American Standard Reports Record Performance for 3rd Quarter / Sales Up 10%, EPS Up 13%

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (PROTEXT) - American Standard Companies Inc.(NYSE: ASD) today announced that third quarter 1999 diluted pershare earnings increased 13% to $0.98 from $0.87 in 1998 (beforerestructuring expenses). Revenues for the quarter ended September30 were $1.9 billion, an increase of 10% over the same period in1998, up 12% excluding unfavorable foreign exchange effects. Mr. Emmanuel Kampouris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,remarked: "We are very pleased to report a record-setting thirdquarter. In our largest business, Air Conditioning, revenue wasup 12% in the third quarter. Plumbing had strong revenue growthof 14% while Automotive was down 4% entirely due to exchange. TheCompany's overall solid revenue growth of 10% in the quarter and10% year-to-date reflects the strength of our geographic andproduct diversity. "The Company's earnings growth and operating margin expansion,to 10.5% from 9.7% in the quarter, reflects our continuedemphasis on leveraging sales growth and reducing costs. Operatingearnings and margins in our Plumbing and Air Conditioningbusinesses were particularly strong in the quarter and year-to-date. Automotive's year-to-date operating income and margin,although somewhat lower than last year, still representexceptional performance in its industry." Mr. Kampouris stated that he expects sales for the fourthquarter and the full year to be up about 10% and diluted earningsper share to be up 18% to 19% in each period as well.

