Form 10-K
Table of Contents

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-K

 

 

 

x Annual report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008 or

 

¨ Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the transition period from                      to                     

Commission file number: 001-32253

 

 

ENERSYS

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   23-3058564

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

2366 Bernville Road

Reading, Pennsylvania 19605

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 610-208-1991

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class    Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share    New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    x  YES    ¨  NO

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    ¨  YES    x  NO

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    x  YES    ¨  NO

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer  ¨

 

Accelerated filer  x

Non-accelerated filer  ¨    

Smaller reporting company  ¨

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    ¨  YES    x  NO

Aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by nonaffiliates at September 30, 2007: $464,815,772 (based upon its closing transaction price on the New York Stock Exchange on September 28, 2007).

Common stock outstanding at June 8, 2008:                          Common Stock 49,596,543 shares

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for its Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on July 17, 2008, are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Annual Report.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Reform Act”) provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of EnerSys. EnerSys and its representatives may, from time to time, make written or verbal forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and its reports to stockholders. Generally, the inclusion of the words “anticipates,” “believe,” “expect,” “future,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “will,” “plans,” or the negative of such terms and similar expressions identify statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and that are intended to come within the safe harbor protection provided by those sections. All statements addressing operating performance, events, or developments that EnerSys expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including statements relating to sales growth, earnings or earnings per share growth, and market share, as well as statements expressing optimism or pessimism about future operating results, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Reform Act. The forward-looking statements are and will be based on management’s then-current beliefs and assumptions regarding future events and operating performance and on information currently available to management, and are applicable only as of the dates of such statements.

Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Although we do not make forward-looking statements unless we believe we have a reasonable basis for doing so, we cannot guarantee their accuracy. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements due to a number of uncertainties and risks, including the risks described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and other unforeseen risks. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise these statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements for a number of reasons, including the following factors:

 

   

general cyclical patterns of the industries in which our customers operate;

 

   

the extent to which we cannot control our fixed and variable costs;

 

   

the raw material in our products may experience significant fluctuations in market price and availability;

 

   

certain raw materials constitute hazardous materials that may give rise to costly environmental and safety claims;

 

   

legislation regarding the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in our products;

 

   

risks involved in foreign operations such as disruption of markets, changes in import and export laws, currency restrictions and currency exchange rate fluctuations;

 

   

our ability to raise our selling prices to our customers when our product costs increase;

 

   

the extent to which we are able to efficiently utilize our global manufacturing facilities and optimize their capacity;

 

   

general economic conditions in the markets in which we operate;

 

   

competitiveness of the battery markets throughout the world;

 

   

our timely development of competitive new products and product enhancements in a changing environment and the acceptance of such products and product enhancements by customers;

 

   

our ability to adequately protect our proprietary intellectual property, technology and brand names;

 

   

unanticipated litigation and regulatory proceedings to which we might be subject;

 

B-2


Table of Contents
   

changes in our market share in the business segments and regions where we operate;

 

   

our ability to implement our cost reduction initiatives successfully and improve our profitability;

 

   

unanticipated quality problems associated with our products;

 

   

our ability to implement business strategies, including our acquisition strategy, and restructuring plans;

 

   

our acquisition strategy may not be successful in locating advantageous targets;

 

   

our ability to successfully integrate any assets, liabilities, customers, systems and management personnel we acquire into our operations and our ability to realize related revenue synergies and cost savings within expected time frames;

 

   

our debt and debt service requirements which may restrict our operational and financial flexibility, as well as imposing unfavorable interest and financing costs;

 

   

our ability to maintain our existing credit facilities or obtain satisfactory new credit facilities.

 

   

adverse changes in our short- and long-term debt levels under our credit facilities;

 

   

our exposure to fluctuations in interest rates on our variable-rate debt;

 

   

our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel;

 

   

our ability to maintain good relations with labor unions;

 

   

credit risk associated with our customers, including risk of insolvency and bankruptcy;

 

   

our ability to successfully recover in the event of a disaster affecting our infrastructure; and

 

   

terrorist acts or acts of war, whether in the United States or abroad, could cause damage or disruption to our operations, our suppliers, channels to market or customers, or could cause costs to increase, or create political or economic instability.

This list of factors that may affect future performance is illustrative, but by no means exhaustive. Accordingly, all forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty.

 

B-3


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Annual Report on Form 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2008

Index

 

          Page

PART I

  

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

   B-2

Item 1.

  

Business

   B-5

Item 1A.

  

Risk Factors

   B-12

Item 1B.

  

Unresolved Staff Comments

   B-17

Item 2.

  

Properties

   B-18

Item 3.

  

Legal Proceedings

   B-19

Item 4.

  

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

   B-19

PART II

  

Item 5.

  

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

   B-19

Item 6.

  

Selected Financial Data

   B-22

Item 7.

  

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

   B-23

Item 7A.

  

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

   B-53

Item 8.

  

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

   B-56

Item 9.

  

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

   B-104

Item 9A.

  

Controls and Procedures

   B-104

Item 9B.

  

Other Information

   B-104

PART III

  

Item 10.

  

Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant

   B-105

Item 11.

  

Executive Compensation

   B-105

Item 12.

  

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

   B-105

Item 13.

  

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

   B-105

Item 14.

  

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

   B-105

PART IV

  

Item 15.

  

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

   B-106
  

Signatures

   B-109

 

B-4


Table of Contents

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

EnerSys (the “Company,” “we,” or “us”) is the world’s largest manufacturer, marketer and distributor of industrial batteries. We also manufacture, market and distribute related products such as chargers, power equipment and battery accessories, and we provide related after-market and customer-support services for industrial batteries. Industrial batteries generally are characterized as reserve power batteries or motive power batteries.

Reserve power products also are known as network, standby or stationary power batteries and are used primarily for backup power applications to ensure continuous power supply in case of main (primary) power failure or outage. Reserve power batteries are used primarily to supply standby direct current (“DC”) operating power for:

 

   

telecommunications systems, such as wireless, wireline and internet access systems, central and local switching systems, satellite stations and radio transmission stations;

 

   

uninterruptible power systems (“UPS”) applications for computer and computer-controlled systems, including process control systems;

 

   

specialty power applications, including security systems, and for premium starting, lighting and ignition applications;

 

   

switchgear and electrical control systems used in electric utilities and energy pipelines; and

 

   

commercial and military aircraft, submarines and tactical military vehicles.

Motive power products are used to provide power primarily for electric industrial forklift trucks. They compete primarily with propane- and diesel-powered internal combustion engines used principally in the following applications:

 

   

industrial forklift trucks in distribution and manufacturing facilities;

 

   

mining equipment, including scoops, coal haulers, shield haulers, underground forklifts, shuttle cars and locomotives; and

 

   

railroad equipment, including diesel locomotive starting, rail car lighting and rail signaling equipment;

History

EnerSys and its predecessor companies have been manufacturers of industrial batteries for over 100 years. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners teamed with the management of Yuasa, Inc. in late 2000 to acquire from Yuasa Corporation (Japan) its reserve power and motive power battery businesses in North and South America. We were incorporated in October 2000 for the purpose of completing the Yuasa, Inc. acquisition. On January 1, 2001, we changed our name from Yuasa, Inc. to EnerSys to reflect our focus on the energy systems nature of our businesses.

Today, our reserve power batteries are marketed and sold principally under the PowerSafe, DataSafe, Hawker, Genesis, Odyssey, Varta and Cyclon brands. Our motive power batteries are marketed and sold principally under the Hawker, EnerSys Ironclad, General Battery, Fiamm Motive Power, Uranio, Oldham and Express brands. We also manufacture and sell related direct current—DC—power products including chargers, electronic power equipment and a wide variety of battery accessories. Our battery products span a broad range of sizes, configurations and electrical capacities, enabling us to meet a wide variety of customer applications.

 

B-5


Table of Contents

In August 2004, EnerSys completed an initial public offering (the “IPO”). The Company’s Registration Statement (SEC File No. 333-115553) for its IPO was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 26, 2004. The Company’s common stock commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange on July 30, 2004, under the trading symbol “ENS.”

We have expanded our product offerings and services globally through internal growth and acquisitions.

In March 2002, we acquired the reserve power and motive power business of the Energy Storage Group of Invensys plc. (“ESG”). In June 2005, we acquired the motive power battery business of FIAMM, S.p.A. (FIAMM), which complements our then existing European motive power business. We also made smaller acquisitions of a producer of specialty nickel-based batteries based in Germany; a producer of lithium power sources, primarily for aerospace & defense applications located in the USA; a lead-acid battery business in Switzerland; a manufacturing facility in China, and a 97% interest in a producer of industrial batteries, located in Bulgaria.

2008 restructuring plan

On May 23, 2007, we committed to the principal features of a plan to restructure certain of our European production and commercial operations. In part, the restructuring facilitated the integration of Energia AD into our worldwide operations. The restructuring was designed to improve operational efficiencies and eliminate redundant costs primarily attributable to the Energia transaction. Restructuring actions commenced upon the completion of the requisite consultations, and we expect it to be substantially completed by the end of fiscal 2009. In fiscal 2008, as a result of this restructuring, we incurred cash expenses of approximately $9 million, primarily for employee severance-related payments, and non-cash expenses of approximately $4 million, primarily for fixed asset write-offs.

Recent Developments

Sale of Manufacturing Facility

In May 2008, we announced that, as part of our ongoing European restructuring program, we sold our Manchester, England manufacturing facility at a net of tax gain of approximately $8 million. This sale is consistent with our strategy to migrate our production to lower cost facilities.

Concurrent Public Offerings of Senior Convertible Notes and Common Stock and a Private Offering of a New Senior Secured Credit Facility

In May 2008, following the end of fiscal 2008, the Company completed the sale of $172.5 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured convertible notes, and used the net proceeds of $168.2 million to repay a portion of its existing senior secured Term Loan B. The senior unsecured convertible notes are potentially convertible at the option of the holders, at any time on or after March 1, 2015, but prior to the maturity date, into 24.6305 EnerSys common shares per $1,000 in original principal amount of the notes, equivalent to $40.60 per share or approximately 4.25 million common shares. It is our current intent to settle the principal amount of any conversions in cash, and any additional conversion consideration in cash, shares of EnerSys common stock or a combination of cash and shares. The notes will mature on June 1, 2038, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.

Concurrently with the convertible note offering, certain of our stockholders offered to sell, subject to market and other conditions, 3.4 million shares of EnerSys’ common stock pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2008. The offered shares were sold by several of our stockholders, including affiliates of Metalmark Capital LLC and certain other institutional stockholders. The selling stockholders granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 0.34 million additional shares, of which 0.29 million shares were exercised and sold. A total of 3.69 million shares were sold as of May 28, 2008. We did not receive any proceeds from the common stock offering.

 

B-6


Table of Contents

Also, immediately following the closing of the senior unsecured convertible note issue, we commenced refinancing the outstanding combined balance of the senior secured Term Loan B and our existing Revolver of approximately $200 million, with a new $350 million senior secured facility comprising Term A loans and a new Revolver. These planned refinancing transactions, which we expect to complete in June 2008, will strengthen our capital structure by adding senior unsecured convertible debt and a new senior secured debt facility that matures in 6 years.

Amendments of Credit Agreements

On May 16, 2008, EnerSys completed the Fifth Amendment to the $480 million Senior Secured Credit Agreement which allowed for the issuance of up to $205 million of unsecured indebtedness. The proceeds from the unsecured indebtedness must be used to pay down the senior secured Term Loan B. On May 28, 2008, EnerSys used the net proceeds of $168.2 million from the senior unsecured convertible notes to pay down a portion of the senior secured Term Loan B.

On May 15, 2008, the Company amended its Euro 25 million Credit Agreement to allow for the issuance of up to $205 million of unsecured indebtedness. The proceeds from the unsecured indebtedness must be used to pay down the senior secured Term Loan B. Additionally, the amendment authorized the Company to enter into a new $350 million US Credit Agreement on terms substantially similar to the existing Credit Agreement.

Termination of Interest Rate Swap Agreements

In connection with the issuance of $172.5 million of senior unsecured convertible notes, and the repayment of a portion of the senior secured Term Loan B in May 2008, we terminated $30 million of interest rate swap agreements which had been placed in October, 2005 at a loss of $1.4 million.

Fiscal Year Reporting

In this Form 10-K, when we refer to our fiscal years, we say “fiscal” and the year number, as in “fiscal 2008”, which refers to our fiscal year ended March 31, 2008. The Company reports interim financial information for 13-week periods, except for the first quarter, which always begins on April 1, and the fourth quarter, which always ends on March 31. The four fiscal quarters in fiscal 2008 ended on July 1, 2007, September 30, 2007, December 30, 2007, and March 31, 2008, respectively. The four fiscal quarters in fiscal 2007 ended on July 2, 2006, October 1, 2006, December 31, 2006, and March 31, 2007, respectively. The four fiscal quarters in fiscal 2006 ended on July 3, 2005, October 2, 2005, January 1, 2006, and March 31, 2006, respectively. Financial information about segments and geographic areas is incorporated by reference from Note 24 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.

Our Customers

We serve over 10,000 customers in over 100 countries, on a direct basis or through our distributors. We are not overly dependent on any particular end market or geographic region. No single customer accounts for more than 7% of our revenues.

Reserve Power

Our reserve power customers consist of regional customers as well as global customers. These customers are in diverse markets ranging from telecom to UPS, electric utilities, security systems, emergency lighting and premium starting, lighting and ignition applications. In addition, we sell our aerospace & defense products to numerous countries, including the governments of the U.S., Germany and the U.K. and to major defense and aviation original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”).

 

B-7


Table of Contents

Motive Power

Our motive power customers include a large, diversified customer base. These customers include material handling equipment dealers, OEMs and end users of such equipment. End users include manufacturers, distributors, warehouse operators, retailers, airports, mine operators and railroads.

Distribution and Services

Reserve Power

We distribute, sell and service reserve power products globally through a combination of company-owned offices, independent manufacturers’ representatives and distributors managed by our regional sales managers. With our global manufacturing locations and regional warehouses, we believe we are well positioned to meet our customers’ delivery and servicing requirements. We have targeted our approach to meet local market conditions, which we believe provides the best possible service for our regional customers and our global accounts.

Motive Power

We distribute, sell and service our motive power products throughout the world, principally through company-owned sales and service facilities, as well as through independent manufacturers’ representatives. We believe we are one of the only battery manufacturers in the motive power battery industry that operates a primarily company-owned service network. This company-owned network allows us to offer high-quality service, including preventative maintenance programs and customer support. Our warehouses and service locations enable us to respond quickly to customers in the markets we serve. We believe that the extensive industry experience of our sales organization results in strong long-term customer relationships.

Manufacturing and Raw Materials

We manufacture and assemble reserve power and motive power batteries and related products at manufacturing facilities located in the Americas, Europe and Asia. We believe that our global approach to manufacturing has significantly helped us increase our market share during the past several years. With a view toward projected demand, we strive to optimize and balance capacity at our battery manufacturing facilities located throughout the world, while simultaneously minimizing our product cost. By taking a global view of our manufacturing requirements and capacity, we are better able to anticipate potential capacity bottlenecks and equipment and capital funding needs.

The primary raw materials used to manufacture our products include lead, plastics, steel and copper. We purchase lead from a number of leading suppliers throughout the world. Because lead is traded on the world’s commodity markets and its price fluctuates daily, we enter into hedging arrangements from time to time for a portion of our projected requirements to reduce the volatility of these fluctuations.

Competition

The industrial battery market is highly competitive both among competitors who manufacture and sell industrial batteries and among customers who purchase industrial batteries. Our competitors range from development stage companies to major domestic and international corporations. We also compete with other energy storage technologies. We compete primarily on the basis of reputation, product quality, reliability of service, delivery and price. We believe that our products and services are competitively priced.

Reserve Power

We believe we have the largest market share for reserve power products on a worldwide basis. We compete principally with Exide Technologies, GS Yuasa, C&D Technologies, FIAMM, Coslight, and East Penn Manufacturing.

 

B-8


Table of Contents

Motive Power

We believe we have the largest market share for motive power products on a worldwide basis. Our principal competitor, on a global basis, is Exide Technologies. On a regional basis, East Penn Manufacturing and Crown Battery Manufacturing Co. compete with us in North America, Hoppecke competes with us in Europe, and JSB, Shinkobe, GS Yuasa and Hitachi compete with us in Asia.

Warranties

Warranties for our products vary by geography and product and are competitive with other suppliers of these types of products. Generally, our reserve power products’ warranties range from one- to twenty-years and our motive power products’ warranties range from one- to seven-years. The length of our warranties is sometimes extended to reflect varied regional characteristics and competitive influences. In some cases, we may extend the warranty period to include a pro rata period, which is typically based around the design life of the product and the application served. Our warranties generally cover defects in workmanship and materials and are limited to specific usage parameters.

Intellectual Property

We have numerous patents and patent licenses in the United States and other jurisdictions but do not consider any one patent to be material to our business. From time to time we apply for patents on new inventions and designs. However, we believe that the growth of our business will depend primarily upon the quality of our products and our relationships with our customers, rather than the extent of our patent protection.

Although other manufacturers may possess certain thin-plate pure-lead technology (“TPPL”), we believe we are the only manufacturer of products using TPPL technology in the reserve power markets. Some aspects of this technology may be patented in the future. In any event, we believe that a significant capital investment would be required by any party desiring to produce products using TPPL technology for these markets.

We own or possess exclusive and non-exclusive licenses and other rights to use a number of trademarks in various jurisdictions. We have obtained registrations for many of these trademarks in the United States and other jurisdictions. Our various trademark registrations currently have a duration of approximately one to 10 years, varying by mark and jurisdiction of registration and may be renewable. We endeavor to keep all of our material registrations current. We believe that many such rights and licenses are important to our business by helping to develop strong brand-name recognition in the marketplace. Some of the significant (registered and unregistered) trademarks that we use include: Armasafe+, Chloride, Cobra, Cyclon, DataSafe, Deserthog, Energy Plus, Envirolink, ESB, Espace, EnerSys Ironclad, Express, FIAMM Motive Power, GBC, Genesis, Genesis NP, Genesis Pure Lead, Hawker, HUP, Hybernator, LifeGuard, LifePlus, Life Speed, Loadhog, Oasis, Odyssey, Oldham, Perfect, PowerGuard, PowerLease, Powerline, PowerPlus, PowerSafe, Smarthog, Superhog, Supersafe, Titan PowerTech, Uranio, Varta, Waterless and Workhog.

Seasonality

Our business generally does not experience significant monthly or quarterly fluctuations in net sales as a result of weather or other trends that can be directly linked to seasonality patterns. However, our second fiscal quarter normally experiences moderate reductions in net sales as compared to our first fiscal quarter for that year, due to summer manufacturing shutdowns of our customers and holidays primarily in North America and Western Europe. That was the case in fiscal 2007 but, in fiscal 2008, each quarter was higher than the preceding quarter, primarily due to price recovery initiatives and the strengthening of other currencies against the U.S. dollar. Our fourth fiscal quarter normally experiences the highest sales of any fiscal quarter within a given year, as was the case in fiscal 2006, 2007 and 2008. Many reserve power telecommunications customers tend to perform extensive service and engage in higher battery replacement and maintenance activities in the first calendar quarter of a year, which is our fourth fiscal quarter. In addition, many of our largest industrial customers are on a calendar fiscal year basis and many tend to purchase their durable goods more heavily in that quarter than any other within the calendar year.

 

B-9


Table of Contents

Product and Process Development

Our product and process development efforts are focused on the creation and optimization of new battery products using existing technologies, which, in certain cases, differentiate our stored energy solutions from that of our competition. We allocate our resources to the following key areas:

 

   

the design and development of new products;

 

   

optimizing and expanding our existing product offering;

 

   

waste reduction;

 

   

production efficiency and utilization;

 

   

capacity expansion, without additional facilities; and

 

   

quality attribute maximization.

Employees

At March 31, 2008, we had approximately 8,600 employees. Of these employees, approximately 3,600, almost all of whom work in our European facilities, were covered by collective bargaining agreements. The average term of these agreements is two years, with the longest term being three and one-half years. These agreements expire over the period from calendar years 2008 to 2009.

We consider our employee relations to be good. Historically, we have not experienced any significant labor unrest or disruption of production.

