TRANSCISCO INDUSTRIES INC
8-K, 1996-01-18
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
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                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                  ------------

                                    FORM 8-K
                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) January 15, 1996

                           TRANSICSCO INDUSTRIES, INC.
               (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

  DELAWARE                          1-9051                       94-2989345
(State or Other                  (Commission                   (IRS Employer
Jurisdiction of                  File Number)                Identification No.)
Incorporation)


601 CALIFORNIA STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA                           94108
(Address of Principal Executive Office)                          (Zip Code)


Registrant's telephone number, including area code:   (415) 477-9700
                                                   

________________________________________________________________________________
          (Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)


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Item 5.  Other Events

         On January 15, 1996, Transcisco Industries, Inc. announced the
resumption of "equity accounting" for its investment in SFAT, Russia's largest
private rail transportation services company. The foregoing is more fully
described in the press release attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated
by reference herein.

Item 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits

         (c)      Exhibits

         The following is filed as part of this report:

                  99.1     Transcisco Industries, Inc. press release dated 
                           January 15, 1996.


                                   SIGNATURES

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be filed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

   
Date:  January 17, 1996    Signed by:     /s/ Gregory Saunders
    
                                       -----------------------------------------
                           Name:       Gregory Saunders

                           Title:      Vice President and Controller


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                                EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.
- -----------

   99.1      Transcisco Industries, Inc. press release dated January 15, 1996.

<PAGE>   1
                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

                              TRANSCISCO INDUSTRIES
                            RESUMES EQUITY ACCOUNTING
                           FOR ITS RUSSIAN INVESTMENT

Contact: Greg Saunders
         Vice President, Controller
         (415) 477-9703

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

San Francisco, California, January 15, 1996. San Francisco based Transcisco
Industries, Inc. (AMEX: TNI) today announced the resumption of "equity
accounting" for its 23.5% ownership interest in SFAT, Russia's largest private
rail transportation services company.

Started in 1989, SFAT owns and operates 5,500 railroad tank cars and five river
tankers used principally to transport petroleum and petrochemicals for export
from Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. SFAT
is currently owned by the Russian Ministry of Rails (47.1%), the former Russian
Ministry of Petrochemicals (29.4%) and Transcisco (23.5%). SFAT performs freight
forwarding, customs and other services which provide an integrated
transportation solution to meet its customers' petroleum and petrochemical
export needs. SFAT also provides tariff collection services for Russia's
Ministry of Railways, assembles tank cars for its own fleet and for sale to
customers such as the Russian Ministry of Railways and operates its own railcar
maintenance, cleaning, blast and paint facilities.

For the year ended December 31, 1994, SFAT reported net income of $8.9 million
on revenues of $27.3 million. These results were audited by a major
international accounting firm pursuant to International Accounting Standards.
For the nine months ended September 30, 1995, SFAT has reported unaudited
profits of $20.4 million on revenues of $48 million.

The effect of Transcisco's resumption of equity accounting for its investment in
SFAT will be an increase in Transcisco's September 30, 1995 shareholders' equity
of approximately $14 million. Transcisco's December 31, 1995 quarter end
results, however, may not be materially affected by SFAT's quarterly operating
results. AS previously mentioned potential write-down of fixed assets, resulting
from early application of the new Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement
121, may offset some or all of that quarter's earnings from SFAT. While no
decisions have yet been


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reached, these adjustments may include certain fixed asset writedowns the
company is now considering.

In commenting on the changes, Steve Pease, Transcisco's CEO, noted that "After a
hiatus of three and a half years, we believe that now is the appropriate time to
resume equity accounting for our SFAT investment. We have been assuming an
increasingly active role in SFAT, in particular, working closely with SFAT's
management on a prospective $40 million financing from the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development. We have also been heavily involved in other
steps we believe have contributed to SFAT's progress in recent years. We are
pleased to be an active participant in an important Russian company that, by
facilitating petroleum exports, plays such an important role in helping Russia
generate vitally needed hard currency to supports its economy, and thereby, its
transition towards becoming a capitalistic democracy." With respect to the
prospective early application of the recently issued Financial Accounting
Standards Board Statement 121 on Impaired Assets, Pease commented, "We believe
that now is also the appropriate time to review carrying values for certain of
our fixed assets. We note that, in the process, any reductions made to fixed
asset values is likely to also result in reduced future depreciation expense."

TRANSCISCO INDUSTRIES, INC. based in San Francisco, is a holding company whose
primary lines of business include: (1) Nationwide railcar maintenance through
TRANSCISCO RAIL SERVICES COMPANY, operating 11 railcar repair and maintenance
facilities from Georgia to Montana; (2) Specialty railcar leasing and management
services through TRANSCISCO LEASING COMPANY, providing innovative railcar
leasing and management services for large utilities and Class 1 railroads; and
(3) Russian rail transportation services through TRANSCISCO TRADING COMPANY, a
23.5% shareholder of SFAT, Russia's leading privately held rail transportation
firm. SFAT's 5,500 tank car fleet is used to transport petroleum and
petrochemicals for export.








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