DETROIT — American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings (AAM) has updated its earnings outlook for 2004. Due to the impact of lower production volumes scheduled by its customers for the rest of the year and the higher net cost of its purchased metal market commodities, AAM said it now expects full year 2004 earnings to range from $3.40 per share to $3.50 per share, excluding the impact of the one-time charge of $23.5 million or 28 cents per share related to debt refinancing and redemption activities in the first quarter of 2004. The company also announced that it expects to achieve its previously announced estimate of approximately $200 million in positive free cash flow for 2004.
“Although we are optimistic about the overall state of the economy, the impact of higher oil, steel and metallic prices has slowed the pace of the general recovery and softened our customers’ production schedules in the second half of 2004,” said American Axle & Manufacturing Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Richard Dauch. “We continue to have success in our quality and productivity initiatives and will deliver solid earnings and cash flow performance in 2004. We are pleased that our significant and growing R&D effort is paying off in the form of new contracts that will enable AAM to serve new customers and new markets with exciting new products. Coupled with the initiation of our quarterly dividend and stock repurchase program earlier in the year, AAM has made great progress toward achieving its strategic objectives in 2004.”
For more information about AAM, go to: www.aam.com.
_______________________________________
Click here to view the rest of today’s headlines.
