Exhibit 99.1

Actuant Announces Plans to Divest European Electrical Business; Expects to Report Comparable Fiscal 2010 Results above Prior Guidance

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 22, 2010--Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU) today announced that it plans to divest its European Electrical business, which markets its products primarily under the Kopp brand name. The European Electrical business has previously been reported as part of the Company's Electrical segment. "This planned transaction reflects our proactive portfolio management efforts to focus on platforms where we can create the most shareholder value," said Robert C. Arzbaecher, Actuant Chairman and CEO.

European Electrical (consisting of Kopp and Dresco) designs, manufactures and markets electrical sockets, switches and other tools and consumables predominately for the European Do-It-Yourself (DIY) retail market. It has operations in Germany, Austria and Tunisia, and employs approximately 525 people. Its annual revenues approximate $105 million.

"The Kopp business has a strong brand and market position, a committed workforce, and prospects for future profitable growth,” continued Arzbaecher. “However, we believe that future growth can be more fully realized with an owner focused on the European DIY market. I want to thank the employees for their many contributions under Actuant ownership. During the divestiture process, the European Electrical business will continue to focus on meeting and exceeding customer requirements for high quality electrical products.”

As a result of its divestiture plans, Actuant has conducted an impairment analysis of European Electrical and expects to report a non-cash asset impairment charge in the range of $35-40 million in its fourth quarter operating results. Additionally, European Electrical’s operating results have been removed from continuing operations in Actuant’s Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations. Historical operating results, adjusted to remove European Electrical from continuing operations, are included in the attachment to this press release.

Actuant will report its fourth quarter and full year 2010 results on September 29. As a result of the non-cash impairment charge and removal of European Electrical results from continuing operations, actual reported results will not be comparable to the sales and diluted earnings per share (EPS) guidance provided in Actuant’s June 17, 2010 third quarter earnings release. On a comparable basis, fourth quarter and full year sales and EPS are expected to be slightly above the high end of the previous guidance range.

A more comprehensive review of fourth quarter and full year 2010 results will be discussed in the Company's fourth quarter earnings release and conference call scheduled for September 29, 2010.

About Actuant

Actuant Corporation is a diversified industrial company with operations in more than 30 countries. The Actuant businesses are leaders in a broad array of niche markets including branded hydraulic and electrical tools and supplies; specialized products and services for energy related industries and highly engineered position and motion control systems. The Company was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in Butler, Wisconsin. Actuant trades on the NYSE under the symbol ATU. For further information on Actuant and its businesses, visit the Company's website at www.actuant.com.


Safe Harbor

Certain of the above comments represent forward-looking statements made pursuant to the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Management cautions that these statements are based on current estimates of future performance and are highly dependent upon a variety of factors, which could cause actual results to differ from these estimates. Actuant’s results are also subject to general economic conditions, variation in demand from customers, the impact of geopolitical activity on the economy, continued market acceptance of the Company’s new product introductions, the successful integration of acquisitions, restructuring, operating margin risk due to competitive pricing and operating efficiencies, supply chain risk, material and labor cost increases, foreign currency fluctuations and interest rate risk. See the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for further information regarding risk factors. Actuant disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.


                         
Actuant Corporation
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Dollars in thousands except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
 
 
Three Months Ended Twelve Three Months Ended Nine
November 30, February 28, May 31, August 31, Months Ended November 30, February 28, May 31, Months Ended
2008   2009   2009   2009 August 31, 2009 2009   2010   2010 May 31, 2010
 
Net sales $ 335,274 $ 263,709 $ 257,620 $ 261,022 $ 1,117,625 $ 272,640 $ 267,438 $ 310,068 $ 850,146
Cost of products sold   213,340       175,405       167,861       172,792   729,398     172,517       171,075       193,882     537,474  
Gross profit 121,934 88,304 89,759 88,230 388,227 100,123 96,363 116,186 312,672
 
Selling, administrative and engineering expenses 66,366 66,559 57,522 59,557 250,004 65,303 64,257 69,452 199,012
Restructuring charges 674 2,564 8,218 8,074 19,530 2,777 9,276 1,356 13,409
Impairment charges 26,553 - 4,768 - 31,321 - - - -
Amortization of intangible assets   4,211       4,963       5,112       5,358   19,644     5,435       5,351       5,285     16,071  
Operating profit 24,130 14,218 14,139 15,241 67,728 26,608 17,479 40,093 84,180
 
