measures; our dependence on senior management; the potential loss of our ability to use net operating losses to offset future income; potential future impairment charges; the interests of our largest shareholder, which may conflict with your interests; our ability to successfully identify acquisition opportunities, consummate such acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses; our ability to execute plans to profitably operate in the energy logistics markets; our success in entering new markets; adverse weather conditions; the impact of our restructuring on our operations and costs; our liability for our proportionate share of unfunded vested benefit liabilities in the event of our withdrawal from any of our multi-employer pension plans; and changes in planned or actual capital expenditures due to operating needs, changes in regulation, covenants in our debt arrangements and other expenses, including interest expenses. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures, including but not limited to risk factors contained in Quality Distribution, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Quality disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of developments occurring after the date of this release.

CONTACT: Joseph J. Troy
         Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
         800-282-2031 ext. 7195

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Geo 3 & Co. S.C.A., an entity formed by affiliates of TPG, the global private investment firm, acquired 5.5 million shares of GlobeOp Financial Services S.A. (“GlobeOp”) on February 3, 2012, at 435 pence per share, which is approximately 5.2% of the current issued share capital of GlobeOp. A copy of the Form 8 filing can be found on the company's website at www.globeop.com/globeop/ab/fi/.

TPG in U.S.:Owen Blicksilver PR, Inc.Lisa Baker, +1 914 725 5949orTPG in U.K.:Pelham Bell PottingerGavin Davis, +44 (0)20 7861 3159

Source: TPG

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE: ATR) today reported record fourth quarter sales and record annual sales and earnings per share.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Summary

• Sales up 3% to fourth quarter record of $545 million
• Strong sales growth in Pharma and Food + Beverage segments
• Beauty + Home sales and margins affected by softness in the U.S. and Europe
• Effective tax rate rose to 36.2% compared to 30.4% a year ago due to increased French taxes of $1.7 million primarily related to a surtax enacted in December
• Reported earnings per share reached $.57 compared to $.59 a year ago

FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS

For the quarter ended December 31, 2011, reported sales increased 3% to $544.5 million from $530.8 million a year ago. The effect of changes in currency exchange rates was insignificant.

Commenting on the quarter, Stephen J. Hagge, President and CEO, said, “The diversity of the markets and regions we serve once again proved that we can continue to grow in spite of softness in any one particular market or region. Consolidated sales grew on a reported and organic basis by 3%. As we anticipated, it was a challenging quarter for our Beauty + Home segment. We were going up against a strong fourth quarter of 2010 and certain customers remained cautious going into the end of the year particularly in the U.S. and Europe. However, strong results from Latin America and Asia allowed our Beauty + Home segment to achieve sales that were in-line with the prior year. Demand for our patient-friendly drug delivery devices from the prescription drug market drove our Pharma segment’s sales growth of 7%, and demand for innovative dispensing closures from the beverage market was the primary reason behind our Food + Beverage segment’s sales growth of 10%.”

Hagge continued, “Beauty + Home margins were pressured primarily by underutilized overhead resulting from the soft demand in the U.S. and Europe. In spite of this, our consolidated operating income reached a record fourth quarter level, driven by the profitability and sales growth of our Pharma and Food + Beverage segments. Our quarterly effective tax rate increased to 36.2% compared to 30.4% in the fourth quarter of 2010. The effective tax rate increased because of higher taxes in France of approximately $1.7 million that were primarily due to a retroactive surtax that was enacted by the French government in late December. Reflecting the impact of the higher tax rate, our reported diluted earnings per share reached $.57 per share compared to $.59 per share a year ago.”

ANNUAL RESULTS

Hagge stated, “I am pleased to report that 2011 was a record year for AptarGroup. Each segment reported sales growth over the prior year. We entered new market categories, made investments in our future, expanded our global presence, and ended the year with a strong balance sheet. Sales in 2011 increased 13% to a record $2.34 billion from $2.08 billion a year ago. Changes in exchange rates contributed approximately 4% to the sales growth. Reported diluted earnings per share increased 7% to a record $2.65 per share compared to $2.48 per share a year ago.

Also during the year, we were able to return value to our shareholders through corporate actions. AptarGroup spent approximately $102.6 million to repurchase approximately 2.1 million shares of common stock in 2011, leaving approximately 3.6 million shares authorized for repurchase at the end of the year. In 2011, a total of $53.3 million was paid to stockholders in the form of dividends, or $.80 per share. This reflects the 22% increase in the quarterly dividend approved by the Board in July of 2011.”

OUTLOOK

Hagge commented, “As we look to the first quarter of 2012, we are up against a difficult comparison to the prior year due to our strong results and a negative currency exchange rate environment. We also expect that certain customers will remain cautious into the first quarter. However, we are encouraged by the activity of 2012 customer projects and by our long-term growth prospects. Currently we anticipate that our first quarter diluted earnings per share will be in the range of $.60 to $.65 per share compared to $.64 per share reported last year.”

OPEN CONFERENCE CALL

There will be a conference call on Friday, February 10, 2012 at 8:00 a.m. CST to discuss the Company’s fourth quarter and annual results for 2011. The call will last approximately one hour. Interested parties are invited to listen to a live webcast by visiting the Investor Relations page at www.aptar.com. Replay of the conference call can also be accessed on the Investor Relations page of the website.

AptarGroup, Inc. is a leading global supplier of a broad range of innovative dispensing systems for the fragrance/cosmetic, personal care, pharmaceutical, household and food/beverage markets. AptarGroup is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, with manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, Asia and South America. For more information, visit www.aptar.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are based on management’s beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. Accordingly, AptarGroup’s actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that exist including, but not limited to, economic, environmental or political conditions in the various markets and countries in which AptarGroup operates, changes in customer and/or consumer spending levels; financial conditions of customers and suppliers; fluctuations in the cost of raw materials, components and other input costs; the Company’s ability to increase prices, contain costs and improve productivity; changes in capital availability or cost, including interest rate fluctuations; the competitive marketplace; fiscal and monetary policy; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; direct or indirect consequences of acts of war or terrorism; and labor relations. For additional information on these and other risks and uncertainties, please see AptarGroup’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K’s and Form 10-Q’s. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. AptarGroup undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

AptarGroup, Inc.Matthew DellaMaria815-477-0424

Source: AptarGroup, Inc.