| EXHIBIT 99.1 |
For Immediate Release January 31, 2019 | News Release Investor Contact: Cindi Buckwalter, (212) 878-1831 Media Contact: Michael Landau, (212) 878-1840 |
MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER 2018 EARNINGS
OF $1.22 PER SHARE, OR $1.17 PER SHARE, EXCLUDING SPECIAL ITEMS
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Company Reports 2018 Earnings per Share of $4.75;
Earnings per Share of $4.84, Excluding Special Items
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Fourth Quarter Highlights:
· | Sales Increase 4 Percent to $447.5 Million |
· | Double Digit Operating Margins Across All Segments, Excluding Special Items |
· | Earnings Per Share, Excluding Special Items, Up 6 Percent |
2018 Highlights:
· | Sales Increase 8 Percent to $1.808 Billion |
· | Earnings Per Share, Excluding Special Items, Up 5 Percent |
· | Productivity Improvement of 6 Percent |
· | Acquisition of Sivomatic Fully Integrated and Accretive to Earnings in 2018 |
· | Repaid $80 Million of Debt |
NEW YORK, January 31—Minerals Technologies Inc. (NYSE: MTX) (“MTI” or “the Company”) today reported diluted earnings per share of $1.17, excluding special items, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018, compared with earnings per share of $1.10 in the prior year. Reported diluted earnings per share were $1.22 compared with $2.12 in the prior year, which included an income tax benefit of $1.32 per share from the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation.
For the full year 2018, the Company reported earnings per share of $4.84, excluding special items, compared with earnings per share of $4.59 in the prior year. Reported earnings per share were $4.75 for the full year 2018.
“We are pleased with MTI’s strong performance across our businesses in the fourth quarter and for the full year 2018,” said Douglas T. Dietrich, Chief Executive Officer. “In 2018, we advanced our growth strategies through the continued penetration of Metalcasting and Paper PCC in Asia, the commercialization of 35 new valued-added products and the successful integration of Sivomatic. Our team’s deep commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement activities along with pricing actions mitigated the impact of inflationary costs during the year. The momentum we’ve built in 2018, combined with our solid balance sheet, positions us well for continued profitable growth and value creation in 2019.”
FOURTH QUARTER 2018
Worldwide net sales increased 4 percent to $447.5 million. Foreign exchange had an unfavorable impact on sales of approximately $6.7 million or 1 percentage point of growth. Operating income, as reported, was $62.3 million and represented 13.9 percent of sales. Operating income, excluding special items, increased 2 percent to $64.1 million and represented 14.3 percent of sales. In the fourth quarter, the Company’s pricing actions and improved business performance more than offset inflationary costs of approximately $12 million.
Segment Information
Performance Materials and Specialty Minerals
Sales in the Minerals businesses, which include the Performance Materials and Specialty Minerals segments, grew 3 percent in the fourth quarter to $349.3 million. Operating income for the Minerals businesses was $50.4 million and represented 14.4 percent of sales. Operating income, excluding special items, was $51.1 million and represented 14.6 percent of sales.
Performance Materials segment sales increased 6 percent to $206.8 million. Metalcasting sales rose 6 percent, primarily driven by higher volumes of greensand bonds in North America and Asia. Household, Personal Care & Specialty Products sales increased 50 percent due to the acquisition of Sivomatic and the continued strong growth of our pet care products in North America and China. This growth was partially offset by lower sales in Building Materials resulting from fewer large projects and a decrease in Basic Minerals due to the exit of the bulk chromite business last year. Operating income for the segment increased 4 percent to $29.2 million due to higher pricing, volume and operating efficiencies, partially offset by increased raw material, logistics and energy costs. The Performance Materials segment provides a wide range of bentonite-based and synthetic materials for industrial and consumer markets and for non-residential construction, environmental remediation and infrastructure projects worldwide.
Specialty Minerals segment sales, which consist of the Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) and Processed Minerals product lines, decreased 1 percent to $142.5 million. Operating income, excluding special items, decreased to $21.9 million, driven by previously announced customer paper machine shutdowns in North America in late 2017 and early 2018, and higher logistics and energy costs. Contractual selling price increases in PCC and other price increases were implemented in the second half of 2018 and will continue into 2019 to partially offset rising costs.
Worldwide sales of PCC, which is used mainly in the manufacturing processes of the paper industry, decreased 1 percent to $109.6 million, primarily due to reduced sales in North America following the paper machine closures.
Sales of Processed Minerals products were flat at $32.9 million. Processed Minerals products are used in the building materials, polymers, ceramics, consumer products, paints and coatings, glass and other manufacturing industries.
