Rogers, Connecticut - Rogers Corp. is to further restructure, having announced on 13 June that it was cutting staff and taking other actions to reduce costs in its Custom Electrical Components segment, Some 400 people will lose their jobs in this reorganisation.
The group said on 27 June that it may now also incur an extra non-cash impairment charge for under-utilised assets, following lower production at one of its Printed Circuit Materials facilities.
Rogers currently projects second quarter net sales of $95 to $97 million, compared to the 2 May guidance of $102 to $106 million. The drop follows decreased sales in both segments referred to above.
Rogers explained that its Durel Division, in Custom Electrical Components, has seen a significant drop in current and forecast sales. Also, on-going commoditisation in flexible circuit materials for cell phones has meant sales of these materials have dropped.
As well as the restructuring above, the company is selling its polyolefin foam operation.
The good news is that, "Our core strategic businesses both in Printed Circuit Materials and High Performance Foams continue to perform in line with our expectations, and we have more new products in various stages of deployment than ever in our history, said Robert Wachob, Rogers' president and ceo, in the statement.
The high-performance foams includes the group's urethane and silicone foam products, used in a wide range of sectors including industrial, medical and footwear.
Wachob stressed that Rogers is "fully committed to our new business development strategy of seeking out new products and new markets."
He added that, "Rogers businesses have long been subject to the ebbs and flows of business trends and cycles. Unfortunately, the speed of our success with our EL cell phone products comes with an almost equally speedy decline."
The size of the sales decline has forced the current actions, he said, adding, "By the end of 2007, we expect to decrease payroll expenses by approximately $18 million," eliminating about 300 hourly and 100 salaried positions.
As a result Wachob expects Rogers to "return to reasonable levels of profitability while preserving our ability to grow."
Rogers develops and makes high-performance speciality materials, for diverse markets including: portable communication devices, communications infrastructure, consumer products, computer and office equipment, transport and aerospace and defense.
The group has facilities in Connecticut, Arizona, and Illinois in the US, in Gent, Belgium, in Suzhou, China, and in Hwasung City, Korea. epw"
