Stock exchange release
May 3, 2006
REORGANIZATION OF FISKARS PRODUCTION CAPACITY CONTINUES IN THE US
REORGANIZATION OF FISKARS PRODUCTION CAPACITY CONTINUES IN THE US The consumer products division of Fiskars Corporation, Fiskars Brands, Inc. is expanding its sourcing activities and will discontinue manufacturing at four of its industrial locations in the US. These measures form a basis for the company's reorganization that was announced in October 2005. They are targeted to create cost savings to improve competitiveness and profitability. Fiskars Brands will also continue implementing it's strategy of concentrating in core products by discontinuing two minor non-core product categories. The decisions announced today will altogether reduce the number of employees by approximately 430 people during 2006. Two manufacturing facilities will be closed in Wisconsin and the products will be sourced in the future. One of the facilities will continue as a distribution center. Personnel reduction in this area will be around 300. The facilities have been manufacturing mainly cutting tools like scissors and other crafting products. The other measures will be taken in Georgia where manufacturing and marketing of floor mats of rubber will be discontinued and in Arizona where soaker hose business will be discontinued. The personnel reductions in these businesses will total 130 and they have annual net sales level of EUR 21 million. The restructuring measures announced today have little effect on this year's corporate net sales or operating results before restructuring costs. The restructuring project announced in 2005 of Fiskars Brands, Inc. will all in all lead to non-recurring costs of some EUR 50 million of which EUR 39.7 million was booked already in 2005. The remaining approximately EUR 10 million will mainly consist of personnel severance costs. The positive impact of the structural measures is expected to take effect gradually in the latter part of the year, however, mainly during 2007. Fiskars Corporation will publish the results of the first quarter of the year on May 11, 2006. No substantial costs relating to the restructuring project will have been booked on this period and the operating results of the wholly owned industrial activities are estimated to be on last year's level. Heikki Allonen President and CEO