Darren G. Myers
Analyst · Deutsche Bank
Thank you, Manny, and good afternoon, everyone. Celestica delivered a solid second quarter with revenue and adjusted earnings per share at the higher end of our guidance range. Second quarter revenue of $1.472 billion was at the high end of our guidance range as we experienced strong demand from our communications end market. Second quarter revenue increased 12% compared with the first quarter of 2014 and decreased 2% compared with the second quarter of 2013. Some highlights for the second quarter include: IFRS net earnings of $40.9 million or $0.22 per share. Non-IFRS adjusted earnings per share of $0.25 or $0.02 above the midpoint of our guidance range. Non-IFRS operating margin of 3.5% improved 60 basis points compared to the second quarter of 2013. Free cash flow of $41 million increased sequentially with improvements in inventory performance, and we delivered 19% return on invested capital. Looking at revenue from an end market perspective, relative to our beginning of quarter expectations, we experienced improved demand from our communications end market while revenue performance from our other end markets was generally as expected. Our diversified end markets comprised 28% of our total revenue for the quarter, which was consistent with the first quarter of the year and up from 25% in the second quarter of 2013. Diversified revenue increased 12% sequentially with growth in our industrial and aerospace and defense end markets. Within our industrial end market, sequential growth driven by new wins was partially offset by softness in our semiconductor business. Compared with the second quarter of 2013, diversified revenue grew 11% with increases across all areas with the exception of solar. Revenue from our communications end market represented 40% of total revenue. Communications revenue increased 12% from the first quarter with improved demand across a subset of customers. Compared to the second quarter of 2013, communications revenue declined 5%, primarily due to reductions in telecom and lower overall spend, partially offset by revenue growth from new programs. Second quarter revenue from our storage end market, representing 17% of total revenue, increased 16% sequentially, as expected, in part due to the ramp of new programs. Storage revenue grew 30% compared to the second quarter of 2013 driven by new programs, as well as overall improved demand. Server revenue in the second quarter, representing 10% of total revenue, increased 12% sequentially, in part due to seasonal impacts. Server revenue decreased 31% compared with the second quarter of 2013 as a result of overall weaker demand and the insourcing of the lower-margin assembly program that we have previously disclosed. And finally, our consumer end market, representing 5% of total revenue for the second quarter, was relatively flat on a sequential basis and decreased 26% compared to the second quarter of last year, primarily due to program completions and a deemphasis of certain lower-margin business in our consumer end market. Our top 10 customers represented 64% of revenue for the second quarter, which was consistent with the first quarter and down from 66% compared with the second quarter of 2013. For the second quarter, we had 3 customers individually contributing greater than 10% of total revenue. Moving on to some of the other financial highlights for the quarter. Our non-IFRS adjusted gross margin of 7.3% in the second quarter increased 70 basis points compared to the second quarter of 2013, due primarily to improved program mix and our continued focus on cost management. Non-IFRS adjusted SG&A expense for the quarter was $50.3 million, which was within our expected range of $49 million to $51 million. Non-IFRS adjusted operating profit or adjusted EBIAT of $51 million or 3.5% of revenue increased 40 basis points sequentially as a result of the higher revenue. Compared with the second quarter of 2013, despite lower revenue, adjusted operating profit increased 17%, and adjusted operating margin increased 60 basis points, driven by improved mix and cost productivity. Our adjusted tax rate of 10.4% in the second quarter was within our expected annual range of 10% to 12%. Second quarter IFRS net earnings were $40.9 million or $0.22 per share compared to $28 million or $0.15 per share for the second quarter of 2013. Second quarter IFRS net earnings increased by $12.9 million or 46% compared to the second quarter of 2013 despite the impact of lower revenue. This improvement in net earnings was primarily driven by improved operating results, as well as other recoveries recorded in the second quarter of 2014. Non-IFRS adjusted net earnings for the second quarter were $44.9 million or $0.25 per share compared to $38.6 million or $0.21 per share for the same period of 2013. Turning to working capital performance. Our inventory decreased by $44 million from the end of the first quarter to $782 million at the end of the second quarter. Inventory turns for the second quarter were 6.8 turns compared with 6.0 turns for the first quarter. Capital expenditures for the second quarter were approximately $21 million or 1.4% of revenue, within our expectations of 1% to 1.5% of revenue. Cash cycle for the second quarter was 44 days, an improvement of 4 days compared with the first quarter, due in part to lower inventory days. For the second quarter, we generated $41 million of free cash flow, driven by sequential improvements in earnings and working capital. Moving on to the remainder of the balance sheet. The company's financial position remains strong. Our cash balance increased $30 million from the end of the first quarter to $519 million at June 30. As an update to our share repurchase program, in the second quarter, we canceled 2.6 million shares at an average share price of $10.43. These shares were funded from the $27 million that we paid in the first quarter as part of a prepaid share repurchase plan, or a PSR. Under the PSR, the shares are not canceled until the PSR is complete. In the second quarter, we paid $17 million under a new PSR that was completed subsequent to the end of the second quarter on July 22. This PSR resulted in the repurchasing cancellation of 1.4 million shares at an average price of $12.17. Our current normal course issuer bid or NCIB will expire August 6, 2014. Today, we have repurchased and canceled 9.2 million shares as part of the NCIB. We may repurchase a further 300,000 shares prior to the completion of this NCIB. Based on our financial strength and confidence to consistently generate cash flows, we are planning to file on the third quarter with Toronto Stock Exchange a notice of intention to commence a new NCIB. If this notice is accepted by the TSX, we estimate that we will repurchase for cancellation, at our discretion during the following 12 months, up to approximately 6% of our outstanding shares. The actual number of shares we can repurchase will depend on applicable rules of the TSX, and we'll not be able to determine the final number to be repurchased until we launch the new NCIB. At the end of the second quarter, we had 178.8 million subordinate and multiple voting shares outstanding. As well, we have no outstanding debt, and our credit facility remains undrawn. Moving forward to our guidance for the third quarter of 2014. For the third quarter, we are projecting revenue to be in the range of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion. At the midpoint, this suggests third quarter revenue to decrease 1% sequentially and decrease 3% compared to the third quarter of 2013. At the midpoint of our guidance, we expect to deliver non-IFRS adjusted operating margin of 3.4%, sequentially down by 10 basis points, however, an improvement of 20 basis points compared to the third quarter of 2013. Third quarter adjusted earnings per share are expected to range from $0.21 to $0.27. Our non-IFRS adjusted SG&A expense for the third quarter is projected to be in the range of $49 million to $51 million. I would now like to turn the call over to Craig for some comments on the business environment and our near-term outlook.