FLE Fleetwood Enterprises

Fleetwood Announces Ruling in Coleman Litigation and Updates Expectations for Fiscal 2005 RIVERSIDE, Calif., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FLE) announced that the judge in the previously reported case between Fleetwood Folding Trailers, Inc. and The Coleman Company, Inc. has awarded treble damages to Coleman. The total amount of the award now is approximately $14.6 million, plus Coleman's attorneys' fees and costs, which have not yet been determined. This award will be reflected in the Company's results for its third quarter ending January 23, 2005. As a result, the Company updated expectations by stating that it expects to be profitable in the fourth quarter, but the results for the third quarter, including the impact of today's ruling, now makes it less likely that the Company will be profitable for the full fiscal year. "There is no basis for treble damages in a case of this nature, and there is no precedent for such an award," said Edward B. Caudill, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We fully intend to appeal this ruling." Caudill added, "We will not be required to make any payments on this judgment until the appeal process is fully completed. We will be required to post a bond in order to pursue an appeal, but we reiterate our prior statement that we believe we have a sufficient combination of cash, borrowing capacity and access to other sources of external funding to continue to meet our foreseeable cash flow requirements." About Fleetwood Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc., is one of the nation's largest producers of recreational vehicles, from motor homes to travel and folding trailers, and is a leader in the building, retailing and financing of manufactured homes. This Fortune 1000 company, headquartered in Riverside, Calif., is dedicated to providing quality, innovative products that offer exceptional value to its customers. Fleetwood operates facilities strategically located throughout the nation, including recreational vehicle and manufactured housing plants, retail home centers, and supply subsidiary plants. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.fleetwood.com/. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and information based on the beliefs of Fleetwood's management as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, Fleetwood's management. Such statements reflect the current views of Fleetwood with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including risk factors identified in Fleetwood's 10-K and other SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the cyclical nature of both the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries; ongoing weakness in the manufactured housing market; continued acceptance of the Company's products; the potential impact on demand for Fleetwood's products as a result of changes in consumer confidence levels; the effect of global tensions on consumer confidence; expenses and uncertainties associated with the introduction and manufacturing of new products; the future availability of manufactured housing retail financing, as well as housing and RV wholesale financing; exposure to interest rate and market changes affecting certain of the Company's assets and liabilities; availability and pricing of raw materials; changes in retail inventory levels in the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries; competitive pricing pressures; the ability to attract and retain quality dealers, executive officers and other personnel; and the Company's ability to obtain financing needed in order to execute its business strategies. For further information, please contact Lyle Larkin, Vice President-Treasurer of Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc., +1-951-351-3535. DATASOURCE: Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. CONTACT: Lyle Larkin, Vice President-Treasurer of Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc., +1-951-351-3535 Web site: http://www.fleetwood.com/

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