Exide Technologies (Princeton, NJ) announced that for the third quarter ended December 31, 2002, the company reported a consolidated net loss of $7 million, compared with a consolidated net loss of $200.4 million for the prior-year period, after recording $12.2 million in costs related to its Chapter 11 reorganization efforts and certain workforce reductions and facility closures.
For the third quarter of fiscal 2003, the company reported net sales of $622.1 million compared with $633.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Decreased sales reflected declines in sales volumes in each of Exide's three business segments, which were partially offset by gains attributable to the strength of the Euro and the company's warranty management programs.
The company reported gross profit of $152.8 million and gross margin of 24.6 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2003. In the comparable quarter of fiscal 2002, Exide reported gross profit of $110 million and gross margin of 17.4 percent. Prior-year results were unfavorably impacted by inventory write-downs and a charge for excess purchase commitments. Comparable period-over-period margin improvements were derived from facility consolidations and realization of implemented manufacturing efficiencies.
