Worthington Industries : Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2017 Results

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwired - Sep 28, 2016) - Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WOR) today reported net sales of $737.5 million and net earnings of $65.6 million, or $1.02 per diluted share, for its fiscal 2017 first quarter ended August 31, 2016. Net earnings in the quarter included pre-tax restructuring charges totaling $1.3 million. The after-tax impact of these charges reduced earnings per diluted share by $0.01. In the first quarter of fiscal 2016, the Company reported net sales of $758.1 million and net earnings of $32.0 million, or $0.48 per diluted share. Net earnings in the first quarter of fiscal 2016 included pre-tax impairment and restructuring charges totaling $6.1 million, which reduced earnings per diluted share by $0.06.

For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, the Company reported net sales of $0.7 billion and net earnings of $65.6 million, or $1.02 per diluted share, up from net earnings of $32.0, or $0.48 per diluted share, in the prior year. Net sales were down 3% year over year, or $20.6 million, driven primarily by lower average selling prices in Steel Processing and lower volume in Pressure Cylinders and Engineered Cabs. Fiscal year 2017 net earnings were adversely affected by pre-tax impairment and restructuring charges in the net amount of $33.1 million, which when combined with the $6.9 million pre-tax gain related to the consolidation of the WSP joint venture reduced earnings per diluted share by $0.26. Impairment and restructuring charges in the prior year resulted in a net pre-tax charge of $107.1 million, which reduced earnings per diluted share by $1.00.

Financial highlights for the current and comparative periods are as follows:

(U.S. dollars in millions, except per share data)

"We had a strong performance in our first quarter and delivered record earnings per share thanks to great results from our Steel Processing business segment and our joint venture ClarkDietrich," said John McConnell, Chairman and CEO. "We benefitted from rising steel prices and strong demand in the automotive and construction markets while the agriculture and oil and gas markets remained weak."

Consolidated Quarterly Results

Net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 were $737.5 million, down 3% from the comparable quarter in the prior year, when net sales were $758.1 million. The decrease was the result of lower volume in certain Pressure Cylinders businesses and Engineered Cabs, partially offset by contributions from recent acquisitions.

Gross margin increased $34.3 million from the prior year quarter to $147.3 million on a favorable pricing spread in Steel Processing due primarily to inventory holding gains in the current quarter compared to inventory holding losses in the prior year quarter, partially offset by lower volume in Pressure Cylinders.

Operating income for the current quarter was $64.9 million, an increase of $33.9 million from the prior year quarter. The increase was due to higher gross margin and the favorable impact of lower impairment and restructuring charges, partially offset by higher SG&A expense. SG&A expense increased as a result of the impact of acquisitions and higher profit sharing and bonus expense.

Interest expense was unchanged from the prior year quarter at $7.9 million.

The Company's portion of equity income from unconsolidated joint ventures increased $8.0 million from the prior year quarter to $34.5 million on a $6 million higher contribution from ClarkDietrich, and improvements at ArtiFlex and Serviacero. The Company received cash dividends of $38.4 million from unconsolidated joint ventures during the quarter.

Income tax expense was $23.9 million in the current quarter compared to $14.2 million in the prior year quarter. The increase was primarily due to higher earnings, partially offset by $5.8 million in favorable discrete items recorded in the quarter. Tax expense in the current quarter reflects an estimated annual effective rate of 31.2% compared to 31.7% for the prior year quarter.

Balance Sheet

At quarter-end, total debt was $579.8 million, down $1.2 million from May 31, 2016, due to lower short-term borrowings. The Company had $181.5 million of cash at quarter-end.

Quarterly Segment Results

Steel Processing's net sales of $505.7 million were up 3%, or $14.9 million, from the comparable prior year quarter driven by higher volume due to the consolidation of the WSP joint venture effective March 1, 2016. Operating income of $54.8 million was $31.1 million higher than the prior year quarter on favorable spreads from inventory holding gains in the current quarter compared to inventory holding losses in the prior year quarter. The mix of direct versus toll tons processed was 52% to 48% in the current quarter, compared to 60% to 40% in the prior year quarter. The change in mix was primarily the result of the consolidation of the WSP joint venture.

Pressure Cylinders' net sales of $205.2 million were down 9%, or $19.2 million, from the comparable prior year quarter. The decline was driven by lower volume in the oil & gas equipment and industrial products businesses. Operating income of $14.1 million was $2.7 million lower than the prior year quarter primarily due to declines in oil & gas equipment, as improvement in consumer products offset smaller declines in industrial products and cryogenics.

Engineered Cabs' net sales of $25.6 million were down $13.0 million, or 34%, from the prior year quarter due to declines in market demand. The operating loss of $1.8 million was $7.4 million less than the prior year quarter due to lower impairment and restructuring charges, improved gross margin and lower SG&A expense.

The "Other" category includes the energy innovations business, as well as non-allocated corporate expenses. Net sales in the "Other" category were $1.1 million, a decrease of $3.3 million from the prior year quarter, as the construction services business has ceased operations. The operating loss of $2.1 million for the quarter was driven primarily by a $1.5 million increase in accrued legal expense.

