Bush Industries Reports Third Quarter Results

Bush Industries Reports Third Quarter Results 


JAMESTOWN, N.Y., Nov. 11  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bush Industries, Inc. , a
leading manufacturer of ready-to-assemble furniture, case goods furniture and a
supplier of surface technologies, released its third quarter and nine-month
financial results for the period ended September 27, 2003.

Third Quarter Results

Net sales for the third quarter were $79.0 million, in line with the Company's
previous guidance of $78 million to $82 million.  Net sales for the 2003 third
quarter decreased approximately 6.4 percent compared with $84.4 million in last
year's third quarter.

The Company reported a net loss of $3.6 million, or a loss of $0.26 per diluted
share, compared with the Company's guidance of a fully diluted earnings per
share (EPS) loss of $0.25 to $0.28.  This compared to net income of $492,000, or
$0.04 per diluted share in the same quarter for the previous year.  Included in
the 2003-third quarter results were losses per share of $0.08 [including $0.01
for cost reduction initiative] at Bush Technologies, $0.08 [including $0.02 for
cost reduction initiative] at Bush Furniture Europe and $0.10 [including $0.02
for cost reduction initiative] at Bush Furniture North America.  Results at Bush
Technologies were impacted by sales that were lower than expected, while Bush
Furniture Europe results were in line with expectations.  Results at Bush
Furniture North America include costs associated with multiple new product
rollouts of $0.03 per share to support the Company's planned strategic
initiatives and costs related to the Company's refinancing efforts of $0.04 per
share.

"As a result of the third quarter performance, we are continuing to take
aggressive actions toward further controlling our costs. Our objective
throughout 2003 has been to restructure the Company to meet the needs of the
changing markets that we participate in. We have and are continuing to take
clear action to support this objective. Recently, we undertook an immediate
downsizing effort at Bush Technologies to reduce expenses because of current
market conditions. Furthermore, we are intensifying our efforts to identify and
implement cost reductions on a company-wide basis to position Bush for the
future," stated Paul Bush, chairman and chief executive officer.

Mr. Bush continued, "We are encouraged by the activities of our largest business
segment, our North America Furniture division. We are gaining momentum through
our new initiatives that are starting to bear fruit and expect the current
overall improved sales trends to continue into the fourth quarter, and more
significantly, into next year."

Nine-Month Results

For the first nine months of 2003, net sales were $224.7 million compared with
$251.7 million in the same period last year. The Company reported a net loss of
$16.7 million, or $1.21 per diluted share for the 2003 nine-month period,
compared with a net loss of $272,000, or $0.02 per diluted share last year. The
2003 nine-month results include a charge of approximately $11.5 million net of
income taxes ($17.1 million pre-tax), or $0.83 per diluted share associated with
its cost reduction initiative. The 2002 nine-month results include a charge for
the cumulative effect of accounting change of approximately $2.4 million or
$0.17 per diluted share for the impairment of goodwill attributed to the
Company's German operations.

Bank Debt/Lending Agreement

The Company's debt increased by $16.5 million to $131.4 million, compared with
$114.9 million at the end of the 2003-second quarter primarily as a result of an
increase in accounts receivable that was a consequence of Bush Furniture North
America and Bush Technologies not selling certain of their accounts receivable.
The bank debt is now classified under current liabilities on the Company's
balance sheet due to the fact that Bush's existing bank agreement expires on
June 30, 2004. Bush has received temporary waivers from its lenders regarding
non-compliance with its covenants through March 1, 2004. This will facilitate
and allow the Company the additional time to pursue its two-continent financing
arrangements.

  Divisional Highlights
  Select highlights by division:

   -- Bush Furniture North America (BFNA):

      1. Under the Eric Morgan case goods initiative, BFNA is making inroads
         in the home furnishings channel. Several new product lines in
         bedroom, home entertainment and home office were introduced during
         the quarter.

      2. New commercial office line products were placed at both the office
         superstore and the commercial office dealer channels. Additionally,
         several new S.O.H.O. product lines were introduced and are being
         tested by the office superstores.

      3. At the electronic and office superstores, BFNA launched new lines
         of products for digital and plasma televisions, among other items.
         These new product lines continue to strengthen the Company's
         offerings to its retail partners.

      4. During the third quarter, BFNA developed import items and lines
         that will compliment its domestic laminate offerings, allowing the
         Company to provide a full assortment and be a total supplier to its
         retail partners.

