Frank C. Sullivan
Management
For our 2009 fiscal year we anticipate continuing expansion in global industrial markets, offset somewhat by weakening in the U.S. commercial construction market. We do not expect the U.S. housing market or its related impact on retail to hit bottom until the end of our 2009 fiscal year, basically the spring of next year. And in general, we expect another challenging year related to increasing raw material and energy costs. These dynamics will impact our consumer business the hardest. On the other hand, the expected benefits from new product introductions from DAP and Rust-Oleum in particular, and the small project, maintenance and repair nature of our product lines, plus more in the way of raw-material driven price increases, should generate sales for the year which will be flat to slightly up year-over-year, once again, outperforming our industry peers. We expect 6%-8% growth in our industrial businesses with weakness in U.S. commercial construction markets, offset by continuing strength in global industrial markets, in particular power generation, oil and gas infrastructure, price increases, as well as the impact on the top and bottom line in fiscal 2009 from acquisitions completed at the end of 2008. Based upon these assumptions, we expect consolidated sales to grow in the 6% range, driving an EPS growth of 6% from a 2008 base of $1.75 per share, adjusted for the asbestos charge and the one-time tax benefits, to a 2009 EPS target of $1.85. Revenues for the year could be higher, driven by additional raw-material price increases, driving more product price increases, though in this scenario it will have less than expected leverage to the bottom line, putting pressure on margins. This forecast does not include the impact of future acquisitions. While they are hard to predict, we are likely to complete a number of small- to medium-sized transactions and as Kelly Tompkins pointed out, our balance sheet is in a good position to support a larger transaction should one with the right fit with the right price present itself in 2009. Lastly, the strength and resiliency shown by RPM in these challenging times is a direct result of a strategic balance between consumer and industrial markets, a gross strategy balance between internal growth investments and acquisitions, as well as a deliberate effort over the last five years to pursue a better geographic balance through more focused global growth. These strategies have allowed RPM to outperform our industry in 2008 and will do so again in our 2009 fiscal year. That concludes our formal comments. We would now be pleased to answer any questions you have about our 2008 results or our 2009 outlook.