Belden reports record results in fourth quarter and full year 2014
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 2014 results for the period ended december 31, 2014. fourth quarter 2014 highlights grew revenues by 19.5% year-over-year; achieved organic revenue growth of 7.2% from the prior year period; expanded adjusted gross profit margins to 37.4%, increasing 220 basis points from 35.2% in the year-ago period; delivered record adjusted operating profit margins of 14.5%, a 70 basis point increase from 13.8% in the year-ago period; generated record adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share of $1.24, up 36.3% over last year’s $0.91; and announced the acquisition of tripwire, a leading global provider of advanced threat, security and compliance solutions. full year 2014 highlights achieved record revenues of $2.31 billion, an increase of 11.6% year-over-year; expanded adjusted gross profit margins to a record 37.0%, increasing 180 basis points from 35.2% in the year-ago period; delivered record adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share of $4.23, up 14.6% over last year’s $3.69; generated $188 million of free cash flow for the year, exceeding adjusted income from continuing operations for the 10th consecutive year; and committed more than $1 billion in capital to the acquisitions of grass valley, prosoft, and tripwire. fourth quarter 2014 on a gaap basis, revenues for the quarter totaled $608.9 million, up $99.2 million, or 19.5%, compared to $509.8 million in the fourth quarter 2013. gross profit margin in the fourth quarter was 35.7%, increasing 140 basis points from 34.3% in the year-ago period. operating profit margin in the fourth quarter was 7.1%, decreasing from 9.6% in the year-ago period. income from continuing operations per diluted share totaled $0.35, compared to $0.54 in the fourth quarter 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 35.2%. the year-over-year decrease in both operating profit margin and income from continuing operations per diluted share was largely a result of restructuring costs and amortization of intangibles at grass valley and prosoft. adjusted revenue for the quarter totaled $613.7 million, up $97.8 million, or 19.0%, compared to $515.9 million in the fourth quarter 2013. adjusted gross profit margin in the fourth quarter was 37.4%, increasing 220 basis points from 35.2% in the year-ago period. adjusted operating profit margin in the fourth quarter was 14.5%, increasing 70 basis points from 13.8% in the year-ago period. adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share totaled $1.24, compared to $0.91 in the fourth quarter 2013, a year-over-year increase of 36.3%. 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, “it was a strong finish to a great year, with year over year organic growth in the fourth quarter exceeding 7%. i’m extremely pleased with our record results, including adjusted operating profit margins of 14.5% and growth of adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share of more than 36% from the year-ago period. i want to thank the team for their solid execution during the quarter as they created momentum that i believe we can build upon.” full year 2014 on a gaap basis, revenues for the year totaled $2.308 billion, up $239 million, or 11.6%, compared to $2.069 billion in the full year 2013. gross profit margin in 2014 was 35.5%, increasing 150 basis points from 34.0% in the year-ago period. operating profit margin in 2014 was 7.1%, decreasing 260 basis points from 9.7% in the year-ago period. income from continuing operations per diluted share totaled $1.69, compared to $2.34 in 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 28%. the year-over-year decrease in both operating profit margin and income from continuing operations per diluted share was largely a result of restructuring costs and amortization of intangibles at grass valley and prosoft. adjusted revenue for the year totaled $2.320 billion, up $236 million, or 11.3%, compared to $2.084 billion in 2013. adjusted gross profit margin in 2014 was 37.0%, increasing 180 basis points from 35.2% in the year-ago period. adjusted operating profit margin in 2014 was 13.7%, decreasing 10 basis points from 13.8% in the year-ago period. adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share totaled $4.23, compared to $3.69 in 2013, a year-over-year increase of 14.6%. mr. stroup remarked, “2014 was another great year for belden. we drove total revenue growth of almost 12%, achieved record adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share of $4.23, and generated free cash flow in excess of net income for the 10th consecutive year. more importantly, this was achieved in a year in which more than a billion dollars of capital was committed to strategic acquisitions.” outlook “while a stronger us dollar and lower commodity costs will impact our results, we benefit from an attractive and diverse portfolio, a proven business system, and a well-designed operational and capital structure. as a result, i’m pleased to issue adjusted earnings guidance for the full year 2015 that represents growth in the range of 25% to 32%,” said mr. stroup. the company expects first quarter 2015 adjusted revenues to be $565 – $585 million and adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share to be $0.94 – $1.04. for the full year ending december 31, 2015, the company now expects adjusted revenues to be $2.475 – $2.525 billion compared to the previously guided range of $2.565 - $2.615 billion. the expected range of adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share is now $5.28 – $5.58 compared to the previously guided range of $5.35 to $5.65. on a gaap basis, the company expects first quarter 2015 revenues to be $544 – $564 million and loss from continuing operations per diluted share to be $(0.13) – $(0.03). for the full year ending december 31, 2015, the company expects revenues to be $2.417 – $2.467 billion and income from continuing operations per diluted share to be $2.37 – $2.67. earnings conference call management will host a conference call today at 10:30 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 888-256-9157; the dial-in number for participants outside the u.s. is 913-312-0977. 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: changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of the effects of currency exchange rate changes and acquired businesses: broadcast solutions capital expenditures, net of proceeds from the disposal of tangible assets non-recurring tax payments made for gain on 2012 sale of thermax and raydex cable business non-recurring tax payments made in settlement of tax sharing agreement with cooper industries cash paid for severance and other costs for the integration of our acquisition of grass valley our guidance for revenues and income (loss) from continuing operations per diluted share is based upon the extent of information currently available regarding events and conditions that will impact our future operating results for 2015. our actual results are likely to be impacted by other additional events for which information is not available, such as asset impairments, purchase accounting effects related to acquisitions, severance and other restructuring costs, gains (losses) recognized on the disposal of tangible assets, gains (losses) on debt extinguishment, discontinued operations, and other gains (losses) related to events or conditions that are not yet known. 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. all 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 2015. forward looking statements also include any other statements regarding future revenues, costs and expenses, operating income, earnings per share, margins, cash flows, dividends, and capital expenditures. these forward looking statements are based on forecasts and projections about the markets and industries served by the company and about general economic conditions. they reflect management’s current beliefs and expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. the company’s actual results may differ materially from these expectations for a number of reasons including: changes in the global economy may impact the company’s results; turbulence in financial markets may increase the company’s borrowing costs; the company relies on key distributors in marketing products; the company’s ability to execute and realize the expected benefits from strategic initiatives (including revenue growth, cost control, and productivity improvement programs); changes in the level of economic activity in the company’s major geographic markets; difficulties in realigning manufacturing capacity and capabilities among the company’s global manufacturing facilities; the competitiveness of the global broadcast, enterprise, and industrial markets; variability in the company’s quarterly and annual effective tax rates; changes in accounting rules and interpretation of these rules which may affect the company’s reported earnings; changes in currency exchange rates and political and economic uncertainties in the countries where the company conducts business; demand for the company’s products; the cost and availability of materials including copper, plastic compounds derived from fossil fuels, electronic components, and other materials; energy costs; the company’s ability to achieve acquisition performance expectations and to integrate acquired businesses successfully; the ability of the company to develop and introduce new products; the company having to recognize charges that would reduce income as a result of impairing goodwill and other intangible assets; security risks and the potential for business interruption from operating in volatile countries; disruptions or failures of the company’s (or the company’s suppliers or customers) systems or operations in the event of a major earthquake, weather event, cyber-attack, terrorist attack, or other catastrophic event that could cause delays in completing sales, providing services, or performing other mission-critical functions; 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, 2013, filed with the sec on february 27, 2014. 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
