W.R. Grace & Co.
7500 Grace Dr.
Columbia, Md. 21044
www.grace.com Year founded: 1832 Industry: Manufacturing Revenue: $2.00 Billion Net Income/Loss: ($55,200,000.00) Earnings per share: $0.84 Dividend: n/a Stockholder equity: ($183,600,000.00) Auditor: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Stock: GRA Assets: $2.87 Billion Market capitalization: $187.00 Million 52-week high: 6 7/8/2003 52-week low: 1.95 4/14/2003 Chairman and CEO: Paul J. Norris CFO: Robert M. Tarola Employees: 6300 Local employees: 1200 Description: W.R. Grace makes a variety of chemical and silica products as well as building materials, sealants and coatings. Developments: Grace has remained in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since April 2001, sorting out liabilities from asbestos-related lawsuits and the cost of cleaning up contaminated sites. The company made progress last year in identifying and covering the cost of some of those liabilities, but took a hit on its bottom line. Grace set aside $181 million for cleaning up former vermiculite mining operations that produced asbestos fibers, including a $54.5 million judgment for removing asbestos-tainted soil at a former mine in Montana. The Justice Department said that was the largest judgment ever imposed in a Superfund-related trial. Those kinds of liabilities caused Grace to post a loss of $55.2 million for the year. Sales rose almost 9 percent, but more than half of that increase was because of favorable currency exchange rates on products it sold abroad. Operating profits and margins declined for the year because of higher costs for pensions, raw materials and natural gas. Three Grace executives were killed early last year in a small-plane crash in Charlotte. In October, the government issued a health alert to thousands of people who might have been exposed to asbestos fibers at a former Grace plant in Beltsville. Despite being in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Grace continued to make acquisitions. It bought MODcol Corp. as well as a unit of Argonaut Technologies. Both make metal containers for scientific processes. Grace also bought part of a German chemical maker called Tricosal Beton-Chemie GmbH. The company appointed Fred Festa, a former Morgenthaler Private Equity partner, as president and chief operating officer late last year. He could take over as chief executive when Paul J. Norris leaves that job after the company emerges from bankruptcy. Grace was scheduled to file a bankruptcy reorganization plan earlier this year, but has asked for an extension. Executive Compensation
Chairman and CEO: P.J. Norris
Total Cash: $2,000,000.00
Total Compensation: $3,349,800.00
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