Avantor Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2019 Results
RADNOR, Pa., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR), a leading global provider of mission critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and advanced technologies & applied materials industries, today reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2019.
"We were pleased to conclude 2019 with great momentum driven by strong sales across our biopharma business, continued margin expansion and robust cash flow generation," said Michael Stubblefield, Chief Executive Officer of Avantor. "In our first year as a public company, we made great progress in executing our growth strategy, deleveraging our balance sheet, and strengthening our capabilities to serve our customers around the world."
"For 2020, we look forward to another strong year with revenue expected to grow 4% to 6% on an organic basis, healthy margin expansion and further deleveraging. We are proud to contribute to scientific advances around the world and are excited about the opportunities ahead," Stubblefield concluded.
Fourth Quarter 2019
For the three months ended December 31, 2019, net sales were $1.52 billion, an increase of 3.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. Foreign currency translation had a negative impact of approximately 0.9%. Organic sales growth was 4.3%, led by high-single-digit growth in our biopharma business, reflecting ongoing strength in our portfolio of customized proprietary solutions.
Net income increased to $70.6 million from a loss of $53.3 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA increased 11.8% to $263.6 million and was up 12.7% excluding negative foreign exchange impact. These results reflect stronger volumes and pricing, favorable product mix, the ongoing impact of the VWR integration synergies, and execution discipline enabled by the Avantor Business System.
Diluted GAAP EPS was $0.09 compared to a loss for the prior-year period, while adjusted EPS increased 89.9% to $0.19. Cash performance was also strong as the company generated $187.8 million of unlevered free cash flow and free cash flow of $74.9 million, up 16% from the prior-year period. This excellent performance reflects strong operational execution as well as the benefit of reduced interest expense and an improved tax rate.
Fourth Quarter 2019 - Segment Results
Management uses Management EBITDA to measure and evaluate the internal operating performance of the Company's business segments. Management EBITDA is also our segment reporting profitability measure under generally accepted accounting principles.
Americas
In the Americas, net sales were $883.8 million, up 3.0% from the fourth quarter of 2018 and up 3.1% on an organic basis, reflecting continued strength in the biopharma and education end markets, partly offset by lower government and healthcare spending.
Management EBITDA was $166.3 million, down 0.8% from the fourth quarter of 2018. Absent a favorable inventory adjustment in 2018, Management EBITDA would have been up 4.2% versus the prior year.
Europe
In Europe, net sales were $540.3 million, an increase of 0.8% from the fourth quarter of 2018, and an increase of 3.5% on an organic basis. We experienced high-single-digit growth in our biopharma business and double-digit growth in our healthcare platform, partly offset by lower sales in education & government.
Management EBITDA was $103.0 million, up 6.9% versus the fourth quarter of 2018 and up 10.4% excluding negative foreign exchange impact. Management EBITDA benefited from favorable mix, with strong sales of proprietary materials in our biopharma production and biomaterial product categories.
AMEA
In AMEA, net sales were $99.9 million, up 24.9% from the fourth quarter of 2018 and up 22.7% on an organic basis. We experienced high-double-digit growth in our biopharma business, driven by strong sales in our bioproduction platform.
Management EBITDA was $32.4 million, up 69.5%, reflecting strong sales of higher-margin proprietary materials in our biopharma business.
Full-Year 2019 Highlights
Net sales growth, gross margin improvement, reduced operating costs, lower interest expense and an improved tax rate each contributed to strong performance in 2019 compared to 2018. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2019, net sales were $6.04 billion, an increase of 3.0% compared to 2018, as organic growth of 5.1% was partly offset by negative foreign currency translation impact. Both volume and favorable pricing contributed to sales growth.
By region, organic growth was 3.8% in the Americas, 5.7% in Europe and 15.4% in AMEA. Globally, biopharma sales were up 9.8% for the year.
Net income for the year increased to $37.8 million from a loss of $(86.9) million in 2018. Adjusted EBITDA for the year was $1.03 billion, up 9.1%, or 11.0% excluding a negative foreign exchange impact.
Diluted GAAP EPS was a loss of $(0.84) compared to a loss of $(2.69) for the prior year, while adjusted EPS increased 61.8% to $0.58 from $0.36 in 2018. This robust increase reflects strong operational execution as well as the benefit of reduced interest expense and an improved tax rate.
Cash generated by operating activities was $354.0 million in 2019 compared to $200.5 million in 2018. Unlevered free cash flow was $607.3 million. At December 31, 2019, adjusted net leverage was 4.6x, down from 7.0x at January 1, 2019.
