Littelfuse (LFUS) Boosts Q3 Outlook

Littelfuse, Inc. (Nasdaq: LFUS) announced revised guidance for the third quarter of 2016 and updates on its custom business within its industrial segment as follows:

• Sales for the third quarter are now expected to be in the range of $279 million to $281 million, compared to previous guidance of $262 million to $272 million. (The Street sees sales of $268.6 million.) The revision in the third quarter guidance is primarily due to demand exceeding the forecast in the automotive segment and higher than expected PolySwitch business revenue. The revised guidance also includes approximately $5.5 million in revenue from the acquisition of the ON Semiconductor portfolio announced on August 29, 2016.
• Excluding certain special items described below*, the adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance range for the third quarter is now expected to be in the range of $1.85 to $1.89, compared to previous guidance of $1.36 to $1.50. (The Street was looking for EPS of $1.44.) The revision in the third quarter guidance is primarily due to the following:
  • Operating contributors including earnings from the higher revenue noted above and higher gross margins in the electronics segment due to favorable product mix, strong operational performance and currency benefits. In addition, accelerated PolySwitch integration activities are expected to drive higher cost savings than anticipated. These items are expected to have an approximate benefit of $0.22 per share in the third quarter.
  • The company is revising its full year forecasted adjusted effective tax rate to 18% compared to a prior full year forecasted adjusted effective tax rate of 22%. The year-to-date tax rate adjustment in the third quarter is expected to have an approximate benefit of $0.22 per share. The company also expects its forecasted adjusted effective tax rate for 2017 to be in the range of 17 – 19%.

For the third quarter, the company expects to recognize pretax special charges in the range of $15 to $20 million not included in the adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance noted above. The primary special charge is a non-cash impairment charge related to the custom business within the industrial segment, due to continued end market softness in the potash mining industry. In addition, during October, the company completed the sale of its portable electrical house (e-house) business, located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This business was included in the company’s custom business within the industrial segment, and mainly served mining and utility markets.

Littelfuse will host a conference call Tuesday, October 25, 2016, at 8:00 a.m. Central / 9:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss the revised third quarter guidance. Listeners can access the call by dialing 1-888-771-4371 and entering the passcode 43642250. The call will be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed through the company’s website: www.littelfuse.com. The call will be available for replay on the company’s website.

The company will discuss its third quarter financial results and fourth quarter 2016 guidance on the previously announced November 3, 2016 conference call.

* Littelfuse provides earnings-per-share guidance on a non-GAAP (adjusted) basis. GAAP items excluded from guidance may include the after-tax impact of items including acquisition and integration costs, impairment and severance charges, foreign exchange adjustments and unusual gains and losses. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors, and could be material to results computed in accordance with GAAP. At this time, Littelfuse is not able to forecast the excluded items to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure without unreasonable efforts.

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