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Plexus Announces Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Results

October 23, 2019 4:16 PM

NEENAH, Wis., Oct. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS) today announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 28, 2019, and guidance for its fiscal first quarter ending January 4, 2020.

Three Months Ended
Sept 28, 2019 Sept 28, 2019 Jan 4, 2020
Q4F19 Results Q4F19 Guidance (3) Q1F20 Guidance
Summary GAAP Items
Revenue (in millions) $810 $760 to $800 $780 to $820
Operating margin 4.6% See note (3) 4.5% to 4.9%
Diluted EPS (1) $1.23 See note (3) $0.87 to $0.97
Summary Non-GAAP Items (2)
Adjusted operating margin 4.8% See note (3)
Adjusted diluted EPS (1) $0.93 See note (3)
Return on invested capital (ROIC) 13.1%
Economic Return 4.1%
(1)Includes stock-based compensation expense of $0.19 for Q4F19 results and $0.18 for Q4F19 and Q1F20 guidance.
(2)Refer to Non-GAAP Supplemental Information in Tables 1 and 2 for non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation to GAAP.
(3)Q4F19 guidance, issued on July 17, 2019, for operating margin of 4.5% to 4.9% and diluted EPS of $0.81 to $0.91 did not include the impact of $10.5 million in special tax benefits, or $0.35 per share, and $1.7 million ($1.5 million after tax), or $0.05 per share, of restructuring charges.

Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2019 Information

Fiscal Year 2019 Information

Todd Kelsey, President and CEO, commented, “I am pleased with our strong performance in the fiscal fourth quarter. We delivered record revenue of $810 million, which exceeded the top end of our guidance range. Our Aerospace/Defense and Industrial/Commercial sectors were exceptionally strong in the quarter, delivering 15% and 6% quarter-over-quarter revenue growth, respectively. In addition, we achieved fiscal 2019 revenue of $3.2 billion, representing a 10% increase over fiscal 2018 and marking the second consecutive year of double-digit growth. This growth was led by our Aerospace/Defense and Healthcare/Life Sciences sectors, whose revenue increased 32% and 17%, respectively, from the previous fiscal year. The combination of these two sectors now represents approximately 60% of our overall revenue.”

Patrick Jermain, Executive Vice President and CFO, commented, “Fiscal fourth quarter GAAP diluted EPS of $1.23 included $0.35 per share related to special tax benefits. Our fiscal fourth quarter GAAP results also included after-tax restructuring charges of $1.5 million, or $0.05 per share, primarily related to actions taken to address revenue declines within our Communications sector. These actions were completed in the fiscal fourth quarter.”

Mr. Kelsey continued, “Through our continued focus on productivity and exceptional execution, our teams achieved fiscal fourth quarter adjusted operating margin of 4.8%, comfortably within our target range of 4.7% to 5.0% and at the higher end of our guidance range. Our robust growth and operating performance led to non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.93, a result that was above our guidance range.”

Mr. Jermain continued, “During the fiscal fourth quarter, we generated $92 million in free cash flow, a result above our projections. Fiscal fourth quarter cash cycle of 80 days was favorable to our expectations and sequentially lower by 9 days, as we benefited from continued progress on our working capital initiatives. Over the past two quarters, we have reduced our inventory balance by over $100 million, largely due to our success with these initiatives.”

Mr. Kelsey concluded, “As we look to the fiscal first quarter of 2020, we expect continued sound operating performance and are guiding revenue of $780 to $820 million with operating margin in the range of 4.5% to 4.9%. At this revenue level, we anticipate GAAP diluted EPS in the range of $0.87 to $0.97, including $0.18 of stock-based compensation expense. Further, we are focused on delivering fiscal 2020 operating margin performance within our target range of 4.7% to 5.0%, which would enable solid EPS growth in the fiscal year.”

Quarterly & Annual ComparisonThree Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
Sept 28, 2019 Jun 29, 2019 Sept 29, 2018 Sept 28, 2019 Sept 29, 2018
(in thousands, except EPS)Q4F19 Q3F19 Q4F18 F19 F18
Revenue$810,195 $799,644 $771,178 $3,164,434 $2,873,508
Gross profit 77,789 71,030 73,304 291,838 257,600
Operating income 37,527 34,403 36,965 142,055 118,283
Net income 36,831 24,801 72,742 108,616 13,040
Diluted EPS$1.23 $0.81 $2.20 $3.50 $0.38
Adjusted net income (1) 27,788 24,801 31,615 106,608 109,600
Adjusted diluted EPS (1)$0.93 $0.81 $0.96 $3.43 $3.23
Gross margin 9.6% 8.9% 9.5% 9.2% 9.0%
Operating margin 4.6% 4.3% 4.8% 4.5% 4.1%
Adjusted operating margin (1) 4.8% 4.3% 4.8% 4.5% 4.6%
ROIC (1) 13.1% 12.9% 16.1% 13.1% 16.1%
Economic Return (1) 4.1% 3.9% 6.6% 4.1% 6.6%
(1) Refer to Non-GAAP Supplemental Information in Tables 1 and 2 for non-GAAP financial measures discussed and/or disclosed in this release, such as adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, ROIC and Economic Return, and a reconciliation of these measures to GAAP.

Business Segment and Market Sector Revenue
The Company measures operational performance and allocates resources on a geographic segment basis. Plexus also reports revenue based on the market sector breakout set forth in the table below, which reflects the Company’s market sector focused strategy. Top 10 customers comprised 51% of revenue during the fiscal fourth quarter, down three percentage points from the fiscal third quarter of 2019, and 55% of revenue during fiscal year 2019, down two percentage points from the prior fiscal year.

Business Segments ($ in millions)Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
Sept 28,
2019		 Sept 29,
2018		 Sept 28,
2019		 Sept 29,
2018
Americas$344 $320 $1,429 $1,219
Asia-Pacific416 418 1,557 1,498
Europe, Middle East, and Africa81 69 310 281
Elimination of inter-segment sales(31) (36) (132) (124)
Total Revenue$810 $771 $3,164 $2,874


Market Sectors ($ in millions)Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
Sept 28, 2019
Q4F19		 Jun 29, 2019
Q3F19		 Sept 29, 2018
Q4F18		 Sept 28, 2019
F19		 Sept 29, 2018
F18
Healthcare/Life Sciences$311 38% $309 39% $289 37% $1,220 38% $1,040 36%
Industrial/Commercial264 33% 248 31% 244 32% 981 31% 918 32%
Aerospace/Defense174 21% 151 19% 120 16% 588 19% 445 16%
Communications61 8% 92 11% 118 15% 375 12% 471 16%
Total Revenue$810 $800 $771 $3,164 $2,874

Non-GAAP Supplemental Information
Plexus provides non-GAAP supplemental information, such as ROIC, Economic Return, and free cash flow, because such measures are used for internal management goals and decision making, and because they provide management and investors additional insight into financial performance. In addition, management uses these and other non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS, to provide a better understanding of core performance for purposes of period-to-period comparisons. Plexus believes that these measures are also useful to investors because they provide further insight by eliminating the effect of items such as restructuring costs, the one-time non-executive employee bonus paid in the second quarter of fiscal 2018, special tax items and the transitional effects of the U.S. Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (“U.S. Tax Reform”) that are not reflective of continuing operations. For a full reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures, please refer to the attached Non-GAAP Supplemental Information Tables.

ROIC and Economic Return
ROIC for both fiscal 2019 and the fiscal fourth quarter was 13.1%. The Company defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized adjusted operating income divided by average invested capital over a five-quarter period for the fiscal year and fiscal fourth quarter. Invested capital is defined as equity plus debt, less cash and cash equivalents. The Company’s weighted average cost of capital for fiscal 2019 was 9%. ROIC for both fiscal 2019 and the fiscal fourth quarter less the Company’s weighted average cost of capital resulted in an economic return of 4.1%.

Free Cash Flow
The Company defines free cash flow as cash flows provided by operations less capital expenditures. For the three months ended September 28, 2019, cash flows provided by operations was $108.3 million, less capital expenditures of $16.0 million, resulting in free cash flow of $92.3 million. For the fiscal year ended September 28, 2019, cash flows provided by operations was $115.3 million, less capital expenditures of $90.6 million, resulting in free cash flow of $24.7 million.

Cash Cycle DaysThree Months Ended
Sept 28, 2019
Q4F19		 Jun 29, 2019
Q3F19		 Sept 29, 2018
Q4F18
Days in Accounts Receivable55 52 47
Days in Contract Assets (1)10 12 -
Days in Inventory (1)87 95 104
Days in Accounts Payable(55) (54) (66)
Days in Cash Deposits(17) (16) (12)
Annualized Cash Cycle (1)80 89 73
(1) The Company calculates cash cycle as the sum of days in accounts receivable, contract assets and days in inventory, less days in accounts payable and days in cash deposits. On September 30, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 ("ASU 2014-09"), Revenue Recognition (Topic 606). For the three months ended September 28, 2019 and June 29, 2019, cash cycle days include contract assets and associated reduction in inventory. As the guidance was adopted using a modified retrospective approach, no impact to prior periods was required to be recognized.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

What:Plexus Fiscal 2019 Q4 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast
When:Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time
Where: Participants are encouraged to join the live webcast at the investor relations section of the Plexus website, https://plexus.gcs-web.com/events-and-presentations/upcoming-events, where a slide presentation reviewing fiscal fourth quarter 2019 results will also be made available ahead of the conference call.
Conference call at +1.800.708.4540 with passcode: 49048870
Replay:The webcast will be archived on the Plexus website and available via telephone replay at
+1.888.843.7419 or +1.630.652.3042 with passcode: 49048870

Investor and Media Contact
Heather Beresford
+1.920.751.3612
[email protected]

About Plexus
Since 1979, Plexus has been partnering with companies to create the products that build a better world. We are a team of over 19,000 individuals who are dedicated to providing global Design and Development, Supply Chain Solutions, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing, and Aftermarket Services. Plexus is a global leader that specializes in serving customers in industries with highly complex products and demanding regulatory environments. Plexus delivers customer service excellence to leading global companies by providing innovative, comprehensive solutions throughout the product’s lifecycle. For more information about Plexus, visit our website at www.plexus.com.

Safe Harbor and Fair Disclosure Statement
The statements contained in this press release that are guidance or which are not historical facts (such as statements in the future tense and statements including believe, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, goal, target and similar terms and concepts), including all discussions of periods which are not yet completed, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the risk of customer delays, changes, cancellations or forecast inaccuracies in both ongoing and new programs; the lack of visibility of future orders, particularly in view of changing economic conditions; the economic performance of the industries, sectors and customers we serve; the effects of shortages and delays in obtaining components as a result of economic cycles, natural disasters or otherwise; the effects of tariffs, trade disputes, trade agreements and other trade protection measures; the effects of the volume of revenue from certain sectors or programs on our margins in particular periods; our ability to secure new customers, maintain our current customer base and deliver product on a timely basis; the risks of concentration of work for certain customers; the particular risks relative to new or recent customers, programs or services, which risks include customer and other delays, start-up costs, potential inability to execute, the establishment of appropriate terms of agreements, and the lack of a track record of order volume and timing; the effects of start-up costs of new programs and facilities; possible unexpected costs and operating disruption in transitioning programs, including transitions between Company facilities; the risk that new program wins and/or customer demand may not result in the expected revenue or profitability; the fact that customer orders may not lead to long-term relationships; our ability to manage successfully and execute a complex business model characterized by high product mix and demanding quality, regulatory, and other requirements; the risks associated with excess and obsolete inventory, including the risk that inventory purchased on behalf of our customers may not be consumed or otherwise paid for by the customer, resulting in an inventory write-off; risks related to information technology systems and data security; the ability to realize anticipated savings from restructuring or similar actions, as well as the adequacy of related charges as compared to actual expenses; increasing regulatory and compliance requirements; the effects of U.S. Tax Reform and of related foreign jurisdiction tax developments; current or potential future barriers to the repatriation of funds that are currently held outside of the United States as a result of actions taken by other countries or otherwise; the potential effects of jurisdictional results on our taxes, tax rates, and our ability to use deferred tax assets and net operating losses; the weakness of areas of the global economy; the effect of changes in the pricing and margins of products; raw materials and component cost fluctuations; the potential effect of fluctuations in the value of the currencies in which we transact business; the effects of changes in economic conditions, political conditions and tax matters in the United States and in the other countries in which we do business (including as a result of the United Kingdom’s pending exit from the European Union); the potential effect of other world or local events or other events outside our control (such as changes in energy prices, terrorism and weather events); the impact of increased competition; an inability to successfully manage human capital; changes in financial accounting standards; and other risks detailed herein and in our other Securities and Exchange Commission filings, particularly in “Risk Factors” in our fiscal 2018 Form 10-K.

PLEXUS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
Sept 28, Sept 29, Sept 28, Sept 29,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Net sales$810,195 $771,178 $3,164,434 $2,873,508
Cost of sales732,406 697,874 2,872,596 2,615,908
Gross profit77,789 73,304 291,838 257,600
Operating expenses:
Selling and administrative expenses38,584 36,339 148,105 139,317
Restructuring and impairment charges1,678 — 1,678 —
Operating income37,527 36,965 142,055 118,283
Other income (expense):
Interest expense(3,748) (2,044) (12,853) (12,226)
Interest income539 647 1,949 4,696
Miscellaneous(892) (1,268) (5,196) (3,143)
Income before income taxes33,426 34,300 125,955 107,610
Income tax (benefit) expense(3,405) (38,442) 17,339 94,570
Net income$36,831 $72,742 $108,616 $13,040
Earnings per share:
Basic$1.26 $2.27 $3.59 $0.40
Diluted$1.23 $2.20 $3.50 $0.38
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic29,181 32,113 30,271 33,003
Diluted30,001 33,020 31,074 33,919


PLEXUS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
Sept 28, Sept 29,
2019 2018
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$223,761 $297,269
Restricted cash2,493 417
Accounts receivable488,284 394,827
Contract assets90,841 —
Inventories700,938 794,346
Prepaid expenses and other31,974 30,302
Total current assets1,538,291 1,517,161
Property, plant and equipment, net384,224 341,306
Deferred income taxes13,654 10,825
Other64,714 63,350
Total non-current assets462,592 415,481
Total assets$2,000,883 $1,932,642
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt and capital lease obligations$100,702 $5,532
Accounts payable444,944 506,322
Customer deposits139,841 90,782
Accrued salaries and wages73,555 66,874
Other accrued liabilities106,461 68,163
Total current liabilities865,503 737,673
Long-term debt and capital lease obligations, net of current portion187,278 183,085
Accrued income taxes payable59,572 56,130
Deferred income taxes5,305 14,376
Other liabilities17,649 20,235
Total non-current liabilities269,804 273,826
Total liabilities1,135,307 1,011,499
Shareholders’ equity:
Common stock, $.01 par value, 200,000 shares authorized,
52,917 and 52,567 shares issued, respectively,
and 29,004 and 31,838 shares outstanding, respectively529 526
Additional paid-in-capital597,401 581,488
Common stock held in treasury, at cost, 23,913 and 20,729, respectively(893,247) (711,138)
Retained earnings1,178,677 1,062,246
Accumulated other comprehensive loss(17,784) (11,979)
Total shareholders’ equity865,576 921,143
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity$2,000,883 $1,932,642


PLEXUS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NON-GAAP SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION Table 1
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
Sept 28, Jun 29, Sept 29 Sept 28, Sept 29
2019 2019 2018 2019 2018
Operating income, as reported$37,527 $34,403 $36,965 $142,055 $118,283
Operating margin, as reported 4.6% 4.3% 4.8% 4.5% 4.1%
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Restructuring costs (1) 1,678 — — 1,678 —
One-time employee bonus (2) — — — — 13,512
Adjusted operating income$39,205 $34,403 $36,965 $143,733 $131,795
Adjusted operating margin 4.8% 4.3% 4.8% 4.5% 4.6%
Net income, as reported$36,831 $24,801 $72,742 $108,616 $13,040
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Restructuring costs, net of tax (1) 1,502 — — 1,502 —
One-time employee bonus, net of tax (2) — — — — 13,176
U.S. Tax Reform (3) — — (41,127) 7,035 83,384
Accumulated foreign earnings assertion (4) (10,545) — — (10,545) —
Adjusted net income$27,788 $24,801 $31,615 $106,608 $109,600
Diluted earnings per share, as reported$1.23 $0.81 $2.20 $3.50 $0.38
Non-GAAP per share adjustments:
Restructuring costs, net of tax (1) 0.05 — — 0.05 —
One-time employee bonus, net of tax (2) — — — — 0.39
U.S. Tax Reform (3) — — (1.24) 0.23 2.46
Accumulated foreign earnings assertion (4) (0.35) — — (0.35) —
Adjusted diluted earnings per share$0.93 $0.81 $0.96 $3.43 $3.23
(1) During the three months ended September 28, 2019, restructuring costs of $1.7 million, $1.5 million net of taxes, were incurred.
(2) During the twelve months ended September 29, 2018, a $13.5 million one-time employee bonus was paid; of this amount, $12.6 million was recorded in cost of sales and $0.9 million was recorded in selling and administrative expenses in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
(3) During the twelve months ended September 28, 2019, special tax expense of $7.0 million was recorded in accordance with new regulations issued in November 2018 under U.S. Tax Reform. These regulations impacted the treatment of foreign taxes paid.
During the three months ended September 29, 2018, special tax benefits of $38.6 million resulted primarily from the use of then-current year tax losses and net operating loss carryforwards against the deemed repatriation tax as well as a $3.6 million benefit due to the reversal of a valuation allowance on U.S. deferred tax assets. These benefits were partially offset by a $1.1 million tax expense for other special tax items.
During the twelve months ended September 29, 2018, special tax expenses of $85.9 million and $1.1 million were recorded as a result of U.S. Tax Reform and other special tax items, respectively, which were partially offset by a $3.6 million tax benefit from the reversal of a valuation allowance on U.S. deferred tax assets.
(4) During the three and twelve months ended September 28, 2019, the Company reasserted that certain historical undistributed earnings of two foreign subsidiaries will be permanently reinvested, which resulted in a $10.5 million benefit.


PLEXUS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NON-GAAP SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION Table 2
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
ROIC and Economic Return CalculationsTwelve Months Ended Nine Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
Sept 28, Jun 29, Sept 29,
2019 2019 2018
Operating income, as reported $142,055 $104,528 $118,283
Restructuring costs+1,678 +— +
One-time employee bonus+— +— +13,512
Adjusted operating income $143,733 $104,528 $131,795
÷3
$34,843
x4
Adjusted annualized operating income $143,733 $139,372 $131,795
Adjusted effective tax ratex16% x15% x10%
Tax impact 22,997 20,906 13,180
Adjusted operating income (tax effected) $120,736 $118,466 $118,615
Average invested capital÷$923,107 ÷$921,435 ÷$735,598
ROIC 13.1% 12.9% 16.1%
Weighted average cost of capital-9.0% -9.0% -9.5%
Economic return 4.1% 3.9% 6.6%


Three Months Ended
Average Invested CapitalSept 28, Jun 29, Mar 30, Dec 29, Sept 29,
Calculations2019 2019 2019 2018 2018
Equity$865,576 $860,791 $875,444 $905,163 $921,143
Plus:
Debt - current100,702 138,976 93,197 8,633 5,532
Debt - long-term187,278 187,581 187,120 187,567 183,085
Less:
Cash and cash equivalents(223,761) (198,395) (184,028) (188,799) (297,269)
$929,795 $988,953 $971,733 $912,564 $812,491


Three Months Ended
Average Invested CapitalJun 30, Mar 31, Dec 30, Sept 30,
Calculations2018 2018 2017 2017
Equity$882,360 $920,503 $933,849 $1,025,939
Plus:
Debt - current6,365 180,772 179,881 286,934
Debt - long-term180,204 27,217 26,047 26,173
Less:
Cash and cash equivalents(332,723) (402,470) (506,694) (568,860)
$736,206 $726,022 $633,083 $770,186

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