Insteel Industries Reports Third Quarter 2017 Financial Results

MOUNT AIRY, N.C., July 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Insteel Industries, Inc. (NasdaqGS: IIIN) today announced financial results for its third quarter ended July 1, 2017.

Third Quarter 2017 Results

Net earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2017 decreased to $6.9 million, or $0.36 per share, from $13.5 million, or $0.71 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago. Insteel's results were unfavorably impacted by lower shipment and production volumes together with narrower spreads between selling prices and raw material costs relative to the prior year quarter.

Net sales decreased 16.2% to $96.9 million from $115.6 million in the prior year quarter, reflecting a 20.8% decrease in shipments and a 5.9% increase in average selling prices. Shipments decreased 7.5% sequentially from the second quarter of fiscal 2017 while average selling prices increased 3.5%. Shipments for the quarter were adversely affected by the excessive rainfall in many regions of the country, a reduction in new project activity and competitive pricing pressures. Gross margin narrowed 660 basis points to 17.2% from 23.8% due to the reductions in shipments and spreads, and higher manufacturing costs on the lower production volume.

Cash flow from operations decreased to $4.5 million from $21.9 million in the prior year quarter primarily due to the relative changes in net working capital and the decrease in earnings. Net working capital used $5.8 million of cash while providing $6.3 million in the prior year quarter.

Nine Month 2017 Results

Net earnings for the first nine months of fiscal 2017 decreased to $18.7 million, or $0.98 per diluted share, from $27.4 million, or $1.44 per diluted share in the same period a year ago. Net sales decreased 7.4% to $292.0 million from $315.4 million in the prior year period, reflecting a 7.8% decrease in shipments and a 0.4% increase in average selling prices. Gross margin narrowed 340 basis points to 16.4% from 19.8% due to lower spreads and shipments, and higher manufacturing costs on lower production volume.

Cash flow from operations decreased to $21.6 million from $45.7 million in the prior year period primarily due to the relative changes in net working capital and the decrease in earnings. Net working capital used $7.1 million of cash while providing $7.4 million in the prior year period.

Capital Allocation and Liquidity

Capital expenditures for the first nine months of fiscal 2017 increased to $16.9 million from $9.1 million in the prior year period. Capital outlays for fiscal 2017 are expected to total up to $25.0 million largely related to the expansion of the Houston, Texas prestressed concrete strand ("PC strand") facility, additional investments in engineered structural mesh ("ESM") manufacturing capabilities and further upgrades of production technology and information systems.

During the first nine months of fiscal 2017, Insteel returned $25.4 million of capital to shareholders through the payment of a special cash dividend of $1.25 per share and three regular quarterly cash dividends of $0.03 per share. Insteel ended the quarter debt-free with $37.8 million of cash and cash equivalents, and no borrowings outstanding on its $100.0 million revolving credit facility.

Outlook

"As we move into the fourth fiscal quarter, the leading indicators for nonresidential construction remain positive and our customers are optimistic that business conditions will improve over the remainder of the year," commented H.O. Woltz III, Insteel's president and CEO. "We believe the recent increases in infrastructure funding that have been authorized at the state and local level will begin to favorably impact demand for our products later in the year. We also expect improved manufacturing costs driven by higher operating volumes together with our process improvement initiatives and the recent upgrading and expansion of our Houston PC strand facility."

Conference Call

Insteel will hold a conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET today to discuss its third quarter financial results. A live webcast of this call can be accessed on Insteel's website at http://investor.insteel.com/events.cfm and will be archived for replay until the next quarterly conference call.

About Insteel

Insteel is the nation's largest manufacturer of steel wire reinforcing products for concrete construction applications. Insteel manufactures and markets PC strand and welded wire reinforcement, including ESM, concrete pipe reinforcement and standard welded wire reinforcement. Insteel's products are sold primarily to manufacturers of concrete products that are used in nonresidential construction. Headquartered in Mount Airy, North Carolina, Insteel operates ten manufacturing facilities located in the United States.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this news release, the words "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates," "appears," "plans," "intends," "may," "should," "could" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, they are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and we can provide no assurances that such plans, intentions or expectations will be implemented or achieved. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in detail, and are updated from time to time in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in particular in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 1, 2016.

All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. All forward-looking statements speak only to the respective dates on which such statements are made and we do not undertake any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect any future events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events, except as may be required by law.

