Earnings Labs

The Brink's Company (BCO)

Q1 2013 Earnings Call· Thu, Apr 25, 2013

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Welcome to the Brink's Company's First Quarter 2013 Earnings Call. Brink's issued a press release on first quarter results this morning. The company also filed an 8-K that includes the release and the slides that will be used in today's call. For those of you listening by phone, the release and slides are available on the company's website at brinks.com. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. Now for the company's Safe Harbor statement. This call and the Q&A session contain forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from projected or estimated results. Information regarding factors that could cause such differences is available in today's press release and in the company's most recent SEC filings. Information presented and discussed on this call is representative of today only. Brink's assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. The call is copyrighted and may not be used without written permission from Brink's. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Ed Cunningham, Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Mr. Cunningham, you may begin.

Edward Cunningham

Analyst

Thank you, Denise. Good morning, everyone. Joining me today are CEO, Tom Schievelbein; and CFO, Joe Dziedzic. As you most of you know, we report results on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. The non-GAAP results exclude a number of items including U.S. retirement expenses, acquisitions and dispositions and some currency-related items. The 2013 non-GAAP results also use the expected full year tax rate of 37.5%. A summary reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP EPS is provided on Page 2 of the release. More detailed reconciliations are provided in the release and in the appendix to the slides we're using today. The slides are included in this morning's 8-K filing, and are available on our website. From this point on, our comments will focus on non-GAAP results from continuing operations, which we believe make it easier for investors to assess operating performance between periods. On a non-GAAP basis, first quarter earnings from continuing operations came in at $0.35 per share versus $0.67 last year. This year's results include a $0.24 charge related to the robbery at the Brussels airport. The segment margin rate was 5.2%. Excluding the theft loss, the margin rate was 7.2%. Organic revenue growth for the quarter was 6%. Currency translation had a negative impact of $24 million on revenue, $3 million on profit and $0.04 at the EPS level. Tom and Joe will provide more details on these results and our outlook for the rest of the year. For those of you who model our results, please note that Page 7 of the press release provides a summary of selected results and outlook items that should be helpful in forecasting 2013 results in more detail. I'll now turn the call over to Tom.

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

Thanks, Ed. Good morning, everyone. First quarter earnings came in at $0.35 per share, which is far better than we expected at the beginning of the quarter when you consider that the results included the $0.24 charge for the robbery, as well as a profit decline in North America. Profits from our international operations were much stronger than anticipated, especially in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, we expect profits from international operations to offset reduced expectations in North America, and that we will achieve our full year segment margin rate range of 6% to 6.5%. Joe will provide details behind our results and our full year outlook in a few minutes. As far as the robbery goes, I trust you understand why we do not discuss details regarding our security losses. What I can tell you is this: on February 18, criminals attacked a plane at the Brussels airport that was about to embark on a flight to Switzerland. The diamonds that were stolen belong to customers of Brink's and several other security companies. Although Brink's was not attacked, we assume custody of our shipments from pickup through delivery. I'm happy that no one was hurt, and all of our customers were fully reimbursed within 48 hours of the robbery. The pretax charge related to our robbery was $19 million. It's important to note that our practice has always been to allocate this type of expense to our 2 reporting segments, much as we do with our other global expenses. The result is that North American profits were reduced by about $4 million because of a robbery that took place in Europe. The balance of the charge, or about $15 million, was allocated to international operations. We are working with the…

Joseph W. Dziedzic

Analyst

Thanks, Tom. I'll start with a summary of first quarter results, and then cover the assumptions behind our full-year outlook. Total revenue for the quarter grew 4% on a reported basis and 6% on an organic basis, due mainly to organic growth in the Latin America region driven by Venezuela and Argentina. The unfavorable currency impact of 3% was driven by Brazil and Venezuela. Segment operating profits fell $25 million due to the $19 million Belgium theft loss; a $4 million profit decline in North America, which excludes the allocated cost from the Belgium loss; and unfavorable currency of $3 million. The earnings per share declined due to the decline in operating profit. The earnings per share bridge highlights the $0.31 decline due to segment operating profit, with $0.24 directly attributable to the Belgium robbery. The unfavorable currency impact and decline in North America earnings make up the remaining $0.07. Let's look a little closer at total segment results. Organic revenue growth of 6% was in line with our annual guidance of 5% to 8%. Most of the growth came from international operations led by Latin America. But we also had organic growth in Europe and the Asia Pacific region, which reflect strong growth in our global services businesses. North America revenue was flat and profits fell by $8 million, including $4 million from the Belgium theft loss. The additional decline in North America was due to continued price and volume pressures and the IT remediation costs that Tom discussed. International profits declined by $17 million, which includes a $15 million expense for the theft loss and a negative currency impact of $3 million. Latin America profits were down compared to last year's very strong results. But we're better than we expected entering the first quarter due to improvement in…

