ESCO Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2020 Results and Provides Covid-19 Business Update
COVID-19 Update
“Over the past few months, we have implemented significant actions in an effort to ensure our employees around the world have the necessary personal safety and protection measures in place to allow our businesses to continue operating with as little disruption as possible. Our businesses have been deemed essential and remain operational, supplying our customers with vital and necessary products.
“We are fortunate to have a deep and experienced leadership team that has managed through multiple downturns in the past. Coupled with our strong balance sheet and significant financial liquidity, I’m confident that we can effectively manage through this pandemic. ESCO has faced and overcome many challenges in our 30-year history and our goal is to emerge from this extraordinary challenge as an even stronger company.
“Given our diverse portfolio of strong, durable businesses serving non-discretionary end-markets, the strength and resilience of our business model positions us to continue to support our long-term outlook.
“We have taken decisive actions to enhance our strong financial condition, while continuing to execute our long-term strategy for profitable growth. Some of the actions we’ve taken to address expected business pressures over the balance of the year, include: deferring a portion of executive compensation; reducing discretionary spending; prioritizing / minimizing capital spending; implementing hiring and salary freezes; and, increasing our focus on optimizing free cash flow.
“These operational measures are prudent steps to maintain our solid liquidity and will support our financial flexibility as we work through near-term volatility. As of
“While we are pleased with the operating performance, cash flow, entered orders and backlog of our businesses year-to-date through
“Everyone at ESCO, including our dedicated employees, Board of Directors, and executive leadership team have displayed an amazing amount of resilience and personal commitment to serve our customers through this difficult time. I want to thank everyone for the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice they have demonstrated while working through this fight to position ESCO for the future and to drive continued success.”
Q2 2020 Earnings Report
On
The financial results presented include certain non-GAAP financial measures such as EBIT, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS, as defined within the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” described below. Any non-GAAP financial measures presented are reconciled to their respective GAAP equivalents.
Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful in assessing the ongoing operational profitability of the Company’s business segments, and therefore, allow shareholders better visibility into the Company’s underlying operations. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” described below.
Q2 2020 GAAP and As Adjusted EPS was
Q2 2019 GAAP EPS of
Q2 2020 Adjusted EBITDA was
Operating Highlights
- Net sales increased 5 percent to
$180 million in Q2 2020 compared to$171 million in Q2 2019. - Aerospace & Defense (A&D) segment sales increased
$16 million , or 20 percent from Q2 2019, including$9 million in sales from the Globe acquisition together with strong aerospace contributions from PTI and Crissair, and higher space sales at Vacco. - Test sales decreased
$1 million in Q2 2020 as a result of a three-week COVID-19 shutdown of its Chinese manufacturing facility inFebruary 2020 , coupled with timing delays on certain installation projects due to COVID-19 related customer closure mandates and on-site personnel restrictions at customer locations, offset by strong domestic chamber project sales. - USG sales decreased
$5 million in Q2 2020 due to the timing of various project deliverables, and several utility customers re-aligning their short-term maintenance and spending protocols to focus on uninterrupted power delivery due to short-term electricity demand / mix changes between industrial, commercial and residential customers due to COVID-19. - SG&A expenses as a percent of sales decreased to 22 percent in Q2 2020, from 23 percent in Q2 2019, despite additional spending on R&D / new product development, additional sales commissions, normal cost of living adjustments, and the addition of Globe.
- Q2 2020 amortization of intangible assets increased
$1 million , or 20 percent compared to Q2 2019 as a result of the Globe acquisition being included in the Q2 2020 amounts. - Interest expense decreased in Q2 2020 due to the lower net debt outstanding and favorable interest rates.
- The effective income tax rate from continuing operations (GAAP and Adjusted) was approximately 11 percent in both Q2 2020 and Q2 2019. The Q2 2020 quarterly rate was included in management’s previous guidance. Both quarterly periods were favorably impacted by various one-time tax strategies.
