Financial Overview

(in million USD)

	FY ended Mar. 31, 2013	FY ended Mar. 31, 2012	Rate of change (%)	Factors
Consolidated figures
Net Sales	2,971.7	3,084.7	(3.7)	1)
Operating Income	(53.4)	78.9	-	2)
Sales by segment
Transportation Americas	879.8	907.8	(3.1)	3)
Transportation European and ROW	927.0	1,014.3	(8.6)	4)

Factors
1) Net Sales
-Net sales in the FY ended March 31, 2013 dropped 3.7% from the previous FY to USD 2,971.7 million. Changes in foreign currency translation unfavorably impacted sales by USD 94.4 million. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, net sales decreased by USD 18.5 million primarily due to unfavorable lead prices.

2) Operating Income
-The Company's operating income dropped from an income of USD 78.9 million the previous FY to a loss of USD 53.4 million the FY ended March 31, 2013. The decrease in operating income was primarily due to compressed margins from lower third party sales, higher input costs, and lower lead prices.

3) Transportation Americas
-Net sales for the Transportation Americas segment decreased 3.1% from USD 907.8 million to USD 879.8 million primarily due to lower third party lead sales as the Company reduced capacity.

4) Transportation Europe and ROW
-The Transportation Europe and ROW segment experienced a decrease of 8.6% in net sales to USD 927.0 million due to a USD 35.6 million unfavorable impact of lead-related pricing. 

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

-The Company announced that it has filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 for reorganization pursuant to U.S. federal restructuring laws. Only the Company's operations in the US, including the GNB Industrial Division, are included in the filing. The Company plans to continue to operate globally without interruption during the reorganization. The Company has negotiated a USD 500 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing facility to be provided by a group of financial institutions and investors in connection with the filing. (From a press release on June 10, 2013)

Strategic Alliance

-The Company announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Maxwell Technologies Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of ultracapacitor products. The two companies will work together to develop and market advanced, integrated battery-ultracapacitor energy storage solutions to be used in a variety of applications. Areas in which the two companies will collaborate on include: joint identification and evaluation of market opportunities, product development and testing, and joint calls to potential customers to establish demonstrations. (From a press release on November 13, 2012)

Plant Closure

-During the FY ended March 31, 2013, the Company ended operations at the following facilities:

• Closures of a transportation battery facility in Bristol, Tennessee
• Closure of a facility in Frisco, Texas
• Idling of secondary lead recycling operations at a facility in Reading, Pennsylvania
• Closure of a facility in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

R&D Structure

-The Company has technology centers in Milton, Georgia, US; Budingen, Germany; and Azuqueca, Spain.

Patent, Trademarks and Licenses

-The Company currently owns approximately 262 trademarks worldwide, and maintains licenses from others to use approximately 20 other trademarks worldwide.

-The Company currently owns a full or partial interest in over 328 patents and applications for patents pending worldwide.

Technological Alliance

-The Company currently has a research-based partnership with NanoTerra, and a three-way partnership with the University of Idaho and the Savannah River National Laboratory.

Capital Expenditure

(in million USD)

	FY ended Mar. 31, 2013	FY ended Mar. 31, 2012	FY ended Mar. 31, 2011
Transportation Americas	32.1	38.9	25.0
Transportation European and ROW	36.3	40.2	25.8
Industrial Energy	25.4	23.3	34.0
Unallocated Corporate	7.6	7.5	3.9
Total	101.5	109.8	88.6

-The Company is continuing to invest in production capacity to meet the demand for enhanced batteries. This demand can be attributed to the increasing numbers of Stop & Start and micro-hybrid vehicles.