Press Releases

Greenbrier Reports Fiscal First Quarter 2010 Results
PRNewswire-FirstCall
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore.

The Greenbrier Companies today reported results for its fiscal first quarter ended November 30, 2009.

  Financial Highlights
  First Quarter:
  --  Revenues for the first quarter of 2010 were $172 million, down from
      $256 million in the prior year's first quarter.
  --  The Company's net loss for the quarter was $3.2 million, or $0.19 per
      diluted share, compared to a net loss of $3.9 million, or $.23 per
      diluted share, in the prior year's first quarter. (1)
  --  Net loss for the quarter includes noncash charges of $1.2 million, net
      of tax, or $.07 per diluted share for warrant amortization expense and
      amortization of convertible debt discount.  Net loss for the prior
      year's first quarter includes a noncash charge of $.6 million, net of
      tax, or $.03 per diluted share for amortization of convertible debt
      discount.
  --  EBITDA for the quarter was $14.8 million, or 8.6% of revenues,
      compared to $12.5 million, or 4.9% of revenues in the first quarter of
      2009.


  Liquidity:
  --  The Company ended the quarter with approximately $65 million of cash
      and $107 million of committed additional borrowing capacity.


  Deliveries and Backlog:
  --  New railcar deliveries in the first quarter of 2010 were approximately
      350 units, compared to 800 units in the first quarter of 2009.
  --  The Company modified its multi-year new railcar manufacturing
      agreement with General Electric Railcar Services Corporation
      subsequent to quarter end.
  --  Greenbrier's new railcar manufacturing backlog as of November 30,
      2009, inclusive of the GE contract modification, was approximately
      4,900 units with an estimated value of $430 million, compared to
      15,900 units valued at approximately $1.39 billion as of November 30,
      2008.
  --  Marine backlog was $96 million as of November 30, 2009, compared to
      $190 million as of November 30, 2008.


  First Quarter Results

Revenues for the first quarter of 2010 were $171.7 million, down from $256.1 million in the prior year's first quarter. Gross margin for the quarter was 12.6% of revenues compared to 7.0% of revenues in the prior comparable period. EBITDA was $14.8 million, or 8.6% of revenues for the quarter, compared to $12.5 million, or 4.9% of revenues in the prior year's first quarter. The Company's net loss was $3.2 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the quarter, compared to a net loss of $3.9 million, or $.23 per diluted share for the same period in 2009. Net loss for the quarter includes noncash charges of $1.2 million, net of tax, or $0.07 per diluted share for warrant amortization expense and amortization of convertible debt discount. Net loss for the prior year's first quarter includes a noncash charge of $.6 million, net of tax, or $.03 per diluted share for amortization of convertible debt discount.

Discussion of Quarterly Results

William A. Furman, president and chief executive officer, said, "Our results continue to reflect depressed demand as a result of the weak economic environment. We remain focused on cost containment and operational efficiency, and managing the Company for cash flow and liquidity in this environment. While recent indicators suggest that a recovery may be emerging in certain sectors of the economy, North American rail loadings remain soft and a significant portion of the entire North American railcar fleet remains idle. However, we are starting to see signs that certain of our markets are beginning to stabilize and slightly improve."

Furman continued, "We have made significant progress against key objectives we previously outlined for fiscal 2010. Our first objective was to arrive at a satisfactory resolution regarding the GE contract, and we have accomplished this objective. Our second objective was to continue to improve the operational efficiency of our facilities while maintaining the flexibility to respond to market demand, when the new cycle begins. Third, we continued to manage for cash flow and liquidity while aiming to further improve our balance sheet. Fourth, we have sought to improve our integrated business model. I am pleased that we have made headway on each of these objectives."

Furman concluded, "In the near term, we expect business to remain challenging, particularly for our manufacturing segment. Similar to previous years, we anticipate financial results for the second half of 2010 will be stronger than the first half, and that the second quarter will be our weakest quarter. Over the longer-term, we remain optimistic about our markets as fundamentals continue to support rail and marine transportation. As a result of the strategic measures taken over the last several years, we believe that Greenbrier is uniquely well-positioned to capitalize on market opportunities."

