Information RegardingNon-GAAP Financial Measures
The company prepares its consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). However, from time to time, the company may present in its public statements, press releases and SEC filings,non-GAAP financial measures, such as EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income, adjusted operating income, adjusted EPS, adjusted income tax expense, adjusted selling, distribution and administrative expenses (SD&A), gross margin excluding depreciation and amortization and the ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA. The reconciliations attached provide reconciliations of thenon-GAAP measures used in this presentation or release to the most comparable GAAP financial measure. The company’s definitions of thesenon-GAAP measures may differ from similarly titled measures used by others. Thesenon-GAAP measures should be considered supplemental to, and not a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP.
The company defines EBITDA as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The company believes that EBITDA is a useful tool for managing the operations of its business and is an indicator of the company’s ability to incur and service indebtedness and generate free cash flow. EBITDA is used as the primary performance measure in the company’s 2014 Omnibus Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan. Furthermore, pursuant to the terms of our credit facility, EBITDA is used to determine the company’s compliance with certain financial covenants. The company also believes that EBITDA measures are commonly reported and widely used by investors and other interested parties as measures of a company’s operating performance and debt servicing ability because EBITDA measures assist in comparing performance on a consistent basis without regard to depreciation or amortization, which can vary significantly. EBITDA is also a widely-accepted financial indicator of a company’s ability to incur and service indebtedness.
EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to (a) income from operations or net income (loss) as a measure of operating performance; (b) cash flows provided by operating, investing and financing activities (as determined in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of the company’s ability to meet its cash needs; or (c) any other indicator of performance or liquidity that has been determined in accordance with GAAP.
The company defines adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income, adjusted operating income, adjusted EPS, adjusted income tax expense, adjusted SD&A expenses, respectively, to further exclude, as applicable, the impact of pension plan settlements and other costs, loss or recovery on inferior ingredients, restructuring and related impairment charges, Project Centennial consulting costs, asset impairment charges, lease terminations and legal settlements, costs related to executive retirement, acquisition-related costs, and and multi-employer pension plan withdrawal costs. Adjusted net income and adjusted income tax expense also excludes the impact of tax reform. The company believes that these measures, when considered together with its GAAP financial results, provides management and investors with a more complete understanding of its business operating results, including underlying trends, by excluding the effects of certain charges.
The ratio of debt to EBITDA is used as a measure of financial leverage employed by the company. Gross margin excluding depreciation and amortization is used as a performance measure to provide additional transparent information regarding our results of operations on a consolidated and segment basis. Changes in depreciation and amortization are separately discussed and include depreciation and amortization for materials, supplies, labor and other production costs and operating activities.
Presentation of gross margin includes depreciation and amortization in the materials, supplies, labor and other production costs in accordance with GAAP. Our method of presenting gross margin excludes the depreciation and amortization components, as discussed above.
The reconciliations attached provide reconciliations of thenon-GAAP measures used in this presentation or release to the most comparable GAAP financial measure.