Generac Reports Third Quarter 2010 Earnings
Company delivers year-over-year net sales growth, together with net income growth
and continued strong cash flow generation
WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN, (November 4, 2010) – Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC), a leading designer and manufacturer of backup power generation products, today reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2010.
Third Quarter 2010 Highlights
· | Net sales increased year-over-year by 11.4% to $160.7 million as compared to $144.3 million in the third quarter of 2009. |
· | Net income increased year-over-year by 60.6% to $23.0 million as compared to $14.3 million for the third quarter of 2009; Adjusted net income increased 35.3% to $36.7 million from $27.1 million in the third quarter of 2009. |
· | Net cash provided by operating activities improved 50.0% year-over-year, from $24.3 million to $36.5 million during the third quarter 2010. |
· | Diluted net income per common share was $0.34 per share; Adjusted diluted net income per common share was $0.55 per share. |
· | The Company successfully launched its new economy home standby product, CorePowerTM Series, establishing a new lower opening price for the category. |
“Despite the difficult operating environment which persisted throughout the third quarter of 2010, we achieved a double digit year-over-year increase in net sales, driven by increased sales for both our residential and industrial products. Although we have not had the benefit of major outage activity this summer, improved industrial market conditions and our ability to expand distribution and create awareness for our residential products have helped us drive strong revenue growth in our business.” said Aaron Jagdfeld, President and Chief Executive Officer of Generac.
Residential product sales of $101.0 million increased 12.6% in the third quarter 2010 from $89.7 million in the third quarter last year. This year-over-year increase was driven primarily by our marketing programs for home standby generators, continued expansion of our residential products distribution network, and a shift towards in-season buying.
Industrial and commercial product sales of $49.6 million in the third quarter increased 7.6% from $46.0 million for the comparable period in 2009. This increase was driven by an improvement in our focused end markets and expansion of our distribution.
The Company has also announced the following strategic initiatives designed to improve Generac’s long-term growth profile:
· | In October 2010, the Company announced it had reached a licensing agreement with Honeywell to be the exclusive licensee of Honeywell branded standby and portable generators. By leveraging Generac's product offering and support network, the Honeywell brand will provide incremental access to underpenetrated channels for the Company including security and HVAC. |
· | At the recent 2011 Green Industry and Equipment (GIE) Expo in Louisville, KY, the Company announced plans to re-enter the market for residential and contractor grade pressure washers, allowing it to leverage its existing customer base, supply-chain and engineering expertise. |
Overall, gross profit margin increased sequentially to 41.9% from 39.0% in the second quarter 2010, but was down from 44.7% in the same period last year. The year-over-year decline in gross margins was mostly attributable to increased commodity costs versus prior year and a higher mix of lower kilowatt residential products sold during the current quarter compared to the prior year quarter.
Operating expenses for the third quarter of 2010 increased 10.9% to $37.6 million compared to $33.9 million in third quarter of 2009. The year-over-year increase in operating expenses was attributable to increased administrative costs related to operating as a public company, non-cash stock compensation expenses, higher engineering and product development costs, and higher variable operating expenses on higher net sales versus prior year.
Adjusted EBITDA of $45.7 million was relatively flat compared to $46.1 million in the third quarter of 2009. Interest expense decreased in the third quarter of 2010 to $6.5 million, compared to $17.2 million in the same period last year due to debt repayments, lower LIBOR rates, and the termination of certain interest rate swap agreements.
Free cash flow generation remained strong, improving 51.1% year-over-year to $35.2 million during the third quarter 2010 from $23.3 million in the third quarter of 2009.
OUTLOOK
Mr. Jagdfeld concluded, "As we close out 2010, we expect to see continued year-over-year strength from our industrial & commercial products as demand in those markets continues to improve. However, more than offsetting this improvement, we see our fourth quarter 2010 residential product sales down year-over-year as certain customers have approached seasonal stocking for lower kilowatt products more conservatively this year versus last year. Despite this, we remain confident in our longer term growth initiatives including new product launches, continued expansion of our distribution network and our entry into new geographies and markets that will continue to drive sales growth and significant cash flow generation for our business.”
Conference Call and Webcast
Generac management will hold a conference call at 10:00am EDT on Thursday, November 4, 2010 to discuss highlights of this earnings release. The conference call can be accessed by dialing (800) 435-1398 (domestic) or +1 (617) 614-4078 (international) and entering passcode 74351458.
The conference call will also be webcast simultaneously on Generac's website (http://www.generac.com), under the Investor Relations link.
The webcast is also being distributed through the Thomson Reuters StreetEvents Network. Individual investors can listen to the call at http://www.earnings.com, Thomson Reuters' individual investor portal, powered by StreetEvents. Institutional investors can access the call via StreetEvents (http://www.streetevents.com), a password-protected event management site.
Following the live webcast, a replay will be available on the Company's web site. A telephonic replay will also be available three hours after the call and can be accessed by dialing (888) 286-8010 (domestic) or +1 (617) 801-6888 (international) and entering passcode 36086456. The telephonic replay will be available for 30 days.
Generac company news is available
24 hours a day, on-line at: http://www.generac.com.
About Generac
Since 1959, Generac has been a leading designer and manufacturer of a wide range of backup power generation products serving residential, light commercial and industrial markets. Generac's power systems range in output from 800 watts to 9 megawatts and are available through a broad network of independent dealers, retailers and wholesalers.
Forward-looking Information
Certain statements contained in this news release, as well as other information provided from time to time by Generac Holdings Inc. or its employees, may contain forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements give Generac's current expectations and projections relating to the Company's financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "plan," "intend," "believe," "confident," "may," "should," "can have," "likely," "future" and other words and ter ms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events.
Any such forward looking statements are not guarantees of performance or results, and involve risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Company's control) and assumptions. Although Generac believes any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect Generac's actual financial results and cause them to differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, including:
· | demand for Generac products; |
· | frequency of major power outages; |
· | availability of raw materials and key components used in producing Generac products; |
· | competitive factors in the industry in which Generac operates; |
· | Generac's dependence on its distribution network; |
· | Generac's ability to invest in, develop or adapt to changing technologies and manufacturing techniques; |
· | Generac's ability to adjust to operating as a public company; |
· | loss of key management and employees; |
· | increase in liability claims; and |
· | changes in environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. |
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, Generac's actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in any forward-looking statements. A detailed discussion of these and other factors that may affect future results is contained in Generac's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.
Any forward-looking statement made by Generac in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Generac undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Reconciliations to GAAP Financial Metrics
Adjusted EBITDA
To supplement the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with US GAAP, Generac provides a summary to show the computation of Adjusted EBITDA, taking into account certain charges that were taken during the periods presented. The computation of Adjusted EBITDA is based on the definition of EBITDA contained in Generac's credit agreement, dated as of November 10, 2006.
Adjusted Net Income
To further supplement Generac's condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with US GAAP, the Company provides a summary to show the computation of Adjusted net income (loss). Adjusted net income (loss) is defined as Net income (loss) before provision (benefit) for income taxes adjusted for the following items: cash income tax expense (benefit), amortization of intangible assets, amortization of deferred loan costs related to the Company's debt, intangible impairment charges, and certain non-cash gains.
In addition, we reference free cash flow to further supplement Generac's condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with US GAAP. Free cash flow is defined as Net cash provided by operating activities less Expenditures for property and equipment and is intended to be a measure of operational cash flow taking into account additional capital expenditure investment into the business.
The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation of, or as a substitute for, results prepared in accordance with US GAAP. Please see our SEC filings for additional discussion of the basis for Generac's reporting of Non-GAAP financial measures.