Herman Miller, Inc. First Quarter Fiscal 2015 Investor Conference Call September 18, 2014

Transcription

1 Herman Miller, Inc. First Quarter Fiscal 2015 Investor Conference Call September 18, 2014 The following document is a replication of the notes used in Herman Miller, Inc. s First Quarter Fiscal 2015 conference call presentation. Brian Walker, President and CEO, and Greg Bylsma, CFO, hosted the call. These notes represent an abridged version of the conference call and do not include the Q & A portion. Those wishing to hear the associated Q & A segment can do so by listening to the archived webcast version of the call on the investor relations page at This presentation will include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those risk factors discussed in the Company s reports on forms 10-K and 10-Q and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Also, the financial amounts and references to internal measures mentioned today are unaudited. [OPENING BRIAN WALKER, PRESIDENT AND CEO] Good morning everyone thank you for joining today s call. As you ve seen in yesterday s earnings release, we delivered solid financial results in the first quarter, highlighted by some notable areas of sales and order growth and continued strength in gross margin. Margins in the quarter were bolstered by a combination of favorable product mix and channel diversity that was enhanced by the addition of DWR. These factors were complemented by continued operational improvements in key areas of the business and well managed spending levels. In my opening remarks I ll offer more on these highlights and the general market conditions we re seeing. To begin, however, I want to provide a brief review and update on our acquisition of Design Within Reach - our most recent keystone investment aimed at accelerating our strategic vision. Many of you joined us at our investor day event in July where we shared a detailed review of our growth strategy and updated 3-year financial goals. For the past several years Herman Miller has been pursuing a strategy built around four fundamental shifts that we are making in our business. Our acquisition of DWR specifically advances two of those key elements. The first is our shift to be an Industry + Consumer brand, expanding our opportunity to connect directly and more powerfully with the consumers of our products. With our rich history of - 1 -

2 design leadership, Herman Miller is a brand that people desire and want to know. We believe the addition of DWR gives us a potent new platform for connecting and communicating that design legacy to consumers both as individuals and as businesses and will help pull them to us. DWR s experienced leadership team brings valuable retail expertise to the management of our consumer segment, while an expanded product portfolio and development capability will also create added value in our contract channel. DWR is a critical investment that will also advance another of our key shifts, as we grow From the Office to Everywhere. We are expanding our channels, products and services so that Herman Miller can enhance our customers lives throughout their day, from the workplace to home and multiple points in between. In successfully executing this shift, we are growing our total market opportunity while creating greater awareness and preference for the Herman Miller brand in each of our segments and businesses. I understand as a result of our DWR acquisition, there have been suggestions that we are de-emphasizing the contract business. I want to be absolutely clear this is not the case. We believe there are great synergies between our contract and consumer businesses and our strategic plan is congruent with this belief. In fact, we think Herman Miller is uniquely positioned to create a lifestyle that fits with the growing realization that people want to live an integrated life that doesn t require them to make artificial trade-offs. Further, since 2009, we ve made a number of keystone investments in the business, including expanding our leadership in healthcare settings, extending our ability to better serve the needs of customers in new geographies, acquiring leading positions in contract textiles and ergonomic tools and embarking on the most aggressive slate of new product development in our company s history. The bulk of these investments and initiatives have been focused on our global contract business and the two other shifts outlined in our strategic plan. Before I review some of our segment highlights I want to update you on a change in the way we are reporting our results. Following the acquisition of DWR, we realigned the composition of our segments to reflect the new operational and management divisions of the business. As a result, our previously defined "Specialty and Consumer" structure has been divided into two separate segments. The "Specialty" segment includes the operations associated with our Geiger, Maharam, and Herman Miller Collection business units. Under the new structure, the company's "Consumer" business segment includes the results of our combined North American consumer wholesale and retail business, including DWR. The North American and ELA segments are not affected by these changes. With that reminder, let s review Herman Miller s performance in our North America segment and some related observations on market conditions. We - 2 -