- Entered orders were
$246 million in Q2 2020 (book-to-bill of 1.36x), and were$466 million YTD 2020 (book-to-bill of 1.32x), resulting in an ending backlog of$565 million atMarch 31, 2020 , an increase of$113 million , or 25 percent, fromSeptember 30, 2019 . - Q2 2020 net cash provided by operating activities from Continuing Operations of
$34 million , coupled with the cash proceeds from the sale of theTechnical Packaging segment, resulted in$50 million of net debt outstanding (total borrowings, less cash on hand) atMarch 31 2020 and a 0.92x leverage ratio.
Chairman’s Commentary
“We expect to see a slowdown in commercial aerospace deliveries over the balance of the year, but it is too early in the cycle to determine the sales and EBIT impact from the current industry downturn as it relates to future build rates and airline passenger miles.
“The defense portion of A&D, both military aerospace and navy products, is expected to remain strong given its backlog coupled with the urgency of expected platform deliveries.
“Test reported another solid Quarter delivering a better than expected EBIT margin of 13.6 percent, despite lower sales resulting from the
“We expect Test to remain relatively solid over the remainder of the year given the strength of its backlog and its served markets, primarily related to new communications technologies such as 5G and our medical shielding business.
“USG came in lower than expected in Q2 2020 as several utility customers deferred purchase orders and maintenance-related project deliveries so they could divert resources to more important issues such as critical power delivery given their concerns around COVID-19. Additionally, Doble’s service business is largely on hold. The order pipeline of new business remains robust, especially as it relates to cyber security solutions, and I’m pleased to report that several new products and solutions introduced at the recent
“We expect USG’s customer spending softness to continue for the next few months and once the utilities come out of their “summer testing protocols,” we expect the USG business to return to a more normal state.
“We improved our consolidated Q2 2020 Adjusted EBITDA and delivered a 17.4 percent EBITDA margin despite the lower contribution from our highest margin segment. Our Q2 2020 entered orders were strong as we booked
“From a liquidity perspective, we are in a really solid position given our significant cash balance and our low debt level. The divestiture of the packaging business proved to be a very timely event given that we used the proceeds to pay down a substantial portion of our outstanding debt and to reduce our leverage ratio.
“When the time is right, we plan to use a portion of this additional liquidity and substantial debt capacity to fund future acquisitions and grow our business as we continue to evaluate a robust pipeline of M&A opportunities. We are taking a prudent approach to our existing, near-term M&A opportunities, and once things settle down a bit in our targeted end-markets, we would be comfortable adding to our current portfolio during 2020.
“Despite the significant economic challenges we, and everyone else, are facing today, we plan to use the successes of the first half of 2020 and the benefit of our disciplined operating culture to attempt to minimize our risks throughout the remainder of the year. I continue to have a favorable view of our longer-term future with our goal remaining unchanged – to increase long-term shareholder value.”
Dividend Payment
Given its strong liquidity position, the Company is not changing its dividend payment plan. The next quarterly cash dividend of
Business Outlook – Including COVID-19 Impact
During Q2 2020, business disruptions related to the pandemic started to affect the Company’s operations. Given the considerable uncertainty around the extent and duration of these economic circumstances, it is difficult to predict how our future operations will be affected using our normal forecasting methodologies, therefore, the Company is suspending its previously issued fiscal year 2020 guidance.
For 2020 financial reporting, the
Pension Plan Termination Update
As previously announced, Management will be using a portion of the
By initiating this process in
Management commented in previous releases that by annuitizing this non-strategic liability through an insurance company it could eliminate both equity market risk and interest rate volatility, thereby reducing ongoing costs and eliminating future cash payments.
The Plan was frozen in 2003 and no additional benefits have been accrued since that date.
The accounting impact of terminating and annuitizing the pension will be excluded from the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS when terminated.
