|
|
|
|
|
|
-- 2013 Earnings per Share, Including Special Items, were $2.46
-- Company Reported Fourth Quarter Earnings per Share of $0.61, Excluding Special Items; Reported Earnings were $0.65 per Share
-- Fourth Quarter Sales Grew 6-Percent over Prior Year |
NEW YORK, Jan 31, 2014 - (ACN Newswire) - Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MTX) today reported record earnings per share from continuing operations of $2.42, excluding special items, for the full year of 2013 compared with earnings of $2.16 per share in the prior year, an increase of 12 percent. Reported earnings per share from continuing operations were $2.46 for the full year.
2013 Highlights:
-- Fourth consecutive year of record earnings
-- Operating Income, excluding special items, increased 15% for the fourth quarter and 10% for the full year
-- Operating Margin expanded from 11.4% of sales to 12.2% for the full year, excluding special items
-- Signed two new satellite PCC contracts and four commercial agreements for FulFill(R) high-filler technology in 2013
Operating income for the full year 2013 grew 10 percent to a record $124.4 million, excluding special items, compared to $113.6 million in the prior year. This increase was due to a strong operating performance highlighted by sales growth in both segments, a 5-percent company-wide productivity improvement and continued cost and expense control. Operating income, as reported, which included an insurance settlement gain, grew 12 percent to $126.9 million, or 12.5% of sales.
Worldwide underlying sales grew 3 percent to $1.02 billion. Including the effect of foreign exchange, sales increased 2 percent.
Cash flow from operations for the year was $137.5 million and the company repurchased $52 million in treasury stock.
"Our strong financial performance for 2013 is evidence of the traction our growth strategies of geographic expansion, new product innovation and operational excellence have gained," said Robert S. Wetherbee, president and chief executive officer. "We have broken company earnings records for the last four years. We signed contracts for new satellite precipitated calcium carbonate plants in China and Europe, and in January 2014 we signed an agreement with UPM-Kymmene Corporation for a 100,000-ton satellite in Changshu, China. We began operations of new satellites in Thailand and India. During the year, we also added four new agreements with paper mills around the world for the adoption of our FulFill(R) E-325 high-filler technology, bringing the total to 14, and in January, we signed our fifteenth agreement with a European papermaker. In 2014, we will continue to advance these strategies to achieve the company's long-term growth objectives."
Full-year underlying worldwide sales for the Specialty Minerals segment, which includes the PCC and Processed Minerals product lines, increased 4 percent to $669.8 million in 2013. Including foreign exchange, sales increased 3 percent. Income from operations for Specialty Minerals increased 12 percent to a record $98.4 million in 2013. This increase was attributable to a strong performance in Paper PCC due to contributions from the FulFill(R) technology, the startup of two new satellite plants, productivity improvements and pricing. The Processed Minerals product line also contributed as a result of productivity improvements, price increases and sales volume growth.
Worldwide sales of PCC, which is used primarily in the manufacturing processes of the paper industry, increased 2 percent to $547.2 million. Processed Minerals products sales increased 6 percent to $122.6 million.
"In addition to the adoption of the FulFill(TM) E-325 technology by four paper mills around the world, the Performance Minerals business unit, which is comprised of Processed Minerals and Specialty PCC, launched a new calcium carbonate product for reinforcement of plastic. This product, called VICRON(R) FRP, is for use in such applications as Sheet Molding Compound, Bulk Molding Compound and thermoset polyesters. The business unit also completed the first phase of a 10,000-ton expansion of its production line for ultrafine Specialty PCC at the company's Adams, Massachusetts, facility," said Mr. Wetherbee.
Underlying sales in the Refractories segment, which primarily serves the steel industry, increased 3 percent to $348.4 million. Including foreign exchange, sales increased 1 percent. Refractory products sales were $264.0 million, the same as the prior year. Metallurgical products sales increased 6 percent to $84.4 million. The segment achieved a record operating income of $33.4 million, excluding special items, a 2-percent increase over the same period of 2012. The segment achieved this record through strong productivity improvements, higher metallurgical wire sales and improved European sales. Operating income, as reported, was $35.9 million.
Fourth Quarter
Minerals Technologies' fourth quarter underlying worldwide sales increased 7 percent to $256.6 million from the $243.0 million in the same period in 2012. Including the effect of foreign exchange, sales increased 6 percent.
Minerals Technologies' income from operations for the quarter was $31.0 million, excluding special items, a 15-percent increase over the prior year. Operating income, as reported, grew 24 percent to $33.5 million. The company's fourth quarter earnings, a record for a fourth quarter, were $0.61 per share, excluding special items, a 15-percent increase over the $0.53 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2012. Reported earnings in the fourth quarter of 2013 were $0.65 per share, which included an insurance settlement gain.
Cash flow from operations for the quarter was $44.2 million and the company repurchased $7.5 million in treasury stock.
Fourth quarter underlying worldwide sales for the Specialty Minerals segment increased 6 percent to $167.1 million from the same period in 2012. This was attributable primarily to stronger PCC volumes in Asia and Europe, and improved sales in ground calcium carbonate, talc and Specialty PCC. Including foreign exchange, sales increased 5 percent.
Income from operations for the Specialty Minerals segment increased 15 percent to $24.0 million. Income from operations as a percentage of sales expanded to 14.4 percent of sales compared with 13.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. This increase was attributable to price increases, improved profitability in Processed Minerals, productivity gains, the impact of new satellite plants coming on line and the contribution from adoption of the FulFill(R) technology.
Worldwide underlying sales of PCC increased 4 percent to $138.3 million. Processed Minerals products fourth quarter sales increased 11 percent to $28.8 million. Talc sales increased 14 percent and GCC sales increased 9 percent.
Fourth quarter underlying sales in the Refractories segment increased 9 percent to $89.5 million over the fourth quarter of 2012. Operating income, excluding special items, in the fourth quarter of 2013 was $9.6 million, a 26-percent increase over the prior year. This was primarily attributable to increased sales and profits in Europe and Asia and to higher equipment sales in the quarter. Operating income, as reported was $12.1 million.
Refractory products underlying sales increased 9 percent to $68.2 million. Metallurgical products underlying sales increased 8 percent to $21.3 million.
"We continue on a strong growth and performance track based upon our strategies of geographic expansion and new product innovation," said Mr. Wetherbee. "In the fourth quarter, underlying sales increased 7 percent over the prior year, which is our third consecutive quarter of revenue growth. As a strong operating company, we will continue our focus on productivity and cost reduction through our Operational Excellence initiative and employee engagement. Our Paper PCC product line continues its solid performance through expansion into Asia and the continued global adoption of our FulFill(R) high-filler technology, and our Refractories and Performance Minerals product lines continue on a strong performance track. Looking ahead, we expect continued performance improvement and global growth."
Minerals Technologies has scheduled an analyst conference call for Friday, January 31, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. to discuss operating results for the fourth quarter. The conference call will be broadcast over the company's website, www.mineralstech.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which describe or are based on current expectations; in particular, statements of anticipated changes in the business environment in which the company operates and in the company's future operating results. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations. In addition, any statements that are not historical fact (including statements containing the words "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect our businesses, particularly those mentioned in the risk factors and other cautionary statements in our 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Rick B. Honey
+1-212-878-1831
MTX Q4 2013 Financials: http://hugin.info/147757/R/1758206/594374.xls
This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Minerals Technologies Inc via Globenewswire
Topic: Earnings
Source: Minerals Technologies Inc.
https://www.acnnewswire.com
From the Asia Corporate News Network
Copyright © 2024 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
