Robbins & Myers Announces Third Quarter 2010 Results

DAYTON, Ohio, June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Robbins & Myers, Inc. (NYSE: RBN) today reported diluted net earnings per share (DEPS) of $0.25 for its fiscal third quarter ended May 31, 2010.  Fiscal 2009 third quarter DEPS of $0.31 included the benefit of a lower tax rate.

Third quarter orders of $159 million were 34% higher than the third quarter of 2009, most notably on strength in energy markets, and backlog grew to $160 million.  Third quarter 2010 sales of $147 million were 3% higher than the comparable prior year period.  Third quarter 2010 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was $13 million, slightly higher than last year's third quarter and double the amount earned in the second quarter of this year.

"We are seeing improved customer demand across our portfolio of leading products and solutions," said Peter C. Wallace, President and Chief Executive Officer of Robbins & Myers, Inc.  "We are benefiting from recovering energy markets, and have seen notable sales increases in our product lines that support horizontal drilling activity for shale projects.  We have seen a higher level of quotation activity in our industrial product lines serving wastewater and chemical markets, but a full recovery for larger chemical projects is not expected this calendar year.  The demand for Romaco equipment is solid and improving as demonstrated by the business' profit levels in the third quarter."

Robbins & Myers reported $28 million of cash from operating activities in the third quarter of 2010 compared with $20 million in the prior year quarter, and the last of the Company's senior notes were repaid in May 2010.  The Company finished the recent quarter with $123 million of cash and virtually no debt, and it had $123 million of available capacity under its $150 million revolving credit agreement.

Mr. Wallace noted, "We have improved our working capital efficiency throughout the year, creating significant cash flow to bolster an already-strong balance sheet.  Our ample capital capacity supports our growth agenda, including acquisitions, new product development and geographic expansion."

Robbins & Myers established its fourth quarter DEPS forecast of $0.31-$0.41, supported by current order trends and backlog.  Robbins & Myers expects full year DEPS of $0.87-$0.97.  All forecast figures exclude the cost of restructuring actions.  Minimal restructuring costs were incurred during the first three quarters of 2010.

Third Quarter Results by Segment

In January, the Company announced a realignment of its businesses that included moving its Chemineer US and Asian operations from the Process Solutions Group to the Fluid Management Group.  All results included in this press release have been adjusted to reflect the new operating and reporting structure.  A recasting of quarterly segment results for fiscal 2007 through 2009 can be viewed in the "Investor Presentations" page of the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website, www.robn.com.

The Company's Fluid Management segment orders of $85 million represent a 71% increase over the prior year third quarter, driven by strengthening energy and industrial markets.  Sales of $80 million are 10% higher than the comparable prior year period, and EBIT improved 17% to $20 million.

The Process Solutions segment reported orders of $47 million, 13% higher than the prior year third quarter.  Sales of $40 million were 14% lower than the comparable prior year period.  Lower volumes and competitive pricing pressures resulted in an EBIT loss of $2 million in the third quarter of 2010 versus EBIT income of $2 million in the third quarter of 2009.  The Company has been negotiating with the union representing workers at its German facility regarding the employment changes required to restore the business to long-term profitability.  No agreement has yet been reached, but the Company hopes to achieve a successful resolution in the near-term.

Romaco segment orders of $27 million were nearly in-line with prior year results.  Sales in the quarter were $27 million, 11% higher than the third quarter of 2009.  Romaco achieved EBIT of $1.4 million as compared with a $0.5 million EBIT loss in the prior year third quarter.

Conference Call to Be Held Today, June 24 at 3:00 PM (Eastern)

A conference call to discuss these results has been scheduled for 3:00 PM Eastern on Thursday, June 24, 2010, which can be accessed at www.robn.com or by dialing 1-866-510-0712 (US/Canada) or +1-617-597-5380, using conference ID #35640996.  Replays of the call can be accessed by dialing 1-888-286-8010 (U.S./Canada) or +1-617-801-6888, using replay ID #37056553.

About Robbins & Myers

Robbins & Myers, Inc. is a leading supplier of engineered equipment and systems for critical applications in global energy, industrial, chemical and pharmaceutical markets.

In this release the Company refers to EBIT, a non-GAAP measure.  The Company uses this measure to evaluate its performance and believes this measure is helpful to investors in assessing its performance.  A reconciliation of this measure to net income is included in our Condensed Consolidated Income Statement.  EBIT is not a measure of cash available for use by the Company.

In addition to historical information, this press release contains forward-looking statements identified by use of words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," and similar expressions.  These statements reflect management's current expectations and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those stated. The most significant of these risks and uncertainties are described in our Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and include, but are not limited to: the cyclical nature of some of our markets; a significant decline in capital expenditures in our primary markets; a major decline in oil and natural gas prices; reduced demand due to the general worldwide economic downturn and general credit market crises; our ability to realize the benefits of our restructuring programs; increases in competition; changes in the availability and cost of our raw materials; foreign exchange rate fluctuations as well as economic or political instability in international markets and the performance of our business in hyperinflationary environments, such as Venezuela; work stoppages related to union negotiations; customer order cancellations; the possibility of product liability lawsuits that could harm our business; events or circumstances which result in an impairment of, or valuation against, assets; the potential impact of U.S. and foreign legislation, government regulations, and other governmental action, including those relating to export and import of products and materials, and changes in the interpretation and application of such laws and regulations; the outcome of audit, compliance, administrative or investigatory reviews; proposed changes in U.S. tax law which could impact our future tax expense and cash flow; and decline in the market value of our pension plans' investment portfolios affecting our financial condition and results of operations. Except as otherwise required by law, we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

SOURCE Robbins & Myers, Inc.