Insteel Industries Reports Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

Insteel Industries Reports Second Quarter 2018 Financial Results

MOUNT AIRY, N.C., April 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Insteel Industries, Inc. (NasdaqGS: IIIN) today announced financial results for its second quarter ended March 31, 2018.

Second Quarter 2018 Results

Net earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 decreased to $5.9 million, or $0.31 per share, from $7.4 million, or $0.39 per share, in the same period a year ago. Insteel's second-quarter results were unfavorably impacted by narrower spreads between selling prices and raw material costs partially offset by higher shipments and a lower effective tax rate relative to the prior year quarter.

Net sales increased 6.2% to $107.4 million from $101.2 million in the prior year quarter driven by a 2.4% increase in shipments and a 3.7% increase in average selling prices. Shipments increased 6.8% sequentially from the first quarter of fiscal 2018 while average selling prices increased 2.9%. Gross margin narrowed 370 basis points to 14.4% from 18.1% in the prior year quarter due to the reduction in spreads. Insteel's effective tax rate decreased to 24.7% from 33.9% in the prior year quarter reflecting the reduction in the corporate tax rate under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Cash flow from operations decreased to $9.7 million from $13.7 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 $0.3 million of cash while providing $3.2 million in the prior year quarter.

Six Month 2018 Results

Net earnings for the first six months of fiscal 2018 increased to $14.0 million, or $0.73 per share, from $11.9 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago. Insteel's earnings for the current year period benefited from a $3.7 million, or $0.19 per share gain on the remeasurement of deferred tax liabilities related to the impact of the new tax law. Net sales increased 5.2% to $205.2 million from $195.0 million in the prior year period driven by a 1.8% increase in shipments and a 3.3% increase in average selling prices. Gross margin narrowed 280 basis points to 13.2% from 16.0% due to the reduction in spreads. Excluding the deferred tax gain, Insteel's effective tax rate decreased to 24.7% from 33.8% in the prior year period.

Cash flow from operations increased to $24.5 million from $17.6 million in the prior year period primarily due to the relative changes in net working capital and the increase in earnings. Net working capital provided $4.3 million of cash while using $1.4 million in the prior year period.

Capital Allocation and Liquidity

Capital expenditures for the first six months of fiscal 2018 decreased to $9.3 million from $10.7 million in the prior year period. Capital outlays for fiscal 2018 are expected to total up to $21.0 million largely related to additional investments in engineered structural mesh ("ESM") manufacturing capabilities, the purchase of the leased Houston facility and further upgrades of production technology and information systems.

During the second quarter of fiscal 2018, Insteel returned $20.2 million of capital to shareholders through the payment of a special cash dividend of $1.00 per share and two regular quarterly cash dividends of $0.03 per share, marking the third consecutive year in which a special dividend of at least $1.00 per share has been paid. Insteel ended the quarter debt-free with $23.5 million of cash and cash equivalents, and no borrowings outstanding on its $100.0 million revolving credit facility.

Outlook

"As we move into the second half of fiscal 2018, we expect improved business conditions driven by the usual seasonal pickup in demand together with continued growth in the construction sector," commented H.O. Woltz III, Insteel's president and CEO. "We believe the infrastructure-related portion of our business will benefit from the funding increases provided for in the recently passed federal omnibus spending bill together with state and local initiatives. The outlook for private nonresidential construction remains positive as well based on most recent leading indicators and industry forecasts, with the potential for additional investment spurred by the new tax law."

Conference Call

Insteel will hold a conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET today to discuss its second quarter financial results. A live webcast of this call can be accessed on Insteel's website at https://insteelgcs.gcs-web.com/ 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 September 30, 2017.

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 September 30, 2017 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                          Six Months Ended
                                                 ------------------                          ----------------

                                                      March 31,                                  April 1,              March 31,          April 1,

                                                                      2018                                        2017               2018              2017
                                                                      ----                                        ----               ----              ----


    Net sales                                                     $107,417                                    $101,159           $205,158          $195,047

    Cost of sales                                                   92,001                                      82,865            178,081           163,743
                                                                    ------                                      ------            -------           -------

        Gross profit                                                15,416                                      18,294             27,077            31,304

    Selling, general and administrative expense                      7,475                                       7,055             13,238            13,319

    Restructuring charges, net                                           -                                         25                  -               73

    Other expense, net                                                 166                                          10                185                 -

    Interest expense                                                    23                                          35                 51                69

    Interest income                                                   (53)                                       (48)             (129)            (100)
                                                                       ---                                         ---               ----              ----

        Earnings before income taxes                                 7,805                                      11,217             13,732            17,943

    Income taxes                                                     1,926                                       3,797              (258)            6,063
                                                                     -----                                       -----               ----             -----

        Net earnings                                                $5,879                                      $7,420            $13,990           $11,880
                                                                    ======                                      ======            =======           =======



    Net earnings per share:

        Basic                                                        $0.31                                       $0.39              $0.73             $0.63

        Diluted                                                       0.31                                        0.39               0.73              0.62


    Weighted average shares outstanding:

        Basic                                                       19,052                                      19,004             19,047            18,992

        Diluted                                                     19,258                                      19,224             19,241            19,217


    Cash dividends declared per share                                $0.03                                       $0.03              $1.06             $1.31

                                                            INSTEEL INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

                                                                   CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

                                                                         (In thousands)




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

                                                        March 31,                                     December 30,          September 30,           April 1,

                                                                          2018                                         2017                    2017                2017
                                                                          ----                                         ----                    ----                ----

    Assets

    Current assets:

        Cash and cash equivalents                                      $23,464                                      $37,336                 $32,105             $40,185

        Accounts receivable, net                                        50,455                                       39,769                  40,284              49,577

        Inventories                                                     63,156                                       70,918                  81,853              59,230

        Other current assets                                             4,071                                        5,101                   5,949               3,264
                                                                         -----                                        -----                   -----               -----

            Total current assets                                       141,146                                      153,124                 160,191             152,256

    Property, plant and equipment, net                                 103,277                                      102,891                  98,670              94,805

    Intangibles, net                                                    10,275                                       10,634                   7,913               8,484

    Goodwill                                                             8,293                                        8,293                   6,965               6,965

    Other assets                                                         9,649                                        9,698                   9,334               8,712
                                                                         -----                                        -----                   -----               -----

            Total assets                                              $272,640                                     $284,640                $283,073            $271,222
                                                                      ========                                     ========                ========            ========


    Liabilities and shareholders' equity

    Current liabilities:

        Accounts payable                                               $32,561                                      $30,992                 $33,651             $35,605

        Accrued expenses                                                 5,497                                        5,411                   8,667               7,222

        Dividends payable                                                    -                                      19,612                       -                  -
                                                                           ---                                      ------                     ---                ---

            Total current liabilities                                   38,058                                       56,015                  42,318              42,827

    Other liabilities                                                   16,537                                       16,515                  17,379              15,736

    Shareholders' equity:

        Common stock                                                    19,063                                       19,041                  19,041              19,025

        Additional paid-in capital                                      70,658                                       70,052                  69,817              68,850

        Retained earnings                                              129,657                                      124,350                 135,851             126,325

        Accumulated other comprehensive loss                           (1,333)                                     (1,333)                (1,333)            (1,541)
                                                                        ------                                       ------                  ------              ------

            Total shareholders' equity                                 218,045                                      212,110                 223,376             212,659
                                                                       -------                                      -------                 -------             -------

            Total liabilities and shareholders' equity                $272,640                                     $284,640                $283,073            $271,222
                                                                      ========                                     ========                ========            ========

                                                                                           INSTEEL INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

                                                                                             CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

                                                                                                        (In thousands)

                                                                                                          (Unaudited)


                                                                                                                                   Three Months Ended       Six Months Ended
                                                                                                                                   ------------------       ----------------

                                                                                                                                       March 31,                April 1,             March 31,            April 1,

                                                                                                                                                       2018                     2017                 2018                 2017
                                                                                                                                                       ----                     ----                 ----                 ----

    Cash Flows From Operating Activities:

      Net earnings                                                                                                                                   $5,879                   $7,420              $13,990              $11,880

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

          Depreciation and amortization                                                                                                               3,233                    2,711                6,409                5,729

          Amortization of capitalized financing costs                                                                                                    16                       16                   32                   32

          Stock-based compensation expense                                                                                                              838                      876                1,073                1,133

          Deferred income taxes                                                                                                                       (201)                   (277)             (2,270)                 910

          Loss on sale and disposition of property, plant and equipment                                                                                 204                       10                  221                   46

          Increase in cash surrender value of life insurance policies over premiums paid                                                               (19)                   (287)               (275)               (360)

          Net changes in assets and liabilities (net of assets and liabilities acquired):

            Accounts receivable, net                                                                                                               (10,686)                 (5,422)            (10,171)             (2,188)

            Inventories                                                                                                                               7,762                    2,360               18,697               11,956

            Accounts payable and accrued expenses                                                                                                     2,575                    6,280              (4,218)            (11,132)

            Other changes                                                                                                                               128                      (5)               1,005                (430)
                                                                                                                                                        ---                      ---                -----                 ----

              Total adjustments                                                                                                                       3,850                    6,262               10,503                5,696
                                                                                                                                                      -----                    -----               ------                -----

                Net cash provided by operating activities                                                                                             9,729                   13,682               24,493               17,576
                                                                                                                                                      -----                   ------               ------               ------


    Cash Flows From Investing Activities:

      Capital expenditures                                                                                                                          (3,236)                 (5,239)             (9,316)            (10,656)

      Acquisition of business                                                                                                                             -                       -             (3,300)                   -

      Proceeds from surrender of life insurance policies                                                                                                 80                       77                  121                   77

      Increase in cash surrender value of life insurance policies                                                                                      (51)                    (56)               (245)               (277)
                                                                                                                                                        ---                      ---                 ----                 ----

                Net cash used for investing activities                                                                                              (3,207)                 (5,218)            (12,740)            (10,856)
                                                                                                                                                     ------                   ------              -------              -------


    Cash Flows From Financing Activities:

      Proceeds from long-term debt                                                                                                                       79                       79                  169                  176

      Principal payments on long-term debt                                                                                                             (79)                    (79)               (169)               (176)

      Cash dividends paid                                                                                                                          (20,184)                (24,869)            (20,184)            (24,869)

      Cash received from exercise of stock options                                                                                                        -                      72                    -                 107

      Payment of employee tax withholdings related to net share transactions                                                                          (210)                   (502)               (210)               (646)
                                                                                                                                                       ----                     ----                 ----                 ----

                Net cash used for financing activities                                                                                             (20,394)                (25,299)            (20,394)            (25,408)
                                                                                                                                                    -------                  -------              -------              -------


    Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents                                                                                                      (13,872)                (16,835)             (8,641)            (18,688)

    Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period                                                                                                 37,336                   57,020               32,105               58,873
                                                                                                                                                     ------                   ------               ------               ------

    Cash and cash equivalents at end of period                                                                                                      $23,464                  $40,185              $23,464              $40,185
                                                                                                                                                    =======                  =======              =======              =======


    Supplemental Disclosures of Cash Flow Information:

      Cash paid during the period for:

        Income taxes, net                                                                                                                            $1,067                   $4,116               $1,060               $4,160

      Non-cash investing and financing activities:

        Purchases of property, plant and equipment in accounts payable                                                                                1,233                    1,152                1,233                1,152

        Restricted stock units and stock options surrendered for withholding taxes payable                                                              210                      502                  210                  646

IIIN - E

CONTACT: Michael C. Gazmarian, Vice President, CFO and Treasurer, Insteel Industries, Inc., (336) 786-2141, Ext. 3020

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SOURCE Insteel Industries, Inc.