ArvinMeritor Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Charles G. "Chip" McClure said, "During the quarter, our Commercial Vehicle Systems (CVS) business continued to benefit from strong global markets, and we are pleased with our top-line growth in this important segment. In an effort to minimize the risks of cyclicality in North America and accelerate growth, CVS has made significant progress in its strategy to diversify its customer base and expand its global presence. As a result of this strategy, we recently announced two joint ventures with the Volvo Group to produce axles in France.

"The lack of availability and the price of steel continue to challenge all of our businesses as well as our entire industry. We have seen gross steel costs increase by approximately $100 million, principally in our LVS and CVS businesses during our fiscal year, of which $50 million was incurred in the fourth quarter.

"We are committed to finding a solution and are aggressively putting actions into place to find new steel sources all over the world, to identify alternative materials and to find new ways to engineer our products. We also are working with our suppliers and customers to actively address the issue of the supply and cost of steel."

McClure continued, "We remain committed to cash generation and debt reduction. I am pleased that the company generated approximately $225 million in free cash flow and $100 million in net proceeds from the sales of businesses and other assets during fiscal year 2004. This cash has been used to reduce our net debt by $329 million since Sept. 30, 2003. We used an additional $54 million of operating cash flow to buy out a lease that will be part of the Roll Coater divestiture."

Results of Continuing Operations - Fourth Quarter

Sales increased $316 million, or 19 percent, from the prior year's fourth quarter, and operating income was $57 million, a decline of $3 million from the same period last year. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2003 the company recorded a $20 million gain on the sale of a facility that was partially offset by an $11 million charge in one of its Mexican operations. The benefits from higher CVS volumes were reduced by higher steel costs. Equity in earnings of affiliates was $7 million, $5 million higher than the same period last year, primarily as a result of higher commercial vehicle affiliate earnings.

Specific business segment financial results include:

• Light Vehicle Systems (LVS) sales were $1,115 million, up $33 million,or three percent, from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2003. Operating income of $9 million was down $19 million from the same period last year. Operating income was unfavorably impacted by higher steel costs and $4 million in additional environmental remediation costs associated with a former Rockwell facility. Included in operating income a year ago was the $20 million gain on the sale of the company's exhaust tube manufacturing facility, partially offset by the $11 million charge in Mexico.
• Commercial Vehicle Systems (CVS) sales were $899 million, up $283 million, or 46 percent, from last year's fourth quarter, primarily as a result of stronger commercial vehicle truck and trailer volumes. North American and Western European truck and trailer volumes improved by 40 percent and 35 percent, respectively. Operating income of $48 million was $16 million, or 50 percent higher than the same period last year.

Full-Year Fiscal 2004 Results

Sales from continuing operations for fiscal year 2004 were $8.0 billion, up $1.3 billion, or 19 percent, compared to the same period last year. Sales would have been up approximately 12 percent, or $840 million, without the effect of currency translation that increased sales by approximately $400 million and the impact of acquisitions and divestitures. Operating income for fiscal year 2004 increased six percent to $260 million, from $246 million in the same period last year. Income from continuing operations for fiscal year 2004 increased to $127 million, a 27-percent increase compared to a year ago, resulting in diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.85, up from $1.48 per diluted share in the same period last year.

The effective tax rate in fiscal year 2004 for continuing operations decreased to 25 percent, compared to 30 percent last year. The reduction was driven by legal entity restructurings, the favorable tax treatment of the sale of APA and the favorable impact of recently issued IRS regulations supporting recoverability of previously disallowed capital losses. The company expects the fiscal year 2005 effective tax rate to approximate 27 percent.

Sales from discontinued operations for fiscal year 2004 were $1.1 billion, flat with the same period last year. Excluding the goodwill impairment charge, income from discontinued operations was $21 million, net of tax, down $16 million from the same period last year.

Net loss including discontinued operations, for fiscal year 2004 was $42 million, or $0.61 per diluted share. Net loss includes the non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $190 million, or $2.77 per diluted share. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2004, the company changed its method of accounting for certain CVS inventories. This change unfavorably impacted our previously reported results in the third quarter of fiscal year 2004 by $0.03 per diluted share. Excluding the goodwill charge and the impact of the inventory accounting change, diluted earnings per share would have been $2.19 for fiscal year 2004.

Outlook

The company's fiscal year 2005 outlook for light vehicle production is 15.9 million vehicles in North America and 16.8 million vehicles in Western Europe. The forecast for North American Class 8 truck production is 275,000 units in fiscal year 2005, McClure said, "Our sales outlook for continuing operations in fiscal year 2005 is approximately $8.4 billion, up about five percent from fiscal year 2004.

"While we believe our CVS business group will benefit from higher volumes, we will continue to face challenges posed by the availability and higher price of steel. We anticipate full-year diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in the range of $1.60 to $1.80.

"For the first quarter of fiscal year 2005, our sales forecast for continuing operations is $2.0 billion, and our outlook for diluted earnings per share from continuing operations is $0.15 to $0.20," McClure continued.

"ArvinMeritor has a great tradition of technological innovation and exceptional customer service," said McClure. "We have embarked on a path to focus our efforts and resources on our core competencies in the global automotive and commercial truck markets, where we can better add value for our customers and operate profitably for our shareowners. Our recent decision to divest our Light Vehicle Aftermarket and Roll Coater businesses reflects our commitment to focus on what we do best, while applying our traditional strengths in engineering and design to provide innovative solutions for our customers.

"We will strive to meet our short-term financial and customer commitments, while at the same time providing long-term sustainability and creating opportunities to prosper. We will do this by executing a clear direction, aligning the organization to the right goals and objectives, and holding everyone accountable. While we will no doubt face some tough challenges ahead and the need to make decisions based on the realities of the market, we remain committed to exceeding the performance expectations of our customers, shareowners and employees."

ArvinMeritor, Inc. is a premier $8 billion global supplier of a broad range of integrated systems, modules and components to the motor vehicle industry. The company serves light vehicle, commercial truck, trailer and specialty original equipment manufacturers and related aftermarkets. Headquartered in Troy, Mich., the company employs approximately 32,000 people at more than 150 manufacturing facilities in 27 countries. ArvinMeritor common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ARM. For more information, visit the company's Web site at: http://www.arvinmeritor.com.

All earnings per share amounts are on a diluted basis. The company's fiscal year ends on the Sunday nearest Sept. 30, and its fiscal quarters end on the Sundays nearest Dec. 31, March 31 and June 30. All year and quarter references relate to the company's fiscal year and fiscal quarters, unless otherwise stated.

(Images provided by ArvinMeritor)

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