UNOVA Reports 1999 Results - Outlook Improving
27 January 2000
UNOVA Reports 1999 Results - Outlook Improving
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.--Jan. 26, 2000--UNOVA, Inc. :| -- | Automated Data Systems began to eliminate transition costs |
| -- | Industrial Automation reported another record bookings year |
| -- | License income on ADS technology supports results |
| -- | Corporate structure to be streamlined for savings, efficiency gains |
| -- | Debt-to-capital level significantly improved at year-end |
UNOVA, Inc. (www.unova.com) today reported its 1999 year-end results. Revenues were $2.11 billion, a 27 percent increase over the $1.66 billion reported for 1998. As expected, however, earnings did not reach the performance level of the previous year. Net earnings amounted to $29.6 million, or $0.54 per share, compared to $50.8 million, or $0.92 per share, excluding one-time, non-operating income that increased 1998 net earnings to $69.7 million, or $1.27 per share.
"Our performance in 1999 was disappointing," said Alton J. Brann, UNOVA Chairman and CEO. "Our Industrial Automation Systems (IAS) business was impacted by lower utilization levels and profitability at some divisions outside North America and at Cincinnati Machine, while the Automated Data Systems (ADS) segment faced transitional problems as Intermec Technologies switched to a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. In the latter part of the year, growth was further restricted in ADS by customer decisions to delay new projects in view of their focus on Y2K compliance activities.
"On the positive side, the new ERP system achieved a performance level by year-end that allowed us to begin eliminating the interim fulfillment costs we incurred at Intermec's main manufacturing facility in Everett," said Brann.
"The IAS segment reported another year of record bookings," Brann continued, "demonstrating that our sophisticated industrial systems business is driven by customer investment decisions independent from the trends of the conventional machine tool industry. In fact, we expect our high bookings level to continue in 2000.
"Last year we further strengthened our management team with the addition of Larry Brady, who joined us as President and Chief Operating Officer, and Bob O'Malley, who now heads our ADS business segment and our Intermec Technologies subsidiary," added Brann. "Both have been directly involved in improving our controls and organizational structure. Our close working relationship will be further enhanced by the collocation of Intermec's world headquarters with our UNOVA corporate headquarters, and by the efficient combination of certain corporate and segment functions.
"Our licensing program for key patents from our ADS segment to manufacturers and users outside our core business areas also supported our results in 1999," said Brann. "And we have identified a number of additional users of our smart battery and removable disk drive technologies that may be candidates for future licenses.
"Another positive development was a significant strengthening of our balance sheet in the fourth quarter of 1999, specifically a reduction in working capital consumption that allowed us to lower our debt load. It demonstrates that our `cash value added' program -- with its link to compensation plans -- is getting the attention of our managers," he said.
"Looking at 2000, we expect improvements in both our business segments for the full year, despite a weak start in the first quarter," concluded Brann. "The first three months will still be impacted by Y2K-related project delays in the ADS segment, and in the IAS business by interim under-utilization at our European operations."
Fourth Quarter Results
For the fourth quarter of 1999, UNOVA reported revenues of $617.6 million, net earnings of $13.4 million and earnings per share of $0.24. The comparable results for the fourth quarter of 1998 were $578.4 million in revenues, $20.5 million in earnings and earnings per share of $0.37, excluding one-time, non-operating income that increased 1998 fourth quarter net earnings to $39.4 million, and earnings per share to $0.72.
Automated Data Systems (ADS)
The ADS segment reported revenues of $877.2 million for 1999, compared to $829.4 million for 1998. Segment operating profit of $26.4 million for 1999 compares to $55.4 million for the previous year. For the fourth quarter of 1999, ADS reported revenues of $246.5 million and operating profits of $11.2 million, compared to $230.4 million and $17.7 million, respectively, for the fourth quarter of 1998. Both 1999 and 1998 fourth quarter results were positively impacted by income from license agreements for the Company's technology in battery management and removable disk drives.
The transition to automated ERP systems caused interruptions throughout the ADS operations for most of 1999. By year-end, Intermec's main production facility in Everett, Washington, was achieving order fulfillment performance ahead of recent industry benchmarks, an indicator that its ERP investments are beginning to create customer service benefits. Current system performance is now allowing the Company to begin eliminating earlier transition inefficiencies, and a streamlined organization at Intermec should result in significantly reduced infrastructure costs.
Customers' Y2K worries continued to generate project delays during the fourth quarter, as their MIS departments were preoccupied with internal compliance and preparedness activities. As a result, large-scale supply-chain computing projects were postponed. It is expected that later in the first quarter of 2000 customers will begin to release new projects and return to a normalized cycle of information technology investments.
"Based on our extensive program of new product introductions planned for 2000, our streamlined organization, and a strong market outlook without Y2K interruptions after the first quarter, we expect improved performance at Intermec this year," said Larry D. Brady, UNOVA President and Chief Operating Officer. "Margin improvement should come primarily from cost savings and from a return to top-line growth as the year progresses."
Industrial Automation Systems (IAS)
The IAS segment ended 1999 with strong sales and record bookings. Revenues for the year increased to $1.23 billion from $833.3 million for 1998. Excluding Cincinnati Machine, which was acquired by UNOVA at the beginning of the 1998 fourth quarter, underlying IAS revenues grew by more than 25 percent. This positive performance is significantly better than that of the general machine tool industry. Operating profits for the segment grew by 20 percent to $92.5 million for 1999, compared to $76.9 million for the previous year.
With revenues of $371.1 million and operating profits of $30.5 million, the fourth quarter of 1999 also showed a positive comparison to the same quarterly period in 1998, which closed with revenues of $347.9 million and operating profits of $30.3 million.
Supported by strong bookings from large customers in North America, the segment closed 1999 with a new, year-end record backlog of $730 million, up from the previous record backlog of $705 million at the end of 1998.
During 1999, the Company aligned its IAS structure with customers' globalization trends in the automotive, aerospace and heavy equipment industries -- UNOVA's primary markets for its industrial systems business. Operations in North America and Europe have interlinked engineering and manufacturing capabilities and are sharing resources to provide consistently high levels of worldwide customer support.
"The operations of Cincinnati Machine are now profitable and we expect a more positive contribution to our 2000 results," commented Brady. "Despite our expectation for a slow first quarter in the IAS segment, our record backlog and solid performance support our outlook for margin improvement over the full year. The long-term investment plans of our main customer groups indicate another solid bookings year for the industrial automation business in 2000."
Financial Highlights
Based on strong cash flow in the fourth quarter, UNOVA significantly reduced its leverage by year-end 1999 to a debt-to-capital ratio of 42 percent, excluding the benefit from the sale of receivables.
"Our balance sheet has improved and we are looking at another year of positive cash generation -- from operations, dedicated asset management and improvements in working capital utilization," said Brady.
UNOVA is a leading global supplier of wireless networking technologies and mobile information systems solutions for supply-chain execution and e-commerce fulfillment. The Company also is a leading developer of manufacturing technologies and integrated production systems solutions for the global automotive, aerospace and heavy equipment industries.
Certain forward-looking statements in this release (as defined by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) relate to matters that are not historical facts. They include, but are not limited to, statements about the demand for the Company's products and services, the Company's ability to profitably exploit new technologies acquired or developed, and the Company's ability to realize its intentions with respect to the future performance of operations acquired by the company. Such forward-looking statements involve and are dependent upon certain risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, the following which are beyond the Company's control: the presence of competitors with greater financial and other resources; technological changes and developments; regulatory uncertainties; worldwide political stability and economic conditions; operating risks associated with international activities; the failure of the Company's due diligence procedures to discover undisclosed adverse material information concerning acquired operations; and other risks and uncertainties described more fully in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
www.unova.com
UNOVA, INC.
1999 YEAR-END EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL
UNOVA, Inc., Investor Relations, will conduct a conference call
following the release of its 1999 year-end earnings.
