September Fire Impacts Battery Giant's Third Quarter

A September factory fire in Richmond, Kentucky had a “significant impact” on third quarter earnings for EnerSys, a battery manufacturer with nearly a quarter of the market share worldwide, a statement released by the company CEO reports.

“We adjusted our guidance for the anticipated negative impact on the third quarter from this fire by approximately $20 million in revenue,’ said David Shaffer, the company’s president and CEO.

However, complications in providing continuous electrical power to the facility during clean up and demolition raised that amount to $30 million.

Seventy-five employees were on duty when the fire broke out at about 1:48 a.m. on Sept. 19. No injuries were reported to the staff or emergency responders.

“Our guidance for the fourth quarter does include an expected recovery on our business interruption coverage of approximately $15 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, for lost sales in the second and third quarters,” Shaffer said.

Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 were $763.7 million, an increase of 12% from the prior year third quarter net sales.