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Exhibit 99.1
WOLVERINE TUBE, INC.
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Contact: Thomas D. Johnson, Jr.
Director, Investor Relations & Communications
(256) 580-3969
WOLVERINE TUBE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, APRIL 24, 2001--Wolverine Tube, Inc. (NYSE: WLV) today
reported results above the street's expectations for the first quarter ending
April 1, 2001. Net income for the first quarter of 2001 was $6.3 million, or
$0.51 per diluted share, versus net income of $6.8 million, or $0.54 per diluted
share, in the first quarter of 2000. Net sales for the first quarter of 2001
were $189.4 million, a seven percent increase over the comparable year-ago
quarter. Total pounds of product shipped was 100.2 million, up one percent over
the prior year. Gross profit for the first quarter of 2001 was $21.2 million,
compared with a gross profit of $23.2 million in the first quarter of 2000.
Dennis Horowitz, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am
pleased to report that we delivered financial performance in line with our
previous guidance. Even though economic conditions have been very difficult for
many companies in the manufacturing sector, it was a relatively good quarter for
Wolverine. We achieved these results in the midst of a slowing economy and
substantially higher energy, transportation and employee healthcare costs."
FIRST QUARTER RESULTS BY SEGMENT
Shipments of commercial products totaled 62.3 million pounds, a one percent
increase over last year's first quarter of 61.9 million pounds. Net sales were
$136.6 million, up 10 percent over last year's first quarter of $124.3 million.
Gross profit was $18.7 million, a nine percent improvement over last year's
first quarter of $17.2 million. These results reflect the strong increase in
demand for technical tube plus the addition of Wolverine Joining Technologies.
In part, the improvement in gross profit was attributable to the success of the
Company's cost containment programs. These positive results were partially
offset by weaker demand in industrial tube, reflecting the overall slowdown in
the residential air conditioning and appliance markets and the aforementioned
increases in energy, transportation and employee healthcare costs.
Shipments of wholesale products totaled 17.2 million pounds, a five percent
increase over last year's first quarter of 16.4 million pounds. Net sales were
$23.5 million, down five percent from last year's first quarter of $24.7
million. Gross profit was $2.3 million, down 43 percent from last year's first
quarter. Management believes that on a year-over-year basis, the wholesale
products industry has been negatively impacted by a slowdown in the residential
and commercial construction markets in both the U.S. and Canada, which has
adversely affected both demand and, to a larger extent, price.
Corporate Headquarters
200 Clinton Avenue West, Suite 1000
Huntsville, AL 35801
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Shipments of rod, bar and strip totaled 20.7 million pounds, a two percent
decrease from last year's first quarter of 21.2 million pounds. Net sales were
$29.3 million, a two percent increase over last year's first quarter of $28.8
million. Gross profit was $111,000, down from last year's first quarter due to a
shift in mix of products sold away from the heavier-gauge materials to a light
gauge strip. To a lesser extent, gross profit was also affected by the costs
associated with consolidation of production capabilities at the WRI-Fergus
facility.
EARNINGS OUTLOOK
Commenting on the outlook for the Company, Horowitz said, "A few weeks ago, we
expressed our concerns regarding when the economy might turn around, not on our
ability to execute our tactical and strategic plans. This has not changed. At
this time, it appears that the economy will remain soft through the second
quarter and may begin to recover in the second half of the year. Going forward,
we expect these weak economic conditions to continue to adversely affect
Wolverine, as well as other industrial companies."
"Given this economic environment, we anticipate the Company's second quarter
results to be in the range of $0.52 to $0.59 per share," added Horowitz. "In
this challenging environment, we are staying focused on our strategy and working
hard to achieve the right balance between adjusting costs and expenses downward
to address current business conditions. We are also continuing to make the
necessary investments in areas such as Project 21 to assure we come out of the
slowdown strong and well positioned."
FIRST QUARTER CONFERENCE CALL
The Company will hold a conference call on April 24th at 9:30 a.m. Central
(10:30 a.m. EST) to discuss the contents of this release with members of the
investment community. Please visit Wolverine's website at www.wlv.com to access
the call. A replay will be available through May 1, 2001 at Wolverine's website
or by calling (800) 858-5309 (access code 40179, pass code 40179). Should you
have any problems accessing the call or the replay, please contact the Company
at (256) 890-0460.
ABOUT WOLVERINE TUBE, INC.
Wolverine Tube, Inc. is a world-class quality partner, providing its customers
with copper and copper alloy tube, fabricated products, brazing alloys, fluxes
and lead-free solder, as well as copper and copper alloy rod, bar and strip
products. Internet addresses: www.wlv.com and www.silvaloy.com.
Forward-looking statements in this press release are made pursuant to the "Safe
Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These forward-looking statements use such words as "may", "will", "expect",
"believe", "plan" and other similar terminologies. This press release contains
forward-looking statements regarding the expectations of future sales and
earnings of the Company. These forward-looking statements are
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subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any
revision of any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or
circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events. With respect to expectations of future earnings, factors
that could affect actual results include, without limitation, global and local
economic and political environments, weather conditions, environmental
contingencies, regulatory pressures, labor costs, raw material costs, fuel and
energy costs, the mix of geographic and product revenues, the effect of currency
fluctuations, competitive products and pricing, assumptions made as to customer
retention, costs associated with attracting new customers, costs of integrating
Wolverine Joining Technologies and Wolverine Ratcliffs, Inc., as well as future
operating costs of Wolverine Joining Technologies and Wolverine Ratcliffs, Inc.
A discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results
to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, can be found
in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal
year and reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
--TABLES TO FOLLOW--
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Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited)
Three-month period ended
4/1/2001 4/2/2000
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In thousands, except per share data
Pounds shipped 100,191 99,533
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Net sales $189,360 $177,805
Cost of goods sold 168,191 154,600
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Gross profit 21,169 23,205
Selling, general and administrative expenses 8,849 8,655
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Income from operations 12,320 14,550
Interest expense, net 3,952 3,327
Amortization and other, net (767) 211
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Income before income taxes 9,135 11,012
Income tax expense 2,824 4,165
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Net income $ 6,311 $ 6,847
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Basic earnings per share $ 0.52 $ 0.55
Diluted earnings per share $ 0.51 $ 0.54
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Basic shares 12,034 12,405
Diluted shares 12,262 12,543
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Segment Information (Unaudited)
Three-month period ended
4/1/2001 4/2/2000
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Average COMEX price of copper $ 0.82 $ 0.82
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In thousands
Pounds:
Commercial 62,266 61,945
Wholesale 17,194 16,361
Rod, bar and strip 20,731 21,227
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Total pounds 100,191 99,533
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Net sales:
Commercial $136,602 $124,313
Wholesale 23,491 24,735
Rod, bar and strip 29,267 28,757
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Total net sales $189,360 $177,805
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Gross profit:
Commercial $18,743 $17,215
Wholesale 2,315 4,048
Rod, bar and strip 111 1,942
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Total gross profit $21,169 $23,205
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Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
4/1/2001 12/31/2000
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In thousands
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $22,856 $23,458
Accounts receivable 117,722 105,025
Inventory 115,542 108,164
Other current assets 7,996 13,360
Property, plant and equipment, net 222,667 215,491
Other assets 124,545 124,857
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Total assets $611,328 $590,355
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Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Accounts payable and other accrued expenses $75,626 $71,626
Short-term borrowings 10,227 10,057
Deferred income taxes 20,872 21,190
Long-term debt 248,280 231,163
Other liabilities 19,503 19,437
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Total liabilities 374,508 353,473
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Minority interest 2,340 2,508
Redeemable cumulative preferred stock 2,000 2,000
Stockholders' equity 232,480 232,374
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Total liabilities, minority interest, redeemable cumulative
preferred stock and stockholders' equity $611,328 $590,355
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