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Plexus Announces Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2016 Financial Results

DATE: 26 Oct 2016

NEENAH, WI – October 26, 2016 - Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS) today announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended October 1, 2016, and guidance for its fiscal first quarter ending December 31, 2016.

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

Oct 1, 2016

 

Oct 1, 2016

 

Dec 31, 2016

 

 

Q4F16 Results

 

Q4F16 Guidance

 

Q1F17 Guidance

Summary GAAP Items

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue (in millions)

$653

 

 

$655 to $685

 

$620 to $650

Operating margin

3.6

%

 

 

 

4.9% to 5.2%

Diluted EPS (1)

$0.56

 

 

 

 

$0.74 to $0.82

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary Non-GAAP Items (2)

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted operating margin

5.1

%

 

4.8% to 5.1%

 

 

Adjusted diluted EPS

$0.82

 

 

$0.76 to $0.84

 

 

Return on invested capital (ROIC)

13.8

%

 

 

 

 

Economic Return

2.8

%

 

 

 

 

(1)

Includes stock-based compensation expense of $0.25 for Q4F16 results and $0.11 for Q1F17 guidance.

(2)

Refer to Non-GAAP Supplemental Information in Tables 1 and 2 for non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this release, such as adjusted operating margin, adjusted diluted EPS, and free cash flow, and a reconciliation of these measures to GAAP. Adjusted operating margin and adjusted diluted EPS exclude special items of $9.9 million for the three months ended October 1, 2016, related to accelerated stock-based compensation expense, typhoon-related losses, and restructuring and other charges.

 

Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2016 Information

  • Won 37 programs during the quarter representing approximately $200 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
  • Trailing four quarter wins total approximately $747 million in annualized revenue
  • Purchased $7.1 million of our shares at an average price of $45.81 per share

Fiscal Year 2016 Information

  • Revenue: $2.6 billion, down 3.7% from prior year
  • Diluted EPS: $2.24, including $0.57 per share of stock-based compensation expense
  • ROIC: 13.8%, 280 basis points above our weighted average cost of capital
  • Purchased $30 million of our shares at an average price of $39.43 per share

Todd Kelsey, President and CEO, commented, “Despite late fiscal fourth quarter revenue headwinds, we achieved solid operating performance and EPS, resulting in adjusted EPS firmly in our guidance range. Our revenue was slightly below guidance as a result of softness within our Networking/Communications sector and the temporary impact to our Xiamen, China operations from Typhoon Meranti that made landfall on September 15, 2016. When reflecting on fiscal 2016, I am pleased with our operational performance. We quickly executed our cost reduction and productivity improvement initiatives to overcome a challenging revenue environment in the first half of the fiscal year, enabling us to achieve adjusted operating margin at the high-end of our target  range of 4.7% to 5.0% in the back half of the fiscal year.”

Patrick Jermain, Senior Vice President and CFO, commented, “During the quarter we successfully repatriated $100 million in cash from our overseas operations. We believe the additional cash will enable us to maximize shareholder value by returning excess cash to shareholders through our previously announced share repurchase program.” Mr.Jermain continued, “Fiscal fourth quarter cash cycle days were higher than anticipated at 71 days. The most significant contributing factor was an increase in accounts receivables due to the timing of customer shipments and mix. We exited the fiscal year with annual free cash flow of approximately $97 million, more than doubling our performance over the prior year.”

Mr. Kelsey continued, “In the fiscal first quarter of 2017, we anticipate strong operating performance despite near-term revenue softness as a result of a delay in orders with a large Industrial/Commercial customer and further end-market weakness within our Networking / Communications market sector. As a result, we are guiding fiscal first quarter revenue of $620 to $650 million with diluted GAAP EPS in the range of $0.74 to $0.82. With previously disclosed restructuring activities behind us and improved resiliency in our model, we are guiding GAAP operating margin in the range of 4.9% to 5.2% for the fiscal first quarter of 2017.”

Mr. Kelsey concluded, “We have confidence in our outlook for fiscal 2017 based on our strengthening wins momentum and record funnel. We currently anticipate that we will return to sequential growth after the fiscal first quarter and grow revenue within each of our market sectors for the full fiscal year. Consequently, we are increasingly optimistic that our goal of a $3 billion annual revenue run rate as we exit the fiscal year is attainable. Furthermore, with the exception of our seasonally challenged fiscal second quarter, we anticipate delivering operating margins within our target range throughout fiscal 2017.” 