Refractories and Energy Services
Sales in the Service businesses, which include the Refractories and Energy Services segments, grew 6 percent in the fourth quarter to $98.2 million. Operating income for the Service businesses rose 4 percent to $12.0 million and represented 12.2 percent of sales. Operating income, excluding special items, increased 6 percent to $13.1 million and was 13.3 percent of sales.
Refractories segment sales increased 9 percent to $77.9 million, driven by higher volumes of refractory products and increased pricing to offset higher raw material costs. The Refractories segment operating income increased 6 percent to $10.8 million and was 13.9 percent of sales. The Refractories segment provides products and services primarily to the worldwide steel industry.
Energy Services segment sales decreased 4 percent to $20.3 million, primarily driven by lower filtration activity. Operating income decreased to $1.2 million and was 5.9 percent of sales. Excluding special items, operating income increased 5 percent to $2.3 million and represented 11.3 percent of sales. Energy Services offers a range of patented technologies, products and services for off-shore filtration and well testing to the worldwide oil and gas industry.
FULL YEAR 2018
Worldwide net sales increased 8 percent to $1.808 billion. Foreign exchange had a favorable impact on sales of approximately $13 million or 1 percentage point of growth. Operating income, as reported, was $255.9 million and represented 14.2 percent of sales. Excluding special items, operating income was $260.6 million and represented 14.4 percent of sales.
Segment Information
Performance Materials and Specialty Minerals
Sales in the Minerals businesses, which include the Performance Materials and Specialty Minerals segments, grew 7 percent to $1.417 billion. Operating income for the Minerals businesses was $212.2 million and represented 15.0 percent of sales. Excluding special items, operating income was $213.4 million and was 15.1 percent of sales.
Performance Materials segment sales increased 13 percent to $828.1 million. Metalcasting sales rose 12 percent due to higher volumes of greensand bonds in North America and Asia. Household, Personal Care & Specialty Products sales increased 47 percent, primarily driven by higher pet care revenue, including the acquisition of Sivomatic, and increased European fabric care sales. Environmental Products sales rose 19 percent due to several large projects. This growth was partially offset by lower sales in Building Materials resulting from fewer large projects and a decrease in Basic Minerals due to the exit of the bulk chromite business last year. Operating income for the segment decreased to $116.8 million and represented 14.1 percent of sales, primarily due to higher raw material, logistics and energy costs, partially offset by increased selling prices and higher volume. Excluding special items, operating income was $117.3 million and represented 14.2 percent of sales.
Specialty Minerals segment sales, which consist of the Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) and Processed Minerals product lines, increased 1 percent to $589.3 million. Operating income excluding special items decreased 5 percent to $96.1 million and was 16.3 percent of sales million primarily due to previously announced paper machine shutdowns in North America, and higher logistics and energy costs.
Worldwide sales of PCC were up slightly to $445.4 million as higher sales in Asia were partially offset by reduced sales in North America due to customer paper machine closures in late 2017 and early 2018.
Sales of Processed Minerals products rose 2 percent to $143.9 million. Ground Calcium Carbonate sales grew 4 percent, driven by higher volumes in the construction market, while talc sales decreased 2 percent.
Refractories and Energy Services
Sales in the Service businesses, which include the Refractories and Energy Services segments, grew 10 percent to $390.2 million. Operating income for the Service businesses rose 9 percent to $49.9 million, and represented 12.8 percent of sales. Operating income, excluding special items, increased 11 percent to $51.7 million and was 13.2 percent of sales.
Refractories segment sales increased 12 percent to $311.9 million, driven by higher volumes of refractory products and from increased pricing to offset higher raw material costs. The Refractories segment operating income increased 14 percent to $45.4 million and was 14.6 percent of sales.
Energy Services segment sales increased 2 percent to $78.3 million, primarily driven by higher filtration activity in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. Operating income, excluding special items, decreased 7 percent to to $6.3 million and was 8.0 percent of sales, due to sales mix in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Minerals Technologies will host a conference call tomorrow, February 1, 2019 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call will be broadcast live on our website: www.mineralstech.com. To listen to the call, go to the website and click on "Investor Relations," then click on "Quarterly Results & Conference Calls." A presentation for the call will be available at the same location at approximately 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time on February 1, 2019.
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which describe or are based on current expectations. 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 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Minerals Technologies Inc.
New York-based Minerals Technologies Inc. (MTI) is a resource- and technology-based growth company that develops, produces and markets worldwide a broad range of specialty mineral, mineral-based and synthetic mineral products and related systems and services. MTI serves the paper, foundry, steel, construction, environmental, energy, polymer and consumer products industries. The Company reported sales of $1.808 billion in 2018. For further information, please visit our website at www.mineralstech.com. (MTI-E)
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