KBR Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2018 Financial Results; Guidance for Fiscal 2019

PRNewswire 26-Feb-2019 5:52 AM

HOUSTON, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR), a global provider of differentiated, professional services and technologies across the asset and program life cycle of the government services and hydrocarbons industries today announced fourth quarter and fiscal 2018 financial results and guidance for fiscal 2019.

"I am delighted to report our 2018 full year results, in which we added our 8^th consecutive quarter of strong revenue, earnings and cash flow; quality year-over-year backlog growth; and the successful integration of SGT and Aspire," said Stuart Bradie, KBR President and CEO.  "As we celebrate our 100 year anniversary, the level of energy and enthusiasm across our organization is high. Our Government Services business is delivering industry-leading organic growth with solid margins, our Technology business continues to expand, delivering excellent operating margins and cash conversion, and our Hydrocarbons Services business is well-positioned for growth as our clients embark on a healthy capital investment cycle," Bradie said. "We are particularly pleased to see the restoration of the fundamental cash generating ability of our business, and with the book of business in our backlog today, we expect to continue our cash momentum as we look ahead," added Bradie. "Our people across the world are committed to delivering safe, reliable and industry leading execution to our customers.  This dedication underpins profitable, predictable, and cash generative financial performance - just as we committed as part of our strategic transformation."

Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2018 Financial Results

Financial highlights for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 are as follows:

• Industry-leading organic revenue growth in our Government Services business of 31% underpinned by on-contract growth, take-away wins, and new work awarded under our portfolio of well-positioned contracting vehicles:
• We won a major award to support the U.S. Air Force at Tyndall Air Force Base as it recovered in the wake of Hurricane Michael, a Category 4 storm that damaged every building on base, devastated the military flight line and wiped out the marina. We rapidly deployed a team that tackled a broad spectrum of activities such as debris removal, airfield and flight line management, supply and restoration of emergency power and satellite communications, and recovery of unique military aircraft;
• New wins and takeaways, such as the MSOC NASA contract at Johnson Space Center under which we provide technical, managerial, and administrative services to ensure the availability, integrity, reliability, and security of systems supporting NASA spaceflight programs; and
• On-contract growth across our logistics business as additional activities are added to our scope of services;
• Incremental revenue and accretive earnings from our acquisition of SGT and consolidation of Aspire;
• Strong organic revenue growth in our Technology business of 12% attributable to increasing demand for our innovative solutions across the chemical, petrochemical and refining markets as well as increased bundling of technology licenses with ancillary services, proprietary equipment and catalysts;
• Interest expense was in line with expectations;
• Income taxes were in line with expectations. The 4^th quarter of 2017 included a significant release of valuation allowances and other adjustments associated with 2017 U.S. Tax Reform resulting in a non-cash tax benefit of $241 million; and
• Operating cash flow of $129 million on strong collections and distributions from Joint Ventures.

Financial highlights for the year ended December 31, 2018 are as follows:

• Industry-leading organic revenue growth in our Government Services business of 17% underpinned by on-contract growth in logistics and engineering, take-away wins, and new work awarded under our portfolio of well-positioned contracting vehicles, as discussed previously;
• Incremental revenue and accretive earnings from our acquisition of SGT and consolidation of Aspire, including a non-cash gain on consolidation of Aspire of $108 million;
• Strong organic revenue growth in our Technology business of 10% (same drivers as described above);
• Consistent execution across each of our segments, including the successful completion of several Hydrocarbons Services projects;
• Interest expense was in line with expectations;
• Income taxes were in line with expectations. 2017 included a significant release of valuation allowances and other adjustments associated with 2017 U.S. Tax Reform resulting in a non-cash tax benefit of $241 million; and
• Operating cash flow of $165 million on cash earnings, reduction in days sales outstanding and distributions from Joint Ventures.

Liquidity and Capital Structure

• Fiscal 2018 operating cash flow to net income conversion, excluding the non-cash gain on Aspire, of 95%;
• Gross and net debt leverage as of December 31, 2018 of 3.2x and 1.4x, respectively, in line with management expectations; and
• Previously disclosed Ichthys funding expectations remain unchanged.

Notable New Business Awards/Developments:

Quality bookings continue to support the Company's long-term outlook.  Consolidated fiscal year 2018 book-to-bill in 2018 was 1.2x, excluding the workoff of our long-term privately financed initiatives, or PFIs, as follows: Government Services business 1.2x, excluding the workoff of PFIs; Technology 1.6x; and Hydrocarbons Services 1.1x. Booking highlights include the following:

• Our Government Services business achieved numerous synergy wins during the year representing our ability to leverage strong customer relationships across our portfolio of high impact, mission critical capabilities. Such wins include a $500 million contract to provide personal services in human performance and behavioral health to the U.S. Special Operations Command, a contract from LIG Nex1 to support the Korean military's Identify Friend or Foe capabilities, and a seat on the U.S. Army Information Technology Enterprise Solutions-3 Services Contract.
• Our Technology business achieved record backlog as of December 31, 2018 of $0.6 billion - the fifth sequential quarter of record setting backlog for this business. In 2018, we continued to commission and prove our first of a kind technologies, such as K-SAAT™, a revolutionary technology that increases octane for high quality gasoline blending in a safer, more operationally efficient manner. Additionally, our ROSE^® technology continues to be an attractive solution enabling refiners to meet IMO 2020 requirements that reduce allowable sulfur content and emissions for marine fuels.
• Our Hydrocarbons Services business continues to add quality projects aligned with our commercial strategies and deep technical expertise. Notable recent announcements include a reimbursable contract with ExxonMobil to provide detailed engineering, procurement, and construction services for the offsites and interconnecting units as part of the recently announced crude expansion project in Texas, a refinery debottlenecking project with SATORP, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Total, as well as a front-end engineering design project for Shell Australia's Crux project to build an autonomous offshore platform and gas pipeline in Western Australia.

2019 Guidance

Across the markets we serve, our 2019 outlook is favorable, as follows:

• Strong past performance credentials and win rates, positive synergy momentum from acquisitions, and increased U.S. Government Fiscal 2019 defense and space spending budgets are driving a robust opportunity pipeline;
• Growing global economy, technological development, and abundant sources of competitively priced feedstock are driving increased capital project demand in gas monetization and petrochemicals end markets;
• Greater than expected global demand for LNG coupled with projected capacity shortfalls are pushing IOC's and developers to proceed with project final investment decisions in 2019 and 2020.

The company initiates 2019 GAAP EPS guidance with a range of $1.29 to $1.44, and Adjusted EPS guidance with a range of $1.58 to $1.73 per share.  Our guidance of earnings per share is on an Adjusted EPS basis, which excludes legacy legal costs for U.S. Government contracts, non-cash imputed interest on the conversion option of the convertible debt, acquisition and integration related costs, amortization related to the consolidation of Aspire, and incremental 2019 interest expense associated with funding the legacy Ichthys project. A reconciliation of GAAP EPS to Adjusted EPS guidance is included at the end of this release.

Operating cash flows for 2019 are estimated to range from $175 million to $205 million, representing an operating cash flow to net income ratio of 90% to 110%. Our estimated effective tax rate for 2019 is estimated to range from 23% to 25%.

About KBR, Inc.

KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program life cycle within the Government Services and Hydrocarbons sectors. KBR employs over 36,000 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 80 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses:

• Government Services, serving government customers globally, including capabilities that cover the full life-cycle of defense, space, aviation and other government programs and missions from research and development, through systems engineering, test and evaluation, program management, to operations, maintenance, and field logistics;
• Technology, including proprietary technology focused on the monetization of hydrocarbons (especially natural gas and natural gas liquids) in ethylene and petrochemicals; ammonia, nitric acid and fertilizers; oil refining and gasification; and
• Hydrocarbons Services, including onshore oil and gas; LNG (liquefaction and regasification)/GTL; oil refining; petrochemicals; chemicals; fertilizers; differentiated EPC; maintenance services (Brown & Root Industrial Services); offshore oil and gas (shallow-water, deep-water, subsea); floating solutions (FPU, FPSO, FLNG & FSRU); program management and consulting services.

KBR is proud to work with its customers across the globe to provide technology, value-added services, integrated EPC delivery and long term operations and maintenance services to ensure consistent delivery with predictable results. At KBR, We Deliver.

Visit www.kbr.com

Forward Looking Statement

The statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding future financial performance, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the outcome of and the publicity surrounding audits and investigations by domestic and foreign government agencies and legislative bodies; potential adverse proceedings by such agencies and potential adverse results and consequences from such proceedings; the scope and enforceability of the company's indemnities from its former parent; changes in capital spending by the company's customers; the company's ability to obtain contracts from existing and new customers and perform under those contracts; structural changes in the industries in which the company operates; escalating costs associated with and the performance of fixed-fee projects and the company's ability to control its cost under its contracts; claims negotiations and contract disputes with the company's customers; changes in the demand for or price of oil and/or natural gas; protection of intellectual property rights; compliance with environmental laws; changes in government regulations and regulatory requirements; compliance with laws related to income taxes; unsettled political conditions, war and the effects of terrorism; foreign operations and foreign exchange rates and controls; the development and installation of financial systems; increased competition for employees; the ability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions; and operations of joint ventures, including joint ventures that are not controlled by the company.

KBR's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Form 10-Qs and 8-Ks, and other U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss some of the important risk factors that KBR has identified that may affect the business, results of operations and financial condition. Except as required by law, KBR undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

The following information provides reconciliations of certain non-GAAP financial measures presented in the press release to which this reconciliation is attached to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The company has provided the non-GAAP financial information presented in the press release, which is not calculated or presented in accordance with GAAP, as information supplemental and in addition to the financial measures presented in the press release that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Such non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered superior to, as a substitute for or alternative to, and should be considered in conjunction with, the GAAP financial measures presented in the press release. The non-GAAP financial measures in the press release may differ from similar measures used by other companies.

Adjusted EPS

Adjusted diluted earnings per share from net income attributable to KBR (Adjusted EPS) is considered a non-GAAP financial measure under the SEC's rules because the Adjusted EPS for each such period excludes certain amounts not excluded in the diluted earnings per share from net income attributable to KBR calculated in accordance with GAAP (EPS) for such periods. Management believes that the Adjusted EPS is a meaningful measure to share with investors because each measure, which adjusts EPS for such periods for certain items recorded in such periods, is the measure that best allows comparison of the performance for the comparable period. In addition, Adjusted EPS affords investors a view of what management considers KBR's core earnings performance and also affords investors the ability to make a more informed assessment of such core earnings performance for the comparable periods.

We have calculated Adjusted EPS by adjusting EPS for the items included in the table below. Adjusted EPS is a non-GAAP financial measure. The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is Diluted EPS for the same periods.

We have calculated the Adjusted EPS for the 2019 guidance by adjusting EPS for the items included in the table below.

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SOURCE KBR, Inc.