Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN), a leading provider of irrigation systems and infrastructure products, today announced results for its first quarter ended November 30, 2015.

First Quarter Results

First quarter fiscal 2016 revenues were $121.6 million versus $134.8 million of revenues in the same prior year period. Net earnings were $6.9 million or $0.62 per diluted share compared with $7.6 million or $0.62 per diluted share in the prior year.

Total irrigation equipment revenues decreased 12 percent to $101.3 million from $114.7 million in the prior fiscal year’s first quarter. U.S. irrigation revenues of $59.2 million decreased 6 percent due to a decrease in units sold partially offset by sales in Elecsys Corporation, which was acquired during the second quarter last year. International irrigation revenues of $42.1 million decreased 19 percent due to the impact of currency exchange rates and lower sales in Brazil and certain export markets. Infrastructure revenues increased 1 percent to $20.3 million with increases in road safety and Road Zipper products and leases offset by the impact of currency exchange rates and lower rail and contract product sales.

Gross margin was 28.3 percent of sales compared to 27.4 percent of sales in the prior year’s first quarter. Gross margin in irrigation increased by approximately 1 percentage point and infrastructure gross margin also increased by approximately 1 percentage point. Irrigation gross margin increased primarily as a result of a change in sales mix with the addition of Elecsys in the current year. Competitive pricing persists, but has primarily consisted of passing-through the steel price declines realized. The increase in infrastructure gross margin was primarily due to sales mix.

Operating expenses decreased $2.3 million to $22.7 million compared to the first quarter of the prior fiscal year. The prior year included $2.1 million of expenses related to an increase in the estimated environmental liability and acquisition related expenses, while the current year includes $2.4 million of incremental expenses related to the operation of Elecsys Corporation. Excluding these items, operating expenses decreased by $2.6 million due primarily to reductions in personnel expenses and collections of accounts receivable that were reserved for in prior periods. Operating expenses were 18.6 percent of sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2016 compared with 18.5 percent of sales in the prior year period. Operating margins were 9.7 percent in the first quarter, versus 8.8 percent in the prior year period.

Cash and cash equivalents of $129.3 million were $10.0 million lower compared to the prior year first quarter. The Company repurchased 136,263 shares for $9.2 million during the first quarter. $102.8 million remains available under the Company’s share repurchase program.

Backlog of unshipped orders at November 30, 2015 was $61.9 million compared with $68.3 million at November 30, 2014 and $48.0 million at August 31, 2015. The November 30, 2015 backlog included $8.1 million of backlog for Elecsys Corporation while the prior year backlog included $12.7 million related to the Golden Gate Bridge project.

Outlook

Rick Parod, president and chief executive officer, commented, “The irrigation markets continue to be constrained by lower commodity prices, and foreign exchange rates continue to negatively affect international sales.”

Parod continued, “While it appears we are at or near the bottom of the cycle, we expect the market environment will remain challenging at least through 2016. We do not expect to have visibility into the primary selling season until February or March. Longer term, drivers for the Company’s markets of population growth, expanded food production, efficient water use, and infrastructure upgrades and expansion, support our expectation for growth.”

First-Quarter Conference Call

Lindsay’s fiscal 2016 first quarter investor conference call is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time today. Interested investors may participate in the call by dialing (888) 321-8161 in the U.S., or (706) 758-0065 internationally, and referring to conference ID # 2037724. Additionally, the conference call will be simulcast live on the Internet, and can be accessed via the investor relations section of the Company's Web site, www.lindsay.com. Replays of the conference call will remain on our Web site through the next quarterly earnings release. The Company will have a slide presentation available to augment management's formal presentation, which will also be accessible via the Company's Web site.

About the Company

Lindsay manufactures and markets water management equipment and services including irrigation systems, pump stations, filtration, and M2M controls designed to increase or stabilize crop production while conserving water, energy, and labor, and that also provide efficiency benefits in various industrial applications. The Company also manufactures and markets infrastructure and road safety products under the Lindsay Transportation Solutions trade name. At November 30, 2015 Lindsay had approximately 11.2 million shares outstanding, which are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNN.

For more information regarding Lindsay Corporation, see the Company’s Web site at www.lindsay.com.

Concerning Forward-looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties and which reflect management’s current beliefs and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. You can find a discussion of many of these risks and uncertainties in the annual, quarterly and current reports that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations and planned financing of the Company and those statements preceded by, followed by or including the words “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” "expect," "outlook," "could," "may," "should," “will,” or similar expressions. For these statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release.