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call today,
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release regarding the future impacts of COVID-19 on the Company’s results, the financial success of the Company, the strength of its end markets, including without limitation the anticipated slowdown in commercial aerospace, actions in regard to the Company’s frozen defined benefit plan, the ability to increase shareholder value, the success of acquisition efforts, the use of proceeds from the recent divestiture, the long-term success of the Company, and any other statements which are not strictly historical are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the federal securities laws.
Investors are cautioned that such statements are only predictions and speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no duty to update them except as may be required by applicable laws or regulations. The Company’s actual results in the future may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties that exist in the Company’s operations and business environment including but not limited to those described in Item 1A, “Risk Factors”, of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The financial measures EBIT, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS are presented in this press release. The Company defines “EBIT” as earnings before interest and taxes, “EBITDA” as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, “Adjusted EBITDA” as EBITDA excluding certain defined charges, and “Adjusted EPS” as GAAP earnings per share (EPS) excluding the net impact of the items described above which were
EBIT, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS are not recognized in accordance with
ESCO, headquartered in
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) | |||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) | |||||||||||
Three Months Ended 2020 |
Three Months Ended 2019 |
||||||||||
$ | 180,492 | 171,243 | |||||||||
Cost and Expenses: | |||||||||||
Cost of sales | 113,242 | 103,547 | |||||||||
Selling, general and administrative expenses | 39,982 | 39,327 | |||||||||
Amortization of intangible assets | 5,220 | 4,371 | |||||||||
Interest expense | 1,320 | 1,853 | |||||||||
Other expenses (income), net | 703 | 2,022 | |||||||||
Total costs and expenses | 160,467 | 151,120 | |||||||||
Earnings before income taxes | 20,025 | 20,123 | |||||||||
Income tax expense | 2,203 | 2,301 | |||||||||
Earnings from continuing operations | 17,822 | 17,822 | |||||||||
Earnings from discontinued operations, net of tax | |||||||||||
expense of |
- | 975 | |||||||||
Gain on sale of discontinued operations | - | - | |||||||||
Earnings from discontinued operations | - | 975 | |||||||||
Net earnings | $ | 17,822 | 18,797 | ||||||||
Diluted EPS: | |||||||||||
Diluted - GAAP | |||||||||||
Continuing operations | $ | 0.68 | 0.68 | ||||||||
Discontinued operations | 0.00 | 0.04 | |||||||||
Net earnings | $ | 0.68 | 0.72 | ||||||||
Diluted - As Adjusted Basis | |||||||||||
Continuing operations | $ | 0.68 | 0.71 | (1 | ) | ||||||
Diluted average common shares |
26,088 | 26,036 | |||||||||
(1 | ) | Q2 FY 19 Adjusted EPS excludes |
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) | ||||||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||||||
Six Months Ended 2020 |
Six Months Ended 2019 |
|||||||||||||
$ | 352,220 | 334,608 | ||||||||||||
Cost and Expenses: | ||||||||||||||
