Net sales for the fourth quarter were $205.9 million, compared with $166.6 million for the same period last year. Net loss for the quarter was $11.6 million, compared with a loss of $134.9 million for the same period last year.
For the year ended December 31, 2002, net sales were $819.6 million compared to $863.4 million for 2001. Net loss for fiscal year 2002 totaled $56.2 million, compared to a net loss of $232.2 million in 2001.
"Industry conditions continue to be depressed due to overall economic activity and trucking conditions, but are beginning to show some signs of improvement,” said William P Greubel, president and chief executive officer. “We are pleased with the progress made during the quarter toward improving our operations. Our results for the fourth quarter reflect lower production volumes due to our planned holiday shutdowns and the investments that were made to implement the various quality, productivity and process improvements in our business. In addition, we are very pleased with our ability to repay $100 million in debt during 2002, a 22% reduction in our outstanding indebtedness.
"Based upon our 2002 results, we do not expect to meet our financial covenants in 2003. We anticipate successfully completing discussions with our lenders prior to the filing of the company's Form 10K due March 31, 2003. However, in the event these discussions are not successful, there will be a profound impact on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2002 as a result of the need to record various debt obligations, totaling approximately $347 million, as current liabilities on the year-end balance sheet. The result of the bank discussions should not impact the company's income statement for the twelve months ended December 31, 2002. However, it would likely have an effect on our future operating results because the company would be constrained from a liquidity perspective and customer and supplier relationships would likely be disrupted. We are optimistic that this will be avoided by the successful completion of the discussions with our lenders."