3 believe the overall economic environment in North America remains constructive, highlighted by improving employment and ABI trends, strong corporate profits and, more recently, a long-awaited acceleration in construction activity. Those indicators are reflected in BIFMA s positive forecast for While we re not certain the industry will achieve their projected 9.6% growth in consumption, we do subscribe to further improvements in demand. This positive operating environment was reflected in our order volumes this quarter, which for the North America segment were up 6% on an organic basis relative to last year. One unexpected positive in the quarter was the strength we saw in U.S. federal government orders, which were up substantially from last year. This is particularly encouraging given the challenging environment we ve seen in the federal government sector in recent years. In fairness, the increase we saw this quarter was primarily driven by a single large project, so we should be careful not to extrapolate too much from this. However, we are encouraged that our business with the federal government has stabilized over the past four quarters. Another area of our business that has faced difficult market conditions in recent years is our North American healthcare business. While external indicators are still mixed, there are some positive signs that providers are gradually moving from dealing with reduced reimbursement levels to expansion, as the overall demand for services increases. This is supported by the recent trend we ve seen in the Institutional ABI metric, which recently reached its highest level in two years. We are hopeful these signs point to a return to market growth in Meanwhile, our Healthcare Leadership Team is appropriately focused on balancing improved near-term efficiencies with the forward investments necessary for long-term success. The operational priorities of our commercial contract business remain focused on our Living Office framework of knowledge, proprietary diagnostic and application tools, and multiple new product introductions. We re beginning to see real signs of success from these efforts and our insight-led approach is resonating with customers, including some of the largest and most progressive companies in the world. While there s much work to be done, we re encouraged by our progress in establishing a leadership position with Living Office in the new landscape of work. Our ELA segment delivered good results with double digit gains in both sales and orders, driven by increasing order momentum throughout the quarter. Sales across our international footprint started the quarter slow, but gained traction and, ultimately, delivered year-over-year growth across all of our major regions. Near term, international economic and geopolitical risks in Europe, the Middle East, and Ukraine create considerable uncertainties. However we remain confident in our global strategy, and our growing reach and capabilities to profitably serve customers around the world

4 Our Specialty business units are off to a good start for the fiscal year with each component business reporting year-on-year sales and order growth. On a combined basis, segment sales increased 5% relative to last year, while orders grew 7%. The results at our Geiger subsidiary were particularly encouraging, reflecting a step-function improvement in gross margin performance driven by increased operational efficiencies. The Geiger and Collection teams are gaining momentum in the market as interdependent brands supported by an integrated leadership structure, and we continue to build out an effective Specialty sales organization and product development queue to further segment growth. In our Consumer segment, the integration of DWR is well underway. The team, led by John Edelman and John McPhee, is highly engaged and moving ahead aggressively on near-term priorities and plans. Just before the acquisition was completed we added a new format studio in Chicago, in June a new studio opened in Houston and in July we opened Seattle. We have completed leases for new studios in Toronto and Cambridge and a new outlet center in Brooklyn, New York. All of these are conversions to the new larger format stores that we believe are one of the key drivers of revenue and margin growth. We re also encouraged by the near-term indicators such as comparable same-store-sales which increased 10% in our first month of operation together. And, new format stores continue to grow at a multiple of that rate. We are also are moving quickly on a number of other objectives, including identified opportunities for cost savings, as well as enhanced operating efficiencies through leveraging the respective strengths of our operating infrastructure. Marketing and channel plans and investments are also progressing. To my earlier comments regarding synergies with our contract business, the team is also examining DWR originated products and their potential in Herman Miller s contract dealer channel. Overall, we continue to be excited by the range of opportunities we see ahead for the Consumer segment and its strategic complement to our other businesses in the long term. With those brief opening comments, I ll now turn the call over to Greg for a more detailed review of the results. [Q1 FINANCIAL REVIEW GREG BYLSMA, CFO] OK - Thanks, Brian... Consolidated net sales in the first quarter of $510 million were 9% higher than the same quarter last year. Orders in the period totaled $517 million, nearly 10% above the prior year level. The acquisition of DWR in July added approximately $22 million of sales and $20 million of orders to our consolidated results in the quarter. On an organic basis, excluding the impact of DWR, dealer divestitures and foreign currency translation, sales increased 5% and orders increased 7% from the first quarter of last year

5 Also as an encouraging side note DWR s sales of $22 million in the month of August represents a growth of approximately 30% from the same period last year. Sales in our North American reportable segment of $321 million were up 1% from the prior year. New orders in the first quarter totaled $313 million, reflecting an increase of 5% and showed continued improvement in U.S. federal government project activity. Segment sales and orders increased 2% and 6%, respectively on an organic basis. Our ELA reportable segment posted net sales of $95 million for the quarter. This represents a 17% increase from the same quarter last fiscal year and reflects growth across each of the segment's primary geographic regions. New orders in this segment totaled $112 million in the quarter, representing a year-over-year increase of nearly 13%. On an organic basis, segment sales increased 15% and orders increased nearly 11% from the first quarter of last year. Net sales in the first quarter within our Specialty segment totaled $55 million. This represents a 5% increase over sales in the same quarter last year. New orders in the quarter of $57 million increased 7% from the year ago period. Our Consumer segment reported net sales of $39 million in the first quarter; an increase of 137% from the same quarter last year. Orders in the first quarter of $35 million were 78% increase above the prior year level. On an organic basis, adjusting for the partial-quarter consolidation of DWR, segment sales increased 14%, while orders declined 19% from the prior year. The decline relates to orders in the prior year with DWR that are now treated as inter-company orders, and therefore are eliminated from the consolidated total. We estimate the translation impact from changes in currency exchange rates increased our consolidated net sales and orders in the quarter by approximately $1 million relative to the first quarter of last year. This resulted from the general weakening of the U.S. Dollar against other major currencies compared to a year ago. I ll now review our gross margin performance in the quarter. Our consolidated gross margin in the first quarter was 36.4%, which compares to 36.3% reported in the same quarter of last fiscal year. In each of these periods, the reported gross margin was reduced by expenses associated with the valuation of acquired inventories as required under GAAP purchase accounting. Our results this quarter reflect $3 million of these charges related to the DWR acquisition. By comparison, the prior year first quarter included $1.4 million of purchase accounting expenses associated with Maharam inventories. Additionally, our reported gross margin in the first quarter of last year included - 5 -

6 approximately $1 million of legacy pension expenses associated with defined benefit pension plans that have since been terminated. Adjusting for these items, our first quarter gross margin improved 20 basis points from the same period in fiscal year This year-over-year improvement is primarily attributed to favorable product and channel mix, including the addition of DWR. I ll now move on to operating expenses and earnings in the period. Operating expenses in the first quarter of $143.4 million compared to $130.9 million in the same quarter of fiscal The expenses this quarter reflect $2.0 million in transaction expenses relating to the DWR acquisition. Operating expenses in the prior year included approximately $2.0 million of legacy pension charges. Adjusting for these items, operating expenses increased $12.5 million from the first quarter of last fiscal year. The increase relates to the addition of DWR and variability driven by net sales growth. Operating earnings in the first quarter were 8.3% of sales compared to 8.4% reported in the prior year. Our earnings in the quarter were reduced by $5 million in costs associated with the DWR acquisition, including transaction expenses and the amortization of costs capitalized in inventory under purchase accounting. Excluding these expenses, adjusted operating earnings in the first quarter were 9.3% of sales, a result in line with last year s performance. The effective tax rate this quarter was 33%, which is at the low end of the guidance we provided at the start of the quarter. Last year, the effective tax rate was 34.7% in the first quarter. Finally, net earnings in the first quarter were $25.2 million, or $0.42 per share on a diluted basis. This compares to diluted earnings per share of $0.38 in the same quarter last fiscal year. Excluding acquisition-related expenses recognized in the current period, adjusted diluted earnings per share in the first quarter totaled $0.47. This compares to adjusted earnings of $0.43 per share in the first quarter of fiscal With that, I ll now give an update on our cash flow and balance sheet. We ended the quarter with total cash and cash equivalents of $67 million an amount down approximately $34 million from where we ended last quarter. The decrease was driven by the acquisition of DWR, which we financed through a combination of existing cash and borrowings on our revolving credit facility. Cash flows from operations in the first quarter totaled $42 million. Capital expenditures in the quarter were $8 million and we anticipate full-year spending to be between $65 million and $70 million

7 Cash dividends paid in the quarter were $8 million compared to $7 million in Q1 of last year. On July 21, we completed an amendment of our existing unsecured revolving credit facility. This new 5-year agreement provides us with up to $250 million in revolving variable rate borrowing capacity. In addition, it includes an accordion feature giving us the option to pursue up to $125 million in additional credit subject to the approval of the participating banks. We borrowed $127 million on this new facility in connection with the DWR acquisition, though this balance was reduced to $100 million by the end of Q1. Our available capacity on the line, which is also net of outstanding letters of credit, stands at $139 million. We remain in compliance with all debt covenants and as of quarter-end our gross-debt to EBITDA ratio was approximately 1.6 to 1. We re confident we can meet the financing needs of the business moving forward given our expected cash flows from ongoing operations and available borrowing capacity. With that, I ll now cover our sales and earnings guidance for the second quarter of fiscal We expect sales to range between $550 million and $570 million in the second quarter. This guidance implies total revenue growth between 17% and 21% over Q2 of last fiscal year. On an organic basis, excluding the expected contribution from DWR and the impact of dealer divestitures, this range suggests growth of between 4% and 8% over last year. Similar to what we reported this quarter, we are expecting to recognize additional expenses in Q2 related to the step-up valuation of DWR inventories under GAAP purchase accounting. These expenses are expected to reduce our second quarter pre-tax earnings by approximately $4 million. Gross margin in the second quarter is expected to range between 37% and 38%, excluding the impact of inventory step-up expenses. Operating expenses in the second quarter are expected to range between $156 million and $160 million. This estimate includes approximately $26 million from the full-quarter consolidation of DWR. Adjusted earnings per share in the quarter are expected to be between $0.50 and $0.54. This estimate excludes the impact of DWR inventory step-up charges. This guidance assumes an effective tax rate between 33% and 35%. With that, I ll now turn the call back over to the operator so we can take your questions

8 [Q&A] [CLOSING BRIAN WALKER] Thanks everyone. We appreciate your joining us today and your continued interest in Herman Miller. We will look forward to reporting further advances in December and the opportunity to talk to you again. Have a great day