Press Releases

Greenbrier Companies Reports Third Quarter Results
Company earns $.49 per share on revenues of $382 million
Refurbishment & parts segment revenues grow 29% to $152 million
PRNewswire-FirstCall
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore.

The Greenbrier Companies , a leading supplier of transportation equipment and services to the railroad industry, today reported financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended May 31, 2008.

Highlights

-- Revenues for the quarter were $382 million, virtually flat with the prior year's third quarter.

-- Net earnings for the quarter were $8.1 million, or $.49 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $13.0 million, or $.81 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2007.

-- EBITDA for the quarter was $34.5 million, or 9.0% of revenues.

-- Refurbishment & parts revenues were $152.4 million, an increase of 29% or $34.2 million from $118.2 million in the third quarter of 2007.

-- New railcar manufacturing backlog was 17,500 units, valued at $1.55 billion as of May 31, 2008, compared to 18,800 units valued at $1.64 billion as of February 29, 2008.

-- New marine barge backlog was $158 million at May 31, 2008, compared to $114 million at February 29, 2008, as a result of orders for four barges received during the quarter.

Third Quarter Results:

Revenues for the 2008 fiscal third quarter were $382.1 million, compared to $386.6 million in the prior year's third quarter. EBITDA was $34.5 million, or 9.0% of revenues for the quarter, compared to $46.4 million, or 12.0% of revenues in the prior year's third quarter. Net earnings were $8.1 million, or $.49 per diluted share for the quarter, compared to net earnings of $13.0 million, or $.81 per diluted share for the same period in 2007.

New railcar manufacturing backlog was 17,500 units valued at $1.55 billion at May 31, 2008, compared to 18,800 units valued at $1.64 billion at February 29, 2008. Based on current production plans, approximately 1,400 units in the May 31, 2008 backlog are scheduled for delivery during the balance of fiscal 2008. Marine backlog was $158 million as of May 31, 2008, compared to $114 million as of February 29, 2008.

William A. Furman, president and chief executive officer, said, "Financial performance improved during the quarter, driven largely by our non-manufacturing segments, and solid performance in marine manufacturing at our Gunderson facility in Portland, Oregon. Our strategy to diversify and expand our less cyclical, more stable marine manufacturing, refurbishment & parts, and leasing & services businesses continue to benefit the Company. Refurbishment & parts produced record results for the quarter. In combination with leasing & services and marine, these businesses will generate over $770 million of annual revenues, at current run rates. In addition to providing stability to revenue and earnings, these businesses provide a natural hedge to weaker demand for new railcars, as well as rising raw material costs, including higher steel prices, and scrap surcharges which are adversely affecting our new railcar operations."

Third quarter revenues for the manufacturing segment were $201.8 million, a decrease of $39.6 million from $241.4 million in the third quarter of 2007. New railcar deliveries for the quarter were 2,200 units compared to 3,000 units in the prior comparable period. Revenues per unit were comparable to the third quarter of 2007.

Manufacturing gross margin for the quarter was .5% of segment revenues, compared to 8.4% of revenues in the third quarter of 2007. The decrease in margin was principally due to lower production rates, a less favorable product mix and pricing environment, rising raw material costs, and a loss contingency accrued on certain future railcar production.

Due to increases in raw material costs on certain fixed price railcar contracts in backlog, our current estimated cost to complete some contracts is expected to exceed the contractual sale price. During the third quarter, $5.3 million was accrued for estimated loss contingencies. In addition, there are 1,000 cars in backlog for which a loss is not yet estimable, and a loss contingency has not yet been accrued. The Company is aggressively working to mitigate these exposures.

Conversely, the Company's refurbishment & parts and leasing & services businesses have benefited from rising commodity prices through increased revenues, higher residual values and enhanced margins.

