Greg Thaxton
Analyst · Gabelli & Company. Your line is open
Thank you, Mike, and good morning to everyone. I’ll first provide some comments on our second quarter results, before moving on to our outlook for the third quarter of fiscal 2018. Second quarter sales increased 12% over the prior year’s second quarter. Inclusive of a decrease of approximately 1% in organic volume, approximately 7% increase related to the first year effect of acquisitions and approximately 5% increase related to the favorable effects of currency translation compared to the prior year’s second quarter. Organic sales volume was in line with our expectations, coming in at the midpoint of our guidance range as we expected moderation against last year’s results, particularly in the Advanced Technology Systems segment where prior year organic growth was 18%. Within the Adhesive Dispensing segment, organic volume was down about 2% against 5% organic growth in last year’s second quarter. Our end market demand remains relatively strong and we expect this segment to grow organically in the second half of the year. Within the Advanced Technology Systems segment, organic volume was down 1% as compared to the prior year’s second quarter organic growth of 18%. Although we did see growth in certain product lines, expected moderation in the quarter impacted performance. Prior year growth included very strong performance in both electronic systems and fluid management end markets. This segment’s acquisitive growth in the current quarter includes a partial month of 2017 InterSelect GmbH acquisition, two months of the 2017 acquisition of Vention and the 2018 acquisition of Sonoscan. Within the Industrial Coating segment, powder and container product lines drove this quarter’s organic sales growth of 4%. Moving down the income statement, gross margin for the total Company was 55% in the quarter. Operating profit improved 22% to $127 million as compared to the prior year’s second quarter, which reported operating margin of 23% in the current quarter. As Mike mentioned, the quarter’s results include approximately $4 million of incremental and tangible asset amortization expense as compared to the prior year’s second quarter. Excluding a $1 million charge in the quarter for restructuring, $2 million charge were step-up in value of acquired inventory and the $4 million of incremental amortization expense. Adjusted operating margin was 24% in the current quarter. As noted in the February earnings call, we did incur incremental costs associated with the adhesive facility’s consolidation effort that impacted total Company operating margin by approximately 50 basis points or $3 million. We’re estimating the incremental costs for this initiative will be about $2 million in the third quarter and $1 million in the fourth quarter. On a segment basis, Adhesive Dispensing delivered strong operating margin of 29% in the second quarter or 31% to exclude onetime restructuring charges of approximately $1 million and the $3 million incremental costs related to the facility consolidation efforts. Within the Advanced Technology Systems segment, reported operating margin was 23% in the second quarter or 26% when excluding $4 million of incremental intangible asset amortization expense and the $2 million of short-term purchase accounting charges related to the step-up in value of Sonoscan acquired inventory. The Industrial Coating segment delivered operating margin of 18% in the second quarter, which is up 70 basis points from the prior year due to volume leverage. On a total Company basis, net income for the quarter was $91 million and GAAP diluted earnings were $1.55 per share, a 40% increase over the prior year GAAP diluted earnings per share. The $4 million of incremental intangible asset amortization charges reduced earnings per share by $0.05 per diluted share, the $2 million for short-term purchase accounting related to step-up in value of acquired inventory and the $1 million of non-recurring restructuring charges reduced earnings per share by $0.04 per diluted share. Additionally, a tax benefit of $2 million or $0.04 per diluted share was recognized in the quarter for excess tax benefits related to share-based payment transactions which are credited to income tax expense. A reconciliation of GAAP earnings per share to non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share is included in the financial exhibits of our press release. We delivered strong second quarter EBITDA of a $157 million or $160 million on an adjusted basis to exclude the step-up in value of acquired inventory. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved approximately a 100 basis points over the prior year’s second quarter to 29% of sales. From a balance sheet perspective, net debt to trailing 12 months EBITDA was two times at the end of the second quarter. Our press release includes financial exhibits reconciling net income to free cash flow before dividends and adjusted free cash flow before dividends, as well as EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. I’ll now turn to the outlook for the third quarter of fiscal 2018. As in the recently completed second quarter, we are facing very difficult comparisons in our third quarter, where prior year third quarter organic growth was 11%, driven by strong organic growth in all three segments, including 18% organic growth in the Advanced Technology Systems segment. We are forecasting sales be in the range of up 1% to down 3% as compared to the third quarter a year ago. This outlook includes organic volume to be in the range of down 2% to down 6%, 1% growth from the first year effect of acquisitions and a positive currency effect of 2% based on the current exchange rate environment as compared to the prior year. We are forecasting solid organic growth in most all product lines in each segment with softness in the dispense product lines, serving electronic and automotive end markets. At the midpoint of this outlook, we expect third quarter gross margin to be about 55% and operating margin to be approximately 23%. We’re estimating third quarter interest expense of about $12 million and depreciation and amortization expense of about $28 million, resulting in third quarter forecasted GAAP diluted earnings in the range of $1.47 to $1.63 per diluted share. We expect EBITDA to be in the range of $155 million to a $168 million. Consistent with our comments in the February earnings call, our effective tax rate for the third quarter and full-year, based on current tax law and our jurisdictional mix of income, is estimated to be approximately 25%. And with that, I’ll turn the call back over to you, Mike.