Belden Reports Fourth Quarter 2012 Income from Continuing Operations of $0.88 Per Diluted Share, a Y

Belden Reports Fourth Quarter 2012 Income from Continuing Operations of $0.88 Per Diluted Share, a Year-over-Year Improvement of 83%, and Raises 2013 Guidance

Fourth Quarter Highlights

• Grew revenue by 8.2% year-over-year;

• Achieved adjusted gross profit margins of 33.2%, increasing 450 basis points from 28.7% in the year-ago period;

• Improved adjusted operating profit margins to 11.5%, increasing 260 basis points from 8.9% in the year-ago period;

• Increased adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share to $0.78, up 23.8% over last year's $0.63 per diluted share, and

• Raises full-year guidance for fiscal 2013 adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share to $3.44 - $3.69.

Full Year 2012 Highlights

• Increased net income per diluted share to $4.23, up 78% over last year's $2.38 per diluted share;

• Completed inorganic portfolio improvements including the acquisitions of Miranda Technologies and PPC, the sale of the consumer electronics assets, and the divestiture of Thermax and Raydex;

• Generated $145 million in free cash flow, exceeding income from continuing operations for the year, increasing our cash balance to $395 million, and

• Purchased 2.1 million shares of Belden common stock for $75 million during the year, bringing the total program to date shares retired to 3.7 million under the previously announced share repurchase program.

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Belden Inc. (NYS: BDC) , a global leader in signal transmission solutions for mission critical applications, today reported fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2012 results for the period ended December 31, 2012.

Fourth Quarter 2012

Revenue for the quarter totaled $477.7 million, up $36.4 million, or 8.2%, compared to $441.3 million in the fourth quarter 2011. Income from continuing operations per diluted share totaled $0.88, compared to $0.48 in the fourth quarter 2011, a year-over-year increase of 83.3%. A non-GAAP reconciliation table is provided as an appendix to this release.

Adjusted revenue for the quarter totaled $481.2 million, up $39.9 million, or 9.0%, compared to $441.3 million in the fourth quarter 2011. Adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share totaled $0.78, compared to $0.63 in the fourth quarter 2011. The effective tax rate for the quarter was less than the 27.0% rate estimated in the Company's previous guidance due to the recognition of favorable discrete tax items, which had a positive impact of $0.10 per diluted share.

John Stroup, President and CEO of Belden Inc., said, "Our performance in the fourth quarter was consistent with trends experienced all year; strength in industrial end-markets was offset by weaker enterprise demand. I'm pleased with the progress we've made on expanding margins in a challenged macroeconomic environment and believe we're well positioned going forward."

Full Year 2012

Revenue for the year totaled $1.84 billion, down $40 million, or 2.2%, compared to $1.88 billion in the full year 2011. Consolidated net income per diluted share totaled $4.23, compared to $2.38 in the full year 2011. This includes a gain from the disposal of discontinued operations.

Adjusted revenue for the year totaled $1.85 billion, down $30 million, or 1.9%, compared to $1.88 billion in 2011. Adjusted operating income totaled $205 million or 11.1% of adjusted revenue for the year, compared to $186 million or 9.9% of revenue in 2011. Adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share totaled $2.80 for the year, compared to $2.40 in 2011, a 16.7% increase.

Mr. Stroup remarked, "Our 2012 results reflect an exciting year at Belden. In a challenged global economy, we grew adjusted earnings by almost 17%, while expanding margins to record levels and continuing to generate strong cash flow. I'm pleased with our ability to improve our portfolio through a series of inorganic actions. We have reached a critical point in our transformation, evolving into a provider of innovative signal transmission solutions with the following four global business platforms: Industrial IT, Industrial Connectivity, Enterprise Connectivity and Broadcast Solutions."

Outlook

"We are off to a solid start in 2013 with an extremely strong business portfolio. We remain focused on attractive markets with favorable secular trends and share capture. With the expectation for slow global economic growth in 2013, we continue to emphasize our strategic initiatives, including our Market Delivery System and Lean Enterprise. We are confident that these initiatives position us to perform well, and we are, therefore, increasing our earnings outlook for 2013," said Mr. Stroup.

The Company expects first quarter 2013 revenues to be $505 - $515 million and adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share to be $0.76 - $0.81. For the full year ending December 31, 2013, the Company expects revenues to be $2.07 - $2.12 billion and adjusted income from continuing operations per diluted share to be $3.44 - $3.69.

Earnings Conference Call

Management will host a conference call today at 10:30 a.m. Eastern to discuss results of the quarter. 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 888-599-8685; the dial-in number for participants outside the U.S. is 913-312-0403. A replay of this conference call will remain accessible in the investor relations section of the Company's Web site for a limited time.

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

Statements in this release other than historical facts are "forward looking statements" made in reliance upon the safe harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements include any 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 beliefs and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance and they involve risk and uncertainty. The Company's actual results may differ materially from these expectations. Changes in the global economy may impact the Company's results. Turbulence in financial markets may increase the Company's borrowing costs. Additional factors that may cause actual results to differ from the Company's expectations include: the Company's reliance 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 cable, connectivity and networking industries; 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, 2011, filed with the SEC on February 29, 2012. Belden disclaims any duty to update any forward looking statements as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.

About Belden

St. Louis-based Belden Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells connectivity solutions for markets including industrial, enterprise, and broadcast. It has approximately 6,700 employees, and has manufacturing capabilities in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, and a market presence in nearly every region of the world. Belden was founded in 1902, and today is a leader with some of the strongest brands in the signal transmission industry. For more information, visit www.belden.com.