Patrick Miller
Analyst · Seaport Global. Your line is now open
Thank you, Terry. Good afternoon and welcome. In regards to 2016 it was an eventful year and one that positions the company well for future growth and improved profitability. We entered 2016 having announced SG&A reductions in restructuring plans to reduce fixed costs. Some of these initiatives were fully implemented in 2016 while others are being implemented now. Approximately half of the benefits were achieved in 2016. We also found ourselves involved in historic high number of new North American truck next-generation platforms launching over the next 12 to 18 months and we are looking forward to the benefits from the ramp up of these launches and new product development actions. Additionally, our Lean Six Sigma operational improvement efforts gained further momentum as we move through 2016, trained employees throughout the organization. We continue to implement continuous improvement projects across the company that are enhancing margins, improving safety, quality and overall performance. Furthermore, I'd like to announce the two winners of our internal CVG Presidents Awards. We are given awards for the best performing and the most improved lean value stream. These presidents' awards were established in 2015 to reward and reinforce the principles of lean value streams and continuous improvement. The performance ranges are measured utilizing an objective set of operational excellence metrics and cross-audited by multiple teams. There were several worthy nominations across the company. Our Chillicothe Ohio facility has been named the best overall performing lean value stream, and our Shanghai China facility has been awarded the most improved lean value stream. Congratulations to those facilities and the hardworking teams for their outstanding efforts. It's important to note that this lean program includes not only CVG employees but we have also welcomed employees from our key suppliers, furthering the reach and positive impact of this value driving program. We are pleased to report that we've exceeded our initial goal for the number of belts awarded in 2016, at year-end we have 549 awards of yellow, green and black belts exceeding our goal by more than 35%. In total this represents significant progress relative to planned objectives. Switching gears, our consolidated revenues for 2016 were down 20% for the full year as compared to 2015 challenged by tough market conditions. Global truck and bus segment revenues were down 26% versus prior here and global construction and agriculture segment revenues were down 7%. In spite of the sales reduction, both segments performed well managing the cost down to preserve margins. The adjusted operating income margin for global construction and Ag segment benefited from the initial restructuring and operational improvement actions implemented doubling the segments year-over-year operating income. As expected, our results were most heavily impacted by the North American heavy-duty truck production levels which were down 29% in 2016 to about 228,000 units. Net income for 2016 was $6.8 million, down slightly compared to 2015, primarily as a result of a decline in heavy-duty truck production; offset by the benefits resulting from previously mentioned actions, as well as a reduction in the 2016 income tax provision compared to the prior year. Full year earnings per share as adjusted for special items was $0.29 in 2016 as compared to $0.29 in 2015. Looking to 2017 and the global truck and bus segment, market forecasters such as ACT and FTR are projecting that the North American market for heavy duty trucks in 2017 has anticipated to decline by as much as 10% to 15% from the 228,000 units in 2016. However, we are encouraged by several positive signs including fleet order backlogs that have increased each of the last three months resulting from stronger than expected truck orders reported so far in the first quarter of 2017. Looking beyond this year, forecasts show heavy-duty truck production improving 20% year-over-year in both 2018 and 2019. Regarding the North American medium-duty truck market, Class 5 through 7 productions was slightly down in 2016 compared to 2015 although retail sales were higher year-over-year given a nominal increase to the backlog. Generally the medium-duty market is healthy and seeing consistent order patterns in line with the recent levels. ACT forecasts the Class 5 through 7 truck build in North America to improve in 2017 to about 246,000 units from 233,000 units in 2016 indicating the potential for 6% growth year-over-year. Now turning to the global truck and bus segment; as mentioned our team is fully engaged in North America with launch activities. For CVG our participation in these launches generally includes interior trim, seats, wiper systems, and cab structures. Our agreements with our OEM customers preclude us from commenting on specific wins and it can take several quarters for these sales to show up in revenue and earnings. But the programs are in place, we are positioned as a partner with our customers and look forward to the expected contribution these programs will make to our future financial results in the years to come. These programs typically ramp up fairly quickly and run for many years as new platforms come online. The majority of the North American truck launches represent replacement revenues for the current core business extending the business line, although many have incremental content and improved pricing which are additive. Regarding our global construction in Ag segment, the main driver behind our modest