Segment Details

The Refurbishment & Parts segment, consisting of a network of 38 locations, repairs and refurbishes railcars, and provides wheel services and railcar parts across North America. Revenue for this segment in the current quarter was $93.0 million, compared to $132.3 million in the first quarter of 2009. Revenue declines were primarily due to lower sales volumes across all product and service types and a further decline in the price for scrap metal, both due to the current economic environment. Gross margin for the refurbishment & parts segment was 10.4% of revenues, compared to 9.8% of revenues in the prior comparable period. The increase was primarily the result of cost reduction efforts.

The Manufacturing segment consists of marine and new railcar production in Europe and North America. Manufacturing segment revenue for the first quarter was $60.1 million, compared to $102.7 million in the first quarter of 2009. Current quarter new railcar deliveries of 350 units were down from 800 units in the prior comparable period. Manufacturing gross margin for the first quarter was 7.0% of revenues, compared to negative 4.1% in the first quarter of 2009. The gross margin increase was primarily the result of a more favorable railcar and marine product mix and improved production efficiencies, partially offset by less efficient absorption of overhead due to operating at lower levels of production and plant utilization. In addition, the prior period included loss contingencies on certain production of $0.5 million.

The Leasing & Services segment includes results from the Company-owned lease fleet of approximately 9,000 railcars and from fleet management services provided for approximately 223,000 railcars. Revenue for this segment was $18.6 million, compared to $21.1 million in the same quarter last year. Leasing & Services gross margin for the quarter was 41.4% of revenue, compared to 43.6% of revenue in the same quarter last year. The decrease from the prior year's first quarter was primarily a result of lower lease fleet utilization and lower earnings on certain car hire utilization leases. This was partially offset by gains on sales from the lease fleet which have no associated cost of revenue. Lease fleet utilization as of the end of the quarter was up sequentially to 91.3%, compared to 88.3% at August 31, 2009 and 93.3% at November 30, 2008. Gains on sales of leased equipment were $.9 million for the quarter, compared to $.3 million for the first quarter of 2009.

Selling and administrative costs were $16.2 million for the quarter, or 9.4% of revenues, versus $16.0 million or 6.2% of revenues for the same quarter last year. Excluding reversals of certain reserves of $.2 million in the current year and $1.0 million in the prior year, selling and administrative expense was lower in the current period. The decrease was principally due to lower employee related costs and the effects of cost reduction efforts.

Interest and foreign exchange expense was $11.1 million for the quarter, compared to $11.8 million for the same period in 2009. The decrease was a result of declines in interest rates, lower outstanding borrowings and a lower foreign exchange loss. The prior period included a $1.2 million foreign exchange loss that was recorded in association with foreign currency forward exchange contracts that did not qualify for hedge accounting treatment. These decreases were partially offset by higher noncash charges in the current period for warrant amortization expense and the amortization of the convertible debt discount.

Business Outlook

Based on current industry trends, including depressed levels of railroad traffic, increased railcar velocity and high levels of railcar storage, Greenbrier expects business to remain challenging in fiscal 2010, especially for the Company's Manufacturing segment. Overall, management anticipates that revenues will be lower in 2010 compared to 2009. EBITDA excluding special charges, however, is expected to be modestly higher in 2010 compared to 2009, due in part to higher expected gross margins in Greenbrier's Manufacturing segment. Similar to previous years, financial results for the second half of the year are anticipated to be stronger than the first half, with the second quarter expected to be the weakest.

While the outlook remains cautious in the near term, the Company continues to be optimistic about the long-term fundamentals that support rail and marine transportation.

The Company believes it has adequate liquidity to weather the economic downturn, with favorable debt covenants, no significant term debt maturing until 2012, and much of its term debt maturing in 2015.