Full-Year 2020 Outlook
The Company projects organic sales to be up 4% to 6% for 2020. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be in the range of $1.090-1.135 billion, or an increase of 6% to 10%. Guidance for full-year adjusted EPS is $0.74-0.79, up 27-36%. Free cash flow is expected to be in the range of $450-500 million, up 50-65% from 2019.
Our outlook assumes:
-- Current foreign exchange rates (e.g., Euro 1.11)
-- Adjusted shares outstanding of 642.7 million
-- Annual effective adjusted tax rate of 25-26%
A quantitative reconciliation of organic sales, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS and free cash flow outlook to the corresponding GAAP information is not provided because the GAAP measures that are excluded from such outlook are difficult to predict and are primarily dependent on future uncertainties. Items with future uncertainties include the timing and cost of future restructuring activities, charges related to the early retirement of debt, changes in tax rates and other non-recurring items.
Leadership Update
Avantor today also provided an update on its Executive Leadership Team. Corey Walker, Executive Vice President, Americas, has decided to leave the Company to serve as President of a company outside the Life Sciences industry. He will remain with Avantor through mid-February to ensure a smooth transition. The Company has initiated a search for a successor. In the interim, Avantor's CEO, Michael Stubblefield, will oversee the high-performing Americas region and the senior leadership team will report directly to him.
Avantor also announced two additions to the company's Executive Leadership Team, reporting to Mr. Stubblefield:
Mark Murray joined Avantor on January 13, 2020, as Executive Vice President of the Biomaterials and Advanced Technologies Platform. Mr. Murray brings extensive global sales, marketing, operations, and strategy leadership in key related industries through his more than 25 years of experience at McKinsey, Honeywell, and Celanese.
Sven Henrichwark joined Avantor on January 21, 2020, as Executive Vice President of its newly created Asia Pacific Region (APAC), following the separation of the Company's Asia, Middle East & Africa Region into two commercial sub-regions. Mr. Henrichwark will be responsible for building Avantor's presence and driving growth in the APAC Region, with a specific focus on China. He brings 20 years of leadership experience in the biotech, life science and medical technology industries, including 12 years at GE Healthcare.
Conference Call
Avantor will host a conference call to discuss its results today, February 7, at 8:30 a.m. ET. To hear the live webcast, please see the Investors section of the Company's website at www.avantorsciences.com. Or you may listen to the call by dialing (866) 211-4132 (domestic) or (647) 689-6615 (international) and use the conference code 4585832. Prior to the webcast, a presentation relating to the earnings call will be available on the Company's website.
Following the live webcast, an audio archive of the webcast and the slide presentation will be available under https://ir.avantorsciences.com/investors/events-and-presentations/.
About Avantor
Avantor is a leading global provider of mission critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. We operate in more than 30 countries and deliver an extensive portfolio of products and services. We set science in motion to create a better world.
Use of non-GAAP Financial Measures
To evaluate our performance, we monitor a number of key indicators. As appropriate, we supplement our results of operations determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") with certain non-GAAP financial measurements that we believe are useful to investors, creditors and others in assessing our performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for reported GAAP results because they may include or exclude certain items as compared to similar GAAP-based measures, and such measures may not be comparable to similarly-titled measures reported by other companies. Rather, these measures should be considered as an additional way of viewing aspects of our operations that provide a more complete understanding of our business. We strongly encourage investors to review our consolidated financial statements included in reports filed with the SEC in their entirety and not rely solely on any one, single financial measurement or communication.
The non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release are organic sales, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, pro forma adjusted EPS, adjusted net leverage, free cash flow and unlevered free cash flow.
-- Organic sales eliminates the impact of changes in foreign currency
exchange rates from our reported net sales. We believe that this
measurement is useful to investors as a way to measure and evaluate our
underlying commercial operating performance consistently across our
segments and the periods presented. This measurement is used by our
management for the same reason.
-- Adjusted EBITDA is used by investors to measure and evaluate our
operating performance exclusive of interest expense, income tax expense,
depreciation, amortization and certain infrequently occurring items. We
believe that this measurement is useful to investors as a way to analyze
the underlying trends in our core business consistently across the
periods presented.
-- Adjusted Net Income is used by investors to measure and evaluate our
operating performance exclusive of amortization and certain infrequent
occurring items. We believe that this measurement is useful to investors
as a way to analyze the underlying trends in our core business
consistently across the periods and includes of income tax expense,
interest expense and depreciation.
-- Adjusted EPS is our diluted earnings per share adjusted to normalize the
number of shares outstanding and to exclude amortization and various
infrequently occurring items on an after-tax basis. The normalization of
shares reflect for all periods (i) the total number of shares of common
stock outstanding following our initial public offering, as well as (ii)
the dilutive effect, if any, of the assumed exercise or conversion of
instruments (including our 6.250% Series A mandatory convertible
preferred stock) into common stock. We believe that this measurement is
useful to investors as an additional way to analyze the underlying
trends in our business consistently across the periods presented. This
measurement is used by our management for the same reason.
-- Adjusted net leverage is equal to our gross debt, reduced by our cash
and cash equivalents, divided by our trailing 12-month Adjusted EBITDA
(excluding stock-based compensation expense and including the run-rate
effect of synergies). We believe that this measurement is useful to
investors as a way to evaluate and measure the Company's capital
allocation strategies and the underlying trends in the business. This
measurement is used by our management for the same reason.
-- Free cash flow and unlevered free cash flow are equal to our cash flow
from operating activities, excluding capital expenditures and, in the
case of unlevered free cash flow, including our cash interest net of
tax. We believe that these measurements are useful to investors as they
provide a view on the Company's ability to generate cash for use in
financing or other investment activities. These measurements are used by
management for the same reason.
Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the tables accompanying this release.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release, including our full-year 2020 outlook, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements discuss our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "likely," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "project," "projection," "seek," "can," "could," "may," "should," "would," "will," the negatives thereof and other words and terms of similar meaning.
Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions; they are not guarantees of performance. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Although we believe that our assumptions made in connection with the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that the assumptions and expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could contribute to these risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, the factors described in "Risk Factors" in our Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-229578) and our Form 10-K that we expect to file next week, as such risk factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC.
All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. In addition, all forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligations to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise other than as required under the federal securities laws.
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Consolidated statements of operations
(in millions, except per share data)
Three months ended
Year ended
December 31, December 31,
2019 2018 2019 2018
---
Net sales $
1,524.0 $
1,473.9 $
6,040.3 $
5,864.3
Cost of sales 1,043.6 1,041.1 4,119.6 4,044.5
Gross profit 480.4 432.8 1,920.7 1,819.8
Selling, general and administrative expenses 328.5 333.3 1,368.9 1,405.3
Fees to New Mountain Capital - 0.2 1.0
Operating income 151.9 99.3 551.8 413.5
Interest expense (98.0) (135.1) (440.0) (523.8)
Loss on extinguishment of debt (3.5) (73.7)
Other (expense) income, net (0.4) (10.5) 2.5 (3.5)
Income (loss) before income taxes 50.0 (46.3) 40.6 (113.8)
Income tax benefit (expense) 20.6 (7.0) (2.8) 26.9
Net income (loss) $
70.6 $
(53.3) $
37.8 $
(86.9)
Net income (loss) $
70.6 $
(53.3) $
37.8 $
(86.9)
Accumulation of yield on preferred stock (16.1) (71.1) (152.5) (269.5)
Adjustment of series A preferred stock to - (220.4)
redemption value
Net income (loss) available to common $
54.5 $
(124.4) $
(335.1) $
(356.4)
stockholders of Avantor, Inc.
