Lifetime Brands, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2012 Results

Updated

Lifetime Brands, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2012 Results

Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.025 per Share

GARDEN CITY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NasdaqGS: LCUT), a global provider of branded products used to prepare, serve and consume foods in the home, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.


Net sales for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 were $128.1 million and $332.0 million, respectively. Net sales grew by 2.7% and 8.2% compared to the corresponding periods in 2011. Net sales increased as a result of the inclusion of the net sales of Creative Tops, acquired in November 2011, and a strong increase in sales of Kitchenware products, offset by a decrease in demand for Tabletop and Home Solutions products.

Gross margin percentage for the three months ended September 30, 2012 was 35.1%, as compared to 35.5%, in the corresponding period in 2011. Gross margin for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and for the corresponding period in 2011 was 36.4%.

Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2012 decreased to $3.9 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, from $7.5 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, in the corresponding 2011 period. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, net income decreased to $5.8 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, from $8.6 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, in the corresponding 2011 period.

Adjusted net income for the quarter was $5.1 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, as compared to $6.6 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, in 2011. Adjusted net income for the nine month period was $7.6 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, as compared to $7.7 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, in 2011. Adjusted net income in each of the 2012 periods excludes intangible asset impairment, a loss on early retirement of debt related to the repayment of the Company's Term Loan, an expense related to retirement benefit obligations and acquisition related expenses. Adjusted net income in the 2011 periods excludes the equity earnings from an entity that discontinued the sale of products in late 2011 and acquisition related expenses and includes adjustments to reflect a normalized annual tax rate.

Jeffrey Siegel, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer said,

"I am pleased to report that our core Kitchenware products category performed well during the quarter, as it has all year; reflecting increases in our Kitchen Tools & Gadgets and Kitchen Cutlery & Cutting Board product lines, and strong gains in Cookware, driven by the introduction our new Guy Fieri® cookware line.

"These gains were offset by declines in our Tabletop and Home Solutions product categories. Sales of tabletop products were negatively impacted by several factors, including a decision to restrict sales of Mikasa-branded dinnerware to customers that maintain and primarily sell through brick and mortar facilities and the well-publicized problems at a major retailer that traditionally had been a significant customer of our tabletop products.

"As previously noted, we are transitioning some of our home décor business to higher quality branded products sold under our Mikasa® and Pfaltzgraff® brands.

"I am pleased to report that Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath had little impact on our operations.

"Our holiday season is shaping up well. Based on our current bookings and orders, we expect consolidated net sales for the fourth quarter to be approximately 5% greater than net sales in the fourth quarter of 2011."

On November 2, 2012, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per share payable on February 15, 2013 to shareholders of record on February 1, 2013.

Conference Call

The Company has scheduled a conference call for Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. ET. The dial-in number for the conference call is (800) 291-9234 or (617) 614-3923, passcode #56998213. A replay of the call will also be available through November 15, 2012 and can be accessed by dialing (888) 286-8010 or (617) 801-6888, conference ID #23693174. A live webcast of the conference call will be broadcast in the Investor Relations section of the Company's web site, www.lifetimebrands.com. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, an audio replay of the call will also be available on the site.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This earnings release contains non-GAAP financial measures. For purposes of Regulation G, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows that excludes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding amounts, that are included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP in the statements of income, balance sheets, or statements of cash flows of the Company; or includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of including amounts, that are excluded from the most directly comparable measure so calculated and presented. Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G, the Company has provided reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP measures are provided because management of the Company uses these financial measures in evaluating the Company's on-going financial results and trends. Management uses this non-GAAP information as an indicator of business performance.

EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that the Company defines as net income, adjusted to exclude undistributed equity earnings, an extraordinary item, income taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization, restructuring expenses, stock compensation expense, acquisition related expenses, intangible asset impairment and loss on early retirement of debt, as shown in the table below. Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted income per share are non-GAAP measures that the Company defines as net income, adjusted to exclude intangible asset impairment, loss on early retirement of debt, an expense related to retirement benefit obligations, acquisition related expenses and the equity earnings from an entity that discontinued the sale of products in late 2011 and include income tax adjustments to reflect a normalized annual tax rate.

Forward-Looking Statements

In this press release, the use of the words "believe," "could," "expect," "may," "positioned," "project," "projected," "should," "will," "would" or similar expressions is intended to identify forward-looking statements that represent the Company's current judgment about possible future events. The Company believes these judgments are reasonable, but these statements are not guarantees of any events or financial results, and actual results may differ materially due to a variety of important factors. Such factors might include, among others, the Company's ability to comply with the requirements of its credit agreements; the availability of funding under such credit agreements; the Company's ability to maintain adequate liquidity and financing sources and an appropriate level of debt; changes in general economic conditions which could affect customer payment practices or consumer spending; the impact of changes in general economic conditions on the Company's customers; changes in demand for the Company's products; shortages of and price volatility for certain commodities; significant changes in the competitive environment and the effect of competition on the Company's markets, including on the Company's pricing policies, financing sources and an appropriate level of debt.

Lifetime Brands, Inc.

Lifetime Brands is a leading global provider of kitchenware, tabletop and other products used in the home. The Company markets its products under such well-known kitchenware brands as Farberware®, KitchenAid®, CasaMōda®, Cuisinart®, Cuisine de France®, Guy Fieri®, Hoffritz®, Kizmos™, Misto®, Pedrini®, Roshco®, Sabatier®, Savora™ and Vasconia®; respected tabletop brands such as Mikasa®, Pfaltzgraff®, Creative Tops®, Gorham®, International® Silver, Kirk Stieff®, Sasaki®, Towle® Silversmiths, Tuttle®, Wallace®, V&A® and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew®; and home solutions brands, including Elements®, Melannco®, Kamenstein® and Design for Living™. The Company also provides exclusive private label products to leading retailers worldwide.

The Company's website is www.lifetimebrands.com.

LIFETIME BRANDS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands - except per share data)


(unaudited)

Three Months Ended

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

September 30,

2012

2011

2012

2011

Net sales

$

128,050

$

124,663

$

332,030

$

306,807

Cost of sales

83,141

80,424

211,287

195,132

Gross margin

44,909

44,239

120,743

111,675

Distribution expenses

10,536

10,352

31,943

30,598

Selling, general and administrative expenses

25,893

23,589

74,935

66,451

Intangible asset impairment

1,069

-

1,069

-

Income from operations

7,411

10,298

12,796

14,626

Interest expense

(1,271

)

(1,789

)

(4,644

)

(5,807

)

Loss on early retirement of debt

(1,015

)

-

(1,363

)

-

Income before income taxes and equity in earnings

5,125

8,509

6,789

8,819

Income tax provision

(1,930

)

(2,089

)

(2,612

)

(2,609

)

Equity in earnings, net of taxes

695

1,113

1,616

2,437

NET INCOME

$

3,890

$

7,533

$

5,793

$

8,647

BASIC INCOME PER COMMON SHARE

$

0.31

$

0.62

$

0.46

$

0.72

DILUTED INCOME PER COMMON SHARE

$

0.30

$

0.60

$

0.45

$

0.69

Cash dividends declared per common share

$

0.025

$

-

$

0.10

$

0.05

LIFETIME BRANDS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands - except share data)


(unaudited)

September 30,

December 31,

2012

2011

(unaudited)

ASSETS

CURRENT ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents

$ 1,749

$ 2,972

Accounts receivable, less allowances of $3,381 at September 30, 2012

and $4,602 at December 31, 2011

91,269

77,749

Inventory

128,954

110,337

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

6,052

5,264

Deferred income taxes

3,441

2,475

TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS

231,465

198,797

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net

32,002

34,324

INVESTMENTS

36,228

34,515

INTANGIBLE ASSETS, net

44,668

46,937

OTHER ASSETS

2,904

4,172

TOTAL ASSETS

$ 347,267

$ 318,745

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

CURRENT LIABILITIES

Revolving Credit Facility

$ 37,826

$ 15,000

Current portion of Senior Secured Term Loan

3,500

-

Accounts payable

27,133

18,985

Accrued expenses

35,349

33,877

Income taxes payable

1,342

2,100

TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES

105,150

69,962

DEFERRED RENT & OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES

16,207

14,598

DEFERRED INCOME TAXES

4,821

5,385

REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY

35,838

42,625

SENIOR SECURED TERM LOAN

31,500

-

TERM LOAN

-

40,000

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

Preferred stock, $.01 par value, shares authorized: 100 shares of Series A

and 2,000,000 shares of Series B; none issued and outstanding

-

-

Common stock, $.01 par value, shares authorized: 25,000,000; shares

issued and outstanding: 12,570,899 at September 30, 2012 and

12,430,893 at December 31, 2011

126

124

Paid-in capital

139,975

137,467

Retained earnings

19,013

14,465

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(5,363)

(5,881)

TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

153,751

146,175

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

$ 347,267

$ 318,745

LIFETIME BRANDS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)


(unaudited)

Nine Months Ended

September 30,

2012

2011

OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Net income

$

5,793

$

8,647

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating

activities:

Depreciation and amortization

6,878

6,061

Amortization of debt discount

-

543

Deferred rent

(421

)

(41

)

Deferred income taxes

(687

)

573

Stock compensation expense

2,131

2,105

Undistributed equity earnings

(1,201

)

(1,971

)

Loss on early retirement of debt

1,363

-

Intangible asset impairment

1,069

-

Changes in operating assets and liabilities (excluding the effects of business

acquisitions)

Accounts receivable

(13,170

)

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