Mettler-Toledo International Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2013 Results

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE: MTD) today announced second quarter results for 2013.  Provided below are the highlights:

• Sales in local currency increased by 1% in the quarter compared with the prior year.  Reported sales also increased 1%, as currency did not impact sales growth in the quarter.
• Net earnings per diluted share as reported (EPS) were $2.24, compared with $1.93 in the second quarter of 2012.  Adjusted EPS was $2.35, an increase of 9% over the prior-year amount of $2.15.  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. 

Second Quarter Results

Olivier Filliol, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Market conditions remain challenging, particularly in China.  However, with the continued strong execution in our various margin improvement and cost control initiatives, we generated good growth in EPS." 

EPS in the second quarter was $2.24, compared with the prior-year amount of $1.93.  Adjusted EPS was $2.35, an increase of 9% over the prior-year amount of $2.15.  

Sales were $578.7 million, a 1% increase in local currency sales, compared with $570.3 million in the prior-year quarter.  Reported sales also increased 1%, as currency did not impact sales growth in the quarter.  By region, local currency sales increased 5% in the Americas, 2% in Europe and decreased 5% in Asia / Rest of World.  Adjusted operating income amounted to $106.4 million, a 5% increase from the prior-year amount of $101.1 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 $91.0 million, compared with $91.3 million in the prior-year quarter.

Six Month Results

EPS for the six month period was $3.93, compared with the prior-year amount of $3.54.  Adjusted EPS was $4.19, an increase of 10% over the prior-year amount of $3.80.  

Sales for the six months were $1.103 billion, which is consistent with prior year sales of $1.106 billion in local currency sales.  Reported sales were also consistent with the prior year as currency did not impact sales growth in the six month period.  By region, local currency sales increased 3% in the Americas, decreased 1% in Europe and decreased 3% in Asia / Rest of World.  Adjusted operating income amounted to $191.8 million, a 5% increase from the prior-year amount of $181.9 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 for the six month period was $114.6 million, compared with $112.0 million in the prior-year period.

Cost Control Measures

As part of the cost control measures announced in the second quarter of 2012, the Company recorded pre-tax restructuring charges of $3.2 million in the quarter and $8.2 million year to date. 

Increase to Share Repurchase Program

The Company announced that the Board of Directors has authorized a $750 million increase to the share repurchase program.  The Company currently has a $2.25 billion stock repurchase program of which $1.96 billion has been utilized.  Any amount remaining under the existing program will be incorporated into the new authorization.  Filliol commented, "Our share repurchase plan has provided strong returns for our shareholders over many years and we want to continue the program.  We are confident in our future growth prospects and our balance sheet and cash flow generation remain very strong."  The Company expects the new 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 for 2013 and noted that uncertainty in demand exists in most of its markets, which makes forecasting difficult.  Based on today's assessment, management anticipates that local currency sales growth in 2013 will be in the range of 1% to 2%.  This sales growth will result in Adjusted EPS in the range of $10.45 to $10.60, an increase of 8% to 10%.  This compares to previous guidance of Adjusted EPS in the range of $10.40 to $10.60.    

The Company stated that based on its assessment of market conditions today, management anticipates that local currency sales growth for the third quarter of 2013 will be in the range of 1% to 3% and Adjusted EPS will be in the range of $2.55 to $2.60, an increase of 6% to 8%.

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, "There is uncertainty in our markets and although we expect market conditions to improve, the timing of that recovery will likely be different by geographic region.  Our businesses in the Americas are generally performing well while in Europe market conditions are stable but below historic levels.  In Asia, and particularly in China, there is more uncertainty and we will monitor this closely.  With the adjustments that we made to our cost structure last year, we believe we are well positioned to focus on growth opportunities that exist, despite the challenging environment.  Execution of our strategic initiatives will continue to be a key factor in gaining share and driving further earnings growth."  

Other Matters

The Company will host a conference call to discuss its quarterly results today (Thursday, July 25) 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.