From Earlier: Headwaters Incorporated Sees 2012 Adjusted EBITDA of $85-95M

Headwaters Incorporated HW yesterday announced highlights from its tenth annual Analyst and Investor Day Conference, which was held Friday, March 2, 2012 in Salt Lake City, UT. The event featured presentations by Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Kirk A. Benson, Chief Financial Officer, Don Newman and Senior Executives: Bill Gehrmann, Gary England, Mike Adams, Jerry Smith, Alan Gurney, Murphy Lents and Dave Ulmer. Don Newman, Headwaters Chief Financial Officer, added, “We have very strong operating leverage and contribution margins in our core businesses, which presents significant opportunities to improve profitability as our revenues increase. For each $1 million in incremental sales we generate, we will typically see between $400,000 and $500,000 increase in our pre-tax profit due to our high contribution margins. Additionally, we remain focused on prudently paying down our debt, which should make Headwaters an even more attractive investment as the year progresses.” During fiscal 2011 and through the first quarter of fiscal 2012, Headwaters has continued to make improvements to its balance sheet. Headwaters successfully refinanced its senior debt, extending the maturity to 2019 and reducing the interest rate from 11.375% to 7.625%. Since fiscal 2010, the Company has reduced its subordinated debt by approximately $40 million, including repayment of $15.2 million in fiscal 2012. The Company also sold a non-core asset in January of 2012, its stake in the Blue Flint Ethanol plant, for cash proceeds of $18.5 million and will continue to evaluate the sale of non-core assets to further enhance the balance sheet. Headwaters expects its 2012 Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations to likely be above the mid-point of its previously established range of $85 million to $95 million. The Company also expects to generate $20 million to $30 million in free cash flow from continuing operations during fiscal 2012.