Outlook

"We believe that most of our markets will remain steady as we finish calendar year 2016 with normal seasonal slowdowns in automotive production," McConnell said. "Our Transformation efforts are gaining traction in Pressure Cylinders, new product design is advancing in consumer products and its industrial products business is expanding the professional wholesale market into Europe this quarter." McConnell added, "We're off to a great start for fiscal 2017 and will to continue to navigate the ups and downs of the economy."

Conference Call

Worthington will review fiscal 2017 first quarter and full-year results during its quarterly conference call on September 28, 2016, at 2:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. Details regarding the conference call can be found on the Company web site at www.WorthingtonIndustries.com.

About Worthington Industries

Worthington Industries is a leading global diversified metals manufacturing company with 2016 fiscal year sales of $2.8 billion. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Worthington is North America's premier value-added steel processor providing customers with wide ranging capabilities, products and services for a variety of markets including automotive, construction and agriculture; a global leader in manufacturing pressure cylinders for industrial gas and cryogenic applications, CNG and LNG storage, transportation and alternative fuel tanks, oil & gas equipment, and consumer products for camping, grilling, hand torch solutions and helium balloon kits; and a manufacturer of operator cabs for heavy mobile industrial equipment; laser welded blanks for light weighting applications; automotive racking solutions; and, through joint ventures, complete ceiling grid solutions; automotive tooling and stampings; and steel framing for commercial construction. Worthington employs approximately 10,000 people and operates 80 facilities in 11 countries.

Founded in 1955, the Company operates under a long-standing corporate philosophy rooted in the golden rule. Earning money for its shareholders is the first corporate goal. This philosophy serves as the basis for an unwavering commitment to the customer, supplier, and shareholder, and as the Company's foundation for one of the strongest employee-employer partnerships in American industry.

Safe Harbor Statement

The Company wishes to take advantage of the Safe Harbor provisions included in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). Statements by the Company relating to outlook, strategy or business plans; the ability to correct performance issues at operations; future or expected growth, forward momentum, performance, sales, volumes, cash flows, earnings, balance sheet strengths, debt, financial condition or other financial measures; pricing trends for raw materials and finished goods and the impact of pricing changes; demand trends for us or our markets; additions to product lines and opportunities to participate in new markets; expected benefits from Transformation efforts; anticipated capital expenditures and asset sales; anticipated improvements and efficiencies in costs, operations, sales, inventory management, sourcing and the supply chain and the results thereof; projected profitability potential, capacity, and working capital needs; the ability to make acquisitions and the projected timing, results, benefits, costs, charges and expenditures related to acquisitions, newly-created joint ventures, headcount reductions and facility dispositions, shutdowns and consolidations; the alignment of operations with demand; the ability to operate profitably and generate cash in down markets; the ability to maintain margins and capture and maintain market share and to develop or take advantage of future opportunities, customer initiatives, new businesses, new products and new markets; expectations for Company and customer inventories, jobs and orders; expectations for the economy and markets or improvements therein; expectations for increasing volatility or improving and sustainable earnings, earnings potential, margins or shareholder value; effects of judicial rulings and other non-historical matters constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Act. Because they are based on beliefs, estimates and assumptions, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Any number of factors could affect actual results, including, without limitation, the effect of national, regional and global economic conditions generally and within major product markets, including a recurrent slowing economy; the effect of conditions in national and worldwide financial markets; lower oil prices as a factor in demand for products; product demand and pricing; changes in product mix, product substitution and market acceptance of our products; fluctuations in the pricing, quality or availability of raw materials (particularly steel), supplies, transportation, utilities and other items required by operations; effects of facility closures and the consolidation of operations; the effect of financial difficulties, consolidation and other changes within the steel, automotive, construction, oil and gas, and other industries in which we participate; failure to maintain appropriate levels of inventories; financial difficulties (including bankruptcy filings) of original equipment manufacturers, end-users and customers, suppliers, joint venture partners and others with whom we do business; the ability to realize targeted expense reductions from headcount reductions, facility closures and other cost reduction efforts; the ability to realize other cost savings and operational, sales and sourcing improvements and efficiencies, and other expected benefits from Transformation initiatives, on a timely basis; the overall success of, and the ability to integrate, newly-acquired businesses and joint ventures, maintain and develop their customers, and achieve synergies and other expected benefits and cost savings therefrom; capacity levels and efficiencies, within facilities, within major product markets and within the industries as a whole; the effect of disruption in the business of suppliers, customers, facilities and shipping operations due to adverse weather, casualty events, equipment breakdowns, civil unrest, international conflicts, or terrorist activities or other causes; changes in customer demand, inventories, spending patterns, product choices, and supplier choices; risks associated with doing business internationally, including economic, political and social instability, foreign currency exposure and the acceptance of our products in markets; the ability to improve and maintain processes and business practices to keep pace with the economic, competitive and technological environment; the outcome of adverse claims experience with respect to workers' compensation, product recalls or product liability, casualty events or other matters; deviation of actual results from estimates and/or assumptions used by us in the application of our significant accounting policies; level of imports and import prices in our markets; the impact of judicial rulings and governmental regulations, both in the United States and abroad, including those adopted by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other governmental agencies as contemplated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010; the effect of changes to healthcare laws in the United States, which may increase our healthcare and other costs and negatively impact our operations and financial results; cyber security risks; and other risks described from time to time in the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including those described in "Part I - Item 1A. - Risk Factors" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2016.