Cost of sales | 219,969 | 206,001 | ||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative expenses | 82,087 | 77,867 | ||||||||||||
Amortization of intangible assets | 11,030 | 8,771 | ||||||||||||
Interest expense | 3,741 | 3,708 | ||||||||||||
Other expenses (income), net | 998 | (5,357 | ) | |||||||||||
Total costs and expenses | 317,825 | 290,990 | ||||||||||||
Earnings before income taxes | 34,395 | 43,618 | ||||||||||||
Income tax expense | 5,809 | 8,446 | ||||||||||||
Earnings from continuing operations | 28,586 | 35,172 | ||||||||||||
(Loss) earnings from discontinued operations, net | ||||||||||||||
of tax expense of |
(601 | ) | 942 | |||||||||||
Gain on sale of discontinued operations, net of | ||||||||||||||
tax expense of |
76,614 | - | ||||||||||||
Earnings from discontinued operations | 76,013 | 942 | ||||||||||||
Net earnings | $ | 104,599 | 36,114 | |||||||||||
Diluted EPS: | ||||||||||||||
Diluted - GAAP | ||||||||||||||
Continuing operations | $ | 1.09 | 1.34 | |||||||||||
Discontinued operations | 2.91 | 0.04 | ||||||||||||
Net earnings | $ | 4.00 | 1.38 | |||||||||||
Diluted - As Adjusted Basis | ||||||||||||||
Continuing operations | $ | 1.11 | (1 | ) | 1.17 | (2 | ) | |||||||
Diluted average common shares |
26,126 | 26,078 | ||||||||||||
(1 | ) | YTD Q2 FY 20 Adjusted EPS excludes |
||||||||||||
(2 | ) | YTD Q2 FY 19 Adjusted EPS excludes |
Condensed Business Segment Information (Unaudited) | |||||||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
GAAP | As Adjusted | ||||||||||||||
Q2 2020 | Q2 2019 | Q2 2020 | Q2 2019 | ||||||||||||
Net Sales | |||||||||||||||
Aerospace & Defense | $ | 95,124 | 79,478 | 95,124 | 79,478 | ||||||||||
Test | 41,600 | 42,875 | 41,600 | 42,875 | |||||||||||
USG | 43,768 | 48,890 | 43,768 | 48,890 | |||||||||||
Totals | $ | 180,492 | 171,243 | 180,492 | 171,243 | ||||||||||
EBIT | |||||||||||||||
Aerospace & Defense | $ | 21,736 | 17,443 | 21,736 | 17,806 | ||||||||||
Test | 5,651 | 5,554 | 5,651 | 5,554 | |||||||||||
USG | 4,866 | 8,767 | 4,866 | 9,241 | |||||||||||
Corporate | (10,908 | ) | (9,788 | ) | (10,908 | ) | (9,679 | ) | |||||||
Consolidated EBIT | 21,345 | 21,976 | 21,345 | 22,922 | |||||||||||
Less: Interest expense | (1,320 | ) | (1,853 | ) | (1,320 | ) | (1,853 | ) | |||||||
Less: Income tax expense | (2,203 | ) | (2,301 | ) | (2,203 | ) | (2,516 | ) | |||||||
Net earnings from cont ops | $ | 17,822 | 17,822 | 17,822 | 18,553 | ||||||||||
Note 1: Adjusted net earnings were |
|||||||||||||||
EBITDA Reconciliation to Net earnings from continuing operations: | |||||||||||||||
Adjusted | Adjusted | ||||||||||||||
Q2 2020 | Q2 2019 | Q2 2020 | Q2 2019 | ||||||||||||
Consolidated EBITDA | $ | 31,388 | 30,259 | 31,388 | 31,205 | ||||||||||
Less: Depr & Amort | (10,043 | ) | (8,283 | ) | (10,043 | ) | (8,283 | ) | |||||||
Consolidated EBIT | 21,345 | 21,976 | 21,345 | 22,922 | |||||||||||
Less: Interest expense | (1,320 | ) | (1,853 | ) | (1,320 | ) | (1,853 | ) | |||||||
Less: Income tax expense | (2,203 | ) | (2,301 | ) | (2,203 | ) | (2,516 | ) | |||||||
Net earnings from cont ops | $ | 17,822 | 17,822 | 17,822 | 18,553 | ||||||||||
Condensed Business Segment Information (Unaudited) | |||||||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
GAAP | As Adjusted | ||||||||||||||
YTD Q2 | YTD Q2 | YTD Q2 | YTD Q2 | ||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||
Net Sales | |||||||||||||||
Aerospace & Defense | $ | 172,635 | 145,702 | 172,635 | 145,702 | ||||||||||
Test | 82,983 | 84,161 | 82,983 | 84,161 | |||||||||||
