NCI Building Systems Reports Second Quarter 2018 Results

HOUSTON, June 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NCI Building Systems, Inc. (NYSE: NCS) ("NCI" or the "Company") today reported financial results for its second fiscal quarter ended April 29, 2018.

Second Quarter 2018 Financial and Operational Highlights:  

• Sales rose 8.7% to $457.1 million for the quarter, compared to $420.5 million in the prior year's second quarter
• Gross profit was $104.1 million or 22.8% of sales, compared to $100.8 million or 24.0% of sales in the second quarter of 2017
• The Company improved and replaced its debt structure, reducing its current effective cash interest rate from approximately 7.0% to 3.6% and extending the term to 2025
• Net income was a loss of $5.7 million for the quarter, compared to net income of $17.0 million in the prior year's second quarter. Adjusted Net Income was $16.4 million this quarter, compared to $11.5 million in the prior year's second quarter
• Net income per diluted common share for the quarter was a loss of $0.09, compared to income of $0.24 in the second quarter of fiscal 2017. There were several previously announced special items, which while positive for future operations including the debt refinancing and the sale of CENTRIA's China operations, resulted in charges during the quarter. Adjusted Net Income was $0.25 per diluted common share, an increase of 56.3%, compared to $0.16 in the prior year's second quarter

• Adjusted EBITDA was $39.7 million, or 8.7% of revenues, for the quarter, compared to $37.0 million, or 8.8% of revenues, in the prior year's second quarter
• Total consolidated backlog increased to $631.6 million at quarter end, up 10.8% year-over-year

"We are pleased with the strong second quarter performance of all our business segments, as we successfully maintained our commercial discipline in a rising cost environment," said Donald R. Riley, President and Chief Executive Officer. "NCI's solid backlog and bookings continue to support our favorable outlook for 2018, and our key economic indicators continue to track to our expectations for year-over-year growth.

"We are making good progress executing on our advanced manufacturing and continuous improvement initiatives. We believe the successful execution of these initiatives and the visibility provided by our backlog will position NCI well for the remainder of this fiscal year. Additionally during the quarter, we executed on two key priorities for the Company in improving our capital structure and completing the sale of our CENTRIA China business. These actions have simplified our operations, reduced risk and strengthened our balance sheet."

Second Quarter 2018 Results

Second quarter of fiscal 2018 sales increased to $457.1 million, up 8.7%, from $420.5 million in last year's second fiscal quarter, primarily due to continued commercial discipline in the pass-through of higher material costs across our segments, combined with volume growth in both the Metal Components and Insulated Metal Panel segments and growth in package volumes in the Metal Coil Coating segment.  

Gross profit increased 3.2% to $104.1 million this quarter, compared to $100.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 and was up sequentially from $91.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2018. Gross profit margins were 22.8% for the second quarter of fiscal 2018, compared to 24.0% in the second quarter of fiscal 2017 and was up sequentially 100 basis points from 21.8% in the first quarter of fiscal 2018. Gross margins in the second quarter were lower than the second quarter of the prior year primarily as a result of less favorable product mix in the IMP segment and incremental manufacturing costs in the Metal Coil Coating segment related to ramping-up additional shifts in preparation for higher volumes expected in the second half of fiscal 2018.  

Engineering, selling, general and administrative ("ESG&A") expenses were $74.4 million for the quarter, compared to $75.1 million in the prior year's second fiscal quarter. As a percentage of revenues, ESG&A expenses were 16.3% in the fiscal 2018 second quarter compared to 17.9% in the prior year's second fiscal quarter. The year-over-year decline in ESG&A expenses reflected the Company's ongoing cost reduction initiatives, partially offset by the impact of wage and information technology cost increases.

Operating income for the quarter was $19.0 million, including a previously disclosed $6.7 million charge related to the sale of CENTRIA's manufacturing facility in China, compared to $32.5 million in the second quarter 2017. Adjusted Operating Income, a non-GAAP financial measure which excludes certain special items, increased 15.3% to $27.3 million in the current quarter, compared to $23.6 million in the same period last year.