Earnings (loss) per share:
Basic $
0.10 $
(0.94) $
(0.84) $
(2.69)
Diluted 0.09 (0.94) (0.84) (2.69)
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic 572.0 132.7 401.2 132.7
Diluted 582.1 132.7 401.2 132.7
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Consolidated balance sheets
(in millions)
December 31,
2019 2018
---
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash
equivalents $
186.7 $
184.7
Accounts
receivable, net 988.8 931.2
Inventory 711.2 671.1
Other current
assets 134.8 112.6
Total current
assets 2,021.5 1,899.6
Property, plant
and equipment 557.0 598.6
Other intangible
assets, net 4,220.2 4,565.7
Goodwill 2,769.4 2,784.7
Other assets 205.2 63.0
Total assets $
9,773.3 $
9,911.6
Liabilities and equity
Current liabilities:
Current portion
of debt $
93.5 $
142.4
Accounts payable 560.2 557.4
Employee-
related
liabilities 114.3 144.9
Accrued interest 74.2 76.6
Other current
liabilities 232.3 174.9
Total current
liabilities 1,074.5 1,096.2
Debt, net of
current portion 5,023.0 6,782.3
Deferred income
tax liabilities 785.4 907.5
Other
liabilities 428.2 318.0
Total
liabilities 7,311.1 9,104.0
Redeemable equity:
Series A
preferred stock
at redemption
value - 2,297.3
Junior
convertible
preferred stock - 1,562.0
Total redeemable
equity - 3,859.3
Stockholders' equity (deficit):
Mandatory
convertible
preferred stock
including paid-
in capital 1,003.7
Common stock
including paid-
in capital 1,748.1 (2,746.8)
Accumulated
deficit (203.7) (238.4)
Accumulated
other
comprehensive
loss (85.9) (66.5)
Total
stockholders'
equity
(deficit) 2,462.2 (3,051.7)
Total
liabilities and
equity $
9,773.3 $
9,911.6
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Consolidated statements of cash flows
(in millions) Three months ended
Year ended
December 31, December 31,
2019 2018 2019 2018
---
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss) $
70.6 $
(53.3) $
37.8 $
(86.9)
Reconciling adjustments:
Depreciation and amortization 97.3 101.1 398.9 404.6
Stock-based compensation expense 10.5 3.9 67.9 18.4
Other restructuring charges 0.4 28.4 10.4 28.4
Provision for accounts receivable and inventory 12.2 6.2 35.1 25.7
Deferred income tax (benefit) expense (39.2) 31.8 (106.7) (103.9)
Effect of one-time transition tax - (35.8) (35.8)
Amortization of deferred financing costs 7.0 10.3 33.5 41.4
Loss on extinguishment of debt 3.5 73.7
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable 8.0 3.3 (68.9) (83.4)
Inventory 3.0 (21.3) (71.1) (41.1)
Accounts payable (2.8) 57.5 5.1 29.4
Other assets and liabilities (73.9) (47.1) (51.7) 1.3
Other, net (9.6) (15.1) (10.0) 2.4
Net cash provided by operating activities 87.0 69.9 354.0 200.5
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures (12.1) (5.4) (51.6) (37.7)
Other 0.7 5.4 9.5 14.5
Net cash used in investing activities $
(11.4)
$ $
(42.1) $
(23.2)
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Consolidated statements of cash flows (continued)
(in millions) Three months ended
Year ended
December 31, December 31,
2019 2018 2019 2018
---
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of stock, net of - 4,235.6
issuance costs
Redemption of series A preferred stock - (2,630.9)
Debt borrowings 1.3 35.7 1.3 35.7
Debt repayments (53.2) (90.1) (1,878.6) (185.5)
Cash paid for debt financing costs -
Payments of dividends on MCPS (16.2) (31.3)
Payments of contingent consideration - (4.6) (20.5)
Other 0.7 0.7
Net cash used in financing activities (67.4) (54.4) (307.8) (170.3)
Effect of currency rate changes on cash 4.2 (2.5) (2.5) (7.8)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents 12.4 13.0 1.6 (0.8)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, 176.9 174.7 187.7 188.5
beginning of period
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end $
189.3 $
187.7 $
189.3 $
187.7
of period
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures
(in millions) Three months ended
Year ended
December 31, December 31,
2019 2018 2019 2018
---
Net income (loss) $
70.6 $
(53.3) $
37.8 $
(86.9)
Amortization 77.5 78.8 312.3 321.3
Net foreign currency loss from financing activities 1.8 6.3 1.9 6.5
Other stock-based compensation expense (benefit) 3.3 (0.7) 36.8 (0.7)