USG | 96,602 | 104,745 | 96,602 | 104,745 | |||||||||||
Totals | $ | 352,220 | 334,608 | 352,220 | 334,608 | ||||||||||
EBIT | |||||||||||||||
Aerospace & Defense | $ | 34,249 | 28,053 | 34,319 | 28,513 | ||||||||||
Test | 10,307 | 8,864 | 10,307 | 8,864 | |||||||||||
USG | 14,153 | 30,313 | 14,773 | 23,100 | |||||||||||
Corporate | (20,573 | ) | (19,904 | ) | (20,573 | ) | (19,430 | ) | |||||||
Consolidated EBIT | 38,136 | 47,326 | 38,826 | 41,047 | |||||||||||
Less: Interest expense | (3,741 | ) | (3,708 | ) | (3,741 | ) | (3,708 | ) | |||||||
Less: Income tax | (5,809 | ) | (8,446 | ) | (5,975 | ) | (6,716 | ) | |||||||
Net earnings from cont ops | $ | 28,586 | 35,172 | 29,110 | 30,623 | ||||||||||
Note 1: Adjusted net earnings were |
|||||||||||||||
Note 2: Adjusted net earnings were |
|||||||||||||||
EBITDA Reconciliation to Net earnings from continuing operations: | |||||||||||||||
Adjusted | Adjusted | ||||||||||||||
YTD Q2 | YTD Q2 | YTD Q2 | YTD Q2 | ||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||||
Consolidated EBITDA | $ | 58,719 | 64,163 | 59,409 | 57,884 | ||||||||||
Less: Depr & Amort | (20,583 | ) | (16,837 | ) | (20,583 | ) | (16,837 | ) | |||||||
Consolidated EBIT | 38,136 | 47,326 | 38,826 | 41,047 | |||||||||||
Less: Interest expense | (3,741 | ) | (3,708 | ) | (3,741 | ) | (3,708 | ) | |||||||
Less: Income tax expense | (5,809 | ) | (8,446 | ) | (5,975 | ) | (6,716 | ) | |||||||
Net earnings from cont ops | $ | 28,586 | 35,172 | 29,110 | 30,623 | ||||||||||
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) | ||||||
(Dollars in thousands) | ||||||
2020 |
2019 |
|||||
Assets | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 100,195 | 61,808 | |||
Accounts receivable, net | 157,050 | 158,715 | ||||
Contract assets | 96,100 | 110,211 | ||||
Inventories | 141,027 | 124,956 | ||||
Other current assets | 17,228 | 14,190 | ||||
Assets of discontinued operations-current | - | 25,314 | ||||
Total current assets | 511,600 | 495,194 | ||||
Property, plant and equipment, net | 139,248 | 127,843 | ||||
Intangible assets, net | 371,779 | 381,605 | ||||
389,630 | 390,256 | |||||
Operating lease assets | 18,901 | - | ||||
Other assets | 10,421 | 4,445 | ||||
Assets of discontinued operations-other | - | 67,377 | ||||
$ | 1,441,579 | 1,466,720 | ||||
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity | ||||||
Current maturities of long-term debt | $ | 20,000 | 20,000 | |||
Accounts payable | 53,617 | 63,800 | ||||
Contract liabilities | 95,382 | 81,177 | ||||
Other current liabilities | 82,030 | 75,141 | ||||
Liabilities of discontinued operations-current | - | 11,517 | ||||
Total current liabilities | 251,029 | 251,635 | ||||
Deferred tax liabilities | 61,690 | 60,856 | ||||
Non-current operating lease liabilities | 15,010 | - | ||||
Other liabilities | 57,643 | 59,008 | ||||
Long-term debt | 130,000 | 265,000 | ||||
Liabilities of discontinued operations-other | - | 3,999 | ||||
Shareholders' equity | 926,207 | 826,222 | ||||
$ | 1,441,579 | 1,466,720 |
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) | |||
(Dollars in thousands) | |||
Six Months Ended |
|||
Cash flows from operating activities: | |||
Net earnings | $ | 104,599 | |
Earnings from discontinued operations | (76,013 | ) | |
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash | |||
provided by operating activities: | |||
Depreciation and amortization | 20,583 | ||
Stock compensation expense | 2,896 | ||
Changes in assets and liabilities | (16,247 | ) | |
Effect of deferred taxes | 834 | ||
