EXHIBIT 1
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[DESC LOGO] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mexico City, October 6, 2000
Contacts:
MEXICO CITY NEW YORK CITY
Arturo D'Acosta Ruiz Blanca Hirani
Alejandro de la Barreda Melanie Carpenter
Tel: (525) 261-8037 Tel: (212) 406-3690
[email protected] [email protected]
DESC ANNOUNCES PRELIMINARY FIGURES FOR THE
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THIRD QUARTER OF 2000
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Mexico City, October 6, 2000 - DESC, S.A. de C.V. (NYSE: DES; BMV: DESC)
announced today its preliminary results for the third quarter of 2000, which
were mainly affected by: i) the appreciation of the peso during the quarter, ii)
higher oil, natural gas, and energy prices in general, and iii) extraordinary
charges in the food business.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Estimated Results for the Third Quarter of 2000
(In millions of US dollars)
--------------- ------------------- ------------------ ------------------ ------------------- --------------------
UNIK GIRSA AGROBIOS DINE CONSOLIDATED
--------------- --------- --------- --------- -------- -------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
3Q00 3Q99 3Q00 3Q99 3Q00 3Q99* 3Q00 3Q99 3Q00 3Q99
--------------- --------- --------- --------- -------- -------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
SALES $277.9 $250.2 $212.4 $183.1 $93.9 $134.3 $20.4 $11.3 $604.7 $592.0
--------------- --------- --------- --------- -------- -------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
OPERATING 38.9 14.1 22.4 3.0 8.7 2.0 1.6 58.0 72.0
INCOME 40.4
--------------- --------- --------- --------- -------- -------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
OPERATING 14.0% 16.1% 6.7% 12.2% 3.2% 6.5% 10.0% 14.2% 9.6% 12.4%
MARGIN
--------------- --------- --------- --------- -------- -------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
EBITDA $54.7 $52.5 $21.9 $29.1 $6.8 $13.5 $3.4 $2.6 $86.6 $97.0
--------------- --------- --------- --------- -------- -------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
</TABLE>
Note: Figures US dollars for Sales, Operating Income, Operating Margin and
EBITDA are calculated using monthly figures in current pesos divided by the
average monthly exchange rate. * Figures include the poultry business sold in
December 1999.
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<PAGE>
[Unik Logo]
UNIK (AUTOPARTS)
Unik's operating margins were affected by the fact that during the quarter, the
exchange rate fell below Ps.9.20 to US $1, the lowest level during the last two
years.
[Girsa Logo]
GIRSA (PETROCHEMICALS AND DIVERSIFIED PRODUCTS)
Girsa's operating margins decreased due to high oil prices, which caused an
increase in the cost of raw materials such as butadiene, styrene and cumene,
which are used in the production of synthetic rubber and polystyrene. In
addition, natural gas prices used for the production of carbon black, increased
over 70% during the last two months, which increased production costs
considerably, yet these costs have not been passed on to sales prices.
[Food Sector Logo]
AGROBIOS (FOOD)
During the period between July and September, the Company continued registering
extraordinary charges in both Corfuerte and ASF (Authentic Specialty Foods). The
Company estimates paying off these charges during the fourth quarter of 2000.
[Dine Logo]
DINE (REAL ESTATE)
Dine's operating margin decreased due to higher sales from projects with lower
operating margins such as Punta Mita and Arcos Bosques. The Company expects a
strong recovery during the fourth quarter due to sales derived from the Bosques
de Santa Fe project.
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Statements included in this report regarding the Company's business outlook and
anticipated financial and operating results as well as its growth potential,
constitute forward-looking statements and are based on management expectations
regarding the future of the Company. These expectations are highly dependent on
changes in the market, general economic performance of the home country,
industry and international markets, therefore they are subject to change.
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