Financing costs, net 12,235 9,904 9,026 10,684 41,849 8,538 7,798 7,779 24,115
Other expense (income), net   (1,220 )     (779 )     1,087       198   (714 )   281       (234 )     315     362  

Earnings from continuing operations before income tax expense (benefit)

13,115 5,093 4,026 4,359 26,593 17,789 9,915 31,999 59,703
 
Income tax expense (benefit)   1,487       (15 )     (1,284 )     423   611     4,529       2,020       3,706     10,255  
Earnings from continuing operations 11,628 5,108 5,310 3,936 25,982 13,260 7,895 28,293 49,448
Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes   (30 )     (1,864 )     (22,945 )     12,580   (12,259 )   (1,406 )     (738 )     (6,458 )   (8,602 )
Net earnings (loss) $ 11,598     $ 3,244     $ (17,635 )   $ 16,516 $ 13,723   $ 11,854     $ 7,157     $ 21,835   $ 40,846  
 
Earnings from continuing operations per share
Basic $ 0.21 $ 0.09 $ 0.09 $ 0.06 $ 0.45 $ 0.20 $ 0.12 $ 0.42 $ 0.73
Diluted 0.19 0.09 0.09 0.06 0.43 0.19 0.11 0.39 0.69
 
Earnings (loss) per share
Basic $ 0.21 $ 0.06 $ (0.31 ) $ 0.26 $ 0.24 $ 0.18 $ 0.11 $ 0.32 $ 0.60
Diluted 0.19 0.06 (0.27 ) 0.24 0.24 0.17 0.10 0.30 0.57
 
Weighted average common shares outstanding
Basic 56,022 56,170 56,252 63,742 58,047 67,542 67,595 67,642 67,593
Diluted 64,395 64,256 64,051 71,554 66,064 74,012 74,068 74,389 74,156
 

                       
ACTUANT CORPORATION
SUPPLEMENTAL UNAUDITED DATA FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS
(Dollars in thousands)
 
FISCAL 2009 FISCAL 2010
Q1   Q2   Q3   Q4   TOTAL Q1   Q2   Q3   TOTAL
SALES
INDUSTRIAL SEGMENT $ 90,524 $ 71,682 $ 62,843 $ 61,802 $ 286,851 $ 65,308 $ 69,235 $ 79,744 $ 214,287
ENERGY SEGMENT 73,982 59,526 62,251 63,731 259,490 64,065 53,862 56,645 174,572
ELECTRICAL SEGMENT 67,383 59,629 56,218 58,758 241,988 54,065 54,927 61,967 170,959
ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS SEGMENT   103,385       72,872       76,308       76,731       329,296     89,202       89,414       111,712       290,328  
TOTAL $ 335,274     $ 263,709     $ 257,620     $ 261,022     $ 1,117,625   $ 272,640     $ 267,438     $ 310,068     $ 850,146  
 
% SALES GROWTH
INDUSTRIAL SEGMENT 4 % -18 % -38 % -37 % -23 % -28 % -3 % 27 % -5 %
ENERGY SEGMENT 49 % 37 % 7 % 5 % 22 % -13 % -10 % -9 % -11 %
ELECTRICAL SEGMENT -22 % -29 % -34 % -21 % -27 % -20 % -8 % 10 % -7 %
ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS SEGMENT -23 % -44 % -47 % -37 % -38 % -14 % 23 % 46 % 15 %
TOTAL -6 % -23 % -34 % -26 % -23 % -19 % 1 % 20 % -1 %
 
OPERATING PROFIT (LOSS)
INDUSTRIAL SEGMENT $ 26,107 $ 15,972 $ 15,597 $ 13,692 $ 71,368 $ 13,854 $ 15,847 $ 20,703 $ 50,404
ENERGY SEGMENT 15,647 5,895 11,772 11,801 45,115 11,502 5,615 7,326 24,443
ELECTRICAL SEGMENT 4,935 2,663 3,856 3,559 15,012 4,073 5,539 7,309 16,921
ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS SEGMENT 7,865 (2,735 ) 991 342 6,463 5,481 6,007 13,554 25,042
CORPORATE / GENERAL   (3,197 )     (5,013 )     (4,815 )     (5,042 )     (18,066 )   (5,471 )     (5,561 )     (7,351 )     (18,383 )
TOTAL - EXCLUDING RESTRUCTURING CHARGES $ 51,357 $ 16,782 $ 27,401 $ 24,352 $ 119,892 $ 29,439 $ 27,447 $ 41,541 $ 98,427
IMPAIRMENT CHARGES (26,553 ) - (4,768 ) - (31,321 ) - - - -
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES   (674 )     (2,564 )     (8,494 )     (9,111 )     (20,843 )   (2,831 )     (9,968 )     (1,448 )     (14,247 )
TOTAL $ 24,130     $ 14,218     $ 14,139     $ 15,241     $ 67,728   $ 26,608     $ 17,479     $ 40,093     $ 84,180  
 
