ATLANTA, July 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Interface, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFSIA), a worldwide floorcoverings company and global leader in sustainability, today announced that a fire occurred at the Company's manufacturing facility in Picton, Australia on July 20. Local authorities extinguished the fire. The Company said that there have been no injuries reported as a result of the fire. The cause of the fire and full extent of the damage are not known at this time.
Based on current information, the Company believes that the facility's carpet production line, primarily comprised of tufting and backing machinery, has sustained substantial damage and will be inoperable for an undetermined period of time. Other areas of the Company's Picton site relating to yarn preparation and warehousing were undamaged by the fire. The finished goods inventory and some raw materials for the business are kept at separate offsite locations and have not been affected by this incident.
The Picton facility serves the Company's customers throughout Australia. It represents approximately 7% of the Company's total annual production, 10% of its net sales, and 13% of its operating income. The Company said it has adequate production capacity at its manufacturing facilities in Thailand and China and will ramp up production at those facilities to meet customer demand typically serviced from Picton. The Company does not expect any significant inconvenience to customers.
The Company has business interruption and property damage insurance.
Interface, Inc. is the world's largest manufacturer of modular carpet, which it markets under the Interface, InterfaceFLOR, FLOR, Heuga and Bentley Prince Street brands, and, through its Bentley Prince Street brand, enjoys a leading position in the designer quality segment of the broadloom carpet market. The Company is committed to the goal of sustainability and doing business in ways that minimize the impact on the environment while enhancing shareholder value.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the other matters set forth in this news release are forward‑looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any such statement, including risks and uncertainties associated with economic conditions in the commercial interiors industry as well as the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" included in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2012, which discussion is incorporated herein by this reference, including, but not limited to, the discussion of specific risks and uncertainties under the headings "The ongoing worldwide financial and credit crisis could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations," "Sales of our principal products have been and may continue to be affected by adverse economic cycles in the renovation and construction of commercial and institutional buildings," "We compete with a large number of manufacturers in the highly competitive commercial floorcovering products market, and some of these competitors have greater financial resources than we do," "Our success depends significantly upon the efforts, abilities and continued service of our senior management executives and our principal design consultant, and our loss of any of them could affect us adversely," "Our substantial international operations are subject to various political, economic and other uncertainties that could adversely affect our business results, including by restrictive taxation or other government regulation and by foreign currency fluctuations," "Concerns regarding the European sovereign debt crisis and market perceptions about the instability of the euro, the potential re-introduction of individual currencies within the Eurozone, or the potential dissolution of the euro entirely, could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition," "Large increases in the cost of petroleum-based raw materials could adversely affect us if we are unable to pass these cost increases through to our customers," "Unanticipated termination or interruption of any of our arrangements with our primary third party suppliers of synthetic fiber could have a material adverse effect on us," "We have a significant amount of indebtedness, which could have important negative consequences to us," "The market price of our common stock has been volatile and the value of your investment may decline," "Our earnings in a future period could be adversely affected by non-cash adjustments to goodwill, if a future test of goodwill assets indicates a material impairment of those assets," and "Our Rights Agreement could discourage tender offers or other transactions for our stock that could result in shareholders receiving a premium over the market price for our stock." Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking statements made in this press release and cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Interface, Inc.
Daniel T. Hendrix, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, or Patrick C. Lynch, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, +1-770-437-6800; Eric Boyriven or Matt Steinberg, FTI Consulting, Inc., +1-212-850-5600