Third Quarter Financial Highlights
Third quarter 2021 performance relative to third quarter 2020
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β | Sales of $455 million increased 18% on a reported basis and 17% on an organic basis, driven by double digit growth in all regions. |
β | Operating margin increased 170 basis points on a reported basis and 60 basis points on an adjusted basis, benefiting from price, volume, productivity and cost savings, which more than offset inflation, incremental investments, incentives and business normalization costs. GAAP operating margin was also positively impacted by lower restructuring charges year-over-year. |
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Regional Performance:
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Americas
| o | Sales of $309 million increased 18% on a reported basis and 17% on an organic basis, which included widespread growth in all major product lines. Β |
| o | Operating margin was flat on a GAAP basis and decreased 30 basis points on an adjusted basis, as benefits from price, volume, cost reduction actions and productivity initiatives were offset by inflation, incremental investments, incentives and business normalization costs. GAAP operating margin was positively impacted by lower restructuring charges year-over-year. Β |
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Europe
| o | Sales of $124 million increased 16% on a reported basis, including a 14% organic increase, with growth in all platforms, and a 2% positive foreign exchange impact. |
| o | Operating margin increased 490 basis points on a GAAP basis and increased 420 basis points on an adjusted basis. Both measures were positively affected by price, volume and productivity initiatives that more than offset inflation, incremental investments and business normalization costs. Β GAAP operating margin was positively impacted by lower restructuring charges year-over-year. Β |
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APMEA
| o | Sales of $22 million increased 39% on a reported basis, including 6% from positive foreign currency impact. Organically, sales increased 33% from growth in China, Australia and the Middle East. |
| o | Operating margin increased 1,970 basis points on a GAAP basis and 400 basis points on an adjusted basis, both benefiting from volume, productivity initiatives, restructuring savings as well as higher affiliate volume, which were partially offset by inflation, incentives and business normalization costs. GAAP operating margin was positively impacted by lower restructuring charges year-over-year. Β |
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Cash Flow and Capital Allocation
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β | For the first nine months of 2021, operating cash flow was approximately $135 million, net capital expenditures were approximately $15 million and free cash flow was approximately $120 million. In the comparable period last year, operating cash flow was approximately $127 million, net capital expenditures were approximately $32 million and free cash flow was approximately $95 million. The free cash flow increase was primarily driven by higher net income and lower net capital expenditures. We expect continued improvement in free cash flow through the fourth quarter of 2021, due to normal seasonality. Β |
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β | We repurchased approximately 25,000 shares of Class A common stock at an investment of approximately $4 million during the third quarter. For the first nine months of 2021, we repurchased approximately 87,000 shares at an investment of approximately $12 million, primarily to offset dilution. |
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For a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP items and a statement regarding the usefulness of these measures to investors and management in evaluating our operating performance, please see the tables attached to this press release.
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Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will hold a live webcast of its conference call to discuss third quarter results for 2021 on Thursday, November 4, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. This press release and the live webcast can be accessed by visiting the Investors section of the Company's website at www.wattswater.com. Following the webcast, an archived version of the call will be available at the same address until November 4, 2022.
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Watts Water Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a world leader in the manufacture of innovative products to control the efficiency, safety, and quality of water within residential, commercial, and institutional applications. Wattsβs expertise in a wide variety of water technologies enables it to be a comprehensive supplier to the water industry.
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