UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 8-K

 

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 5, 2015

 

 

P. H. Glatfelter Company

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Pennsylvania		001-03560		23-0628360
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

 

96 S. George Street, Suite 520, York, Pennsylvania		17401
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (717) 225-4711

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

¨	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

¨	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

¨	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

¨	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

 

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Item 2.02

Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On May 5, 2015, the Company reported its results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2015. A copy of the press release issued by the Company is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1. The Company also held a teleconference call that same day, during which management discussed the Company’s financial performance for the first quarter of 2015 and other matters relating to its business. A copy of the teleconference transcript is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.2.

The information furnished in this Current Report on Form 8-K and Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 attached hereto shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

 

Item 9.01

Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

 

Exhibit Number		Description
99.1		A copy of the press release dated May 5, 2015, to report results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2015
99.2		A copy of the transcript from the Company’s teleconference held on May 5, 2015, to discuss its first quarter 2015 results of operations

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: May 6, 2015

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Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit Number		Description
99.1		A copy of the press release dated May 5, 2015, to report results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2015
99.2		A copy of the transcript from the Company’s teleconference held on May 5, 2015, to discuss its first quarter 2015 results of operations

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

						Corporate Headquarters   96 South George Street   York, Pennsylvania 17401 U.S.A.   www.glatfelter.com
For Immediate Release				Contacts:
				Investors:		Media:
				John P. Jacunski		William T. Yanavitch
				(717) 225-2794		(717) 225-2747

GLATFELTER REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2015 EARNINGS

YORK, Pennsylvania – May 5, 2015 – Glatfelter (NYSE: GLT) today reported first-quarter 2015 net income of $13.9 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, and adjusted earnings of $13.4 million, or $0.30 per diluted share. For the first quarter of 2014, net income was $14.6 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, and adjusted earnings were $14.1 million or $0.32 per diluted share.

Consolidated net sales totaled $417.5 million in the first quarter of 2015 compared with $455.7 million in the first quarter of 2014. Currency translation adjustments unfavorably impacted the year-over-year comparison by $28 million reflecting a significantly stronger U.S. dollar.

“The first quarter of 2015 began with a number of challenges including the significant weakening of the Euro, the market situation in Russia and the operational cost penalties in Specialty Papers.” said Dante C. Parrini, chairman and chief executive officer. “Considering these circumstances, we generated solid results in the first quarter with adjusted earnings slightly below a year ago. More importantly, we are continuing to position the company to capitalize on opportunities in our key markets and to withstand the ongoing macroeconomic headwinds. Our planned and purposeful efforts include introducing new, more competitive products in the Russian market and gaining additional U.S. dollar denominated business. We also remain focused on implementing our cost control measures and are on pace to achieve our targets of a 3% to 5% workforce reduction and $25 million to $30 million of cost savings in 2015.”

Mr. Parrini continued, “Based on the progress we made implementing our key initiatives in the first quarter and our plans for the rest of the year, I believe our business is well prepared to address the challenges we are facing and deliver on our 2015 growth opportunities and long-term business strategy.”

 

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Glatfelter Reports 2015 First-Quarter Results		page 2

 

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of net income on a GAAP basis to adjusted earnings, a non-GAAP measure:

 

		Three months ended March 31
		2015								2014
In thousands, except per share		After tax amounts				Diluted EPS				After tax amounts				Diluted EPS
Net income		$	13,925			$	0.32			$	14,648			$	0.33
Timberland sales and related costs			(1,617	)			(0.04	)			(507	)			(0.01	)
Workforce efficiency charges			953				0.02				—				—
Acquisition and integration related costs			113				—				—				—
Adjusted earnings		$	13,374			$	0.30			$	14,141			$	0.32

The sum of individual per share amounts set forth above may not agree to adjusted earnings per share due to rounding.

First-Quarter Business Unit Results

Composite Fibers

 

		Three months ended March 31
Dollars in thousands		2015				2014				Change
Tons shipped			37,960				39,978				(2,018	)			(5.1	)%
Net sales		$	135,294			$	158,577			$	(23,283	)			(14.7	)%
Operating income			14,653				19,255				(4,602	)			(23.9	)%
Operating margin			10.8	%			12.1	%

Net sales for this business unit declined $23.3 million, or 14.7 percent, due to $20.4 million of unfavorable currency translation together with lower shipping volumes and $2.8 million from lower selling prices, partially offset by the inclusion of Spezialpapierfabrik (SPO), which was acquired in the fourth quarter of 2014. Shipping volumes declined 5.1 percent primarily due to reduced demand for nonwoven wall cover, which is directly impacted by the geopolitical and currency instabilities in Russia and Ukraine.

Composite Fibers’ first-quarter 2015 operating income decreased $4.6 million to $14.7 million compared to the year-ago period. The decline in operating income was primarily related to unfavorable foreign currency translation, which negatively impacted results by $2.8 million, the impact of lower selling prices and a $1.3 million impact from lower production to manage inventory levels. These factors were partially offset by a $3.0 million benefit from lower raw material and energy prices.

Advanced Airlaid Materials

 

		Three months ended March 31
Dollars in thousands		2015				2014				Change
Tons shipped			24,060				25,096				(1,036	)			(4.1	)%
Net sales		$	62,299			$	71,313			$	(9,014	)			(12.6	)%
Operating income			5,262				5,854				(592	)			(10.1	)%
Operating margin			8.4	%			8.2	%

 

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Glatfelter Reports 2015 First-Quarter Results		page 3

 

On a year-over-year basis, Advanced Airlaid Materials’ net sales decreased $9.0 million largely due to $7.2 million of unfavorable foreign currency translation and a 4.1 percent decline in shipping volumes which more than offset a $1.7 million benefit from higher selling prices.

First-quarter 2015 operating income declined $0.6 million compared to the same quarter a year-ago as the benefit from higher selling prices was more than offset by $0.9 million from higher raw material and energy prices and $1.2 million from the adverse impact of foreign currency translation.

Specialty Papers

 

		Three months ended March 31
Dollars in thousands		2015				2014				Change
Tons shipped			198,673				202,227				(3,554	)			(1.8	)%
Net sales		$	219,876			$	225,831			$	(5,955	)			(2.6	)%
Energy and related sales, net			2,068				5,262				(3,194	)			(60.7	)%
Operating income			9,462				2,410				7,052				292.6	%
Operating margin			4.3	%			1.1	%

On a year-over-year basis, Specialty Papers’ net sales decreased $6.0 million, or 2.6 percent due to lower shipping volumes and mix changes partially offset by a $1.8 million benefit from higher average selling prices.

Operating income increased $7.1 million in the year-over-year comparison including the impact of higher selling prices and $2.6 million from lower raw material and energy prices. In 2015, problems with a power boiler in Pennsylvania and an evaporator upset in Ohio negatively impacted earnings by $9 million. In 2014, operating income was negatively impacted by $16 million due to evaporator issues in Ohio and excess costs resulting from severe weather conditions. Energy and related sales decreased $3.2 million in the comparison as severe weather conditions in 2014 resulted in higher selling prices for excess power.

Other Financial Information

Pension expense totaled $2.8 million and $1.5 million for the first quarters of 2015 and 2014, respectively. The increase reflects the impact of lower discount rates and changes to mortality assumptions. For 2015, the Company expects full year pension expense to increase to approximately $11.5 million. Because the Company’s qualified plan remains overfunded, a cash contribution is not expected for the foreseeable future.

The Company completed the sale of 1,370 acres of timberlands during the first quarter of 2015 for $3.0 million and realized an after-tax gain of $1.6 million.

During the first quarter of 2015, the Company eliminated approximately 1.3 percent of its workforce in connection with the global workforce efficiency and cost reduction program initiated earlier in the year and recorded charges totaling, on a pre-tax basis, $1.3 million for severance and related costs.

The Company recorded an income tax provision of $4.3 million on adjusted pre-tax earnings resulting in an effective tax rate of 24.5 percent compared with an effective tax rate of 16.5 percent in the same quarter a year ago. The effective tax rate in the first quarter of 2014 reflects a $2.2 million tax benefit related to the reduction of deferred tax liabilities in connection with the restructuring of non-U.S. legal entities.

 

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Glatfelter Reports 2015 First-Quarter Results		page 4

 

Balance Sheet and Other Information

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $71.6 million as of March 31, 2015, and net debt was $315.1 million compared with $304.8 million at the end of 2014. (Refer to the calculation of this measure provided in the tables at the end of this release.)

Capital expenditures totaled $21.7 million in the first quarter of 2015 compared with $14.4 million in the same period of 2014. For 2015, total capital expenditures are estimated at $110 million to $120 million, including approximately $40 million related to Specialty Papers’ environmental compliance projects.

Adjusted free cash flow for the first quarter of 2015 was a use of $18.4 million compared with a use of $24.2 million in the same quarter of 2014. (Refer to the calculation of these measures provided in this release.)

Outlook

Composite Fibers’ shipping volumes are expected to be approximately 10 percent higher in the second quarter than the first quarter of 2015. Selling prices and raw material and energy prices are expected to be in-line with the first quarter.

Shipping volumes for Advanced Airlaid Materials in the second quarter of 2015 are expected to be in line with the first quarter. Average raw material prices and selling prices are also expected to be in-line with the first quarter.

For Specialty Papers, the Company expects shipping volumes in the second quarter of 2015 to decline slightly compared with the first quarter. Overall selling prices are expected to be in-line with the first quarter of 2015 and input costs are expected to decrease slightly. The Company also plans to complete the annual maintenance outages at its facilities in the second quarter of 2015. The outages are expected to adversely impact operating profit by approximately $34 million, pre-tax, compared with $28 million in the second quarter of 2014 due to an expanded scope of work.

Conference Call

As previously announced, the Company will hold a conference call at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern) today to discuss its first-quarter results. The Company’s earnings release and an accompanying financial supplement, which includes significant financial information to be discussed on the conference call, will be available on Glatfelter’s Investor Relations website at the address indicated below. Information related to the conference call is as follows:

 

What:		Glatfelter’s 1st Quarter 2015 Earnings Release Conference Call
When:		Tuesday, May 5, 2015, 11:00 a.m. (ET)
Number:		US dial 888.335.5539
		International dial 973.582.2857
Conference ID:		23493734
Webcast:		http://www.glatfelter.com/about_us/investor_relations/default.aspx
Rebroadcast Dates:		May 5, 2015, 2:00 p.m. through May 19, 2015, 11:59 p.m
Rebroadcast Number:		Within US dial 855.859.2056
		International dial 404.537.3406
Conference ID:		23493734

 

