Plexus reports record Q3 revenues of $313.7 Million

Initiates Q4 Guidance: Revenue of $315 to $325 Million

Plexus Corp. (Nasdaq: PLXS) announced record revenues of $313.7 million for the third fiscal quarter ended July 2, 2005, up 14.2% compared to $274.8 million in the prior-year period. The net loss of $21.5 million, or $0.50 per fully diluted share, for the third fiscal quarter includes a previously announced impairment of goodwill and restructuring costs totaling $27.6 million ($27.5 million after-tax). Excluding these special items, the Company had pro-forma net income for the third fiscal quarter of $7.0 million, or $0.16 per fully diluted share.

Plexus provides non-GAAP supplemental information -- more specifically, pro-forma net income and EPS excluding restructuring and impairment costs. These non-GAAP financial data are provided to facilitate meaningful period-to- period comparisons of underlying operational performance by eliminating infrequent or unusual charges. Similar non-GAAP measures are used for internal management assessments because such measures provide additional insight into ongoing financial performance. Please refer to the attached accompanying reconciliations of the GAAP net income and EPS to the non-GAAP supplemental data.

Dean Foate, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "I'm extremely pleased with the progress we made this quarter in enhancing the Company's fundamental financial performance on higher revenues and improved operations. As we had expected, our start-up facility in Penang, Malaysia became profitable in the quarter. Looking ahead, we anticipate revenues in the final fiscal quarter to be in the range of $315 to $325 million, and on these revenues we would anticipate fully diluted earnings per share before special items of $0.16 to $0.18."

Gordon Bitter, Chief Financial Officer, added, "We continued to improve the balance sheet this quarter, and the cash conversion cycle was reduced by 9 days primarily due to better accounts payable. Cash and investments increased $34.1 million in the quarter."

Bitter continued, "Goodwill impairment of $26.9 million in the third quarter reflects now-lowered profit and cash flow expectations from previous acquisitions in the U.K. and Mexico. Restructuring charges of $0.7 million during the quarter were primarily for additional severance costs associated with a reduction of corporate executive management, a previously disclosed site closure, and a planned workforce reduction at another facility."

Bitter concluded, "The pro-forma effective tax rate for the year-to-date was reduced from 8% to 5.5%, and the impact of the lower rate in the third quarter was $0.01 per share. The lower tax rate was due to increased income in jurisdictions where we currently do not pay income taxes."