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ENERGIZER HOLDINGS, INC. 2008 Annual Report 1
OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AND GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT IN FISCAL
2008 HAS BEEN BRINGING PLAYTEX PRODUCTS ONBOARD AND FUSING
PLAYTEX WITH SCHICK TO FORM A NEW PERSONAL CARE DIVISION.
AS PART OF THAT EFFORT, WE HAVE FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMED
ENERGIZER INTO A MORE BROADLY BALANCED, STRATEGICALLY
DIVERSIFIED COMPANY THAT DELIVERS BRANDS FOR LIFE ... AN ARRAY
OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS THAT MAKE LIFE SAFER AND MORE ENJOYABLE,
HEALTHIER AND MORE LIVABLE.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008, Energizer Holdings’ net earnings rose to $329.3 million,
including a $16.5 million expense related to the write-up of inventory purchased in the Playtex acquisition,
from $321.4 million the year before, and earnings per diluted share reached $5.59, including $0.28 for the
Playtex inventory write-up, compared with $5.51 the prior year. Net sales last year climbed to a record $4.3
billion, fueled by the addition of Playtex together with organic growth across our existing businesses.
Focus on shareholder value. As a company, we remain committed and focused on improving long-term
shareholder value, emphasizing consistent, sustainable growth in earnings per share. While earnings per
share growth last year was constrained as we absorbed the cost of integrating Playtex and reinvested in the
company to set the stage for future growth, our compounded annual growth rate for the eight and a half
years since our 2000 spin-off is 14.7 percent.
Over that same period, cash flow generated has been directed primarily toward acquisitions and share
repurchases. We invested $2.8 billion to acquire Schick-Wilkinson Sword (SWS) and Playtex Products,
businesses which together accounted for $1.9 billion or 43 percent of sales last year. Opportunistically
repurchasing shares when we believe they are well undervalued, we also have invested approximately
$2 billion to buy back 48 percent of the original shares outstanding at an average price of $42.72.
Last year, we focused our use of cash flows to strengthen our balance sheet and pay down the debt
incurred in the acquisition of Playtex. Our debt structure remains solid and in compliance with existing credit
agreement covenants. By fiscal year-end, we successfully reached our goal of reducing our debt/EBITDA
ratio to below 3.5:1, eliminating the interest rate surcharge, reducing debt and interest expense, and
providing greater flexibility going forward.
Ward M. Klein, Chief Executive Officer
TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS