Nicholas Pinchuk
Analyst · Janney Capital Markets
Thanks, Leslie. Good morning, everybody. Well, the second quarter results were reasonably strong again, and I think it's safe to say that we're encouraged by the continued progress. Overall sales in the quarter were up 12.2% from last year with some help from exchange rates. Organically, volume rose by over 7%. The overall operating margin was 15.4% and operating income was up more than 44% from 2010, and both of those comparisons exclude the positive effect of the arbitration settlement with CIT. The 40-plus percent rise in operating income is similar to what we posted in the past couple of quarters, so these results mark a continuation of an ongoing and strong trend. The profit increase included a $15.8 million rise in earnings from Financial Services, but a real highlight was the quarterly operating margin of 13.6% before Financial Services. That Opco [ph] OI margin represents the highest level Snap-on has achieved in well over 15 years. Now we believe the operating performance and the trend clearly demonstrates the strength of our Snap-on value creation processes, safety, quality, customer connection, innovation and rapid continuous improvement. It's a framework we apply everywhere at every level to improve our performance, and our commitment to those principles and processes are enabling our broad progress. Now with respect to the macro environment, the various markets in which we operate, the second quarter was fairly unchanged from what we spoke about 3 months ago. I characterize our performance brought -- our performance has widespread gains in most areas, more than overcoming those few continuing headwinds we mentioned in the past. I'll provide a bit of color on the quarter and cover the highlights for each of the operating groups. And then as usual, Aldo will offer a detailed financial review. From a geographic perspective, the same dynamics are present for our operations that have been in play for the past couple of quarters. In North America, no real change. Look, the overall 10% volume growth in the Tools Group reflects the same stable upward trend that we've become accustomed to in North America. Also, the big-ticket diagnostics and tool storage units that are sold in the van channel remain strong, and that's a continuing positive for us. Our Undercar Equipment, another big-ticket category was also up in North America, better than our overall sales increase. The same was true in our distribution and general industrial sales in the region. Moving to another area of strength, the emerging markets of Asia Pacific. Again this quarter, we saw strong double-digit gains. It's no secret that those markets are expanding, and we're taking advantage as we build presence and gain position. Throughout that jurisdiction, but especially in China, in India, in Indonesia, we're seeing growth, far above both GDP rates and the company's overall pace of growth. We continue to see progress in most of Europe in the established markets like the U.K., Sweden, Finland and we're growing in the East, in Eastern Europe, of course, in Russia, but also in other developing areas like Poland and in Turkey. And the gains we've seen are across business segments from big-ticket undercar equipment to industrial customers to SNA Europe's. But the overall growth in that region was somewhat muted by the ongoing economic weakness in Southern Europe. You might remember that for Snap-on, these are large markets by way of SNA Europe, and we're not seeing relief. Countries across the south like Spain and Portugal remain weak. But you know that's no real surprise, given the almost daily news from that region. Actually, when it comes to Europe, given the turbulence, we feel okay about no major changes for us at Europe over the past few quarters. Speaking of headwinds, another that we mentioned last quarter is Japan. The situation there is fairly well known, it's unsettled as we thought it would be for a while. The good news is it's isolated and most people believe it's temporary. Now for the operating segment. For the operating segments and a view on the advancements we've made in those strategic areas, which we've identified as decisive for our future: expanding into critical industries, building in emerging markets, enhancing the franchise network and expanding in the repair garage. In Commercial-Industrial or the C&I group, sales were up 8.1% from 2010 levels. However, excluding the benefit from foreign exchange, volumes increased about 2%. The operating margin was 10.4%, up 50 basis points from last year. And as you expect from the geographic discussion I just provided, most areas here were up solidly, widespread double-digit rises. Keep in mind, however, that C&I is where we see most of the impact of those fairly specific headwinds of Southern Europe, the unsettled situation in Japan, and the lower military spending which we discussed last quarter. So the story in C&I is robust gains in most areas, partially offset by the concentration of our external headwinds in this one segment. C&I operations outside those concentrated headwinds grew organically as double digits, very much in line with the gains in the Tools Group and in the Repair Systems and Information Groups. From that perspective, we're encouraged by the progress along run rates from growth in C&I. And that progress can be seen in the volumes, the positive motion in Asia Pacific and in critical industries such as aerospace and natural resources. All these continued with their trend of strong double-digit growth. But more important than the sales in a particular quarter, we know that Snap-on is building expanded long-term presence in each of those strategic areas. Just last month, the corporation had a strong showing at the Paris Air Show. It is widely recognized as the most prestigious aircraft exposition in the world, and many of you know that our array of products for the aerospace sector is expanding. While in Paris, we highlighted the high-tech Automated Tool Control unit or ATC and our newly increased range of torque products aimed at aerospace. And the response was very enthusiastic. It's that kind of growing presence that's generating the big gains we're seeing in this critical industry of aerospace. And the gains are being driven by customers throughout the industries from airlines in support of their fleet, to aircraft manufacturing facilities and into the maintenance and repair of overhaul shops or MRO facilities. And as you would expect, the opportunities here are across the globe, and Snap-on is increasingly valued in this important sector. We feel encouraged by that. I've spoken in the past about the partnerships with technical schools in creating certification programs. We believe it's a great way for technicians of the future using Snap-on products. It's a great way to get the technicians of the future to use Snap-on products, to get them to see the quality and the professionalism of the Snap-on brand and ultimately for them to become Snap-on customers for life. We continue to build those programs in the U.S. and internationally and across the wide range of disciplines from automotive repair, to critical power generation, to aerospace. And as part of that progress, an array of key technical schools across the U.S. have adopted Snap-on certification protocols, and that practice is expanding. Our sales in Education were up over 20% again in the quarter. But more importantly, we believe those gains are setting the stage for future growth across all the critical industries. I already mentioned the rapid growth we're seeing in Asia-Pacific, but I'll just provide one example of the products that are helping to drive that expansion. During the quarter, we released a new version of our diagnostics unit in China. The handheld includes a new touch screen interactive display, as well as expanded vehicle and system coverage. As you can imagine in China, with relatively recent development of the new car market, the repair wave is just starting to form. Our handheld unit is getting great reviews and is positioning Snap-on to ride that wave as it breaks. So that gives you a little insight into C&I, continued advancements in critical industries in emerging markets, significant gains, with offsets from a few concentrated headwinds in that segment. Moving to the Tools Group, where we serve professional automotive technicians. Sales were up 13%, including 3 points related to currency, and the operating margin was 15.5%, up 300 basis points from last year. Sales of diagnostics products to the vans were up strongly. We're continuing to see the benefits of the successful launches of both our high-end VERDICT and our updated VERUS handheld unit. Those products are innovative, big-time productivity enhancers and they're driving a big-ticket strength across the Tools Group. We said we need to maintain and even enhance our van network. It's been a big focus for us, and it's showing in the results. Again this quarter, the franchisee health metrics are moving positively. Obviously, the sales are up, but our franchisees are in better overall financial shape, the turnover is low, and we believe that the network is stronger than ever. We did get some validation of that progress in the quarter when Franchise Direct published its annual global franchisees report. The Snap-on franchisee proposition ranked sixth overall, the top-ranked tool company by a wide margin, in fact, the top-ranked industrial company of any type. This is a publication that's a leading source of information for the franchise industry in both North America and Europe, so it was a valuable endorsement for us. The rankings were based on several criteria, including stability, growth, best practices and support and training, and those are areas that all have directly benefited from our focused efforts to enhance the channel and from the application of Snap-on value creation processes. Now on to the Repair System & Information Group. This is where we serve vehicle repair shop owners and managers and where we have a great opportunity to expand the Snap-on brand throughout the garage. RS&I posted a sales increase of 13.9%, just under 10% excluding currency. And the operating margin, it was 20.9%, a 150 basis points up from 19.4% last year. Related to the growth in those shops, our Equipment division was up in both North America and in Europe. Over the past several years, we've had done a number of innovative products and equipment, and they're propelling us forward. The OEMs increasingly are directly signing on to these products, and that additional exposure is a big plus. Particularly strong in the quarter were big-ticket alignment products, up more than double the group's growth rate. This is a product where we have a lead in imaging technology, and we're taking advantage. Also related to our expansion in the garage, we're increasingly seeing -- serving medium and heavy truck market with information and diagnostics. We have launched the new Pocket iQ handheld diagnostic unit, specifically for the Truck segment. It's designed for anyone diagnosing and repairing trucks from dealers, to fleet maintenance shops even to owners. We're also working with truck engine OEMs, launching software for diagnostic testing for repair information and for reprogramming capabilities, to ease repair work across their entire line of OEM engines. And in the independent repair sector, Mitchell 1. Mitchell 1 has been making investments in truck repair and information for some time. Now we're well-positioned and we're gaining in the truck software space. We've spoken in the past about a relatively small direct exposure to automotive OEMs. But obviously, as the rooftops in the U.S. decrease, our Electronic Parts Catalog business to Snap-on Business Solutions has been impacted. But we're finding offsets both internationally and in adjacent markets, areas like motorcycles and agriculture, and we have made gains in those areas. Also related to this space, we continue to see increased activity in essential tool distributions. The OEMs are more freely commending, and that's helping drive some of the sales increases in RS&I. So that gives you a picture of what's going on in the operating units. As I said in the beginning of my remarks here, the Snap-on value creation processes are driving our progress, customer connection, building relationship with students, creating customers for life, innovation, new diagnostics units in the U.S. and the U.K. and in China for cars and for trucks. Undercar, new undercar equipment, building on technology leadership winning new customers and products expanded to serve critical industries, automated tool control and wider torque offerings. And of course, rapid continuous improvement, or RCI, one of our biggest value creators. The operating income margin tells that story, 13.6% before Financial Services, up 140 basis points stronger than we've been in some time. We believe we've come out of the downturn as a stronger company than when we entered, and the Snap-on value creation processes made it possible. Now I'll turn the call over to Aldo for our financial review. Aldo?