KapStone Reports First Quarter Results

NORTHBROOK, Ill., April 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (NYSE:KS) today reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017. As compared to 2016's first quarter, results for 2017's first quarter are below:

• Net sales of $766 million up $28 million, or 4 percent
• Net income of $6 million down $10 million, or 63 percent
• Diluted EPS of $0.06 down $0.11 per share, or 65 percent  

Non U.S. GAAP financial measures for the 2017 first quarter compared to 2016 are as follows:

• Adjusted EBITDA of $81 million down $7 million, or 9 percent   
• Adjusted net income of $15 million down $7 million, or 32 percent      
• Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.15 down $0.08 per share, or 35 percent

Matt Kaplan, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "While first quarter results were disappointing, we are experiencing exceptional positive momentum.  Demand for containerboard, corrugated boxes, and kraft paper is strong.  Pricing across our important product lines is rapidly increasing.  Our product mix has improved as domestic containerboard and box sales have increased while exports have declined. 

"Victory Packaging, our distribution business, had a solid first quarter and is entering its seasonally strong portion of the year.   Our operations, after a slow start in January and February, are improving.   All of these factors combined contributed to a strong March which accounted for about 45 percent of our adjusted quarterly EBITDA and point to an improved second quarter and a strong back half of 2017."

First Quarter Operating Highlights

Consolidated net sales of $766 million in the first quarter of 2017 increased by $28 million, or 4 percent compared to $738 million for the 2016 first quarter. The increase is primarily due to a better product mix, higher containerboard prices and higher sales volume. The Company sold 699,000 tons of paper during the first quarter of 2017 compared to 692,000 tons a year earlier. The Company's average mill selling price of $648 per ton in the first quarter of 2017 increased by $23 per ton, or about 4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016 due to higher domestic and export containerboard prices and a favorable product mix. Mill selling prices increased by $31 per ton or 5 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2016 due to a favorable product mix.

Operating income of $20 million for the 2017 first quarter decreased by $14 million, or 42 percent, compared to the 2016 first quarter. The lower operating earnings primarily reflect higher fiber costs due to the rapid increase in OCC costs over the last six months.  In addition, there were one-time costs associated with ratifying a union contract at the Company's North Charleston paper mill and higher operating costs, including restoration of employee benefits, stock compensation expenses and change in the fair value of a contingent consideration liability. These items were partially offset by a better product mix, higher containerboard prices and lower severance expenses.

Interest expense, net, was $11 million for the first quarter of 2017, up $1 million from a year ago as a result of higher interest rates. Our weighted average interest rate as of March 31, 2017 is 2.6 percent compared to 2.1 percent as of March 31, 2016. 

The effective income tax rate for the 2017 first quarter was 41.0 percent compared to 34.5 percent for the 2016 first quarter. The higher effective income tax rate in the current quarter reflects the Company adopting a new accounting standard which requires the tax impact of elements of stock compensation to be recorded in the provision for income taxes.   

Cash Flow and Working Capital

Cash and cash equivalents of $8 million as of March 31, 2017, declined by $21 million from December 31, 2016. Operating activities provided $33 million during the first quarter. Investing activities used $72 million, including $39 million for capital expenditures and $33.5 million for an acquisition. Financing activities provided $18 million of cash in the current quarter reflecting higher borrowings, partially offset by a quarterly dividend payment.   

On March 8, 2017, our Board of Directors approved a regular $0.10 per share cash dividend which was paid on April 12th.

At March 31, 2017, the Company had approximately $388 million of working capital and $457 million of revolver borrowing capacity. 

Conclusion

In summary, Kaplan commented, "Looking ahead to the second quarter, I expect to see our operations continue to perform better. In addition, operating earnings should benefit from our March price increases and a better product mix, but will be impacted by higher scheduled maintenance outage costs and high OCC costs." 

Conference Call

KapStone will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. CDT, Thursday, April 27, 2017, to discuss the Company's financial results for the 2017 first quarter. All interested parties are invited to listen and may do so by either accessing a simultaneous broadcast webcast on KapStone's website, http://www.kapstonepaper.com, or for those unable to access the webcast, the following dial-in numbers are available:

Domestic:  888-608-7946
International:  484-747-6633
Participant Passcode:  5574428

A presentation to be viewed in conjunction with the call will also be available on our website, http://www.kapstonepaper.com, in the "Investors" section.

Replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days on the Company's website following the call.

About the Company

Headquartered in Northbrook, IL, KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation is the fifth largest producer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products and is the largest kraft paper producer in the United States. The Company has four paper mills, 24 converting plants and over 60 distribution centers. The business has approximately 6,400 employees.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, including "EBITDA", "Adjusted EBITDA", "Adjusted Net Income", and "Adjusted Diluted EPS" to measure our operating performance. Management uses these measures to focus on the on-going operations, and believes it is useful to investors because they enable them to perform meaningful comparisons of past and present operating results. The Company believes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide useful information to investors because they improve the comparability of the financial results between periods and provide for greater transparency to key measures used to evaluate the performance of the Company. Management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for evaluating the Company's performance against competitors and as a primary measure for employees' incentive programs. Reconciliations of Net Income to EBITDA, EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA, Net Income to Adjusted Net Income, and Diluted EPS to Adjusted Diluted EPS are included in the financial schedules contained in this press release. However, these measures should not be construed as an alternative to any other measure of performance determined in accordance with GAAP.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are not historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "would,' "expect," "project," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential," "outlook," or "continue," the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These statements reflect management's current views and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which are beyond the Company's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: (1) industry conditions; (2) market and economic factors; (3) results of legal proceedings and compliance costs; (4) the ability to achieve and effectively manage growth; (5) the ability to pay the Company's debt obligations; (6) the ability to carry out the Company's strategic initiatives and manage associated costs; (7) managing labor relations; and (8) realizing the synergies and benefits of the Victory Packaging acquisition and other strategic investments. Further information on these and other risks and uncertainties is provided under Item 1A "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and elsewhere in reports that the Company files with the SEC. These filings can be found on KapStone's Web site at http://www.kapstonepaper.com and the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances.

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SOURCE KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation