Operator
Operator
Good morning and welcome to the Crown Holdings Fourth Quarter 2015 Earnings Conference Call. Your lines have been placed on a listen-only mode until the question-and-answer session. Please be advised that this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Timothy Donahue, President and Chief Executive Officer. Sir, you may begin. Thomas A. Kelly - CFO, Senior VP & Head-Investor Relations: Thank you. It's actually Tom Kelly, and I'll start. Thank you and good morning, everyone. With me on today's call is Tim Donahue, our President and Chief Executive Officer. I will first take you through the numbers, and Tim will review the operational performance. On this call, as in the earnings release, we will be making a number of forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially from such statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to vary is contained in the press release and in our SEC filings, including our Form 10-K for 2014 and subsequent filings. Earnings per share were $0.47 in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $0.09 in the fourth quarter of last year. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.70 in the quarter or $0.77 at constant currency rates compared to $0.48 in 2014. Net sales for the fourth quarter were down 5% at actual exchange rates, but grew 3% at constant currency rates, including contributions from the Empaque acquisition. Segment income of $234 million in the quarter was well above the prior year due to contributions from Empaque, strong results in European Food and Americas Beverage and lower aluminum premiums. Segment income at constant currency rates improved by $54 million. Free cash flow of $602 million exceeded our guidance of $550 million due to continued exceptional working capital performance across the operations. At actual exchange rates, we have generated almost $1.9 billion in free cash flow over the last three years. Our net debt leverage ratio was 3.8 times at the end of the year using trailing EBITDA. We expect the ratio to be in the mid-3s at the end of 2016, assuming no stock buybacks. Looking ahead, we estimate adjusted 2016 full-year earnings of between $3.70 and $3.90 per share, an improvement of 6% at the midpoint over 2015's results. We currently estimate first quarter earnings of between $0.59 and $0.65 per share. We project a full-year diluted effective tax rate of between 24% and 25%, although it will vary from quarter-to-quarter. We estimate full-year free cash flow of approximately $425 million with $400 million in capital spending and relatively flat working capital. Tim will take you through some of the investment opportunities that are included in our spending projections. This guidance assumes average exchange rates for 2016 that are in line with current rates, including $1.09 per euro for the year. I'll now turn it over to Tim. Timothy J. Donahue - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director: Thank you, Tom, and good morning to everyone. As you've seen in last night's release and as Tom has just reviewed, we had an outstanding fourth quarter. As expected, results were significantly ahead of the prior year both on a reported basis and currency neutral basis. Before reviewing the performance within the operating segments, we thought it would be a good idea to review the major projects completed in 2015 and under way in 2016. In 2015 completed projects included the addition of a beverage can end capacity to our Goleniow, Poland plant with additional modules scheduled to be added in both 2016 and 2017, construction of a new aluminum beverage can line in the Custines, France facility, and the addition of a second beverage can production line to our Nong Khae, Thailand plant. In 2016, we will construct three new beverage can plants, one in Nichols, New York, one in Monterrey, Mexico, and one in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We will also add a second production line to our existing beverage can plant in Osmaniye, Turkey. The Nichols project, located in Southern New York State, Tioga County, is expected to be operational early in the first quarter of 2017 and will produce a variety of sizes to meet customer requirements on two high-speed beverage can lines. The Monterrey plant, expected to commence commercial shipments late in the fourth quarter of 2016, will initially be one high-speed multi-size capable beverage can line, primarily servicing increasing can demand for both domestic and export beer production in Mexico. We are also building our third beverage can plant in Cambodia in Phnom Penh to service that country's growing beer demand with start-up expected in this year's second quarter. Additionally, we are doubling production capacity at the Osmaniye, Turkey plant by adding a second production line to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2016. Tom once again has provided the currency impact on sales and segment income in the release, so my comments regarding fourth quarter and full-year operating performance will be on a currency-neutral basis. Most operations exceeded prior-year fourth quarter