By Robb M. Stewart
AirBoss of America will look at options for its real estate holdings in an effort to free up cash and plans to review product lines as it realigns its businesses into manufacturer products and rubber solutions segments.
The maker of custom rubber compounds and finished rubber products, which forecast a fall in sales for 2023, said that beginning with its fourth-quarter and full-year results for last year it will report results under the two segments. One business will consist of its rubber solutions segment and rubber compounding operations in Quebec that were previously included in a defense group segment, while the manufacturer products arm will be made up of what were formerly standalone segments, AirBoss engineered products and AirBoss Defense, that manufacture or distribute finished products to a variety of markets.
The shift will help prioritize investments and drive long-term growth, the company said. AirBoss said it expects an inventory writedown charge of $8 million and a goodwill impairment charge related to the defense operations.
Excluding the expected charges, the company said it expects an adjusted per-share loss for 2023 of between 30 cents and 20 cents, and a decline in sales to $420 million to $430 million against the $477 million recorded for 2022.
AirBoss said it will explore the “mid-term monetization” of its real estate holdings in an effort to build a state-of-the-art flagship rubber compounding facility while freeing up cash for growth.
The AirBoss Manufactured Products segment will continue to drive its own growth strategy while the company at the same time undertake a strategic review of all individual product lines the segment currently manufactures and sells, AirBoss said.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
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