PGI Releases First Annual Stakeholders' Report and Highlights Financial and Sustainability Achievements

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Polymer Group, Inc. (NYSE: BX) today reported continued strong progress toward achieving its financial and sustainability goals in its first annual Stakeholders' Report, which combines sustainability reporting based on the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) G3 reporting framework with annual report data.

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Also underscoring the company's sustainability accomplishments, PGI announced three recent awards it has garnered, including being named the most sustainable company in North Carolina by GreenBusiness WORKS, and winning nonwovens product and process innovation awards from the European Disposables and Nonwovens Association (EDANA).

In the new integrated stakeholders report, PGI announced its net sales increased 30 percent to $1.1 billion, gross profit increased more than 15 percent to $212.4 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 13 percent to $143.1 million.

"2010 was a strategic year for PGI and we exceeded expectations on our goals of driving performance in our base businesses through strong execution and by becoming more important to our customers, all while implementing cost improvement initiatives," said CEO Veronica "Ronee" Hagen. "We also continued to move ahead with our plans for investing in growth."

Hagen also noted PGI's new ownership by the Blackstone Group, which closed in late January 2011. "Blackstone is a strategic partner and a supporter of our growth plans," she said. "Our goal is to maintain our leadership in high-growth regions and add capacity in our proprietary capabilities in spunmelt technology. We are pleased to move forward together."

Sustainability Accomplishments

Themed a "Global Company Winning as One," the report spotlights the progress the company has made toward meeting its five-year goals for environmental progress, as well as targets for safety, employee engagement, customer satisfaction and shareholder value.  The company added five new GRI indicators to its sustainability reporting for a total of 43.

Among PGI's sustainability achievements (on a per square meter basis) were:

• Reduced carbon footprint by 17 percent
• Lowered electricity consumption by 11 percent, water consumption by 8 percent and natural gas consumption by 16 percent
• Decreased solid waste generation by 28 percent
• Lowered OSHA incidence rate by 11 percent
• Commercialized a biodegradable and compostable J-Cloth® 3000 wipe

"We have made some pretty impressive progress in many key areas and we couldn't be happier with our team's level of engagement," said John Heironimus, chief sustainability officer. "As always, we will continue to raise the bar for ourselves. One challenge we have is that we are a growing company, which, by definition, means that we will be using more resources."

The report can be viewed and downloaded at PGI's corporate Web site.

PGI Wins Awards

PGI has been named the top North Carolina company and second-ranked company in the Southeast in the 2011 Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings released by GreenBusiness WORKS. The rating was determined by using CRD Analytics, a leading provider of independent investment analytics, specializing in environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability.  PGI came out ahead of leading consumer companies (3) Duke Energy Corp., (4) The Coca-Cola Co. and (5) Hanesbrands Inc.

Said rankings co-founder Stephanie Armistead, general manager of GreenBusiness WORKS:  "It's great to see these top ranked companies like PGI actively embrace ESG and continue to be leaders in corporate responsibility. How companies manage their ESG performance tends to be a strong indicator of good management which affects overall positive financial performance over the long run."

PGI also has been awarded two INDEX 11 Innovation Awards from EDANA. The first award was for its SafeCover™ Insect Repellant Blanket, a humanitarian aid blanket that protects against malaria by repelling mosquitoes and other insects.

The second award recognized the company's transparent and far-reaching CSR initiatives, including publishing annual sustainability reports using GRI guidelines since 2008. The jury applauded PGI's sustainability reporting process for its ambition and continued effort over several years at a recent ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland.

Polymer Group, Inc. is a global, technology-driven developer, producer and marketer of engineered materials, and one of the world's leading producers of nonwovens.  With the broadest range of process technologies in the nonwovens industry, PGI is a global supplier to leading consumer and industrial product manufacturers. The company operates 14 manufacturing and converting facilities in nine countries throughout the world.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These forwardlooking statements speak only as of the date of this release.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in such forwardlooking statements include: general economic factors including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates, foreign currency translation rates, consumer confidence, trends in disposable income, changes in consumer demand for goods produced, and cyclical or other downturns; cost and availability of raw materials, labor and natural and other resources and the inability to pass raw material cost increases along to customers; changes to selling prices to customers which are based, by contract, on an underlying raw material index; substantial debt levels and potential inability to maintain sufficient liquidity to finance our operations and make necessary capital expenditures; inability to comply with existing and future debt covenants; achievement of objectives for strategic acquisitions and dispositions; inability to achieve successful or timely start-up of new or modified production lines; reliance on major customers and suppliers; domestic and foreign competition; information and technological advances; risks related to operations in foreign jurisdictions; and changes in environmental laws and regulations, including climate change-related legislation and regulation. Investors are directed to consider the risks and uncertainties discussed in documents provided by Polymer Group, Inc. to investors, including the company's Annual Report and any subsequent Quarterly Reports.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Cliff Bridges
Senior Director, Corporate Communications and Sustainability
(704) 697-5168
[email protected]

SOURCE Polymer Group, Inc.