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August 25, 2003
Monthly Update to Customers, Employees, Suppliers, and Friends of Kaiser Aluminum:
In Today’s Court Hearing
As was the case last month, the agenda for today’s hearing did not include any real “headline” issues. Nevertheless, it was a productive session as the court ruled favorably on several technical matters. The next Court hearing is scheduled for September 22.
Other Noteworthy Restructuring Items
- As you may know, the Court has the discretion to approve certain motions without requiring a hearing. (Typically, this occurs when a motion has not encountered any objections by a specified date.) In this manner, the Court approved two noteworthy motions within the past week: Our request to extend the exclusivity period through October 31, 2003 and our request to form a committee of retired salaried employees with whom the company can formally discuss necessary changes to certain retiree benefits.
- With Tacoma sold and Mead indefinitely curtailed, we have negotiated an agreement in principle with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to replace an existing transmission agreement (which covers our facilities at Trentwood, Mead, and Tacoma) with two separate transmission agreements: one for Trentwood and one for Mead. The key point here for customers, suppliers, and employees is that the proposed agreements ensure continued availability of transmission services for Trentwood while reducing the company’s annual transmission costs. The new agreement for Mead provides assurance that Kaiser would have adequate transmission service to operate the smelter if and when appropriate. We filed a Court motion on this matter on August 18 and expect it to be heard at the September hearing.
Liquidity is Healthy
I may sound as though I’m repeating myself, but I am pleased to say that, despite tough market conditions, the company’s liquidity continues to be approximately $200 million – and that’s before consideration of the impact of the recently completed sixth amendment, which will initially provide more than $40 million of additional availability.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Jack A. Hockema
President and Chief Executive Officer
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