Spectrum Brands, Inc. F3Q08 (Qtr End 06/29/08) Earnings Call Transcript

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2008-08-11 03:53:16.0

Tags: Spectrum Brands Inc.

Question-and-Answer Session

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from William Chappell - SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

William Chappell - SunTrust Robinson Humphrey

First, can you give us any indications that you’ve had from retailers going into the holiday season in terms of battery orders with inventory levels they’re comfortable with?

Kent J. Hussey

Battery inventories at some of our key customers are truly at record lows. We are optimistic with a number of promotional programs that we have planned for the holidays that we are optimistic that we’ll have a relatively good sales performance during the holiday season.

William Chappell - SunTrust Robinson Humphrey

Do you feel like Europe remains pretty stable in the whole battery category or have you seen any real changes or maybe a swing back over the pendulum?

Kent J. Hussey

As I said earlier I think we’re beginning to see in a number of our key customers a shift towards our value proposition or value positioned batteries.

William Chappell - SunTrust Robinson Humphrey

On the lawn and garden side, what are you forecasting or what are you expecting in terms of volumes with the price increases that are going through? Do you think you’ll see greater trade down or do you think you’re going to end up pricing consumers out of the category altogether?

Kent J. Hussey

I think you’re going to see two things. Clearly with prices going up pretty significantly from all the suppliers, there will be some unit volume decline in the industry. I think that’s clear. What we’re hoping for is an offset to that for us as consumers begin trading down to again our value proposition products.

William Chappell - SunTrust Robinson Humphrey

Have you had any pushback from the retailers in terms of the quarterly commodity pricing structure?

Kent J. Hussey

I think they understand that the volatility of the raw materials here puts the manufacturer, the supplier, in a squeeze in the middle and we can’t continue to absorb the significant price of our commodity price increases without being able to pass those through. So I think they understand the situation that we’re in as a key supplier.

Operator

Our next question comes from Drew Martinson - Deutsche Bank Securities.

Drew Martinson - Deutsche Bank Securities

I just wanted to start with your liquidity profile with a peak to trough capital need of like $150 cash burn here. How do you feel about your liquidity profile going into 2009 as you start to build for the long garden season?

 

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