ITEM 2
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Unless the context indicates otherwise, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” and “Ingredion” mean Ingredion Incorporated and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Overview
We are a major supplier of high-quality food and industrial ingredient solutions to customers around the world. We have 46 manufacturing plants located in North America, South America, Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”), and we manage and operate our businesses at a regional level. We believe this approach provides us with a unique understanding of the cultures and product requirements in each of the geographic markets in which we operate, bringing added value to our customers. Our ingredients are used by customers in the food, beverage, brewing, and animal nutrition industries, among others.
Our new strategic growth roadmap is based on the following five growth platforms and is designed to deliver shareholder value by accelerating customer co-creation and enabling consumer-preferred innovation. Our first platform is starch-based texturizers, the second platform is clean and simple ingredients, the third platform is plant-based proteins, the fourth platform is sugar reduction and specialty sweeteners, and finally, our fifth platform is value-added food systems.
For the three months ended June 30, 2019, operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share declined from the comparable 2018 period. Our decrease in earnings for the three months ended June 30, 2019, was largely attributable to foreign exchange impacts and higher raw material costs.
For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, the Company recorded $9 million and $13 million of pre-tax restructuring charges, respectively. During 2018, the Company introduced its Cost Smart program, designed to improve profitability, further streamline its global business and deliver increased value to shareholders through anticipated savings in cost of sales, including freight, and SG&A. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, the Company recorded $6 million and $9 million, respectively, of other costs, including professional services, and employee-related severance in the North America and South America segments as part of its Cost Smart SG&A program. This included $1 million and $2 million of other costs associated with the Finance Transformation initiative in Latin America for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, respectively. The Company expects to incur less than $1 million in other costs during the remainder of 2019 related to this Finance Transformation initiative. Additionally, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, the Company recorded $3 million and $4 million, respectively, of other costs, including professional services, as part of the Cost Smart cost of sales program, including $1 million and $2 million, respectively, in relation to the prior year cessation of wet-milling at the Stockton, California plant. The Company does not expect to incur additional costs during the remainder of 2019 to complete this project.
Our cash provided by operating activities decreased to $253 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019, from $352 million in the year-earlier period, primarily driven by our decrease in earnings and changes in working capital. Our cash used for financing activities was $75 million during the six months ended June 30, 2019, compared to $424 million in the year-earlier period. This decrease was mainly driven by a reduction in repurchases of common stock and lower net payments on debt.
Looking ahead, in North America, we expect full-year operating income to be down versus the prior year assuming current market conditions for corn and co-products, which have been negatively impacted by unprecedented weather and late crop plantings in the U.S. and continued crop inventory imbalances arising from the U.S./China trade dispute. In South America, we expect operating income to be flat versus the prior year reflecting macroeconomic challenges. We expect operating income to be down in Asia-Pacific driven by foreign exchange rates, increased input costs and anticipated slower customer demand due to the regional impact of trade disputes. In EMEA, we expect operating income to be down versus the prior year due to foreign exchange rates, higher raw material costs and uncertainty around Brexit.