OPERATING PROFIT %
INDUSTRIAL SEGMENT 28.8 % 22.3 % 24.8 % 22.2 % 24.9 % 21.2 % 22.9 % 26.0 % 23.5 %
ENERGY SEGMENT 21.1 % 9.9 % 18.9 % 18.5 % 17.4 % 18.0 % 10.4 % 12.9 % 14.0 %
ELECTRICAL SEGMENT 7.3 % 4.5 % 6.9 % 6.1 % 6.2 % 7.5 % 10.1 % 11.8 % 9.9 %
ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS SEGMENT 7.6 % -3.8 % 1.3 % 0.4 % 2.0 % 6.1 % 6.7 % 12.1 % 8.6 %
TOTAL (INCLUDING CORPORATE) - EXCLUDING RESTRUCTURING CHARGES 15.3 % 6.4 % 10.6 % 9.3 % 10.7 % 10.8 % 10.3 % 13.4 % 11.6 %
 
EBITDA
INDUSTRIAL SEGMENT $ 27,139 $ 17,058 $ 18,208 $ 15,322 $ 77,727 $ 15,633 $ 16,639 $ 21,632 $ 53,904
ENERGY SEGMENT 21,671 11,492 15,080 16,235 64,478 15,493 10,072 11,353 36,918
ELECTRICAL SEGMENT 6,438 4,113 5,494 5,186 21,231 5,675 6,988 8,632 21,295
ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS SEGMENT 12,417 1,274 3,879 4,953 22,524 8,981 10,168 17,373 36,522
CORPORATE / GENERAL   (3,110 )     (4,058 )     (4,237 )     (4,196 )     (15,601 )   (4,771 )     (4,339 )     (6,542 )     (15,652 )
TOTAL - EXCLUDING RESTRUCTURING CHARGES $ 64,555 $ 29,879 $ 38,424 $ 37,500 $ 170,358 $ 41,011 $ 39,528 $ 52,448 $ 132,986
IMPAIRMENT CHARGES (26,553 ) - (4,768 ) - (31,321 ) - - - -
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES   (674 )     (2,564 )     (8,494 )     (9,111 )     (20,843 )   (2,831 )     (9,968 )     (1,448 )     (14,247 )
TOTAL $ 37,328     $ 27,315     $ 25,162     $ 28,389     $ 118,194   $ 38,180     $ 29,560     $ 51,000     $ 118,739  
 
EBITDA %
INDUSTRIAL SEGMENT 30.0 % 23.8 % 29.0 % 24.8 % 27.1 % 23.9 % 24.0 % 27.1 % 25.2 %
ENERGY SEGMENT 29.3 % 19.3 % 24.2 % 25.5 % 24.8 % 24.2 % 18.7 % 20.0 % 21.1 %
ELECTRICAL SEGMENT 9.6 % 6.9 % 9.8 % 8.8 % 8.8 % 10.5 % 12.7 % 13.9 % 12.5 %
ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS SEGMENT 12.0 % 1.7 % 5.1 % 6.5 % 6.8 % 10.1 % 11.4 % 15.6 % 12.6 %
TOTAL (INCLUDING CORPORATE) - EXCLUDING RESTRUCTURING CHARGES 19.3 % 11.3 % 14.9 % 14.4 % 15.2 % 15.0 % 14.8 % 16.9 % 15.6 %
 

                   
ACTUANT CORPORATION
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP MEASURES TO NON-GAAP MEASURES
 

(Dollars in thousands, except for per share amounts)

 

FISCAL 2009 FISCAL 2010
    Q1   Q2   Q3   Q4   TOTAL Q1   Q2   Q3   TOTAL

OPERATING PROFIT (LOSS), EXCLUDING RESTRUCTURING CHARGES AND IMPAIRMENT CHARGES

INDUSTRIAL SEGMENT
OPERATING PROFIT (GAAP MEASURE) $ 26,007 $ 15,545 $ 14,633 $ 11,266 $ 67,451 $ 13,676 $ 10,937 $ 20,374 $ 44,987
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES   100       427       964       2,426       3,917     178       4,910       329       5,417  
ADJUSTED OPERATING PROFIT (NON-GAAP MEASURE) $ 26,107     $ 15,972     $ 15,597     $ 13,692     $ 71,368   $ 13,854     $ 15,847     $ 20,703     $ 50,404  
 
ENERGY SEGMENT
OPERATING PROFIT (GAAP MEASURE) $ 15,533 $ 5,976 $ 11,508 $ 11,075 $ 44,092 $ 11,359 $ 3,922 $ 7,203 $ 22,484
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES   114       (81 )     264       726       1,023     143       1,693       123       1,959  
ADJUSTED OPERATING PROFIT (NON-GAAP MEASURE) $ 15,647     $ 5,895     $ 11,772     $ 11,801     $ 45,115   $ 11,502     $ 5,615     $ 7,326     $ 24,443  
 
ELECTRICAL SEGMENT
OPERATING PROFIT (LOSS) (GAAP MEASURE) $ 4,900 $ 1,959 $ (4,293 ) $ 762 $ 3,327 $ 2,186 $ 4,373 $ 6,775 $ 13,334
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES 35 704 3,381 2,797 6,917 1,887 1,166 534 3,587
IMPAIRMENT CHARGE   -       -       4,768       -       4,768     -       -       -       -  
ADJUSTED OPERATING PROFIT (NON-GAAP MEASURE) $ 4,935     $ 2,663     $ 3,856     $ 3,559     $ 15,012   $ 4,073     $ 5,539     $ 7,309     $ 16,921  
 
ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS
OPERATING PROFIT (LOSS) (GAAP MEASURE) $ (19,113 ) $ (3,985 ) $ (2,670 ) $ (2,664 ) $ (28,432 ) $ 5,053 $ 3,995 $ 13,170 $ 22,218
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES 425 1,250 3,661 3,006 8,342 428 2,012 384 2,824
IMPAIRMENT CHARGE   26,553       -       -       -       26,553     -       -       -       -  
ADJUSTED OPERATING PROFIT (LOSS) (NON-GAAP MEASURE) $ 7,865     $ (2,735 )   $ 991     $ 342     $ 6,463   $ 5,481     $ 6,007     $ 13,554     $ 25,042  
 
CORPORATE
OPERATING LOSS (GAAP MEASURE) $ (3,197 ) $ (5,277 ) $ (5,039 ) $ (5,198 ) $ (18,710 ) $ (5,666 ) $ (5,748 ) $ (7,429 ) $ (18,843 )
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES   -       264       224       156       644     195       187       78       460  
ADJUSTED OPERATING LOSS (NON-GAAP MEASURE) $ (3,197 )   $ (5,013 )   $ (4,815 )   $ (5,042 )   $ (18,066 ) $ (5,471 )   $ (5,561 )   $ (7,351 )   $ (18,383 )
 

NET EARNINGS (LOSS), EXCLUDING RESTRUCTURING CHARGES, IMPAIRMENT CHARGES, INCOME TAX ADJUSTMENTS, DEBT EXTINGUISHMENT CHARGES AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (2)

NET EARNINGS (LOSS) (GAAP MEASURE) $ 11,598 $ 3,244 $ (17,635 ) $ 16,516 $ 13,723 $ 11,854 $ 7,157 $ 21,835 $ 40,846
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES, NET OF TAX BENEFIT 481 1,553 4,920 6,055 13,009 1,804 6,863 1,069 9,736
IMPAIRMENT CHARGES, NET OF TAX BENEFIT 16,463 - 2,981 - 19,444 - - - -
INCOME TAX ADJUSTMENTS - - - - - - - 632 632
DEBT EXTINGUISHMENT CHARGES, NET OF TAX BENEFIT (236 ) - - 1,303 1,067 - - - -
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS, NET OF TAX BENEFIT   30       1,864       22,945       (12,580 )     12,259     1,406       738       1,853       3,997  
TOTAL (NON-GAAP MEASURE) $ 28,336     $ 6,661     $ 13,211     $ 11,294     $ 59,502   $ 15,064     $ 14,758     $ 25,389     $ 55,211  
 

DILUTED EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE, EXCLUDING RESTRUCTURING CHARGES, IMPAIRMENT CHARGES, INCOME TAX ADJUSTMENTS, DEBT EXTINGUISHMENT CHARGES AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (2)

NET EARNINGS (LOSS) (GAAP MEASURE) $ 0.19 0.06 (0.27 ) 0.24 $ 0.24 $ 0.17 $ 0.10 $ 0.30 $ 0.57
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES, NET OF TAX BENEFIT 0.01 0.02 0.08 0.09 0.20 0.02 0.10 0.01 0.13
IMPAIRMENT CHARGES, NET OF TAX BENEFIT 0.26 - 0.05 - 0.29 - - - -
INCOME TAX ADJUSTMENTS - - - - - - - 0.01 0.01
DEBT EXTINGUISHMENT CHARGES, NET OF TAX BENEFIT (0.00 ) - - 0.02 0.02 - - - -
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS, NET OF TAX BENEFIT   -       0.03       0.36       (0.18 )     0.19     0.02       0.01       0.03       0.05  
TOTAL (NON-GAAP MEASURE) $ 0.45     $ 0.11     $ 0.22     $ 0.17     $ 0.94   $ 0.21     $ 0.21     $ 0.35     $ 0.76  
 
EBITDA (3)
NET EARNINGS (LOSS) (GAAP MEASURE) $ 11,598 $ 3,244 $ (17,635 ) $ 16,516 $ 13,723 $ 11,854 $ 7,157 $ 21,835 $ 40,846
FINANCING COSTS, NET 12,235 9,904 9,026 10,684 41,849 8,538 7,798 7,779 24,115
INCOME TAX EXPENSE 1,487 (15 ) (1,284 ) 423 611 4,529 2,020 3,706 10,255
DEPRECIATION & AMORTIZATION 11,978 12,318 12,110 13,346 49,752 11,853 11,847 11,222 34,922
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS, NET OF TAX BENEFIT   30       1,864       22,945       (12,580 )     12,259     1,406       738       6,458       8,602  
EBITDA (NON-GAAP MEASURE) $ 37,328 $ 27,315 $ 25,162 $ 28,389 $ 118,194 $ 38,180 $ 29,560 $ 51,000 $ 118,739
IMPAIRMENT CHARGES 26,553 - 4,768 - 31,321 - - - -
RESTRUCTURING CHARGES 674 2,564 8,494 9,111 20,843 2,831 9,968 1,448 14,247

 

                               

EBITDA (NON-GAAP MEASURE) - EXCLUDING DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS, IMPAIRMENT AND RESTRUCTURING CHARGES

$ 64,555     $ 29,879     $ 38,424     $ 37,500     $ 170,358   $ 41,011     $ 39,528     $ 52,448     $ 132,986  
 

                 
ACTUANT CORPORATION
FOOTNOTES FOR SUPPLEMENTAL UNAUDITED DATA AND RECONCILIATION OF GAAP MEASURES TO NON-GAAP MEASURES
(Dollars in thousands, except for per share amounts)
 
FOOTNOTES
 
NOTE: The total of the individual quarters may not equal the annual total due to rounding.
 
(1) A summary of restructuring charges included in cost of products sold is as follows:
 
FISCAL 2009 FISCAL 2010
Q1   Q2   Q3   Q4   TOTAL Q1   Q2   Q3   TOTAL
 
Restructuring - cost of products sold $ - $ - $ 276 $ 1,037 $ 1,313 $ 54 $ 692 $ 92 $ 839
 
 
(2)

Net earnings and diluted earnings per share excluding restructuring charges, impairment charges, debt extinguishment charges and discontinued operations represent net earnings and diluted earnings per share per the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings net of charges or credits for items to be highlighted for comparability purposes.  These measures should not be considered as an alternative to net earnings or diluted earnings per share as an indicator of the Company's operating performance.  However, this presentation is important to investors for understanding the operating results of the current portfolio of Actuant companies.  The total of the individual components may not equal due to rounding.

 
(3)

EBITDA represents net earnings before financing costs, net, income tax expense, depreciation & amortization and discontinued operations.  EBITDA is not a calculation based upon generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).  The amounts included in the EBITDA calculation, however, are derived from amounts included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings data. EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net earnings or operating profit as an indicator of the Company's operating performance, or as an alternative to operating cash flows as a measure of liquidity.  Actuant has presented EBITDA because it regularly reviews this as a measure of the company's ability to incur and service debt.  In addition, EBITDA is used by many of our investors and lenders, and is presented as a convenience to them.  However, the EBITDA measure presented may not always be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies due to differences in the components of the calculation.  The total of the individual quarters may not equal the annual total due to rounding.

CONTACT:
Actuant Corporation
Karen Bauer
Director, Investor Relations
262-373-7462