Gibraltar Reports Fourth-Quarter Financial Results

Gibraltar Reports Fourth-Quarter Financial Results

• Adjusted EPS of $0.05 for Quarter versus Prior Year Loss

• Adjusted Full-Year EPS Increases 30% to $0.65, Driven by Performance Improvement Initiatives

BUFFALO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (NAS: ROCK) , a leading manufacturer and distributor of products for building and industrial markets, today reported its financial results for the three- and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2012. All financial metrics in this release reflect only the Company's continuing operations unless otherwise noted.

Fourth-Quarter Financial Results

Gibraltar's net sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $172.6 million, compared to $174.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2011. Fourth-quarter 2012 adjusted net income was $1.5 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, compared with an adjusted loss of $5.1 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2011. The adjusted fourth-quarter 2012 results exclude after-tax special charges of $5.2 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, resulting primarily from intangible asset impairment, acquisition-related costs and exit activity costs related to business restructuring. The adjusted net loss for the fourth quarter of 2011 excluded after-tax special charges totaling $1.8 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, primarily consisting of acquisition-related costs and exit activity costs. Including these items in the respective periods, the fourth quarter 2012 results were a net loss of $3.7 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $6.9 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Management Comments

"We concluded 2012 with strong year-over-year profit improvement in the fourth quarter, achieved without the benefit of meaningful change in order volumes," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian Lipke. "Earnings were up substantially, driven by initiatives we have undertaken during the past two years to strengthen the performance of our business. As a result of this performance improvement, 2012 was a better year for Gibraltar than 2011, and was our second consecutive year of accelerating earnings growth, despite historically low levels of activity in our traditional core markets."

"As we expected, Gibraltar's net sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 were roughly flat with the same period last year," said Henning Kornbrekke, President and Chief Operating Officer. "This reflects the sluggish economic conditions we continued to see in the quarter, highlighted by pockets of both strength and weakness in our North American markets and the ongoing recessionary environment in Europe where we derive less than 7% of sales."

"We are continuing to generate roughly 40% of our total sales in the industrial markets and 10% of our sales in the infrastructure markets," Kornbrekke said. "Product demand for bridge and highway construction applications continued to be a bright spot for us, driven by our solid backlog and a healthy mix of incoming orders, many of them related to large, long-term infrastructure projects triggered by the availability of federal transportation funding. We did not see increased activity in the European automotive or North American oil and gas sectors. As a result, demand in these industrial markets for our products remained stable for the second consecutive quarter."

"This was another quarter of generally soft end-market demand in the 50% of our business directly related to residential and low-rise building markets, including repair and remodeling," Kornbrekke said. "The optimistic forecasts we are receiving from our customers in the wholesale and retail channels mirror the currently positive national statistics on housing starts and home sales. However, the improving end-market environment is not likely to result in stronger sales for Gibraltar until residential building activity begins its seasonal acceleration late in the first quarter and into the second quarter, and housing plans become actual projects and generate orders."

"We have made substantial progress over the past five years in improving our underlying operations, controlling expenses, and expanding margins in every part of the business," said Kornbrekke. "We also have been successful in managing commodity costs, lowering our working capital, generating positive cash flow and reducing our borrowings. We focused in 2012 on restructuring and integrating our West Coast operations, and that process is nearly complete. As a result of these initiatives, we have positioned our businesses so that we can be efficient and profitable even at low demand levels in our major end markets."

Twelve-Month Financial Results

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, total net sales were $790.1 million, a 3% increase compared to $766.6 million in 2011. Adjusted net income in the twelve months of 2012 was $20.2 million, or $0.65 per diluted share, a 30% increase compared with $15.3 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, in the comparable period of 2011. The adjusted results for the twelve months of 2012 exclude after-tax special charges of $7.5 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, for intangible asset impairment, acquisition-related costs and exit activity costs related to business restructuring. Adjusted net income for the twelve months of 2011 excluded after-tax special charges of $6.1 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, for acquisition-related costs, exit activity costs related to business restructuring, and equity compensation declined by Mr. Lipke. Including these items, net income was $12.7 million, or $0.41 per diluted share for 2012, a 37% increase compared with $9.2 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, in 2011.

Gibraltar's liquidity was $165 million as of December 31, 2012, a combination of cash on hand of $48 million and availability under the Company's undrawn revolving credit facility.

Outlook

"Gibraltar delivered stronger financial results in 2012 than it did in 2011, and we are confident that we can extend this record of bottom-line growth during the year ahead," said Lipke. "This confidence is based on four factors. First, we are becoming increasingly optimistic about the sustainability of the positive trends we are currently seeing in the majority of our end markets. As a result, we expect the leverage we have on a lower cost structure to result in expanded margins and improved profitability. Second, we will no longer be incurring the major restructuring charges related to our West Coast integration that we incurred this past year. Third, we completed three acquisitions in the fourth quarter of 2012, funded from our existing cash, which we expect to be accretive in 2013. And fourth, we will have the benefit of lower interest expense in 2013 as a result of the very successful bond refinancing we completed three weeks ago."

"In 2013, we are more strongly positioned for top-line growth," said Lipke. "Our acquisitions over the past two years have expanded both our category and geographic coverage and, as a result, our underlying sales volume. In terms of organic growth, Gibraltar has more products in more major retail stores than at any time in the Company's history. In addition, we are not only providing our wholesale and retail customers with programs that have the potential to further accelerate our sales in both channels, but we also have new products coming out of our development pipeline that should be well-received by our building products customers."

"In light of the progress we have made internally and the brighter end-market outlook, we are optimistic about Gibraltar's prospects for growth on both the top and bottom lines in 2013," Lipke concluded.

Fourth-Quarter Conference Call Details

Gibraltar has scheduled a conference call today to review its results for the fourth quarter of 2012, starting at 9:00 a.m. ET. Interested parties may access the call by dialing (877) 407-5790 or (201) 689-8328. The presentation slides that will be discussed in the conference call are expected to be available this morning, prior to the start of the call. The slides may be downloaded from the Gibraltar website: http://www.gibraltar1.com. A webcast replay of the conference call and a copy of the transcript will be available on the website following the call.

About Gibraltar

Gibraltar Industries is a leading manufacturer and distributor of building products, focused on residential and nonresidential repair and remodeling, as well as construction of industrial facilities and public infrastructure. The Company generates more than 80% of its sales from products that hold leading positions in their markets, and serves customers across North America and Europe. Gibraltar's strategy is to grow organically by expanding its product portfolio and penetration of existing customer accounts, while broadening its market and geographic coverage through the acquisition of companies with leadership positions in adjacent product categories. Comprehensive information about Gibraltar can be found on its website at http://www.gibraltar1.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Information contained in this news release, other than historical information, contains forward-looking statements and is subject to a number of risk factors, uncertainties, and assumptions. Risk factors that could affect these statements include, but are not limited to, the following: the availability of raw materials and the effects of changing raw material prices on the Company's results of operations; energy prices and usage; changing demand for the Company's products and services; changes in the liquidity of the capital and credit markets; risks associated with the integration of acquisitions; and changes in interest and tax rates. In addition, such forward-looking statements could also be affected by general industry and market conditions, as well as general economic and political conditions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law or regulation.

Non-GAAP Financial Data

To supplement Gibraltar's consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, Gibraltar also presented certain adjusted financial data in this news release. Adjusted financial data excluded special charges consisting of restructuring primarily associated with the closing and consolidation of our facilities, acquisition-related costs, surrendered equity compensation, and intangible asset impairment. These adjustments are shown in the Non-GAAP reconciliation of adjusted operating results excluding special charges provided in the financial statements that accompany this news release. We believe that the presentation of results excluding special charges provides meaningful supplemental data to investors, as well as management, that are indicative of the Company's core operating results and facilitates comparison of operating results across reporting periods as well as comparison with other companies. Special charges are excluded since they may not be considered directly related to our ongoing business operations. These adjusted measures should not be viewed as a substitute for our GAAP results, and may be different than adjusted measures used by other companies.

Next Earnings Announcement

Gibraltar expects to release its financial results for the three month period ending March 31, 2013, on Thursday, May 2, 2013, and hold its earnings conference call later that morning, starting at 9:00 a.m. ET.