CURRENT FINANCEING AND FUTURE 367
Against this backdrop, Norwood assessed the current and future financing requirements of the firm. One important issue for consideration was the extent to which the financing of the firm would be impacted by the plans of the new CEO. Gray DiCamillo was appointed Polaroid's chairman and CEO following a successful term as president of Black & Decker's PowerTools unit. At Black & DiCamillo was viewed as an energetic leader, whose efforts were instrumental in developing a line of new products that helped to revive Black & Decker's brand name. DiCamillo brought similar energy and plans to Polaroid. Shortly after his arrival, he announced a major restructuring of the firm, to reduce the workforce by some 2500 position (roughly 20 percent), and to reduce expenses by more than $150 million annually. In particular, he terminated the production of the Captiva camera and curtailed several major research and engineering programs, emphasizing instead projects having the greatest potential for commercialization. Finally, he sharply reduced corporate overhead costs. The effect of this restructuring was to trigger a special charge to earnings in 1995 of $247 million caused by the severance and early retirement programs, and by the write-down of equipment and inventory. As a result, Polaroid reported a net loss of $140.2 million, compared with 1994 earnings of $117.2 million.
In February 1996, DiCamillo announced a new management structure built around three core areas: Consumer, Commercial, and New Business. The purpose of the new structure was to focus the organization more effectively on customers' imaging needs, and to integrate product-development responsibilities within each group. DiCamillo wrote:
Both the restructuring and reorganization reflect my conviction that we can grow our core photographic and emerging electronic imaging businesses. I believe we can leverage our considerable brand power, technological expertise, and global distribution reach to create new growth opportunities and revitalize our instant photography business.
To meet its various financing needs, Polaroid maintained a five-year $150 million working capital line of credit to be used for general purposes. This line was to expire in 1999. In 1994 and 1995 there had been no borrowings under this line. The company maintained international lines of credit to support the firm's foreign currency balance sheet exposure. At the end of 1995, borrowings outside the United States were $160.4 million. Additional unused borrowings under these lines of credit were $160 million.
Polaroid's long-term debt outstanding consisted of three issues:
• Notes. $150 million, 7.25 percent notes due January 15, 1997, had been issued at a discount (to yield 7.42 percent). $200 million, 8 percent notes were due March 15, 1999, and had been issued with a discount to yield 8.18 percent. Both issues of notes were non-callable.
• ESPO loan. The loan had been drawn in 1988 to establish Polaroid's leveraged employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), as part of the leveraged recapitalization of the firm. Scheduled principal payments were made semiannually through 1997, when a final payment of $37.7 million was due. The weighted-average interest rate on the loan was 5.2 percent, 4.4 percent, and 3.6 percent during 1995, 1994, and 1993, respectively. Special tax benefits to providers of ESOP loans accounted for the unusually low interest rates.
• Convertible subordinated debentures. $140 million, 8 percent convertibles due in 2001. These carried an annual interest rate of 8 percent and were convertible to common stock at $32.50 per share. These were redeemable by the company after September 30, 1998, or sooner if the stock price exceeded $48.75 per share for 20 of 30 consecutive trading days. All of the debentures were held by Corporate Partners
Virtually all of the firm's debt was due within six years. As Ralph Norwood commented, "The weighted-average maturity structure of our debt was about four years. All our borrowings would need to be repaid or refinanced in a relatively short time." Exhibit 5 illustrates the estimation of Polaroid's weighted-average maturity of its debt.
In addition to the scheduled debt repayments, Ralph Norwood reviewed other possible demands on the firm's resources. He believed that capital expenditures would about equal depreciation for the next few years. Also, though sales might grow, working capital turns should decline, resulting in a reduction in net working capital in the first year, followed by increases later. Both of these effects reflected the right asset management under the new CEO. While cash dividends would be held constant for the foreseeable future, the firm would continue with its program of opportunistic share repurchases, which had varied between $20 and $60 million per year. Exhibit 1 summarizes the firm's share repurchase activity in recent years.