Net cash provided by continuing operations | 36,652 | ||
Net cash used by discontinued operations | (14,622 | ) | |
Cash flows from investing activities: | |||
Capital expenditures | (21,211 | ) | |
Additions to capitalized software | (4,280 | ) | |
Net cash used by investing activities - continuing operations | (25,491 | ) | |
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operations | 183,997 | ||
Capital expenditures - discontinued operations | (1,728 | ) | |
Net cash provided by investing activities - discontinued operations | 182,269 | ||
Net cash provided by investing activities | 156,778 | ||
Cash flows from financing activities: | |||
Proceeds from long-term debt | 10,000 | ||
Principal payments on long-term debt | (145,000 | ) | |
Dividends paid | (4,156 | ) | |
Net cash used by financing activities - continuing operations | (139,156 | ) | |
Net cash used by financing activities - discontinued operations | (2,140 | ) | |
Net cash used by financing activities | (141,296 | ) | |
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents | 875 | ||
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | 38,387 | ||
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 61,808 | ||
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $ | 100,195 |
Other Selected Financial Data (Unaudited) -- Continuing Operations Basis | ||||||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||
Backlog And Entered Orders - Q2 FY 2020 | Aerospace & Defense |
Test | USG | Total | ||||||||||
Beginning Backlog - |
$ | 327,784 | 130,701 | 41,785 | 500,270 | |||||||||
Entered Orders | 155,984 | 41,787 | 47,845 | 245,616 | ||||||||||
Sales | (95,124 | ) | (41,600 | ) | (43,768 | ) | (180,492 | ) | ||||||
Ending Backlog - |
$ | 388,644 | 130,888 | 45,862 | 565,394 | |||||||||
Backlog And Entered Orders - YTD Q2 FY 2020 | Aerospace & Defense |
Test | USG | Total | ||||||||||
Beginning Backlog - |
$ | 276,273 | 133,571 | 41,715 | 451,559 | |||||||||
Entered Orders | 285,006 | 80,300 | 100,749 | 466,055 | ||||||||||
Sales | (172,635 | ) | (82,983 | ) | (96,602 | ) | (352,220 | ) | ||||||
Ending Backlog - |
$ | 388,644 | 130,888 | 45,862 | 565,394 |
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures (Unaudited) | ||||
EPS – Adjusted Basis Reconciliation – YTD Q2 FY 20 | ||||
EPS from Continuing Ops – GAAP Basis – YTD Q2 FY 20 | $ | 1.09 | ||
Adjustments (defined below) | 0.02 | |||
EPS from Continuing Ops – As Adjusted Basis – YTD Q2 FY 20 | $ | 1.11 | ||
Adjustments exclude |
||||
Doble facility consolidation in the first six months of 2020. | ||||
(The |
||||
offset by |
||||
EPS – Adjusted Basis Reconciliation – Q2 FY 19 | ||||
EPS from Continuing Ops – GAAP Basis – Q2 FY 19 | $ | 0.68 | ||
Adjustments (defined below) | 0.03 | |||
EPS from Continuing Ops – As Adjusted Basis – Q2 FY 19 | $ | 0.71 | ||
Adjustments exclude |
||||
related to Doble, PTI & VACCO during the second quarter of 2019. | ||||
(The |
||||
offset by |
||||
EPS – Adjusted Basis Reconciliation – YTD Q2 FY 19 | ||||
EPS from Continuing Ops – GAAP Basis – YTD Q2 FY 19 | $ | 1.34 | ||
Adjustments (defined below) | (0.17 | ) | ||
EPS from Continuing Ops – As Adjusted Basis – YTD Q2 FY 19 | $ | 1.17 | ||
Adjustments exclude |
||||
gain on sale of the Doble Watertown property partially offset by certain | ||||
restructuring charges at Doble, PTI & VACCO in the first six months of 2019. | ||||
(The |
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income offset by |
SOURCE
Source: ESCO Technologies Inc.