Net loss applicable to common shares in the quarter was $5.7 million, or $0.09 per diluted common share, compared to net income of $16.9 million, or $0.24 per diluted common share in the prior year's second quarter. Income was impacted by the following special items: a $21.9 million charge related to the extinguishment and refinancing of a portion of the Company's debt; a $6.7 million charge on the disposition of CENTRIA's China operations; a $1.1 million charge for strategic development and acquisition related costs and $0.5 million of restructuring and impairment charges, partially offset by the associated tax effect of these items. The second quarter of fiscal 2017 included a $9.6 million special gain on an insurance recovery, partially offset by the related tax effects. Excluding the impact of these special items, second quarter 2018 Adjusted Net Income, a non-GAAP measure, was $16.4 million, or $0.25 per diluted common share, compared to $11.5 million, or $0.16 per diluted common share, in the prior year's second quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, defined in accordance with the Company's credit agreement as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and certain other cash and non-cash items, was $39.7 million this quarter, compared to $37.0 million in the prior year's second quarter. Please see the reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA in the accompanying financial tables.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the second quarter were $35.3 million, compared to $49.7 million at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2017. Cash and cash equivalents increased sequentially $22.9 million from $12.4 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2018 due to operating earnings and improved utilization of accounts payable. NCI's net debt leverage ratio (net debt/EBITDA) at the end of the second quarter was 2.2x. As of April 29, 2018, the Company's $150.0 million asset based lending (ABL) facility remained undrawn.

Second Quarter 2018 Segment Performance

Sales in the Engineered Building Systems segment were $167.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2018, compared to $162.6 million in the prior year period, primarily as a result of commercial discipline passing through higher input costs, partially offset by lower tonnage volumes. Operating income increased 34.5% to $9.3 million this quarter, compared to $6.9 million in the prior year's second quarter. Adjusted Operating Income, a non-GAAP measure, increased 32.3% to $9.6 million this quarter, compared to $7.2 million in the second quarter 2017. Operating margins increased as a result of reduced ESG&A costs and an emphasis on order profitability over volumes.

The Metal Components segment generated $168.5 million in sales during the quarter, an increase of 8.8% from $154.9 million in the prior year's second quarter, led by higher external volumes across the segment and the disciplined pass-through of increasing input costs, despite a less favorable mix in the overhead doors product lines. Operating income was $22.1 million in the second fiscal quarter of 2018 compared to $20.0 million in the same period last year. Adjusted Operating Income was $22.2 million in the quarter, compared to $19.7 million in the prior year's second quarter. The Metal Components segment's operating margins increased as a result of improved operating leverage on higher volumes.

The Insulated Metal Panels segment generated $113.4 million in sales during the quarter, an increase of 10.2% from $102.9 million in the prior year's second quarter, as a result of commercial discipline emphasizing project profitability over volume in a period of increasing input costs. Operating income was $1.5 million for the quarter compared to $19.4 million in the second quarter of 2017. The second quarter of fiscal 2018 had a $6.7 million special charge for the disposition of the CENTRIA's China business and the second quarter of fiscal 2017 had a special gain of $9.2 million for an insurance recovery.  Adjusted Operating Income was $8.4 million, compared to $10.4 million in the same period last year. The IMP segment's operating margins decreased from the prior year as a result of the special items noted above and a change in product mix. The reduction in year-over-year margins was expected due to the unusually large amount of higher margin architectural panels shipped in the prior year quarter.

Sales in the Metal Coil Coating segment were $95.2 million during the second quarter of fiscal 2018, an increase of 9.8% from $86.7 million in the prior year's second quarter, as a result of higher volumes in package sales and the pass-through of rising material costs. Operating income and Adjusted Operating Income were both $7.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2018 compared to $6.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2017, respectively. Operating margins in the Metal Coil Coating segment improved as a result of lower ESG&A costs, partially offset by lower manufacturing efficiency due to ramping-up additional shifts to support increasing activity levels.