Environmental Matters

In the manufacture of our products throughout the world, we process, store, dispose of and otherwise use large amounts of hazardous materials, especially lead and acid. As a result, we are subject to extensive and changing environmental, health and safety laws and regulations governing, among other things: the generation, handling, storage, use, transportation and disposal of hazardous materials; emissions or discharges of hazardous materials into the ground, air or water; and the health and safety of our employees. In addition, we may in the future, be required to comply with the directive issued from the European Economic Union called Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals or “REACH,” that entered into force on 1 June 2007. Under the directive, companies which manufacture or import more than one ton of a chemical substance per year will be required to register it in a central database administered by the new EU Chemicals Agency. REACH will require a registration, over a period of 11 years, of some 30,000 chemical substances. Compliance with these laws and regulations results in ongoing costs. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations, or to obtain or comply with required environmental permits, could result in fines, criminal charges or other sanctions by regulators. From time to time, we have had instances of alleged or actual noncompliance that have resulted in the imposition of fines, penalties and required corrective actions. Our ongoing compliance with environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and permits could require us to incur significant expenses, limit our ability to modify or expand our facilities or continue production and require us to install additional pollution control equipment and make other capital improvements. In addition, private parties, including current or former employees, could bring personal injury or other claims against us due to the presence of, or their exposure to, hazardous substances used, stored, transported or disposed of by us or contained in our products.

Certain environmental laws assess liability on owners or operators of real property for the cost of investigation, removal or remediation of hazardous substances at their current or former properties or at properties at which they have disposed of hazardous substances. These laws may also assess costs to repair damage to natural resources. We may be responsible for remediating damage to our properties that was caused by former owners. Soil and groundwater contamination has occurred at some of our current and former properties

 

B-10


Table of Contents

and may occur or be discovered at other properties in the future. We currently are investigating and monitoring soil and groundwater contamination at certain of our properties, and we may be required to conduct these operations at other properties in the future. In addition, we have been and in the future may be liable to contribute to the cleanup of locations owned or operated by other persons to which we or our predecessor companies have sent wastes for disposal, pursuant to federal and other environmental laws. Under these laws, the owner or operator of contaminated properties and companies that generated, disposed of or arranged for the disposal of wastes sent to a contaminated disposal facility can be held jointly and severally liable for the investigation and cleanup of such properties, regardless of fault.

Manchester, England

We currently have identified three potentially significant environmental issues resulting from historical operations at our Manchester, England battery facility: lead slag piles that may pose a health risk are located in the vicinity of a public footpath on the property; the potential restoration of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal by British Waterways may lead to sampling and/or remediation obligations with respect to the canal and surrounding areas located on our property; and there may be multiple and as yet unidentified areas of soil and groundwater contamination at the facility. We believe we have a right to be indemnified by the previous owner for these potential environmental liabilities in excess of amounts accrued and submitted a notice of claim to the previous owner in May 2003 regarding these issues. No government or third-party lawsuits, regulatory actions or orders have been filed with respect to this site to date, and all our actions at this site to date are voluntary. We originally established a reserve for this facility at £3.5 million, and as of March 31, 2008, the remaining reserve approximated £3.3 million. This reserve was set up under purchase accounting. Based on the information available at this time, we believe this reserve is sufficient to satisfy these environmental liabilities. See “Recent Developments” above, regarding the sale of the Manchester, England facility, which was completed subsequent to our year end.

Sumter, South Carolina

We currently are responsible for certain environmental obligations at the former Yuasa battery facility in Sumter, South Carolina. This battery facility was closed in 2001 and is separate from our current metal fabrication facility in Sumter. Remediation issues related to lead contamination in the soil were addressed pursuant to a 1998 Consent Order with the State of South Carolina, and we believe this matter to be closed. We are subject to ongoing storm water inspection requirements under a 2000 Consent Order based on suspected lead contamination. We also are in periodic discussions with the State of South Carolina regarding alleged trichloroethylene (TCE) and other volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination in the groundwater that predates our ownership of this facility. There may be other unidentified contaminants in the soil or groundwater that also predate our ownership of this facility. We have established a reserve for this facility, and in fiscal 2008, we received $1.1 million from a previous owner in settlement of their indemnification of potential environmental liabilities related to the Sumter facility. As of March 31, 2008, the reserves related to this facility and the removal of its remaining equipment totaled approximately $4.0 million. Based on current information, we believe this reserve is adequate to satisfy our environmental liabilities at this facility.

Environmental and safety certifications

Eight of our facilities in the United States, Europe and Asia are certified to ISO 14001 standards. ISO 14001 is a globally recognized, voluntary program that focuses on the implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of an environmental management system and the improvement of environmental performance. Two facilities in Europe are certified to ISO 18000 standards.

Quality Systems

We utilize a global strategy for quality management systems, policies and procedures, the basis of which is the ISO 9001:2000 standard, which is a worldwide recognized quality standard. We believe in the principles of

 

B-11


Table of Contents

this standard and reinforce this by requiring mandatory compliance for all manufacturing, sales and service locations that are registered to the ISO 9001 standard. This strategy enables us to provide effective products and services to meet our customers’ needs.

Available Information

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These filings are available to the public on the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC’s public reference room, located at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room.

Our Internet address is http://www.enersys.com. We make available free of charge on http://www.enersys.com our annual, quarterly and current reports, and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practical after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

ITEM 1A.  RISK FACTORS

The following risks and uncertainties, as well as others described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial conditions and could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. Stockholders are cautioned that these and other factors, including those beyond our control, may affect future performance and cause actual results to differ from those which may, from time to time, be anticipated. There may be additional risks that are not presently material or known. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” All forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf are qualified by the risks described below.

We operate in an extremely competitive industry and are subject to continual pricing pressure.

We compete with a number of major international manufacturers and distributors, as well as a large number of smaller, regional competitors. Due to excess capacity in some sectors of our industry, consolidation among industrial battery purchasers and the financial difficulties being experienced by several of our competitors, we have been subjected to continual and significant pricing pressures. These pricing pressures have prevented us from fully passing increased material costs through to customers. We anticipate heightened competitive pricing pressure as Chinese and other foreign producers, able to employ labor at significantly lower costs than producers in the U.S. and Western Europe, expand their export capacity and increase their marketing presence in our major U.S. and European markets. Several of our competitors have strong technical, marketing, sales, manufacturing, distribution and other resources, as well as significant name recognition, established positions in the market and long-standing relationships with original equipment manufacturers and other customers. In addition, certain of our competitors own lead smelting facilities which, during periods of lead cost increases or price volatility, may provide a competitive pricing advantage and reduce their exposure to volatile raw material costs. Our ability to maintain and improve our operating margins has depended, and continues to depend, on our ability to control and reduce our costs. We cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to reduce our operating expenses, to raise or maintain our prices or increase our unit volume, in order to maintain or improve our operating results.

Cyclical industry conditions of our customers have adversely affected and may continue to adversely affect our results of operations.

Our operating results are affected by the general cyclical pattern of the industries in which our major customer groups operate and the overall economic conditions in which we and our customers operate. Both our reserve power and motive power segments are heavily dependent on the end-user markets they serve, such as telecommunications, UPS and electric industrial forklift trucks. A weak capital expenditure environment in these markets has had, and can be expected to have, a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

 

B-12


Table of Contents

Our raw materials costs are volatile and expose us to significant movements in our product costs.

We use significant amounts of lead, plastics, steel, copper and other materials in our manufacturing processes. We estimate that raw material costs account for over half of our cost of goods sold. Lead is our most significant raw material. The costs of these raw materials, particularly lead, are volatile and beyond our control.

Volatile raw material costs can significantly affect our operating results and make period-to-period comparisons extremely difficult. We cannot assure you that we will be able to hedge the costs of our raw material requirements at a reasonable level or pass on to our customers the increased costs of our raw materials.

Our operations expose us to the risk of material environmental, health and safety liabilities, costs, and litigation.

In the manufacture of our products throughout the world, we process, store, dispose of and otherwise use large amounts of hazardous materials, especially lead and acid. As a result, we are subject to extensive and changing environmental, health and safety laws and regulations governing, among other things: the generation, handling, storage, use, transportation and disposal of hazardous materials; remediation of polluted ground or water; emissions or discharges of hazardous materials into the ground, air or water; and the health and safety of our employees. Compliance with these laws and regulations results in ongoing costs. Failure to comply with these laws or regulations, or to obtain or comply with required environmental permits, could result in fines, criminal charges or other sanctions by regulators. From time to time we have had instances of alleged or actual noncompliance that have resulted in the imposition of fines, penalties and required corrective actions. Our ongoing compliance with environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and permits could require us to incur significant expenses, limit our ability to modify or expand our facilities or continue production and require us to install additional pollution control equipment and make other capital improvements. In addition, private parties, including current or former employees, could bring personal injury or other claims against us due to the presence of, or exposure to, hazardous substances used, stored or disposed of by us or contained in our products.

Certain environmental laws assess liability on owners or operators of real property for the cost of investigation, removal or remediation of hazardous substances at their current or former properties or at properties at which they have disposed of hazardous substances. These laws may also assess costs to repair damage to natural resources. We may be responsible for remediating damage to our properties that was caused by former owners. Soil and groundwater contamination has occurred at some of our current and former properties and may occur or be discovered at other properties in the future. We are currently investigating and monitoring soil and groundwater contamination at certain of our properties, and we may be required to conduct these operations at other properties in the future. In addition, we have been and in the future may be liable to contribute to the cleanup of locations owned or operated by other persons to which we or our predecessor companies have sent wastes for disposal, pursuant to federal and other environmental laws. Under these laws, the owner or operator of contaminated properties and companies that generated, disposed of or arranged for the disposal of wastes sent to a contaminated disposal facility can be held jointly and severally liable for the investigation and cleanup of such properties, regardless of fault.

We cannot assure you that we have been or at all times will be in compliance with environmental laws and regulations or that we will not be required to expend significant funds to comply with, or discharge liabilities arising under, environmental laws, regulations and permits, or that we will not be exposed to material environmental, health or safety litigation.

Legislation regarding the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

The European Union has directed that new electrical and electronic equipment not contain certain hazardous substances, including lead and cadmium. Because battery accessories and chargers are subject to this directive, our compliance with the directive directly impacts our manufacturing of these products and could cause certain

 

B-13


Table of Contents

of our existing inventory to be obsolete. In addition, certain other jurisdictions outside the European Union have implemented, or plan to implement, similar restrictions with various compliance dates. We cannot assure you that we will meet all restrictions by each of the required dates. Inventory obsolescence and our failure to comply could each have an adverse effect on our financial results.

We are exposed to exchange rate risks, and our net income and financial condition may suffer due to currency translations.

We invoice foreign sales and service transactions in local currencies and translate net sales using actual exchange rates during the period. We translate our non-U.S. assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars using current rates as of the balance sheet date. Because a significant portion of our revenues and expenses are denominated in foreign currencies, changes in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies, primarily the euro and British pound, may adversely affect our revenue, cost of revenue and operating margins. For example, foreign currency depreciation against the U.S. dollar will reduce the value of our foreign revenues and operating earnings as well as reduce our net investment in foreign subsidiaries. Over 60% of net sales were generated outside of North America.

Most of the risk of fluctuating foreign currencies is in our Europe operations, which comprised over half of our net sales during the last two fiscal years. The euro is the dominant currency in our European operations.

The translation impact from currency fluctuations on net sales and operating earnings in the Americas and Asia regions is minimal, as a substantial majority of these net sales and operating earnings are in dollars or are closely correlated to the dollar.

Foreign currency depreciation will make it more expensive for our non-U.S. subsidiaries to purchase certain of our raw material commodities that are priced globally in U.S. dollars, while the related revenue will decrease when translated to U.S. dollars. Significant movements in foreign exchange rates can have a material impact on our results of operations and financial condition. We periodically engage in hedging of our foreign currency exposure, but cannot assure you that we can successfully hedge all of our foreign currency exposure or do so at a reasonable cost.

Our international operations may be adversely affected by actions taken by foreign governments or other forces or events over which we may have no control.

We currently have significant manufacturing and distribution facilities outside of the U.S., including in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, Mexico, Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Bulgaria. We may face political instability and economic uncertainty, cultural and religious differences and difficult labor relations in our foreign operations. We also may face barriers in the form of long-standing relationships between potential customers and their existing suppliers, national policies favoring domestic manufacturers and protective regulations including exchange controls, restrictions on foreign investment or the repatriation of profits or invested capital, changes in export or import restrictions and changes in the tax system or rate of taxation in countries where we do business. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully develop and expand our international operations and sales or that we will be able to overcome the significant obstacles and risks of our international operations.

Our failure to introduce new products and product enhancements and broad market acceptance of new technologies introduced by our competitors could adversely affect our business.

Many new energy storage technologies have been introduced over the past several years. In addition, recent advances in fuel cell and flywheel technology have been introduced for use in selected applications that compete with the end uses for industrial batteries. For certain important and growing markets, such as aerospace & defense, lithium-based battery technologies have large and growing market share. Our ability to achieve significant and

 

B-14


Table of Contents

sustained penetration of key developing markets, including aerospace & defense, will depend upon our success in developing or acquiring these and other technologies, either independently, through joint ventures or through acquisitions. If we fail to develop or acquire, and manufacture and sell, products that satisfy our customers’ demands, or we fail to respond effectively to new product announcements by our competitors by quickly introducing competitive products, then market acceptance of our products could be reduced and our business could be adversely affected. We cannot assure you that our lead-acid products will remain competitive with products based on new technologies.

We may not be able to adequately protect our proprietary intellectual property and technology.

We rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws, non-disclosure agreements and other confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to establish, protect and maintain our proprietary intellectual property and technology and other confidential information. Certain of these technologies, especially in thin-plate pure-lead—TPPL—technology, are important to our business and are not protected by patents. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary intellectual property and technology and other confidential information, unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our intellectual property and proprietary technologies.

Relocation of our customers’ operations could adversely affect our business.

The trend by a number of our North American and Western European customers to move manufacturing operations and expand their businesses into Asia and other low labor-cost markets may have an adverse impact on our business. As our customers in traditional manufacturing-based industries seek to move their manufacturing operations to lower-cost territories, there is a risk that these customers will source their energy storage products from competitors located in those territories and will cease or reduce the purchase of products from our manufacturing plants. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete effectively with manufacturing operations of energy storage products in those territories, whether by establishing or expanding our manufacturing operations in those lower-cost territories or acquiring existing manufacturers.

We may fail to implement our cost reduction initiatives successfully and improve our profitability.

We must continue to implement cost reduction initiatives to achieve additional cost savings in future periods. We cannot assure you that we will be able to achieve all of the cost savings that we expect to realize from current or future initiatives. In particular, we may be unable to implement one or more of our initiatives successfully or we may experience unexpected cost increases that offset the savings that we achieve. Given the continued competitive pricing pressures experienced in our industry, our failure to realize cost savings would adversely affect our results of operations.

Quality problems with our products could harm our reputation and erode our competitive position.

The success of our business will depend upon the quality of our products and our relationships with customers. In the event that our products fail to meet our customers’ standards, our reputation could be harmed, which would adversely affect our marketing and sales efforts. We cannot assure you that our customers will not experience quality problems with our products.

We offer our products under a variety of brand names, the protection of which is important to our reputation for quality in the consumer marketplace.

We rely upon a combination of trademark, licensing and contractual covenants to establish and protect the brand names of our products. We have registered many of our trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. In many market segments, our reputation is closely related to our brand names. Monitoring unauthorized use of our brand names is difficult, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have

 

B-15


Table of Contents

taken will prevent their unauthorized use, particularly in foreign countries where the laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the U.S. We cannot assure you that our brand names will not be misappropriated or utilized without our consent or that such actions will not have a material adverse effect on our reputation and on our results of operations.

We may fail to implement our plans to make acquisitions or successfully integrate them into our operations.

As part of our business strategy, we have grown, and plan to continue growing, by acquiring other product lines, technologies or facilities that complement or expand our existing business. There is significant competition for acquisition targets in the industrial battery industry. We may not be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates or negotiate attractive terms. In addition, we may have difficulty obtaining the financing necessary to complete transactions we pursue. In that regard, our credit facilities restrict the amount of additional indebtedness that we may incur to finance acquisitions and place other restrictions on our ability to make acquisitions. Exceeding any of these restrictions would require the consent of our lenders. We may be unable to successfully integrate any assets, liabilities, customers, systems and management personnel we acquire into our operations and we may not be able to realize related revenue synergies and cost savings within expected time frames. Our failure to execute our acquisition strategy could have a material adverse effect on our business. We cannot assure you that our acquisition strategy will be successful or that we will be able to successfully integrate acquisitions we do make.

Any acquisitions that we complete may dilute your ownership interest in EnerSys, may have adverse effects on our financial condition and results of operations and may cause unanticipated liabilities.

Future acquisitions may involve the issuance of our equity securities as payment, in part or in full, for the businesses or assets acquired. Any future issuances of equity securities would dilute your ownership interests. In addition, future acquisitions might not increase, and may even decrease our earnings or earnings per share and the benefits derived by us from an acquisition might not outweigh or might not exceed the dilutive effect of the acquisition. We also may incur additional debt or suffer adverse tax and accounting consequences in connection with any future acquisitions.

The failure of critical computer systems could seriously affect our sales and operations.

We operate a number of critical computer systems throughout our business that can fail for a variety of reasons. If such a failure were to occur, then we may not be able to sufficiently recover from the failure in time to avoid the loss of data or any adverse impact on certain of our operations that are dependent on such systems. This could result in lost sales and the inefficient operation of our facilities for the duration of such a failure.

Our ability to maintain an adequate credit facility.

Our ability to continue our ongoing business operations and fund future growth depends on our ability to maintain an adequate credit facility and to comply with the financial and other covenants in such credit facility or to secure alternative sources of financing. However, such credit facility or alternate financing may not be available or if available may not be on terms favorable to us.

Our significant indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition.

As of March 31, 2008, we had $426.8 million of total consolidated debt. This level of debt could:

 

   

increase our vulnerability to adverse general economic and industry conditions, including interest rate fluctuations, because a significant portion of our borrowings bear, and will continue to bear, interest at floating rates;

 

   

require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to debt service payments, which would reduce the availability of our cash to fund working capital, capital expenditures or other general corporate purposes, including acquisitions;

 

B-16


Table of Contents
   

limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry;

 

   

restrict our ability to introduce new products or new technologies or exploit business opportunities;

 

   

place us at a disadvantage compared with competitors that have proportionately less debt;

 

   

limit our ability to borrow additional funds in the future, if we need them, due to financial and restrictive covenants in our debt agreements; and

 

   

have a material adverse effect on us if we fail to comply with the financial and restrictive covenants in our debt agreements.

This list of factors that may affect future performance is illustrative, but by no means exhaustive. Accordingly, all forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty.

ITEM 1B.  UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

 

B-17


Table of Contents

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Set forth below is certain information, as of June 1, 2008, with respect to our principal properties. The primary function of the listed facilities is manufacturing of industrial batteries, unless otherwise noted.

 

Location

 

Function/Products Produced

  Size
(sq. feet utilized)
 

Owned/Leased

Americas:

     

Reading, PA

  Worldwide Headquarters   109,000   Owned

Warrensburg, MO

  Industrial Batteries   376,000   Owned

Hays, KS

  Industrial Batteries   351,000   Owned

Sumter, SC

  Distribution Center   300,000   Owned

Richmond, KY

  Industrial Batteries   277,000   Owned/Leased

Monterrey, Mexico

  Industrial Batteries   181,000   Owned

Tijuana, Mexico

  Industrial Batteries   156,000   Owned

Ooltewah, TN

  Industrial Batteries   100,750   Owned

Richmond, KY

  Distribution Center   95,500   Owned

Cleveland, OH

  Motive Power Chargers   66,000   Owned

Saddle Brook, NJ

  Distribution Center   58,500   Leased

Sumter, SC

  Metal Fabrication   52,000   Owned

Horsham, PA

  Industrial Batteries   51,400   Leased

Chino, CA

  Distribution Center   47,400   Leased

Dallas, TX

  Distribution Center   40,000   Leased

Santa Fe Springs, CA

  Distribution Center   35,000   Leased

Brampton, Canada

  Distribution Center   30,400   Leased

Burr Ridge, IL

  Distribution Center   25,500   Leased

Norcross, GA

  Distribution Center   23,600   Leased

Kansas City, MO

  Distribution Center   19,700   Leased

Union City, CA

  Distribution Center   17,400   Leased

Warrington, PA

  Distribution Center   15,000   Leased

Warwick, RI

  Design Center   4,000   Leased

Europe:

     

Zurich, Switzerland

  European Headquarters   2,500   Leased

Arras, France

  Industrial Batteries   486,000   Owned

Targovishte, Bulgaria

  Industrial Batteries   483,000   Owned

Newport, Wales

  Industrial Batteries   233,000   Owned

Bielsko-Biala, Poland

  Industrial Batteries   220,000   Leased

Montecchio, Italy

  Industrial Batteries   207,000   Leased

Hagen, Germany

  Industrial Batteries   185,000   Owned

Herstal, Belgium

  Distribution Center   58,700   Leased

Zwickau, Germany

  Industrial Batteries   57,000   Leased

Zamudio, Spain

  Industrial Battery Assembly and Distribution   55,000   Owned

Brussels, Belgium

  Distribution Center   45,000   Leased

Manchester, England

  Distribution Center and Administrative Offices   42,600   Leased

Brebieres, France

  Industrial Battery Chargers   41,000   Leased

Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland

  Distribution Center   40,000   Leased

Hostimice, Czech Republic

  Metal Fabrication   29,000   Owned/Leased

Asia:

     

Shenzhen, China

  Industrial Batteries/Asia Headquarters   176,000   Owned/Leased

Jiangsu, China

  Industrial Batteries   160,000   Owned

Shantou, China

  Industrial Batteries   59,000   Owned

Sydney, Australia

  Industrial Battery Assembly and Distribution   13,000   Leased

 

B-18


Table of Contents
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

In fiscal 2007, we settled two litigation matters. As a result of these settlements, we recorded litigation settlement income, net of related legal fees and expenses, of $3.8 million.

From time to time, we are involved in litigation incidental to the conduct of our business. We do not expect that any of this litigation, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flow.

 

ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

No matters were submitted to the vote of stockholders through the solicitation of proxies or otherwise during the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2008.

PART II

 

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

The Company’s common stock has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ENS” since it began trading on July 30, 2004. Prior to that time, there had been no public market for our common stock. The following table sets forth, on a per share basis for the periods presented, the range of high, low and closing prices of the Company’s common stock.

 

Quarter Ended

  

High Price

  

Low Price

  

Closing Price

July 1, 2007

   $ 19.15    $ 16.29    $ 18.30

September 30, 2007

   $ 19.46    $ 17.50    $ 17.77

December 30, 2007

   $ 24.81    $ 17.55    $ 24.45

March 31, 2008

   $ 27.72    $ 22.13    $ 23.92

July 2, 2006

   $ 21.46    $ 12.06    $ 20.90

October 1, 2006

   $ 20.77    $ 16.04    $ 16.04

December 31, 2006

   $ 18.57    $ 15.20    $ 16.00

March 31, 2007

   $ 17.50    $ 15.97    $ 17.18

Holders of Record

As of June 1, 2008, there were approximately 281 record holders of common stock of the Company. Because many of such shares are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, the Company is unable to estimate the total number of stockholders represented by these record holders.

Dividends

We never have paid or declared any cash dividends on our common stock, and we have certain restrictions from doing so by our senior secured credit agreement. We currently intend to retain any earnings for future growth and, therefore, do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

During the three fiscal years ended March 31, 2008, we did not issue any unregistered securities.

 

B-19


Table of Contents

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

The following table summarizes the number of common shares we purchased during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2008 from participants in our equity incentive plans. As provided by such plans, vested options outstanding may be exercised through surrender to the Company of option shares or vested options outstanding under the Plan to satisfy the applicable aggregate exercise price (and any withholding tax) required to be paid upon such exercise.

Purchases of Equity Securities

 

Period

   (a)
Total number
of shares (or
units)
purchased
   (b)
Average price
paid per share
(or unit)
   (c)
Total number of
shares (or units)
purchased as part of
publicly announced
plans or programs
   (d)
Maximum number
(or approximate
dollar value) of shares
(or units) that may be
purchased under the
plans or programs

December 31, 2007-January 27, 2008

   28,585    $ 25.43    —      —  

January 28, 2008-February 24, 2008

   —        —      —      —  

February 25, 2008-March 31, 2008

   —        —      —      —  
                     

Total

   28,585    $ 25.43    —      —  
                     

 

B-20


Table of Contents

STOCK PERFORMANCE GRAPH

The following graph compares the changes in cumulative total returns on EnerSys’ common stock with the changes in cumulative total returns of the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index, a broad equity market index, and the total return on a selected peer group index. The peer group selected is based on the standard industrial classification codes (“SIC Codes”) established by the U.S. government. The index chosen was “Miscellaneous Electrical Equipment and Suppliers” and comprises all publically traded companies having the same three-digit SIC Code (369) as EnerSys. The constituent companies are: Active Power Inc, Advanced Battery Technologies Inc., Axion Power International, Inc., C & D Technologies Inc., China BAK Battery Inc., Cooper Industries Limited, Cymer Inc., Electro Energy Inc., Ener1 Inc., Energizer Holdings Inc., Energy Conversion Devices Inc., Excel Technology Inc., Exide Technologies, Greatbatch Inc., Hoko Scientific Inc., Hybrid Technology Inc., Hydrogen Corp., Komag Inc., Lifestyle Innovations Inc., Lithium Technology Corp., Manhattan Scientifics Inc., Millenium Cell Inc., Motorcar Parts of America, Oak Ridge Micro Energy Inc., Power Technology Inc., Rofin Sinar Technologies, Satcon Technology Corp., Save the World Aircraft, Inc., Spectrum Brands Inc., Standard Motor Products, Inc., TNR Technical Inc., Trans Max Technologies Inc., Turbine Truck Engines Inc., Ultralife Batteries Inc., Valence Technology Inc., Wonder Auto Technology Inc. and Zareba Systems Inc. The peer group data points are weighted by market capitalization of the constituent companies.

The graph was prepared assuming that $100 was invested in EnerSys’ common stock, the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index and the peer group on July 30, 2004.

LOGO

 

B-21


Table of Contents
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following tables set forth certain selected consolidated financial and operating data. The selected consolidated financial data presented below for the years ended March 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, and as of March 31, 2008 and 2007, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. The selected consolidated financial data presented below for the years ended March 31, 2005 and 2004, and as of March 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this Form 10-K. This information should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition, each included elsewhere, herein.

 

    Fiscal Year Ended March 31,  
    2008   2007     2006     2005     2004  
    (In thousands, except share and per share data)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations:

         

Net sales

  $ 2,026,640   $ 1,504,474     $ 1,283,265     $ 1,083,862     $ 969,079  

Cost of goods sold

    1,644,753     1,193,266       1,006,467       828,447       722,825  
                                     

Gross profit

    381,887     311,208       276,798       255,415       246,254  

Operating expenses

    249,350     221,102       199,900       179,015       171,294  

Litigation settlement income

    —       (3,753 )     —         —         —    

Charges relating to restructuring, bonuses and abandoned acquisitions

    13,191     —         8,553       —         21,147  
                                     

Operating earnings

    119,346     93,859       68,345       76,400       53,813  

Interest expense

    28,917     27,733       24,900       23,275       20,343  

Charges relating to a settlement agreement, write-off of deferred financing costs and a prepayment penalty

    —       —         —         6,022       30,974  

Other (income), expense net

    4,234     3,024       (1,358 )     (2,639 )     (5,297 )
                                     

Earnings before income taxes

    86,195     63,102       44,803       49,742       7,793  

Income tax expense

    26,499     17,892       14,077       17,359       2,957  
                                     

Net earnings

  $ 59,696   $ 45,210     $ 30,726     $ 32,383     $ 4,836  

Series A convertible preferred stock dividends

    —       —         —         8,155       24,689  
                                     

Net earnings (loss) available to common stockholders

  $ 59,696   $ 45,210     $ 30,726     $ 24,228     $ (19,853 )
                                     

Net earnings (loss) per share

         

Basic

  $ 1.25   $ 0.97     $ 0.66     $ 0.67     $ (1.80 )

Diluted

    1.22     0.95       0.66       0.65       (1.80 )

Weighted average shares outstanding

         

Basic

    47,645,225     46,539,638       46,226,582       36,416,358       11,014,421  

Diluted

    48,644,450     47,546,240       46,788,363       37,046,697       11,014,421  

 

B-22


Table of Contents
    Fiscal Year Ended March 31,  
    2008     2007     2006     2005     2004  
    (In thousands)  

Consolidated cash flow data:

         

Net cash provided by operating activities

  $ 4,018     $ 72,424     $ 42,872     $ 29,353     $ 39,192  

Net cash used in investing activities

    (62,150 )     (49,052 )     (76,876 )     (28,991 )     (26,981 )

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

    39,558       (1,323 )     27,905       3,213       (39,989 )

Other operating data:

         

Capital expenditures

  $ 45,037     $ 42,355     $ 39,665     $ 31,828     $ 28,580  
    As of March 31,  
    2008     2007     2006     2005     2004  
    (In thousands)  

Balance Sheet Data:

         

Cash and cash equivalents

  $ 20,620     $ 37,785     $ 15,217     $ 21,341     $ 17,207  

Working capital

    389,480       276,252       211,434       182,177       135,320  

Total assets

    1,710,790       1,409,013       1,263,948       1,194,761       1,153,943  

Total debt, including capital leases

    426,754       402,311       402,490       375,457       511,303  

Total stockholders’ equity

  $ 691,543     $ 542,099     $ 445,188     $ 437,650     $ 239,302  

 

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our results of operations and financial condition for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2008, 2007, and 2006, should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our discussion contains forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, such as our plans, objectives, opinions, expectations, anticipations and intentions and beliefs. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in those forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Business” and “Risk Factors,” sections elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In the following discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition, certain financial measures may be considered “non-GAAP financial measures” under Securities and Exchange Commission rules. These rules require supplemental explanation and reconciliation, which is provided in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

EnerSys’ management uses the non-GAAP measures, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, in their computation of compliance with loan covenants. These measures, as used by EnerSys, adjust net earnings determined in accordance with GAAP for interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and certain charges or credits as permitted by our credit agreements, that were recorded during the periods presented.

EnerSys’ management uses the non-GAAP measures, Primary Working Capital and Primary Working Capital Percentage (see definition in “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below) along with capital expenditures, in their evaluation of business segment cash flow and financial position performance.

These non-GAAP disclosures have limitations as analytical tools, should not be viewed as a substitute for cash flow or operating earnings determined in accordance with GAAP, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s results as reported under GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. This supplemental presentation should not be construed as an inference that the Company’s future results will be unaffected by similar adjustments to operating earnings determined in accordance with GAAP.

 

B-23


Table of Contents

Overview

We are the world’s largest manufacturer, marketer and distributor of industrial batteries. We also manufacture, market and distribute related products such as chargers, power equipment and battery accessories, and we provide related after-market and customer-support services for industrial batteries. We market and sell our products globally in more than 100 countries to over 10,000 customers through a network of distributors, independent representatives and an internal sales force.

We have two business segments: reserve power and motive power. Revenue and expense classifications by segment are as follows:

 

   

Reserve power products are used for backup power for the continuous operation of critical applications in telecommunications systems, in uninterruptible power systems, or UPS, applications for computer and computer-controlled systems, in other specialty power applications, including security systems, for premium starting, lighting and ignition applications, in switchgear and electrical control systems used in electric utilities and energy pipelines, and in commercial and military aircraft, submarines and tactical military vehicles.

 

   

Motive power products are used to provide power for manufacturing, warehousing and other material handling equipment, primarily electric industrial forklift trucks, mining equipment, and for diesel locomotive starting, rail car lighting and rail signaling equipment.

We evaluate business segment performance based primarily upon operating earnings, exclusive of highlighted items. All corporate and centrally incurred regional costs are allocated to the business segments based principally on net sales. We evaluate business segment cash flow and financial position performance based primarily upon capital expenditures and primary working capital levels. Primary working capital for this purpose is trade accounts receivable, plus inventories, minus trade accounts payable and the resulting net amount is divided by the trailing three month net sales (annualized) for the respective business segment or reporting location, to derive a primary working capital percentage. Although we monitor the three elements of primary working capital (receivables, inventory and payables), our primary focus is on the total amount and percentage due to the significant impact it has on cash flow and, as a result, our level of debt.

We operate and manage our business in three primary geographic regions of the world—the Americas, Europe and Asia. Our business is highly decentralized with manufacturing locations throughout the world. Approximately 60% of our net sales for fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006, were generated outside of North America. More than half of our manufacturing capacity is located outside of the U.S. Our management structure and financial reporting systems, and associated internal controls and procedures, are all consistent with our two business segments and three geographic regions in which we operate. We report on a March 31 fiscal year.

Our financial results are largely driven by the following factors:

 

   

general cyclical patterns of the industries in which our customers operate;

 

   

changes in our market share in the business segments and regions where we operate;

 

   

changes in our selling prices and, in periods when our product costs increase, our ability to raise our selling prices to pass such cost increases through to our customers;

 

   

the extent to which we are able to efficiently utilize our global manufacturing facilities and optimize their capacity;

 

   

the extent to which we can control our fixed and variable costs, including those for our raw materials, manufacturing and distribution, operating activities;

 

   

changes in our levels of debt and changes in the variable interest rates under our credit facilities; and

 

   

the size and number of acquisitions and our ability to achieve their intended benefits.

 

B-24


Table of Contents

Over the last four fiscal years, the costs of our raw materials (of which lead is our primary material) have risen significantly. Our estimated incremental lead cost, due to increased price, was approximately $360 million since fiscal 2004 and, in fiscal 2008 over fiscal 2007, was approximately $222 million.

We have been subjected to continual and significant pricing pressures over the past several years. We anticipate continuing competitive pricing pressure as Chinese and other foreign producers, able to employ labor at significantly lower costs than producers in the U.S. and Western Europe, expand their export capacity and increase their marketing presence in our major U.S. and European markets.

Our selling price increases approximated 2% of net sales for fiscal 2006 and increased net sales by approximately 5% in fiscal 2007 and 14% in fiscal 2008. We announced additional price increases from time to time during the course of fiscal 2008, however, these pricing actions will not be fully realized in our operating results until fiscal 2009.

Our ability to maintain and improve our operating margins has depended, and continues to depend, on our ability to control our costs and obtain appropriate pricing. Our business strategy in this environment of high commodity costs is to improve profitability by cost savings and pricing actions, as well as to tightly control operating cash flow and capital spending.

See “Market and Economic Conditions” below for a further discussion of commodity costs and our ability to offset some of the impact of these rising costs through selling price increases.

Our Corporate History

There have been several key stages in the development of our business, which explain to a significant degree our results of operations over the past three years.

We were formed in late 2000 by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (currently Metalmark Capital) and the management of Yuasa, Inc. to acquire the industrial battery business of Yuasa Corporation (Japan) in North and South America. Our results of operations for the past six fiscal years have been significantly affected by our acquisition of the reserve power and motive power business of the Energy Storage Group, of Invensys plc. (“ESG”) on March 22, 2002, which more than doubled our size; and to a lesser extent, by our acquisition of the motive power battery business of FIAMM, S.p.A. (“FIAMM”) on June 1, 2005, and several smaller acquisitions.

Our successful integration of ESG provided global scale in both the reserve and motive power markets. The ESG acquisition also provided us with a further opportunity to reduce costs and improve operating efficiency that, among other initiatives, led to closing underutilized manufacturing plants, distribution facilities, sales offices and eliminating other redundant costs, including staff. FIAMM complements our existing European motive power business and also provided us with opportunities to reduce costs and improve operating efficiency.

Our other recent acquisitions include Gerate- und Akkumulatorwerk Zwickau GmbH (“GAZ”), a Germany-based producer of specialty nickel-based batteries utilized primarily in the energy, rail, telecommunications and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) industries worldwide, on October 11, 2005; what is now known as EnerSys Advanced Systems Inc. (“EAS”), a USA-based producer of lithium power sources, primarily for aerospace & defense applications on May 18, 2006; the manufacturing facilities of Chaozhou Xuntong Power Source Company Limited (“CFT”), located in China on August 22, 2006; the lead-acid battery business of Leclanché SA (“Leclanché”) based in Switzerland on January 1, 2007; and on May 18, 2007, we acquired approximately a 97% interest in Energia AD (“Energia”), a producer of industrial batteries, located in Bulgaria.

Our results of operations include ESG for all fiscal years presented. Our results of operations for fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006 include FIAMM, GAZ, EAS, CFT, Leclanché and Energia from their respective acquisition dates.

 

B-25


Table of Contents

In August 2004, EnerSys completed an initial public offering (the “IPO”) and our common stock commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange on July 30, 2004, under the trading symbol “ENS.”

Our historical consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2004 show our result of operations as a private company. In fiscal 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005, the cost of complying with our public company reporting obligations (primarily costs associated with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance) was approximately $6 million, $8 million, $10 million and $3 million, respectively. The significant increase in fiscal 2006 costs was due primarily to our initial year of compliance with the requirements of Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our significant accounting policies are described in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K.

In preparing our financial statements, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that, among other things, affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, sales and expense. These estimates and assumptions are most significant where they involve levels of subjectivity and judgment necessary to account for highly uncertain matters or matters susceptible to change, and where they can have a material impact on our financial condition and operating performance. We discuss below the more significant estimates and related assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. If actual results were to differ materially from the estimates made, the reported results could be materially affected.

Revenue Recognition

We recognize revenue when the earnings process is complete. This occurs when we ship in accordance with terms of the underlying agreement, title transfers, collectibility is reasonably assured and pricing is fixed and determinable. Shipment terms to our battery product customers are primarily shipping point or destination and do not differ significantly between our regions of the world. Accordingly revenue is recognized when title is transferred to the customer. Amounts invoiced to customers for shipping and handling are classified as revenue. Taxes on revenue producing transactions are not included in net sales.

We recognize revenue from the service of reserve power and motive power products when the respective services are performed.

Management believes that the accounting estimates related to revenue recognition are critical accounting estimates because they requires reasonable assurance of collection of revenue proceeds and completion of all performance obligations. Also revenues are recorded net of provisions for sales discounts and returns, which are established at the time of sale. These estimates are based on our past experience.

Asset Impairment Determinations

As a result of the adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, goodwill is no longer amortized. We test for the impairment of our goodwill and trade names at least annually and whenever events or circumstances occur indicating that a possible impairment has been incurred. We utilize financial projections of our reporting segments, certain cash flow measures, as well as our market capitalization in the determination of the fair value of these assets.

With respect to our other long-lived assets other than goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets, we are required to test for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. We apply Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, in order to determine whether or not an asset was impaired. This standard requires an impairment analysis when indicators of impairment are present. If such indicators are present, the standard indicates that if the sum of the future expected cash flows from the asset, undiscounted and

 

B-26


Table of Contents

without interest charges, is less than the carrying value, an asset impairment must be recognized in the financial statements. The amount of the impairment is the difference between the fair value of the asset and the carrying value of the asset.

In making future cash flow analyses of goodwill and other long-lived assets, we make assumptions relating to the following:

 

   

The intended use of assets and the expected future cash flows resulting directly from such use;

 

   

Industry specific economic conditions;

 

   

Competitor activities and regulatory initiatives; and

 

   

Client and customer preferences and patterns.

We believe that an accounting estimate relating to asset impairment is a critical accounting estimate because the assumptions underlying future cash flow estimates are subject to change from time to time and the recognition of an impairment could have a significant impact on our financial statements.

Litigation and Claims

From time to time the Company has been or may be a party to various legal actions and investigations including, among others, employment matters, compliance with government regulations, federal and state employment laws, including wage and hour laws, contractual disputes and other matters, including matters arising in the ordinary course of business. These claims may be brought by, among others, the government, clients, customers and employees. Management considers the measurement of litigation reserves as a critical accounting estimate because of the significant uncertainty in some cases relating to the outcome of potential claims or litigation and the difficulty of predicting the likelihood and range of potential liability involved, coupled with the material impact on our results of operations that could result from litigation or other claims. In determining legal reserves, management considers, among other issues:

 

   

Interpretation of contractual rights and obligations;

 

   

The status of government regulatory initiatives, interpretations and investigations;

 

   

The status of settlement negotiations;

 

   

Prior experience with similar types of claims;

 

   

Whether there is available insurance; and

 

   

Advice of outside counsel.

Environmental Loss Contingencies

Accruals for environmental loss contingencies (i.e., environmental reserves) are recorded when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can reasonably be estimated. Management views the measurement of environmental reserves as a critical accounting estimate because of the considerable uncertainty surrounding estimation, including the need to forecast well into the future. We are involved in legal proceedings under state, federal and local environmental laws in connection with our operations and companies that we have acquired. The estimation of environmental reserves is based on the evaluation of currently available information, prior experience in the remediation of contaminated sites and assumptions with respect to government regulations and enforcement activity, changes in remediation technology and practices, and financial obligations and credit worthiness of other responsible parties and insurers.

Warranty

We record a warranty reserve for possible claims against our product warranties, which generally run for a period of one to twenty-years for our reserve power batteries and for a period of one to seven-years for our motive power batteries. The assessment of the adequacy of the reserve includes a review of open claims and historical experience.

 

B-27


Table of Contents

Management believes that the accounting estimate related to the warranty reserve is a critical accounting estimate because the underlying assumptions used for the reserve can change from time to time and warranty claims could potentially have a material impact on our results of operations.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

We encounter risks associated with sales and the collection of the associated accounts receivable. We record a provision for accounts receivable that are considered to be uncollectible. In order to calculate the appropriate provision, management analyzes the creditworthiness of specific customers and the aging of customer balances. Management also considers general and specific industry economic conditions, industry concentration and contractual rights and obligations.

Management believes that the accounting estimate related to the allowance for doubtful accounts is a critical accounting estimate because the underlying assumptions used for the allowance can change from time to time and uncollectible accounts could potentially have a material impact on our results of operations.