WHEN: Thursday, January 27, 2000
10:00 a.m. (Eastern), 7:00 a.m. (Pacific)
To participate in the call, telephone or fax UNOVA Investor
Relations at:
Telephone: (818) 992-2870 / 71
Fax: (818) 992-2608
UNOVA, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Preliminary)
Three Months and Year
Ended December 31, 1999 and 1998
(thousands of dollars,
except per share amounts)
3 Months 3 Months Year Year
Ended Ended Ended Ended
Dec. 31, Dec. 31, Dec. 31, Dec. 31,
1999 1998 1999 1998
-------------------------------------------------
Sales and Service
Revenues $ 617,551 $ 578,348 $ 2,108,749 $ 1,662,663
---------------------- -------------------------
Costs and Expenses
Cost of sales 442,165 405,303 1,500,974 1,110,799
Selling, general and
administrative 126,720 114,380 454,473 383,663
Depreciation and
amortization 16,257 15,061 65,974 57,043
Interest, net 10,143 9,370 38,015 25,715
---------------------- -------------------------
Total Costs and
Expenses 595,285 544,114 2,059,436 1,577,220
---------------------- -------------------------
Other Income, Net 31,523 31,523
---------------------- -------------------------
Earnings before Taxes
on Income 22,266 65,757 49,313 116,966
Taxes on Income (8,906) (26,303) (19,725) (47,253)
---------------------- -------------------------
Net Earnings $ 13,360 $ 39,454 $ 29,588 $ 69,713
====================== =========================
Basic Earnings
per Share $ 0.24 $ 0.72 $ 0.54 $ 1.28
====================== =========================
Diluted Earnings
per Share $ 0.24 $ 0.72 $ 0.54 $ 1.27
====================== =========================
Shares Used in
Computing Basic
Earnings per
Share 55,295,235 54,727,998 55,110,655 54,620,208
Shares Used in
Computing Diluted
Earnings per Share 55,306,759 54,728,773 55,119,518 54,703,067
UNOVA, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE
SHEETS (Preliminary)
(thousands of dollars)
December 31, December 31,
1999 1998
------------- -------------
Assets
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 25,239 $ 17,708
Accounts receivable, net 596,885 662,885
Inventories, net
of progress billings 310,175 336,005
Deferred tax assets 158,170 141,773
Other current assets 19,873 21,129
-------------- --------------
Total Current Assets 1,110,342 1,179,500
Property, Plant and Equipment, Net 270,899 286,171
Goodwill and Other Intangibles, Net 399,131 400,164
Other Assets 123,167 113,381
-------------- --------------
Total Assets $ 1,903,539 $ 1,979,216
============== ==============
Liabilities and
Shareholders' Investment
Current Liabilities
Accounts payable and
accrued expenses $ 509,188 $ 456,812
Payroll and related expenses 89,309 93,199
Notes payable and current
portion of long-term obligations 64,002 237,276
-------------- --------------
Total Current Liabilities 662,499 787,287
-------------- --------------
Long-term Obligations 365,386 366,487
-------------- --------------
Deferred Taxes and
Other Long-term Liabilities 144,354 124,017
-------------- --------------
Shareholders' Investment
Common stock 556 549
Additional paid-in capital 652,157 645,054
Retained earnings 91,260 61,672
Accumulated other comprehensive
income - cumulative currency
translation adjustment (12,673) (5,850)
-------------- --------------
Total Shareholders' Investment 731,300 701,425
-------------- --------------
Total Liabilities and
Shareholders' Investment $ 1,903,539 $ 1,979,216
============== ==============
UNOVA, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT
OF CASH FLOWS (Preliminary)
Year Ended
December 31, 1999
(thousands of dollars)
Cash and Cash Equivalents
at Beginning of Period $ 17,708
-----------------
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net earnings 29,588
Adjustments to reconcile net
earnings to net cash provided
by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 65,974
Proceeds from sale of receivables 100,000
Changes in working capital
and other operating activities (1,785)
-----------------
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities 193,777
-----------------
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures (61,149)
Other investing activities 43,196
-----------------
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities (17,953)
-----------------
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Net decrease in borrowings (174,544)
Other financing activities 6,251
-----------------
Net Cash Used in Financing Activities (168,293)
-----------------
Resulting in Increase in Cash
and Cash Equivalents 7,531
-----------------
Cash and Cash Equivalents
at End of Period $ 25,239
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