CLARENCE, N.Y., Oct. 7, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc. (the "Company" or "WGT") (NYSE:GB) Saturday announced, that it has scheduled a conference call to discuss its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2002. The Company will release earnings after the NYSE closes on Wednesday, October 30, 2002, and its Chairman, President and CEO. Edward F. Voboril, and its Executive Vice President and CFO, Lawrence P. Reinhold, will discuss the results at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on that date.
Investors will have the opportunity to listen to the Conference Call over the Internet at http://www.vcall.com/EventPage.asp?ID=81945.
To listen to the live call via the Internet, please go to the Web site at least fifteen minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available one hour after the call and will remain available until the next conference call.
The Company regretfully announces that Fred Hittman, the founder of what is now the Company's Greatbatch-Hittman operating division, passed away last month. Mr. Hittman was a pioneer in the implantable medical device industry and, among other inventions, he developed the concept of a hermetic feedthrough, making it possible to seal pacemakers into a titanium case and be immune from invasion by body fluids. Every pacemaker, defibrillator, neurostimulator and implantable hearing device in the world uses this sealing concept today. Although Mr. Hittman has not been actively involved with the Company for several years, we are grateful to have been associated with him, and the vibrant business he founded is a testament to his vision and leadership.
The Company acquired Greatbatch-Hittman during 1998, and as an element of that transaction Mr. Hittman agreed to a long-term non-compete agreement which was recorded as an asset and which was being amortized to expense over the non-compete period. The Company will record a one-time, non-cash charge of approximately $1.7 million during the 3rd quarter to write off the unamortized portion of the non-compete agreement.
The Company divested an unrelated product line during 1998, and in connection with that divestiture WGT received common and preferred stock in an independent company which WGT recorded as a long-term asset. That independent company is currently in the process of completing a financing transaction with venture capital investors, and WGT is not participating in the financing. The enterprise value implicit in the contemplated venture capital financing indicates that WGT's investment in the independent company is less than its carrying value. Accordingly, the Company will record a one-time, non-cash, non-operating charge of approximately $1.5 million during the 3rd quarter to write down the investment to its current value.
The after-tax impact of these two charges is approximately $0.10 per diluted share; therefore, the Company is revising its 2002 earnings per share guidance to a range of $0.65 to $0.70 per diluted share from the previous guidance of $0.75 to $0.80 per diluted share. The Company's 2002 revenue guidance remains unchanged at a range of $160 to $165 million.
Wilson Greatbatch Technologies, Inc., with operations in New York, Maryland, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Nevada, is a leading developer and manufacturer of power sources and other critical components used in implantable medical devices and other technically demanding applications. Additional information about the Company is available at http://www.greatbatch.com.