-- Announces price increases for North American Masterbatch, Engineered Plastics and Distribution divisions
AKRON, Ohio, July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- A. Schulman, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHLM) announced today that it has taken further steps to help offset rapidly rising raw material, energy, transportation and supplier costs in its North American businesses.
The Company will implement price increases of up to 10 percent for products of its Masterbatch division and up to 20 percent for its Engineered Plastics division, effective August 1, 2008, or as contracts allow. These price actions are in addition to the price increases of up to 20 percent that were announced June 13, 2008 for both divisions.
For its Distribution division, A. Schulman also announced price increases of up to 10 percent, effective August 1, 2008, as well as revisions to its payment and shipment terms, effective with shipments of July 15, 2008, or as contracts allow. These changes in terms will not affect customers of the Masterbatch and Engineered Plastics divisions.
"We are doing all we can to alleviate the effects of the continuing and unprecedented increases in raw material, energy and shipping costs, and the subsequent pricing pressure we are seeing from suppliers," said Joseph M. Gingo, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "These actions, combined with our ongoing focus to improve productivity and efficiency throughout our global operations, will strengthen our position in the marketplace and enhance our ability to deliver greater value to our customers and stockholders." About A. Schulman Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, A. Schulman is a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins. These materials are used in a variety of consumer, industrial, automotive and packaging applications. The Company employs about 2,200 people and has 16 manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe (including Asia). Revenues for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2007, were $1.8 billion. Additional information about A. Schulman can be found at http://www.aschulman.com/ .
Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historic or current facts. They use such words as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. These forward-looking statements are based on currently available information, but are subject to a variety of uncertainties, unknown risks and other factors concerning the Company's operations and business environment, which are difficult to predict and are beyond the control of the Company. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by these forward-looking statements, and that could adversely affect the Company's future financial performance, include, but are not limited to, the following: -- Worldwide and regional economic, business and political conditions, including continuing economic uncertainties in some or all of the Company's major product markets; -- Fluctuations in the value of currencies in major areas where the Company operates, including the U.S. dollar, euro, U.K. pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, Chinese yuan and Indonesian rupiah; -- Fluctuations in the prices of sources of energy or plastic resins and other raw materials; -- Changes in customer demand and requirements;
-- Escalation in the cost of providing employee health care;
-- The outcome of any legal claims known or unknown;
-- The performance of the North American auto market; and
-- The North American recessionary economy. Additional risk factors that could affect the Company's performance are set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that it believes to be immaterial also may adversely affect the Company. Should any known or unknown risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, or underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, these developments could have material adverse effects on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations.
This release contains time-sensitive information that reflects management's best analysis only as of the date of this release. A. Schulman does not undertake an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new events, information or circumstances, or otherwise. Further information concerning issues that could materially affect financial performance related to forward-looking statements can be found in A. Schulman's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: A. Schulman, Inc.
CONTACT: Paul DeSantis, CFO and Treasurer of A. Schulman, Inc., +1-330-666-3751 Web site: http://www.aschulman.com/
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