results. Global beverage can unit volumes increased 11% in the fourth quarter and were up 9% for the full year, largely as a result of the acquired Empaque operations, both growth also notable in Europe and Asia. In Americas Beverage, fourth quarter unit sales volumes advanced 16% over the prior year due to the acquired Empaque operations. Excluding Empaque, volumes in the segment were down 1% to the prior year, reflecting 2% lower volumes in North America after a strong third quarter For the year, North American volumes were up 2%. Segment income increased $40 million or 43% over the 2014 fourth quarter with just over half of the improvement coming from Empaque and the balance from our North American operations as they continue to improve manufacturing performance. This was the best performance I can remember in our North American Beverage operations and reflects excellent work by our manufacturing teams, especially the plant managers and their workforces. In 2016, the segment will benefit from an additional six weeks' inclusion of Empaque results and lower inflationary pressures in Brazil, offsetting currency translation in Latin America. In North American Food, revenue and income again declined compared to the prior year as a result of the previously discussed customer loss and early end to the pack as well as lower soup sales in the fourth quarter versus last year's strong soup season. We expect income performance in 2016 to stabilize after a soft first quarter in which the re-pricing effect on our higher price tinplate inventories will have an impact. Unit volumes in European Beverage increased by more than 6% in the fourth quarter, propelled by strong demand in Southern and Eastern Europe and in Saudi Arabia. As previously discussed, the installation of the aluminum can line to our Custines, France facility was completed in the second quarter. The line is running well, and in the second half of the year we have recovered volumes temporarily displaced by the line construction. Aluminum premiums were a $7 million tailwind, both for the fourth quarter and full year. Full-year 2015 volumes were down about 1% in the segment as strong performances across Southern and Eastern Europe were offset by demand weakness in Jordan. In 2016, we expect full-year volume growth and aluminum premium tailwinds to more than offset currency headwinds, which at current rates are expected to be much smaller than in 2015. In European Food, improved manufacturing performance across all metrics offset a 2% volume decline in the quarter. Unit sales were down to the prior year across many territories and crops, the lingering effect of lower 2015 harvest compared to 2014 for many fruits and vegetables. Income performance was up 58% in the quarter as we have completed the successful integration of Mivisa and achieved our planned synergies as of the end of 2015, a bit earlier than expected. Over the last two years, we have made several changes to the European Food manufacturing team, and they continue to make great progress. Best practice sharing among Crown and former Mivisa managers and operations continues to bear fruit, with full-year margins expanding 230 basis points in 2015 over 2014. Beverage can unit volumes in Asia-Pacific advanced 6% in the fourth quarter and 8% for the full year. Segment income improved over the prior year as strong performances throughout Southeast Asia offset continuing challenges in China, which we see continuing for the foreseeable future. Fortunately for Crown, we have an excellent platform in Southeast Asia, with China Beverage only accounting for about 25% of our Asia-Pacific segment sales. Looking back, both 2015 and 2014 have been very productive years, which have also been full of activity. The successful integration of two dynamic businesses, Mivisa and Empaque, coupled with continued growth across our global beverage platform, has allowed us to earn our way through currency headwinds faced by many U.S. multinationals. Adjusted earnings per share increased to $3.59 in 2015 from $2.99 in 2013 despite more than $0.50 per share of currency headwind over the two-year period. Leverage at the end of 2015 at 3.8 times is almost back to the 2014 level of 3.6 times, even after the Empaque transaction. We discussed earlier the major projects completed in 2015 and under way in 2016. And in addition to those, we continue to take actions elsewhere in the company to enhance future earnings, notably the announced closure of four food can and end factories, two in North America and two in European Food, and the sale of five European specialty packaging facilities. We have generated and will continue to generate significant operating cash flow, which we will use to reduce debt and to further invest in the future of our businesses. Looking ahead, we expect 2016 to be another productive year for Crown. From time to time we will face macroeconomic and social challenges in certain of our markets, but we have a well-diversified and resilient metal packaging platform from which to continue to operate. And, Danica, I think with that, we are ready to take some questions.