Ronald T. Hundzinski
Analyst · Wells Fargo Securities
Thank you, James, and good day, everyone. Before I begin reviewing the financials, I'd like to put BorgWarner's performance into perspective relative to the industry. Global light vehicle production was up 4% in the third quarter compared with the same quarter last year. BorgWarner's reported sales were up 7% from a year ago. As James explained earlier, if we exclude the impact of foreign currencies and M&A activity in 2012, our sales in the quarter were up 6%. To get a clear picture of our performance relative to our markets, we need to review the light vehicle and commercial vehicle markets separately. First let's take a closer look at the light vehicle market from a regional perspective. In Asia, which I'm defining as China, Korea and Japan, light vehicle production was up 6%. Our vehicle -- light vehicle sales in Asia, excluding currency, were up 14%. In Europe, light vehicle production was up 2%. Our light vehicle sales, excluding currency and 2012 disposals, was also up 2%. In North America, light vehicle production was up 6%. Our light vehicle sales growth in North America was up 15%. Now let's review commercial vehicle market. Global commercial vehicle production was higher in the third quarter, primarily due to higher volumes in China and Brazil, 2 of our smaller markets for commercial vehicle products. Commercial vehicle production in Europe and North America, our larger markets, was up slightly. Our commercial vehicle and aftermarket sales were down about 1% in the quarter, largely due to unfavorable customer mix. To summarize, our typical outperformance of the light vehicle market by 8 to 10 percentage points was intact in Asia and North America in the third quarter. In Europe, we were in line with the market. However, you may recall that our dual-clutch transmission, DCT, business in Europe was exceptionally strong a year ago, making a tough year-over-year comparison. Our performance relative to North America market has been a challenge in recent quarters as adoption of advanced powertrain technology continues to lag other markets. However, the ramp-up of new programs, especially in Drivetrain segment, along with strong light-truck sales, boosted our sales in the third quarter. Working down the income statement, gross profit as a percentage of sales was 21% for the quarter. That's a 70-basis-point improvement from 20.3% a year ago. SG&A expenses were 8.7% of sales in the quarter, down slightly from 8.9% a year ago. R&D spending, which is included in SG&A, was 4% of sales in the third quarter, up 20 basis points from a year ago. This implies a 40-basis-point decline in SG&A spending, which we attribute to good execution of cost control plans. Reported operating income in the quarter was $226 million, or 12.5% of sales, compared with $192 million, or 11.3% of sales, on a comparable basis, a sharp improvement from a year ago. The 12.5% operating margin is a new third quarter record for the company. After excluding the impact of foreign currency and noncomparable items in the third quarter 2012, our incremental margin was about 36%, which is well above our mid-teens incremental margin target. Our outstanding performance by operations. As a result of our strong performance through the first 3 quarters, we are raising our full year operating margin to 12% or better from approximately 12%. As you look further down the income statement, equity in affiliate earnings was $10 million in the quarter, down slightly from the $11 million last year. This represents the performance of NSK-Warner, our 50-50 joint venture in Japan, which sells transmission components to our Japanese customers in Japan and China, as well as TEL, our turbocharger joint venture in India. Interest expense and finance charges were $8 million in the quarter, up from $5 million a year ago. Interest expense in the third quarter 2012 was lower to income from cross-currency swaps. Provision for income taxes in the quarter on a reported basis was $56 million. However, this included approximately $6 million of favorable discrete adjustments, which you can read in our 10-Q. Excluding these adjustments, provisions for income taxes were about $62 million, which is a 27% effective tax rate, in line with our 2013 guidance. Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest were $6.1 million in the quarter, up from $5.6 million a year ago. This line item reflects our minority partner share in the earnings performance of our Korean and Chinese consolidated joint ventures. That brings us back to net earnings, which were $167 million in the quarter or $1.45 per share. On a comparable basis, net earnings were $1.40 per share, up 18% from $1.19 per share a year ago, outstanding performance for the company. Now let's take a closer look at the operating groups. Engine Group sales were up $1.2 billion in the quarter. Excluding currency and 2012 dispositions, Engine Group sales were up 4% compared with the third quarter in 2012. Adjusted EBIT for the Engine Group was $196 million in the quarter, or 16.2% of sales. That's 40 basis points higher than the 15.8% reported a year ago. Excluding currency and 2012 dispositions, the group's year-over-year incremental margin was 32%, excellent performance for the Engine Group. In the Drivetrain Group, sales were $604 million in the quarter. Excluding currency, Drivetrain Group sales were up 10% compared with the third quarter 2012. On a reported basis, adjusted EBIT was $66 million, or 10.9% of sales, sharply higher than the 8.3% of sales a year ago. The year-over-year incremental margin for Drivetrain Group, excluding currency, was 38%, which is outstanding performance and a third consecutive strong quarter for the Drivetrain Group. However, consistent performance from Drivetrain remains a concern and an area of focus for us. If you look at the balance sheet and cash flow, we generated $515 million of net cash from operating activities in the first 9 months of 2013, down $28 million from the first 9 months of 2012. Capital spending was $298 million in the first 9 months of 2013, up $15 million from the same period a year ago. Our capital spending is required to support our program launches around the world, particularly in Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and Mexico. Free cash flow during the period, which we define as net cash from operating activities less capital spending, was $217 million. Our free cash flow was used to repurchase 226 million of shares in the first 9 months of 2013. We purchased more than 2.6 million shares this year, leaving approximately 5.5 million shares on the current authorization. Looking at the balance sheet itself. Balance sheet debt increased by $205 million compared with the end of 2012. Cash increased by $205 million during the same period, leaving net debt flat compared to the end of 2012. At the end of the third quarter, our net debt-to-capital ratio was 9.3%, down from 10% at the end of 2012 and below our target range of 15% to 30%. Net debt-to-EBITDA at the end of the third quarter on a trailing 12-month basis was 0.3x. Our capital structure remains in excellent shape. Also, as James mentioned, the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share of common stock, payable on November 15, 2013 to shareholders of record on November 1, 2013. The dividend is an important and stable component of our cash deployment strategy, which also includes capital expenditures to fund our organic growth, acquiring strategic assets and repurchasing shares. After CapEx and paying the dividend, our priority is strategic acquisitions. However, in the absence of a deal, repurchasing shares remains an option for us. We have repurchased approximately 6.8 million shares over the last 6 quarters. Now I'd like to discuss our guidance for 2013, which has changed from what we provided in July. James reviewed our guidance at a high level. I'll discuss some of the finer points. Our sales growth expectations of 3% to 4%, or 4% to 5% excluding 2012 disposition, still assumes very little currency impact. The net impact of currencies in the first 9 months was small as the weakening yen and the Brazilian real partially offset the strengthening euro. We will continue to monitor foreign currencies and provide updates as needed. We still expect raw material inflation of $15 million to $20 million in 2013 but now toward the lower end of that range. As James mentioned earlier, our operating income margin is now expected to be 12% or better in 2013, up from approximately 12%. Productivity gains and spending controls seen in the first 9 months of the year are expected to continue to drive strong results for the remainder of the year. Our expected diluted share count for 2013 is still expected to be approximately 116 million shares. This diluted share count guidance is based on share repurchases made to date. Any additional share repurchases that may be executed during the remainder of the year are not factored into our guidance. And finally, our EPS guidance range is now $5.55 to $5.65 per diluted share, up from $5.40 to $5.55 per diluted share previously. Both the current and previous guidance ranges excluded noncomparable items. The guidance raise is due to better-than-expected performance from our operations. So we continue to be confident in our ability to execute in any market. This company has demonstrated a heightened focus on efficiency and cost controls since the 2009 recession. This focus resulted in highly efficient growth and record margins in each of the last 3 years. Weak market conditions, particularly in Europe, will likely result in sales growth below our long-term trend in 2013. Despite this, 2013 should be another year of record sales and record profits for BorgWarner. Over the long term, we intend to execute our growth strategy and over the short term remain focused on efficiency regardless of the direction of the market. And with that, I'd like to turn the call back over to Ken.