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] The first question will come from Ian Zaffino of Oppenheimer. Ian A. Zaffino - Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Research Division: A couple of questions here. The first one, on the precious metals and diamond/jewelry, as you look into this quarter and the outlook, do you still see sort of precious metals remaining strong globally, particularly with the price of gold coming down? And has jewelry and diamonds, has that continued to sort of rise that you saw throughout the last quarter, is that continuing into this quarter?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

So in terms of precious metals, we're certainly hopeful that this is going to continue to be very strong. It's always difficult to say based on what the price of the precious metals are versus the import, versus the storage. And so we're certainly hopeful that it maintains its robust nature. Diamond and jewelry is pretty much the same. We had a very slow start to the quarter, but we had a good end of it with the Hong Kong Diamond & Jewelry Show. Joe, any other comments on either of those 2?

Joseph W. Dziedzic

Analyst

No, I think you covered it. Ian A. Zaffino - Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Research Division: Okay. So basically, the upward trend in diamond/jewelry has continued?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

So far. Ian A. Zaffino - Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Research Division: Okay. And then this is a bigger picture, kind of more of a philosophical question. But as you look at all the cost and volume pressures in North America, what would it take, and do you have a desire to maybe transition or transform the company into more of a low-cost provider? It doesn't seem like -- you have a premium product it doesn't seem like anyone's willing to pay you for it, or fewer people are willing to pay you for it. Can you sort of morph into somewhat of a lower-cost provider? And do you have a desire to do so?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

Kind of a hard question to answer, Ian. Certainly, what we are looking to do is to get our costs in line and to continue to provide differentiated solutions to our customers. So -- and we believe that we can do that in North America. We believe we can do that in Europe, which is what we've been successful at. And we believe that we can do it in Latin America. But we have to demonstrate that. So philosophically, that's where we're going. Ian A. Zaffino - Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Research Division: Okay. So you're not of the mind of saying, "Hey, what we're doing is a commodity business. And therefore, we have to offer the best price possible"?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

Even on a commodity business, then you have to have big costs in line.

Operator

Operator

Our next question will come from Clint Fendley of Davenport. Clint D. Fendley - Davenport & Company, LLC, Research Division: I wondered, what was the segment margin in North America if you excluded the robbery?

Joseph W. Dziedzic

Analyst

It was about 2%. It was about a $4 million impact on the region. Clint D. Fendley - Davenport & Company, LLC, Research Division: Okay. And I guess following that, what would have been? So did you allocate it evenly between international and in the U.S, then?

Joseph W. Dziedzic

Analyst

We -- debt falls into the bucket of costs that we allocate fundamentally by revenue. So it got about a little over 20% of the total costs for that loss plus the corporate overhead cost that we allocate. Clint D. Fendley - Davenport & Company, LLC, Research Division: Got it. And so we have a lower outlook for the business in North America in terms of margins. Have there been any significant contract losses since you last reported?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

No, no significant contract losses, Clint. Clint D. Fendley - Davenport & Company, LLC, Research Division: Okay. And so I mean, is it just -- is the story, I assume, pretty much the same, just continued pricing and volume pressures, no significant change in the competitive dynamic within North America?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

That's correct. Clint D. Fendley - Davenport & Company, LLC, Research Division: Okay, okay. And I guess switching south then here, just any updates on Mexico and that business' contribution to the quarter?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

Yes. I mean, I'm going to let Joe get into some of the -- a couple of the details. But I mean Mexico continues to be on a positive trend. It continues to be doing what we believe they need to do to get to that 10% operating -- segment margin that we talked about by the end of 2015. So they're doing lots of things, and they're doing them correct. Joe?

Joseph W. Dziedzic

Analyst

So Mexico is very much on track to deliver the 10% or higher margins by 2015. The team has their strategy laid out that they've been executing the past couple of years. Then you could see the kind of margin expansion that we expected. They have, as we commented on the fourth quarter call, seen a slower volume, slower growth rate over the past couple of quarters than what they had over the previous couple of years. And that's really something we've seen kind of post the elections in Mexico more broadly. That continued in the first quarter. And so we are expecting some volume increase later in the year in Mexico organic growth rates, and we feel comfortable that they can deliver on that. The cost actions and productivity initiatives, some of the increase in CapEx in Latin America was specifically in Mexico to drive productivity. We bought money processing equipment, continued to invest in the fleet and the facilities. And the team down there is executing on their plans and strategy. And we're confident we'll continue to see the margin expansion in '13, '14 and '15 to get to our commitments.