Third Quarter 1999 Business Highlights * The Company decided to pursue the sale of its MedicalSystems Group. * Home Depot selected American Standard as its PlumbingProducts Partner of the Year for outstanding service and support. * Volvo selected WABCO as its global pneumatic systemssupplier. * Sears selected Trane as its supplier of premium brandresidential central heating and air conditioning products. Sales Total Sales for the third quarter of 1999 were $1.9 billion,up 10% from last year (12% excluding a $30 million unfavorableforeign exchange effect). Excluding foreign exchange effects: Air Conditioning Products sales increased 12% to $1,179million. US markets expanded 5% to 6% as replacement andrenovation continued to grow and new housing and commercialconstruction remained near record high levels. Markets outsidethe US were mixed with Europe up slightly while markets in Asiaand Latin America were down. Worldwide Applied Systems salesadvanced 12% due to increases in the US commercial equipmentbusiness, strong performance in the sales and service operationsand a 3% increase in the International Applied business, wheregains in Europe offset declines in Latin America and Asia.Worldwide Unitary Systems sales also rose 12% primarily fromstrength in both US residential and commercial operations.International unitary sales declined slightly, primarily in LatinAmerica. Plumbing Products sales increased 18% to $443 million,including $74 million from the recently acquiredArmitage/Dolomite businesses and a reduction of $17 million ofsales related to the divestiture of Porcher distribution in thefourth quarter of 1998. Markets in the US expanded by over 5% asrenovation and remodeling, driven by the large retail home centerexpansion, continued to grow and new housing starts remained athigh levels. Markets were flat in Europe, continued to be soft inAsia and were down significantly in Latin America. Sales inEurope, excluding the acquisition and divestiture, wereessentially flat with the prior year and sales in Asia were down.Sales in the Americas increased 5% due to continued strong growthof 14% in the US retail and wholesale channels, partly offset bydeclines in Latin America. Automotive Products sales increased 2% to $255 million.European and Brazilian truck production were down 5% and 38%,respectively, in the quarter, while US truck production increased20%. The Company's improvement was driven by higher export salesand sales by the US compressor manufacturing joint venture. Asexpected, sales to commercial vehicle manufacturers in Europe andBrazil were down compared to the prior year. Non-consolidatedsales of anti-lock braking systems by the Company's US jointventure rose 22%, resulting in increased equity income. Medical Systems sales were $22 million in the quarter, flat tothe prior year, reflecting increased sales of new diagnosticproducts offset by the expected decline of older radioimmunoassayproducts. Segment Income Total Segment Income in the third quarter of 1999 was $200million, an increase of 19% from $168 million last year (22%excluding a $4 million unfavorable foreign exchange effect).Excluding foreign exchange effects: Air Conditioning Products segment income increased $27million, or 24%, to $141 million. Worldwide Applied Systemsbenefited from improved volume in the US, plus cost improvementsin international markets, primarily Europe. Worldwide UnitarySystems posted strong growth in the US as both volume and marginimproved over an excellent prior year performance and alsobenefited from cost improvements overseas. Plumbing Products segment income increased $17 million, or68%, to $42 million, mainly due to the acquired Armitage/Dolomitebusineses, strong volume increases in the US and marginimprovement from the European restructuring program. LatinAmerica remained flat despite a volume decrease. The successfulrestructuring of both the Americas and European Plumbingbusinesses has substantially lowered their cost structures,resulting in improving trends in margins and income. Automotive Products segment income decreased $4 million to $27million mainly due to a one-time shared cost associated with adesign change, increased product development spending in Europeand a product mix reflecting increased export sales, partlyoffset by increased income from the US compressor manufacturingjoint venture. Medical Systems segment loss of $10 million was $4 millionhigher than the third quarter of 1998 entirely due to a one-timecharge associated with the discontinuance of in-housemanufacturing of breath test instruments and kits in favor oflower cost vendor sourcing. Development costs of new diagnosticproducts and accelerated virus research continued at a highlevel. Equity in Net Income of Unconsolidated Joint Ventures wasunchanged at $9 million. Income from Automotive Products' USbraking systems joint venture increased in the quarter but wasoffset by small declines elsewhere. Interest Expense of $47 million was $4 million higher than inthe prior year period, due to the effect of increased debtarising principally from the Armitage/Dolomite acquisition,partly offset by the lower average interest rates achievedthrough the 1998 and 1999 debt refinancings. Corporate and Other Expense of $39 million was $11 millionhigher than the prior year mainly due to a one-time chargerelated to pension benefits and increased financing fees paid tothe Company's financial services joint venture related toincreased volumes in the US businesses. Income Taxes reflect a continuing effective rate of 41.5%compared to 39.0% (excluding the effect of restructuring charges)for the 1998 quarter when the annual rate was adjusted. Net Income, before restructuring expenses in 1998, increased11% to $72 million and Diluted Per Share Earnings increased 13%to $0.98 for the quarter. Foreign Exchange had a negative effect on sales of $30million, on segment income of $4 million and on diluted per shareearnings of $0.02. Latin America weakness in the quarter had a negative impact ondiluted EPS of $0.02. Comments in this earnings release contain certain forward-looking statements which are based on management's good faithexpectations and belief concerning future developments. Actualresults may differ materially from these expectations as a resultof many factors, relevant examples of which are set forth in theCompany's 1998 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the"Management's Discussion and Analysis" section of the Company'sAnnual and Quarterly Reports to Shareholders. American Standard is a $7 billion global, diversifiedmanufacturer of Trane(R) and American Standard(R) airconditioning products, American Standard(R), Ideal Standard(R),Standard(R), Porcher(R), Armitage Shanks(R) and Dolomite(R)plumbing products, WABCO(R) commercial and utility vehiclebraking and control systems, Copalis(R) and Pylori-Chek (TM)medical diagnostic systems and DiaSorin(TM) medical diagnosticproducts. The company operates 116 manufacturing facilities in 33countries and employs approximately 57,000 people worldwide. For Further Information Contact: Ray Pipes, 732-980-6095 or Phil Bradtmiller, 732-980-6038 The latest news release and corporate information can be heardon 888-ASD-NEWS. Additional information on American Standard isavailable on the Company's Worldwide Web site athttp://www.americanstandard.com ots Original Text Service:American Standard Companies Inc. Internet:http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Ray Pipes, 732-980-6095, orPhil Bradtmiller, 732-980-6038, both of American StandardCompanies Inc.

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