Ronald T. Hundzinski
Analyst · Wells Fargo Securities
Thanks, James, and good day, everyone. Before I begin reviewing the financials, I would like to commend all of our employees for their hard work and congratulate them on another great quarter. Once again, the team exceeded expectations, and congratulations. Now on to the financials. James already provided a detailed review of our sales performance in the quarter. In summary, sales were up 16% from a year ago, or 8% excluding the impact of foreign currencies and the Wahler acquisition. The growth in the quarter came from both segments, from nearly every product group and from around the world. Overall, a strong quarter for sales. Working down the income statement. Gross profit as a percentage of sales was 21.5% in the quarter. That's a 60-basis-point improvement from a year ago, another great quarter. SG&A as a percent of sales was 8.2% in the quarter, flat with the second quarter 2013. R&D spending, which is included in SG&A, was 4.1% of sales in the second quarter, up 30 basis points from a year ago. This implies 30-basis-points improvement in other SG&A spending. We attribute this to good execution of our cost-control plan. Reported operating income in the quarter was $281 million. However, this includes a $15 million charge related to restructuring activities that I will discuss shortly. Excluding the charge, operating income was $296 million or 13.5% of sales compared with 12.9% of sales on a comparable basis a year ago. After excluding the impact of foreign currency, the Wahler acquisition and the restructuring charge, our year-over-year incremental margin was about 31%, well above our mid-teens incremental margin target. In summary, operational efficiency led to an improved gross profit margin. Cost controls led to a lower SG&A spending, and this allowed us to increase R&D spending and expand our operating margin income. That's a great way of running a company, outstanding performance. As you look further down the income statement, equity in affiliate earnings was $12 million in the quarter, up from $11 million last year. This represents the performance of NSK-Warner, our 50-50 joint venture relationship 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 $9 million in the quarter, flat from the same quarter last year. Provision for income taxes in the quarter on a reported basis was $85 million. However, this included a $2 million tax benefit related to restructuring charges. Excluding the impact of restructuring, provision for income taxes was about $87 million, which is an effective tax rate of 29% in the quarter. Our estimated effective tax rate for the full year, excluding noncomparable items, is now 28.5%, up from 28% previously. The increase is primarily due to a change in expected mix of income from around the world. Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest was $10 million in the quarter, up from $6 million a year ago. This line item reflects our minority partner's share in earnings performance of our Korean and Chinese consolidated joint ventures. That brings us back to net earnings, which were $190 million in the quarter or $0.83 per share. Excluding the impact of restructuring activities, net earnings were $0.89 per share, up 19% from $0.75 per share a year ago, outstanding performance for the company. Now let's take a close look at our operating segments in the quarter. As James said earlier, reported Engine segment sales were $1.5 billion in the quarter. Excluding currency and Wahler, Engine segment organic sales growth was 6% from a year ago. Note that our commercial vehicle business, which has faced a challenging environment this year, is in the Engine segment. On a reported basis, adjusted EBIT for the Engine segment was 16.1% of sales. Excluding currency and Wahler, adjusted EBIT for the Engine segment was 17.6% of sales, up 50 basis points from 17.1% reported a year ago. Excluding currency and Wahler, the Engine segment's year-over-year incremental margin was 26% in the second quarter, very good performance for the Engine segment. On our last earnings call, we discussed operational efficiencies and footprint opportunities for Wahler that presented a clear path to double-digit margins. This restructuring plan is expected to cost approximately $28 million, including a $3 million charge taken in the second quarter. The charges will be recorded over the next 2 to 3 years, after which, Wahler is expected to be a double-digit margin business. The total consideration from Wahler, plus the cost of restructuring, is less than 0.5x sales. In the Drivetrain segment, reported sales were just under $710 million in the quarter. Excluding currency, organic sales growth was 13% from a year ago. On a reported basis, adjusted EBIT was 12.6% of sales. Excluding currency, adjusted EBIT was 12.5% of sales, up sharply from 9.7% of sales a year ago. Excluding currency, the Drivetrain segment's year-over-year incremental margin was 35% in the second quarter, another outstanding quarter for the Drivetrain segment. As mentioned earlier, the Drivetrain restructuring continues. In the second quarter, we took a $9 million charge related to the plan. To date, we have recorded approximately $100 million in charges related to the plan, 2/3 of which will be cash outlays for severance and other activities. We expect to record another $40 million by the end of 2015. These remaining charges will also be primarily cash. As a result of the restructuring, we expect Drivetrain's adjusted EBIT margin to improve by at least 100 basis points. Now let's take a look at the balance sheet and cash flow. We generated $326 million of net cash from operating activities in the first 6 months of 2014, up from $300 million a year ago. The increase was primarily related to higher net earnings. Capital spending was $257 million in the first 6 months of 2014, up $63 million from a year ago. The increase was driven by capital required to support our backlog of net new business, which is gaining momentum. Free cash flow, which we define as net cash from operating activities less capital spending, was $69 million in the first 6 months of 2014, down from $105 million during the same period last year, primarily due to higher capital spending. Looking at the balance sheet itself. Balance sheet debt increased $23 million at the end of the second quarter compared to the end of 2013. Cash decreased by $168 million during the same period. The $191 million increase in net debt was primarily due to capital expenditures and the Wahler acquisition. Our net debt-to-capital ratio was 10.9%, up from 7.2% at the end of 2013. Net debt-to-EBITDA at the end of the year, on a trailing 12-month basis, was 0.3x. I meant at the end of the second quarter. Our capital structure remains excellent. Now our guidance for 2014. James reviewed our guidance at a high level, I'd like to discuss some of the finer points. Our sales growth guidance range is now 13% to 15%, up from 12% to 15% previously. The increase is partly due to an improved volume outlook, partly due to stronger foreign currencies and primarily the euro. We still expect raw material inflation of $5 million to $10 million in 2014. Still a headwind, but less than we've seen in a typical year. Our operating income margin is now expected to approach 13% in 2014. This is primarily due to our operations continuing to exceed expectations. Our EPS guidance range has been raised to $3.25 to $3.35 per diluted share, up from $3.15 to $3.30 per diluted share. The $0.08 per share increase from midpoint to midpoint has 2 components; a $0.02 per share decline from a higher tax rate and a $0.10 per share increase from an improved outlook for the business. Our guidance implies lower sales and earnings in the second half of 2014 compared with the first half, so I'd like to review the logic on this. In a stable year, revenue and operating income are typically lower in the second half due to summer shutdowns and year-end holidays in both Europe and North America. In addition, the relocation of Drivetrain's European operations, which began this month and will continue into 2015, will incur start-up costs and other temporary inefficiencies. And you may recall that we deferred spending in 2013 to defend against the slower growth environment that we were in. Some of that spending is expected to return this year, primarily in the second half. With that said, our operations have been performing at a very high level over the last several quarters. The momentum they've gained may, to some degree, offset the challenges ahead. Finally, our expected diluted share count for 2014 is unchanged at approximately 230 million shares. This diluted share count guidance excludes any share repurchases that may be executed during the year. We continue to be confident in our ability to execute in any market. This company has demonstrated a heightened focus on efficiency and cost. This focus resulted in highly efficient growth and record margins in each of the last 4 years. With return to historical growth rates and our operations performing at a very high level, 2014 should be another year of record sales and record profits for BorgWarner. As we look beyond 2014, we intend to execute our growth plan, yielding high-single- to low-double-digit growth, and to efficiently convert our sales growth to profits. The future is bright for BorgWarner. So with that, I'd like to turn the call back over to Ken.