Refurbishment & parts revenues were $152.4 million, an increase of $34.2 million from $118.2 million in the prior comparable period. This increase was due principally to acquisition-related growth, increases in parts and wheelset sales and favorable scrap prices. Margins during the quarter for this segment were 21.0% of revenues, compared to 18.5% in the prior comparable period, as margins were favorably impacted by increases in scrap prices, a more favorable product mix and increased volumes. During the quarter, two refurbishment & parts acquisitions, with combined trailing 12 months revenues of about $100 million and EBITDA of about $16 million, were completed: American Allied Railway Equipment, a wheel services and railcar parts provider; and Roller Bearings Industries, a provider of reconditioned bearings used in the refurbishment of railcar wheelsets.

The leasing & services segment includes results from the Company's owned lease fleet of approximately 9,000 railcars and from fleet management services provided for approximately 138,000 railcars. Revenues for this segment were $27.9 million, up $0.9 million from $27.0 million in the same quarter last year. Leasing & services margin was 56.2% of segment revenues, compared to 58.0% of revenues in the same quarter last year. Leasing & services margin declined primarily due to lower interim rent on railcars held for sale, which has no associated cost of revenue.

Mark Rittenbaum, executive vice president & chief financial officer, said, "The increased contribution from our marine, refurbishment & parts and leasing & services businesses improved overall gross margins and helped offset a decline in manufacturing segment margins. The manufacturing segment continues to suffer from an increasingly competitive new railcar environment, and rising raw material costs. Our tax rate for the quarter of 50.0% is down significantly from the 71.0% rate during the first half of the year, due in part to recent tax strategies. Near term financial focus remains on cost reductions consistent with the current macroeconomic trends, paying down post acquisition debt, and strategies to continue to reduce our effective tax rate."

Business Outlook

Furman concluded, "The long-term outlook for the rail industry remains bright, as market forces continue to favor rail. In the nearer term, we expect that our marine, refurbishment & parts, and leasing & services businesses will continue with their strong performance, while new railcar manufacturing will likely remain soft, due to macroeconomic forces. Greenbrier remains committed to delivering value to shareholders through its integrated business model, which builds on the Company's core strengths of railcar and marine manufacturing and engineering, while providing diversification and reduced risk through various business cycles and economic conditions. Our near term operating focus is to integrate recent acquisitions, ensure the smooth start up of our tank car production line at GIMSA, and to continue to realize revenue and cost synergies from our integrated model."

About Greenbrier

Greenbrier (http://www.gbrx.com/), headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a leading supplier of transportation equipment and services to the railroad industry. The Company builds new railroad freight cars in its three manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Mexico and marine barges at its U.S. facility. It also repairs and refurbishes freight cars and provides wheels and railcar parts at 39 locations across North America. Greenbrier builds new railroad freight cars and refurbishes freight cars for the European market through both its operations in Poland and various subcontractor facilities throughout Europe. Greenbrier owns approximately 9,000 railcars, and performs management services for approximately 138,000 railcars.

"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: This release may contain forward-looking statements. Greenbrier uses words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "expect," "future," "intend" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in demand for newly manufactured railcars or failure to obtain orders as anticipated in developing forecasts; loss of one or more significant customers; actual future costs and the availability of materials and a trained workforce; failure to design or manufacture new products or technologies or to achieve certification or market acceptance of new products or technologies; steel price increases and scrap surcharges; changes in product mix and the mix between segments; labor disputes, energy shortages or operating difficulties that might disrupt manufacturing operations or the flow of cargo; production difficulties and product delivery delays as a result of, among other matters, changing technologies or non-performance of subcontractors or suppliers; ability to obtain suitable contracts for the sale of leased equipment and risks related to car hire and residual values; difficulties associated with governmental regulation, including environmental liabilities; integration of current or future acquisitions; succession planning; all as may be discussed in more detail under the headings "Risk Factors" on page 10 of Part I, Item 1a and "Forward Looking Statements" on page 28 of Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2007. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's opinions only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements.

