Tower Automotive Announces Revised Sales and Earnings Guidance

    GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--Sept. 28, 2001--Tower Automotive, Inc. announced today that it is revising its estimates of sales volume for both the third and fourth quarters of this year. Previously, the company's guidance had been that sales for the second half of 2001 would be approximately the same as reported for the first half of the year. Because of recent events and resulting production cuts, primarily at Ford, the company estimates sales for the third quarter and the fourth quarter to be approximately $545 million and $650 million, respectively. This is a decline of 6 percent from previous guidance. The impact of the third quarter sales volume decline on third quarter earnings per share is expected to result in a break-even performance.
    Despite these expected declines in sales and earnings, the company still expects to be in compliance with all of its debt covenants through the end of the year.
    Tower Automotive, Inc., produces a broad range of assemblies and modules for vehicle structures and suspension systems for the automotive manufacturers, including Ford, DaimlerChrysler, GM, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Auto Alliance, Fiat, Kia, Hyundai, BMW and Volkswagen. Products include body structural assemblies such as pillars and package trays, control arms, suspension links, engine cradles and full frame assemblies. The company is based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and has its corporate office in Minneapolis, Minn.
    This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results as a consequence of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to general economic conditions in the markets in which Tower Automotive operates, fluctuations in the production of vehicles for which the company is a supplier and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.