Quarterly operating profit margin improved 220 basis points to 8.4 percent;
Quarterly EPS up 28 percent to $0.50 per diluted share;
Company adjusts 2011 full year sales and earnings guidance
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 25, 2011—Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC), a world leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing of solutions that help create a cleaner, safer, healthier world, today reported net earnings of $9.7 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, on net sales of $187.0 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011. The 2011 third quarter earnings include a $0.05 loss per diluted share from net foreign currency exchange losses, due to the volatility of foreign exchange rates, which was partially offset by $0.03 per diluted share of favorable discrete tax items primarily related to the settlement of routine tax audits. In the 2010 third quarter, Tennant reported net earnings of $7.5 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, on net sales of $168.6 million.
“We are pleased to report record sales for a third quarter and increased earnings per share, as Tennant’s business continued to perform very well in a volatile economic environment,” said Chris Killingstad, Tennant Company's president and chief executive officer. “The company generated solid sales gains with approximately 7.4 percent organic sales growth. Sales rose in all of our geographies, with strong contributions from strategic accounts and our sustainable, water-based ec-H2OTM cleaning technology.”
Sales of scrubbers equipped with Tennant’s ec-H2O technology grew approximately 32 percent in the 2011 third quarter compared to the prior year quarter. In the first nine months of 2011, sales of ec-H2O equipped scrubbers totaled $101 million versus $64 million in the same period last year. Tennant continues to expect 2011 full year ec-H2O sales in the range of $130 million to $140 million. The environmentally friendly ec-H2O process converts water into a cleaning solution that cleans as well as or better than traditional general purpose chemicals and provides a lower total cost of ownership and safety benefits.
“We are committed to being the industry’s innovation leader,” said Killingstad. “During the quarter, we expanded our rollout of the Orbio® 5000-Sc in North America and began its introduction in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. We also continued to invest in developing a pipeline of new chemical-free and other sustainable cleaning technologies under our Orbio brand.”
Page 2—Tennant Company Reports 2011 Third Quarter Results
Tennant’s sales of new products introduced in the past three years generated approximately 36 percent of equipment sales year to date. This compares favorably to the company’s ongoing goal of 30 percent.
Third Quarter Operating Review
Tennant’s consolidated net sales grew 10.9 percent to $187.0 million in the 2011 third quarter versus $168.6 million for the 2010 third quarter. Favorable foreign currency exchange effects contributed approximately 3.5 percent in the 2011 third quarter. Organic net sales, which exclude acquisitions and foreign currency impact, rose approximately 7.4 percent in the quarter, lapping double-digit organic sales growth of approximately 10.7 percent in the 2010 third quarter. Organic sales increased approximately 7.5 percent in Tennant's Americas region; 6.6 percent in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region; and 5.4 percent in the Asia Pacific region.
Tennant’s gross profit margin in the 2011 third quarter rose to 42.9 percent, at the high end of the company’s target range of 42 percent to 43 percent, and up from 42.6 percent in the 2010 third quarter. Selling price increases and ongoing cost reductions positively affected Tennant’s gross margins. The company’s 2011 gross margins have improved from 41.7 percent in the 2011 first quarter to 42.9 percent in the 2011 third quarter.
For the 2011 third quarter, Tennant’s research and development expense totaled $7.2 million, or 3.9 percent of sales, compared to $7.1 million, or 4.2 percent of sales, in the prior year quarter. For the full year 2011, Tennant anticipates research and development expense of approximately 4 percent.
Selling and administrative (S&A) expense in the 2011 third quarter totaled $57.3 million, or 30.6 percent of sales, versus $54.2 million, or 32.2 percent of sales, in the third quarter last year. The rise in S&A expense on a dollar basis was primarily attributable to ongoing investments in the company’s Orbio Technologies Group and higher variable costs stemming from increased sales. S&A expense as a percent of sales, however, was 160 basis points lower than the prior year third quarter due to continued gains in operating efficiencies.
Tennant's 2011 third quarter operating profit was $15.8 million, or 8.4 percent of sales, versus an operating profit of $10.5 million, or 6.2 percent of sales, in the prior year quarter. Operating profit margin rose 220 basis points versus the third quarter last year due to higher gross margins and operating efficiencies.
“We remain vigilant in attaining our operating goals and are on track to reach our operating profit margin objective of 12 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013,” said Killingstad.
During the third quarter, Tennant repurchased approximately 214,000 shares of the company’s stock for a total of approximately $8.0 million. Tennant had 18.8 million common shares outstanding at September 30, 2011.
