斯巴达汽车公司(纳斯达克:石膏)今天宣布其有意退出its Road Rescue ambulance operation as part of the company’s continuing review of all aspects of its business. The exit will allow Spartan to focus its resources on the highest growth and profit opportunities. The exit from the underperforming Road Rescue operation is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. In addition, Spartan announced a number of actions designed to reduce expenses and better align its cost structure with current levels and mix of demand.
The exit from Spartan’s Road Rescue ambulance operation in Marion, South Carolina, is part of a long-term strategic review initiated at the beginning of the year of all parts of the Company’s business. These actions are designed to focus Spartan’s resources on those operations with the greatest potential for sustainable growth and profitability. Spartan expects to complete the exit by the end of the year following the fulfillment of existing customer orders. The Company is in discussions with potential purchasers to facilitate a sale of the operations or facilities as part of the exit plan. Road Rescue generated approximately $20 million in revenues in 2009 and it employs 132 full-time associates.
“We are strategically focused on providing compelling products that generate sustainable growth and profitable market share, highlighted by good momentum at Spartan Chassis and Crimson Fire, as well as our recently announced new commercial van product at Utilimaster and our collaborative efforts with Isuzu,” said John Sztykiel, President and CEO of Spartan Motors. “Over the last 12 months, Spartan has evolved, as has the Emergency Response market, and the Road Rescue operation is not large enough to justify the resource commitment when we have greater potential elsewhere. Road Rescue partnered with another ambulance company, where there is additional scale and产品breadth, would be a real asset.”
斯巴达还宣布了许多行动来重新调整其成本结构。These included a temporary reduction in Board of Directors’ retainer fees, salary reductions for members of the executive leadership team and other senior leaders, some select workforce reductions, and other actions as part of its continuing efforts to reduce fixed costs to better match its current level of business.
“尽管这些决定从来都不是一件容易的事，因为它们会影响我们同事和所服务社区的生活，但我们认为这些行动将改善运营的有效性。它还使我们能够更好地将精力集中在斯巴达的五个核心市场上 - 紧急响应，户外娱乐/RV，国防，交付和服务以及专业 - 同时最大程度地提高了对斯巴达底盘，售后市场零件和集会以及五十铃战略联盟的需求。我们有巨大的战略机会，必须降低运营成本基础，以提高我们的地位。”
随着重组措施并退出道路救援，斯巴达预计将产生税前的一次性费用约为6至700万美元，其中大多数将在公司的第二和第三季度成绩中得到认可。管理层预计，这些行动将使公司的永久成本结构减少5至600万美元。
首席财务官乔·诺维奇（Joe Nowicki）补充说：“我们今天宣布的行动代表了我们持续的努力，以根据当前的业务环境对我们的运营进行统计。我们退出道路救援是我们对斯巴达业务各个领域的持续评估的结果，这是执行我们先前宣布的战略财务计划的重要下一步。这将使我们能够将资源和产品开发集中在我们的最高增长，最有利可图的机会上，我们认为有必要确保我们的长期成功。”
Spartan Motors，Inc。（www.spartanmotors.com）设计，工程师和制造商specialty chassis，户外娱乐/RV，紧急响应，国防，政府服务，交付和服务市场的专业车辆和卡车机构和售后零件。该公司的品牌名称 - Spartan™，Crimson Fire™，Crimson Fire Aerials™，Road Rescue™和Utilimaster®-以质量，价值，服务，并成为首次使用创新产品市场的市场而闻名。该公司在密歇根州，宾夕法尼亚州，南卡罗来纳州，南达科他州，印第安纳州和德克萨斯州的密歇根州的设施中雇用了约1,500家。斯巴达（Spartan）报告说，2009年的销售额为4.3亿美元，专注于成为制造专业车辆和底盘的全球领导者。