Quarterly & Annual Comparison

Three Months Ended

 

Twelve Months Ended

 

Oct 1, 2016

 

Jul 2, 2016

 

Oct 3, 2015

 

Oct 1, 2016

 

Oct 3, 2015

(in thousands, except EPS)

Q4F16

 

Q3F16

 

Q4F15

 

F16

 

F15

Revenue

$

653,064

 

 

$

667,616

 

 

$

668,730

 

 

$

2,556,004

 

 

$

2,654,290

 

Gross profit

61,530

 

 

62,498

 

 

59,272

 

 

227,359

 

 

239,550

 

Operating profit

23,651

 

 

30,918

 

 

28,571

 

 

99,439

 

 

115,436

 

Net income

19,093

 

 

26,099

 

 

23,865

 

 

76,427

 

 

94,332

 

Diluted EPS

$

0.56

 

 

$

0.76

 

 

$

0.70

 

 

$

2.24

 

 

$

2.74

 

Adjusted net income*

28,261

 

 

27,904

 

 

23,514

 

 

90,824

 

 

95,672

 

Adjusted diluted EPS*

$

0.82

 

 

$

0.82

 

 

$

0.69

 

 

$

2.66

 

 

$

2.78

 

Gross margin

9.4

%

 

9.4

%

 

8.9

%

 

8.9

%

 

9.0

%

Adjusted gross margin**

9.9

%

 

9.4

%

 

8.9

%

 

9.0

%

 

9.0

%

Operating margin

3.6

%

 

4.6

%

 

4.3

%

 

3.9

%

 

4.3

%

Adjusted operating margin*

5.1

%

 

4.9

%

 

4.3

%

 

4.5

%

 

4.4

%

ROIC*

13.8

%

 

13.0

%

 

14.0

%

 

13.8

%

 

14.0

%

Economic Return*

2.8

%

 

2.0

%

 

3.0

%

 

2.8

%

 

3.0

%

*Refer to Non-GAAP Supplemental Information Tables 1 and 2 for a reconciliation to GAAP measures.

**Excludes $2.9 million of primarily inventory losses sustained from a typhoon that impacted the Company's manufacturing facilities in Xiamen, China in Q4F16 that were recorded in cost of sales in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Plexus provides non-GAAP supplemental information, such as ROIC, Economic Return, and free cash flow, because such measures are used for internal management goals and decision making, and because they provide management and investors additional insight into financial performance. In addition, management uses these and other non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted net income, adjusted gross margin and adjusted operating margin, to provide a better understanding of core performance for purposes of period-to-period comparisons. Plexus believes that these measures are also useful to investors because they provide further insight by eliminating the effect of items that are not reflective of continuing operations. For a full reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures, please refer to Non-GAAP Supplemental Information and the attached Non-GAAP Supplemental Information Tables.

Market Sector and Segment Revenue Breakout

Plexus reports revenue based on the market sector breakout set forth in the table below, which reflects the Company’s global market sector focused business development strategy. The Company measures operational performance and allocates resources on a geographic segment basis. Top 10 customers comprised 59% of revenue during the fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year 2016, down one percentage point from the fiscal third quarter 2016 and up three percentage points from the prior fiscal year.

Market Sectors ($ in millions)

Three Months Ended

 

Twelve Months Ended

 

Oct 1, 2016 Q4F16

 

Jul 2, 2016 Q3F16

 

Oct 3, 2015 Q4F15

 

Oct 1, 2016

F16

 

Oct 3, 2015

F15

Healthcare/Life Sciences

$

192

 

29

%

 

$

207

 

31

%

 

$

183

 

27

%

 

$

780

 

31

%

 

$

750

 

28

%

Industrial/Commercial

231

 

35

%

 

202

 

30

%

 

201

 

30

%

 

774

 

30

%

 

685

 

26

%

Networking/Communications

128

 

20

%

 

156

 

23

%

 

179

 

27

%

 

597

 

23

%

 

845

 

32

%

Defense/Security/Aerospace

102

 

16

%

 

103

 

16

%

 

106

 

16

%

 

405

 

16

%

 

374

 

14

%

Total Revenue

$

653

 

 

 

$

668

 

 

 

$

669

 

 

 

$

2,556

 

 

 

$

2,654

 

 

Business Segments ($ in millions)

Three Months Ended

 

Twelve Months Ended

 

Oct 1,

 

Oct 3,

 

Oct 1,

 

Oct 3,

 

2016

 

2015

 

2016

 

2015

Americas

$

334

 

 

$

359

 

 

$

1,329

 

 

$

1,389

 

Asia-Pacific

299

 

319

 

1,162

 

1,286

Europe, Middle East, and Africa

44

 

43

 

170

 

140

Elimination of inter-segment sales

(24)

 

(52)

 

(105)

 

(161)

Total Revenue

$

653

 

 

$

669

 

 

$

2,556

 

 

$

2,654

 

 Non-GAAP Supplemental Information

ROIC and Economic Return

ROIC for fiscal 2016 and the fiscal fourth quarter was 13.8%. The Company defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized adjusted operating profit divided by average invested capital over a five-quarter period for the fourth quarter. Invested capital is defined as equity plus debt, less cash and cash equivalents. The Company’s fiscal 2016 weighted average cost of capital was 11.0%. ROIC for fiscal 2016 and the fiscal fourth quarter less the Company’s weighted average cost of capital resulted in an economic return of 2.8%.

