Littelfuse Reports Record Third Quarter Results
19 October 2000
Littelfuse Reports Record Third Quarter Results
DES PLAINES, Ill.--Oct. 19, 2000--Littelfuse, Inc. today reported record sales and earnings for the third quarter of 2000.Sales for the third quarter of 2000 were $96.4 million, a 31% increase from sales of $73.3 million for the third quarter of 1999. Net income rose 48% in the third quarter of 2000 to $9.7 million, compared to net income of $6.6 million for the same period in the prior year. Diluted earnings per share rose 44% to $0.44 in the third quarter of 2000, from earnings of $0.30 per share for the comparable prior period.
For the first nine months of 2000, sales were $289.0 million, a 35% increase from sales of $214.4 million for the same period in 1999. Net income was up 74% to $30.6 million in the first nine months of 2000, from net income of $17.6 million in the comparable prior period. Diluted earnings per share were $1.38 for the first nine months of 2000, a 70% increase from earnings of $0.81 per share for the first nine months of 1999.
"Continued strong electronics demand in all regions of the world fueled higher sales and earnings in the third quarter," said Howard B. Witt, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "With our steadily improving performance, we are realizing the benefits of our strategy to focus on electronics as our growth engine."
For the third quarter of 2000 compared to the prior year, worldwide sales of electronic products increased 60%, automotive sales increased 2% and power fuse sales decreased 5%. Excluding sales of suppression products (acquired in October 1999), electronic product sales increased 35%, automotive sales decreased 3% and power fuse sales decreased 5%. Similar to the second quarter, higher automotive OEM sales in the U.S. were offset by lower automotive aftermarket sales and the effects of currency translation in Europe. Geographically, sales for the third quarter were balanced, with increases of 33% in the Americas, 28% in Europe and 31% in Asia.
Operating income increased 41% in the third quarter of 2000 to $16.3 million and the operating margin increased 1.2 percentage points to 16.9% of sales. "The increase in operating margin was driven by our electronics business which benefited from high unit volumes in the quarter," said Phil Franklin, Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer. "We continue to work on installing additional production capacity for key electronic product lines where customer demand exceeds our capacity to supply."
"Looking ahead, we anticipate that fourth quarter sales will grow about 7-10% over a prior year comparison that will include suppression products for the first time. We expect to close out this remarkable year with sales up over 25% and earnings up approximately 50%," said Witt.
"Overall company growth rates are beginning to slow from the extraordinary rates of earlier this year, reflecting some softening in the automotive markets, a weak euro, and inclusion of suppression products in the prior year comparison. However, we expect our electronics markets to remain strong throughout 2001. This gives us confidence that 2001 will be another record year for Littelfuse," he added.
LITTELFUSE, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
For the Three Months Ended For the Nine Months Ended
-------------------------- -------------------------
September 30, October 2, September 30, October 2,
------------- ---------- ------------- ----------
2000 1999 2000 1999
---- ---- ---- ----
Net sales $96,362 $73,292 $289,037 $214,357
Cost of sales 57,623 43,975 171,719 131,200
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Gross profit 38,739 29,317 117,318 83,157
Selling, general and
administrative
expenses 17,914 13,911 53,606 39,457
Research and
development expenses 2,853 2,138 8,261 7,023
Amortization of
intangibles 1,701 1,730 5,249 5,214
------- ------- -------- --------
Operating income 16,271 11,538 50,202 31,463
Interest expense 1,104 1,330 3,527 4,026
Other (income)/expense (276) (420) (1,877) (978)
-------- -------- -------- ---------
Income before income
taxes 15,443 10,628 48,552 28,415
Income taxes 5,715 4,040 17,964 10,799
Net income $ 9,728 $ 6,588 $ 30,588 $ 17,616
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Net income per share:
Basic $ 0.49 $ 0.34 $ 1.54 $ 0.90
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Diluted $ 0.44 $ 0.30 $ 1.38 $ 0.81
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Weighted average shares and equivalent
shares outstanding:
Basic 20,078 19,505 19,821 19,591
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Diluted 22,306 21,712 22,202 21,747
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LITTELFUSE, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition
(in thousands, unaudited)
September 30, 2000 January 1, 2000
------------------ ---------------
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 6,096 $ 1,888
Receivables 67,992 59,583
Inventories 55,525 48,916
Other current assets 10,271 8,750
------------- -------------
Total current assets $ 139,884 $ 119,137
Property, plant, and
equipment, net 91,840 91,791
Reorganization value, net 31,826 33,943
Other intangible assets, net 26,557 29,570
Other assets 583 1,257
------------- -------------
$ 290,690 $ 275,698
============= =============
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity:
Current liabilities
excluding current portion
of long-term debt $ 51,678 $ 57,241
Current portion of
long-term debt 17,807 20,974
------------- -------------
Total current liabilities 69,485 78,215
Long-term debt 50,737 55,460
Deferred liabilities 4,522 4,490
Other long-term liabilities 894 501
Shareholders' equity 165,052 137,032
------------- -------------
Shares issued and
outstanding: 20,075,025
$ 290,690 $ 275,698
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LITTELFUSE, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands, unaudited)
For the Three Months Ended For the Nine Months Ended
-------------------------- -------------------------
September 30, October 2, September 30, October 2,
------------- ---------- ------------- ----------
2000 1999 2000 1999
---- ---- ---- ----
Operating activities:
Net income $ 9,728 $ 6,588 $ 30,588 $ 17,616
Adjustments to reconcile
net income to net cash
provided by operating
activities:
Depreciation 5,060 4,684 14,923 13,012
Amortization 1,701 1,730 5,249 5,214
Changes in operating
assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable (1,419) (5,650) (9,818) (15,388)
Inventories 2,455 (2,427) (7,039) (3,517)
Accounts payable and
accrued expenses (7,703) 2,149 (5,593) 6,398
Other, net 1,161 (1,565) (146) (1,701)
------- --------- -------- ---------
Net cash provided by
operating activities $10,983 $ 5,509 $ 28,164 $ 21,634
Cash used in investing
activities:
Purchases of property,
plant, and equipment,
net (7,606) (5,073) (15,665) (16,504)
------- -------- -------- --------
Net cash used in
investing activities (7,606) (5,073) (15,665) (16,504)
Cash provided by
(used in) financing
activities:
Payments of long-term
debt, net (4,553) (14,560) (7,294) (15,036)
Proceeds from exercise
of stock options and
warrants 486 1,093 4,035 1,207
Purchase of common
stock and warrants (3,987) 0 (4,095) (10,476)
------- ------- -------- --------
Net cash provided by
(used in) financing
activities (8,054) (13,467) (7,354) (24,305)
Effect of exchange rate
changes on cash (51) (219) (937) (198)
-------- --------- --------- ---------
Increase/(decrease) in
cash and cash
equivalents (4,728) (13,250) 4,208 (19,373)
Cash and cash
equivalents at
beginning of period 10,824 21,838 1,888 27,961
------- -------- -------- --------
Cash and cash
equivalents at end of
period $6,096 $ 8,588 $ 6,096 $ 8,588
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