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Glatfelter Reports 2015 First-Quarter Results		page 5

 

Interested persons who wish to hear the live webcast should go to the website prior to the starting time to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements included in this press release which pertain to future financial and business matters are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company uses words such as “anticipates”, “believes”, “expects”, “future”, “intends” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable or uncontrollable factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to: changes in industry, business, market, political and economic conditions in the U.S. and other countries in which the Company does business, demand for or pricing of its products, changes in tax legislation, governmental laws, regulations and policies, initiatives of regulatory authorities, technological changes and innovations, market growth rates, cost reduction initiatives and our ability to successfully integrate Spezialpapierfabrik Oberschmitten Gmbh (SPO) and achieve the expected results of the acquisition, including, without limitation, the acquisition being accretive. In light of these risks, uncertainties and other factors, the forward-looking matters discussed in this press release may not occur and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and Glatfelter undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release. More information about these factors is contained in Glatfelter’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.glatfelter.com.

About Glatfelter

Glatfelter is a global supplier of specialty papers and fiber-based engineered materials, offering innovation, technical expertise, and world-class service. Headquartered in York, PA, U.S. operations include facilities in Spring Grove, PA and Chillicothe and Fremont, OH. International operations include facilities in Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the Philippines, and sales and distribution offices in Russia and China. Glatfelter’s sales approximate $1.8 billion annually and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GLT. Additional information may be found at www.glatfelter.com.

 

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		page 6

 

P. H. Glatfelter Company and subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Income

(unaudited)

 

		Three months ended March 31
In thousands, except per share		2015				2014
Net sales		$	417,469			$	455,721
Energy and related sales, net			2,068				5,262
Total revenues			419,537				460,983
Costs of products sold			367,429				405,943
Gross profit			52,108				55,040
Selling, general and administrative expenses			31,272				33,551
Gains on dispositions of plant, equipment and timberlands, net			(2,654	)			(809	)
Operating income			23,490				22,298
Non-operating income (expense)
Interest expense			(4,508	)			(4,812	)
Interest income			65				61
Other, net			(187	)			211
Total other expense			(4,630	)			(4,540	)
Income before income taxes			18,860				17,758
Income tax provision			4,935				3,110
Net income		$	13,925			$	14,648
Earnings per share
Basic		$	0.32			$	0.34
Diluted			0.32				0.33
Cash dividends declared per common share		$	0.11			$	0.11
Weighted average shares outstanding
Basic			43,252				43,366
Diluted			43,949				44,360

 

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		page 7

 

Business Unit Financial Information

(unaudited)

 

Three months ended March 31
		Composite Fibers								Advanced Airlaid Materials								Specialty Papers								Other and Unallocated								Total
Dollars in millions
		2015				2014				2015				2014				2015				2014				2015				2014				2015				2014
Net sales		$	135.3			$	158.6			$	62.3			$	71.3			$	219.9			$	225.8			$	—			$	—			$	417.5			$	455.7
Energy and related sales, net			—				—				—				—				2.1				5.3				—				—				2.1				5.3
Total revenue			135.3				158.6				62.3				71.3				222.0				231.1				—				—				419.5				461.0
Costs of products sold			109.0				126.0				55.1				63.1				200.4				215.0				2.9				1.8				367.4				405.9
Gross profit (loss)			26.3				32.6				7.2				8.2				21.6				16.1				(2.9	)			(1.8	)			52.1				55.0
SG&A			11.6				13.3				1.9				2.3				12.1				13.7				5.6				4.3				31.3				33.6
Gains on dispositions of plant, equipment and timberlands, net			—				—				—				—				—				—				(2.7	)			(0.8	)			(2.7	)			(0.8	)
Total operating income (loss)			14.7				19.3				5.3				5.9				9.5				2.4				(5.8	)			(5.2	)			23.5				22.3
Non operating expense			—				—				—				—				—				—				(4.6	)			(4.5	)			(4.6	)			(4.5	)
Income (loss) before income taxes		$	14.7			$	19.3			$	5.3			$	5.9			$	9.5			$	2.4			$	(10.4	)		$	(9.8	)		$	18.9			$	17.8
Supplementary Data
Net tons sold (thousands)			38.0				40.0				24.1				25.1				198.7				202.2				—				—				260.7				267.3
Depreciation, depletion and amortization		$	6.7			$	7.6			$	2.2			$	2.3			$	6.6			$	8.3			$	0.5			$	0.5			$	16.0			$	18.6
Capital expenditures			5.9				6.0				1.3				1.5				13.2				6.2				1.3				0.8				21.7				14.4

The sum of individual amounts set forth above may not agree to the consolidated financial statements included herein due to rounding.

