Robert F. Weber
Analyst · Jefferies
Thank you, Tom. Woodward's net sales this quarter were $408 million, comparable with the first quarter of last year. EBIT, or earnings before interest and taxes, was $45 million for this quarter compared to $46 million in the prior year's first quarter. Net earnings for the first quarter were $27 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared to $28 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, in last year's first quarter. Free cash flow for the first quarter of 2013 was $10 million compared to a net cash outflow of $15 million in the first quarter of the prior year, an improvement of $25 million, due to collection of receivables from the prior year's strong fourth quarter sales, offset somewhat by increased capital expenditures. Moving to our Aerospace segment results. Our Aerospace segment sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 were $211 million, an increase of 9% from $193 million in the first quarter a year ago. The sales increase was due to commercial OEM sales and strong military aftermarket sales. Aerospace earnings were $32 million in the first quarter of 2013 compared to $27 million in the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 17%. As a percent of segment sales, segment earnings were 14.9% this quarter compared to 14% in the same quarter a year ago. Segment earnings were positively impacted by the higher sales volumes and lower variable compensation, partially offset by expenses associated with improved manufacturing capacity and capability. As we have mentioned in previous quarters, due to the anticipated increase in future narrow-body fuel system sales, we are making significant investments to improve both our manufacturing capability and capacity. The run rate of these investments was fairly consistent with the prior sequential quarter, as expected. Moving to our Energy segment results. Our Energy segment sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 were $197 million compared to $215 million for the first quarter a year ago, a decrease of 8%. Strong sales of compressed natural gas systems were offset by a significant decrease in wind turbine converter sales in North America and softness in other reciprocating engine and industrial turbine systems sales. Energy segment earnings for the first quarter of 2013 were $24 million compared to $27 million in the first quarter of 2012. As a percent of segment sales, segment earnings were 12.1% this quarter compared 12.4% in the same quarter a year ago. Segment earnings were primarily impacted by the decreased sales volume, partially offset by reduced variable compensation and improved pricing. Now I'd like to focus on certain specific elements of our consolidated financial statements. Gross margin, defined as net sales less cost of goods sold, was 29.1% of sales in the first quarter of 2013 compared to 30.3% for the first quarter of 2012. Gross margin percent decreased primarily due to investments in manufacturing processes and capacity, partially offset by improved pricing. Research and development costs were $30 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 compared to $31 million for the first quarter of 2012. As a percentage of net sales, research and development was 7.4% in the first quarter of 2013 compared to 7.5% in the first quarter of 2012. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $36 million, or 8.9% of net sales this quarter, compared to $39 million or 9.5% of net sales in the same period of 2012, which reflects normal variability. Our effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2013 was 29% compared to 29.3% for the same quarter last year. On January 2, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was enacted, which retroactively reinstated the U.S. research tax credit through December 31, 2013, and which will be reflected in our fiscal 2013 second quarter results. We currently estimate the retroactive impact of this legislation will reduce our effective tax rate for fiscal 2013 by a little more than 2 percentage points. Excluding the retroactive impact of the R&E credit restatement, we would expect a full year effective tax rate of approximately 28% to 29%, largely in line with recent experience. A few comments on our recent acquisition. First, due to the timing of the closing, this acquisition had no impact on our first quarter sales or earnings except for the $1.7 million of acquisition costs. We believe the acquisition of the Duarte business in fiscal 2013 will add approximately $110 million in sales and be slightly accretive to earnings per share. In the 10-Q to be filed shortly, our disclosures with respect to Duarte acquisition do not include the favorable impact of various long-term customer agreements that were renegotiated shortly before the acquisition closed and are effective January 2013. Additionally, these modified agreements significantly impact the projected pro forma EBITDA for 2013. After considering these impacts on future EBITDA, we believe the valuation associated with the acquisition was approximately 9x 2013 pro forma EBITDA. Looking at the balance sheet. Working capital, defined as current assets less current liabilities, was $530 million at December 31, 2012, and $624 million at September 30, 2012. This reflects the reclassification of certain long-term debt to current, which will either be paid down or refinanced later this year. We generated $40 million of cash flow from operations and $10 million of free cash flow for the first quarter of fiscal 2013. We now expect full year 2013 free cash flow will be approximately $75 million. We had no share repurchases for the first fiscal quarter of 2013. Capital expenditures were $30 million for the first 3 months of 2013 compared to $17 million for the first 3 months of 2012. For 2013, we continue to anticipate capital expenditures of approximately $150 million compared to $65 million in 2012. Total debt was $590 million at December 31, 2012, and reflects new debt of $200 million used to finance the acquisition of Duarte business. The ratio of debt to debt plus equity was 36.2% at December 31, 2012, compared to 28% at September 30, 2012. Lastly, let me turn to our outlook. Overall, economic uncertainty continues to impact the markets we serve. We continue to see market share growth in our Aerospace segment, while in our Energy segment, growth in natural gas is being offset by the significant decline in the wind turbine market. Including our recent acquisition, we now anticipate that fiscal 2013 sales will be between $1.9 billion and $2.0 billion, and earnings per share will be between $2.22 and $2.42 per share, including approximately a $0.07 per share effect of the fiscal year 2012 retroactive impact of the U.S. R&E credit for fiscal 2013 that will be recognized in the second fiscal quarter of this year. This concludes our comments on the business and results for the first quarter of fiscal 2013 and our full year 2013 outlook. Operator, we are now ready to open the call to questions.