- Sales up 17%; EBITDA up 11% versus prior year
- EPS of $0.30 in the quarter
excluding ALC S.A. closure costs 1
- Quarterly dividend raised 14% to $0.08 per common share
- Free cash flow of $18 million
during the quarter
- Balance sheet and liquidity remain very strong
TORONTO, Feb. 1, 2017 /CNW/ - Exco Technologies Limited
(TSX-XTC) today announced results for its first fiscal quarter
ended December 31, 2016. In addition,
the Company announced a 14% increase in its quarterly dividend to
$0.08 per common share which will be
paid on March 31, 2017 to
shareholders of record on March 15,
2017. The dividend is an "eligible dividend" in accordance
with the Income Tax Act of Canada.
|
Three Months
ended
December 31
|
(in $ millions
except per share amounts)
|
|
|
2016
|
2015
|
Sales
|
$153.1
|
$130.9
|
Net income for the
period
|
$11.5
|
$11.8
|
Earnings per
share
|
|
|
|
Basic and Diluted –
Reported
|
$0.27
|
$0.28
|
|
Adjusted to exclude
ALC S.A. closure costs 1
|
$0.30
|
$0.28
|
EBITDA
1
|
$23.3
|
$21.0
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated sales for the first quarter ended December 31, 2016 were $153.1 million compared to $130.9 million in the same quarter last year – an
increase of $22.2 million or 17%. The
Automotive Solutions segment reported higher sales of $108.1 million in the first quarter – an increase
of $30.4 million or 39% from the same
quarter last year. The acquisition of AFX contributed $28.5 million of this increase although sales
were higher at most of the segment's other businesses with the
exception of ALC which experienced lower sales due to the closure
of its Lesotho operations and
previously disclosed wind-down of the BMW 5 Series seat cover
program. The Casting and Extrusion segment reported sales of
$45.0 million for the first quarter –
a decrease of $8.2 million or 15%
from the same quarter last year. Most of the sales decline occurred
in the Large Mould group arising from reduced demand for certain
established programs, the timing of customer releases, and pricing
pressures on certain new programs.
Consolidated net income for the quarter was $11.5 million or basic and diluted earnings of
$0.27 per share compared to
$11.8 million or $0.28 per share in the same quarter last year – a
decrease in net income of 3%. Net income in the quarter was
adversely affected by $1.2 million
($0.03 per share) of non-operating
costs associated with the permanent closure of ALC's operations in
Lesotho, of which $0.7 million was non-cash. Net Income in the
quarter was also reduced by $0.02 per
share compared to the prior year due to higher amortization expense
associated with the AFX acquisition. The effective consolidated
income tax rate was relatively stable at 30.9% in the current
quarter compared to 31.0% in the same quarter last year. Net
income adjusted for the impact of the non-operating costs was
$12.7 million, or $0.30 per share.
The Automotive Solutions segment reported significantly higher
pretax profit of $14.6 million in the
first quarter – an increase of $5.6
million or 61% over the same quarter last year. Contribution
from AFX was the largest factor in this increase although Polytech,
Neocon and Polydesign also contributed strongly to the increase as
each of these businesses experienced margin expansion in addition
to solid top line growth. ALC group operating results improved year
over year with the closure of both the South Africa and Lesotho operations.
The Casting and Extrusion segment reported lower pretax profit
of $5.0 million in the first quarter
– a decrease of $5.0 million or 50%
from the same quarter last year. Most of this reduction occurred in
the Large Mould group which had significantly lower absorption
rates and was negatively impacted by unfavorable product mix.
Consolidated EBITDA for the first quarter increased 11% to
$23.3 million compared to
$21.0 million last year.
Cash provided by operating activities increased to $21.9 million in the quarter compared to
$17.3 million last year driven by
higher cash earnings and improved working capital management. These
funds were ample to fund $3.2 million
of capital expenditures and $0.4
million of net interest expense resulting in free cash flow
of $18.3 million before $3.0 million of dividend payments. Exco ended the
quarter with net debt of $28.9
million compared to $44.6
million as at September 30,
2016 – a reduction of 35%. Exco's net debt to trailing
twelve month EBITDA now stands at 0.3x while its increased
quarterly dividend amount of $0.08
per share represents 30% of its net income both during the quarter
and on an annualized basis over the last year.
For further information and prior year comparison please refer
to the Company's First Quarter Financial Statements in the Investor
Relations section posted at www.excocorp.com. Alternatively,
please refer to www.sedar.com.
Quarterly Conference Call - February 1, 2017 at 4:30
p.m. (Toronto time):
The conference call can be accessed by dialling (647) 427-7450 for
local (Toronto) calls or toll free
at (888) 231-8191. To access the live audio webcast, please
log on to www.excocorp.com or
http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1343365&s=1&k=F7EFF0DC764533CC8F39BE86E94A1218 a
few minutes before the event. Real Player is required for
access. For those unable to participate on February 1, 2017, an archived version will be
available on the Exco website.
About Exco Technologies Limited:
Exco Technologies Limited is a global supplier of innovative
technologies servicing the die-cast, extrusion and automotive
industries. Through our 16 strategic locations in 8
countries, we employ 6,351 people and service a diverse and broad
customer base.
Notice To Reader: Forward Looking Statements
Information in this document relating to projected
growth and financial performance of the Company's
business units, contribution of our start-up business units,
contribution of awarded programs yet to be launched, margin
performance, financial performance of acquisitions and operating
efficiencies are forward-looking statements.
This press release may contain forward-looking information
and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable
securities laws. We use words such as "anticipate", "plan", "may",
"will", "should", "expect", "believe", "estimate" and similar
expressions to identify forward-looking information and statements
especially with respect to growth and financial performance of the
Company's business units, contribution of our start-up business
units, contribution of awarded programs yet to be launched, margin
performance, financial performance of acquisitions and operating
efficiencies are forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements
throughout this document and are also cautioned that the foregoing
list of important factors is not exhaustive. These forward-looking
statements are based on our plans, intentions or expectations which
are based on, among other things, assumptions about the number of
automobiles produced in North
America and Europe, the
number of extrusion dies required in North America and South America, the rate of economic growth in
North America, Europe and emerging market countries,
investment by OEMs in drivetrain architecture and other initiatives
intended to reduce fuel consumption and/or the weight of
automobiles, raw material prices, economic conditions, currency
fluctuations, trade restrictions, our ability to close or otherwise
dispose of unprofitable operations in a timely manner, our ability
to integrate acquisitions and the rate at which our operations in
Brazil, Texas and Thailand achieve sustained profitability.
These forward-looking statements include known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which may cause actual
results or achievements to be materially different from those
expressed or implied. The Company will update its disclosure
upon publication of each fiscal quarter's financial results and
otherwise disclaims any obligations to update publicly or otherwise
revise any such factors or any of the forward-looking information
or statements contained herein to reflect subsequent information,
events or developments, changes in risk factors or
otherwise. For a more extensive discussion of Exco's risks and
uncertainties see the 'Risks and Uncertainties' section in our 2016
Annual Report, our 2016 Annual Information Form ("AIF") and other
reports and securities filings made by the Company. This
information is available at www.sedar.com.
____________________________
1 Non-IFRS Measures: In this News Release,
reference is made to EBITDA, which is not a measure of financial
performance under International Financial Reporting Standards
("IFRS"). Exco calculates EBITDA as earnings before other
income/ expense, interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization. EBITDA is used by management, from time to time,
to facilitate period-to-period operating comparisons and we believe
some investors and analysts use them as well. This measure, as
calculated by Exco, may not be comparable to similarly titled
measures used by other companies. Further, reference is made
herein to certain adjustments to EPS. Such adjustments relate
to the exclusion of ALC S.A. closure costs.
SOURCE Exco Technologies Limited