Press Release Details

Brush Engineered Materials Amends Credit Facilities and Comments On Stronger Order Entry Rates for the First Quarter 2003

March 11, 2003

CLEVELAND, Mar 11, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Brush Engineered Materials Inc. (NYSE:BW) today announced that the Company has amended certain credit facilities and is experiencing an increase in order entry rates.

The Company's credit facilities which include a Credit and a Master Lease Agreement were amended effective March 10, 2003. The amendments include changes to the financial covenants, an extension of the Company's Credit Agreement maturity date to April 5, 2004 and a reduction in the Credit Agreement commitment amount from $65 million to $55 million.

The Company also reported that it is experiencing an increase in order entry and shipment rates. The increase is visible in both the Metal Systems and Microelectronic segments. Therefore, sales in the first quarter 2003 are now estimated to be near the high end of the previously announced range of 5-10% over sales of $89.6 million in the first quarter 2002.

Any forward-looking statements in this announcement are based on current expectations. The Company's actual future performance may materially differ from that contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. These factors include: the global and domestic economy, the condition of the markets which the Company serves, whether defined geographically or by segment, with the major market segments being telecommunications and computer, optical media, automotive electronics, industrial components, aerospace and defense, and appliance; changes in product mix and the financial condition of particular customers; the Company's success in implementing its strategic plans; other financial factors including exchange rates; and changes in government regulatory requirements and the enactment of new legislation that impacts the Company or its customers.

Brush Engineered Materials Inc. is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, supplies worldwide markets with beryllium products, alloy products, electronic products, precious metal products, and engineered material systems.

Brush Engineered Materials Inc.
Investors: Michael C. Hasychak, 216/383-6823
Media: Patrick S. Carpenter, 216/383-6835
http://www.beminc.com
http://www.businesswire.com
Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet
with Hyperlinks to your home page.

Copyright (C) 2003 Business Wire. All rights reserved.

News Provided by COMTEX