BLL Ball Corp

Baker Elected Vice President, Shareholders Re-Elect Three Directors, Company Declares Dividend BROOMFIELD, Colo., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Charles E. Baker, who became Ball Corporation's (NYSE:BLL) general counsel and assistant corporate secretary in 2004, was elected today vice president, general counsel and assistant corporate secretary by the Ball board of directors during the board's regular meeting. Baker, 47, joined Ball Corporation in 1993 after 10 years with the law firm of Fraser & Beatty in Toronto. At Ball, he served as director, business development; director, corporate compliance; and senior director, business development before becoming associate general counsel in 1999. In addition, Ball's shareholders re-elected to the board George M. Smart, Theodore M. Solso and Stuart A. Taylor II at the company's annual meeting held today. All three directors were re-elected to serve three-year terms expiring in 2008. Ball's board of directors also declared a cash dividend of 10 cents per share, payable June 15, 2005, to shareholders of record on June 1, 2005. Ball is scheduled to release the company's first quarter 2005 earnings tomorrow before trading begins on the New York Stock Exchange. A management briefing will be held at 2 p.m. Eastern tomorrow in New York City that will replace, for this quarter, the company's quarterly conference call. Details on the briefing and how to listen to it are included in this release. Ball Corporation is a supplier of metal and plastic packaging products, primarily for the beverage and food industries. The company also owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which develops sensors, spacecraft, systems and components for government and commercial markets. The company employs more than 13,200 people and reported 2004 sales of $5.4 billion. Listen to Ball Management Briefing Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) will host a management briefing and review of the company's operations at 2 p.m. (Eastern) tomorrow at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The briefing replaces, for this quarter, the company's quarterly earnings conference call. The investing public and others are invited to attend the briefing or to participate via toll-free telephone access at 800-638-5439 (domestic) or 617-614-3945 (international) using the pass code "Ball Corporation," or via live Web cast at: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-eventDetails&c=115234&eventID =1035473. A telephone replay of the briefing will be available approximately two hours after the briefing concludes and will be accessible for seven days at 888-286-8010 (domestic) or 617-801-6888 using the pass code 44341276. A Web replay of the briefing will be available at http://www.ball.com/ in the investor relations section under "presentations" for at least 30 days after the briefing. Forward-Looking Statements The information in this news release contains "forward-looking" statements and other statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," and variations of same and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in Exhibit 99.2 in the most recent Form 10-K. These filings are available at our Web site and at http://www.sec.gov/. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in consumer and customer demand; availability and cost of raw materials, particularly the recent significant increases in resin, steel, aluminum and energy costs, and the ability to pass such increases on to customers; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; fruit, vegetable and fishing yields; industry productive capacity and competitive activity; lack of productivity improvement or production cost reductions; the German mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; international business risks, including foreign exchange rates, tax rates and activities of foreign subsidiaries; and the effect of LIFO accounting on earnings. Factors that might affect aerospace segment include: funding, authorization and availability of government contracts and the nature and continuation of those contracts; and technical uncertainty associated with segment contracts. Factors that could affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; regulatory action or laws including environmental and workplace safety; governmental investigations; goodwill impairment; antitrust and other litigation; strikes; boycotts; increases in employee benefits and labor costs; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or management's evaluation of the company's internal control over financial reporting. DATASOURCE: Ball Corporation CONTACT: Investors, Ann T. Scott, +1-303-460-3537, , or Media, Scott McCarty, +1-303-460-2103, , both of Ball Corporation Web site: http://www.ball.com/

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