      5. BFNA accelerated shipments of new product to its original equipment
         manufacturer partners.

  -- Bush Furniture Europe (BFE):
     At its annual September furniture show, BFE introduced Caradom, a new
     line of furniture products for the healthcare industry; an expanded
     line of young living and home entertainment product offerings; and two
     new professional office furniture product lines. All of BFE's new
     product offerings were well received by the Company's customers.

  -- Bush Technologies (BT):
     BT experienced significantly lower than expected sales during the 2003
     third quarter due to lower than anticipated cell phone sales by one of
     its OEM partners, which subsequently reduced the amount of decorative
     faceplates sold. As a result, the Company took immediate actions to
     down size the division, primarily through reductions in personnel.

  Guidance for Remainder of 2003


"The Company currently expects sales in the fourth quarter to be in a range of
$83 million to $88 million, with sequential sales growth primarily from our
North American Furniture operations, resulting from our specific market
initiatives. We anticipate a fully diluted consolidated earnings per share (EPS)
loss of $0.47 to $0.53 for the fourth quarter. This loss would be inclusive of
costs which relate to obtaining the bank waivers and our financing efforts
($0.15 to $0.17 EPS) and to our previously announced 2003 cost reduction
initiative ($0.07 EPS) which will be basically completed by the end of 2003.

The balance of the loss is primarily from Bush Furniture Europe (BFE) and Bush
Technologies (BT). BFE's loss results from the completion of the previously
announced consolidation of facilities, reduction of personnel, and the impact of
its planned vacation shutdown in the fourth quarter. BT's loss is reflective of
lower sales levels that are a result of reduced cell phone sales that utilize
our decorated faceplates. BFNA, while anticipated to experience sequential sales
growth from the Company's specific initiatives outlined earlier, will be
impacted by further costs connected with our new multiple product rollouts.

As part of our cost saving measures, we are evaluating several other
alternatives.  After we complete our evaluation, we may incur an additional
$0.25 to $0.30 per share of non-cash charges.  Additionally, we will be
assessing the carrying value of our goodwill under SFAS No. 142 and the carrying
value of our other long-term assets.  If there is a resultant charge in the
fourth quarter, it would be non-cash in nature.  We realize that the extent and
resultant impact of our actions are disappointing in the short term, but taking
these actions now should better position the Company as we move forward into
2004," concluded Paul Bush.

Conference Call

The management of Bush will host a conference call on Wednesday, November 12,
2003 at 11:00 a.m. ET to discuss third quarter results. Those who wish to
participate on the conference call may do so by calling the toll-free number
888-566-5907 approximately 15 minutes prior to the 11:00 a.m. ET starting time.
A replay of the call in its entirety will be available by telephone for seven
days following completion of the live call, at 800-964-3814. The password for
the live call is 2874 and the leader's name is Don Hauck.

The conference call will also be webcast simultaneously over the Internet
through Investor Broadcast Network's Vcall web site, which can be accessed at
http://www.vcall.com/, and will be rebroadcast by Vcall through Wednesday,
November 19, 2003.

Additional financial and/or statistical information can be accessed at our web
site, http://www.bushindustries.com/ listed under the "About Us - Press Release"
section.

Bush Industries, Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of ready-to- assemble
furniture, casegoods furniture, and a supplier of surface technologies. The
Company operates its business in three segments: Bush Furniture North America,
which concentrates on furniture for the commercial office, home office, home
entertainment, bedroom and other home furnishings distributed by leading
retailers; Bush Furniture Europe, which sells commercial, home office and other
furnishings in the European market; and Bush Technologies, which is focused on
decorated face plates for cell phones, as well as the utilization of surface
technologies in diverse applications such as automotive interiors, cosmetics,
sporting goods and consumer electronics. Bush operates several manufacturing and
warehouse facilities throughout North America and Europe.

   BUSH INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

   Financial Highlights (Unaudited)



The following data sets forth certain condensed consolidated statement of
operations information for the third quarter and nine-month period of 2003 and
2002:

                                      For the Three        For the Nine
                                      Months Ended         Months Ended
                                   9/27/03    9/28/02    9/27/03    9/28/02
                                      (In Thousands Except Per Share Data)

  Net Sales                        $79,004    $84,411   $224,697   $251,672

  Costs and Expenses:
    Cost of Sales                   60,237     62,333    177,505    182,457
    Selling, General, and
     Administrative                 21,563     19,220     57,079     60,002
    Interest                         1,953      1,904      5,602      5,490
    Restructuring                      993          0      9,671          0
                                    84,746     83,457    249,857    247,949
  (Loss) Earnings Before Income
   Taxes and Cumulative Effect
   of Accounting Change             (5,742)       954    (25,160)     3,723