 

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		page 8

 

Selected Financial Information

(unaudited)

 

		Three months ended March 31
In thousands		2015				2014
Cash Flow Data
Cash provided (used) by:
Operating activities		$	2,155			$	(10,210	)
Investing activities			(20,623	)			(13,596	)
Financing activities			(7,190	)			(24,328	)
Depreciation, depletion and amortization			15,975				18,615
Capital expenditures			21,749				14,435
		March 31 2015				December 31 2014
Balance Sheet Data
Cash and cash equivalents		$	71,570			$	99,837
Total assets			1,487,257				1,561,504
Total debt			386,642				404,612
Shareholders’ equity			622,869				649,109

 

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		page 9

 

Reconciliation of GAAP Financial Information to Non-GAAP Financial Information

This press release includes a discussion of earnings before the effects of certain specifically identified items, which is referred to as adjusted earnings, a non-GAAP measure. The Company uses non-GAAP adjusted earnings to supplement the understanding of its consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP adjusted earnings is meant to present the financial performance of the Company’s core operations, which consists of the production and sale of specialty papers, composite fibers papers and airlaid non-woven materials. Management and the Company’s Board of Directors use non-GAAP adjusted earnings to evaluate the performance of the Company’s fundamental business in relation to prior periods. The performance of the Company’s operations is evaluated based upon numerous items such as tons sold, average selling prices, gross margins and overhead, among others. Gains on the sale of timberlands, acquisition and integration related costs, and workforce efficiency charges, among others, are excluded from the Company’s calculation of non-GAAP adjusted earnings because management believes each of these items is unique and not part of the Company’s core business, and will only impact the Company’s financial results for a limited period of time. Gains from timberland sales are distinct from revenues generated from product sales. Unlike items such as cost of raw materials and overhead costs, acquisition and integration related costs, and workforce efficiency charges, are unique items that do not represent direct costs incurred in the manufacture and sale of the Company’s products.

Unlike net income determined in accordance with GAAP, non-GAAP adjusted earnings does not reflect all charges and gains recorded by the Company for the applicable period and, therefore, does not present a complete picture of the Company’s results of operations for the respective period. However, non-GAAP adjusted earnings provides a measure of how the Company’s core operations are performing, which management believes is useful to investors because it allows comparison of such operations from period to period. Non-GAAP adjusted earnings should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

 

Calculation of Adjusted Free Cash Flow		Three months ended March 31
In thousands		2015				2014
Cash from operations		$	2,155			$	(10,210	)
Less: Capital expenditures			(21,749	)			(14,435	)
Add back: BART/MACT environmental compliance			5,286				452
Exclude: Cellulosic biofuel/Alternative fuel mixture credits			(4,065	)			—
Adjusted free cash flow		$	(18,373	)		$	(24,193	)
Net Debt		March 31				December 31
In thousands		2015				2014
Current portion of long-term debt		$	6,885			$	5,734
Long term debt			379,757				398,878
Total			386,642				404,612
Less: Cash			(71,570	)			(99,837	)
Net Debt		$	315,072			$	304,775

 

Exhibit 99.2

P. H. Glatfelter Company (NYSE:GLT)

Q1 2015 Earnings Conference Call

May 5, 2015 11:00 ET

Executives

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Analysts

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

George Livadas - BMO Capital Markets

Debbie Jones - Deutsche

Operator

Good morning. My name is Jordan and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Glatfelter’s First Quarter Earnings Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers’ remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Thank you. John Jacunski, you may begin your conference.

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Jordan. Good morning and welcome to Glatfelter’s 2015 first quarter earnings conference call. This is John Jacunski. I am the company’s CFO.

Before we begin our presentation, I have a few standard reminders. During our call this morning, we will use the term adjusted earnings as well as other non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these financial measures to our GAAP based results is included in today’s earnings release and in the investor slides. We will also make forward-looking statements today that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Our 2014 Form 10-K filed with the SEC and today’s release, both of which are available on our website, disclose factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of today and we undertake no obligation to update them.

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And finally, we have made available a slide presentation to accompany our comments on this morning’s call. You may access the slides on our website or through this morning’s webcast provider.

I will now turn the call over to Dante Parrini, Glatfelter’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, John. Good morning and thank you for joining us to discuss our first quarter results. Let me start on Slide 3. As we enter 2015 we faced a number of challenges including a significantly weakening euro, volatile market conditions in Russia, Ukraine, weak economic growth in Europe and some costly operational disruptions in specialty papers. During our last earnings call, I outlined several steps we are taking targeted to offset much of the impact from these challenging conditions and I am pleased with the progress we have made so far this year.

For the first quarter, we generated adjusted net income of $13.4 million, or $0.30 per share, down slightly compared to $0.32 per share in 2014. Our first quarter results were reduced by $0.08 per share due to the net impact of foreign currency translation. Total revenue for our business was down 8% compared to the year ago quarter. On a constant currency basis, revenue was down about 2%.

Revenue for composite fibers was down 15% in the quarter, but down only 2% when adjusting for the impact of currency translation. We had strong growth in coffee and technical specialties and demand for tea products remains solid. However, orders for non-woven wall cover to Russia and Ukraine were weak during the quarter, due to the significant decline of their respective currencies. In anticipation of this situation we quickly introduced a low basis weight and more cost competitive product for this market. We began to regain share with our customers in March and we expect much stronger demand in the second quarter than we had in the first. Operating profit for this business fell 24% to $14.7 million compared to the record first quarter last year. This was driven by the impact of foreign currency translation and lower pricing and shipments of non-woven wall cover products, including downtime taken to manage inventory levels.

Advanced Airlaid Materials had a solid quarter, although operating profit was down 10% due to foreign currency translation and shipments were off 4%. We still see good growth opportunities in the core markets for this business and attribute the lower volume to the normal ebb and flow of orders as customers manage their inventory levels.

Revenue for specialty papers decreased 3% driven by shipping volumes that were down 2%, although we again outperformed the broader uncoated free sheet market. The market remained stable with selling prices up over the year ago period, but down slightly on a sequential quarter basis. Both the first quarter of this year and last year included significant cost penalties related to operational disruptions. So, while operating profit was $7 million higher than a year ago period, the results were below our expectations. We have addressed the issues that caused the cost penalties and are working to improve our operating processes and procedures that we expect will lead to improved results.

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During the first quarter, we made substantial progress on our workforce and cost reduction initiatives. We have a total cost savings target of $25 million to $30 million in 2015 that includes a workforce reduction of 3% to 5%. As of the end of the first quarter, we have reduced our total headcount by about 1.3% and generated cost savings of approximately $4 million. So we are on plan to achieve our targets. Finally, our cash flow from operations improved by $11 million compared to the year ago quarter and our balance sheet remained strong.

John will now provide a more in depth review of our first quarter results and then I will offer some additional perspectives on the business. John?

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Dante. For the first quarter, we reported net income of $13.9 million or $0.32 per share. After excluding non-core business items, we reported net income of $13.4 million or $0.30 per share, a decrease of 6% compared to $0.32 in 2014. Slide 4 shows a bridge of adjusted earnings per share from the first quarter of last year to this year. Composite fibers results reduced earnings per share by $0.09 with $0.06 coming from foreign currency translation. Advanced Airlaid Materials results reduced earnings per share by $0.01 including a negative FX impact of $0.02. Specialty papers results added $0.13 to earnings per share and higher pension expense due to lower discount rates at the end of 2014 reduced earnings per share by $0.02. And a higher tax rate on adjusted earnings reduced earnings per share by $0.03. The tax rate in the first quarter was 24.5% which is a more normal rate for Glatfelter.

Slide 5 shows summarized results for the composite fibers business. With the exception of non-woven wall cover, composite fibers performed well during the quarter. Revenue was $135 million in the first quarter, down 1.8% on a constant currency basis compared to last year. Shipping volume decreased 5% compared to the first quarter of last year primarily due to non-woven wall cover shipments. Selling prices were down compared to the first quarter of last year, but were generally more stable compared to the fourth quarter. Shipments of tea and single serve coffee products increased 3.6% in the quarter with shipments of single serve coffee products up 10%. And we expect strong demand for both our food and beverage products for the remainder of the year.

Shipments of non-woven wall cover products were down 22% compared to the first quarter of 2014. Our wall cover products produced in Dresden were impacted by the severe currency fluctuations in Russia and Ukraine which made our products uncompetitive from a cost perspective and resulted in very low orders in January and February. In anticipation of the situation we introduced a lower basis weight product to reduce the cost and make us more competitive in the current environment. This allowed us to regain orders in March and we expect to be closer to normal order patterns in the second quarter. Despite the improvement we have seen in the last few months the situation in Russia and Ukraine remains fragile. Shipments in our other product lines were mixed with technical specialties products up 90% or 4.7% year-over-year excluding the impact of the Oberschmitten acquisition. Composite laminate and metalized shipments were each down approximately 3%.

We had a solid quarter from an operations perspective given the low demand for wall cover products. We took downtime during the quarter to manage inventory levels which reduced

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operating profit by $1.3 million. This was more than offset by lower prices for raw materials and energy. Operating profit for the quarter was $14.7 million, down $4.6 million from last year reflecting a negative currency translation impact of $2.8 million. For the second quarter of 2015, when compared to the first quarter we expect shipping volumes to be approximately 10% higher reflecting strong shipments in food and beverage and a recovery in wall cover. Selling prices and raw material and energy prices are expected to be in line with the first quarter.

Advanced Airlaid Materials results are summarized on Slide 6. Revenue during the quarter was $62.3 million, down 2.5% on a constant currency basis compared to last year with shipments down 4% in comparison. Growth in shipments of wipes products was more than offset by lower shipments of adult hygiene products. The lower shipment of adult hygiene products reflects the normal variation in order patterns as customers manage their supply chains. We continue to expect healthy market growth in these products and believe we are very well positioned.

Selling price improvements realized during the quarter were partially offset by higher raw material and energy prices that are contractually passed through to customers on the vast majority of our revenue. Operating income for this business was down $600,000 to $5.3 million compared to last year due to $1.2 million impact from unfavorable foreign currency translation. For the second quarter of 2015, we expect shipping volumes to be in line with the first quarter. Average selling prices and raw material prices are also expected to be in line with the first quarter.

Slide 7 provides a summary of the results for specialty papers. Net sales for the quarter were down 3% due to lower shipping volumes and mix changes partially offset by $1.8 million benefit from higher average selling prices compared to the year ago quarter. Shipments were down 1.8%, which is much better than the broader uncoated free sheet market that was down 3.5%. Specialty Papers continues to add new customers and grow key product lines to offset the impact of the broader uncoated free sheet market decline. During the quarter, our shipments of non-carbonless forms products were up 7%, engineered products increased 2%, and shipments of envelope products were up 1%. Shipments of book publishing products were down 5% and carbonless products were up 12%.

As we mentioned in our year end earnings call, specialty papers had some operational upsets in the first quarter related to our power boiler at our Pennsylvania facility and the evaporators at our Ohio facility. These issues created cost penalties to the first quarter of $9 million. Both of these issues were resolved in the first quarter and we exited the quarter at normal production levels for pulp, paper and energy. We also had some operational upsets in the first quarter of last year with a total cost impact of $16 million. Excluding these operational upsets, we had a solid operating quarter with performance above last year. These factors as well as lower raw material and energy prices led to a $7.1 million improvement and operating profit to $9.5 million for the quarter.

For this business in the second quarter, we expect shipping volumes to decline slightly compared to the first quarter, reflecting the expended maintenance outage at our Pennsylvania facility. We expect selling prices to be in line with the first quarter and input costs to be down slightly. During the second quarter, we will also complete annual maintenance outages at each of our facilities. The outage in Pennsylvania has an expanded scope of work this year, so the total cost of the outages is expected to be $34 million compared to $28 million last year.

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Slide 8 shows corporate costs and other financial items for the quarter. During the quarter, we sold 1,370 acres of timberland in Pennsylvania and Delaware generating a pre-tax gain of $2.7 million. We also incurred costs associated with the acquisition and integration of SPO that closed in the fourth quarter of last year as well as cost to reduce our workforce. These items netted to a gain of $1.2 million pre-tax and were excluded from adjusted earnings. Corporate costs for the first quarter were generally in line with last year.

The status of our pension plan is shown on Slide 9. Our first quarter 2015 pension expense was $2.8 million compared to $1.5 million in the same quarter in 2014. The 2015 expense increase reflects lower discount rates at the end of 2014 and changes to mortality assumptions. However, our qualified plan remains over funded. We have not had to make cash contributions to our qualified plan for quite some time and we do not expect to for the foreseeable future.

Slide 10 shows our free cash flow. During the first quarter, we generated cash from operations of $2.2 million compared to a use of $10.2 million in the year ago quarter. In the first quarter of this year, we used $26.8 million in cash for working capital compared to $28.9 million in the first quarter of last year, reflecting the normal working capital flows for our business. Capital expenditures for the first quarter increased by $7 million compared to the same quarter last year, primarily due to investments related to boiler environmental compliance. Capital expenditures for all of 2015 are estimated to be $110 million to $120 million, including approximately $40 million for deployment of environmental compliance projects.

Slide 11 shows some balance sheet and liquidity metrics. During the quarter, we refinanced our revolving credit facility. The new facility has a 5-year maturity was upsized to $400 million and has lower interest spreads and fees. Our net debt on March 31 totaled $315 million, up $10 million from the end of 2014. We finished the quarter with $72 million of cash and $243 million available under our revolving credit facility. So, our balance sheet remains in good shape with leverage on a net debt basis of 1.7 times at March 31. We believe this provides sufficient equity to meet our near-term investment needs and to continue to execute our growth strategies.

This concludes my comments. I will turn the call back to Dante.

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks John. Glatfelter has moved quickly since the beginning of the year to address the near-term challenges related to euro and Eurozone economy and the situation in Russia and Ukraine. The steps we have taken helped to offset the earnings impact of these challenges and we intend to do more. In composite fibers, we continue to grow in key markets where we have leadership positions like tea, coffee and technical specialties. We have gained new business in U.S. dollar denominated regions where our products are now more cost competitive. As mentioned earlier, we developed a lower basis weight wall cover product to allow us to regain business in the important Russian market. And we are on track to introduce a new dispersible wipes product in the second half of the year.

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In Advanced Airlaid Materials, we continue to see growth opportunities in our core product categories and we will focus on manufacturing excellence and continue some proven techniques to generate incremental capacity from the assets we operate today. And we will continue to evaluate the North American market capacity and demand situation by partnering with our customers to find solutions to support for mutual growth. And in specialty papers we expect to outperform the broader uncoated free sheet market for the 11th consecutive year by leveraging our new business and new product development capabilities and customers’ service expertise. In addition, the operating issues that impacted us in the first quarter are behind us and we exited the quarter with our operations performing well. We will look to build on this momentum as we complete the annual maintenance outages and move through the rest of the year.

Finally, we will continue implementing our broad cost reduction initiatives to complement our ongoing continuous improvement activities. These initiatives will include working closely with our suppliers to eliminate waste and reduce the costs of our purchased goods and services. Internally, we have challenged our leaders to reduce costs associated with external consultants, travel and to critically evaluate any project that will not create a near-term return. On parallel path, we will continue implementing a broad-based workforce reduction of 3% to 5% of our employee population. Based on our progress in the first quarter, we continue to expect these cost reduction measures and our continuous improvement initiatives to generate savings of $25 million to $30 million this year. As was the case in the first quarter, we expect these measures to help offset much of the impact expected from a lower euro and weak economic climates in many of the regions we serve and will position us well for when conditions improve.

From a bigger picture perspective, I firmly believe that our strategy is correct. Glatfelter’s leading share positions in segments with attractive long-term growth potential, ability to generate new and innovative products, enduring customer relationships, track record of diving costs and efficiency improvements and strong balance sheet gives me confidence that we will continue to generate earnings growth and solid cash flows in the years to come.

At this point, I would like to open the call for questions.

Question-and-Answer Session

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of James Armstrong with Vertical Research Partners. Your line is open.

Unidentified Analyst

[Technical Difficulty] filling in for James. My first question is, I was curious as to what’s happening to the unit volumes in the Russian market, is that market completely falling apart or is there hope for a recovery as the currency rebounds?

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Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

So I wouldn’t consider the market falling apart, but it’s clearly more fragile and more volatile than it has been and that’s driven by the recessionary environments in those two countries, the devalued currency and its impact on consumer spending and the basic costs of materials for the consumers. With that all that being said there is still a market for non-woven wall cover in Russia and Ukraine and as mentioned earlier our ability to very quickly pull up a new product platform in our pipeline that is a lower basis weight, more cost competitive product was introduced to our Russian customers and generated interest and we see demand coming back into our backlog and we expect stronger demand in the second quarter. The crystal ball isn’t quite as clear just given the backdrop and the contextual environment that I just described in Russia and Ukraine, but I am very confident with our close relationships with the customers, the open lines of communication and our abilities to adapt as market leaders and provide solutions that meet kind of all different types of business environments. So that’s the best I can give you right now.

Unidentified Analyst

No, thank you. That was helpful.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of Steve Chercover. Your line is open.

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

Yes, good morning, Dante. Hi, John.

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Good morning, Steve.

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Good morning, Steve.

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

This is a pretty interesting morning. Evidently, the IRS has quashed the notion of creating MLPs for the groups and it’s weighing on everyone. I am just wondering did we ever discuss whether you guys were looking into that plan I don’t recall?

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Yes, Steve – what we had said was that certainly we were aware of the MLP structure. We weren’t sure that it fit us very well and that we had not submitted a application for private letter ruling, but that we were staying close to the developments there and it’s taking some time for the IRS to provide guidance, which I understand they did just this morning. So, again, we did not believe that it necessarily fit us all that well, but there was something we were going to evaluate once the guidelines came out.

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Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

Yes, that’s how I thought it was, is that it wasn’t embedded in your stocks, so you are still getting punished for something you didn’t do, okay. And then secondly, as you work through that $25 million to $30 million in cost cutting, I am just wondering if it’s impacting morale at all. I mean, who were the folks that are likely to get hit? Is there a lot of attrition opportunities?

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Yes. So, I would generally categorize employee morale as good and engaged and one of the metrics I look at to measure employee morale is our safety performance. And our year-to-date TCIR is in top quartile for companies like ours and we are trending at the best level of safety since we have started to integrate and track it on a global basis since 2007. We do have rather substantial opportunity with attrition and measures of that nature, so that it softens the blow and takes some of the pain up, but we have unfortunately impacted some of our employees who are good employees. We just had to take the steps that were necessary to manage our costs appropriately given the business environment. So, I think a long way of saying it is as it goes for headcount reduction programs, I think we are doing a great job communicating, doing it in a way that’s consistent with Glatfelter’s core values and I don’t see other measures such as product quality or safety indicating that we have more morale problems.

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

Well, that’s good. And could you remind us what might be the financial implications like the cost associated with cutting that $25 million to $30 million?

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Yes, we think that the – for the full year, it could be $2 million to $3 million on an after-tax basis.

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

$2 million to $3 million. Thanks, John. And then finally, the small acquisition that you did last fall by no means consumes your dry powder to do deals, so without getting too specific, can you tell us what the landscape is and whether you are still actively engaged or looking for deals?

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, I can’t speak about any specific activities, but from a bigger picture point of view, we think we have a number of drivers that will continue to help grow our cash flows and our operating income over time. We are serving markets that are growing. We have organic growth investment opportunities and I see acquisitions will continue to play a part in the ongoing growth and

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development of Glatfelter. The balance sheet is still in good shape. Our leverage is in good shape. Of course, we take a look at the cash flow profile and the near-term uses of cash and we have got few projects ongoing right now, such as our boiler compliance in the U.S. and assessing capacity opportunities for the Airlaid business and a few other things. So, we will continue to be prudent and demonstrate the level of financial discipline that people know Glatfelter for, while at the same time moving forward and looking for opportunities to execute our strategy when the risk return profile looks acceptable.

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

Very good. And final question, do you care to make any comments whatsoever on this kind of ongoing litigation up at Fox River?

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Sure. Steve, I can comment on it. We filed an 8-K earlier in April and at which time the EPA had approved 2015 work plan for the Fox River and under that work plan they assigned Glatfelter a third of the work that they estimate would cost about $33 million. The other two-thirds was assigned to NCR and Georgia Pacific who are the other two potential responsible parties at this point. As we said in the 8-K and we continue today to assess the works been assigned to us, it’s a complex remediation and we have only been aware of the plan for slightly longer than a month. So it’s going to take some time for us to completely evaluate it. And at the same time we are also assessing our legal position. We believe that the work assigned to us was arbitrary and is inconsistent with the multiple rulings in the courts since 2009. So at this point we have not made any adjustments to our reserves. And we will reconsider that as our assessment of the work plan progresses and our legal position becomes more crystallized. So as we have said before there could be a funding risk in the interim while the new trial comes up in the summer of next year of 2016, anything we pay in the interim will be subject to reallocation when the final court decision is made after a trial. So to the extent we do have to pay something in the near-term, we could recover that. We think our position is a good one, a strong one, the courts have generally agreed with our position on this matter and we think that in the end our risk is not so high. We think that our reserves at $16 million are adequate for our risk, of course with litigation so there is downside risk in any kind of litigation, but we feel good about our position.

Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

So just to summarize, the work will transpire this year, it’s something like you do and there could $11 million call on you which might ultimately be reversed?

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Well, the work plan, the total estimated cost of the work for this season is $100 million. A third of that has been assigned to Glatfelter, so $33 million worth of work has been assigned to us and $66 million has been assigned to NCR and GP. So that is what we are in the process of assessing what work we can complete, given that we have had very little time to prepare to conduct this work. And so we are not certain how much of it we can complete and at the same time we are assessing our legal position.

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Steve Chercover - D.A. Davidson

Great. Thank you very much, John.

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Sure.

Operator

Your next question comes from the line of George Livadas with BMO Capital Market. Your line is open.

George Livadas - BMO Capital Markets

Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions.

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Certainly, good morning.

George Livadas - BMO Capital Markets

I was wondering in your outlook for composite fibers you mentioned some strength in the – unexpected strength in food and beverage, can you comment a little bit on what you are seeing there?

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. We, as you may know, are kind of world leaders in both tea and single-served coffee. We had a solid Q1 in tea. We had a strong Q1 in single serve coffee and the discussion we have had with our customers in both of those segments have been very positive and constructive. And we feel confident about the near-term outlook for how demand is going to develop in those two product categories.

George Livadas - BMO Capital Markets

Okay, thank you. And then it also looks like you took down your CapEx guidance by about $10 million for this year, can you comment a little bit on that?

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John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Sure. We have previously included – you may recall for some of the details in the slides going back to the fourth quarter call and last year’s third quarter call, we had included $9 million for some converting equipment called festooning for our Airlaid business. And we have made some improvements in our productivity and we have assessed the near-term needs. And so that is an investment we do not believe we need to make in 2015, we will consider that for 2016 or beyond. So, we have removed that from our capital plan at this point and so it dropped our overall CapEx investment.

George Livadas - BMO Capital Markets

Okay. Thank you. And then last question, some of the growth initiatives you mentioned to the new lower weight product in Russia and I think in your press release you mentioned expansion of U.S. dollar denominated business, can you talk about I guess on the Russia side the margin profile of that new product. And then just provide a little more color on the U.S. dollar denominated business you referred to?

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. So we really don’t give commentary on customer specific profitability. So really can’t help you that much on that one. But in terms of the U.S. dollar denominated customer growth, yes of course as we looked out the changing currency landscape, our facilities that have euro based cost structure had a different complexion as you thought about U.S. dollar denominated regions of the world. So, we have relationships throughout these regions and went back and engaged or reengaged in some discussions, where previously under a different currency outlook the business might not have been as attractive and as we looked at the current currency and where we think the euro will be over the next, I guess near-term year or so. We found opportunities and our reputation for quality and service and being – having the large scale supply capabilities were all very appealing to these customers and that’s helped us gain some new business.

George Livadas - BMO Capital Markets

Thank you.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your next question comes from the line of Debbie Jones with Deutsche. Your line is open.

Debbie Jones - Deutsche

Hi, good morning.

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Hi, Debbie.

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John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

Good morning, Debbie.

Debbie Jones - Deutsche

Could you guys talk a little bit about the performance in Airlaid and the destocking that went on and kind of your confidence that volumes will return to normal and then your long-term view of where volume should go in this business?

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Sure. So, I think some of the comments we made is that there is a bit of an ebb and flow to how our customers manage inventory. As you may recall, we supported the launch of the new adult incontinence product with one of our major customers in the second half of last year. So whenever you are preparing for a new product launch, there is a pretty aggressive ramp up of volumes and then it takes time for the supply chain to settle itself out and get into a more normalized order pattern. We have also seen a little bit of basis weight variation across some of our product categories. So, perhaps on a tonnage basis, it may look a little bit off, but on a square meter basis, the change is rather negligible. And so I would say the core materials for fem hy that remains very solid. And we had a strong quarter for wipes. The adult incontinence I just made reference to there was a little bit of an ebb and flow to settling in on normal supply patterns and the basis weight mix. And from a big picture point of view, we still see these markets growing at about 5% per year. We have leading share positions and the relationships with the major market makers. And we will focus on the things that we can control in the short-term like operational excellence and continuous improvement to make sure we have the most competitive cost structure and continue to leverage our innovation capabilities to have product platforms and attractive solutions to our customers as we all adapt to the changing market dynamics whatever they may be. So big picture, we are still bullish on this particular segment and we are still assessing the North American supply demand opportunity and where there maybe opportunities to further support our customers. So, I think it’s kind of a summary as to where we see the business today.

Debbie Jones - Deutsche

Okay, that’s helpful. And then I apologize if you already addressed this, but the SPO integration could you just talk about how that’s evolving and how accretive that’s been for you?

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Yes, it’s evolving well. It’s going according to plan. And it’s a smaller piece so the accretion has been very small.

John Jacunski - Chief Financial Officer

But we are hitting our internal targets.

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Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

We are hitting all of our targets and we feel good about the outlook and continuing to expand our technology and the product portfolio in the broader electrical category, because from a mega trend point of view and future demand point of view, we think there will be opportunities for cellulose based engineered materials in a variety of these applications and we want to make sure that we are in early and that we have got the right technology platforms and channel relationships necessary to gain credibility in these particular segments.

Debbie Jones - Deutsche

Okay, thank you. That’s helpful.

Operator

There are no further questions at this time. Dante, I will turn the call back over to you.

Dante Parrini - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Okay. Well, thanks to everyone for joining us today and we look forward to speaking with you next quarter. Have a great day.

Operator

This concludes today’s conference call. You may now disconnect.

SEC Filings

Glatfelter (GLT) Declares $0.12 Quarterly Dividend; 2% YieldMay 7, 2015 3:32 PM