Steve Voskuil
Analyst · Stephens. Please go ahead
Thank you, Robert. Let me begin by saying that I'm pleased with our start to 2017. For the quarter, sales increased 3% to $396 million, including more than $15 million of Corpak-related sales. Volume including Corpak increased 5%, which was partially offset by 3% lower selling price. Adjusted gross margin was 37% for the quarter, compared to 36% a year ago. Our portfolio shift to Medical Devices, manufacturing cost savings and favorable currency exchange rates drove our margin expansion, which was partially offset by lower selling prices and higher nitrile costs in S&IP. Adjusted operating profit and operating margin for the quarter was $42 million and an 11% respectively, compared to $45 million and 12% in the prior year as we invested in organizational capabilities. During the quarter, we incurred $1 million of post spin-related charges, $2 million for acquisition -related charges, $8 million for litigation matters and $6 million for intangible amortization expense. Adjusted EBITDA was $53 million for the quarter, compared to $55 million in the prior year. As Robert mentioned, we reported $0.48 adjusted diluted earnings per share for the quarter, our performance benefited from an increase demand for facial protection, driven by the earlier timing of the cold and flu season compared to the prior year. Second, we drove greater plant and manufacturing cost savings. Third, R&D expenses of $8 million was lower than expected due to the timing of certain projects, despite a slower than anticipated start, we remain committed to fueling our growth pipeline by investing $40 million to $45 million in R&D this year. Our adjusted effective tax rate was 35.2% as the full year impact of a few discrete items were recorded in the quarter. Despite these discrete items, we remain confident that our full year adjusted effective tax rate will be within the 32% to 34% range. Now turning to our segment results, Medical Devices delivered another solid quarter of growth. Net sales increased 15% to $146 million, aided by Corpak-related sales. Organic volume growth was in line with our plan at 4%, as we experienced solid demand across all categories. Medical Devices operating profit increased 28% to $38 million from $30 million a year ago, performance was driven by higher sales volumes, which were partially offset by planned higher SG&A expenses. Moving to S&IP, markets remained challenging as net sales decreased by 3% during the quarter to $247 million. In total, S&IP volumes increased 1% compared to the prior year, driven by continued demand in exam gloves and higher demand in facial protection. Volume growth was partially offset by anticipated lower volume in surgical drapes and gowns due to a customer transition to a GPO where Halyard is not currently on contract as previously discussed. Lower selling prices concentrated an exam gloves led to a 4% price loss for the quarter. S&IP operating profit was $18 million, compared to $25 million in the prior year. Lower selling price and higher nitrile costs were offset by manufacturing cost savings and favorable currency exchange rates. As Robert mentioned, our balance sheet and cash flow generation remains strong. We ended the quarter with $143 million of cash, cash from operating activities less capital expenditures or free cash flow totaled $27 million for the quarter. We invested $10 million in capital expenditures in line with our expectation to invest between 2% and 3% of total sales in 2017. Shifting to our 2017 outlook, while we do not provide quarterly guidance, I would like to remind you of the timing of a few factors that will impact our second quarter performance. On our last conference call, we highlighted our expectation that nitrile costs would increase in the first half of the year. We began to see elevated costs at the end of the first quarter. We continue to anticipate nitrile costs will peak in the second quarter, rising more than 20% compared to the first quarter before returning to more normalized levels in the second half of the year. This will lead to lower gross margins in the second quarter. Second, we are committed to investing in R&D to drive growth through innovation and add value to our pipeline. Because of our lower spending in the first quarter, we expect R&D to accelerate beginning in the second quarter. Given these factors, our second quarter earnings are expected to be our lowest for the year. However, as Robert mentioned, we are maintaining our adjusted diluted earnings guidance of a $1.70 per share to $2 per share. Also, our 2017 key planning assumptions, which we provided on our year end 2016 conference call remain unchanged. As the year unfolds and we gain additional visibility into factors that could affect our performance, such as continued currency and commodity variability, we will provide an update on our outlook and key planning assumptions as appropriate. In summary, I'm pleased with our start for the year. We have a strong balance sheet and remain committed to investing in growth opportunities that advance our transformation into a leading Medical Devices company. With that, operator, we are ready to take questions.