  Income Tax Benefit (Expense)       2,099       (462)     8,482     (1,597)

  (Loss) Earnings Before
   Cumulative Effect of
   Accounting Change                (3,643)       492    (16,678)     2,126

  Cumulative Effect of
   Accounting Change                     0          0          0     (2,398)

  Net (Loss) Earnings              ($3,643)      $492   ($16,678)     ($272)

  Basic (Loss) Earnings
   Per Share:
    Before Cumulative Effect of
     Accounting Change              ($0.26)     $0.04     ($1.21)     $0.15
    Cumulative Effect of
     Accounting Change                   0          0          0      (0.17)
    Net Earnings (Loss)             ($0.26)     $0.04     ($1.21)    ($0.02)

  Diluted Earnings (Loss)
   Per Share:
    Before Cumulative Effect
     of Accounting Change           ($0.26)     $0.04     ($1.21)     $0.15
    Cumulative Effect of
     Accounting Change                   0          0          0      (0.17)
    Net (Loss) Earnings             ($0.26)     $0.04     ($1.21)    ($0.02)

  Weighted Average Shares
   Outstanding:
    Basic                           13,824     13,842     13,827     13,813
    Diluted                         13,824     13,857     13,827     14,037


  Other Sales and Earnings Information (In Thousands):

                                     For the Three          For the Nine
                                      Months Ended          Months Ended
                                   9/27/03    9/28/02    9/27/03    9/28/02

  Net Sales To External Customers:
    Bush Furniture North America   $61,499    $68,284   $166,057   $198,282
    Bush Furniture Europe           14,103     10,124     46,304     38,667
    Bush Technologies                3,402      6,003     12,336     14,723
  Consolidated Net Sales           $79,004    $84,411   $224,697   $251,672

  Segment Earnings (Loss) Before
   Income
  Taxes and Cumulative Effect of
  Accounting Change:
    Bush Furniture North America   ($1,832)    $2,827    ($3,430)    $8,715
    Bush Furniture Europe           (1,264)    (1,404)    (1,462)    (2,999)
    Bush Technologies               (1,653)      (469)    (3,141)    (1,993)
                                    (4,749)       954     (8,033)    $3,723
  Inventory Write Down Charge            0          0     (7,456)         0
  Restructuring                       (993)         0     (9,671)         0
  Consolidated Earnings (Loss)
   Before Income Taxes and
   Cumulative Effect of Accounting
   Change                          $(5,742)      $954   $(25,160)    $3,723

  Certain Consolidated Balance Sheet Data (In Thousands):

                                                   9/27/03       12/28/02
  Cash and Cash Equivalents                         $4,152         $2,729
  Trade Receivables                                 26,948         16,544
  Inventories                                       55,211         56,204
  Total Current Assets                              98,697         86,145
  Property, Plant & Equipment (Net)                187,093        196,922
  Total Assets                                     314,107        310,105

  Current Liabilities                             $178,491        $51,344
  Long-Term Debt                                     3,230        100,223
  Total Liabilities                                195,889        174,020
  Stockholders' Equity                             118,218        136,085
  Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity       314,107        310,105


  Other Key Financial Data (In Thousands):

                        For the Three         For the Nine        For Full
                        Months Ending         Months Ending      Year Ending
                     9/27/03     9/28/02    9/27/03     9/28/02    12/28/02
  Depreciation and
   Amortization       4,769       4,828     14,368      14,772      20,053
  Capital
   Expenditures       1,059       1,300      2,373       4,412       5,533



Certain statements and information included in this press release constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual
results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results.
Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the intent, belief,
projected or current expectations of the Company or its Officers (including
statements preceded by, followed by or including forward- looking terminology
such as "may," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"continue" or similar expressions or comparable terminology), with respect to
various matters. The Company cannot guarantee future results, industry trends,
levels of activity, performance or achievements. Factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, economic,
competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting the Company's
operations, markets, products, services and prices, changes in estimates
regarding the Company's future contractual obligations, and other factors
discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(the "SEC"). Copies of the Company's SEC filings are available from the SEC or
may be obtained upon request from the Company. The Company does not undertake
any obligation to update the information contained herein, which speaks only as
of this date. 

DATASOURCE: Bush Industries, Inc.



CONTACT:  Jeffrey O'Keefe of The Global Consulting Group,

[phone], for Bush Industries, Inc.; or Donald Hauck, Sr. Vice

President of Bush Industries, Inc., [phone], Ext. 3509



Web site:  http://www.bushindustries.com/ 

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