Keystone Reports Fourth Quarter 2009 Results

DALLAS, March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: KYCN), reported a net loss of $2.3 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2009 as compared to net income of $6.6 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2008.  The decrease in earnings was due primarily to a decrease in the market value of the Company's pension plans' assets during 2008, resulting in Keystone recording defined benefit pension expense of $1.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2009 as compared to a defined benefit pension credit of $18.5 million during the fourth quarter of 2008 partially mitigated by an improvement in gross margin.

Because the amount of the Company's net periodic defined benefit pension and other postretirement benefit ("OPEB") expense or credits are unrelated to the ongoing operating activities of the Company, Keystone measures its overall operating performance using operating income before net pension and OPEB expense or credits.  A reconciliation of operating income (loss) as reported to operating income (loss) adjusted for pension and OPEB expense or credits is set forth in the following table.

    
    
    
                              Three months ended          Year ended
                                  December 31,            December 31,
                                  ------------            ------------
                                2008        2009       2008         2009
                                ----        ----       ----         ----
                                            (In thousands)
    Operating income
     (loss) as reported       $12,533     $(1,846)   $110,493      $3,209
       Defined benefit
        pension expense
        (credit)              (18,522)      1,344     (73,923)      5,887
       OPEB credit             (1,932)     (1,186)     (8,474)     (4,748)
                               ------      ------      ------      ------
    Operating income
     (loss) before
     pension and OPEB         $(7,921)    $(1,688)    $28,096      $4,348
                              =======     =======     =======      ======
    
    
    

The Company's total sales volume and average per-ton selling prices for the fourth quarter and full