RPM Reports Fiscal 2015 Second-Quarter Results

 RPM International Inc. reported a 10 percent increase in net income and an 8 percent increase in earnings per diluted share on flat sales for its fiscal 2015 second quarter ended November 30, 2014. 

Second-Quarter Results

Net sales of $1.07 billion were flat compared to last year. Consolidated EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) increased 3.2%, to $120.1 million from $116.4 million in the fiscal 2014 second quarter. Fiscal 2015 second-quarter net income was up 9.8% to $69.8 million from $63.6 million in the fiscal 2014 second quarter. Earnings per diluted share increased 8.3% to $0.52 from $0.48 a year ago.

“Second-quarter operating performance was mixed, with stronger sales in our businesses serving the U.S. commercial construction market offset by weaker results in Europe, a continued unfavorable year-over-year trend from our Kirker nail enamels business and the negative impact of foreign currency,” stated Frank C. Sullivan, chairman and chief executive officer.

Second-Quarter Segment Sales and Earnings

During the fiscal 2015 second quarter, industrial segment sales grew 1.4% to $718.3 million from $708.7 million in the fiscal 2014 second quarter. Organic sales improved 0.7%, including 3.3% in foreign exchange translation losses, while acquisition growth added 0.7%. Industrial segment EBIT declined 5.9% to $79.0 million from $83.9 million in the same period a year ago.

“Most of our European businesses are experiencing a challenging economic climate, negatively impacting our results. Additionally, the strong dollar has negatively impacted all of our international results upon translation.  However, we had strong positive performance by our concrete admixture and commercial sealants companies, which serve the U.S. commercial construction market, and our line of remediation equipment for water and smoke damage. Additionally, our South American businesses are generating good results in their local currencies,” Sullivan stated.

RPM’s fiscal 2015 second-quarter consumer segment sales declined 2.8% to $352.8 million from $362.8 million a year ago. Organic sales declined 4.2%, including foreign exchange losses of 1.3%, while acquisition growth added 1.4%. Consumer segment EBIT improved 19.1%, to $61.6 million from $51.7 million a year ago.  The improvement in EBIT for RPM’s consumer segment is primarily due to the reversal of a $17 million “earn-out” accrual relating to the Kirker acquisition. 

“As stated in the first quarter, Kirker continues to be challenged by a comparison to extremely strong prior-year performance. In anticipation of potential volatility in Kirker’s earnings, our acquisition deal structure allows for performance-related payments to offset any shortfall in earnings. As a result, we reversed the $17 million earn-out accrual into income when it became clear that Kirker would not be able to meet its performance objectives this year,” stated Sullivan. “Additionally, our large retail customers made aggressive inventory adjustments due to the harsh weather faced in early November. This was in reaction to last year’s severe winter when they were caught off-guard and held excess inventory. We expect to benefit from a return to more normal inventory levels by our retail customers in the second half of the fiscal year.”

Unusual non-operating costs in this year’s second quarter totaled $2.8 million pre-tax, and were related primarily to legal expenses incurred in conjunction with a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of timing of expense accruals in the 2013 fiscal year, which did not affect full-year earnings, along with the Specialty Products Holding Corp. (SPHC) settlement, and a voluntary self-disclosure agreement with the state of Delaware for unclaimed property.

Cash Flow and Financial Position

For the first half of fiscal 2015, cash from operations was $55.3 million compared to $21.8 million a year ago. During last year’s first quarter, the company made a contingent payment to the General Services Administration of approximately $45 million after-tax.  Capital expenditures of $26.5 million compare to $34.6 million during the first half of last year. Total debt at November 30, 2014 was $1.43 billion, compared to $1.37 billion at November 30, 2013 and $1.35 billion at May 31, 2014. RPM’s net (of cash) debt-to-total capitalization ratio was 44.8%, compared to 46.4% at November 30, 2013. At November 30, 2014, liquidity stood at $1.01 billion, including cash of $297 million and $718 million in long-term committed available credit.

First-Half Sales and Earnings

Fiscal 2015 first-half net sales improved 1.7% to $2.28 billion from $2.24 billion during the first six months of fiscal 2014. Consolidated EBIT increased 1.2% to $283.7 million from $280.4 million during the first six months of fiscal 2014. Net income was up 1.3% to $168.8 million from $166.7 million in the fiscal 2014 first half. Diluted earnings per share were $1.24, compared to $1.25 a year ago.

First-Half Segment Sales and Earnings

RPM’s industrial segment fiscal 2015 first-half sales improved 3.6%, to $1.49 billion from $1.44 billion in the fiscal 2014 first half. Organic sales increased 2.6%, including net foreign exchange translation losses of 1.6%, while acquisition growth added 1.0%. Industrial segment EBIT was flat to last year at $184.1 million.

First-half sales for the consumer segment declined 1.7% to $782.8 million from $796.2 million a year ago. Organic sales decreased 3.0%, including net foreign exchange losses of 0.5%, and acquisition growth added 1.3%. Consumer segment EBIT increased 2.9% to $138.2 million from $134.4 million in the first half of fiscal 2014.

SPHC Reconsolidation

The financial results of the company’s SPHC subsidiary and its business units will be reconsolidated with RPM’s results starting in the third quarter of fiscal 2015. The reconsolidation occurred as a result of the consummation of a plan of reorganization, which resulted in the formation of a trust under Section 524(g) of the United States Bankruptcy Code for the benefit of current and future asbestos personal injury claimants, as previously disclosed.  The trust assumes all liability and responsibility for current and future asbestos claims against the entities emerging from bankruptcy.

SPHC originally filed for bankruptcy protection on May 31, 2010 to permanently resolve asbestos claims against its Bondex International Inc. subsidiary. While RPM has continued to own SPHC and its subsidiaries during the bankruptcy process, their financial results were not consolidated with RPM’s during that time.

The trust was funded with an initial contribution of $450.0 million in cash from the Company’s revolving line of credit. Payments to the trust, including this initial $450.0 million, will total $797.5 million in pre-tax contributions over the next four years and have a present value, after tax, of $485.0 million.

The reconsolidated SPHC operating subsidiaries include:

Chemical Specialties Manufacturing Corp., a producer of commercial cleaning products;
Day-Glo Color Corp., a leading manufacturer of fluorescent colorants and pigments;
Dryvit Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of exterior insulation finish systems;
Kop-Coat, Inc., a leading producer of wood treatments for lumber and coatings for the marine market;
RPM Wood Finishes Group (Mohawk Finishing Products, CCI and Guardian Protection Products, Inc.), a primary supplier of wood coatings to the furniture industry;
TCI, Inc., a leading producer of powdered metal coatings; and
ValvTect Petroleum Products, a producer of fuel additives.
Business Outlook

“For the second half of our fiscal year, we expect our consumer segment to benefit from a return to more normal inventory levels at our retail customers with continued growth in consumer DIY spending, and anticipate that the decline in nail polish enamel sales will be much less severe. In our industrial segment, we do not see a near-term turnaround in the European economies and expect continued strengthening of the U.S. dollar to continue negatively impacting results on translation,” stated Sullivan.

“Based on these factors, for the second half of fiscal 2015, we expect to generate 6% sales growth in our consumer segment, driving an EBIT increase of 10% to 12%, and 2% to 3% sales growth in our industrial segment, driving an EBIT increase of 4% to 5%. Additionally, we will benefit from the reconsolidation of our SPHC businesses, which should add approximately $170 million in sales and $0.05 per diluted share to our fiscal 2015 second-half results.”

“Taking all of these elements into consideration, we have reduced our diluted EPS guidance for the year to $2.25 to $2.30. From a longer-term perspective, we are optimistic given the return of our SPHC businesses and the elimination of their asbestos liability. We can now accelerate growth investments in our businesses and more aggressively return capital to shareholders when appropriate,” stated Sullivan. “Looking forward to fiscal 2016, our consolidated EPS guidance is a range of $2.70 to $2.80 per share.”