Specialized Products – Total sales grew 12%. Same location sales increased 6% from volume gains in Automotive and Aerospace, and currency benefits. The PHC acquisition added 9% and was partially offset (3%) by 2017’s CVP divestiture. EBIT decreased $7 million. 2017 EBIT included a $23 million gain on the sale of real estate and a $3 million loss from the CVP divestiture. Absent those items, the segment’s EBIT increased primarily from higher sales.
Slides and Conference Call
A set of slides containing summary financial information is available from the Investor Relations section of Leggett’s website at www.leggett.com. Management will host a conference callat 7:30 a.m.Central (8:30 a.m. Eastern) on Tuesday, February 5. The webcast can be accessed from Leggett’s website. Thedial-in number is (201)689-8341; there is no passcode.
First quarter results will be released after the market closes on Monday, April 29, with a conference call the next morning.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit Leggett’s website atwww.leggett.com.
COMPANY DESCRIPTION: At Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG), wecreate innovative productsthat enhance people’s lives,generate exceptional returnsfor our shareholders, andprovide sought-after jobsin communities around the world. L&P is a136-year-old diversified manufacturer that designs and produces engineered products found in most homes and automobiles. The Company is comprised of 15 business units, 23,000 employee-partners, and 145 manufacturing facilities located in 18 countries.
Leggett & Platt is the leading U.S.-based manufacturer of: a) bedding components; b) automotive seat support and lumbar systems; c) specialty bedding foams and private-label finished mattresses; d) components for home furniture and work furniture; e) flooring underlayment; f) adjustable beds; g) high-carbon drawn steel wire; and h) bedding industry machinery.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” including, but not limited to, the 2019 sales of ECS, the ECS EBITDA margins being accretive to the Company’s average EBITDA margins; the slightly negative impact of ECS on Company consolidated EBIT margins; the neutral impact of ECS to 2019 EPS and ECS being accretive to EPS beginning in 2020; our ability to quickly deleverage to a target level ratio of debt to trailing12-months EBITDA of approximately 2.5; the Company’s 2019 EPS, adjusted EPS, sales, adjusted EBIT margin, cash from operations, capital expenditures, dividends, dividend payout ratio, depreciation and amortization, net interest and tax rate; and the amount of 2019 restructuring-related charges related to the Fashion Bed and Home Furniture businesses (Restructuring Plan). Such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements described in this provision and reflect only the beliefs of Leggett or its management at the time the statement is made. Because all forward-looking statements deal with the future, they are subject to risks, uncertainties and developments which might cause actual events or results to differ materially from those envisioned or reflected in any forward-looking statement. Moreover, we do not have, and do not undertake, any duty to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement was made. Some of these risks and uncertainties include: (i) uncertainty of the expected financial performance of ECS following the acquisition; (ii) failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the ECS acquisition, including as a result of delay in integrating the businesses of ECS; (iii) difficulties and delays in achieving revenue and cost synergies of ECS; (iv) inability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers and suppliers of ECS; (v) the Company’s and ECS’s ability to achieve their respective short-term and longer-term operating targets; (vi) increases or decreases in our capital needs, which may vary depending on a variety of factors, including, without limitation, any other acquisition or divestiture activity and our working capital needs; (vii) market conditions; (viii) alternative capital market opportunities, including, without limitation, the relative attractiveness of longer-term debt financing or equity financing; (ix) the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, price and product competition from foreign and domestic competitors, changes in demand for the Company’s and ECS’s products, cost and availability of raw materials and labor, fuel and energy costs, general economic conditions, possible goodwill or other asset impairment, foreign currency fluctuation, litigation risks; (x) the preliminary nature of the estimates related to the Restructuring Plan, and the possibility that all or some of the estimates may change as the Company’s analysis develops, additional information is obtained, and the Company’s efforts to downsize or consolidate any business progresses; (xi) our ability to timely implement the Restructuring Plan in a manner that will positively impact our financial condition and results of operations; (xii) the impact of the Restructuring Plan on the Company’s relationships with its employees, major customers and vendors; and (xiii) other risk factors detailed from time to time in Leggett’s reports filed with the SEC.
CONTACT: Investor Relations, (417)358-8131 or invest@leggett.com
Susan R. McCoy, Vice President, Investor Relations
Wendy M. Watson, Director, Investor Relations
Cassie J. Branscum, Manager, Investor Relations
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