Market Commentary

The key leading indicators that NCI follows and that typically have the most meaningful correlation to nonresidential low-rise construction starts are the American Institute of Architects' ("AIA") Architecture Mixed Use Index, the Dodge Residential single family starts and the Conference Board Leading Economic Index ("LEI"). Historically, there has been a very high correlation to the volume of nonresidential low-rise construction starts when the three leading indicators are combined and then seasonally adjusted. Based on the combined forward projection of these metrics, and assuming a 9- to 14-month historical lag for each metric, the Company continues to expect new nonresidential low-rise construction starts in the Company's addressable market for its legacy businesses to grow 2.0% to 4.0% in fiscal 2018.

Guidance

Looking ahead, NCI's key economic indicators are tracking to expectation and year-over-year growth in both bookings and backlog support the Company's favorable outlook for fiscal 2018. For the third quarter of fiscal 2018, NCI expects revenues to be in the range of $525 to $545 million and Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $56 to $66 million.

The Company has provided additional detailed financial guidance in the quarterly supplemental presentation that can be found at www.ncibuildingsystems.com under the "Investors" section.

Conference Call Information

The NCI Building Systems, Inc. second quarter fiscal 2018 conference call is scheduled for Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. CT). Please dial 1-412-902-0003 or 1-877-407-0672 (toll-free) to participate in the call. To listen to a live broadcast of the call over the Internet or to review the archived call, please visit the Company's website at www.ncibuildingsystems.com. To access the taped telephone replay, please dial 1-201-612-7415 or 1-877-660-6853 (toll-free) and the passcode 13680060# when prompted. The taped replay will be available two hours after the call through June 20, 2018. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's website under the Event Calendar, Calls & Webcast section of the Investor Relations page of the NCI website for approximately 90 days.

About NCI Building Systems

NCI Building Systems, Inc. is one of North America's largest integrated manufacturers of metal products for the nonresidential building industry. NCI is comprised of a family of companies operating manufacturing facilities across the United States, Canada and Mexico with additional sales and distribution offices throughout the United States and Canada. For more information visit www.ncibuildingsystems.com.

Contact:

K. Darcey Matthews
Vice President, Investor Relations
281-897-7785

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe," "anticipate," "guidance," "plan," "potential," "expect," "should," "will," "forecast" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs concerning future events. As a result, these forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions, forecasts, and estimates and, therefore, these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual performance to differ materially from that projected in such statements. Such forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning our market commentary and expectations for new nonresidential low-rise construction starts in fiscal 2018 and our financial outlook and guidance, including our third quarter fiscal 2018 forecasted revenues and Adjusted EBITDA and other consolidated financial performance guidance. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, industry cyclicality and seasonality; adverse weather conditions; challenging economic conditions affecting the nonresidential construction industry; volatility in the U.S. economy and abroad, generally, and in the credit markets; our substantial indebtedness and our ability to incur substantially more indebtedness; our ability to generate the significant cash flow required to service our existing debt, including our secured term loan facility, and obtain future financing; our ability to comply with the financial tests and covenants in our existing and future debt obligations; operational limitations or restrictions in connection with our debt; increases in interest rates; recognition of asset impairment charges; commodity price increases and/or limited availability of raw materials, including steel; interruptions in our supply chain; our ability to make strategic acquisitions accretive to earnings; retention and replacement of management and other key personnel; enforcement and obsolescence of intellectual property rights; fluctuations in customer demand; costs related to environmental clean-ups and liabilities; competitive activity and pricing pressure; increases in energy prices; volatility of the Company's stock price; effect on the price of the Company's common stock of future sales of the Company's common stock held by our sponsor; substantial governance and other rights held by our sponsor; breaches of our information system security measures and damage to our major information management systems; hazards that may cause personal injury or property damage, thereby subjecting us to liabilities and possible losses, which may not be covered by insurance; changes in laws or regulations, including the Dodd-Frank Act; the timing and amount of our stock repurchases; and costs and other effects of legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations, claims and other matters. See also the "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 29, 2017, and other risks described in documents subsequently filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC, which identify other important factors, though not necessarily all such factors, that could cause future outcomes to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.