Retirement Plans

We use certain assumptions in the calculation of the actuarial valuation of our defined benefit plans. These assumptions include the weighted average discount rate, rates of increase in compensation levels and expected long-term rates of return of assets. If actual results are less favorable than those projected by us, additional expense may be required.

In September 2006, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans—an amendment of FASB No. 87, 88, 106, and 132(R) (“SFAS 158”). SFAS 158 requires an entity to recognize in its statement of financial position an asset for a defined benefit postretirement plan’s overfunded status or a liability for a plan’s underfunded status, measure a defined benefit postretirement plan’s assets and obligation that determine its funded status as of the end of the employer’s fiscal year, and recognize changes in the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan in comprehensive income in the year in which the change occurs. The requirement to recognize the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan became effective March 31, 2007, and we adopted the recognition requirements as of March 31, 2007.

In connection with the fiscal 2007 adoption of SFAS 158, the Company recorded an additional pension liability of $2.8 million for the remaining underfunded status of our benefit plans at March 31, 2007, with an offsetting amount recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes.

Critical accounting estimates and assumptions related to the actuarial valuation of our defined benefit plans are evaluated periodically as conditions warrant and changes to such estimates are recorded as new information or changed conditions require revision.

Equity-based compensation

We recognize compensation cost relating to equity-based payment transactions in using a fair-value measurement method, in accordance with the revision of FASB Statement No. 123, Share-Based Payment (“SFAS 123(R)”), which we adopted on April 1, 2006. SFAS 123R requires all equity-based payments to employees, including grants of stock options, to be recognized as compensation expense based on fair value over the requisite service period of the awards. We determine the fair value of restricted stock and restricted stock units based on the number of shares granted and the quoted price of our common stock, and the fair value of stock options is determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model which uses both historical and current market data to estimate the fair value. This method incorporates various assumptions such as the risk-free interest rate, expected volatility, expected dividend yield and expected life of the options. When estimating the requisite

 

B-28


Table of Contents

service period of the awards, we consider expected forfeitures and many related factors including types of awards, employee class, and historical experience. Actual results, and future changes in estimates of the requisite service period may differ substantially from our current estimates.

Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate is based on pretax income, statutory tax rates and tax planning opportunities available in the various jurisdictions in which we operate. We account for income taxes in accordance with SFAS 109 No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes (“SFAS 109”), which requires that deferred tax assets and liabilities be recognized using enacted tax rates for the effect of temporary differences between book and tax bases on recorded assets and liabilities. SFAS 109 also requires that deferred tax assets be reduced by a valuation allowance, if some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be recognized.

The recognition and measurement of a tax position is based on management’s best judgment given the facts, circumstances and information available at the reporting date. In accordance with FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes—an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 (“FIN 48”), which we adopted on April 1, 2007, we evaluate tax positions to determine whether the benefits of tax positions are more likely than not of being sustained upon audit based on the technical merits of the tax position. For tax positions that are more likely than not of being sustained upon audit, we recognize the largest amount of the benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement in the financial statements. For tax positions that are not more likely than not of being sustained upon audit, we do not recognize any portion of the benefit in the financial statements. If the more likely than not threshold is not met in the period for which a tax position is taken, we may subsequently recognize the benefit of that tax position if the tax matter is effectively settled, the statute of limitations expires, or if the more likely than not threshold is met in a subsequent period. (See Note 12 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.)

We evaluate, on a quarterly basis, the reliability of our deferred tax assets by assessing our valuation allowance and by adjusting the amount of such allowance, if necessary. The factors used to assess the likelihood of realization are our forecast of future taxable income and available tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the net deferred tax assets.

To the extent we prevail in matters for which reserves have been established, or are required to pay amounts in excess of our reserves, our effective tax rate in a given financial statement period could be materially affected. An unfavorable tax settlement would require use of cash and result in an increase in the effective tax rate in the year of resolution. A favorable tax settlement would be recognized as a reduction in our effective tax rate in the year of resolution.

Derivative Financial Instruments

We have entered into interest rate swap agreements to manage risk on a portion of our long-term floating-rate debt. We have entered into lead forward purchase contracts to manage risk of the cost of lead. We have entered into foreign exchange forward contracts and purchased option contracts to manage risk on foreign currency exposures. The agreements are with major financial institutions, and we believe the risk of nonperformance by the counterparties is negligible. The counterparties to certain of these agreements are lenders under the Credit Agreement and liabilities related to these agreements are covered under the security provisions of the Credit Agreement. We do not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. FASB Statement No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (“SFAS 133”), as amended, establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments and hedging activities. We recognize all derivatives as either assets or liabilities in the accompanying balance sheet and measure those instruments at fair value. Changes in the fair value of those instruments are reported in accumulated other comprehensive income if they qualify for hedge accounting or in earnings if they do not qualify for hedge accounting. Derivatives qualify for hedge accounting if they are designated as hedge instruments and if the hedge

 

B-29


Table of Contents

is highly effective in achieving offsetting changes in the fair value or cash flow of the asset or liability hedged. Effectiveness is measured on a regular basis using statistical analysis and by comparing the overall changes in the expected cash flows on the lead and foreign currency forward contracts with the changes in the expected all-in cash outflow required for the lead and foreign currency purchases. This analysis is performed quarterly on the initial purchases that cover the quantities hedged. Accordingly, gains and losses from changes in derivative fair value are deferred until the underlying transaction occurs. Interest expense on the debt is adjusted to include the payments made or received under such interest rate swap agreements. Inventory and cost of goods sold is adjusted to include the payments made or received under such lead and foreign currency forward contracts. Any deferred gains or losses associated with derivative instruments, which on infrequent occasions may be terminated prior to maturity are recognized in earnings in the period in which the underlying hedged transaction is terminated. In the event a designated hedged item is sold, extinguished or matures prior to the termination of the related derivative instrument, such instrument would be closed and the resulting gain or loss would be recognized in earnings.

Market and Economic Conditions

Our operating results are directly affected by the general cyclical pattern of the industries in which our major customer groups operate. Both our reserve power and motive power segments are heavily dependent on the end markets they serve, and our results of operations will vary depending on the capital expenditure environment in these markets. In addition, general economic conditions in the U.S. and international markets in which we and our customers operate also affect demand for our products. Sales of our motive power products, for example, depend significantly on demand for new electric industrial forklift trucks, which in turn depends on end-user demand for additional motive capacity in their distribution and manufacturing facilities. The overall economic conditions in the markets we serve can be expected to have a material effect on our results of operations.

In fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006, economic growth and market conditions for industrial batteries remained strong in all regions, In the past four years, however, we experienced significant cost pressure on our raw material costs, primarily lead (which is our primary raw material) as lead prices hit substantially higher levels. See “Quarterly Information.”

We estimate that the year over year incremental increase in lead costs (excluding premiums), as it affects our operating results, has risen by $222 million in fiscal 2008, $71 million in fiscal 2007, $23 million in fiscal 2006, and $44 million in fiscal 2005.

The highest price for lead during each of the last four fiscal years were as follows: in fiscal 2008 lead reached a historical high of over $1.81 per pound on the London Metal Exchange on October 15, 2007; in fiscal 2007 it was $0.91 per pound on February 26, 2007; in fiscal 2006 it was $0.66 per pound on February 2, 2006; and in fiscal 2005 it was $0.48 per pound on December 31, 2004. During April and May 2008, the price of lead has fallen significantly and the highest price for lead on the London Metal Exchange was $1.34 per pound on, April 7, 2008 and the lowest price for lead on the London Metal Exchange was $0.87 per pound on May 29, 2008.

We have implemented a series of selling price increases to offset some of the impact of these rising commodity costs. We believe we recovered approximately 70% of the cumulative increase in commodity costs since the beginning of fiscal 2005. These incremental selling price increases approximate 14% of net sales for fiscal 2008; 5% of net sales for fiscal 2007; and 2% of net sales for both fiscal 2006 and 2005.

Cost savings programs are and have been a continuous element of our business strategy and are directed primarily at further reductions in plant manufacturing (labor and overhead), raw materials costs and our operating expenses (primarily selling, general and administrative). Numerous individual cost savings opportunities are identified and evaluated by management with a formal selection and approval process that results in an ongoing list of cost savings projects to be implemented. In certain cases, projects are either modified or abandoned during

 

B-30


Table of Contents

their respective implementation phases. In order to realize cost savings benefits for a majority of these initiatives, costs are incurred either in the form of capital expenditures, funding the cash obligations of previously recorded restructuring expenses or current period expenses.

Components of Revenue and Expense

Net sales include the invoiced amount for all products sold and services provided; freight costs, when paid for by our customers; less all related allowances, rebates, discounts and sales, value-added or similar taxes.

Cost of goods sold includes the cost of material, labor and overhead; the cost of our service businesses; freight; warranty and other costs such as distribution centers; obsolete or slow moving inventory provisions; and certain types of insurance.

For fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006, we estimate that materials costs comprised over half of cost of goods sold. The largest single raw material cost is lead, which comprised approximately 33%, 25% and 21% of cost of goods sold in fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively.

We use significant amounts of lead, plastics, steel, copper and other materials in manufacturing our products. The costs of these raw materials, particularly lead, are volatile and beyond our control. Year over year incremental lead costs were approximately $222 million in fiscal 2008, $71 million in fiscal 2007, $23 million in fiscal 2006, and $44 million in fiscal 2005, as a result of cost increases experienced during those years. Lead is our single largest raw material item and the price of lead has remained volatile. Lead, plastics, steel and copper in the aggregate represent our principal raw materials costs. Volatile raw materials costs can significantly affect our operating results and make period-to-period comparisons difficult. The costs of commodity raw materials such as lead, steel and copper have increased significantly in recent periods. We attempt to control our raw materials costs through strategic purchasing decisions. Where possible, we pass along some or all of our increased raw materials costs to our customers.

The following table shows certain average commodity prices for fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006, which have not been adjusted for the timing of the impact on our financial results:

 

     2008    2007    2006

Lead $/lb.(1)

   $ 1.296    $ 0.647    $ 0.473

Steel $/lb.(2)

     0.366      0.363      0.255

Copper $/lb.(1)

     3.430      3.202      1.901

 

(1) Source: London Metal Exchange (“LME”)
(2) Source: Nucor Corporation

Labor and overhead are primarily attributable to our manufacturing facilities. Overhead includes plant operating costs such as utilities, repairs and maintenance, taxes, supplies and depreciation.

Operating expenses include all non-manufacturing selling, general and administrative, engineering and other expenses. These include salaries and wages, sales commissions, fringe benefits, professional fees, supplies, maintenance, general business taxes, rent, communications, travel and entertainment, depreciation, advertising and bad debt expenses.

 

B-31


Table of Contents

Operating expenses in fiscal 2008 and 2007 were incurred in the following functional areas of our business (as a percent of the total) and are substantially similar in both of our business segments.

 

     2008     2007  

Selling

   62 %   63 %

General and administrative

   32     30  

Engineering

   6     7  
            

Total

   100 %   100 %
            

Restructuring and other charges and litigation settlement income

In comparing fiscal 2008 financial results to fiscal 2007, and fiscal 2007 financial results to fiscal 2006, management believes it is appropriate to highlight the $13.2 million of operating restructuring charges and the $0.6 million of expenses for a shelf registrations and secondary offerings incurred in fiscal 2008; the $3.8 million of litigation settlement income, the $1.1 million of expenses for a shelf registration and secondary offering and an abandoned acquisition attempt, and a $2.0 million non-recurring tax benefit that were incurred in fiscal 2007; and the $8.6 million of operating restructuring and other charges incurred in fiscal 2006.

Other income (expense), net consists primarily of non-operating foreign currency transaction gains (losses) and expenses associated with shelf registrations and secondary offerings.

Results of Operations—Fiscal 2008 Compared to Fiscal 2007

The following table presents summary consolidated statement of income data for fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, compared to fiscal year ended March 31, 2007:

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase (Decrease)  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
    Millions    
      %    

Net sales

   $ 2,026.6    100.0 %   $ 1,504.5     100.0 %   $ 522.1     34.7 %

Cost of goods sold

     1,644.7    81.2       1,193.3     79.3       451.4     37.8  
                                     

Gross profit

     381.9    18.8       311.2     20.7       70.7     22.7  

Operating expenses

     249.4    12.3       221.1     14.7       28.3     12.8  

Restructuring charges

     13.2    0.7       —       —         13.2     NA  

Litigation settlement income

     —      —         (3.8 )   (0.2 )     (3.8 )   NA  
                                     

Operating earnings

     119.3    5.9       93.9     6.2       25.4     27.2  

Interest expense

     28.9    1.4       27.7     1.8       1.2     4.3  

Other (income) expense, net

     4.2    0.2       3.1     0.2       1.1     35.5  
                                     

Earnings before income taxes

     86.2    4.3       63.1     4.2       23.1     36.6  

Income tax expense

     26.5    1.3       17.9     1.2       8.6     48.0  
                                     

Net earnings

   $ 59.7    2.9 %   $ 45.2     3.0 %   $ 14.5     32.1 %
                                     

Overview

Fiscal 2008 results include a net sales increase over fiscal 2007 of 34.7%, to $2.03 billion, with an increase to gross profit of 22.7% to $381.9 million. Our gross profit margin decreased 190 basis points to 18.8% due primarily to the unfavorable effect of higher commodity costs of approximately $240 million, partially offset by increased sales volume, price increases to our customers and our cost savings initiatives. We estimate that the impact of higher lead costs alone, our primary raw material, unfavorably affected our cost of goods sold by approximately $222 million in fiscal 2008. We estimate that our price increases realized in fiscal 2008 increased our net sales by approximately 14%.

 

B-32


Table of Contents

Operating expenses in fiscal 2008 grew over fiscal 2007 by 12.8%, due mainly to currency fluctuations. Operating expenses as a percentage of sales were 12.3% in fiscal 2008, down from 14.7% in fiscal 2007 due to the favorable impact from higher net sales relative to the fixed elements of our operating expenses, cost savings actions and a decrease in public company costs (primarily costs associated with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance) of approximately $2 million.

We incurred $13.2 million in restructuring expenses in fiscal 2008 compared to none in fiscal 2007. In fiscal 2007 we received litigation settlement income of $3.8 million. Interest expense in fiscal 2008 increased over fiscal 2007 by approximately $1.2 million or 4.3%, due primarily to increased debt to fund working capital growth. Other (income) expense, net was higher in fiscal 2008 by approximately $1.1 million over fiscal 2007 due primarily to higher foreign currency transaction losses, primarily on short-term intercompany loans, partly offset by lower expenses in fiscal 2008 for shelf registrations and secondary offerings ($0.6 million compared to $0.8 million in fiscal 2007), and an abandoned acquisition attempt in fiscal 2007. The above fiscal 2008 over fiscal 2007 improvements in performance were partially offset by a non-recurring tax benefit of approximately $2.0 million that we recorded in fiscal 2007. These factors resulted in the net earnings increase of $14.5 million or 32.1% to $59.7 million.

In comparing fiscal 2008 financial results to fiscal 2007, management believes it is appropriate to highlight the $13.2 million of restructuring charges and the $0.6 million of expenses for shelf registrations and secondary offerings incurred in fiscal 2008; and the $1.1 million of expenses for a shelf registration and secondary offering and an abandoned acquisition attempt, the favorable $3.8 million of litigation settlement income, and the $2.0 million in non-recurring tax benefit incurred in fiscal 2007.

Net sales by geographic region were as follows:

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase  
     In
Millions
   % Total
Sales
    In
Millions
   % Total
Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Europe(1)

   $ 1,115.3    55.0 %   $ 784.6    52.2 %   $ 330.7    42.2 %

Americas

     777.9    38.4       630.8    41.9       147.1    23.3  

Asia

     133.4    6.6       89.1    5.9       44.3    49.7  
                                   

Total

   $ 2,026.6    100.0 %   $ 1,504.5    100.0 %   $ 522.1    34.7 %
                                   

 

(1) Includes Europe, Middle East and Africa

All geographic regions experienced solid sales growth in fiscal 2008. We believe our global business continued to gain market share.

The Europe region’s revenue increased by approximately $330.7 million or 42.2% in fiscal 2008, as compared to fiscal 2007. The euro increased on average by approximately 10.9 % in fiscal 2008, having an impact of approximately $111 million on our Europe business’ fiscal 2008 net sales growth. Further, the Europe region’s revenue benefited from the Energia and other smaller acquisitions, which increased their net sales by approximately $25 million in fiscal 2008.

The Americas region’s revenue increased by approximately $147.1 million or 23.3% in fiscal 2008 as compared to fiscal 2007, primarily due to higher prices and volume growth.

The Asia region’s revenue increased by approximately $44.3 million in fiscal 2008, primarily attributed to higher prices and continued general business expansion in that region.

After excluding the impact of the Energia and other smaller acquisitions and adjusting for the impact of the stronger currencies (primarily the euro) and price increases in fiscal 2008, consolidated net sales increased approximately 11% compared to the prior year.

 

B-33


Table of Contents

Operating earnings by geographic region were as follows:

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase (Decrease)  
     In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
    Millions    
    %  

Europe(1)

   $ 61.3     5.5 %   $ 36.0    4.6 %   $ 25.3     70.3 %

Americas

     68.5     8.8       52.7    8.4       15.8     30.0  

Asia

     2.7     2.0       1.4    1.6       1.3     92.9  
                                     

Subtotal

     132.5     6.5       90.1    6.0       42.4     47.1  

Restructuring charges-Europe

     (13.2 )   (0.7 )     —      —         (13.2 )   NA  

Litigation settlement income-Americas

     —       —         3.8    0.3       (3.8 )   NA  
                                     

Total

   $ 119.3     5.9 %   $ 93.9    6.2 %   $ 25.4     27.2 %
                                     

 

(1) Includes Europe, Middle East and Africa

The Europe region’s operating earnings increased $25.3 million or 70.3% in fiscal 2008 compared to fiscal 2007 as increased sales volume, prices and cost savings programs more than offset higher commodity costs.

The Americas region’s operating earnings increased 30.0% as net sales grew by approximately 23.3%. The Americas region’s operating earnings were favorably affected by sales price increases, improved plant utilization and cost savings programs, which more than offset higher commodity costs.

The Asia region’s operating earnings reflect the improved operating performance in this region. The region realized significant price increases in fiscal 2008; partially offset by the negative impact of higher commodity costs and continued challenging competitive conditions in this region.

The above operating earnings performance improvement in fiscal 2008 was reduced by the European restructuring program that is expected to continue into next fiscal year, and the fiscal 2007 favorable litigation settlement income.

A discussion of specific fiscal 2008 versus fiscal 2007 operating results follows, including an analysis and discussion of the results of our two business segments.

Net Sales

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase  
     In
Millions
   % Total
Sales
    In
Millions
   % Total
Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Reserve power

   $ 883.8    43.6 %   $ 642.6    42.7 %   $ 241.2    37.5 %

Motive power

     1,142.8    56.4       861.9    57.3       280.9    32.6  
                                       

Total

   $ 2,026.6    100.0 %   $ 1,504.5    100.0 %   $ 522.1    34.7 %
                                       

Net sales increased $522.1 million or 34.7% in fiscal 2008 over fiscal 2007. This growth resulted primarily from four main factors: currency fluctuations, acquisitions, pricing and organic growth.

Stronger currencies, primarily the euro compared to the U.S. dollar, resulted in an increase of $125 million or 8% in fiscal 2008 net sales. The euro exchange rate to the U.S. dollar averaged $1.43/ € in fiscal 2008 compared to $1.29/ € in fiscal 2007. Excluding the effect of foreign currency fluctuations, net sales in the Europe region increased 28%, the Americas region increased 23%, and the Asia region increased 38% in fiscal 2008 compared to fiscal 2007.

 

B-34


Table of Contents

Acquisitions of Energia in May 2007, Leclanché in January 2007, contributed almost $28 million or 2% of worldwide incremental net sales in fiscal 2008 as compared to fiscal 2007.

We have implemented a series of selling price increases to offset some of the increased costs associated with lead and other key materials used in the manufacturing of our products. As described previously, competitive conditions remain challenging in our industry, with only a partial recovery of higher commodity costs experienced in fiscal 2008 and 2007 from sales price increases. We realized selling price increases of approximately 14% in fiscal 2008 and 5% in fiscal 2007, which represents approximately 85% of the commodity cost increases experienced in fiscal 2008 and roughly 66% of the commodity cost increases in fiscal 2007. We remain highly focused on maximizing our pricing actions; however, there is a time lag in realizing the full impact from announced price increases in our operating results, caused primarily by the impact of our order backlog. Price increases resulted in an increase in net sales of approximately $204 million or 14% in fiscal 2008 over fiscal 2007 in both segments. Strong efforts were made to pass through sales price increases in all regions. In general, more selling price realization occurred in our motive power business in comparison to our reserve power business during fiscal 2007, but was comparable in fiscal 2008.