Loss on extinguishment of debt 3.5 73.7
Restructuring and severance charges 4.5 24.1 24.3 81.2
Purchase accounting adjustments (3.5) (3.8) (10.7) (1.0)
VWR transaction, integration and planning 5.7 16.8 22.5 36.2
expenses
Other 3.0 3.1 3.2 8.5
Adjustment for U.S. tax reform act - 21.5 (27.3)
Income tax provision applicable to pretax (46.4) (27.4) (128.2) (104.9)
adjustments
Adjusted Net Income 120.0 65.4 373.6 232.9
Interest expense 98.0 135.1 440.0 523.8
Depreciation 19.8 22.3 86.6 83.3
Income tax provision applicable to Adjusted Net 25.8 12.9 131.0 105.3
Income
Adjusted EBITDA 263.6 235.7 1,031.2 945.3
Ongoing stock-based compensation expense 7.4 4.6 31.1 19.1
Write-offs of working capital and other assets 9.3 21.9 29.2 22.1
Long-term incentive plan (0.8) 1.5 4.3 9.6
Other (1.1) (0.7) 4.2 9.9
Management EBITDA $
278.4 $
263.0 $
1,100.0 $
1,006.0
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures (continued)
Earnings per share
(shares in millions) Three months ended
Year ended
December 31, December 31,
2019 2018 2019 2018
---
Diluted earnings (loss) per share (GAAP) $
0.09 $
(0.94) $
(0.84) $
(2.69)
Dilutive impact of convertible instruments 0.02 0.73 0.19 2.35
Normalization for shares issued in IPO - 0.13 0.71 0.21
Fully diluted earnings (loss) per share (non- 0.11 (0.08) 0.06 (0.13)
GAAP)
Amortization 0.12 0.12 0.49 0.50
Net foreign currency loss from financing activities - 0.01 0.01
Other stock-based compensation expense 0.01 0.06
Loss on extinguishment of debt 0.01 0.11
Restructuring and severance charges 0.01 0.04 0.04 0.13
Purchase accounting adjustments (0.01) (0.01) (0.02) (0.01)
VWR transaction, integration and planning expenses 0.01 0.03 0.03 0.06
Other - 0.01
Adjustment for U.S. tax reform act - 0.03 (0.04)
Income tax benefit applicable to pretax adjustments (0.07) (0.04) (0.20) (0.16)
Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP) $
0.19 $
0.10 $
0.58 $
0.36
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Diluted (GAAP) 582.1 132.7 401.2 132.7
Incremental shares excluded for GAAP 62.9 130.3 51.9 130.3
Normalization for shares issued in IPO (2.3) 379.7 189.6 379.7
Share count for Adjusted EPS (non-GAAP) 642.7 642.7 642.7 642.7
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures (continued)
Free cash flow and unlevered free cash flow
(in millions) Three months ended
Year ended
December 31, December 31,
2019 2018 2019 2018
---
Net cash provided by operating activities $
87.0 $
69.9 $
354.0 $
200.5
Capital expenditures (12.1) (5.4) (51.6) (37.7)
Free cash flow (non-GAAP) 74.9 64.5 302.4 162.8
Cash interest (net of tax)(1) 112.9 122.9 304.9 327.3
Unlevered free cash flow (non-GAAP) $
187.8 $
187.4 $
607.3 $
490.1
_____________
1 Cash interest tax-effected using tax rates of 26% and 32% for the three months and year ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively
Net leverage
(dollars
in
millions)
December 31,
2019 2018
---
Total
debt,
gross $
5,249.4 $
7,162.9
Less cash
and cash
equivalents (186.7) (184.7)
$
5,062.7 $
6,978.2
Trailing
twelve
months
Adjusted
EBITDA $
1,031.2 $
945.3
Trailing
twelve
months
ongoing
stock-
based
compensation
expense 31.1 19.1
Pro forma
adjustment
for
projected
synergies 26.8 29.7
$
1,089.1 $
994.1
Net
leverage
(non-
GAAP) 4.6 x 7.0 x
===
Avantor, Inc. and subsidiaries
Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures (continued)
Net sales
(in millions)
December 31, Reconciliation of reported change to
organic change
Reported Foreign Organic
change currency
impact
2019 2018
---
Three months ended:
Americas $
883.8 $
857.9 $
25.9 $
(0.1) $
26.0
Europe 540.3 536.0 4.3 (15.1) 19.4
AMEA 99.9 80.0 19.9 1.0 18.9
Total $
1,524.0 $
1,473.9 $
50.1 $
(14.2) $
64.3
Year ended:
Americas $
3,584.8 $
3,460.9 $
123.9 $
(6.5) $
130.4
Europe 2,102.0 2,095.3 6.7 (113.9) 120.6
AMEA 353.5 308.1 45.4 (2.9) 48.3
Total $
6,040.3 $
5,864.3 $
176.0 $
(123.3) $
299.3
Media Contact
Allison Hosak
Senior Vice President, Global Communications
Avantor
+1 610-573-2661
Allison.Hosak@Avantorsciences.com
Investor Relations Contact
Helen O'Donnell
Managing Director
Solebury Trout
+1-203-428-3213
Hodonnell@soleburytrout.com
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SOURCE Avantor and Financial News
