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Exide Technologies Announces
New NASCAR® Sponsorship
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Alpharetta, Ga. – (April 27, 2006) –
Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE, www.exide.com)
a global leader in stored electrical-energy
solutions and the Official Battery of NASCAR,
announces a new NASCAR sponsorship for 2006. The
Company’s new affiliation with
Toyota Motor Sports and
Bill Davis Racing broadens its already
strong presence with America’s fastest growing
spectator sport.
This year, Toyota celebrates its 24th year of
participation in American professional auto
racing. In 2004, Toyota added a new page to its
motorsports history by becoming a regular
competitor in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
(NCTS) — becoming the first new manufacturer in
elite NASCAR competition in more than 50 years.
Powering all of Toyota’s American racing
programs is TRD (Toyota Racing Development)
U.S.A., the North American racing arm for
design, development and assembly of Toyota’s
factory racing engines.
As the Official Battery Company of Bill Davis
Racing and TRD, Exide will be a contingency
sponsor of all nine Toyota Tundra truck teams
competing in the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series and the primary sponsor of the Bill Davis
team racing truck (#23), driven by Johnny Benson
for three Craftsman Truck Series races –
Michigan, Bristol, and Homestead. Fans can track
the team’s progress weekly on
www.exide.com/racing/.
“Exide produces top-notch products that have
been part of the NASCAR community for a long
time, and I look forward to driving with Exide
into victory lane!” said Benson.
Exide, an original equipment supplier to Toyota
since 1988 and affiliated with NASCAR since
1993, markets its leading brands of automotive
batteries through automotive aftermarket parts
distributors and professional installers
nationwide.
“Our new Toyota Motor Sports sponsorship further
enhances the marketing opportunities of the
officially licensed batteries of NASCAR,” said
Jim Jelin, Vice President of Marketing and
Retail Sales for Exide Technologies.
The premium NASCAR®-branded products,
distributed through Exide’s customer
partnerships in North America, are available in
19 different automotive types, to fit most cars,
vans, sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks
on the road today. The new Exide® NASCAR®
Extreme™ is backed by a full 40-month free
replacement, 108-month limited warranty and 40
months 24/7 roadside assistance protection. To
locate an authorized Exide dealer, call
1-800-START-IT, or log onto
www.exide.com.
About Exide Technologies
Exide Technologies, with operations in 89
countries, is one of the world’s largest
producers and recyclers of lead-acid batteries.
The Company’s four global business groups –
Transportation Americas, Transportation Europe
and Rest of World, Industrial Energy Americas
and Industrial Energy Europe and Rest of World –
provide a comprehensive range of stored
electrical energy products and services for
industrial and transportation applications.
Transportation markets include
original-equipment and aftermarket automotive,
heavy-duty truck, agricultural and marine
applications, and new technologies for hybrid
vehicles and 42-volt automotive applications.
Industrial markets include network power
applications such as telecommunications systems,
electric utilities, railroads, photovoltaic
(solar-power related) and uninterruptible power
supply (UPS), and motive-power applications
including lift trucks, mining and other
commercial vehicles.
Further information about Exide, including its
financial results, are available at
www.exide.com.
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Media/Investor Contact |
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Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, this
press release may be deemed to contain
“forward-looking” statements. The Company desires to
avail itself of the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
(the “Act”) and is including this cautionary
statement for the express purpose of availing itself
of the protection afforded by the Act. The Company
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statement in this or any
prior forward-looking statements whether as a result
of new information, future developments or
otherwise.
Examples of forward-looking statements include, but
are not limited to (a) projections of revenues, cost
of raw materials, income or loss, earnings or loss
per share, capital expenditures, growth prospects,
dividends, the effect of currency translations,
capital structure and other financial items, (b)
statements of plans of and objectives of the Company
or its management or Board of Directors, including
the introduction of new products, or estimates or
predictions of actions by customers, suppliers,
competitors or regulating authorities, (c)
statements of future economic performance, (d)
statements of assumptions, such as the prevailing
weather conditions in the Company’s market areas,
underlying other statements and statements about the
Company or its business and (e) statements regarding
the ability to comply with or alternatively obtain
amendments under the Company’s debt agreements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from these forward looking statements
include, but are not limited to, the following
general factors such as: (i) adverse reactions by
creditors, vendors, customers, and others to, among
other things, the Company’s results, financial
conditions or compliance with financial covenants,
(ii) the Company’s ability to implement and fund
based on current liquidity business strategies and
restructuring plans, (iii) unseasonable weather
(warm winters and cool summers) which adversely
affects demand for automotive and some industrial
batteries, (iv) the Company’s substantial debt and
debt service requirements which may restrict the
Company’s operational and financial flexibility, as
well as imposing significant interest and financing
costs (v) the Company’s ability to comply with the
covenants in its debt agreements or obtain waivers
of noncompliance, (vi) the litigation proceedings to
which the Company is subject, the results of which
could have a material adverse effect on the Company
and its business, (vii) the realization of the tax
benefits of the Company’s net operating loss carry
forwards, of which is dependent upon future taxable
income, (viii) the fact that lead, a major
constituent in most of the Company’s products,
experiences significant fluctuations in market price
and is a hazardous material that may give rise to
costly environmental and safety claims, (ix)
competitiveness of the battery markets in North
America and Europe, (x) the substantial management
time and financial and other resources needed for
the Company’s consolidation and rationalization of
acquired entities, (xi) risks involved in foreign
operations such as disruption of markets, changes in
import and export laws, currency restrictions,
currency exchange rate fluctuations and possible
terrorist attacks against U.S. interests, (xii) the
Company’s exposure to fluctuations in interest rates
on its variable debt, (xiii) the Company’s ability
to maintain and generate liquidity to meet its
operating needs, (xiv) general economic conditions,
(xv) the ability to acquire goods and services
and/or fulfill labor needs at budgeted costs, (xvi)
the Company’s reliance on a single supplier for its
polyethylene battery separators, (xvii) the
Company’s ability to comply with the provisions of
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002,
(xviii) the ability to successfully pass along
increased costs to its customers, and (xix) the
Company’s ability to successfully resolve the $27.5
million fine with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Southern District of Illinois.
Therefore, the Company cautions each reader of this
press release carefully to consider those factors
set forth above and those factors described in
Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Registration
Statement on Form S-3 filed with the SEC on
September 14, 2005 and in the Company’s most recent
Form 10-Q filed on February 9, 2006 because such
factors have, in some instances, affected and in the
future could affect, the ability of the Company to
achieve its projected results and may cause actual
results to differ materially from those expressed
herein.
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