EXHIBIT 99.1
NewsFor Immediate Release | Contact: |
October 22, 2009 | Rick Honey |
| (212) 878-1831 |
MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES REPORTS THIRD QUARTER
EARNINGS PER SHARE OF $0.53, EXCLUDING SPECIAL ITEMS;
REPORTED EARNINGS WERE $0.47 PER SHARE
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Company Records Sales of $234 Million, a 12-Percent Sequential Increase;
Operating Income Increased 158 Percent over Second Quarter, Excluding Special Items
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Highlights:
| · | Sequential improvement in sales in all major product lines |
- Refractories Segment sales increased 27 percent
| · | Processed Minerals product line returns to profitability |
| · | Improvement in end markets of paper, steel and construction industries |
| · | Strong Cash Flow from Operations of $53 million for the quarter |
| · | Execution of second quarter restructuring program ahead of target |
NEW YORK, October 22— Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MTX) today reported third quarter diluted earnings per common share of $0.47 compared with a loss of $2.18 per share in the second quarter of 2009. Earnings per share, excluding special items from the company’s second quarter 2009 restructuring, were $0.53 compared to $0.15 per share in the second quarter. Net income for the quarter was $8.9 million compared to the $40.9 million net loss recorded in the second quarter of 2009 largely as a result of restructuring.
“Our financial results improved significantly over the second quarter, with sales increasing across all of our major product lines, reflecting our best performance since the recession severely affected our operations in the fourth quarter of last year,” said Joseph C. Muscari, chairman and chief executive officer. “In addition, the restructuring program we announced in July is ahead of schedule to meet the projected $16 million to $20 million in annualized savings in 2010, and we have achieved near-term productivity improvements to better position the company for improved profitability.”
Sequential Comparison
The company's worldwide sales in the third quarter increased 12 percent to $234.3 million from $208.6 million in the second quarter. Income from operations was $12.8 million compared to a loss of $41.6 million in the second quarter. Excluding special items, income from operations was $14.2 million, a 158-percent increase over the $5.5 million recorded in the prior quarter. This growth was primarily due to volume increases in both business segments, with the most significant improvement delivered by the Refractories segment, and to the benefits from the restructuring program.
The Specialty Minerals segment's worldwide sales in the third quarter increased 7 percent to $162.5 million from $152.0 million in the prior quarter. Income from operations, excluding special items, increased 20 percent to $15.8 million from $13.2 million in the second quarter. This increase occurred in both the PCC and Processed Minerals product lines.
Worldwide sales of PCC, which is used primarily in the manufacturing processes of the paper industry, were $137.5 million, an 8-percent gain over the $127.7 million recorded in the prior quarter. This growth was attributable to increased volumes, primarily in North America and Europe, our largest markets, and to the favorable impact of foreign exchange of $3.0 million or 2 percentage points of growth. Worldwide unit volumes of Paper PCC were up approximately 4 percent from the second quarter.
In Processed Minerals, third quarter sales increased 3 percent to $25.0 million from $24.3 million in the prior quarter. Volumes were up 6 percent from the second quarter of 2009. This product line returned to profitability in the third quarter after a breakeven performance in the second quarter and operating losses in the two previous quarters. This business serves the residential and commercial construction markets which typically experience a seasonal decline in the fourth quarter.
In the company’s Refractories segment, sales for the third quarter were $71.8 million, a 27-percent increase over the $56.6 million recorded in the second quarter. Excluding special items, the segment recorded an operating loss of $1.1 million compared to a loss of $7.1 million in the second quarter, an 85-percent improvement.
Sales of refractory products and systems, used primarily in the steel market, increased 22
percent in the third quarter to $56.8 million from $46.7 million in the second quarter of 2009. This increase was attributable to improved production rates in the worldwide steel industry, which resulted in 17 percent higher volumes in refractory products. Sales in the metallurgical product line increased 52 percent sequentially to $15.0 million from $9.9 million in the previous quarter due to volume increases of 80 percent.
Year-Over-Year Comparisons
Third Quarter
The company's third quarter net income of $8.9 million, or $0.47 per share, compares with a net income of $19.0 million, or $1.00 per share, in the third quarter of 2008. Earnings per share, excluding special items, were $0.53 compared to $1.06 per share in the prior year.
Third quarter worldwide sales declined 21 percent to $234.3 million from the $294.9 million recorded in the same period in 2008 as a result of volume decreases in all businesses. Foreign exchange had an unfavorable impact on sales of approximately $8.7 million or 3 percentage points. Excluding special items, operating income of $14.2 million declined 49 percent from the $28.0 million recorded in the third quarter of 2008.
Third quarter worldwide sales for the Specialty Minerals segment declined 13 percent to $162.5 million from the $186.7 million recorded in the same quarter of 2008 due to volume decreases in both businesses. Foreign exchange had an unfavorable impact on sales of approximately $6.6 million, or 3 percentage points. Excluding special items, income from operations decreased 6 percent to $15.8 million from the $16.8 million recorded in the same period in 2008.
PCC sales declined 13 percent from the $157.2 million recorded in the third quarter of 2008 on a volume decline of about 11 percent. Processed Minerals products third quarter sales were down 15 percent from the $29.5 million in the same period last year, as volumes declined about 16 percent.
Refractories segment sales in the third quarter of 2009 were 34 percent down from the $108.2 million recorded in the same period in 2008. Refractory volumes declined 34 percent from the third quarter of 2008 and were in line with the reduction in steel production from pre-
recession levels. Metallurgical products sales declined 30 percent from the $21.5 million recorded in the prior year. The Refractory segment recorded an operating loss of $1.1 million, excluding special items, compared to operating income of $11.6 million in the third quarter of 2008.
Nine Months Results
The company recorded a net loss of $27.9 million for the first nine months compared to net income of $59.6 million for the same period in the prior year. The loss per share for the nine months was $1.49 compared to earnings of $3.12 earnings per share for the first nine months in 2008. Excluding special items, earnings were $0.93 per share as compared with $3.03 per share in the prior year.
Minerals Technologies' worldwide sales for the first nine months of 2009 decreased 25 percent to $651.1 million from $872.2 million in the same period last year. Operating income, excluding special items, for the nine months decreased 68 percent to $27.5 million compared to $86.2 million recorded in the prior year.
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Minerals Technologies has scheduled an analyst conference call for Friday, October 23, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. to discuss operating results for the third quarter. The conference call will be broadcast over the company’s website, www.mineralstech.com.
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which describe or are based on current expectations; in particular, statements of anticipated changes in the business environment in which the company operates and in the company’s future operating results. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations. In addition, any statements that are not historical fact (including statements containing the words “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates,” and similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect our businesses, particularly those mentioned in the risk factors and other cautionary statements in our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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