EBITDA is not a financial measure under GAAP. We define EBITDA as earnings from operations before special charges, interest and foreign exchange, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We consider net cash provided by operating activities to be the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. EBITDA is a liquidity measurement tool commonly used by rail supply companies and we use EBITDA in that fashion. You should not consider EBITDA in isolation or as a substitute for cash flow from operations or other cash flow statement data determined in accordance with GAAP. In addition, because EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP and is susceptible to varying calculations, the EBITDA measure presented may differ from and may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

The Greenbrier Companies will host a teleconference to discuss third quarter fiscal 2008 results. Teleconference details are as follows:

   Tuesday, July 8, 2008
   8:00 am Pacific Daylight Time
   Phone #: 630-395-0143, Password: "Greenbrier"

   Webcast Real-time Audio Access:  ("Newsroom" at http://www.gbrx.com/)

Please access the website 10 minutes prior to the start time. Following the call, a replay will be available on the same website. Telephone replay will be available through July 26, 2008 at 203-369-0494.

                                              THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.
  Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
  (In thousands, unaudited)

                                                       May 31,   August 31,
                                                        2008        2007

  Assets
    Cash and cash equivalents                               $-     $20,808
    Restricted cash                                      1,722       2,693
    Accounts receivable                                182,188     157,038
    Inventories                                        239,760     194,883
    Assets held for sale                                57,895      42,903
    Equipment on operating leases                      318,741     294,326
    Investment in direct finance leases                  8,577       9,040
    Property, plant and equipment                      132,640     112,813
    Goodwill                                           219,261     168,987
    Intangibles and other assets                        82,423      69,258

                                                    $1,243,207  $1,072,749


  Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
    Revolving notes                                   $101,423     $39,568
    Accounts payable and accrued liabilities           275,101     244,068
    Losses in excess of investment in
     deconsolidated subsidiary                          15,313           -
    Deferred income taxes                               70,592      61,410
    Deferred revenue                                    20,015      18,052
    Notes payable                                      497,166     460,915

    Minority interest                                    9,189       5,146

    Commitments and contingencies                            -           -

    Stockholders' equity:
    Preferred stock - without par value;
     25,000 shares authorized; none outstanding              -           -
    Common stock - without par value; 50,000
     shares authorized; 16,606 and 16,169 shares
     outstanding at May 31, 2008 and August 31, 2007        17          16
    Additional paid-in capital                          81,261      78,332
    Retained earnings                                  173,530     165,408
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss                  (400)       (166)
                                                       254,408     243,590

                                                    $1,243,207  $1,072,749



                                              THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.
  Consolidated Statements of Operations
  (In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

                            Three Months Ended         Nine Months Ended
                                   May 31,                   May 31,
                              2008         2007         2008        2007
  Revenue

    Manufacturing           $201,825     $241,399     $484,413    $529,293
    Refurbishment & parts    152,367      118,213      368,833     264,760
    Leasing & services        27,914       26,994       74,812      79,154
                             382,106      386,606      928,058     873,207

  Cost of revenue
    Manufacturing            200,813      221,203      469,602     498,713
    Refurbishment & parts    120,442       96,288      302,790     221,408
    Leasing & services        12,218       11,339       36,422      34,370
                             333,473      328,830      808,814     754,491

  Margin                      48,633       57,776      119,244     118,716

  Other costs
    Selling and
     administrative           23,407       20,092       64,591      56,017
    Interest and foreign
     exchange                  9,990       10,930       30,263      30,986
    Special charges                -        3,091        2,302      19,576
                              33,397       34,113       97,156     106,579
  Earnings before
   income taxes, minority
   interest and equity in
   unconsolidated
   subsidiaries               15,236       23,663       22,088      12,137
  Income tax expense          (7,573)     (11,047)     (12,432)     (3,398)
  Earnings before
   minority interest
   and equity in
   unconsolidated
   subsidiaries                7,663       12,616        9,656       8,739

  Minority interest              272          178        2,014         217
  Equity in earnings
   (loss) of
   unconsolidated
   subsidiaries                  191          223          522        (140)

  Net earnings                $8,126      $13,017      $12,192      $8,816

  Basic earnings per
   common share                $0.49        $0.81        $0.75       $0.55

