Darren Myers
Analyst · BMO Capital Markets. Your line is open
Thank you, Jim, and good morning, everyone. Celestica delivered strong operating results in the first quarter, led by year-over-year growth in revenue, operating margin and return on invested capital. First quarter revenue of $1.35 billion was within our guidance range led by strength in our diversified markets. Let me begin with a few highlights for the first quarter. Revenue in the quarter increased 4% compared to the first quarter of 2015, primarily due to new programs in our diversified markets. Revenue from our diversified markets represented 34% of our total revenue, up from 28% in the first quarter of 2015. Adjusted operating margin was 3.3%, which was 20 basis points above the midpoint of our guidance range in the first quarter of 2015. Adjusted earnings of $0.26 per share was above our guidance range and part due to lower tax expense, as well as better than expected performance from our solar business. IFRS earnings were $25.6 million, a 30% improvement from $19.7 million, a year ago. And we achieved return on invested capital of 17.4%. Moving onto the first quarter details; looking at our revenue from an end market perspective, our diversified end markets represented 34% of our total revenue for the quarter. Diversified revenue increased 2% sequentially and 24% year-over-year, which was higher than our expectations. The year-over-year increase in our diversified revenue was primarily due to new program ramps in our energy and our aerospace & defense businesses. Our communications end market represented 38% of total revenue and was down 9% sequentially due to seasonality. Compared with the first quarter of 2015, communications revenue was flat as growth from new programs was offset by demand reductions associated with a certain program. Our storage business represented 16% of total revenue for the first quarter. Storage revenue decreased 27% on a sequential basis, slightly more than expected in part due to seasonality, weaker demand in the quarter, and a strong fourth quarter. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, revenue from our storage business was down 7% due to demand softness. Our Server business represented 9% of total revenue and was down 23% sequentially, in line with our expectations due to seasonality and strong fourth quarter revenue. Server revenue decreased 14% compared to the first quarter of 2015, primarily due to demand softness. And finally, our consumer end market, representing 3% of total first quarter revenue, was flat sequentially consistent with our expectations. Our top 10 customers represented 65% of revenue for the first quarter, down 3% from the fourth quarter of 2015, and up 1% from the same period last year. For the first quarter, we had two customers individually contributing greater than 10% of total revenue. Moving on to some of the other financial highlights for the quarter; adjusted gross margin of 7.2% was up 20 basis points sequentially, primarily due to improved performance from our solar business in Thailand. On a year-over-year basis, gross margin was down 20 basis points as improvements in our solar and semiconductor businesses more than offset changes in program mix. Our adjusted SG&A expense for the first quarter was $47 million, within our expected range of $47 million to $49 million. Adjusted operating earnings for the quarter were $44 million or 3.3% of revenue, which was above the midpoint of our guidance, primarily due to a better than expected performance of our solar business. On a year-over-year basis, operating margin increased 20 basis points driven by improved gross margin and lower SG&A expense. Our adjusted tax rate in the first quarter was 10.1%, below our expected range of 17% to 19% due primarily to taxable foreign exchange benefits from the strengthening of the Malaysian ringgit against the US dollar. Compared to our forecast, the lower tax rate resulted in a $0.02 per share benefit for the quarter. Adjusted net earnings for the first quarter were $38 million or $0.26 per share, compared to $33 million or $0.19 per share, for the same period of 2015. The year-over-year improvement in adjusted earnings was due to lower income taxes in the quarter, as well as higher operating earnings. Our adjusted earnings per share increased 37% year-over-year, as a result of higher earnings and a reduction in our outstanding shares as a result of the shares we repurchased and cancelled in 2015. First quarter IFRS net earnings were $25.6 million or $0.18 per share, compared to $19.7 million and $0.11 per share in the first quarter of 2015. Return on invested capital for the quarter was 17.4%, up from 16.8% for the same period last year. Moving to working capital; our inventory increased $61 million from the end of the fourth quarter of 2015 to $856 million at March 31. Inventory turns for the quarter were 6.1, down from 6.9 last quarter. Our inventory performance was negatively impacted by late demand reductions in the quarter, as well as higher inventory to support the ramping of new programs. We are targeting improvements in our inventory turns in the second quarter. Capital expenditures for the first quarter were approximately $15 million or 1.1 % of revenue, within our estimated range. Cash cycle for the first quarter was 47 days, a five-day increase from the fourth quarter of 2015. Our free cash flow for the quarter was negative $35 million compared to positive free cash flow of $22 million for the same period last year. Free cash flow was generally in line with our expectations and included the impact of our annual variable compensation payments. Moving on to our balance sheet; our balance sheet remains strong giving us the flexibility to continue investing in the business as well as give back to shareholders. Our cash balance decreased by $34 million sequentially to $511 million. Our net cash position at March 31 was $215 million, reflecting draws on our term loan of $231 million, and $65 million from our credit facility. As an update regarding our share repurchases, in February of this year, the Toronto Stock Exchange accepted our notice to launch a normal course issuer bid, which allows us to repurchase for cancellation at our discretion during the following 12 months up to approximately 10 million subordinate voting shares, representing approximately 7.3% of our total shares outstanding at the time of launch. During the quarter, we spent $4.3 million to repurchase and cancel approximately 400,000 shares at a weighted average share price of $10.73. We also entered into a $30 million program share repurchase or PSR, which we funded in March from our credit facility. We expect the shares for the PSR to be repurchased and canceled by the end of the second quarter. At the end of the first quarter, we had 143 million subordinate and multiple voting shares outstanding. Moving forward to our guidance for the second quarter of 2016; for the second quarter we are projecting revenues to be in the range of $1.4 billion to $1.5 billion. At the midpoint, revenue is projected to increase 2% year-over-year. Sequentially, revenue is expected to increase 7% largely due to seasonality. At the midpoint of our guidance, we expect adjusted operating margin of approximately 3.5%. Second quarter adjusted earnings are expected to be in the range of $0.25 to $0.31 per share. Our adjusted SG&A expense for the second quarter is projected to be in the range of $47 million to $49 million, and we estimate an annual adjusted tax rate range of 17% to 19%. Our second quarter guidance assumes the annual rate and excludes any impacts from taxable foreign exchange. I would now like to turn the call over to Rob for some comments on the first quarter, and the second quarter outlook.