It is not possible to anticipate and list all risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations or financial performance; however, they include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic and competitive conditions in the markets in which we operate; changes in the spending levels for nonresidential and residential construction and the impact on demand for our products; changes in the amount and duration of transportation funding provided by federal, state and local governments and the impact on spending for infrastructure construction and demand for our products; the cyclical nature of the steel and building material industries; credit market conditions and the relative availability of financing for us, our customers and the construction industry as a whole; fluctuations in the cost and availability of our primary raw material, hot-rolled steel wire rod, from domestic and foreign suppliers; competitive pricing pressures and our ability to raise selling prices in order to recover increases in raw material or operating costs; changes in United States or foreign trade policy affecting imports or exports of steel wire rod or our products; unanticipated changes in customer demand, order patterns and inventory levels; the impact of fluctuations in demand and capacity utilization levels on our unit manufacturing costs; our ability to further develop the market for ESM and expand our shipments of ESM; legal, environmental, economic or regulatory developments that significantly impact our operating costs; unanticipated plant outages, equipment failures or labor difficulties; and the "Risk Factors" discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 1, 2016 and in other filings made by us with the SEC.

                                                  INSTEEL INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

                                                    CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

                                                (In thousands, except for per share amounts)

                                                                 (Unaudited)




                                                 Three Months Ended                          Nine Months Ended
                                                 ------------------                          -----------------

                                                       July 1,                                    July 2,              July 1,          July 2,

                                                                      2017                                        2016             2017             2016
                                                                      ----                                        ----             ----             ----


    Net sales                                                      $96,938                                    $115,629         $291,985         $315,434

    Cost of sales                                                   80,262                                      88,082          244,005          252,849
                                                                    ------                                      ------          -------          -------

        Gross profit                                                16,676                                      27,547           47,980           62,585

    Selling, general and administrative expense                      6,216                                       6,849           19,535           20,820

    Restructuring charges, net                                          60                                          58              133               83

    Other expense, net                                                  50                                         223               50              138

    Interest expense                                                    34                                          40              103              121

    Interest income                                                   (75)                                       (53)           (175)           (103)
                                                                       ---                                         ---             ----             ----

        Earnings before income taxes                                10,391                                      20,430           28,334           41,526

    Income taxes                                                     3,522                                       6,899            9,585           14,135
                                                                     -----                                       -----            -----           ------

        Net earnings                                                $6,869                                     $13,531          $18,749          $27,391
                                                                    ======                                     =======          =======          =======



    Net earnings per share:

        Basic                                                        $0.36                                       $0.72            $0.99            $1.47

        Diluted                                                       0.36                                        0.71             0.98             1.44


    Weighted average shares outstanding:

        Basic                                                       19,025                                      18,867           19,003           18,690

        Diluted                                                     19,225                                      19,135           19,219           19,011


    Cash dividends declared per share                                $0.03                                       $0.03            $1.34            $1.09

                                                         INSTEEL INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

                                                                CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

                                                                       (In thousands)




                                                       (Unaudited)                                                   (Unaudited)
                                                       ----------

                                                         July 1,                                   April 1,          October 1,            July 2,

                                                                          2017                                  2017                  2016               2016
                                                                          ----                                  ----                  ----               ----

    Assets

    Current assets:

        Cash and cash equivalents                                      $37,848                               $40,185               $58,873            $53,838

        Accounts receivable, net                                        42,307                                49,577                47,389             49,426

        Inventories                                                     83,682                                59,230                71,186             63,914

        Other current assets                                             5,182                                 3,264                 3,039              2,208
                                                                         -----                                 -----                 -----              -----

            Total current assets                                       169,019                               152,256               180,487            169,386

    Property, plant and equipment, net                                  99,383                                94,805                88,193             85,779

    Intangibles, net                                                     8,195                                 8,484                 9,063              9,352

    Goodwill                                                             6,965                                 6,965                 6,965              6,965

    Other assets                                                         8,934                                 8,712                 8,184              7,935
                                                                         -----                                 -----                 -----              -----

            Total assets                                              $292,496                              $271,222              $292,892           $279,417
                                                                      ========                              ========              ========           ========


    Liabilities and shareholders' equity

    Current liabilities:

        Accounts payable                                               $48,079                               $35,605               $42,759            $39,738

        Accrued expenses                                                 7,606                                 7,222                11,024             13,376
                                                                         -----                                 -----                ------             ------

            Total current liabilities                                   55,685                                42,827                53,783             53,114

    Other liabilities                                                   17,644                                15,736                14,543             13,212

    Shareholders' equity:

        Common stock                                                    19,025                                19,025                18,976             18,904

        Additional paid-in capital                                      69,060                                68,850                67,817             66,303

        Retained earnings                                              132,623                               126,325               139,314            130,030

        Accumulated other comprehensive loss                           (1,541)                              (1,541)              (1,541)           (2,146)
                                                                        ------                                ------                ------             ------