Conference Call

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

  --  Friday, January 8, 2010
  --  8:00 am Pacific Standard Time
  --  Phone #: 630-395-0143, Password: "Greenbrier"
  --  Real-time Audio Access:  ("Newsroom" at http://www.gbrx.com/)


Please access the site 10 minutes prior to the start time. Following the call, a replay will be available on the same website for 30 days. Telephone replay will be available through January 23, 2010 at 203-369-3428.

About Greenbrier Companies

Greenbrier (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 38 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 223,000 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, turmoil in the credit markets and financial services industry; high levels of indebtedness and compliance with the terms of our indebtedness; write-downs of goodwill in future periods; sufficient availability of borrowing capacity; fluctuations in demand for newly manufactured railcars or failure to obtain orders as anticipated in developing forecasts; loss of one or more significant customers; customer payment defaults or related issues; 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 fluctuations 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 12 of Part I , Item 1a and "Forward Looking Statements" on page 3 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2009. 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 continuing 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.

(1) Net loss is now referred to in the Consolidated Statement of Operations, in accordance with GAAP, as "Net loss attributable to controlling interest".

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


                                            November 30,       August 31,
   Assets                                           2009           2009(1)
                                                    ----            ------
     Cash and cash equivalents                   $65,393           $76,187
     Restricted cash                               3,400             1,083
     Accounts receivable                          98,455           113,371
     Inventories                                 155,060           142,824
     Assets held for sale                         34,951            31,711
     Equipment on operating leases               316,079           313,183
     Investment in direct finance leases           7,826             7,990
     Property, plant and equipment               126,997           127,974
     Goodwill                                    137,066           137,066
     Intangibles and other assets                 94,293            96,902
                                                  ------            ------
                                              $1,039,520        $1,048,291
                                              ==========        ==========

  Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
     Revolving notes                             $12,807           $16,041
     Accounts payable and accrued
      liabilities                                168,675           170,889
     Losses in excess of investment in de-
      consolidated subsidiary                     15,313            15,313
     Deferred income taxes                        67,973            69,199
     Deferred revenue                             17,312            19,250
     Notes payable                               527,837           525,149

     Stockholders' equity controlling
      interest                                   222,205           223,726
     Non controlling interest                      7,398             8,724
                                                   -----             -----
   Total stockholders' equity                    229,603           232,450
                                                 -------           -------


                                              $1,039,520        $1,048,291
                                              ==========        ==========

  (1) As adjusted for the effects of Accounting Standards
   Codification (ASC) 470 - 20 Debt - Debt with Conversion and
   other Options with respect to the Company's $100 million of
   outstanding convertible debt. This guidance was effective for
   the Company on September 1, 2009 and requires retrospective
   application.





                                          THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

  Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
  (In thousands, except per share amounts, unaudited)

                                                Three Months Ended
                                                   November 30,
                                                   ------------
                                                2009           2008(1)
                                                ----            ------
  Revenue
     Manufacturing                           $60,078          $102,717
     Refurbishment & Parts                    92,983           132,279
     Leasing & Services                       18,632            21,133
                                              ------            ------
                                             171,693           256,129

  Cost of revenue
     Manufacturing                            55,847           106,923
     Refurbishment & Parts                    83,286           119,326
     Leasing & Services                       10,918            11,929
                                              ------            ------
                                             150,051           238,178

  Margin                                      21,642            17,951

  Other costs
     Selling and administrative               16,208            15,980
     Interest and foreign exchange            11,112            11,771
                                              ------            ------
                                              27,320            27,751
  Loss before income taxes,
   noncontrolling interest and
   equity in unconsolidated
   subsidiary                                 (5,678)           (9,800)
  Income tax benefit                           2,500             4,906
                                               -----             -----
  Loss before noncontrolling
   interest and  equity in
   unconsolidated  subsidiary                 (3,178)           (4,894)
  Equity in earnings (loss) of
   unconsolidated subsidiary                    (183)              434
                                                ----               ---

  Net loss                                    (3,361)           (4,460)
     Less: Net loss attributable to
      noncontrolling interest                    117               568
                                                 ---               ---

  Net loss attributable to
   controlling interest                      $(3,244)          $(3,892)
                                             =======           =======


  Basic loss per common share:                $(0.19)           $(0.23)

  Diluted loss per common share:              $(0.19)           $(0.23)

  Weighted average common shares:
  Basic                                       17,087            16,629
  Diluted                                     17,087            16,629


  (1) As adjusted for the effects of ASC 470 - 20 Debt - Debt
   with Conversion and other Options with respect to the
   Company's $100 million of outstanding convertible debt.
   This guidance was effective for the Company on September 1,
   2009 and requires retrospective application.





