PLB American Italian Pasta

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Italian Pasta Company (NYSE:PLB) announced today certain matters relating to its bank credit agreement and provided an overview of the Company's liquidity resources. The Company also reported the filing of its Form 10-K was delayed. Bank Credit Agreement Matters On December 15, 2005, the Company received approval of a waiver from its bank group for non-compliance with certain covenants contained in its bank credit agreement. The waiver expires on March 16, 2006 and relates to various covenants for the third and fourth fiscal quarters of the year ended September 30, 2005 and the first and second fiscal quarters of the current fiscal year ending September 29, 2006. During the waiver period, the Company will evaluate refinancing alternatives for the bank facility, which expires on October 2, 2006. Overview of Company Liquidity As of December 14, 2005, the Company's total debt was $281.7 million, including $277.8 million under its bank credit facility. Total debt, less cash, stood at approximately $251.8 million. As of December 14, 2005, the Company had liquidity resources totaling approximately $40 million, reflecting availability of approximately $10 million under its credit facility and cash of approximately $30 million. The December 14th liquidity level represents an increase from the corresponding level of approximately $21 million on September 28, 2005. The Company also noted that amounts owed to its suppliers and vendors are currently within established credit terms. The Company continues to expect that net cash flow to be generated from operations, combined with liquidity resources, will be sufficient to meet its expected operating needs for the upcoming fiscal year. Jim Fogarty, Chief Executive Officer, commented "We are pleased with the support shown by our bank group in granting this additional waiver. We are also pleased with our liquidity position and we continue to remain hard at work on our business and strategic initiatives." Delay in Filing of Form 10-K The Company reported that it did not file its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005 on the scheduled due date of December 14, 2005. As previously disclosed, the Company has also not filed its Form 10-Q for the third fiscal quarter. Founded in 1988 and based in Kansas City, Missouri, American Italian Pasta Company is the largest producer and marketer of dry pasta in North America. The Company has five plants that are located in Excelsior Springs, Missouri; Columbia, South Carolina; Tolleson, Arizona; Kenosha, Wisconsin and Verolanuova, Italy. The Company has approximately 600 employees located in the United States and Italy. The statements made above in "Bank Credit Agreement Matters" and "Overview of Company Liquidity" are forward-looking and are based on current expectations. Actual future results or events could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking statements. The differences could be caused by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the completion and findings of the investigation being conducted by the Company's Audit Committee, the Company's performance and the availability of financing alternatives to provide refinancing of the Company's indebtedness. In addition, future operating results are impacted by a number of factors, including but not limited to, our dependence on a limited number of customers for a substantial portion of our revenue, our ability to obtain necessary raw materials and minimize fluctuations in raw material prices, the impact of the highly competitive environment in which we operate, our reliance exclusively on a single product category, our ability to attract and retain key personnel, and our ability to cost-effectively transport our products. For additional discussion of the principal factors that could cause actual results to be materially different, refer to our report on Form 10-K dated December 10, 2004 filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements in this press release to reflect future events. DATASOURCE: American Italian Pasta Company CONTACT: George Shadid, EVP & Chief Financial Officer of AIPC, +1-816-584-5621, Web site: http://www.aipc.com/

Copyright