Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions). Your first question comes from Michael Kelter – Goldman Sachs.
Michael Kelter – Goldman Sachs
I just wanted to ask first, I guess, about the gross margin which is much better than I think anyone expected even though everyone did see resin coming down and you talked about the divestiture impact. Maybe you can give a little more color around what the drivers were, more specifically, quantitatively around the resin versus the divestitures versus the productivity gains you guys have experienced.
Pat Robinson
We're not going to get into specifics on what each contributed but the big three contributors we already spoke about, the product line exits, the carryover pricing from 2008, which we've been able to keep in place pretty much across the board, with a few exceptions and then finally the year over year input costs improvement, particularly resin but in some other commodities also.
Those are the three big contributors. The offsets to that are volume – the volume in our plants is way down to a year ago, and the mix, I'm sorry – the unfavorable mix. Consumers are still mixing down pretty much across the board, those two offsets.
Michael Kelter – Goldman Sachs
And Pat, should we then think about this new level, the 37% level as kind of your new normal to look forward and with the productivity already in place, the divestitures now kind of done and resins somewhat stable, we would be looking forward from 37% here?
Pat Robinson
Well, I think I would look at the first half. The first half was 36.2%. I think that would be more in line with a sustainable rate. In fact, we may see some pressure in the back half from pricing and also from the commodity comparisons to a year ago. Now for the front half and back half, we also think the commodities will be slightly higher in the back half than in the front. So I think the 36.2% would be more in line than the 37.1% and maybe even slightly below that, but that would be kind of our internal target.
Mark Ketchum
Mike, I would add to that in saying I think we do have upward run rate going forward after this year. We'll get full year benefit of exiting these categories whereas this year we get partial year benefit. We continue to do restructuring, manufacturing restructuring projects under our project acceleration mantle that will benefit this year and next year.
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