  Diluted earnings per
   common share                $0.49        $0.81        $0.75       $0.55

  Weighted average
   common shares:
  Basic                       16,507       16,105       16,323      16,017
  Diluted                     16,529       16,139       16,347      16,058



                                              THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.
  Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
  (In thousands, unaudited)

                                                        Nine Months Ended
                                                             May 31,
                                                       2008           2007
  Cash flows from operating activities
    Net earnings                                     $12,192         $8,816
    Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to
     net cash provided by
     operating activities:
      Deferred income taxes                            9,182          2,688
      Depreciation and amortization                   25,333         24,496
      Gain on sales of equipment                      (6,998)       (10,781)
      Special charges                                  2,302         19,576
      Minority interest                               (1,957)          (318)
      Other                                             (103)           170
      Decrease (increase) in assets (net of
       acquisitions):
        Accounts receivable                           (7,338)         4,553
        Inventories                                  (15,136)        10,916
        Assets held for sale                         (16,313)         1,556
        Other                                         (1,476)        (1,667)
      Increase (decrease) in liabilities (net
       of acquisitions):
        Accounts payable and accrued liabilities      21,211        (36,309)
        Deferred revenue                                (939)         6,114
    Net cash provided by operating
     activities                                       19,960         29,810
  Cash flows from investing activities
    Principal payments received under
     direct finance leases                               274            426
    Proceeds from sales of equipment                  13,375        114,719
    Investment in and net advances to
     unconsolidated subsidiary                           519           (869)
    Acquisitions, net of cash acquired               (91,285)      (267,903)
    De-consolidation of subsidiary                    (1,217)             -
    Decrease (increase) in restricted cash             1,690           (445)
    Capital expenditures                             (64,477)      (126,442)
    Net cash used in investing activities           (141,121)      (280,514)
  Cash flows from financing activities
    Changes in revolving notes                        48,878         34,106
    Proceeds from issuance of notes payable           49,613         99,441
    Repayments of notes payable                       (5,569)        (4,082)
    Repayment of subordinated debt                         -         (2,091)
    Dividends                                         (3,933)        (3,851)
    Stock options exercised and restricted
     stock awards                                      2,921          2,616
    Excess tax benefit of stock options
     exercised                                             9          2,774
    Investment by joint venture partner                6,000          5,400
    Net cash provided by financing
     activities                                       97,919        134,313
  Effect of exchange rate changes                      2,434          1,816
  Decrease in cash and cash equivalents              (20,808)      (114,575)
  Cash and cash equivalents
    Beginning of period                               20,808        142,894
    End of period                                         $-        $28,319



                                              THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.
  Supplemental Disclosure

Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities to EBITDA before special charge (1)

  (In thousands, unaudited)

                            Three Months Ended         Nine Months Ended
                                  May 31,                    May 31,
                             2008         2007          2008         2007
  Net cash provided by
   operating activities    $90,891     $106,515       $19,960      $29,810
  Changes in working
   capital                 (74,016)     (78,983)       22,293       34,413
  Special charges                -       (3,091)       (2,302)     (19,576)
  Deferred income taxes     (5,186)      (5,275)       (9,182)      (2,688)
  Gain on sales of
   equipment                 4,992        5,006         6,998       10,781
  Other                        (17)         (24)          103         (170)
  Minority interest            276          278         1,957          318
  Income tax expense         7,573       11,047        12,432        3,398
  Interest and foreign
   exchange                  9,990       10,930        30,263       30,986

  Adjusted EBITDA from
   operations before
   special charge          $34,503      $46,403       $82,522      $87,272

(1) "EBITDA" (earnings from continuing operations before interest and foreign exchange, taxes, depreciation and amortization before special charge) is a useful liquidity measurement tool commonly used by rail supply companies and Greenbrier. It should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for cash flows from operating activities or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: margaret.vallejos@gbrx.com

SOURCE: The Greenbrier Companies

CONTACT: Mark Rittenbaum of The Greenbrier Companies, +1-503-684-7000

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