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Commercial Vehicle Group Reports Third Quarter 2008 Results


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NEW ALBANY, Ohio, October 22, 2008: Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. today reported revenues of $192.9 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2008, compared to revenues of $160.9 million for the third quarter of 2007. Operating income for the third quarter was $0.5 million compared to $2.8 million for the third quarter of 2007. Net loss was $2.6 million for the quarter, or ($0.12) per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $2.7 million, or ($0.13) per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter. Fully diluted shares outstanding for the quarter were 21.5 million compared to 21.4 million for the prior-year period.

"We have certainly faced strong headwinds this year with commodity pricing and petroleum-related service costs and these past several months are no exception," said Mervin Dunn, president and chief executive officer of Commercial Vehicle Group. "We have worked closely with our customers on recovery of these incremental costs and continue to work diligently on reducing our material and logistics costs which have been severely impacted this year as a result of the global economic conditions," added Mr. Dunn.

Revenues for the quarter compared to the prior-year period increased by approximately $32.0 million due primarily to the increase in the North American Class 8 heavy truck market as well as acquisitions made during the fourth quarter of 2007. Operating income decreased by approximately $2.3 million from the prior year quarter primarily as a result of the performance of acquisitions made during the fourth quarter of 2007 and the continued pressures on raw material and logistics costs. Fully diluted loss per share improved by approximately $0.01 from the prior year quarter.

Net debt (calculated as total debt less cash and cash equivalents) improved to $151.7 million at September 30, 2008, when compared to $163.1 million at June 30, 2008. Capital expenditures were $3.8 million, or 2.0% of revenues, for the three-month period ending September 30, 2008.

The Company estimates its revenues for the full year 2008 to be in the range of $781.0 to $793.0 million and its estimates for operating income to be in the range of $18.0 to $21.0 million. Fully diluted (loss) earnings per share for the year is projected to be in the range of ($0.08) to $0.01 based on 21.7 million diluted shares. These estimates are based on North American Class 8 truck production levels in the range of 205 thousand to 215 thousand units.

"We recognize the importance of cash generation, liquidity and long-term financing in today's marketplace and we are very pleased with our achievements in overall debt reduction this past quarter," said Chad M. Utrup, chief financial officer of Commercial Vehicle Group. "We will continue to focus heavily on reducing costs and capital spending as we work our way through the current market conditions," added Mr. Utrup.

A conference call to review third quarter results is scheduled for Thursday, October 23, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. ET. To participate, dial (888) 713-4218 using access code 16328607. You can pre-register for the conference call and receive your pin number at: CONFERENCE KEY

This call is being webcast by Thomson/CCBN and can be accessed at Commercial Vehicle Group's Web site at CVG .

A replay of the conference call will be available for a period of two weeks following the call. To access the replay, dial (888) 286-8010 using access code 32749227.