Belden Reports Results for Third Quarter 2018

Business Wire 31-Oct-2018 7:30 AM

Belden Inc. (NYSE:BDC), a global leader in high quality, end-to-end signal transmission solutions for mission-critical applications, today reported fiscal third quarter 2018 results for the period ended September 30, 2018.

Third Quarter 2018

On a GAAP basis, revenues for the quarter totaled $655.8 million, increasing $34.1 million, or 5.5%, compared to $621.7 million in the third quarter 2017. Net income was $85.9 million, an increase of $84.9 million from the prior-year period. Net income included a $46.1 million after-tax gain from patent litigation, and net income in the third quarter 2017 included a $32.2 million after-tax loss on debt extinguishment related to debt refinancing and repayment. Net income as a percentage of revenues was 13.1% compared to 0.2% in the prior-year period. EPS was $1.80 compared to $(0.18) in the third quarter 2017.

Adjusted revenues for the quarter totaled $659.0 million, increasing $37.3 million, or 6.0%, compared to $621.7 million in the third quarter 2017. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the third quarter was 19.2%, consistent with the year-ago period. Adjusted EPS was $1.72, increasing 15.4% compared to $1.49 in the third quarter 2017. Adjusted results are non-GAAP measures, and a non-GAAP reconciliation table is provided as an appendix to this release.

John Stroup, President, CEO, and Chairman of Belden Inc., said, "We are pleased to report strong year-over-year earnings growth. However, despite entering the quarter with record backlog, order softness in our Enterprise segment and capacity constraints in our Industrial segment prevented us from meeting our revenue guidance."

Outlook

"We expect these challenges will continue in the fourth quarter. As a result, we are reducing our revenue and EPS expectations for the remainder of the year. We are disappointed in this near-term outlook revision, yet we remain committed to executing our strategic plan and delivering robust growth and margin expansion longer-term," said Mr. Stroup.

On a GAAP basis, the Company expects fourth quarter 2018 revenues to be $654 - $674 million and EPS to be $0.84 - $0.94. For the full year ending December 31, 2018, the Company now expects revenues to be $2.585 - $2.605 billion, compared to prior guidance of $2.633 - $2.663 billion, and EPS to be $3.09 - $3.19, compared to prior guidance of $3.52 - $3.72.

The Company expects fourth quarter 2018 adjusted revenues to be $657 - $677 million and adjusted EPS to be $1.60 - $1.70. For the full year ending December 31, 2018, the Company now expects adjusted revenues to be $2.595 - $2.615 billion, compared to prior guidance of $2.643 - $2.673 billion, and adjusted EPS to be $6.00 - $6.10, compared to prior guidance of $6.28 - $6.48.

Earnings Conference Call

Management will host a conference call today at 8:30 am ET to discuss the results of the quarter. The listen-only audio of the conference call will be broadcast live via the Internet at http://investor.belden.com. The dial-in number for participants in the U.S. is 800-281-7973; the dial-in number for participants outside the U.S. is 323-794-2093. A replay of this conference call will remain accessible in the investor relations section of the Company's website for a limited time.

Net Income and Earnings per Share (EPS)

All references to Net Income and EPS within this earnings release refer to net income attributable to Belden and income from continuing operations per diluted share attributable to Belden common stockholders, respectively.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Adjusted results are non-GAAP measures that reflect certain adjustments the Company makes to provide insight into operating results. GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations accompany the condensed consolidated financial statements included in this release and have been published to the investor relations section of the Company's website at http://investor.belden.com.

(1) Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure. See Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures for additional information.

BELDEN INC.RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES(Unaudited)

In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, we provide non-GAAP operating results adjusted for certain items, including: asset impairments; accelerated depreciation expense due to plant consolidation activities; purchase accounting effects related to acquisitions, such as the adjustment of acquired inventory and deferred revenue to fair value and transaction costs; severance, restructuring, and acquisition integration costs; gains (losses) recognized on the disposal of businesses and tangible assets; amortization of intangible assets; gains (losses) on debt extinguishment; certain revenues and gains (losses) from patent settlements; discontinued operations; and other costs. We adjust for the items listed above in all periods presented, unless the impact is clearly immaterial to our financial statements. When we calculate the tax effect of the adjustments, we include all current and deferred income tax expense commensurate with the adjusted measure of pre-tax profitability.

We utilize the adjusted results to review our ongoing operations without the effect of these adjustments and for comparison to budgeted operating results. We believe the adjusted results are useful to investors because they help them compare our results to previous periods and provide important insights into underlying trends in the business and how management oversees our business operations on a day-to-day basis. As an example, we adjust for the purchase accounting effect of recording deferred revenue at fair value in order to reflect the revenues that would have otherwise been recorded by acquired businesses had they remained as independent entities. We believe this presentation is useful in evaluating the underlying performance of acquired companies. Similarly, we adjust for other acquisition-related expenses, such as amortization of intangibles and other impacts of fair value adjustments because they generally are not related to the acquired business' core business performance. As an additional example, we exclude the costs of restructuring programs, which can occur from time to time for our current businesses and/or recently acquired businesses. We exclude the costs in calculating adjusted results to allow us and investors to evaluate the performance of the business based upon its expected ongoing operating structure. We believe the adjusted measures, accompanied by the disclosure of the costs of these programs, provides valuable insight.

Adjusted results should be considered only in conjunction with results reported according to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

BELDEN INC.RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES(Unaudited)

We define free cash flow, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, as net cash from operating activities adjusted for capital expenditures net of the proceeds from the disposal of tangible assets. We believe free cash flow provides useful information to investors regarding our ability to generate cash from business operations that is available for acquisitions and other investments, service of debt principal, dividends and share repurchases. We use free cash flow, as defined, as one financial measure to monitor and evaluate performance and liquidity. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered only in conjunction with financial measures reported according to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Our definition of free cash flow may differ from definitions used by other companies.

BELDEN INC.RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES2018 REVENUES AND EARNINGS GUIDANCE

Our guidance for income per diluted share attributable to Belden common stockholders is based upon information currently available regarding events and conditions that will impact our future operating results. In particular, our results are subject to the factors listed under "Forward-Looking Statements" in this release. In addition, our actual results are likely to be impacted by other additional events for which information is not available, such as asset impairments, purchase accounting effects related to acquisitions, severance, restructuring, and acquisition integration costs, gains (losses) recognized on the disposal of tangible assets, gains (losses) on debt extinguishment, discontinued operations, and other gains (losses) related to events or conditions that are not yet known.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release and any statements made by us concerning the release may contain forward-looking statements including our expectations for the fourth quarter and full-year 2018. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding future financial performance (including revenues, expenses, earnings, margins, cash flows, dividends, capital expenditures and financial condition), plans and objectives, and related assumptions. In some cases these statements are identifiable through the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "guide," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "target," "can," "could," "may," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those suggested by any forward-looking statements for a number of reasons, including, without limitation: the impact of a challenging global economy or a downturn in served markets; the competitiveness of the global broadcast, enterprise, and industrial markets; volatility in credit and foreign exchange markets; the inability to execute and realize the expected benefits from strategic initiatives (including revenue growth, cost control, and productivity improvement programs); the inability to achieve our strategic priorities in emerging markets; the presence of substitute products in the marketplace; the inability of the Company to develop and introduce new products and competitive responses to our products; the increased prevalence of cloud computing; the inability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions in furtherance of the Company's strategic plan; foreign and domestic political, economic and other uncertainties, including changes in currency exchange rates; changes in tax laws and variability in the Company's quarterly and annual effective tax rates; the increased influence of chief information officers and similar high-level executives; disruptions in the Company's information systems including due to cyber-attacks; perceived or actual product failures; risks related to the use of open source software; the cost and availability of raw materials including copper, plastic compounds, electronic components, and other materials; difficulty in forecasting revenue due to the unpredictable timing of large orders; disruption of, or changes in, the Company's key distribution channels; the inability to retain senior management and key employees; assertions that the Company violates the intellectual property of others and the ownership of intellectual property by competitors and others that prevents the use of that intellectual property by the Company; the impact of changes in global tariffs and trade agreements; the impact of regulatory requirements and other legal compliance issues; the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets and the resulting impact on financial performance; disruptions and increased costs attendant to collective bargaining groups and other labor matters; and other factors.

For a more complete discussion of risk factors, please see our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 1, 2018, filed with the SEC on August 6, 2018. Although the content of this release represents our best judgment as of the date of this report based on information currently available and reasonable assumptions, we give no assurances that the expectations will prove to be accurate. Deviations from the expectations may be material. For these reasons, Belden cautions readers to not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Belden disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except as required by law.

About Belden

Belden Inc. delivers a comprehensive product portfolio designed to meet the mission-critical network infrastructure needs of industrial and enterprise markets. With innovative solutions targeted at reliable and secure transmission of rapidly growing amounts of data, audio and video needed for today's applications, Belden is at the center of the global transformation to a connected world. Founded in 1902, the company is headquartered in St. Louis and has manufacturing capabilities in North and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit us at www.belden.com or follow us on Twitter @BeldenInc.

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