year-over-year GCS segment sales reductions was primarily attributable to continued softness in the North American construction and Ag markets while the rest of the world was stabilizing. For 2017 we currently see a bias toward strengthening of the construction markets we serve in Europe, Asia and North America. At this time our focus is to work closely with our customers to develop and rollout products for their local markets. In the fourth quarter of 2016 we participated in tradeshows in China and Italy launching a new generation of medium and large vehicle applications seats under the cap seating brand for the global construction and Ag markets this. This new seat line known as SCIOX is built upon our proven seat suspension technology and is reflective of our best-in-class performance, new styling and improved durability. The new seat line was well received and we are engaged with multiple customers in early development phases. The SCIOX line was also introduced in the U.S. earlier this week at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show in Las Vegas. We believe this new architecture has the potential to also open up the agriculture seat market and the light duty construction market for CVG where we've not traditionally participated. In the fourth quarter of 2016 the GCA team delivered another quarter of excellent financial results. I'm proud to say they continue to deliver improving margins on lower sales, strengthening their position to more fully leverage and improve cost position as volumes increase. In 2016, this group has increased margins in each successive quarter as compared to the comparable quarter in 2015. In addition to seating success is GCA's wire harness business continues to grow. In 2016 we want new share programs globally and are focused on finding opportunities in not only construction and military, our traditional core segments for wire harnesses but also agriculture truck power train which [ph] handling and power generation. We intend to continue to grow this business focusing our expansion on the segment that need technical solutions and complexity management as opposed to a more high volume commoditized wire harness business. One issue that we're currently working through involves our North American wire harness business. Our facilities are involved in numerous new launches, heightened seasonal orders and transferring products related to the restructuring. As a result, our employee hiring has been increasing at the same time, we are seeing a tight labor pool. Consequently in order to reduce high order backlogs and to protect our customers we are incurring unexpected inefficiencies in premium freight expenses. We don't provide financial guidance but wanted to share some color on this issue. These incremental expenses will impact our first quarter and part of the second quarter financial results as we implement plans to mitigate the situation and as agriculture orders nationally normalize early in the second quarter. Therefore we expect the Q1 results to be burdened with approximately $2 million to $3 million negative impact as we work through these production backlogs. The $2 million to $3 million relates to variance to normal expected drop as compared to the same quarter in the prior year. We will discuss this in more detail during the next quarter's call. Now I would like to bring you up-to-date on the progress being made on our overall restructuring initiatives which are delivering results. We've been reducing our fixed cost structure, making the company more capable to weather the market cycles today and going forward. In 2016 we've reduced our manufacturing footprint in North America, rationalized our capacity to better align with market dynamics. A little several of the plan changes are fully implemented we have a few initiatives still in process with the expectation to restructuring programs will be fully implemented in 2017. Overall, we are still on-track with our plan and look to generate the full breadth to anticipate savings by the end of 2017. As we realized the savings benefits of our cost reduction efforts, we are continuing to invest to expand our product portfolio. As we discussed, we've introduced a new generation of medium and large vehicle application proceeds for the global construction and agriculture markets. And we expect wire harness launches and increases to also contribute to our 2017 revenue. Our new launches include both replacement business for current product lines, as well as new products for expansion markets. At this time, as expected, investors are wondering about the potential impact of the new administration's future trade policy. We believe it was only about two months into the new administration, it's just too early to comment without knowing the specifics of any proposed actions but we continue to monitor the latest developments as they unfold and complete internal diligence on possible ramification. However, we are encouraged regarding the new administration's focus on the much needed infrastructure improvements across the U.S. and the stance that lower corporate tax rates would stimulate investment in growth. These types of infrastructure programs positively impact our business as well as that of our customers. Before So I turn it over to Tim to discuss our financial results in detail, I want to emphasize that I'm proud of the progress we're making in positioning the company for profitability through the market cycle as well as for future growth. We are energized about the near and longer term potential for the company. Tim will now cover the quarter and full year financial results. Tim?