Mettler-Toledo International Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2015 Results

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE: MTD) today announced third quarter results for 2015.  Provided below are the highlights:

• Sales in local currency increased 3% in the quarter compared with the prior year.  Reported sales decreased 4% as currency reduced sales growth by 7% in the quarter.
• Net earnings per diluted share as reported (EPS) were $3.16, compared with $2.89 in the prior- year period.  Adjusted EPS was $3.26, an increase of 11% over the prior-year amount of $2.95.  Adjusted EPS is a non-GAAP measure and excludes purchased intangible amortization, discrete tax items, restructuring charges and other one-time items.  A reconciliation to EPS is provided on the last page of the attached schedules. 

Third Quarter Results

Olivier Filliol, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Sales growth in the Americas was very strong with broad-based growth in most product lines.  Europe came in as expected and we continue to execute well in this region.  We continued to experience sales declines in China, Russia and Brazil, however our other emerging markets businesses performed well in the quarter.  We had very good margin expansion in the quarter and, despite currency headwinds, achieved solid EPS growth." 

EPS in the quarter was $3.16, compared with the prior-year amount of $2.89.  Adjusted EPS was $3.26, an increase of 11% over the prior-year amount of $2.95.  

Sales were $604.2 million, a 3% increase in local currency sales, compared with $629.1 million in the prior-year quarter.  Reported sales decreased 4% as currency reduced sales growth by 7% in the quarter.  By region, local currency sales increased 10% in the Americas, 1% in Europe and declined 1% in Asia / Rest of World as compared to the prior-year period.  Adjusted operating income amounted to $134.3 million, a 6% increase from the prior-year amount of $126.7 million.  Adjusted operating income is a non-GAAP measure, and a reconciliation to earnings before taxes is provided in the attached schedules.

Cash flow from operations was $126.0 million, compared with $127.3 million in the prior-year quarter.

Nine Month Results

EPS for the nine months was $8.07, compared with the prior-year amount of $7.30.  Adjusted EPS was $8.31, an increase of 11% over the prior-year amount of $7.51.  

Sales were $1.722 billion, a 4% increase in local currency sales, compared with $1.789 billion in the prior-year period.  Reported sales decreased 4% as currency reduced sales growth by 8% in the period.  By region, local currency sales increased 7% in the Americas, 3% in Europe and 1% in Asia / Rest of World as compared to the prior-year period.  Adjusted operating income amounted to $349.9 million, a 6% increase from the prior-year amount of $330.6 million.  Adjusted operating income is a non-GAAP measure, and a reconciliation to earnings before taxes is provided in the attached schedules.

Cash flow from operations was $289.8 million, compared with $278.2 million in the prior-year period.

Share Repurchase Authorization 

The Company has a $3.0 billion stock repurchase program of which $2.9 billion has been utilized.  The Company announced that the Board of Directors authorized an additional $1.5 billion to the share repurchase program.  Any amount remaining under the existing program will be incorporated into the new authorization.  Filliol commented, "The additional authorization allows us to continue the share repurchase program which has provided strong returns for our shareholders over many years.  We are confident in our future growth prospects and our balance sheet and cash flow generation remain very strong."  The Company expects the additional authorization will be utilized over the next several years.  The Company added that the repurchases will be made through open market transactions, and the amount and timing will depend on business and market conditions, stock price, trading restrictions, the level of acquisition activity and other factors. 

Outlook 

The Company updated its outlook and noted that forecasting remains challenging.  In particular, weak demand in Brazil, Russia and China remains and the timing of a recovery is uncertain.  Weak economic activity in those markets may also impact demand in other markets.  Foreign exchange rates also represent a headwind and greater volatility in rates may continue. 

Based on today's assessment, management anticipates that local currency sales growth in the fourth quarter 2015 will be approximately 2% and Adjusted EPS is forecasted to be in the range of $4.58 to $4.63, an increase of 8% to 9%. 

For the full year 2015, local currency sales growth is expected to be approximately 3% and Adjusted EPS in the range of $12.85 to $12.90, an increase of approximately 10%.  This compares to previous guidance of Adjusted EPS of $12.75 to $12.90.    

The Company said that based on its assessment of market conditions today, management anticipates local currency sales growth in 2016 will be in the range of 3% to 4%.  This sales growth is expected to result in Adjusted EPS in the range of $14.10 to $14.30, an increase of 9% to 11%.

Adjusted EPS excludes purchased intangible amortization, discrete tax items, restructuring charges and other one-time items.  While the Company has provided an outlook for Adjusted EPS, it has not provided an outlook for EPS as it would require an estimate of non-recurring items, which are not yet known.  

Conclusion

Filliol concluded, "We remain cautious on China, Brazil and Russia as market conditions are challenging and a recovery is not yet visible.  These countries represent less than 20% of our total sales and our focus for those markets is to protect our operating margins and ensure our resources are targeted to long-term growth opportunities.  Our business in the developed world and in other emerging markets is performing well.   We are capitalizing on our strong product pipeline, best-in-class sales and marketing programs and our investment in additional field resources.  Our margin enhancement and productivity initiatives are well on track and allow us to make these investments despite weak demand in the previously-mentioned countries and adverse foreign exchange rates."

Other Matters

The Company will host a conference call to discuss its quarterly results today (Thursday, November 5) at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  To hear a live webcast or replay of the call, visit the investor relations page on the Company's website at www.mt.com/investors. The presentation referenced in the conference call will be located on the website prior to the call.

METTLER TOLEDO is a leading global supplier of precision instruments and services. The Company has strong leadership positions in all businesses and believes it holds global number-one market positions in a majority of them. Specifically, METTLER TOLEDO is the largest provider of weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial and food retailing applications. The Company is also a leading provider in analytical instruments for use in life science, reaction engineering and real-time analytic systems used in drug and chemical compound development and process analytics instruments used for in-line measurement in production processes. In addition, METTLER TOLEDO is the largest supplier of end-of-line inspection systems used in production and packaging for food, pharmaceutical and other industries. Additional information about METTLER TOLEDO can be found at www.mt.com/investors.

Statements in this press release which are not historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our businesses' actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements.  In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology.  For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please see the discussion on forward-looking statements in our current report on Form 8-K to which this release has been furnished as an exhibit.  All of the forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed under the captions "Factors affecting our future operating results" and in the "Business" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recently completed fiscal year, which describe risks and factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in those forward-looking statements.  

SOURCE Mettler-Toledo International Inc.