Forward-Looking Statements and Factors That May Affect Future Results Throughout this Form 10-Q, we make a number of "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. As the words imply, forward-looking statements are statements about our future plans, objectives, beliefs, and expectations that might or might not happen in the future, as contrasted with historical information. Our forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable, but by their very nature they are subject to a wide range of risks. Accordingly, in this Form 10-Q, we may say something like, "We anticipate that the burial rate will be flat to slightly declining in future years."
That is a forward-looking statement, as indicated by the word "anticipate" and by the clear meaning of the sentence.
Other words that could indicate we're making forward-looking statements include the following:

           intend     believe    plan           expect    may        goal
           become     pursue     estimate       will      forecast   continue
           targeted   increase   higher/lower   improve   progress   potential

This isn't an exhaustive list but is simply intended to give you an idea of how we try to identify forward-looking statements. The absence of any of these words, however, does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. Here's the key point: Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results could differ materially from those set forth in any forward-looking statements. Any number of factors - many of which are beyond our control - could cause our performance to differ significantly from those described in the forward-looking statements.
For a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, see the discussions under the heading "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 9, 2008 and Part II, Item 1A of this Form 10-Q. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Overview
In this section of the Form 10-Q, entitled "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," we attempt to give you a look at our Company "through the eyes of management" so that you can assess the financial condition and results of operations of our Company. The discussion that follows, when read in conjunction with Management's Discussion and Analysis included in our Form 10-K, should give you information that will help you understand our business and its performance. We intend for the discussion to be clear and to explain the drivers of our results so that you can assess the quality of our earnings and the predictability of our future results. Background, Death Care Industry Trends, and Strategy and Results Except as described below under "Recent Factors Impacting our Business," there have been no significant long-term changes to this information during the six month period ended March 31, 2009, as outlined in our Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2008.
Recent Factors Impacting our Business
• During the second quarter we experienced a 10.8% decrease in our revenue as compared to the same quarter last year as a number of industry-wide trends adversely affected our volume and mix. While we believe that a much milder pneumonia and influenza season has occurred this year resulting in a significant reduction in the number of deaths from the same period last year, our volume has decreased to a greater extent than the decrease in deaths would suggest. While official data on cremation rates has a significant lag time before it is available, there is anecdotal information to suggest the traditional increase in the cremation rate may have been more pronounced as a result of the current economic environment, further reducing casketed deaths. We believe that these factors have increased competition for remaining volume, causing our competitors to become more aggressive in their pricing actions. The market assessment and competitive dynamics described above appear consistent with the public reports from our competitors and customers over the last several months. These trends have continued during April and it appears that the current economic recession may have unfavorably impacted our results to a greater extent than experienced in past downturns. We are taking actions to manage through these trends, protect our market position, and continue pursuit of our growth strategy. These actions include additional sales promotions, readjustment of our production capacity, and the use of our lean business expertise to continue to effectively manage and reduce our costs. See our analysis of recent results of operations below for further discussion.

• While commodity prices have come down from their highs during fiscal 2008, period over period, the increased prices we paid for carbon steel and red metals were not fully offset by the lower prices we are paying for diesel fuel this year. Although it is difficult to predict where these prices will head over the balance of the fiscal year, we do not anticipate that our fiscal 2009 second half costs will exceed prices paid in the second half of fiscal 2008. The volatility in the pricing of these commodities may translate into volatility in our results, depending on our success at mitigating the effects. See our analysis of recent results of operations below for further discussion.

• We are a defendant, along with Hill-Rom and several other companies in the death care industry, in two purported antitrust class action lawsuits. To date, we have incurred approximately $22.0 million in legal and related costs associated with this matter, of which $1.8 million was incurred in the six months ended March 31, 2009. There have been significant developments in these actions over the last six months. As discussed in Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q, on March 26, 2009, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston Division) denied plaintiffs' motions for class certification. On April 9, 2009, the plaintiffs in the FCA case filed a petition with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for leave to file an interlocutory appeal of the Court's order denying class certification. The plaintiffs in the Pioneer Valley case did not file a petition to appeal the District Court's class certification order and and pursuant to a stipulation among the parties, the District Court has dismissed the Pioneer Valley Action with prejudice.

• During the second quarter we recognized aggregate losses of $4.5 million from the limited partnership investments that were transferred to us in connection with our separation from Hill-Rom last year. These losses resulted from decreases in the fair value of the investment portfolios of the partnerships. We believe their losses are being caused primarily by the current economic environment.

• During the six months ended March 31, 2009, our pension assets declined in value by 16.3%, from $146.7 million to $122.7 million. See our "12 Month Outlook" included within Liquidity and Capital Resources for further discussion on how this decline in value may affect our liquidity.