R. Roger Berrier
Analyst · Sidoti & Company
Thanks, Ron, and good morning, everyone. Looking at all retail sales after a positive start to the 2013 calendar year, retail sales dropped temporarily in the month of March, as shoppers held back on spending because of cold weather, combined with the impact of January's payroll tax increase. March 2013 was the coldest March in 7 years, which delayed sales of spring apparel. However, this did help move some of the remaining winter apparel inventory, which should be positive going into next winter season. Many analysts expect April retail sales to be stronger, as the weather improves and the shoppers benefit from tax refunds and falling gas prices. Looking at the individual market segments related to our product offering. The automotive segment continues to be a bright spot in the economy. March turned out to be the best month in auto sales in at least 6 years, with some automakers reporting their best monthly total sales since the start of the recession in December 2007. Low interest rates and the desire to replace older vehicles with more fuel-efficient ones are helping to drive demand for new cars and trucks. The current production forecast for 2013 is expected to be at the highest level we've seen since 2006. The Ford Focus was recently named the #1 selling vehicle in the world. And as mentioned on previous calls, consumers can now find REPREVE in the cloth seating fabrics of the Ford Focus Electric. We continue to expand our relationship with Ford as REPREVE has been selected for some 2015 models, and we will provide an update on these new vehicle adoptions in the coming quarters. Retail sales of apparel in the U.S. increased 2.9% for the March 2013 quarter compared to the March 2012 quarter, and improved by 0.8% compared to the December 2010 quarter mainly due to retail sales price inflation. There are some preliminary indications that apparel consumption on a square meter fabric basis will grow slightly in the calendar 2013 compared to 2012, which would be a positive sign for the company from a volume standpoint. Retail inventory days of apparel have held steady at approximately 73, however, inventory days at apparel producers increased for the second consecutive quarter, and are now at 59 days. We have been aggressively managing our inventory, including extending the length of our Christmas holiday shutdown during the March quarter, to ensure that we stay in line with demand in the supply chain. While this had a negative effect on our volume at the beginning of the quarter, we are now running our domestic operations at very high utilization rates going into our fiscal fourth quarter, while maintaining healthy inventory and high customer service levels. In the housing market, privately owned housing starts in March were 7% above February's estimates and 47% above the March 2012 rate. Retail sales in dollars for home furnishings for the March 2013 quarter were up 3% compared to the same quarter last year, and inventory days remained at year-ago levels. While this segment continues to remain below expectations and near previous recession level lows, it is showing signs of improvement. To summarize, the volume in the March quarter started out very slowly in January, but picked up significantly as we move through the quarter. Our sales volume rates have returned to targeted levels in the month of March, and we feel optimistic that the momentum that we're seeing will continue into the June quarter and into our next fiscal year. In terms of raw materials, the company expected pricing to increase only slightly during the March quarter. However, raw material prices for polyester increased by approximately 5%, which was a much sharper increase than anticipated, and was driven by the tight global supply of the primary ingredients for polyester. We have seen raw material prices moderate in the June quarter, as the tight raw material market conditions began to ease. And we also expect to recover lost margin in our fiscal fourth quarter, as adjustments to our sales prices take effect. The gap in polymer pricing between the U.S. and Asia increased in the March 2013 quarter to approximately $0.14 per pound. We are now at 6 consecutive quarters where the gap between the U.S. and Asia is above $0.10 per pound, and we expect the gap in the June 2013 quarter to be at or above the current quarter. This raw material gap, along with cheap import pricing in polyester DTY, continues to put pressure on the low end of our product offering. However, the success that we have had with our mix enrichment strategy has helped lessen the impact of such pressures over the past few years. Turning to our Brazil business. The results in the March 2013 quarter also started slowly from the Christmas holiday and then into the Brazilian Carnival period in February. The inflation rate in Brazil, which stands at 6.5% on a rolling 12-month basis, the recent changes in the Brazilian value-added tax credits and the continuous pressure of cheap imported textured yarn have made conditions in Brazil very challenging for the first 9 months of the fiscal year. However, we've been working on several initiatives designed to recover gross profit, volume and to overcome the loss of the VAT benefits. We started realizing some of this improvement in March, and expect an improving financial trend as these initiatives are now in place for the fourth quarter and going into the 2014 fiscal year. Our gross profit performance in China greatly improved in the March 2013 quarter despite the generally soft market conditions there and relatively low capacity utilization rates throughout the Chinese textile industry. Data from Europe indicate that its major economies are beginning to show signs of emerging from the recession, which bodes well for our operations in China as European and U.S. brands are the primary users of garments from China that utilize our products. Interest and demand for our premier value-added products remain robust, and we continue to be encouraged and excited by the opportunities that are either in development or under consideration with key brands. Although we will fall just short of our growth expectations for the 2013 fiscal year in China, we expect our results to be much better than the prior year, and the positive momentum should carry into our next fiscal year. We continue to be on track to double our global sales of premier value-added yarn by 2014. REPREVE continues to be the flagship in our PVA portfolio, and we are very pleased with the opportunities of new and upcoming REPREVE product adoptions. We are expanding into new end-uses and market segments, and continue to grow the brand with current customers. In addition to the work that we are doing with Ford, we are also excited to work with Freudenberg, a large non-wovens producer, where we have expanded our REPREVE product offering by providing them with REPREVE recycled polyester polymer as the starting ingredient for their non-woven process. This provides us with the unique opportunity to grow into new market segments ranging from carpeting to injection molding. We also have a number of product adoptions in the men's bottom weight business, and we are breaking into the women's wear market segment with our Brazilian high-end denim manufacturer based on Florida. As we narrow in on our target demographic, the eco-conscious consumer and brand, we are starting to further penetrate markets, including the swim market, with leading brands, Quiksilver, Vitamin A and Eco Swim. We also have expanding business with Volcom and the cap and gown graduation community, just to name a few. We are very pleased with the results achieved from our association with the X Games Aspen, which took place in late January. As you may recall, REPREVE was the official recycling partner at the games, and we partnered with Elena Hight, who was a decorated X Games Women's Snowboard SuperPipe medalist, to service as our brand ambassador. Through our national advertising campaign, we reached over 42 million consumers with our REPREVE message with ESPN. Additionally, with an aggressive media and social media campaign and on-site activations, we directly engaged tens of thousands of consumers with the brand. Taking a more active role in marketing REPREVE directly to consumer not only creates awareness for REPREVE among target consumers, it also raises the visibility and credibility among brands and retailers. We will continue to evaluate additional marketing programs for REPREVE to build upon the momentum created by the X Games, and to establish REPREVE as a leading ingredient in sustainable products. We will be updating more on these strategic marketing initiatives during the upcoming quarters. With that as a backdrop, I will turn the call back over to Ron.