HOUSTON, Oct. 2, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Houston Wire & Cable Company (Nasdaq:HWCC) announced today that it expects earnings for the third quarter of 2008 to be negatively impacted due to the effects of the 2008 Hurricane Season. The Company estimates its earnings per share for the third quarter of 2008 will be $0.04-$0.07 less than the comparable quarter of 2007.
Operations at the Company's Baton Rouge and Houston facilities, which encompass Corporate Headquarters, were severely disrupted as a result of the storms and loss of electrical power. However, these facilities experienced only minimal physical damage. We are now operational in both Baton Rouge and Houston but expect some continued impact with customers thus causing uncertainty with respect to near term full business recovery. For more information on the commercial impact of these storms, visit the U.S. Department of Energy at www.energy.gov.
Hurricane Gustav's impact over Labor Day weekend caused electrical power in Louisiana to be absent or disrupted for more than 2 weeks. The majority of the businesses in the Baton Rouge area were impacted, as they were in the direct path of this storm.
Within two weeks of Gustav, the Texas Coast took a direct hit from Hurricane Ike. City Officials advised that it would take weeks before power and normal support services would be completely restored. In addition to mandatory evacuations, members of our workforce sustained damages to their homes and we experienced reduced staffing as team members were encouraged to address personal needs.
"We are pleased that our Business Continuity Plan worked as intended," commented Charles A. Sorrentino, President & CEO. "The support of our teams in Charlotte and Chicago helped the Company maintain its 24/7/365 service levels. All of our facilities outside the hurricane zones functioned normally, and all systems and back-up plans operated as expected."
The preparation for the storms and their near-term aftermath caused major disruptions to businesses in the region, including refineries, petrochemical and other industrial production facilities, which are significant Repair & Replacement end user customers of the Company's Baton Rouge and Houston locations. Historically, the Company has been actively engaged in rebuilding the infrastructures and businesses impacted by major storms.
"I am very grateful and proud of our team and everyone's hard work during this crisis," Sorrentino added. "Houston Wire & Cable Company appreciates the commitment of our team members, as well as the support that we have received from our customers, suppliers, and advisors."
The Company anticipates having additional information and possible annual guidance updates when quarterly earnings are announced on November 10, 2008.
About the Company
With more than 30 years experience in the electrical industry, Houston Wire & Cable Company is one of the largest distributors of specialty wire and cable and related services in the U.S. electrical distribution market. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, HWCC has sales and distribution facilities in Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa.
The Houston Wire & Cable Company logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2807
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains comments concerning management's view of the Company's future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and projections about future events may and often do vary materially from actual results.
Risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release can be found in the MD&A Section of the Company's 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007. This document and other SEC filings are available under the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.houwire.com.
Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such statements.