Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROCK), a leading manufacturer, processor, and distributor of products for the building, industrial, and vehicular markets, today reported continued improvement in its earnings and operating margins for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009, the result of its many steps to cut costs through the restructuring of its business, a further reduction of working capital, continued debt reduction, a smaller FIFO impact, and a modest sequential sales increase from the second quarter.

“We generated a 73 percent improvement in our operating income before special charges with a third-quarter sales increase of four percent compared to the second quarter. In each of the last two quarters, we have seen clear evidence that Gibraltar is able to leverage small increases in sales to drive significant improvements in margins and earnings. This improved performance was the cumulative result of the many steps we have taken to aggressively restructure our business, cut costs, reduce working capital, conserve cash, and pay down debt. All of these actions are part of our long-term focus to position Gibraltar as the low-cost producer of the products we manufacture,” said Brian J. Lipke, Gibraltar’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Even though business volumes in all of Gibraltar’s major end markets were well below the levels of a year ago, third-quarter sales increased 4% to $225 million, compared to the second quarter of 2009, as the automotive market rebounded from historic lows and building product markets held steady. In the third quarter of 2009, income from continuing operations before special charges was $8.3 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $0.3 million, or a $0.01 loss per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2009. Pre-tax special charges totaled $4.8 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, and $0.4 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the third and second quarters of 2009, respectively. Special charges included a write down of a vacated facility and exit activity costs related to the restructuring of our business along with a write down of deferred financing fees due to the amendment of our senior credit agreement on July 24. The sum of the items above resulted in GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations of $0.16 for the third quarter of 2009, compared to a loss per diluted share of $0.02 for the second quarter of 2009.

In the first nine months of 2009, sales were $647 million, a decrease of 34% compared to the first nine months of 2008, primarily driven by large unit-volume declines resulting from sharply weaker end markets. The loss from continuing operations in the first nine months of 2009 was $3.7 million, a $0.12 loss per diluted share, excluding special charges. The Company incurred an after-tax non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $15.1 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, during the three months ended March 31, 2009 along with the special charges described above during the second and third quarters of 2009. The sum of the items above resulted in a GAAP loss per diluted share from continuing operations of $0.77 for the first nine months of 2009, compared to income of $1.44 per diluted share for the first nine months of 2008.

In the third quarter, Gibraltar closed another three locations, and it has now reduced its number of facilities by 40%, or 35 facilities, to 53 locations since the beginning of 2007. The Company also reduced working capital by another $32 million, or 18%, in the third quarter. The cash generated from operating activities was largely used to reduce its debt by another $40 million, or 13%, in the third quarter, and by $91 million, or 25%, since the beginning of 2009. The June 30, 2009 balance of $40.0 million on the revolving credit facility was paid in full during the third quarter.

“Both of our business segments generated continued improvements in their third-quarter results, even though they continue to operate at levels substantially below a year ago,” said Henning N. Kornbrekke, Gibraltar’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “Compared to the second quarter, the operating margin in our Building Products segment improved by 360 basis points excluding special charges on flat sequential revenues, the result of better alignment between product pricing and material costs, market share gains and new product introductions in targeted areas, and better leveraging from cost-cutting initiatives. In our Processed Metal segment, volumes improved in the third quarter as a result of increased automotive production, which spread over a much lower cost structure and a smaller FIFO impact, led to significantly improved operating results compared to the second quarter.”

“Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, which is historically our slowest period, we anticipate the normal seasonal slowing of our business, even though conditions have stabilized in many of our markets and some – like automotive and residential building – have begun to show some signs of incremental, albeit modest improvement,” said Mr. Kornbrekke.

“As we move through the balance of 2009 and into the early part of the new year, we will continue to focus on cash management, further de-levering of the balance sheet, continually driving down costs to further reduce our breakeven point, and carefully positioning all our businesses to optimize their results in the current operating environment. Based upon our experience in both the second and third quarters this year, we believe our current facility alignment and cost structure should allow for continuing gains in profitability with only marginal improvement in our end-market activity levels,” said Mr. Lipke.

Gibraltar has scheduled a conference call to review its results for the third quarter of 2009 tomorrow, November 5, 2009, starting at 9:00 a.m. ET. A link to the call can be accessed on Gibraltar’s Web site, at http://www.gibraltar1.com. The presentation slides that will be discussed during the call are expected to be available on Wednesday, November 4, by 6:00 p.m. ET. The slides may be downloaded from the Conference Calls page of the Investor Info section of the Gibraltar Web site: http://www.gibraltar1.com/investors/index.cfm?page=48. If you are not able to participate in the call, you may listen to a replay or review a copy of the prepared remarks via the link above. Both will be available on the Gibraltar Web site shortly following the call. The conference call replay link, presentation slides, and prepared remarks will remain on the Gibraltar Web site for one year.

Gibraltar Industries serves customers in a variety of industries in all 50 states and throughout the world. It has approximately 2,500 employees and operates 53 facilities in 22 states, Canada, England, Germany, and Poland. Gibraltar’s common stock is a component of the S&P SmallCap 600 and the Russell 2000® Index.

To supplement Gibraltar’s consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, Gibraltar also presented certain non-GAAP financial data in this news release. Non-GAAP financial data excluded special charges consisting of a goodwill impairment recorded during the quarter ended March 31, 2009, exit activity costs and related asset impairment charges primarily associated with the closing and consolidation of facilities, and the write down of deferred financing fees due to the amendment of our senior credit agreement. These non-GAAP adjustments are shown in the non-GAAP reconciliation of results excluding special charges provided in the financial statements that accompany this news release. We believe that presentation of results excluding special charges provides meaningful supplemental data to investors, as well as management, that is indicative of the Company’s core operating results and facilitates comparison of operating results across reporting periods as well as comparison with other companies. Special charges are excluded since they may not be considered directly related to our ongoing business operations. These non-GAAP measures should not be viewed as a substitute for our GAAP results, and may be different than non-GAAP measures used by other companies.

Information contained in this release, other than historical information, should be considered forward-looking and may be subject to a number of risk factors and uncertainties. Risk factors that could affect these statements include, but are not limited to, the following: the availability of raw materials and the effects of changing raw material prices on the Company’s results of operations; energy prices and usage; changing demand for the Company’s products and services; changes in the liquidity of the capital and credit markets; risks associated with the integration of acquisitions; and changes in interest or tax rates. In addition, such forward-looking statements could also be affected by general industry and market conditions, as well as general economic and political conditions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law or regulation.

* Amounts include all special charges. See the following Non-GAAP Reconciliations that show certain financial data excluding special charges.