Infrastructure segment operating margin was 17.1 percent of sales in the first quarter (17.6 percent adjusted)1, compared to 15.5 percent of sales in the first quarter of the prior year. Improved operating margin resulted from a more favorable product mix and lower operating costs compared to the prior year.
The backlog of unshipped orders at November 30, 2018 was $48.9 million, compared with $80.3 million at November 30, 2017 reflecting a decrease in both the Irrigation and Infrastructure backlogs. Approximately $13.0 million of the backlog reduction resulted from the business divestitures and $14.0 million is from a large infrastructure project completed in the prior fiscal year.
Foundation for Growth Initiative
In fiscal 2018, the Company announced a defined performance improvement initiative, referred to asFoundation for Growth, with the objectives of simplifying the business and achieving operating margin performance of 11 percent to 12 percent in fiscal 2020, exclusive of market changes.
First quarter fiscal 2019 operating expenses include pre-tax costs of $4.0 million in connection with theFoundation for Growth initiative, of which $3.8 million represents professional consulting fees with the remainder representing severance costs and a loss on sale of a business. These costs, and additional future costs anticipated in connection with this initiative, are expected to be recovered through improved operating income in fiscal 2020.
Outlook
“Passage of the 2018 farm bill provides a source of modest optimism that North America irrigation market conditions will see improvement.” said Mr. Hassinger. “In the international markets, we are seeing signs of improved conditions in Brazil as well as increased interest in developing markets.”
Mr. Hassinger added, “We continue to build a solid pipeline of Road Zipper System projects to support growth in the infrastructure business; however, the long lead times required to complete these projects can impact the timing of when we will realize the value from the increased focus on this business.”
First Quarter Conference Call
Lindsay’s fiscal 2019 first quarter investor conference call is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time today. Interested investors may participate in the call by dialing (833)535-2202 in the U.S., or (412)902-6745 internationally, and requesting the Lindsay Corporation call. Additionally, the conference call will be simulcast live on the Internet and can be accessed via the investor relations section of the Company’s Web site,www.lindsay.com. Replays of the conference call will remain on our Web site through the next quarterly earnings release. The Company will have a slide presentation available to augment management’s formal presentation, which will also be accessible via the Company’s Web site.
About the Company
Lindsay Corporation is a leading global manufacturer and distributor of irrigation and infrastructure equipment and technology. The Lindsay family of irrigation brands includes Zimmatic® and FieldNET® as well as irrigation consulting, design, advancedmachine-to-machine communication, remote control, monitoring and scheduling technology, and wireless networking solutions. Also a global leader in the transportation industry, Lindsay Transportation Solutions manufactures equipment to improve road safety and keep traffic moving on the world’s roads, bridges and tunnels, through the Barrier Systems®, Road Zipper® and Snoline™ brands. For more information about Lindsay Corporation, visitwww.lindsay.com.
Concerning Forward-looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties and which reflect management’s current beliefs and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, Company performance and financial results. You can find a discussion of many of these risks and uncertainties in the annual, quarterly and current reports that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations and planned financing of the Company and those statements preceded by, followed by or including the words “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” “expect,” “outlook,” “could,” “may,” “should,” “will,” or similar expressions. For these statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release.
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