Organic growth (increased net sales excluding the impact of currency, pricing and acquisitions) contributed approximately $165 million or 11% to net sales in fiscal 2008 over fiscal 2007. We believe our organic growth resulted from a combination of our increased market share and overall market growth.

Fiscal 2008 net sales growth, excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, in reserve power and motive power was approximately 30% and 24%, respectively, compared to fiscal 2007.

Excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, the reserve power segment achieved solid growth in fiscal 2008 sales as compared to fiscal 2007 sales, due primarily to improving sales trends for both telecom and UPS battery markets and the strong sales of aerospace & defense batteries, coupled with the impact of approximately $12 million of increased sales from recent acquisitions.

The strong growth experienced in our motive power segment in the prior year continued into fiscal 2008 and benefited from approximately $16 million of increased sales from acquisitions.

See Note 2 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K for descriptions of the Energia, Leclanché, CFT, EAS and GAZ acquisitions.

Gross Profit

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Gross profit

   $ 381.9    18.8 %   $ 311.2    20.7 %   $ 70.7    22.7 %

Gross profit increased $70.7 million or 22.7% in fiscal 2008 compared to fiscal 2007. Gross profit, excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, increased $55.1 million or 17.7% in fiscal 2008 compared to fiscal 2007. Gross profit margin declined 190 basis points in fiscal 2008 compared to fiscal 2007. The primary cause of the decline in gross profit margin is attributed to higher commodity and energy costs. Pricing recovery to offset higher commodity costs increased net sales by approximately 14% in fiscal 2008 and continues to be challenging. Lead represents our principal raw material and approximated 33% of total cost of goods sold for fiscal 2008 as compared to approximately 25% of total cost of goods sold for fiscal 2007. Lead costs continue to increase dramatically and increased approximately $222 million compared to the prior year. We continue to focus on cost savings initiatives to help mitigate the rising cost of commodities. Additionally, we continue to focus on a wide variety of sales initiatives which benefit our margins by improving product mix to higher margin products. Lastly, as previously discussed, we have implemented multiple sales price increases throughout the year to offset commodity cost increases.

 

B-35


Table of Contents

Operating Expenses

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Operating expenses

   $ 249.4    12.3 %   $ 221.1    14.7 %   $ 28.3    12.8 %

Operating expenses increased $28.3 million or 12.8% in fiscal 2008 over fiscal 2007 as net sales increased 34.7%. Excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, operating expenses increased 7.9% in fiscal 2008 over fiscal 2007, while net sales increased 26.4% in fiscal 2008 over fiscal 2007. These increases also reflect the additional operating expenses and sales of the acquired Energia, Leclanché, EAS and GAZ businesses. Operating expenses represented 12.3% of net sales in fiscal 2008 as compared to 14.7% in fiscal 2007. Selling expenses were 61.8% of operating expenses in fiscal 2008, compared to 62.8% in fiscal 2007. We continued to further reduce our costs in this area through cost savings initiatives.

Restructuring Charges—Operating

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %

Restructuring charges

   $ 13.2    0.7 %   $ —      —   %   $ 13.2    NA

Included in our fiscal 2008 operating results are $13.2 million of highlighted restructuring charges that resulted from the Energia acquisition, which included $9.3 million that were incurred for staff reductions and professional fees, plus $3.9 million of non-cash impairment charges for redundant machinery and equipment. There were no restructuring charges in fiscal 2007.

Litigation Settlement (Income)—Operating

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     (Decrease)
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
    %

Litigation settlement income

   $ —      —   %   $ (3.8 )   (0.2 )%   $ (3.8 )   NA

Included in our fiscal 2007 operating results is litigation settlement income of $3.8 million, net of fees and expenses, from the settlement of two separate legal matters associated with our Americas business. The amounts of the settlements have been recorded as increases in operating earnings in fiscal 2007, as the costs related to these matters were previously recorded as an element of operating earnings.

Operating Earnings

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase (Decrease)  
     In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales(1)
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales(1)
    In
Millions
    %  

Reserve power

   $ 43.8     5.0 %   $ 31.3    4.9 %   $ 12.5     39.9 %

Motive power

     88.7     7.8       58.8    6.8       29.9     50.9  
                                     

Subtotal

     132.5     6.5       90.1    6.0       42.4     47.1  

Restructuring charges-Reserve

     (8.5 )   (1.0 )     —      —         (8.5 )   NA  

Restructuring charges-Motive

     (4.7 )   (0.4 )     —      —         (4.7 )   NA  

Litigation settlement income-Reserve

     —       —         3.0    0.5       (3.0 )   NA  

Litigation settlement income-Motive

     —       —         0.8    0.1       (0.8 )   NA  
                                     

Total operating earnings

   $ 119.3     5.9 %   $ 93.9    6.2 %   $ 25.4     27.2 %
                                     

 

(1) The percentages shown for the segments are computed as a percentage of the applicable segment’s net sales.

 

B-36


Table of Contents

Fiscal 2008 operating earnings of $119.3 million were $25.4 million higher than in fiscal 2007 and our operating margins decreased 30 basis points to 5.9%. Fiscal 2008 operating earnings included the $13.2 million negative impact of restructuring charges; and fiscal 2007 operating earnings included the favorable impact of $3.8 million of litigation settlement income. As discussed above, our operating earnings were favorably affected by sales volume, price increases and our continuing cost savings programs, partially offset by higher commodity costs.

Interest Expense

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Interest expense

   $ 28.9    1.4 %   $ 27.7    1.8 %   $ 1.2    4.3 %

Fiscal 2008 interest expense of $28.9 million (net of interest income of $1.2 million) increased 4.3% over fiscal 2007. Our average debt outstanding in fiscal 2008 was approximately $430 million, as compared to our average debt of $417 million in fiscal 2007. Our average interest rate on borrowings incurred in fiscal 2008 was 6.5%, a decrease of 10 basis points from 6.6% in fiscal 2007. Included in fiscal 2008 interest expense are non-cash charges of $1.5 million for deferred financing fees, an increase of $0.1 million from fiscal 2007. The increase in interest expense is due primarily to higher average debt and lower interest income; partially offset by lower interest rates on our variable rate debt in fiscal 2008 attributable to actions taken by central banks to decrease interest rates.

Other (Income) Expense, Net

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Other (income) expense, net

   $ 4.2    0.2 %   $ 3.1    0.2 %   $ 1.1    35.5 %

Fiscal 2008 other expense, net, which was $4.2 million, consists primarily of $2.7 million in foreign currency transaction losses and $0.6 million in fees related to secondary stock offerings. This compares to fiscal 2007 other expense of $3.1 million, which consisted primarily of $1.6 million in foreign currency transaction losses and $1.1 million in fees related to a secondary stock offering and an abandoned acquisition attempt. Both years’ foreign currency transaction losses were primarily associated with short-term intercompany loan balances.

Earnings Before Income Taxes

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Earnings before income taxes

   $ 86.2    4.3 %   $ 63.1    4.2 %   $ 23.1    36.6 %

As a result of the factors discussed above, fiscal 2008 earnings before income taxes were $86.2 million, an increase of $23.1 million or 36.6% compared to fiscal 2007. Included in fiscal 2008 earnings before income taxes were $13.2 million of restructuring charges and $0.6 million of secondary offering expenses. Included in fiscal 2007 earnings before income taxes were $3.8 million of litigation settlement income, $1.1 million of secondary offering expenses and a loss on an abandoned acquisition attempt.

 

B-37


Table of Contents

Income Tax Expense

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase  
     In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Income tax expense

   $ 26.5     1.3 %   $ 17.9     1.2 %   $ 8.6    48.0 %
                             

Effective tax rate

     30.7 %       28.4 %       
                         

The effective income tax rate was 30.7% in fiscal 2008, compared to the fiscal 2007 effective tax rate, before the non-recurring credit, of 31.6%. The effective income tax rate was 28.4% in fiscal 2007, as the fiscal 2007 tax expense includes a non-recurring tax benefit of approximately $2.0 million recorded in the third fiscal quarter of 2007, attributable to the favorable resolution of a prior year tax matter related to our European business, which reduced our book effective tax rate by 3.2 percentage points. Additionally, in fiscal 2007, changes in the mix of earnings among our various legal entities in multiple foreign jurisdictions resulted in an approximate one percentage point decrease on our effective tax rate.

Net Earnings

 

     Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007     Increase  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Net earnings

   $ 59.7    2.9 %   $ 45.2    3.0 %   $ 14.5    32.1 %

As a result of the factors discussed above, fiscal 2008 net earnings were $59.7 million compared to fiscal 2007 earnings of $45.2 million. The $14.5 million increase is due primarily to a $70.7 million increase gross profit, partially offset by $13.2 million of restructuring charges, a $28.3 million increase in operating expenses, a $1.2 million increase in interest expense, a $1.1 million increase in other expense and a $8.6 million increase in income taxes in fiscal 2008. In addition, fiscal 2007 benefited from $3.8 million (pre-tax) of litigation settlement income and the approximately $2.0 million non-recurring tax benefit.

Net earnings per common share in fiscal 2008 were $1.25 per basic share and $1.22 per diluted share compared to $0.97 per basic share and $0.95 per diluted share in fiscal 2007.

Results of Operations—Fiscal 2007 Compared to Fiscal 2006

The following table presents summary consolidated statement of income data for fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, compared to fiscal year ended March 31, 2006:

 

     Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase (Decrease)  
     In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
    Millions    
    %  

Net sales

   $ 1,504.5     100.0 %   $ 1,283.3     100.0 %   $ 221.2     17.2 %

Cost of goods sold

     1,193.3     79.3       1,006.5     78.4       186.8     18.6  
                                      

Gross profit

     311.2     20.7       276.8     21.6       34.4     12.4  

Operating expenses

     221.1     14.7       199.9     15.6       21.2     10.6  

Restructuring and other charges

     —       —         8.6     0.7       (8.6 )   NA  

Litigation settlement income

     (3.8 )   (0.2 )     —       —         (3.8 )   NA  
                                      

Operating earnings

     93.9     6.2       68.3     5.3       25.6     37.3  

Interest expense

     27.7     1.8       24.9     1.9       2.8     11.4  

Other (income) expense, net

     3.1     0.2       (1.4 )   (0.1 )     4.5     321.4  
                                      

Earnings before income taxes

     63.1     4.2       44.8     3.5       18.3     40.8  

Income tax expense

     17.9     1.2       14.1     1.1       3.8     27.3  
                                      

Net earnings

   $ 45.2     3.0 %   $ 30.7     2.4 %   $ 14.5     47.2 %
                                      

 

B-38


Table of Contents

Overview

Fiscal 2007 results include a net sales increase over fiscal 2006 of 17.2%, to $1.5 billion, with a gross profit increase of 12.4% to $311.2 million. Our gross profit margin decreased 90 basis points to 20.7% due primarily to the unfavorable effect of higher commodity costs, partially offset by increased sales volume, price increases to our customers and our cost savings initiatives. We estimate that the impact of higher lead costs alone, our primary raw material, unfavorably affected our cost of goods sold by approximately $71 million in fiscal 2007. We estimate that our price increases realized in fiscal 2007 increased our net sales by approximately 5%.

Operating expenses in fiscal 2007 grew at a slower rate over fiscal 2006 of 10.6%, due partly to a decrease in public company costs (primarily costs associated with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance) of approximately $2 million, cost savings actions and the favorable impact from higher net sales relative to the fixed elements of our operating expenses.

We did not incur any restructuring expenses in fiscal 2007 as compared to $8.6 million in fiscal 2006, and in fiscal 2007 we received litigation settlement income of $3.8 million. Interest expense in fiscal 2007 increased over fiscal 2006 by approximately $2.8 million or 11.4%, due primarily to higher interest rates from our variable rate debt, as global interest rates have increased due to actions taken by central banks to raise borrowing costs. Other (income) expense, net in fiscal 2007 grew by approximately $4.5 million over fiscal 2006 due primarily to $1.1 million of expenses for a shelf registration and secondary offering and an abandoned acquisition attempt, and higher foreign currency transaction losses primarily on short-term intercompany loans. Additionally, we recorded a non-recurring tax benefit of approximately $2.0 million in fiscal 2007. These factors resulted in the net earnings increase of $14.5 million or 47.2% to $45.2 million.

In comparing fiscal 2007 financial results to fiscal 2006, management believes it is appropriate to highlight the $3.8 million of litigation settlement income, the $1.1 million of expenses for a shelf registration and secondary offering and an abandoned acquisition attempt and the $2.0 million in non-recurring tax benefit incurred in fiscal 2007, and the $8.6 million of operating restructuring and other charges incurred in fiscal 2006.

Net sales by geographic region were as follows:

 

     Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase  
     In
Millions
   % Total
Sales
    In
Millions
   % Total
Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Europe

   $ 784.6    52.2 %   $ 675.4    52.6 %   $ 109.2    16.2 %

Americas

     630.8    41.9       535.9    41.8       94.9    17.7  

Asia

     89.1    5.9       72.0    5.6       17.1    23.8  
                                   

Total

   $ 1,504.5    100.0 %   $ 1,283.3    100.0 %   $ 221.2    17.2 %
                                   

All geographic regions experienced solid sales growth in fiscal 2007. The euro increased on average by approximately 6.6% in fiscal 2007, having an impact of approximately $51 million on our Europe business’ fiscal 2007 net sales growth. We believe our global business continued to gain market share with particularly strong growth in the motive power segment. The Asia region’s revenue growth is primarily attributed to continued general business expansion in that region. Further, the Europe region revenue benefited from the FIAMM and other smaller acquisitions, which increased their net sales by approximately $13 million in fiscal 2007. The Asia region revenues increased by approximately $17 million in fiscal 2007. After excluding the impact of the FIAMM and other smalleŕ acquisitions and adjusting for the impact of the stronger currencies (primarily the euro) and price increases in fiscal 2007, consolidated net sales increased approximately 7% compared to the prior year.

 

B-39


Table of Contents

Operating earnings by geographic region were as follows:

 

    Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase (Decrease)  
    In
Millions
  As %
Net Sales(1)
    In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales(1)
    In
    Millions    
    %  

Europe

  $ 36.0   4.6 %   $ 35.7     5.3 %   $ 0.3     0.8 %

Americas

    52.7   8.4       39.3     7.3       13.4     34.1  

Asia

    1.4   1.6       1.9     2.6       (0.5 )   (26.3 )
                                   

Subtotal

    90.1   6.0       76.9     6.0       13.2     17.2  

Restructuring and other charges-Europe

    —     —         (8.6 )   (0.7 )     8.6     NA  

Litigation settlement income-Americas

    3.8   0.3       —       —         3.8     NA  
                                   

Total

  $ 93.9   6.2 %   $ 68.3     5.3 %   $ 25.6     37.3 %
                                   

 

(1) The percentages shown for the region’s are computed as a percentage of the applicable region’s net sales.

The Europe region’s operating earnings were flat in fiscal 2007 compared to fiscal 2006 as increased sales were offset by higher commodity costs.

The Americas region’s operating earnings increased 34.1% as net sales grew by approximately 17.7%. The Americas region’s operating earnings were favorably affected by sales price increases, improved plant utilization and cost savings programs which offset higher commodity costs.

The Asia region’s operating earnings were negatively affected by higher commodity costs in fiscal 2007 with a modest increase in sales prices realized as competitive conditions remain challenging in this region.

A discussion of specific fiscal 2007 versus fiscal 2006 operating results follows, including an analysis and discussion of the results of our two business segments.

Net Sales

 

     Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase  
     In
Millions
   % Total
Sales
    In
Millions
   % Total
Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Reserve power

   $ 642.6    42.7 %   $ 571.1    44.5 %   $ 71.5    12.5 %

Motive power

     861.9    57.3       712.2    55.5 %     149.7    21.0  
                                   

Total

   $ 1,504.5    100.0 %   $ 1,283.3    100.0 %   $ 221.2    17.2 %
                                   

Consolidated net sales increased $221.2 million or 17.2% in fiscal 2007 over fiscal 2006. This growth resulted primarily from four main factors: currency fluctuations, acquisitions, pricing and organic growth. All regions benefited from strong economic conditions and, we believe, an increase in market share.

Stronger currencies, primarily the euro compared to the U.S. dollar, resulted in an increase of approximately $55 million or 4% in fiscal 2007 net sales. The euro exchange rate to the U.S. dollar averaged $1.29 ($/ €) in fiscal 2007 compared to $1.21 ($/ €) in fiscal 2006. Excluding the effect of foreign currency fluctuations, net sales in the Americas region increased 18%, the Asia region increased 20% and the Europe region increased 9% in fiscal 2007 compared to fiscal 2006.

Acquisitions of Leclanché in January 2007, EAS in May 2006, GAZ in October 2005 and FIAMM in June 2005, contributed approximately $20 million of worldwide incremental net sales in fiscal 2007 as compared to fiscal 2006.

 

B-40


Table of Contents

We implemented a series of selling price increases to offset some of the increased costs associated with lead and other key materials used in the manufacturing of our products. As described previously, competitive conditions remained challenging in our industry, with only a partial recovery of higher commodity costs experienced in fiscal 2007 and 2006 from sales price increases. We realized selling price increases of approximately 5% in fiscal 2007, and 2% in fiscal 2006, which represents approximately 66% of the commodity cost increases in fiscal 2007, and approximately 50% of the commodity cost increases experienced in fiscal 2006. We remained highly focused on maximizing our pricing actions; however, there is a time lag in realizing the full impact from our announced price increases (April 2007, January 2007 and November 2006) in our operating results, caused primarily by the impact of our order backlog. Price increases resulted in an increase in net sales by approximately $60 million or 5% in fiscal 2007 over fiscal 2006. Strong efforts were made to pass through sales price increases in all regions. In general, more selling price realization has occurred in our motive power business in comparison to our reserve power business during fiscal 2007 and 2006. Organic growth (increased net sales excluding the impact of currency, pricing and sales resulting from acquisitions), which had the largest impact on sales growth, contributed approximately $85 million or 6.6% to net sales in fiscal 2007 over fiscal 2006. We believe our organic growth resulted from a combination of our increased market share and overall market growth.

Fiscal 2007 net sales growth, excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, in reserve power and motive power was approximately 8.5% and 16.5%, respectively, compared to fiscal 2006.

Excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, the reserve power segment achieved solid growth in fiscal 2007 sales as compared to fiscal 2006 sales, due primarily to improving sales trends for both telecom and UPS battery markets and the strong sales of aerospace & defense batteries, coupled with the impact of over $10 million of increased sales from recent acquisitions.

The strong growth experienced in our motive power segment in the prior year continued into fiscal 2007 and benefited from approximately $9 million of increased sales from the FIAMM acquisition.

See Note 2 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K for descriptions of the FIAMM, GAZ, Leclanché and EAS acquisitions.

Gross Profit

 

     Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Gross profit

   $ 311.2    20.7 %   $ 276.8    21.6 %   $ 34.4    12.4 %

Gross profit increased $34.4 million or 12.4% in fiscal 2007 compared to fiscal 2006. Gross profit, excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, increased $25.9 million or 9.4% in fiscal 2007 compared to fiscal 2006. Gross profit margin declined 90 basis points in fiscal 2007 compared to fiscal 2006. The primary cause of the decline in gross profit margin is attributed to higher commodity and energy costs. Pricing recovery to offset higher commodity costs increased net sales by approximately 5% in fiscal 2007 and continues to be challenging. Lead represents our principal raw material and approximated 25% of total cost of goods sold for fiscal 2007. Lead costs continued to increase significantly and increased approximately $71 million compared to the prior year. We continued to focus on cost savings initiatives to help mitigate the rising cost of commodities. Additionally, we continued to focus on a wide variety of sales initiatives which benefit our margins by improving product mix to higher margin products. Lastly, as previously discussed, we implemented multiple sales price increases throughout the year to offset commodity cost increases.

 

B-41


Table of Contents

Operating Expenses

 

     Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Operating expenses

   $ 221.1    14.7 %   $ 199.9    15.6 %   $ 21.2    10.6 %

Operating expenses represented 14.7 % of net sales in fiscal 2007 as compared to 15.6 % in fiscal 2006. Operating expenses increased $21.2 million or 10.6% in fiscal 2007 over fiscal 2006 as net sales increased 17.2%. Excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, operating expenses increased 6.1% in fiscal 2007 over fiscal 2006, while net sales increased 13.0% in fiscal 2007 over fiscal 2006. These increases also reflect the additional operating expenses and sales of the acquired FIAMM, GAZ, EAS and Leclanché businesses. Selling expenses were 62.8% of operating expenses in fiscal 2007, compared to 64.2% in fiscal 2006. We continued to further reduce our costs in this area through cost savings initiatives and the reduction in expenses associated with being a public company. Such public company costs were reduced to approximately $8 million in fiscal 2007 from $10 million in fiscal 2006.

Restructuring and Other Charges—Operating

 

     Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase (Decrease)
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
    Millions    
    %

Restructuring and other charges

   $ —      —   %   $ 8.6    0.7 %   $ (8.6 )   NA

No restructuring charges were recorded in fiscal 2007. Included in our prior fiscal year’s operating results are $8.6 million of highlighted restructuring and other charges that were incurred to cover estimated costs, primarily in the Europe region, of staff reductions, exiting and moving product lines, and closing several ancillary locations, and a non-cash write-off of machinery and equipment based on impairment testing. These were primarily driven by the FIAMM and GAZ acquisitions.

Litigation Settlement (Income)—Operating

 

     Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase (Decrease)
     In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
    Millions    
    %

Litigation settlement income

   $ (3.8 )   (0.2 )%   $ —      —   %   $ (3.8 )   NA

Included in our fiscal 2007 operating results is litigation settlement income of $3.8 million, net of fees and expenses, from the settlement of two separate legal matters associated with our Americas business. The amounts of the settlements have been recorded as increases in operating earnings in fiscal 2007, as the costs related to these matters were previously recorded as an element of operating earnings.

Operating Earnings

 

     Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase (Decrease)  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales(1)
    In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales(1)
    In
    Millions    
    %  

Reserve power

   $ 31.3    4.9 %   $ 34.5     6.0 %   $ (3.2 )   (9.7 )%

Motive power

     58.8    6.8       42.4     6.0       16.4     39.3  
                                     

Subtotal

     90.1    6.0       76.9     6.0       13.2     17.2  

Restructuring and other charges-Reserve

     —      —         (4.5 )   (0.7 )     4.5     NA  

Restructuring and other charges-Motive

     —      —         (4.1 )   (0.5 )     4.1     NA  

Litigation settlement income-Reserve

     3.0    0.5       —       —         3.0     NA  

Litigation settlement income-Motive

     0.8    0.1       —       —         0.8     NA  
                                     

Total operating earnings

   $ 93.9    6.2 %   $ 68.3     5.3 %   $ 25.6     37.3 %
                                     

 

(1) The percentages shown for the segments are computed as a percentage of the applicable segment’s net sales.

 

B-42


Table of Contents

Fiscal 2007 operating earnings of $93.9 million were $25.6 million higher than in fiscal 2006 with our operating margins increasing 90 basis points to 6.2%. Fiscal 2007 operating earnings included the effect of $3.8 million of highlighted litigation income and fiscal 2006 operating earnings included the effect of $8.6 million of highlighted restructuring and other charges. As discussed above, our operating earnings were favorably affected by sales volume, price increases (particularly in the motive power segment) and our continuing cost savings programs, partially offset by higher commodity costs.

Interest Expense

 

     Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase  
     In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Interest expense

   $ 27.7    1.8 %   $ 24.9    1.9 %   $ 2.8    11.4 %

Fiscal 2007 interest expense of $27.7 million (net of interest income of $1.1 million) increased 11.4% over fiscal 2006. Our average debt outstanding in fiscal 2007 was approximately $417 million, the same as our average debt in fiscal 2006. Our average interest rate on borrowings incurred in fiscal 2007 was 6.6%, an increase of 90 basis points from 5.7% in fiscal 2006. Included in fiscal 2007 interest expense are non-cash charges of $1.4 million for deferred financing fees, unchanged from fiscal 2006. The increase in interest expense is due primarily to higher interest rates on our variable rate debt in fiscal 2007 attributable to actions taken by central banks to increase interest rates.

Other (Income) Expense, Net

 

      Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase  
      In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Other (income) expense, net

   $ 3.1    0.2 %   $ (1.4 )   (0.1 )%   $ 4.5    321.4 %

Fiscal 2007 other expense, net, which was $3.1 million, consists primarily of $1.6 million in foreign currency transaction losses and $1.1 million in fees related to a secondary stock offering and an abandoned acquisition attempt. This compares to fiscal 2006 other income of $1.4 million, which consisted primarily of $1.3 million in foreign currency transaction gains. Both years’ foreign currency transaction gains and losses were primarily associated with short-term intercompany loan balances.

Earnings Before Income Taxes

 

      Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase  
      In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Earnings before income taxes

   $ 63.1    4.2 %   $ 44.8    3.5 %   $ 18.3    40.8 %

As a result of the factors discussed above, fiscal 2007 earnings before income taxes were $63.1 million, an increase of $18.3 million or 40.8% compared to fiscal 2006. Included in fiscal 2007 earnings before income taxes were $3.8 million of litigation settlement income, $1.1 million in secondary offering expenses and a loss on an abandoned acquisition attempt. Included in fiscal 2006 earnings before income taxes were $8.6 million in restructuring and other charges.

 

B-43


Table of Contents

Income Tax Expense

 

      Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase  
      In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
    As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Income tax expense

   $ 17.9     1.2 %   $ 14.1     1.1 %   $ 3.8    27.3 %
                             

Effective tax rate

     28.4 %       31.4 %       
                         

The effective income tax rate was 28.4 % in fiscal 2007, compared to 31.4% in fiscal 2006. The fiscal 2007 tax expense includes a non-recurring tax benefit of approximately $2.0 million recorded in the third fiscal quarter of 2007, attributable to the favorable resolution of a prior year tax matter related to our European business, which reduced our book effective tax rate by 3.2 percentage points. Additionally, in fiscal 2007, changes in the mix of earnings among our various legal entities in multiple foreign jurisdictions had an approximate one percentage point decrease on our effective tax rate. A non-recurring $0.5 million tax benefit was recorded in the third fiscal quarter of 2006.

Net Earnings

 

      Fiscal 2007     Fiscal 2006     Increase  
      In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   As %
Net Sales
    In
Millions
   %  

Net earnings

   $ 45.2    3.0 %   $ 30.7    2.4 %   $ 14.5    47.2 %

As a result of the factors discussed above, fiscal 2007 net earnings were $45.2 million compared to fiscal 2006 earnings of $30.7 million. The $14.5 million increase is due primarily to a $34.4 million increase in fiscal 2007 gross profit, $3.8 million (pre-tax) of litigation settlement income in fiscal 2007 and the $8.6 million of restructuring charges fiscal 2006, partially offset by a $21.2 million increase in operating expenses, a $2.8 million increase in interest expense, a $4.5 million increase in other expense and a $3.8 million increase in income taxes. Also contributing to the improvement was the non-recurring tax benefit of approximately $2.0 million recorded in fiscal 2007.

Fiscal 2007 net earnings increased $14.5 million or 47.2% compared to fiscal 2006. Net earnings per common share in fiscal 2007 were $0.97 per basic share and $0.95 per diluted share compared to $0.66 per basic and diluted share in fiscal 2006.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash Flow and Financing Activities

Cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2008, 2007, and 2006, were $20.6 million, $37.8 million, and $15.2 million, respectively.

Cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2008, 2007, and 2006, was $4.0 million, $72.4 million and, $42.9 million, respectively.

The $68.4 million decrease in operating cash flow in fiscal 2008 was primarily from four areas: (a) a $112.1 million increase in cash used for primary working capital and (b) $2.1 million higher spending on our restructuring activities in fiscal 2008 as compared to fiscal 2007; partially offset by (c) a favorable increase of $19.5 million in net earnings before non-cash depreciation and asset disposals; and (d) accrued and prepaid expenses provided $14.5 million more cash flow in fiscal 2008.

 

B-44


Table of Contents

Cash used in investing activities for fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006 was $62.2 million, $49.1 million and $76.9 million, respectively. Capital expenditures were $45.0 million, $42.4 million and $39.7 million in fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively. The majority of capital expenditures continue to be for additional capacity, new products and cost savings programs. Additionally, the Company invested $17.4 million in fiscal 2008, primarily for the Energia acquisition, as compared to $7.0 million in fiscal 2007, and invested $38.1 million in fiscal 2006, primarily for the FIAMM and GAZ acquisitions.

As explained above in the discussion of our use of “non-GAAP financial measures,” we monitor the level and percentage of sales of our primary working capital accounts. Primary working capital for this purpose is trade accounts receivable, plus inventories, minus trade accounts payable and the resulting net amount is divided by the trailing three month net sales (annualized) to derive a primary working capital percentage. Primary working capital was $578.2 million (yielding a primary working capital percentage of 24.8%) at March 31, 2008 and $385.7 million (yielding a primary working capital percentage of 23.3%) at March 31, 2007. The 1.5 percentage point increase during fiscal 2008 was due primarily to higher levels of inventory and receivables relative to sales, due in part, to significantly higher lead costs in inventory this year, combined with an increase in trade receivables relative to sales. Approximately 0.5 percentage points of the increase was the result of higher foreign currencies at the end of fiscal 2008 than the average of those currencies during the three months prior to year end. Primary working capital and primary working capital percentages at March 31, 2008 and 2007 are computed as follows:

 

At March 31,

   Trade
Receivables
   Inventory    Accounts
Payable
    Total    Quarter
Revenue
Annualized
   Primary
Working
Capital %
 
          (in millions)                       

2008

   $ 503.0    $ 335.7    $ (260.5 )   $ 578.2    $ 2,327.5    24.8 %

2007

     351.6      234.3      (200.2 )     385.7      1,654.4    23.3 %

Cash provided by (used in) financing activities for fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006, was $39.6 million, ($1.3) million and $27.9 million, respectively. The fiscal 2008 amount primarily reflects a net increase of $23.5 million in short-term debt associated primarily with the Energia acquisition and foreign line of credit borrowings, and $26.8 million related to the exercise of stock options; partially offset by $10.8 million in regularly-scheduled long term debt and capital lease payments. The fiscal 2007 amount primarily reflects $8.3 million in regularly-scheduled long term debt and capital lease payments, partially offset by a net increase of $3.6 million in short-term debt and $3.8 million related to the exercise of stock options. The fiscal 2006 amount relates primarily to the $29.9 million (€25.0 million) financing of the FIAMM acquisition.

As a result of the above, cash and cash equivalents decreased $17.2 million from $37.8 million at March 31, 2007 to $20.6 million at March 31, 2008.

Senior Credit Agreement and Other Financing Matters

In June 2006, we amended our senior secured credit agreement. The lenders approved the elimination of our senior secured debt leverage ratio (while maintaining our total debt leverage ratio).

In February 2007, in order to take advantage of the Company’s lower leverage and the favorable market conditions, we amended our senior secured credit agreement and reduced our borrowing rates on the senior secured term loan B by 0.25% to LIBOR+175 basis points. The existing $355.9 million term loans were converted into new term B loans. The initial $365.0 million senior secured Term Loan B has a 0.25% quarterly principal amortization and matures on March 17, 2011. The $100.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility matures on March 17, 2009. Borrowings under this credit agreement bear interest at a floating rate based, at our option, upon a LIBOR rate plus an applicable percentage (currently 1.75%) or the greater of the federal funds rate plus 0.5% or the prime rate, plus an applicable percentage (currently 0.75%.). The average effective borrowing rates on our total debt for fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006 were 6.5%, 6.6% and 5.7%, respectively. See Note 11 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in this Form 10-K for information on our interest rate swap agreements.

 

B-45


Table of Contents

All obligations under the senior secured credit agreement are secured by, among other things, substantially all of our U.S. assets. Our credit agreements contain various covenants which, absent prepayment in full of the indebtedness and other obligations, or the receipt of waivers, would limit our ability to conduct certain specified business transactions, buy or sell assets out of the ordinary course of business, engage in sale and leaseback transactions, pay dividends and take certain other actions. There are no prepayment penalties on loans under the $455.9 million senior secured credit facility. We currently are in compliance with all covenants and conditions under our credit agreements.

In addition to the above described credit facility, our foreign subsidiaries maintain local credit facilities to provide credit for working capital and other purposes.

In addition to cash flows from operating activities, we had available credit lines of approximately $188.6 million at March 31, 2008 and $165.6 million at March 31, 2007 to cover short-term liquidity requirements. On a long-term basis, our senior secured revolving credit facility is committed through March 2009, as long as we continue to comply with the covenants and conditions of the facility agreement. Included in our available credit lines at March 31, 2008, is $86.5 million of our senior secured revolving credit facility.

We believe that our cash flow from operations, available cash and available borrowing capacity under our senior secured credit agreement will be sufficient to meet our liquidity needs, including normal levels of capital expenditures, for the foreseeable future; however, there can be no assurance that this will be the case. We have begun a capital expansion of our thin plate, pure lead manufacturing capacity for which we anticipate spending $50 million during fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010, and the capital needs of our ongoing acquisition programs may require additional funding.

We continue to review the capital markets for potential financing. On October 30, 2007, the Company filed a $500 million shelf registration statement, which included approximately $91 million for primary offerings, on Form S-3 with the SEC. This registration statement allowed the Company to offer and sell from time to time, in one or more offerings, shares of common stock and debt securities of the Company. The registration statement also permits certain institutional investors and certain members of senior management to sell shares of common stock held by such person. See Note 15 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of sales by institutional investors during fiscal 2007 and 2008

Recent Developments—Concurrent Public Offerings of Senior Convertible Notes and Common Stock and a Private Offering of a New Senior Secured Credit Facility

In May 2008, following the end of fiscal 2008, the Company completed the sale of $172.5 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured 3.375% convertible notes due 2038, and used the net proceeds of $168.2 million to repay a portion of its existing senior secured Term Loan B. The senior unsecured convertible notes are potentially convertible, at the option of the holders, into shares of EnerSys common stock as described in the May 19, 2008 Prospectus Supplement. The notes will mature on June 1, 2038, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.

Concurrently with the convertible note offering, certain of our stockholders sold 3.69 million shares of EnerSys’ common stock pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2008. We did not receive any proceeds from the common stock offering.

Also, immediately following the closing of the senior unsecured convertible note issue, we commenced refinancing the outstanding combined balance of the senior secured Term Loan B and our existing Revolver of approximately $200 million, with a new $350 million senior secured facility comprising Term A loans and a new Revolver. We expect these planned refinancing transactions will be completed in June 2008.

 

B-46


Table of Contents

Amendment to Credit Agreements

On May 15, 2008, we amended the Euro 25,000 Credit Agreement and on May 16, 2008, we amended the $480,000 Senior Secured Credit Agreement. The amendments permitted us to issue up to $205,000 of unsecured indebtedness and to enter into a new $350 million US Credit Agreement on terms substantially similar to the existing Credit Agreement. See “Recent Developments” above for a discussion of these events.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

The Company did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements during any of the periods covered by this report.

Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments

At March 31, 2008, we had certain cash obligations, which are due as follows:

 

     Total    Less than
1 year
   1 to 3
years
   4 to 5
years
   After
5 years
     (in millions)

Short-term debt

   $ 41.1    $ 41.1    $ —      $ —      $ —  

Long-term debt

     383.6      11.9      369.3      2.4      —  

Interest on debt

     51.5      18.2      33.3      —        —  

Capital lease obligations, including interest

     2.2      1.0      1.2      —        —  

Operating leases

     37.8      13.2      15.7      6.6      2.3

Pension and profit sharing

     33.7      5.3      4.3      5.1      19.0

Interest rate swap agreements

     11.6      3.5      6.5      1.6      —  

Purchase commitments

     2.9      2.9      —        —        —  

Facility construction commitments

     8.2      8.2      —        —        —  

Restructuring

     15.8      8.3      0.2      0.2      7.1
                                  

Total

   $ 588.4    $ 113.6    $ 430.5    $ 15.9    $ 28.4
                                  

Under our senior secured credit facility, we had outstanding standby letters of credit of $1.2 million for each of the years ending March 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006.

Credit Facilities and Leverage

Our focus on working capital management and cash flow from operations is measured by our ability to reduce debt and reduce our leverage ratios. Shown below are the leverage ratios in connection with our senior secured credit agreement for fiscal 2008 and 2007. The total leverage ratio for fiscal 2008 is 2.5 times adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) as described below.

Our improved leverage in fiscal 2008 reflects improved net earnings and positive cash flows, partially offset by approximately $17.4 million of borrowings from our available short term credit lines to fund the Energia acquisition in May 2007, and additional amounts to fund the increase in primary working capital caused by our higher sales volume and higher commodity prices. The total net debt, as defined under our senior secured credit agreement, for fiscal 2008 of approximately $422.7 million is 2.5 times adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP).

Our debt at March 31, 2007 reflected fiscal 2007 acquisitions of approximately $7.0 million. The total net debt, as defined under our senior secured credit agreement, for fiscal 2007 of approximately $384.3 million is 2.8 times adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP).

 

B-47


Table of Contents

The following table provides a reconciliation of net earnings to EBITDA (non-GAAP) and adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) as per our credit agreement:

 

       Fiscal 2008         Fiscal 2007    
     (in millions, except ratios)  

Net earnings as reported

   $ 59.7     $ 45.2  

Add back:

    

Depreciation and amortization

     47.7       45.9  

Interest expense

     28.9       27.7  

Income tax expense

     26.5       17.9  
                

EBITDA (non GAAP)(1)

   $ 162.8     $ 136.7  

Adjustments per credit agreement definitions-Stock compensation expense

     6.9 (2)     2.2 (3)
                

Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) per credit agreements

   $ 169.7     $ 138.9  
                

Total net debt(4)

   $ 422.7     $ 384.3  
                

Leverage ratios:

    

Total net debt/adjusted EBITDA ratio(5)

     2.5 X     2.8 X

Maximum ratio permitted

     3.3 X     3.9 X

Consolidated interest coverage ratio(5)

     6.0 X     5.2 X

Minimum ratio required

     3.4 X     3.3 X

 

(1) We have included EBITDA (non-GAAP) and adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) because our lenders use it as a key measure of our performance. EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered an alternative to net earnings or any other measure of performance under GAAP or to cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities as an indicator of cash flows or as a measure of liquidity. Our calculation of EBITDA may be different from the calculations used by other companies, and therefore comparability may be limited. Certain financial covenants in our senior secured credit facility are based on EBITDA, subject to adjustments, which is shown above. Because we have a significant amount of debt, and because continued availability of credit under our senior secured credit facility is critical to our ability to meet our business plans, we believe that an understanding of the key terms of our credit agreement is important to an investor’s understanding of our financial condition and liquidity risks. Failure to comply with our financial covenants, unless waived by our lenders, would mean we could not borrow any further amounts under our revolving credit facility and would give our lenders the right to demand immediate repayment of all outstanding term and revolving credit loans. We would be unable to continue our operations at current levels if we lost the liquidity provided under our credit agreements. Depreciation and amortization in this table excludes the amortization of deferred financing costs, which is included in interest expense.
(2) The $6.9 million adjustments to EBITDA in fiscal 2008 related primarily to the adjustment for restructuring charges which included $3.9 million for non-cash equipment write-offs and fixed asset impairment and $3.0 million related primarily to stock compensation expense.
(3) Represents adjustments to EBITDA in fiscal 2007 related primarily to stock compensation expense of $2.2 million.
(4) Debt includes capital lease obligations and letters of credit issued under the senior secured credit facility and is net of U.S. cash and cash equivalents.
(5) These ratios are included to show compliance with the leverage ratios set forth in our credit facilities. We show both our current ratios and the maximum ratio permitted or minimum ratio required under our senior secured credit facility.

 

B-48


Table of Contents

Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity increased $149.4 million during fiscal 2008, representing primarily net earnings of $59.7 million, an increase for currency translation adjustments of $75.3 million due primarily to the strengthening of the European currencies and a $29.9 million in increases related to stock-based compensation and the exercise of stock options; partially offset by a $15.8 million unrealized loss on derivative instruments.

Stockholders’ equity increased $96.9 million during fiscal 2007, representing net earnings of $45.2 million, an increase for currency translation adjustments of $41.5 million due primarily to the strengthening of the European currencies, a $5.0 million unrealized gain on derivative instruments, a $0.3 million change in minimum pension liability, and $6.9 million in increases related to stock-based compensation and the exercise of stock options. These increases were partially offset by a $2.0 million decrease due to the adoption of SFAS 158 for additional minimum pension liability.

ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS PENDING ADOPTION

On March 19, 2008 the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 161, Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities (“SFAS 161”) which is intended to improve financial reporting about derivative instruments and hedging activities by requiring enhanced disclosures to enable investors to better understand their effects on an entity’s financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. SFAS 161 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after November 15, 2008, with early application encouraged. We believe SFAS 161 will have no impact on our financial position and results of operations.

On December 4, 2007, the FASB issued SFAS 141 (revised 2007), Business Combinations (“SFAS 141(R)”) which is intended to improve reporting by creating greater consistency in the accounting and financial reporting of business combinations, resulting in more complete, comparable, and relevant information for investors and other users of financial statements. To achieve this goal, the new standard requires the acquiring entity in a business combination to recognize all (and only) the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the transaction; establishes the acquisition-date fair value as the measurement objective for all assets acquired and liabilities assumed; and requires the acquirer to disclose to investors and other users all of the information they need to evaluate and understand the nature and financial effect of the business combination. SFAS 141(R) is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. We are currently evaluating the impact SFAS 141(R) may have on our financial position and results of operations.

In February, 2007, the FASB issued SFAS 159, The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities—Including an amendment of FASB Statement No. 115 (“SFAS 159”). SFAS 159 permits entities to choose to measure many financial assets and financial liabilities at fair value. Unrealized gains and losses on items for which the fair value option has been elected are reported in earnings. SFAS 159 is effective for us for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. We are in the process of reviewing SFAS 159 and have not determined the effects on the consolidated financial statements.

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (“SFAS 157”). SFAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. The statement applies under other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements. Accordingly, SFAS 157 does not require any new fair value measurements. However, for some entities, the application of SFAS 157 will change current practice. We are required to adopt SFAS 157 in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. We are in the process of reviewing SFAS 157 and have not determined the effects it may have on our consolidated financial statements.

In May 2008, the FASB issued Staff Position paper APB 14-1, Accounting for Convertible Debt Instruments That May Be Settled in Cash upon Conversion (Including Partial Cash Settlement) (“FSP APB 14-1”). This FASB Staff Position (“FSP”) will change the accounting treatment for convertible securities which the issuer

 

B-49


Table of Contents

may settle fully or partially in cash. Under the final FSP, cash settled convertible securities will be separated into their debt and equity components. The value assigned to the debt component will be the estimated fair value, as of the issuance date, of a similar debt instrument without the conversion feature, and the difference between the proceeds for the convertible debt and the amount reflected as a debt liability will be recorded as additional paid-in capital. As a result, the debt will be recorded at a discount reflecting its below market coupon interest rate. The debt will subsequently be accreted to its par value over its expected life, with the rate of interest that reflects the market rate at issuance being reflected on the income statement. This change in methodology will affect the calculations of net income and earnings per share for many issuers of cash settled convertible securities. This FSP is effective for our financial statements for fiscal year 2010 and interim periods within that fiscal year. We are currently evaluating the impact that FSP APB 14-1 may have on its financial position and results of operations.

Related Party Transactions

SFAS No. 57, Related Party Disclosures, (“SFAS 57”) requires us to identify and describe material transactions involving related persons or entities and to disclose information necessary to understand the effects of such transactions on our consolidated financial statements. In fiscal years 2008 and 2007, under the terms of a security holder agreement, the Company paid approximately $0.6 million and $0.8 million, respectively, in fees related to shelf registration statements and secondary offerings of 22 million shares of the Company’s common stock to underwriters by certain of the Company’s stockholders, including affiliates of Metalmark Capital LLC and certain other institutional stockholders.

Recent Development-Secondary Stock Offering

In May 2008, certain of our stockholders sold 3.69 million shares of EnerSys’ common stock pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2008. The shares were sold by various of our stockholders, including affiliates of Metalmark Capital LLC and certain other institutional stockholders. We did not receive any proceeds from the common stock offering. See “Recent Developments” above for a discussion of these events.

 

B-50


Table of Contents

Quarterly Information

Fiscal 2008 and 2007 quarterly operating results, and the associated quarterly trends within each of those two fiscal years, are affected by the same economic and business conditions as described in the fiscal 2008 versus fiscal 2007 analyses previously discussed.

 

    Fiscal 2008   Fiscal 2007
     July 1,
2007
1st Qtr.
  Sept. 30,
2007 2nd
Qtr.
  Dec. 30,
2007
3rd Qtr.
  March 31,
2008

4th Qtr.
  July 2,
2006
1st Qtr.
    Oct 1,
2006
2nd Qtr.
    Dec. 31,
2006
3rd Qtr.
  March 31,
2007

4th Qtr.
    (in millions, except per share amounts)    

Net sales

  $ 429.9   $ 461.4   $ 553.4   $ 581.9   $ 359.0     $ 353.9     $ 377.9   $ 413.6

Cost of goods sold

    343.3     369.4     455.9     476.1     281.9       276.2       301.1     334.1
                                                   

Gross profit

    86.6     92.0     97.5     105.8     77.1       77.7       76.8     79.5

Operating expenses, including amortization

    57.5     60.1     65.0     66.8     54.3       54.0       55.7     57.1

Charges relating to restructuring

    9.9     0.4     1.1     1.8     —         —         —       —  

Litigation settlement income

    —       —       —       —       (2.8 )     (1.0 )     —       —  
                                                   

Operating earnings

    19.2     31.5     31.4     37.2     25.6       24.7       21.1     22.4

Interest expense

    7.2     7.1     7.3     7.3     7.0       7.0       7.1     6.6

Other (income) expense, net

    1.3     0.7     1.9     0.3     0.8       0.9       0.9     0.5
                                                   

Earnings before income taxes

    10.7     23.7     22.2     29.6     17.8       16.8       13.1     15.3

Income tax expense(1)

    3.3     6.9     6.2     10.1     5.6       5.3       2.2     4.7
                                                   

Net earnings available to common stockholders

  $ 7.4   $ 16.8   $ 16.0   $ 19.5   $ 12.2     $ 11.5     $ 10.9   $ 10.6
                                                   

Net earnings per common share

               

Basic

  $ 0.16   $ 0.36   $ 0.34   $ 0.40   $ 0.26     $ 0.25     $ 0.24   $ 0.23

Diluted

    0.15     0.35     0.33     0.39     0.26       0.24       0.23     0.22

Weighted average shares outstanding

               

Basic

    46,885,318     47,098,758     47,848,603     48,748,223     46,338,013       46,471,958       46,597,387     46,751,194

Diluted

    47,851,531     48,068,262     48,762,362     49,895,646     47,145,216       47,769,804       47,699,968     47,570,202

 

(1) Includes non-recurring tax benefits of $2.0 million recorded in the third fiscal quarter of 2007.

The effective income tax rate was 30.7% in fiscal 2008, compared to the fiscal 2007 effective tax, rate before a non-recurring tax benefit, of 31.6 %. The effective income tax rate was 28.4% in fiscal 2007, as the fiscal 2007 tax expense includes a non-recurring tax benefit of approximately $2.0 million recorded in the third fiscal quarter of 2007, attributable to the favorable resolution of a prior year tax matter related to our European business, which reduced our book effective tax rate by 3.2 percentage points. Additionally, in fiscal 2007, changes in the mix of earnings among our various legal entities in multiple foreign jurisdictions had an approximate one percentage point decrease on our effective tax rate.

 

B-51


Table of Contents

Net Sales

Quarterly net sales by business segment were as follows:

 

    Fiscal 2008     Fiscal 2007  
    1st Qtr.     2nd Qtr.     3rd Qtr.     4th Qtr.     1st Qtr.     2nd Qtr.     3rd Qtr.     4th Qtr.  
    (in millions)  

Net sales:

               

Reserve power

  $ 184.7     $ 198.6     $ 247.9     $ 252.6     $ 158.4     $ 158.8     $ 157.0     $ 168.4  

Motive power

    245.2       262.8       305.5       329.3       200.6       195.1       220.9       245.2  
                                                               

Total

  $ 429.9     $ 461.4     $ 553.4     $ 581.9     $ 359.0     $ 353.9     $ 377.9     $ 413.6  
                                                               

Segment net sales as % total:

               

Reserve power

    43.0 %     43.0 %     44.8 %     43.4 %     44.1 %     44.9 %     41.5 %     40.7 %

Motive power

    57.0       57.0       55.2       56.6       55.9       55.1       58.5       59.3  
                                                               

Total

    100.0 %     100.0 %     100.0 %     100.0 %     100.0 %     100.0 %     100.0 %     100.0 %
                                                               

Fiscal 2008 net sales on a quarter-to-quarter sequential basis, excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, showed moderate increases over the first two quarters, and increased 18% in the third quarter and 4% in the final quarter of fiscal 2008, with strong growth in both reserve power and motive power segments. Historically, a smaller sequential change in the first three quarters is typical of our business as our fourth quarter is generally our strongest. However, the continued generally favorable global economic conditions, and price increases that were caused by the historical spike in lead costs, had a significant favorable impact on our sales in the second half of fiscal 2008.

Our motive power segment is heavily influenced by growth in the distribution and manufacturing sectors. Our reserve power segment is dependant on growth in telecom, UPS and aerospace & defense. On a year-on-year basis, both segments posted solid double-digit percentage gains in fiscal 2008.

Fiscal 2007 net sales on a quarter-to-quarter sequential basis, excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, were relatively unchanged over the first three quarters and increased 10% in the final quarter of fiscal 2007. The generally favorable global economic conditions that we experienced in fiscal 2006 continued to favorably impact our sales in fiscal 2007. Historically, a smaller sequential change in the first three quarters is typical of our business as our fourth quarter is generally our strongest. Our motive power segment is heavily influenced by growth in the distribution and manufacturing sectors. In fiscal 2007, the motive power segment posted solid double-digit year-on-year percentage gains. Our reserve power segment, which is dependant on growth in telecom, UPS and aerospace & defense, posted solid year-on-year percentage gains in fiscal 2007.

The change in the mix of reserve power and motive power sales to total sales during the quarterly periods within fiscal 2008 primarily reflects the continued steady growth of the motive power segment throughout that year and the strong growth of the reserve power segment in the second half of fiscal 2008. The change in the mix within fiscal 2007 primarily reflects the strong growth of the motive power segment throughout that year.

Operating Earnings

Fiscal 2008 operating earnings on a quarter-to-quarter sequential basis, excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, showed (decreases) increases of approximately (17)%, 67%, 4% and 15% on a quarter-to-quarter sequential basis. Our operating earnings were significantly affected by restructuring costs of $9.9 million, $0.4 million, $1.1 million and $1.8 million in the first, second, third and fourth quarters, respectively, and higher commodity costs, partially offset by selling price increases and our continuing cost savings programs.

 

B-52


Table of Contents

Fiscal 2007 operating earnings on a quarter-to-quarter sequential basis, excluding the effect of foreign currency translation, showed (decreases) increases of approximately (8)%, 5%, (10)% and 3% on a quarter-to-quarter sequential basis. The first and second fiscal quarters of 2007 included the favorable impact of litigation settlement income. Additionally, our operating earnings were significantly affected by selling price increases and our continuing cost savings programs, partially offset by higher commodity costs.

Other (Income) Expense, Net

Fiscal 2008 other (income) expense, net of $4.2 million is primarily attributed to $2.7 million in foreign currency net transaction losses associated with short-term intercompany loan balances and $0.6 million for fees related to a shelf registration and three secondary offerings.

Fiscal 2007 other (income) expense, net of $3.0 million is primarily attributed to $1.6 million in foreign currency net transaction losses associated with short-term intercompany loan balances and $1.1 million for fees related to a secondary offering and an abandoned acquisition attempt.

 

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Market Risks

EnerSys’ cash flows and earnings are subject to fluctuations resulting from changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and raw material costs. We manage our exposure to these market risks through internally established policies and procedures and, when deemed appropriate, through the use of derivative financial instruments. EnerSys’ policy does not allow speculation in derivative instruments for profit or execution of derivative instrument contracts for which there are no underlying exposures. We do not use financial instruments for trading purposes and are not a party to any leveraged derivatives. We monitor our underlying market risk exposures on an ongoing basis and believe that we can modify or adapt our hedging strategies as needed.

Interest Rate Risks

We are exposed to changes in variable U.S. interest rates on borrowings under our credit agreements. On a selective basis, from time to time, we enter into interest rate swap agreements to reduce the negative impact that increases in interest rates could have on our outstanding variable rate debt. Management considers the interest rate swaps to be highly effective against changes in the fair value of the underlying debt based on the criteria in SFAS 133. Cash flows related to the interest rate swap agreements are included in interest expense over the terms of the agreements.

Currently, such interest rate swap agreements effectively convert $203.0 million of the Company’s variable-rate debt to a fixed-rate basis, utilizing the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, as a floating rate reference. During August, November and December 2007 (see below), we entered into an additional $125.0 million of interest rate swap agreements that are effective as of February and May 2008 and will almost completely replace $128 million of interest rate swaps that mature in February and May 2008. The following commentary provides details for the $203.0 million interest rate swap agreements:

Fluctuations in LIBOR and fixed rates affect both the Company’s net financial investment position and the amount of cash to be paid or received by it under these agreements.

In February 2001, we entered into interest rate swap agreements to fix the interest rate on $60.0 million of our floating rate debt through February 22, 2006, at 5.59% per year. In April and May 2004, we amended these agreements to extend the maturity to February 22, 2008, and reduce the fixed rate to 5.16% per year beginning May 24, 2004.

 

B-53


Table of Contents

In April 2004, we entered into interest rate swap agreements to fix interest rates on an additional $60.0 million of floating rate debt through May 5, 2008. The fixed rates per year began May 5, 2004, and are 2.85% during the first year, 3.15% the second year, 3.95% the third year and 4.75% in the fourth year, which averages 3.68% for the four-year period.

In August 2004, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement to fix interest rates on an additional $8.0 million of floating rate debt through May 5, 2008. The fixed rates per year began November 5, 2004, and are 2.85% during the first year, 3.15% the second year, 3.95% the third year and 4.20% in the fourth year, which averages 3.64% for the three and one-half year period.

In October 2005, we entered into interest rate swap agreements to fix interest rates on an additional $75.0 million of floating rate debt through December 22, 2010. The fixed rates per year plus an applicable credit spread began December 22, 2005, and are 4.25% during the first year, 4.525% the second year, 4.80% the third year, 5.075% the fourth year, and 5.47% in the fifth year, which averages 4.82% for the five-year period.

In August 2007, we entered into interest rate swap agreements, that became effective in February 2008, to fix interest rates on $40.0 million of floating rate debt through February 22, 2011, at 4.85% per year.

In November 2007, we entered into interest rate swap agreements that become effective in May 2008, to fix interest rates on $40.0 million of floating rate debt through May 7, 2013, at 4.435% per year.

In December 2007, the Company entered into $45.0 million of interest rate swap agreements that become effective in February and May 2008, to fix the interest rates on $20.0 million of floating rate debt through February 22, 2013, at 4.134% per year and to fix the interest rates on $25.0 million of floating rate debt through May 7, 2013, at 4.138% per year.

A 100 basis point increase in interest rates would increase interest expense by approximately $2.2 million.

Recent Development—Termination of Interest Rate Swap Agreements

In connection with the issuance of $172.5 million of senior unsecured convertible notes, and the repayment of a portion of the senior secured Term Loan B in May 2008, we terminated $30 million of interest rate swap agreements which had been placed in October, 2005 at a loss of $1.4 million. See “Recent Developments” above for a discussion of these events.

Commodity Cost Risks

We have a significant risk in our exposure to certain raw materials, which we estimate were over half of total cost of goods sold for fiscal 2008 and 2007. Our largest single raw material cost is lead, for which the cost remains volatile. To mitigate against large increases in lead costs, we enter into contracts with financial institutions to fix the price of lead. We had the following contracts at the dates shown below:

 

Date

   $’s Under Contract    # Pounds Under Contract    Average Contract
Price/Pound
   Approximate % of
Lead Requirements(1)
 
     (in millions)    (in millions)            

March 31, 2008

   $ 72.3    58.5    $ 1.24    12 %

March 31, 2007

     51.8    73.5      0.70    15 %

March 31, 2006

     17.4    32.8      0.53    7 %

 

(1) Based on the fiscal year lead requirements for the period then ended.

We estimate that a 10% increase in our cost of lead (over our estimated cost in fiscal 2008) would increase our annual total cost of goods sold by approximately $54 million or 3% of net sales.

 

B-54


Table of Contents

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risks

The Company manufactures its products primarily in Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Over half of the Company’s sales and expenses are transacted in foreign currencies. The Company’s sales revenue, production costs, profit margins and competitive position are affected by the strength of the currencies in countries where it manufactures or purchases goods relative to the strength of the currencies in countries where the Company’s products are sold. Additionally, as the Company reports its financial statements in the U.S. dollar, our financial results are affected by the strength of the currencies in countries where it has operations relative to the strength of the U.S. dollar. The principal foreign currencies in which the Company conducts business are the euro, British pound, Polish zloty, Mexican peso, Canadian dollar and Chinese renminbi.

We quantify and monitor our global foreign currency exposures. On a selective basis we will enter into foreign currency forward contracts and option contracts to reduce the volatility from currency movements that affect the Company. Based primarily on statistical currency correlations on the Company’s exposures in fiscal 2008, we are highly confident that the pretax effect on annual earnings of changes in the principal currencies in which we conduct our business would not be in excess of approximately $8 million in more than one year out of twenty years.

Our largest exposure is from the purchase and conversion of U.S. dollar based lead costs into local currencies in Europe, China and Mexico. Additionally, we have currency exposures from intercompany trade transactions. To hedge these exposures we have entered into forward and purchased option contracts with financial institutions to fix the value at which we will buy or sell certain currencies. Each contract is for a period not extending beyond one year. As of March 31, 2008, March 31, 2007 and March 31, 2006, we had entered into a total of $99.6 million, $93.1 million, and $34.3 million forward contracts, with the March 31, 2008 details as follows:

 

Transactions Hedged

   $US Equivalent
(in millions)
   Average Rate
Hedged
   Approximate % of
Annual
Requirements(2)
 

Sell Euros for U.S. dollars

   $ 91.5    $/€1.47    39 %

Sell UK pounds for U.S. dollar

     8.1    $/£1.97    28 %
            

Total

   $ 99.6      
            

 

(2) Based on the fiscal year currency requirements for the year ended March 31, 2008.

Foreign exchange translation adjustments are recorded on the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income.

Based on changes in the timing and amount of interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate movements and our actual exposures and hedges, actual gains and losses in the future may differ from our historical results.

 

B-55


Table of Contents

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Contents

EnerSys

Consolidated financial statements for fiscal years ended March 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

   B-57

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Consolidated Financial Statements and Schedule

   B-58

Audited Consolidated Financial Statements

  

Consolidated Balance Sheets

   B-59

Consolidated Statements of Income

   B-60

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity

   B-61

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

   B-62

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

   B-63

 

B-56


Table of Contents

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

On Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

The Board of Directors and Stockholders

EnerSys

We have audited EnerSys’ internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). EnerSys’ management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report On Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

In our opinion, EnerSys maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2008, based on the COSO criteria.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of EnerSys as of March 31, 2008 and 2007, and the related consolidated statements of income, changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended March 31, 2008 and our report dated June 6, 2008 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

June 6, 2008

 

B-57


Table of Contents

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

On Consolidated Financial Statements and Schedule

The Board of Directors and Stockholders

EnerSys

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of EnerSys as of March 31, 2008 and 2007, and the related consolidated statements of income, changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended March 31, 2008. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the index at Item 15(a). These financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of EnerSys at March 31, 2008 and 2007, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended March 31, 2008, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.

As discussed in Note 1 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, the Company changed its method for accounting for employee stock compensation plans and defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans in 2007.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the effectiveness of EnerSys’ internal control over financial reporting as of March 31, 2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated June 6, 2008 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

June 6, 2008

 

B-58


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)

 

     March 31,
     2008    2007
Assets      

Current assets:

     

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 20,620    $ 37,785

Accounts receivable, net

     503,013      351,594

Inventories, net

     335,729      234,326

Deferred taxes

     16,848      11,433

Prepaid and other current assets

     34,986      39,155
             

Total current assets

     911,196      674,293

Property, plant, and equipment, net

     339,997      300,995

Goodwill

     358,429      332,874

Other intangible assets, net

     80,139      80,540

Deferred taxes

     3,347      —  

Other assets

     17,682      20,311
             

Total assets

   $ 1,710,790    $ 1,409,013
             
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity      

Current liabilities:

     

Short-term debt

   $ 41,113    $ 11,729

Current portion of long-term debt

     11,926      9,353

Current portion of capital lease obligations

     1,042      1,563

Accounts payable

     260,530      200,157

Accrued expenses

     202,475      175,239

Deferred taxes

     4,630      —  
             

Total current liabilities

     521,716      398,041

Long-term debt

     371,685      378,667

Capital lease obligations

     988      999

Deferred taxes

     44,161      43,690

Other liabilities

     80,697      45,517
             

Total liabilities

     1,019,247      866,914

Stockholders’ equity:

     

Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued or outstanding at March 31, 2008 and at March 31, 2007

     —        —  

Common Stock, $0.01 par value, 135,000,000 shares authorized, 49,060,906 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2008; 47,042,444 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2007

     491      471

Additional paid-in capital

     368,963      339,114

Retained earnings

     159,176      99,480

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     162,913      103,034
             

Total stockholders’ equity

     691,543      542,099
             

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 1,710,790    $ 1,409,013
             

See accompanying notes.

 

B-59


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Consolidated Statements of Income

(In Thousands Except Share and Per Share Data)

 

     Fiscal year ended March 31,  
     2008    2007     2006  

Net sales

   $ 2,026,640    $ 1,504,474     $ 1,283,265  

Cost of goods sold

     1,644,753      1,193,266       1,006,467  
                       

Gross profit

     381,887      311,208       276,798  

Operating expenses

     249,350      221,102       199,900  

Restructuring and other charges

     13,191      —         8,553  

Litigation settlement income

     —        (3,753 )     —    
                       

Operating earnings

     119,346      93,859       68,345  

Interest expense

     28,917      27,733       24,900  

Other (income) expense, net

     4,234      3,024       (1,358 )
                       

Earnings before income taxes

     86,195      63,102       44,803  

Income tax expense

     26,499      17,892       14,077  
                       

Net earnings

   $ 59,696    $ 45,210     $ 30,726  
                       

Net earnings per common share:

       

Basic

   $ 1.25    $ 0.97     $ 0.66  
                       

Diluted

   $ 1.22    $ 0.95     $ 0.66  
                       

Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding:

       

Basic

     47,645,225      46,539,638       46,226,582  
                       

Diluted

     48,644,450      47,546,240       46,788,363  
                       

See accompanying notes.

 

B-60


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity

(In Thousands)

 

    Series A
Convertible
Preferred
Stock
  Common
Stock
  Paid-in
Capital
    Unearned
Stock
Compensation
    Retained
Earnings
  Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income
    Total
Stockholders’
Equity
 

Balance at March 31, 2005

  $ —     $ 462   $ 330,229     $ —       $ 23,544   $ 83,415     $ 437,650  

Stock-based compensation

    —       —       —         381       —       —         381  

Issuance of restricted shares

    —       3     3,468       (3,471 )     —       —         —    

Exercise of stock options

    —       1     1,566       —         —       —         1,567  

Net earnings

    —       —       —         —         30,726     —         30,726  

Other comprehensive income:

             

Minimum pension liability adjustment, net of tax of $58

    —       —       —         —         —       (2,251 )     (2,251 )

Unrealized income on derivative instruments, net of tax of $(991)

    —       —       —         —         —       1,739       1,739  

Foreign currency translation adjustment

    —       —       —         —         —       (24,624 )     (24,624 )
                   

Comprehensive income

                5,590  
                                                 

Balance at March 31, 2006

    —       466     335,263       (3,090 )     54,270     58,279       445,188  

Reclassification of unearned stock compensation

    —       —       (3,090 )     3,090       —       —         —    

Stock-based compensation

    —       —       3,118       —         —       —         3,118  

Exercise of stock options

    —       5     1,797       —         —       —         1,802  

Tax benefit from stock options

    —       —       2,026       —         —       —         2,026  

Adoption of SFAS 158, net of tax of $832

    —       —       —         —         —       (1,983 )     (1,983 )

Net earnings

    —       —       —         —         45,210     —         45,210  

Other comprehensive income:

             

Minimum pension liability adjustment, net of tax of $(7)

    —       —       —         —         —       259       259  

Unrealized income on derivative instruments, net of tax of $(2,637)

    —       —       —         —         —       4,966       4,966  

Foreign currency translation adjustment

    —       —       —         —         —       41,513       41,513  
                                                 

Comprehensive income

                91,948  
                   

Balance at March 31, 2007

    —       471     339,114       —         99,480     103,034       542,099  
                                                 

Stock-based compensation

    —       —       3,028       —         —       —         3,028  

Exercise of stock options

    —       20     22,794       —         —       —         22,814  

Tax benefit from stock options

    —       —       4,027       —         —       —         4,027  

Net earnings

    —       —       —         —         59,696     —         59,696  

Other comprehensive income:

             

Pension funded status adjustment, net of tax of $(411)

    —       —       —         —         —       352       352  

Unrealized loss on derivative instruments, net of tax benefit of $8,499

    —       —       —         —         —       (15,783 )     (15,783 )

Foreign currency translation adjustment

    —       —       —         —         —       75,310       75,310  
                                                 

Comprehensive income

                119,575  
                   

Balance at March 31, 2008

  $ —     $ 491   $ 368,963     $ —       $ 159,176   $ 162,913     $ 691,543  
                                                 

See accompanying notes.

 

B-61


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In Thousands)

 

     Fiscal year ended March 31,  
     2008     2007     2006  

Cash flows from operating activities

      

Net earnings

   $ 59,696     $ 45,210     $ 30,726  

Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities:

      

Depreciation and amortization

     49,215       47,358       43,270  

Provision for doubtful accounts

     1,436       315       596  

Provision for deferred taxes

     7,972       7,970       5,518  

Stock compensation expense

     3,028       3,118       381  

Loss on disposal and impairment of fixed assets

     3,908       730       2,604  

Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions:

      

Accounts receivable

     (107,113 )     (22,673 )     (56,017 )

Inventory

     (70,278 )     (39,642 )     (25,757 )

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     374       (4,799 )     2,244  

Other assets

     4,585       (322 )     340  

Accounts payable

     34,593       31,659       42,531  

Accrued expenses

     15,805       6,522       (1,928 )

Other liabilities

     797       (3,022 )     (1,636 )
                        

Net cash provided by operating activities

     4,018       72,424       42,872  

Cash flows from investing activities

      

Capital expenditures

     (45,037 )     (42,355 )     (39,665 )

Purchase of businesses, net of cash acquired

     (17,434 )     (6,979 )     (38,135 )

Proceeds from disposal of property, plant, and equipment

     321       282       924  
                        

Net cash used in investing activities

     (62,150 )     (49,052 )     (76,876 )

Cash flows from financing activities

      

Net increase in short-term debt

     23,516       3,607       1,453  

Proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt

     —         127       29,979  

Deferred financing costs

     (23 )     (572 )     (322 )

Payments of long-term debt

     (9,780 )     (6,964 )     (4,110 )

Payments of capital lease obligations, net

     (996 )     (1,349 )     (661 )

Exercise of stock options

     22,814       1,802       1,492  

Tax benefits from exercise of stock options

     4,027       2,026       74  
                        

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

     39,558       (1,323 )     27,905  

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash

     1,409       519       (25 )
                        

Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents

     (17,165 )     22,568       (6,124 )

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

     37,785       15,217       21,341  
                        

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

   $ 20,620     $ 37,785     $ 15,217  
                        

See accompanying notes.

 

B-62


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

March 31, 2008

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Description of Business

EnerSys and its predecessor companies have been manufacturers of industrial batteries for over 100 years. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (currently Metalmark Capital) teamed with the management of Yuasa, Inc. in late 2000 to acquire from Yuasa Corporation (Japan) its reserve power and motive power battery businesses in North and South America. The Company was incorporated in October 2000 for the purpose of completing the Yuasa, Inc. acquisition from Yuasa Corporation (Japan). The acquired businesses included the Exide, General and Yuasa brands. On January 1, 2001, the Company changed its name from Yuasa, Inc. to EnerSys to reflect our focus on the energy systems nature of its businesses. In March 2002, the Company acquired the reserve power and motive power business of the Energy Storage Group (ESG), of Invensys plc (Invensys), whose principal brands were Hawker, PowerSafe and DataSafe. In June 2005, the Company acquired the motive power battery business of FIAMM, S.p.A. (FIAMM). FIAMM complements its existing European motive power business and its principal brand is FIAMM MOTIVE POWER. In October 2005, the Company acquired Gerate- und Akkumulatorwerk Zwickau GmbH (GAZ), based in Zwickau, Germany. GAZ is a producer of specialty nickel-based batteries utilized primarily in the energy, rail, telecommunications and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) industries worldwide, and its principal brand is GAZ. In May 2007, the Company acquired approximately a 97% interest in the reserve power and motive power business of Energia AD, located in Targovishte, Bulgaria. The acquisition provides the Company with an additional low cost manufacturing platform with substantial expansion potential and increases the Company’s market presence in the rapidly growing Eastern European and Russian markets. Energia’s principal brand is Energia.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority-owned and wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated.

Foreign Currency Translation

Results of foreign operations are translated into United States dollars using average exchange rates during the period. The assets and liabilities are translated into United States dollars using current rates as of the balance sheet date. Gains or losses resulting from translating the foreign currency financial statements are accumulated as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income in stockholders’ equity.

Transaction gains and losses resulting from exchange rate changes on transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the applicable subsidiary are included in other income, net in the year in which the change occurs.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue when the earnings process is complete. This occurs when we ship in accordance with terms of the underlying agreement, title transfers, collectibility is reasonably assured and pricing is fixed and determinable. Shipment terms to our battery product customers are primarily shipping point or destination and do not differ significantly between our regions of the world. Accordingly revenue is recognized when title is transferred to the customer. Amounts invoiced to customers for shipping and handling are classified as revenue. Taxes on revenue producing transactions are not included in net sales.

 

B-63


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—(Continued)

March 31, 2008

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)

 

The Company recognizes revenue from the service of its reserve power and motive power products when the respective services are performed.

Accruals are made at the time of sale for sales returns and other allowances based on the Company’s experience.

Freight Expense

Amounts billed to customers for outbound freight costs are classified as sales in the consolidated income statement. Costs incurred by the Company for outbound freight costs to customers, inbound and transfer freight are classified in cost of sales.

Warranties

Substantially all of the Company’s products are warranted for a period of one to twenty years. The Company provides for estimated product warranty expenses when the related products are sold.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable are reported net of an allowance for doubtful accounts of $5,008 and $4,420 at March 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. The allowance is based on management’s estimate of uncollectible accounts, analysis of historical data and trends, as well as review of all relevant factors concerning the financial capability of its customers. Accounts receivable are considered to be past due based on how payments are received compared to the customer’s credit terms. Accounts are written off when management determines the account is worthless.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. The cost of inventory consists principally of material, labor, and associated overhead.

Property, Plant, and Equipment

Property, plant, and equipment are recorded at cost and include expenditures that substantially increase the useful lives of the assets. Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows: 10 to 33 years for buildings and improvements and 3 to 15 years for machinery and equipment.

Depreciation expense for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006 totaled $47,151, $45,379 and $41,466, respectively. Maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. Interest on capital projects is capitalized during the construction period and amounted to $829, $756 and $334 for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

B-64


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—(Continued)

March 31, 2008

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)

 

Intangible Assets

Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets (“SFAS 142”) eliminated the amortization of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets and requires a review at least annually for impairment. The Company has determined that trade names and goodwill are indefinite-lived assets, as defined by SFAS 142, and therefore not subject to amortization.

The Company tests for the impairment of its goodwill and trade names at least annually and whenever events or circumstances occur indicating that a possible impairment has been incurred. The Company utilizes financial projections of its reporting segments, certain cash flow measures, as well as its market capitalization in its determination of the fair value of these assets.

Environmental Expenditures

In accordance with SFAS No. 5 Accounting for Contingencies (“SFAS 5”) and Statement of Position 96-1, Environmental Remediation Liabilities, we record a loss and establish a reserve for the remediation when it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability exists and the amount of the liability can be reasonable estimated. Reasonable estimates involve judgments made by management after considering a broad range of information including: notifications, demands or settlements that have been received from a regulatory authority or private party, estimates performed by independent engineering companies and outside counsel, available facts existing and proposed technology, the identification of other potentially responsible parties, their ability to contribute and prior experience. These judgments are reviewed quarterly as more information is received and the amounts reserved are updated as necessary. However, the reserves may materially differ from ultimate actual liabilities if the loss contingency is difficult to estimate or if management’s judgments turn out to be inaccurate. If management believes no best estimate exists, the minimum probable loss is accrued.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

SFAS No. 144, Accounting for Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets (“SFAS 144”), requires that companies consider whether indicators of impairment of long-lived assets held for use are present. If such indicators are present, companies determine whether the sum of the estimated undiscounted future cash flows attributable to such assets is less than their carrying amount, and if so, companies recognize an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying amount of the assets over their fair value. In fiscal 2008 and 2006, the Company recorded impairment charges of $3,863 and $1,273, respectively, which were included in restructuring and other charges.

Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and debt. The Company uses interest rate swap and option agreements to manage risk on a portion of its floating-rate debt. The Company uses lead hedge contracts to manage risk of the cost of lead. The Company uses foreign currency forward and purchased option contracts to manage the risk on the purchase and conversion of U.S. dollar based lead costs into local currencies in Europe and China, as well as currency exposures from intercompany trade transactions.

Because of short maturities, the carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and short-term debt approximates fair value. The fair value of the Company’s long-term debt, described in Note 8, approximates its carrying value and the fair value of derivative instruments is described in Note 11.

 

B-65


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—(Continued)

March 31, 2008

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)

 

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes in accordance with SFAS 109 No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes (“SFAS 109”), which requires that deferred tax assets and liabilities be recognized using enacted tax rates for the effect of temporary differences between book and tax bases on recorded assets and liabilities. SFAS 109 also requires that deferred tax assets be reduced by a valuation allowance, if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be recognized.

We evaluate on a quarterly basis the reliability of our deferred tax assets by assessing our valuation allowance and by adjusting the amount of such allowance, if necessary. The factors used to assess the likelihood of realization are our forecast of future taxable income and available tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the net deferred tax assets.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. These temporary differences are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which the temporary differences are expected to be realized.

Valuation allowances are recorded to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will not be realized. The provision for income taxes represents income taxes paid or payable for the current year and the change in deferred taxes.

In accordance with FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes—an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109, which the Company adopted on April 1, 2007, the Company evaluates tax positions to determine whether the benefits of tax positions are more likely than not of being sustained upon audit based on the technical merits of the tax position. For tax positions that are more likely than not of being sustained upon audit, the Company recognizes the largest amount of the benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement in the financial statements. For tax positions that are not more likely than not of being sustained upon audit, the Company does not recognize any portion of the benefit in the financial statements. If the more likely than not threshold is not met in the period for which a tax position is taken, the Company may subsequently recognize the benefit of that tax position if the tax matter is effectively settled, the statute of limitations expires, or if the more likely than not threshold is met in a subsequent period. (See Note 12.)

Deferred Financing Fees

In March 2004, the Company entered into two credit facilities with various portions that will expire in 2009, 2011 and 2012. Deferred financing fees associated with these credit facilities of $11,000 were incurred and will be amortized over the life of the new credit facilities. Deferred financing fees of $6,569 related to the previously existing credit facility were written off.

In August 2004, the Company prepaid the entire $120,000 principal and accrued interest on the senior second lien term loan and prepaid a portion, $17,900, of the $380,000 senior secured term loan B. Deferred financing fees of $3,622, relating to the prepaid $137,900 of debt were written off in August 2004.

Deferred financing fees, net of accumulated amortization totaled $4,641 and $6,054 as of March 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. Amortization expense included in interest expense was $1,586, $1,462 and $1,384 for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

B-66


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—(Continued)

March 31, 2008

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)

 

Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company has entered into interest rate swap agreements and option agreements to manage risk on a portion of its long-term floating-rate debt. The Company has entered into lead forward purchase contracts to manage risk of the cost of lead. The Company has entered into foreign exchange forward contracts and purchased option contracts to manage risk on foreign currency exposures. The agreements are with major financial institutions, and the Company believes the risk of nonperformance by the counterparties is negligible. The counterparties to certain of these agreements are lenders under the Credit Agreement and liabilities related to these agreements are covered under the security provisions of the Credit Agreement. The Company does not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. SFAS 133, as amended, establishes accounting and reporting standards for derivative instruments and hedging activities. The Company recognizes all derivatives as either assets or liabilities in the accompanying balance sheet and measures those instruments at fair value. Changes in the fair value of those instruments are reported in accumulated other comprehensive income if they qualify for hedge accounting or in earnings if they do not qualify for hedge accounting. Derivatives qualify for hedge accounting if they are designated as hedge instruments and if the hedge is highly effective in achieving offsetting changes in the fair value or cash flow of the asset or liability hedged. Effectiveness is measured on a regular basis using statistical analysis and by comparing the overall changes in the expected cash flows on the lead and foreign currency forward contracts with the changes in the expected all-in cash outflow required for the lead and foreign currency purchases. This analysis is performed on the initial purchases quarterly that cover the quantities hedged. Accordingly, gains and losses from changes in derivative fair value are deferred until the underlying transaction occurs. Interest expense on the debt is adjusted to include the payments made or received under such interest rate swap agreements. Inventory and cost of goods sold are adjusted to include the payments made or received under such lead and foreign currency forward contracts. Any deferred gains or losses associated with derivative instruments, which on infrequent occasions may be terminated prior to maturity, are recognized in earnings in the period in which the underlying hedged transaction is recognized. In the event a designated hedged item is sold, extinguished or matures prior to the termination of the related derivative instrument, such instrument would be closed and the resulting gain or loss would be recognized in earnings.

Pension Plans

The Company uses certain assumptions in the calculation of the actuarial valuation of its defined benefit plans. These assumptions include the weighted average discount rate, rates of increase in compensation levels and expected long-term rates of return of assets. If actual results are less favorable than those projected by the Company, additional expense may be required.

In September 2006, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans—an amendment of FASB No. 87, 88, 106, and 132(R) (“SFAS 158”). SFAS 158 requires an entity to recognize in its statement of financial position an asset for a defined benefit postretirement plan’s overfunded status or a liability for a plan’s underfunded status, measure a defined benefit postretirement plan’s assets and obligation that determine its funded status as of the end of the employer’s fiscal year, and recognize changes in the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan in other comprehensive income in the year in which the change occurs. The requirement to recognize the funded status of a defined benefit postretirement plan became effective March 31, 2007, and the Company adopted the recognition requirements as of March 31, 2007.

In connection with the fiscal 2007 adoption of SFAS 158, the Company recorded an additional pension liability of $2,815 for the remaining underfunded status of its benefit plans at March 31, 2007, with an offsetting amount recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes.

 

B-67


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—(Continued)

March 31, 2008

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)

 

Stock-Based Compensation Plans

The Company maintains three management equity incentive plans that reserve 11,289,232 shares of Common Stock for the grant of various classes of nonqualified stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and other forms of equity based compensation. The 2000 Management Equity Plan, the 2004 Equity Incentive Plan and the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan are described more fully in Note 16. Non-qualified stock options have been granted to employees under these plans at prices not less than the fair market value of the shares on the dates the options were granted. Generally, options vest over a four-year period and become exercisable in annual installments over the vesting period. Options generally expire in 10 years. As of March 31, 2008, the Company had 2,344,800 shares available for future grants.

During fiscal year 2006, the Company followed the provisions of SFAS No. 148, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation-Transition and Disclosure, an Amendment of FASB Statement No. 123 (“SFAS 148”) that allowed an entity to continue to measure compensation cost for those instruments using the intrinsic-value-based method of accounting prescribed by Accounting Principles Board Opinion (“APB”) No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees (“APB 25”), provided it disclosed the effect of SFAS 123, as amended by SFAS 148, in footnotes to the financial statements. Accordingly, no stock option related compensation expense was recognized for its stock-based compensation plans during fiscal 2006.

On April 1, 2006, the Company adopted, using the modified prospective application, Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123(revised 2004), Share-Based Payment (“SFAS 123(R)”). SFAS 123(R) requires all share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options and shares purchased under an employee stock purchase plan (if certain parameters are not met), to be recognized in the financial statements based on their fair values. Under the modified prospective method, prior interim period and prior fiscal year financial statements will not reflect any restated amounts for the adoption of SFAS 123(R). Upon its adoption of SFAS 123(R), the Company began recording compensation cost related to the continued vesting of all stock options that remained unvested as of April 1, 2006, as well as for all stock options granted, modified or cancelled after the Company’s adoption date. The compensation cost is being recorded based on the fair value at the grant date.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income

The components of accumulated other comprehensive income are as follows:

 

     Beginning
Balance
    Before-Tax
Amount
    Tax Benefit
(Expense)
    Net-of-Tax
Amount
    Ending
Balance
 

March 31, 2008

          

Pension funded status adjustment

   $ (5,690 )   $ (59 )   $ 411     $ 352     $ (5,338 )

Unrealized gain (loss) income on derivative instruments

     6,873       (24,282 )     8,499       (15,783 )     (8,910 )

Foreign currency translation adjustment

     101,851       75,310       —         75,310       177,161  
                                        

Accumulated other comprehensive income

   $ 103,034       50,969       8,910       59,879       162,913  
                                        

March 31, 2007

          

Minimum pension liabilities

   $ (3,966 )   $ (2,549 )   $ 825     $ (1,724 )   $ (5,690 )

Unrealized income on derivative instruments

     1,907       7,603       (2,637 )     4,966       6,873  

Foreign currency translation adjustment

     60,338       41,513       —         41,513       101,851  
                                        

Accumulated other comprehensive income

   $ 58,279     $ 46,567     $ (1,812 )   $ 44,755     $ 103,034  
                                        

 

B-68


Table of Contents

EnerSys

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements—(Continued)

March 31, 2008

(In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)

 

     Beginning
Balance
    Before-Tax
Amount
    Tax Benefit
(Expense)
    Net-of-Tax
Amount
    Ending
Balance
 

March 31, 2006

          

Minimum pension liabilities

   $ (1,715 )   $ (2,309 )   $ 58     $ (2,251 )   $ (3,966 )

Unrealized income on derivative instruments

     168       2,730       (991 )     1,739       1,907  

Foreign currency translation adjustment

     84,962       (24,624 )   &nb