Operator

Operator

The next question will come from Doug Greiner of Compass Point. Douglas Greiner - Compass Point Research & Trading, LLC, Research Division: Yes, just one for Joe. Given the drop in North American profit, will you just address today's free cash flow available domestically as it relates to certain benefits, commitments that you have? I know in the past, there's been issues with free cash flow in the pension payment requirements.

Joseph W. Dziedzic

Analyst

Sure. That was an issue that we dealt with really at the end of 2011 and the first half of 2012. We did find a few ways to tax efficiently, repatriate cash earnings from our offshore entities. We bridged that problem with some short-term measures for 2012, '13 and '14. And then we have some longer-term plans that we have begun the implementation of, that will solve that problem longer term. So although the profitability in North America, particularly the U.S., is lower than we expected for the year, that will not materially affect the cash flow plans that we have in place to deal with the pension needs, which I suspect you're referring to for cash flow purposes.

Operator

Operator

Our next question will come from Jeff Kessler of Imperial Capital.

Jeffrey T. Kessler - Imperial Capital, LLC

Analyst

I know you've probably talked about this. We've talked about this already, but can you go through the longer-term plan to get North American margins up to a level at which they can be? What will it take to sustain North American margins at a more competitive level? And what compromises, if any, will you have to make to get those margins to 5%, 6%, 7% and keep them there?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

So the -- Jeff, the plan is to continue with the productivity changes we made, to continue with the upgrading of the information technology systems, the legacy systems and new productivity investments. We are looking much closer at improving our sales force to be able to sell and leverage some of those services that we're talking about, the higher value services. We're changing out a lot of the senior management to make sure that we have the right leadership going forward. And we believe that we will be able to start to change the trajectory of the profit margins in North America and get them up to that 6% to 7% that we've talked about.

Jeffrey T. Kessler - Imperial Capital, LLC

Analyst

Okay. And this is -- what I'm getting at is, so you've just given us about 5 or 6 talking points about getting to that 6% or 7%. Is there anything else that you need to maintain that 6% or 7% once you get there?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

No. I think continued execution of plans that we're going to lay out. So this is now about the new North American team executing.

Jeffrey T. Kessler - Imperial Capital, LLC

Analyst

Okay. So and this doesn't have to -- this doesn't mean that there has to be a certain percentage of logistics or specialized services as a percentage of total sales. It has to do with getting -- with basically getting the base business there as well, but the cash...

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

That's correct. And this has got nothing to do with, we're not assuming changes in competition or the economic landscape, anything like that.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] The next question will come from Maharth Kapur of Crédit Suisse.

Maharth Kapur

Analyst

In terms of just a follow-up on the North American business, how far away -- could you -- would you say you are in terms of resizing your cost structure, fixed cost structure there to bring it more in line in terms of perhaps being able to satisfy some of the lower-cost customers you have there or the lower-priced portion of the market?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

Well, so we're working very hard through 2013 to change that trajectory, and we've talked about getting back to the 6% or 7% margin in the relatively near term.

Jeffrey T. Kessler - Imperial Capital, LLC

Analyst

Well, you guys have been taking out costs for the last year or so. I mean, how much further would you say you are away? I mean, is it a year or 2 years in terms of resizing perhaps the cost base?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

It's in the area of a handful of years. It's not a lot of years. But I mean the real issue is how quickly it will turn. And what I don't want to do is make a commitment that I don't have all the data at the present time for.

Jeffrey T. Kessler - Imperial Capital, LLC

Analyst

But you're not relying on volumes coming back?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

We are relying on some volume coming back, but not a huge amount of volume to turn us around in terms of our efficiencies and profitability. We're not assuming that we're going to grow at 5% or 6% margin -- I mean, 5% to 6% organic growth.

Jeffrey T. Kessler - Imperial Capital, LLC

Analyst

But you're not assuming that those premium price customers that you saw move away perhaps through 2, 3 years ago, you're not assuming that those kinds of premium types of business comes back in some period of time?

Thomas C. Schievelbein

Analyst

That is correct.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Thank you. This will now conclude today's teleconference. You may now disconnect your lines at this time, and thank you for your participation.