                                      THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

  Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
  (In thousands, unaudited)

                                                    Three Months Ended
                                                       November 30,
                                                       ------------
                                                       2009    2008(1)
                                                       ----     ------
  Cash flows from operating activities:
  Net loss                                          $(3,361)   $(4,460)
  Adjustments to reconcile net loss  to net cash
   provided by
      (used in) operating activities:
       Deferred income taxes                         (1,227)     2,160
       Depreciation and amortization                  9,392      9,556
       Gain on sales of equipment                      (851)      (289)
       Accretion of debt discount                     2,116        925
       Other                                            257        198
  Decrease (increase) in assets:
        Accounts receivable                          16,088     18,845
        Inventories                                 (11,565)   (15,260)
        Assets held for sale                         (3,218)   (10,883)
        Other                                         2,451        469
  Increase (decrease) in liabilities:
        Accounts payable and accrued liabilities     (3,156)   (25,347)
        Deferred revenue                             (1,829)     1,712
                                                     ------      -----
  Net cash provided by (used in) operating
   activities                                         5,097    (22,374)
                                                      -----    -------
  Cash flows from investing activities:
       Principal payments received under direct
        finance leases                                  115        105
       Proceeds from sales of equipment               2,667        306
       Investment in unconsolidated subsidiary         (450)         -
       Decrease (increase) in restricted cash        (2,317)       433
       Capital expenditures                         (11,939)    (8,473)
                                                    -------     ------
   Net cash used in investing activities            (11,924)    (7,629)
                                                    -------     ------
  Cash flows from financing activities:
       Changes in revolving notes                    (3,896)    51,062
       Net proceeds from issuance of  note
        payable                                       1,712          -
       Repayments of notes payable                   (1,247)    (4,189)
       Investment by joint venture partner                -      1,400
       Other                                              -      1,152
                                                        ---      -----
  Net cash provided by (used in) financing
   activities                                        (3,431)    49,425
                                                     ------     ------
  Effect of exchange rate changes                      (536)    (6,614)
  Increase (decrease) in cash and cash
   equivalents                                      (10,794)    12,808
  Cash and cash equivalents
  Beginning of period                                76,187      5,957
                                                     ------      -----
  End of period                                     $65,393    $18,765
                                                    =======    =======

  1. As adjusted for the effects of ASC 470 - 20 Debt - Debt
   with Conversion and other Options with respect to the
   Company's $100 million of outstanding convertible debt. This
   guidance was effective for the Company on September 1, 2009
   and requires retrospective application.





                                       THE GREENBRIER COMPANIES, INC.

  Supplemental Disclosure
  Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by (Used in)
   Operating Activities to EBITDA(1)
  (In thousands, unaudited)


                                                Three Months Ended
                                                   November 30,
                                                2009           2008
                                                ----           ----
  Net cash provided by (used in)              $5,097       $(22,374)
    operating activities
  Changes in working capital                   1,229         30,464
  Deferred income taxes                        1,227         (2,160)
  Accretion of debt discount                  (2,116)          (925)
  Non-controlling interest                       117            568
  Gain on sales of equipment                     851            289
  Other                                         (257)          (198)
  Income tax benefit                          (2,500)        (4,906)
  Interest and foreign exchange               11,112         11,771
                                              ------         ------
                                             $14,760        $12,529
  Adjusted EBITDA from operations            =======        =======

  1. "EBITDA" (earnings from continuing operations before
   special charges, interest and foreign exchange, taxes,
   depreciation and amortization) 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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