Pamela J. Huggins
Analyst · Clear Harbor Asset Management
Thanks, Don. Let's reference Slide #5 now, and I'll begin by addressing earnings per share for the quarter. On the slide to the left, you can see that adjusted fully diluted earnings per share for the third quarter came in at $1.88 versus $1.69 for the same quarter last year, which is an increase of $0.19 or 11%. As you recall, last quarter, we planned to have $0.20 in restructuring, and we came in at $0.28 for the quarter. And this compares to restructuring last year of $0.01. So moving to Slide #6. This chart on Slide #6 lays out the significant components of the WAC from the adjusted earnings per share of $1.69 last year for the third quarter, to the $1.88 for the third quarter of this year. And as you can see from this slide, the significant items are increased segment operating margin due to North America and International, and lower below the line expenses due mainly to pension expense, partially offset by higher tax rate due to the expiration of the R&D credit. So moving to Slide #7. And on the far right, focusing on the adjusted number here, you can see that sales increased almost 3.5% in the quarter versus the same quarter last year. And as shown in the gold box on the left, currency reduced sales by a little less than 1%. So adjusted to realignment cost in the quarter, segment operating margins, detailed at the bottom of the slide, of 14.7% are ahead of last year of 14.1%. Realignment costs in the quarter were $60 million versus realignment cost last year of $2 million. The higher segment operating income this year of $493 million versus $465 million last year, a 6% improvement, and that's due to higher volume in International, a slight volume increase, product mix and tight cost control in North America. So now moving to Slide #8 and focusing on Diversified Industrial North America, focusing on the segments here. For the quarter, North America reported revenues increased to $1.46 billion from $1.43 billion, an increase of almost 2%, 1.9%. And if you adjust for the unfavorable currency impact, mainly the Canadian currency, organic growth was up almost 2.5%. Adjusted operating income increased to $243 million from $225 million, an 8% increase of the same quarter prior year, and again, mainly the result of higher volume in the quarter, product mix and tight cost control. So moving to Slide #9, addressing Diversified Industrial International. For the quarter, organic revenues increased 5%, and unfavorable currency reduced sales by a little less than 1%. As such, the reported revenue growth for the quarter was 4%. The increased sales in this business were mainly due to higher volume in Europe. Adjusting for realignment cost, operating margin for the quarter increased to $186 million from $159 million for the same quarter 1 year ago. Realignment costs were $59 million in the quarter. So of the total $60 million that we had in restructuring in this quarter, $59 million related to International. And last year, in International, there was $1 million in realignment cost. Margins increased 150 basis points from 12.2% to 13.7%, and again, due to higher volume. So moving to Slide #10 and addressing Aerospace Systems. Revenues adjusted for the previously announced joint venture increased 2%, and the impact of acquisitions and currency on this segment was negligible. Operating margin decreased to $64 million from $80 million versus the same quarter a year ago, and this is really due to the OEM, MRO mix in this particular quarter. So moving to order rates, Slide #12. It details order changes by segment. These numbers represent a trailing average in our reported as a percentage increase of absolute dollars year-over-year, and they exclude acquisitions, divestitures and currency. Diversified Industrial uses a 3-month average, while Aerospace Systems uses a 12-month average. I think, you can see from this slide, total orders were positive, 7% for the March quarter just ended, representing 3 quarters of positive numbers. Diversified Industrial North American orders for the quarter just ended increased 6%. Diversified Industrial International orders increased 5% for the quarter. Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America were all positive. Aerospace System orders increased 16% for the quarter. So now, we'll move to the balance sheet. And Parker's balance sheet remains strong. Cash on the balance sheet at yearend was slightly over $2 billion at $2.1 billion, and Commercial Paper outstanding of $1.1 billion. DSI, or days sales and inventory, came in at 66 days, and this is a 6-day improvement sequentially versus the second quarter. Inventories levels at 11% of sales are improved versus last year, where inventories as a percent of sales were 11.3%. Accounts receivable in terms of DSO closed at 50. That's a 1-day increase from last quarter but that's mainly due to the higher sales at the end of the quarter in March. Weighted average days payable outstanding at the end of March was 56, and this is fairly consistent with last quarter. So now, moving to Slide 13, cash flow. Adjusted year-to-date cash flow from operations of $907 million or 9.4% of sales. This compares to $944 million last year or 9.9% of sales, adjusting for -- or adding back the discretionary pension contributions and the cash expended for the restructuring activities. In addition to the cash flow from operations, we had proceeds of more than $200 million from investing activities as well. So after increasing cash on hand by $315 million, the major uses of cash year-to-date are as follows: $357 million returned to the shareholders via share repurchases of $150 million and dividend payments of $207 million; $254 million utilized in the pay-down of Commercial Paper; and $167 million or 1.7% of sales utilized in connection with capital expenditures. So now, moving to Slide #14 and focusing on guidance, which I know all of you are interested in. The guidance on this slide, it's -- we have the guidance for sales growth, segment operating margins. Of course, below the line items, the tax, shares outstanding and adjusted earnings per share. Beginning at the top of the page with sales. Sales are expected to increase approximately 1.5% at the midpoint for the year, but on an adjusted basis, this is 3%, adjusting for the joint venture. Segment operating margins forecasted at 13.8% at the midpoint. This is slightly ahead of the projection last quarter, which was 13.7%, and this is obviously due to the better performance in the third quarter. Also included on this slide is the projection for below the line items, which you know includes corporate admin, interest and other. And so the forecast is $461 million for the year at the midpoint, this obviously excludes the nonrecurring items, such as the joint venture and the asset write-downs that were recorded in the second quarter. The full year tax rate now is projected at 34%. This is lower than that projected last year, and again, due to the lower tax rate in the third quarter as a result of some discrete items. A 29% tax rate is projected for the fourth quarter, and the number of shares outstanding used in the guidance is 151.7 million. So for the full year, as Don said, the adjusted earnings per share guidance is $6.40 to $6.60, that's $6.50 at the midpoint. And this guidance range excludes the joint venture gain of $1.68 and the asset write-off of $1.26 that were recorded in the second quarter. But the $6.50 does include the projected realignment cost for the year of $0.55. So just a couple of points with regard to guidance. Sales first half, second half are divided 48% in the first half, 52% the second half. Segment operating income in the first half versus the second half is divided 46% in the first half, 54% in the second half. Looking at EPS, the first half and the second half, the first half is 44%; second half, 56%. And again, this excludes the JV gain and the asset write-off, but includes the realignment cost. So fourth quarter fully diluted earnings per share is projected to be $2.04 at the midpoint. Realignment costs are projected to be approximately $118 million, up from $100 million that we referenced last quarter, mainly due to the higher cost incurred in the third quarter. So the growth EPS impact to the year is $0.55 in realignment cost. The third quarter year-to-date growth impact of realignment cost is $0.40, and we're projecting $0.15 for the fourth quarter. This $0.15 that we're projecting for the fourth quarter is very much in line with what was provided last quarter. So now, savings are projected at $30 million or $0.15, very much in line. This is exactly what we said last quarter. However, savings next year increased from the incremental $50 million that we talked about last quarter to $60 million. So again, please remember that the forecast excludes any further acquisitions or divestitures that may be made in fiscal year 2014. And for published estimates, we ask that you please exclude the joint venture gain and the asset write-downs, but please include the restructuring expenses. So at this time, we'll now commence with the standard Q&A session. [Operator Instructions]