Carpenter Technology Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE: CRS) today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. Carpenter reported net income of $38.1 million or $0.71 per diluted share, compared to $40.9 million or $0.77 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

"The Carpenter team drove significant strategic and financial gains in the quarter,” said William A. Wulfsohn, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our Specialty Alloys Operations (SAO) segment grew revenues, excluding surcharge, by 5 percent on 4 percent higher volume versus the third quarter, reflecting an improving mix. SAO also continued to reduce its manufacturing cost per ton. Our Performance Engineered Products (PEP) segment grew revenues, excluding surcharge, by 5 percent sequentially, while continuing to drive a richer product mix and improve its manufacturing processes. Overall Company earnings and margins improved sequentially from the third quarter and we moved to positive free cash flow as capital spending on our Athens facility ramps down.

"Looking forward, our visibility has improved as our SAO sales backlog is up 32 percent versus the prior year. Our first quarter of fiscal year 2015 will be challenging as we expect normal seasonality combined with a mix similar to our fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014. We expect to see the impact of our price increases and mix improvement actions beginning in the second quarter of the fiscal year.

"Our new Athens facility remains critical to supporting our targeted earnings growth during the remainder of fiscal year 2015 and beyond. We produced 1,000 tons of saleable product in the fourth quarter and are making significant progress obtaining internal and customer qualifications. These qualifications are critical to enable us to support our growing demand with Athens’ capacity. As we progress through the year, we expect the Athens facility to enable us to ship higher volumes, with a richer mix, at a lower cost per ton. The timing of the facility start-up appears good as we are seeing demand for our premium and ultra-premium products growing. The potential of Athens, combined with our strong market positions, solid balance sheet and growing backlog, points to a bright future for Carpenter.”

Net Sales and Operating Income

Net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014 were $604.6 million, and net sales excluding surcharge were $488.9 million, a decrease of $7.7 million (or 2 percent) from the same quarter last year, on 7 percent higher shipments.

Operating income was $59.2 million, a decrease of $6.2 million from the fourth quarter of the prior year. Operating income—excluding pension earnings, interest and deferrals (EID)—was $65.2 million, a decrease of $8.1 million (or 11 percent) from the fourth quarter of the prior year. The lower operating income largely reflects a weaker product mix and higher Athens depreciation versus the prior year fourth quarter.

Cash Flow

Cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014 was $95.5 million, which included a $23.8 million decrease in working capital and $1.7 million of pension contributions. This compares to a cash flow from operations of $179.2 million in the prior year’s fourth quarter, which included a $122.5 million decrease in working capital and $1.6 million of pension contributions. Free cash flow in the fourth quarter was $34.9 million, compared to $61.3 million in the same quarter last year. Capital spending in the fourth quarter, largely related to the construction of the Athens facility, was $51.0 million, compared to $109.1 million in the prior year’s fourth quarter.

Total liquidity, including cash and available revolver balance, was $612 million at the end of the fourth quarter. This consisted of $120 million of cash and $492 million of available revolver.

* Excludes sales through Carpenter’s distribution businesses

Aerospace and Defense

• Overall revenue declined year-over-year due to continued demand weakness for engine and defense materials.
• Titanium fastener revenue was up 6 percent year-over-year as demand continued to grow.
• Demand was stable for nickel fasteners and structural components.

Energy

• Carpenter continued to see weak demand in the power generation segment.
• While Amega West posted solid revenue growth in manufacturing and rentals versus the prior year and the directional rig count grew 9 percent versus the same quarter last year, Carpenter continued to see soft demand for materials used in oil well completions.

Medical

Year-over-year volume and revenue growth was driven by:

• Improving demand for orthopedic and surgical devices.
• A resumption of more normalized buying patterns by OEMs as inventories have stabilized.
• Increased distributor demand for titanium products.

Transportation

• North American light vehicle sales are expected to remain at high levels.
• The richer mix is due to improved positioning in higher value internal engine components.
• Carpenter results continue to benefit from a strong demand for materials used in the next generation of fuel delivery systems.

Industrial and Consumer

Demand for Carpenter materials continues to be strong in:

• Plant and equipment applications
• Bridge infrastructure projects
• Semiconductor applications

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes discussions of financial measures that have not been determined in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, accompanied by reasons why the Company believes the non-GAAP measures are important, are included in the attached schedules.

Conference Call and Webcast Presentation

Carpenter will host a conference call and webcast presentation today, July 29, at 10 a.m. ET, to discuss the financial results and operations for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2014. Please call 610-208-2097 for details. Access to both the call and webcast presentation will also be available at Carpenter’s website (http://www.cartech.com) and through CCBN (http://www.ccbn.com), and a replay of the call will soon be made available at http://www.cartech.com and at http://www.ccbn.com. Presentation materials used during this conference call will be available for viewing and download at 7:00 a.m. ET today, at http://www.cartech.com.

About Carpenter Technology

Carpenter produces and distributes premium alloys, including special alloys, titanium alloys and powder metals, as well as stainless steels, alloy steels and tool steels. Information about Carpenter can be found at http://www.cartech.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Carpenter’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2013, 10-Qs for the quarters ended September 30, 2013, December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014, and the exhibits attached to those filings. They include but are not limited to: (1) the cyclical nature of the specialty materials business and certain end-use markets, including aerospace, defense, industrial, transportation, consumer, medical and energy, or other influences on Carpenter’s business, such as new competitors, the consolidation of competitors, customers and suppliers, or the transfer of manufacturing capacity from the United States to foreign countries; (2) the ability of Carpenter to achieve cash generation, growth, profitability, cost savings, productivity improvements or process changes; (3) the ability to recoup increases in the cost of energy, raw materials, freight or other factors; (4) domestic and foreign excess manufacturing capacity for certain metals; (5) fluctuations in currency exchange rates; (6) the degree of success of government trade actions; (7) the valuation of the assets and liabilities in Carpenter’s pension trusts and the accounting for pension plans; (8) possible labor disputes or work stoppages; (9) the potential that our customers may substitute alternate materials or adopt different manufacturing practices that replace or limit the suitability of our products; (10) the ability to successfully acquire and integrate acquisitions; (11) the availability of credit facilities to Carpenter, its customers or other members of the supply chain; (12) the ability to obtain energy or raw materials, especially from suppliers located in countries that may be subject to unstable political or economic conditions; (13) Carpenter’s manufacturing processes are dependent upon highly specialized equipment located primarily in facilities in Reading, Latrobe and Athens, for which there may be limited alternatives if there are significant equipment failures or catastrophic events; and (14) Carpenter’s future success depends on the continued service and availability of key personnel, including members of the executive management team, management, metallurgists and other skilled personnel, and the loss of these key personnel could affect Carpenter’s ability to perform until suitable replacements are found. Any of these factors could have an adverse and/or fluctuating effect on Carpenter’s results of operations. The forward-looking statements in this document are intended to be subject to the safe harbor protection provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Carpenter undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.