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ENERGIZER HOLDINGS, INC. 2008 Annual Report 9
LEADERSHIP CHANGE
Energizer is fortunate to have a seasoned, talented team of executives, managers and associates across
the company and an outstanding Board of Directors. We want to acknowledge Bill Stiritz’s retirement from
the Board in May and thank him for his many years of leadership and guidance to this company, first as
CEO of our former parent, Ralston Purina, then as Chairman of Energizer Holdings and, most recently, as
Chairman Emeritus.
OUTLOOK
Fiscal 2008 has been a year of refueling our long-term business initiatives, sustaining the momentum already in
place and fortifying a solid platform for future growth. Despite our strong brands and stable organization, we
cautiously face a highly uncertain macroeconomic environment in 2009 marked by significant currency and
raw material headwinds.
Battery sales in the United States and other developed markets remain sluggish, and we estimate residual
U.S. retail inventory from hurricane-related shipments combined with the level of early holiday shipments will
dampen our sales by an additional $30 million beyond any negative underlying retail consumption. Commodity
and other inflationary input costs are expected to be unfavorable $60-$70 million in fiscal 2009 compared to
last year, offset by previously initiated pricing actions, manufacturing cost reduction programs and incremental
synergies from the Playtex acquisition. The recently strengthened U.S. dollar will negatively impact profit across
our businesses, and we estimate foreign currency devaluation will be unfavorable by $125-$140 million in
2009 using exchange rates as of November 17, 2008.
This combination of factors makes it unlikely that we will achieve our earnings per share growth target
of 10 percent in fiscal 2009 and, at existing currency rates, even holding earnings flat will be difficult.
Despite these challenges, we are well positioned for long-term growth across our product portfolio
around the globe and remain committed to prudently investing in our businesses, where appropriate. We
will continue to focus on strengthening our position in markets and categories in which we compete, delivering
innovative solutions to our retail customers and consumers, and creating long-term shareholder value.
WARD M. KLEIN
Chief Executive Officer
Energizer Holdings, Inc.
November 26, 2008
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