Page 3—Tennant Company Reports 2011 Third Quarter Results
2011 Nine-Month Results
For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, Tennant reported net earnings of $21.4 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, on net sales of $560.8 million. Tennant recorded special charges in the 2011 second quarter totaling $5.0 million after tax, or a $0.26 loss per diluted share, including a $0.20 loss per diluted share related to obsolescence of the two Hofmans outdoor city cleaning products in Europe and a $0.06 loss per diluted share related to international executive severance. (See the Supplemental Financial Tables.) Excluding these special charges, the company’s 2011 adjusted net earnings in the first nine months were $26.5 million, or $1.36 per diluted share. In the prior year first nine months, Tennant reported net earnings of $17.8 million, or $0.92 per diluted share, on net sales of $484.9 million.
Year-to-date gross margins were 42.0 percent, or 42.3 percent excluding special charges, versus 42.7 percent in the first nine months of 2010, primarily reflecting raw material inflation. S&A expense in the 2011 nine-month period totaled $181.2 million, or 32.3 percent of sales, and $177.2 million, or 31.6 percent of sales, excluding special charges of $4.0 million. This compares to $160.5 million, or 33.1 percent of sales, in the first nine months of 2010. Year-to-date operating profit increased to $34.2 million, or 6.1 percent of sales, and $39.7 million, or 7.1 percent of sales, as adjusted, versus an operating profit of $27.6 million, or 5.7 percent of sales, in the prior year period.
Tennant generated $36.0 million in cash from operations in the 2011 year to date. Total cash and cash equivalents at September 30, 2011, was $44.3 million and total debt was $36.9 million.
Business Outlook
“Year to date, Tennant has benefited from continued strong sales to strategic accounts and of ec-H2O across our regions, as well as our ongoing commitment to operational excellence,” said Killingstad.
Tennant Company is adjusting its 2011 sales and earnings outlook by broadening the range at the low end due primarily to the current economic volatility. The fourth quarter has historically been a difficult quarter for Tennant to predict and it is even more challenging this year with the uncertainty in the economy. Including the 2011 second quarter special charges of $5.0 million after tax, or a loss of $0.26 per diluted share, Tennant now estimates 2011 full year earnings in the range of $1.54 to $1.79 per diluted share. Excluding the special charges, the company now expects adjusted earnings for the full year 2011 in the range of $1.80 to $2.05 per diluted share on net sales in the range of $745 million to $765 million. Previously, the company’s anticipated low end of the range was $750 million of net sales with adjusted earnings per diluted share of $1.95. For full year 2010, adjusted earnings totaled $1.31 per diluted share on net sales of $667.7 million. Anticipated 2011 year-over-year growth in adjusted earnings per diluted share is now in the range of 37.4 percent to 56.5 percent.
Page 4—Tennant Company Reports 2011 Third Quarter Results
Tennant is closely tracking economic trends and commodity prices, and will continue to conservatively manage its business with a focus on operational excellence and strong cost controls, and make selective investments in innovative technologies and other key strategic priorities. The company's 2011 annual financial outlook includes the following expectations:
| · | Favorable foreign currency impact on sales for the full year in the range of 3 to 4 percent; |
| · | Minimal inflation net of cost-saving initiatives and selling price increases; |
| · | A gross margin of approximately 42 to 43 percent; |
| · | R&D expense of approximately 4 percent of sales, as the company continues to invest in its core products and increases investment in its water-based cleaning business; and |
| · | Capital expenditures in the range of $14 million to $16 million. |
“We believe that Tennant can continue to post solid growth going forward by successfully executing our current strategy and assuming the global economy as a whole stabilizes with modest growth. We are confident that our strategic direction, coupled with rigorous cost controls, improved operating efficiency and new products, will further enhance our value-creation potential,” said Killingstad.
Conference Call
Tennant will host a conference call to discuss the 2011 third quarter and year-to-date results today, October 25, 2011, at 10 a.m. Central Time (11 a.m. Eastern Time). The conference call will be available via webcast on the investor portion of Tennant's website. To listen to the call live, go to http://www.tennantco.com and click on Company, Investors. A taped replay of the conference call will be available at http://www.tennantco.com for approximately two weeks after the call.
We caution that forward-looking statements must be considered carefully and that actual results may differ in material ways due to risks and uncertainties both known and unknown. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors in evaluating forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. For additional information about factors that could materially affect Tennant's results, please see our other Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including disclosures under “Risk Factors.”
We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, and investors are advised to consult any further disclosures by us on this matter in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in other written statements we make from time to time. It is not possible to anticipate or foresee all risk factors, and investors should not consider any list of such factors to be an exhaustive or complete list of all risks or uncertainties.
This news release includes presentations of non-GAAP measures that include or exclude special items. Management believes that the non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors regarding the company's results of operations and financial condition because they permit a more meaningful comparison and understanding of Tennant Company's operating performance for the current, past or future periods. Management uses these non-GAAP measures to monitor and evaluate ongoing operating results and trends, and to gain an understanding of the comparative operating performance of the company. See the Supplemental Non-GAAP Financial Tables.