            Total shareholders' equity                                 219,167                               212,659               224,566            213,091
                                                                       -------                               -------               -------            -------

            Total liabilities and shareholders' equity                $292,496                              $271,222              $292,892           $279,417
                                                                      ========                              ========              ========           ========

                                                                                           INSTEEL INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

                                                                                             CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

                                                                                                        (In thousands)

                                                                                                          (Unaudited)


                                                                                                                                   Three Months Ended       Nine Months Ended
                                                                                                                                   ------------------       -----------------

                                                                                                                                        July 1,                  July 2,              July 1,            July 2,

                                                                                                                                                       2017                      2016               2017                2016
                                                                                                                                                       ----                      ----               ----                ----

    Cash Flows From Operating Activities:

      Net earnings                                                                                                                                   $6,869                   $13,531            $18,749             $27,391

      Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities:

          Depreciation and amortization                                                                                                               2,847                     2,909              8,576               8,529

          Amortization of capitalized financing costs                                                                                                    16                        16                 48                  48

          Stock-based compensation expense                                                                                                              210                       245              1,343               1,521

          Deferred income taxes                                                                                                                       1,795                     (274)             2,705                 597

          Asset impairment charges                                                                                                                        -                        -                 -                 20

          Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation                                                                                               -                    (420)             (488)            (1,244)

          Loss on sale and disposition of property, plant and equipment                                                                                   3                       223                 49                  15

          Increase in cash surrender value of life insurance policies over premiums paid                                                              (208)                    (172)             (568)              (268)

          Net changes in assets and liabilities:

            Accounts receivable, net                                                                                                                  7,270                     (848)             5,082             (2,644)

            Inventories                                                                                                                            (24,452)                  (7,340)          (12,496)              2,095

            Accounts payable and accrued expenses                                                                                                    11,422                    14,484                290               7,981

            Other changes                                                                                                                           (1,309)                    (448)           (1,739)              1,613
                                                                                                                                                     ------                      ----             ------               -----

              Total adjustments                                                                                                                     (2,406)                    8,375              2,802              18,263
                                                                                                                                                     ------                     -----              -----              ------

                Net cash provided by operating activities                                                                                             4,463                    21,906             21,551              45,654
                                                                                                                                                      -----                    ------             ------              ------


    Cash Flows From Investing Activities:

      Capital expenditures                                                                                                                          (6,199)                  (4,743)          (16,855)            (9,077)

      Proceeds from surrender of life insurance policies                                                                                                 23                        94                100                 134

      Increase in cash surrender value of life insurance policies                                                                                      (53)                     (60)             (330)              (324)

      Proceeds from sale of assets held for sale                                                                                                          -                        -                 -                180

      Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment                                                                                                 -                        -                 -                 60
                                                                                                                                                        ---                      ---               ---                ---

                Net cash used for investing activities                                                                                              (6,229)                  (4,709)          (17,085)            (9,027)
                                                                                                                                                     ------                    ------            -------              ------


    Cash Flows From Financing Activities:

      Proceeds from long-term debt                                                                                                                      146                       101                322                 273

      Principal payments on long-term debt                                                                                                            (146)                    (101)             (322)              (273)

      Cash dividends paid                                                                                                                             (571)                    (567)          (25,440)           (20,289)

      Cash received from exercise of stock options                                                                                                        -                    1,060                107               4,312

      Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation                                                                                                   -                      420                488               1,244

      Payment of employee tax withholdings related to net share transactions                                                                              -                    (674)             (646)            (1,303)

      Financing costs                                                                                                                                     -                        -                 -               (11)
                                                                                                                                                        ---                      ---               ---                ---

                Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities                                                                                  (571)                      239           (25,491)           (16,047)
                                                                                                                                                       ----                       ---            -------             -------


    Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents                                                                                            (2,337)                   17,436           (21,025)             20,580

    Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period                                                                                                 40,185                    36,402             58,873              33,258
                                                                                                                                                     ------                    ------             ------              ------

    Cash and cash equivalents at end of period                                                                                                      $37,848                   $53,838            $37,848             $53,838
                                                                                                                                                    =======                   =======            =======             =======


    Supplemental Disclosures of Cash Flow Information:

      Cash paid during the period for:

        Income taxes, net                                                                                                                            $2,636                    $3,633             $6,796             $12,166

      Non-cash investing and financing activities:

        Purchases of property, plant and equipment in accounts payable                                                                                2,092                       460              2,092                 460

        Restricted stock units and stock options surrendered for withholding taxes payable                                                                -                      674                646               1,303

IIIN - E

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SOURCE Insteel Industries, Inc.