CHARLOTTE, N.C.,– NN, Inc., (NASDAQ: NNBR), a diversified industrial company, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2019.
GAAP Results
Fourth Quarter 2019
GAAP net sales were $198.6 million, compared to $199.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. Life Sciences net sales increased by $8.9 million during the quarter due to increased core volumes, which were offset by lower demand in the automotive and general industrial end markets.
Fourth quarter 2019 GAAP loss from operations was $4.7 million, compared to a GAAP loss of $188.4 million for the same period in 2018. The loss from operations in the fourth quarter 2018 was largely driven by a goodwill impairment charge of $182.5 million and a fixed asset impairment charge of $5.2 million. Gross profit increased in the fourth quarter of 2019 by $1.8 million, offset by higher depreciation and amortization expenses and SG&A expenses.
Fourth quarter 2019 GAAP net loss was $14.1 million, compared to a GAAP net loss of $217.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. The higher GAAP net loss in 2018 was primarily due to the goodwill impairment charges and fixed asset impairment charges taken in 2018 and an impairment charge of $16.6 million taken against the investment in NN’s China joint venture.
Full Year 2019
Net sales in 2019 increased $76.8 million to $847.5 million, or 10%, compared to $770.7 million in 2018, attributable to $75.3 million in sales from businesses acquired in 2018, as well as organic growth of $9.8 million, driven by higher core volume in the Life Sciences group. This was partially offset by lower demand within the automotive end market in NN’s Mobile Solutions group as well as unfavorable foreign exchange effects of $8.4 million in Europe, South America and Asia.
GAAP income from operations was $9.9 million, compared to a $179.9 million GAAP loss for the same period in 2018. The 2018 loss was driven by certain one-time charges including a goodwill impairment of $182.5 million, fixed asset impairment of $5.2 million and acquisition expenses of $5.9 million. Gross profit grew by $24.3 million in 2019 from increased sales, offset by higher SG&A costs of $9.6 million, including $7.4 million related to 2018 acquisition costs, and a depreciation and amortization increase of $20.7 million.
GAAP net loss in 2019 was $46.7 million, compared to GAAP net loss of $263.0 million in 2018. GAAP net loss in 2018 was primarily driven by the aforementioned impairment charges.
Adjusted Results – Fourth Quarter 2019
Fourth quarter 2019 adjusted EBITDA was $33.2 million, or 16.7% of sales, versus $34.4 million, or 17.3% of sales, in the same prior year period. Adjusted income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $19.8 million, compared to $23.6 million for the same period in 2018. Fourth quarter 2019 adjusted net income was $5.7 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to $12.3 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, for the same period in 2018. Free cash flow for the fourth quarter 2019 was $2.3 million.
Warren Veltman, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “In the fourth quarter, we enhanced our financial flexibility by issuing preferred stock, paying off our revolver, and extending our revolver and term B loans. In addition to these actions, we continue to find new ways to reduce corporate overhead and streamline costs, such as consolidating NN’s senior management leadership of the Mobile Solutions and Power Solutions business groups under the leadership of John Buchan and naming Chris Qualters as Executive Vice President of our Life Sciences segment. These combined initiatives have helped us make real progress in reducing the overall leverage of the company as we look to continue improving our capital structure and determine the best way to generate value for our shareholders.”
Life Sciences
Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2019 were $88.4 million, compared to $79.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 11.2% or $8.9 million. Adjusted income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $17.9 million, compared to $15.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Performance was driven primarily by increased core volumes in the orthopedic and medical/surgical end markets along with realization of synergy capture initiatives.
Mobile Solutions
Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2019 were $67.2 million, compared to $75.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, a decrease of $8.2 million or 10.9%. Adjusted income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $1.5 million, compared to $4.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Lower demand within the automotive market, impact of the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors and an unfavorable tariff environment drove the decline.
Power Solutions
Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2019 were $43.6 million, compared to $45.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, a decrease of $1.6 million or 3.5%, driven by lower demand in the electrical products end market in China, primarily as a result of increased tariffs. Adjusted income from operations for the quarter was $5.8 million, consistent with the fourth quarter of 2018.
Adjusted Results – Full Year 2019
Adjusted EBITDA was $146.6 million or 17.3% of sales versus 2018 adjusted EBITDA of $136.0 million, or 17.6% of sales. Adjusted income from operations for 2019 was $97.0 million, compared to $91.9 million in 2018. Adjusted net income was $35.0 million in 2019, or $0.83 per diluted share, compared to $39.0 million, or $1.23 per diluted share, for the same period in 2018. Free cash flow for 2019 was negative $4.8 million. Net debt decreased by $75.7 million in 2019 to $757.6 million from $833.4 million in the same period a year ago.
Mr. Veltman continued, “NN has fundamentally solid businesses, strong relationships with our customers and suppliers as well as a passionate global workforce. I am proud to lead this company and as our financial position continues to gradually improve, I believe we are better-positioned to continue advancing a number of our strategic initiatives in 2020.
“While I am disappointed in our overall free cash flow generation for the year, it was in part impacted by our strategic decision to continue to pay our accounts payable on time in order to maintain good relationships with our suppliers. By reducing our 2019 year-end accounts payable balance, we expect to see a free cash flow benefit in the first quarter compared to last year.
“Looking ahead, we expect the global automotive slowdown and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus to adversely impact our results. To offset these factors, we will continue to pull levers that are in our control, including looking for more ways to enhance our commercial performance, improve our cost structure, reduce our inventory levels and accelerate accounts receivable collections.”
Life Sciences
Net sales were $359.7 million in 2019, compared to $248.2 million in 2018, an increase of $111.6 million or 45.0%. Adjusted income from operations in 2019 was $76.0 million, compared to $51.6 million in 2018. Sales growth in 2019 was driven by $71.4 million of net sales attributable to the Paragon Medical and Bridgemedica acquisitions as well as a $41.4 million increase in organic growth as a result of an increase in core volume primarily within the orthopedic and medical/surgical end markets.
Mobile Solutions
Net sales for 2019 were $297.7 million, compared to $335.0 million in 2018, a decrease of $37.3 million or 11.1%. Adjusted income from operations in 2019 was $17.9 million, compared to $30.5 million in 2018. Lower demand within the automotive markets and delays in new product launches drove the decline in both net sales and adjusted income from operations.
Power Solutions
Net sales for 2019 were $192.1 million, compared to $189.8 million in 2018, an increase of $2.3 million or 1.2%. Adjusted income from operations in 2019 was $32.8 million, compared to $33.6 million in 2018. Lower demand in the electrical products end market due to an unfavorable tariff environment drove the margin decline.
NN will discuss its results during its quarterly investor conference call on March 13, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. ET. The call and supplemental presentation may be accessed via NN’s website, www.nninc.com. The conference call can also be accessed by dialing 1-800-353-6461 or 1-334-323-0501 Conference ID: 3273655. For those who are unavailable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call for 30 days.
NN discloses in this press release the non-GAAP financial measures of adjusted income from operations, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income per diluted share, free cash flow and net debt. Each of adjusted income from operations, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income per diluted share and free cash flow provides supplementary information about the impacts of restructuring and integration expense, acquisition and transition expenses, foreign exchange impacts on inter-company loans, amortization of intangibles and deferred financing costs, and other non-operating impacts on our business. Net debt is defined as debt and finance leases less cash.
The financial tables found later in this press release include a reconciliation of adjusted income from operations, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income (loss), adjusted net income (loss) per diluted share and free cash flow to the U.S. GAAP financial measures of income from operations, net income (loss), net income (loss) per diluted share and net cash provided by (used in) operating activities.
NN, Inc., a diversified industrial company combines advanced engineering and production capabilities with in-depth materials science expertise to design and manufacture high-precision components and assemblies for a variety of markets on a global basis. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, NN has 50 facilities in North America, Europe, South America and China.
Except for specific historical information, many of the matters discussed in this press release may express or imply projections of revenues or expenditures, statements of plans and objectives or future operations or statements of future economic performance. These, and similar statements, are forward-looking statements concerning matters that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual performance of NN, Inc. and its subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by this discussion. All forward-looking information is provided by the Company pursuant to the safe harbor established under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and should be evaluated in the context of these factors. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “assumptions”, “target”, “guidance”, “outlook”, “plans”, “projection”, “may”, “will”, “would”, “expect”, “intend”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “potential” or “continue” (or the negative or other derivatives of each of these terms) or similar terminology. Factors which could materially affect actual results include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions and economic conditions in the industrial sector, disruptions in the Company’s businesses and global economies and other impacts from further spread of the coronavirus outbreak, inventory levels, regulatory compliance costs and the Company’s ability to manage these costs, start-up costs for new operations, debt reduction, competitive influences, risks that current customers will commence or increase captive production, risks of capacity underutilization, quality issues, availability and price of raw materials, currency and other risks associated with international trade, the Company’s dependence on certain major customers, and the successful implementation of the global growth plan including development of new products. Similarly, statements made herein and elsewhere regarding pending and completed transactions are also forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the future performance and prospects of an acquired business, the expected benefits of an acquisition on the Company’s future business and operations and the ability of the Company to successfully integrate recently acquired businesses.
For additional information concerning such risk factors and cautionary statements, please see the section titled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements we make in our press releases, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise