KapStone Reports Record First Quarter Results

NORTHBROOK, Ill., April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation (NYSE:KS) today reported record results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014. As compared to 2013's first quarter, results for 2014's first quarter are below:

• Net sales of $549 million up $229 million, or 72 percent
• Net income of $32 million up $14 million, or 74 percent
• Adjusted net income of $35 million up $15 million, or 72 percent
• Adjusted EBITDA of $96 million up $45 million, or 89 percent
• Adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.4 percent, up from 15.8 percent
• Diluted EPS of $0.33 up $0.14 per share, or 74 percent
• Adjusted diluted EPS of $0.36 up $0.15 per share, or 71 percent

Roger W. Stone, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "KapStone was able to deliver a record first quarter despite the negative impact from the extremely severe weather conditions.  During the quarter, we successfully completed the upgrade to the paper machine in Charleston, but due to the related downtime to complete the project, we lost 14,300 tons of production.  Although operations at our legacy mills ran well in the first quarter, we struggled with some temporary operational issues at our Longview facility that have now been corrected.

"In 2014, KapStone has already accomplished several key tasks that will strengthen our company as we move forward.  The March 1st kraft paper price increase of $50 per ton should yield approximately $30 million of annualized benefits once fully implemented.  We have now completed two major paper machine upgrades totaling $45 million with expected simple paybacks of less than two years.  We announced a voluntary separation plan at our legacy mills that is expected to reduce annual personnel costs by up to $4 million.  Our strong financial performance since the acquisition of Longview enabled us to reduce our interest rates by 50 basis points on our term loans and revolving credit facility."

First Quarter Operating Highlights

Consolidated net sales of $549 million in the first quarter of 2014 increased by $229 million, or 72 percent, compared to $320 million for the 2013 first quarter. The increase is primarily due to the Longview acquisition, which contributed $227 million of additional revenue, and higher average selling prices for the legacy operations. The Company sold 673,000 tons of paper during the first quarter of 2014 compared to 420,000 tons a year earlier. The Company's average mill selling price of $685 per ton in the first quarter of 2014 increased by $32 per ton compared to the  first quarter of 2013 due to the combined impact of the 2012 and 2013 containerboard and corrugated product price increases and the inclusion of Longview.  Average mill selling prices increased $15 per ton from the fourth quarter of 2013, reflecting an improved seasonal product mix compared to the prior quarter.

Operating income of $58 million for the 2014 first quarter increased by $27 million, or 89 percent, compared to the 2013 first quarter. The improved financial performance primarily reflects benefits from the Longview acquisition and higher containerboard and corrugated product prices, partially offset by the severe weather impacts and higher planned outages costs.  We estimate the negative impact of the weather on our operations was approximately $8 million, and the temporary operating issues at Longview negatively impacted operating earnings by approximately $3 million.   

Interest expense, net, was $8 million for the first quarter of 2014, up $6 million from a year ago as a result of a higher debt balance associated with the Longview acquisition. As of April 2, 2014, the average interest rate on our term loans was 2 percent which is 50 basis points, or $6 million on an annualized basis, lower than at December 31, 2013 due to a recently amended credit facility agreement that reduced the borrowing rates, as well as an improved debt to EBITDA ratio that improved our position on the pricing grid. 

The effective income tax rate for the 2014 first quarter was 34.3 percent compared to 33.8 percent for the 2013 first quarter.  

Cash Flow and Working Capital

Cash and cash equivalents increased by $11 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2014, from December 31, 2013 to $24 million.   The Company generated $39 million of net cash from operating activities during the first quarter and at March 31, 2014 the debt leverage ratio was 2.7 times, down from 3.8 times at the time of the Longview acquisition. Capital expenditures in the first quarter were $32 million and included $13 million for the Charleston and Longview paper machine upgrades.   

At March 31, 2014, the Company had approximately $232 million of working capital and $395 million of revolver borrowing capacity. 

Conclusion

In summary, Stone commented, "As we shift our focus from integration activities to optimizing the enterprise, I expect to see continued improvement on an already sound operating platform." 

Conference Call

KapStone will host a conference call at 11 a.m. ET, Thursday, May 1, 2014, to discuss the Company's financial results for the 2014 first quarter. All interested parties are invited to listen and may do so by either accessing a simultaneous broadcast webcast on KapStone's website, http://www.kapstonepaper.com, or for those unable to access the webcast, the following dial-in numbers are available:

Domestic:  800-901-5241
International:  617-786-2963
Participant Passcode:  64066362

A presentation to be viewed in conjunction with the call will also be available on our website, http://www.kapstonepaper.com, in the "Investors" section.

Replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days on the Company's website following the call.

About the Company

Headquartered in Northbrook, IL, KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation is the fifth largest producer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products and is the largest kraft paper producer in the United States. The Company is the parent company of KapStone Kraft Paper Corporation and KapStone Container Corporation which includes four paper mills and 22 converting plants, respectively, across the US. The business employs approximately 4,600 people.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, including "EBITDA", "Adjusted EBITDA", "Adjusted Net Income", and "Adjusted Diluted EPS" to measure our operating performance. Management uses these measures to focus on the on-going operations, and believes it is useful to investors because they enable them to perform meaningful comparisons of past and present operating results. The Company believes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide useful information to investors because they improve the comparability of the financial results between periods and provide for greater transparency to key measures used to evaluate the performance and liquidity of the Company. Management uses EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for evaluating the Company's performance against competitors and as a primary measure for employees' incentive programs. Reconciliations of Net Income to EBITDA, EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA, Net Income to Adjusted Net Income, Basic EPS to Adjusted Basic EPS, and Diluted EPS to Adjusted Diluted EPS are included in the financial schedules contained in this press release. However, these measures should not be construed as an alternative to any other measure of performance determined in accordance with GAAP.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are not historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "would,' "expect," "project," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential," "outlook," or "continue," the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These statements reflect management's current views and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, many of which are beyond the Company's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: (1) industry conditions, including changes in cost, competition, changes in the Company's product mix and demand and pricing for the Company's products; (2) market and economic factors, including changes in raw material and healthcare costs, exchange rates and interest rates; (3) results of legal proceedings and compliance costs, including unanticipated expenditures related to the cost of compliance with environmental and other governmental regulations; (4) the ability to achieve and effectively manage growth; (5) the ability to pay the Company's debt obligations; (6) the ability to carry out the Company's strategic initiatives and manage associated costs and (7) the integration of the Longview acquisition. Further information on these and other risks and uncertainties is provided under Item 1A "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and elsewhere in reports that the Company files with the SEC. These filings can be found on KapStone's Web site at http://www.kapstonepaper.com and the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances.

SOURCE KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation