News Details

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Belden Inc. (NYSE: BDC), a global leader in high quality, end-to-end signal transmission solutions for mission-critical applications, today reported fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2018 results for the period ended December 31, 2018.

Fourth Quarter 2018

On a GAAP basis, revenues for the quarter totaled $655.4 million, increasing $50.5 million, or 8.4%, compared to $604.9 million in the prior-year period. Net income was $43.5 million, an increase of $13.0 million, or 42.6%, compared to $30.5 million in the year-ago period. Net income in the fourth quarter 2017 was negatively impacted by a one-time charge related to the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”). Net income as a percentage of revenues was 6.6% compared to 5.0% in the prior-year period. EPS totaled $0.87 compared to $0.51 in the fourth quarter 2017.

Adjusted revenues for the quarter totaled $654.1 million, increasing $49.2 million, or 8.1%, from $604.9 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 18.6%, increasing 40 basis points compared to 18.2% in the year-ago period. Adjusted EPS was $1.66, increasing 2.5% compared to $1.62 in the fourth 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, “Revenues were consistent with our expectations across most of our portfolio in the fourth quarter when adjusted for unfavorable movements in foreign currency rates and copper prices. I am pleased with the progress we are making on our manufacturing capacity constraints. Going forward we expect significantly reduced lead times and inventory levels.”

Full Year 2018

On a GAAP basis, revenue for the year totaled $2.585 billion, up 8.2% compared to $2.389 billion in the full year 2017. Net income was $160.9 million, an increase of $67.7 million compared to $93.2 million in 2017. Net income included a $46.1 million after-tax gain from patent litigation. Net income as a percentage of revenue was 6.2% for the full year compared to 3.9% in 2017. EPS was $3.08 compared to $1.37 in 2017.

Adjusted revenues for the year totaled $2.592 billion, an increase of $203 million, or 8.5%, over the adjusted revenues of $2.389 billion in 2017. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 18.3%, up 10 basis points compared to 18.2% in 2017. Adjusted net income was $289.6 million, increasing $24.6 million, or 9.3%, compared to $265.0 million in 2017. Adjusted EPS increased 13.3% to $6.06, compared to $5.35 in 2017.

Mr. Stroup remarked, “2018 was highlighted by record revenues and 13% growth in both earnings per share and cash flow from operations. During the year, we continued to strengthen our balance sheet and execute our disciplined capital deployment strategy, which included increased investments in organic growth initiatives, record share repurchases, and two successful strategic acquisitions.”

Outlook

“We entered 2019 facing an increased level of global economic uncertainty and some secular headwinds in our Enterprise Segment. This will pressure our 2019 revenue and earnings growth rates, but I am confident that we have the strategy, balance sheet, and proven Lean enterprise system to drive meaningful growth and margin expansion longer-term”, said Mr. Stroup.

The Company expects first quarter 2019 revenue to be $564 - $594 million. For the full year ending December 31, 2019, the Company expects revenue to be $2.495 - $2.595 billion. This full year 2019 guidance reflects year-over-year revenue headwinds of approximately $56 million related to unfavorable foreign currency rates and the previously disclosed revenue recognition timing.

The Company expects first quarter 2019 GAAP EPS to be $0.23 - $0.43. For the full year ending December 31, 2019, the Company expects GAAP EPS to be of $3.84 - $4.49.

The Company expects first quarter 2019 adjusted EPS to be $0.80 - $1.00. For the full year ending December 31, 2019, the Company expects adjusted EPS of $5.50 - $6.15.

Earnings Conference Call

Management will host a conference call today at 8:30 am ET to discuss 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 877-260-1479; the dial-in number for participants outside the U.S. is 334-323-0522. 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.

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.

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.

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 first quarter and full-year 2019. 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 September 30, 2018, filed with the SEC on November 5, 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, enterprise and broadcast 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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Belden Investor Relations
314-854-8054
Investor.Relations@Belden.com

Source: Belden Inc.