 
Lindsay Corporation and Subsidiaries
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)
         
Three months ended
November 30, November 30,
($ and shares in thousands, except per share amounts) 2015 2014
 
Operating revenues $ 121,622 $ 134,845
Cost of operating revenues   87,208     97,931  
Gross profit   34,414     36,914  
 
Operating expenses:
Selling expense 9,992 9,417
General and administrative expense 9,015 12,871
Engineering and research expense   3,659     2,724  
Total operating expenses   22,666     25,012  
 
Operating income 11,748 11,902
 
Other income (expense):
Interest expense (1,196 ) (71 )
Interest income 164 172
Other expense, net   (320 )   (342 )
 
Earnings before income taxes 10,396 11,661
 
Income tax expense   3,452     4,093  
 
Net earnings $ 6,944   $ 7,568  
 
Earnings per share:
Basic $ 0.62 $ 0.62
Diluted $ 0.62 $ 0.62
 
Shares used in computing earnings per share:
Basic 11,259 12,224
Diluted 11,288 12,274
 
Cash dividends declared per share $ 0.280 $ 0.270
 
 
Lindsay Corporation and Subsidiaries
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited)
             
November 30, November 30, August 31,
($ and shares in thousands, except par values) 2015 2014 2015
 
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 129,260 $ 139,287 $ 139,093
Receivables, net 70,403 89,165 74,063
Inventories, net 78,246 77,010 74,930
Deferred income taxes 12,305 17,107 15,807
Other current assets   18,494     18,853     18,274  
Total current assets   308,708     341,422     322,167  
 
Property, plant and equipment, net 78,989 70,901 78,656
Intangibles, net 50,598 30,821 51,920
Goodwill 76,497 36,634 76,801
Other noncurrent assets, net   6,824     10,299     6,924  
Total assets $ 521,616   $ 490,077   $ 536,468  
 
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 39,106 $ 48,648 $ 38,814
Current portion of long-term debt 194 - 193
Other current liabilities   48,255     60,972     56,105  
Total current liabilities   87,555     109,620     95,112  
 
Pension benefits liabilities 6,500 6,530 6,569
Long-term debt 117,124 - 117,173
Deferred income taxes 18,583 11,903 18,971
Other noncurrent liabilities   10,162     9,190     10,083  
Total liabilities   239,924     137,243     247,908  
 
Shareholders' Equity:
Preferred stock - - -
Common stock 18,713 18,674 18,684
Capital in excess of stated value 55,287 52,650 55,184
Retained earnings 462,713 449,658 458,903
Less treasury stock (238,152 ) (162,006 ) (228,903 )
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net   (16,869 )   (6,142 )   (15,308 )
Total shareholders' equity   281,692     352,834     288,560  
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 521,616   $ 490,077   $ 536,468  
 
 
Lindsay Corporation and Subsidiaries
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)
   
      Three months ended
November 30, November 30,
($ in thousands) 2015 2014
 
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net earnings $ 6,944 $ 7,568
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash
provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 4,295 3,748
Provision for uncollectible accounts receivable 153 169
Deferred income taxes 2,060 (774 )
Share-based compensation expense 906 1,099
Other, net 1,648 1,368
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Receivables 2,503 1,792
Inventories (3,749 ) (5,347 )
Other current assets 982 (1,513 )
Accounts payable 733 7,300
Other current liabilities (6,322 ) (8,131 )
Current income taxes payable (1,089 ) (3,441 )
Other noncurrent assets and liabilities   (614 )   1,857  
Net cash provided by operating activities   8,450     5,695  
 
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (4,705 ) (3,649 )
Proceeds from settlement of net investment hedges 231 1,889
Payments for settlement of net investment hedges (512 ) (329 )
Other investing activities, net   749     -  
Net cash used in investing activities   (4,237 )   (2,089 )
 
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from exercise of stock options 72 -
Common stock withheld for payroll tax withholdings (719 ) (1,699 )
Principal payments on long-term debt (48 ) -
Excess tax benefits from share-based compensation 53 501
Repurchase of common shares (9,249 ) (29,986 )
Dividends paid   (3,134 )   (3,276 )
Net cash used financing activities   (13,025 )   (34,460 )
 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents   (1,021 )   (1,701 )
Net change in cash and cash equivalents (9,833 ) (32,555 )
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period   139,093     171,842  
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 129,260   $ 139,287