Belden reports strong results for fourth quarter and full year 2015
St. louis--(business wire)--belden inc. (nyse: bdc), a global leader in high quality, end-to-end signal transmission solutions for mission-critical applications, today reported fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2015 results for the period ended december 31, 2015. fourth quarter 2015 highlights delivered gaap fourth quarter revenues of $597.2 million, and adjusted fourth quarter revenues of $602.5 million; expanded adjusted gross profit margins to a record 43.1%, up 570 basis points from 37.4% in the year-ago period; generated record adjusted ebitda of $114.6 million, an improvement of 14.9% year over year, representing 19.0% of revenue in the quarter; achieved record adjusted eps of $1.63 in the quarter, increasing more than 31% from the prior year period; and paid down $150 million of long-term debt during the period. full year 2015 highlights achieved record gaap revenues of $2.31 billion and record adjusted revenues of $2.36 billion, the latter an increase of 7.4% year-over-year in constant currency; expanded adjusted gross profit margins to a record 41.6%, increasing 460 basis points from 37.0% in the year-ago period; drove adjusted ebitda margins to a record 17.0%, increasing 150 basis points from 15.5% in the year-ago period; and delivered record adjusted eps of $4.98, up 17.7% over last year’s $4.23. fourth quarter 2015 on a gaap basis, revenues for the quarter totaled $597.2 million, declining $11.7 million, or 1.9%, compared to $608.9 million in the fourth quarter 2014. gross profit margin in the fourth quarter was 41.9%, increasing 620 basis points from 35.7% in the year-ago period. operating income was $57.0 million, an increase of 31.8% from the prior-year period. operating profit margin in the fourth quarter was 9.5%, increasing from 7.1% in the year-ago period. eps totaled $1.17, compared to $0.35 in the fourth quarter 2014, a year-over-year increase of 234%. the company recognized an income tax benefit for the quarter, primarily as a result of the recognition of a significant amount of foreign tax credits. adjusted revenues for the quarter totaled $602.5 million, declining $11.2 million, or 1.8%, compared to $613.7 million in the fourth quarter 2014. adjusted gross profit margin in the fourth quarter was 43.1%, increasing 570 basis points from 37.4% in the year-ago period. adjusted ebitda margin in the fourth quarter was 19.0%, increasing 270 basis points from 16.3% in the year-ago period. adjusted eps totaled $1.63, compared to $1.24 in the fourth quarter 2014, a year-over-year increase of 31.5%. adjusted results are non-gaap measures, and a non-gaap reconciliation table is provided as an appendix to this release. john stroup, president and ceo of belden inc., said, “we are thrilled to report the record results noted above. despite a host of challenging macroeconomic factors, our attractive portfolio, robust business system, and dedicated global team were up to the challenge. this level of earnings growth and margin expansion, in this macroeconomic environment, is obviously quite special.” full year 2015 on a gaap basis, revenues for the year totaled $2.309 billion, up slightly, compared to $2.308 billion in the full year 2014. gross profit margin in 2015 was 39.8%, increasing 430 basis points from 35.5% in the year-ago period. operating profit margin in 2015 was 6.1%, decreasing 100 basis points from 7.1% in the year-ago period. eps totaled $1.55, compared to $1.69 in 2014, a year-over-year decrease of 8.3%. the year-over-year decrease in both operating profit margin and eps was largely a result of amortization of intangibles from tripwire. the company recognized an income tax benefit for the year, primarily as a result of the recognition of a significant amount of foreign tax credits. adjusted revenues for the year totaled $2.361 billion, up $41 million, or 1.8%, compared to $2.320 billion in 2014. adjusted gross profit margin in 2015 was 41.6%, increasing 460 basis points from 37.0% in the year-ago period. adjusted ebitda margin in 2015 was 17.0%, increasing 150 basis points from 15.5% in the year-ago period. adjusted eps totaled $4.98, compared to $4.23 in 2014, a year-over-year increase of 17.7%. mr. stroup remarked, “2015 was a year in which macroeconomic factors shifted quickly and unexpectedly. as we’ve done consistently for years, share capture, effective acquisition integration and productivity initiatives allowed us to drive ebitda margins to their highest level in company history. adjusted eps of $4.98 represents a company record, growing almost 18% from 2014. and finally, the repayment of $150 million of debt highlights our ability to generate cash and our commitment to reducing leverage.” outlook “as we shared with you in december, we expect industrial market softness will be offset by strength in our broadband, enterprise, and network security markets. as we enter the new year, i’m encouraged by our team’s ability to outperform in a variety of market situations,” said mr. stroup. the company expects first quarter 2016 adjusted revenues to be $530 – $550 million and adjusted eps to be $0.90 – $1.00. for the full year ending december 31, 2016, the company continues to expect adjusted revenues to be $2.295 – $2.345 billion. the expected range of adjusted eps continues to be $5.10 – $5.40. on a gaap basis, the company expects first quarter 2016 revenues to be $528 – $548 million and eps to be $0.11 – $0.21. for the full year ending december 31, 2016, the company expects revenues to be $2.288 – $2.338 billion and eps to be $2.68 – $2.98. earnings conference call management will host a conference call today at 8:30 am est to discuss results of the quarter and full-year. the listen-only audio of the conference call will be broadcast live via the internet at http://investor.belden.com. the dial-in number for participants in the u.s. is 888-287-5563; the dial-in number for participants outside the u.s. is 719-325-2432. a replay of this conference call will remain accessible in the investor relations section of the company’s web site for a limited time. weighted average number of common shares and equivalents: broadcast solutions enterprise connectivity industrial connectivity industrial it network security solutions for the three months ended december 31, 2015 for the three months ended december 31, 2014 for the twelve months ended december 31, 2015 for the twelve months ended december 31, 2014 changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of the effects of currency exchange rate changes and acquired businesses: capital expenditures, net of proceeds from the disposal of tangible assets cash paid for severance and other costs for the integration of our acquisition of grass valley earnings per share (eps) all references to eps within this earnings release refer to income from continuing operations per diluted share attributable to belden stockholders. use of non-gaap financial information adjusted results are non-gaap measures that reflect certain adjustments the company makes to provide insight into operating results. gaap to non-gaap reconciliations accompany the consolidated financial statements included in this release and have been published to the investor relations section of the company’s web site at http://investor.belden.com. forward-looking statements this release contains forward-looking statements including our expectations for the first quarter and full-year 2016. forward-looking statements also include any other statements regarding future financial performance (including revenues, expenses, earnings, margins, cash flows, dividends, capital expenditures and financial condition), plans and objectives, and related assumptions. forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. actual results may differ materially from those suggested by any forward-looking statements for a number of reasons, including: the impact of a challenging global economy or a downturn in served markets; the cost and availability of raw materials including copper, plastic compounds, electronic components, and other materials; the competitiveness of the global broadcast, enterprise, and industrial markets; disruption of, or changes in, the company’s key distribution channels; volatility in credit and foreign exchange markets; the inability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions in furtherance of the company’s strategic plan; the inability to execute and realize the expected benefits from strategic initiatives (including revenue growth, cost control, and productivity improvement programs); political and economic uncertainties in the countries where the company conducts business, including emerging markets; the inability of the company to develop and introduce new products and competitive responses to our products; assertions that the company violates the intellectual property of others and the ownership of intellectual property by competitors and others that prevents the use of that intellectual property by the company; variability in the company’s quarterly and annual effective tax rates; the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets and the resulting impact on financial performance; the impact of regulatory requirements and other legal compliance issues; disruptions in the company’s information systems including due to cyber-attacks; perceived or actual product failures; risks related to the use of open source software; disruptions and increased costs attendant to collective bargaining groups and other labor matters; and other factors. for a more complete discussion of risk factors, please see our annual report on form 10-k for the year ended december 31, 2014, filed with the sec on february 23, 2015. belden disclaims any duty to update any forward looking statements as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except as required by law. about belden belden inc. delivers a comprehensive product portfolio designed to meet the mission-critical network infrastructure needs of industrial, enterprise and broadcast markets. with innovative solutions targeted at reliable and secure transmission of rapidly growing amounts of data, audio and video needed for today's applications, belden is at the center of the global transformation to a connected world. founded in 1902, the company is headquartered in st. louis and has manufacturing capabilities in north and south america, europe and asia. for more information, visit us at www.belden.com or follow us on twitter @beldeninc. bdc-e