Cash Conversion Cycle

Three Months Ended

 

Oct 1, 2016 Q4F16

 

Jul 2, 2016 Q3F16

 

Oct 3, 2015 Q4F15

Days in Accounts Receivable

58

 

51

 

53

Days in Inventory

87

 

87

 

85

Days in Accounts Payable

(61)

 

(62)

 

(60)

Days in Cash Deposits

(13)

 

(13)

 

(12)

Annualized Cash Cycle*

71

 

63

 

66

*We calculate cash cycle as the sum of days in accounts receivable and days in inventory, less days in accounts payable and days in cash deposits.

Free Cash Flow Calculation

The Company defines free cash flow as cash flows provided by operations less capital expenditures. For the three months ended October 1, 2016, cash flows provided by operations was $5.1 million, less capital expenditures of $7.3 million, resulting in negative free cash flow of $2.2 million. For the twelve months ended October 1, 2016, cash flows provided by operations was $127.7 million, less capital expenditures of $31.1 million, resulting in free cash flow of $96.6 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

What:

Plexus Fiscal Q4 2016 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast

When:

Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time

Where:  

Participants are encouraged to join the live webcast at the investor relations section of the Plexus website, www.plexus.comor directly at: http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/jz5rx5gv/lan/en

Conference call at +1.800.708.4539 with passcode: 43416415

Replay:

The webcast will be archived on the Plexus website and available via telephone replay at +1.888.843.7419 or +1.630.652.3042 with passcode: 43416415

 

 

INVESTOR AND MEDIA CONTACT:

Susan Hanson
+1.920.751.5491
susan.hanson@plexus.com

Plexus (www.plexus.com) delivers optimized Product Realization solutions through a unique Product Realization Value Stream service model. This customer-focused services model seamlessly integrates innovative product conceptualization, design, commercialization, manufacturing, fulfillment and sustaining services to deliver comprehensive end-to-end solutions for customers in the America, European and Asia-Pacific regions.

Plexus is the industry leader in servicing mid-to-low volume, higher complexity customer programs characterized by unique flexibility, technology, quality and regulatory requirements. Award-winning customer service is provided to over 140 branded product companies in the Healthcare/Life Sciences, Industrial/Commercial, Networking/Communications and Defense/Security/Aerospace market sectors.

Safe Harbor and Fair Disclosure Statement
The statements contained in this press release that are guidance or which are not historical facts (such as statements in the future tense and statements including believe, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, goal, target and similar terms and concepts), including all discussions of periods which are not yet completed, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the risk of customer delays, changes, cancellations or forecast inaccuracies in both ongoing and new programs; the lack of visibility of future orders, particularly in view of changing economic conditions; the economic performance of the industries, sectors and customers we serve; the effects of the volume of revenue from certain sectors or programs on our margins in particular periods; our ability to secure new customers, maintain our current customer base and deliver product on a timely basis; the particular risks relative to new or recent customers, programs or services, which risks include customer and other delays, start-up costs, potential inability to execute, the establishment of appropriate terms of agreements, and the lack of a track record of order volume and timing; the risks of concentration of work for certain customers; the effect of start-up costs of new programs and facilities; possible unexpected costs and operating disruption in transitioning programs, including as a result of a facility closure; the risk that new program wins and/or customer demand may not result in the expected revenue or profitability; the fact that customer orders may not lead to long-term relationships; our ability to manage successfully and execute a complex business model characterized by high product mix, low volumes and demanding quality, regulatory, and other requirements; the ability to realize anticipated savings from restructuring or similar actions, as well as the adequacy of related charges as compared to actual expenses; increasing regulatory and compliance requirements; the potential effects of regional results on our taxes and ability to use deferred tax assets and net operating losses; risks related to information technology systems and data security; the effects of shortages and delays in obtaining components as a result of economic cycles or natural disasters; the risks associated with excess and obsolete inventory, including the risk that inventory purchased on behalf of our customers may not be consumed or otherwise paid for by the customer, resulting in an inventory write-off; the weakness of areas of the global economy; the effect of changes in the pricing and margins of products; raw materials and component cost fluctuations; the potential effect of fluctuations in the value of the currencies in which we transact business; potential economic weakness and other effects resulting from the June 2016 vote of the United Kingdom to exit the European Union; the potential effect of other world or local events or other events outside our control (such as changes in energy prices, terrorism and weather events); the impact of increased competition; and other risks detailed in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings (particularly in "Risk Factors" in our fiscal 2015 Form 10-K).
 

Press release file: