Plexus Announces Fiscal Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Record quarterly revenue of $726 million during the fiscal third quarter of 2018
  
• GAAP diluted EPS of $0.79
• Initiates fiscal fourth quarter 2018 revenue guidance of $735 to $775 million with GAAP diluted EPS of $0.82 to $0.92

NEENAH, Wis., July 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) today announced financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended June 30, 2018, and guidance for its fiscal fourth quarter ending September 29, 2018.

Fiscal Third Quarter 2018 Information

• Won 45 manufacturing programs during the quarter representing $202 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Trailing four quarter manufacturing wins total $828 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Purchased $56.7 million of our shares at an average price of $59.81 per share under our existing share repurchase program

Todd Kelsey, President and CEO, commented, “Our fiscal third quarter revenue of $726 million marks the fourth consecutive quarter of record revenue and a 17% increase from the comparable quarter last fiscal year.  We delivered higher than anticipated revenue associated with new program ramps while navigating a challenging supply chain environment, resulting in lower than expected operating margin.  Within the quarter our teams continued their strong wins performance by exceeding $200 million in manufacturing wins and achieving record engineering wins, positioning us for meaningful growth.”

Patrick Jermain, Senior Vice President and CFO, commented, “During the fiscal third quarter, we continued to execute on our previously disclosed capital allocation strategy.  In addition to the $280 million of offshore cash brought back to the U.S. in the fiscal second quarter, we repatriated approximately $100 million during the fiscal third quarter.  We deployed the cash by investing in facilities and working capital, repurchasing approximately $57 million of shares under our repurchase program and reducing our borrowing.”  Mr. Jermain continued, “In June, we successfully refinanced $150 million of the $175 million of senior notes that matured, reducing our debt by $25 million and lowering our borrowing costs given the favorable fixed interest rates. We anticipate repatriating an additional $50 million during the fiscal fourth quarter, which would result in more than $400 million repatriated for fiscal 2018.”

Mr. Kelsey continued, “Looking ahead to the fiscal fourth quarter, we expect our revenue growth trajectory to continue due to our wins performance and improved end markets.  As a result, we are establishing revenue guidance of $735 to $775 million.  At this revenue level, we would exceed our 12% annual revenue growth goal for the fiscal year.  We are guiding fiscal fourth quarter GAAP diluted EPS in the range of $0.82 to $0.92.  With performance in this range we would expect to deliver record operating profit.”

Mr. Kelsey concluded, “As we look forward to fiscal 2019, we are optimistic we will achieve further revenue growth, while also improving our margin performance, as we gain operating and fixed cost leverage from programs that are fully ramped into production.  Further, we anticipate that improved operating efficiency, in conjunction with our share repurchase program, will result in meaningful EPS leverage.”

Business Segment and Market Sector Revenue
The Company measures operational performance and allocates resources on a geographic segment basis.  Plexus also reports revenue based on the market sector breakout set forth in the table below, which reflects the Company’s global market sector focused business development strategy.  Top 10 customers comprised 57% of revenue during the quarter, down one percentage point from the fiscal second quarter of 2018.

Non-GAAP Supplemental Information
Plexus provides non-GAAP supplemental information, such as ROIC, Economic Return, and free cash flow, because such measures are used for internal management goals and decision making, and because they provide management and investors additional insight into financial performance.  In addition, management uses these and other non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS, to provide a better understanding of core performance for purposes of period-to-period comparisons.  Plexus believes that these measures are also useful to investors because they provide further insight by eliminating the effect of items, such as the one-time, non-executive employee bonus paid in the second quarter of fiscal 2018 and the transitional effects of the U.S. Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (“U.S. Tax Reform”), that are not reflective of continuing operations.  For a full reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures, please refer to Non-GAAP Supplemental Information and the attached Non-GAAP Supplemental Information Tables.

ROIC and Economic Return
ROIC for the fiscal third quarter of 2018 was 15.9%. The Company defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized adjusted operating income divided by average invested capital over a four-quarter period for the third quarter.  Invested capital is defined as equity plus debt, less cash and cash equivalents.  The Company’s weighted average cost of capital for fiscal 2018 is 9.5%.  ROIC for the quarter less the Company’s weighted average cost of capital resulted in an economic return of 6.4%.

Free Cash Flow Calculation
The Company defines free cash flow as cash flows provided by operations less capital expenditures.  For the three months ended June 30, 2018, cash flows provided by operations was $38.6 million, less capital expenditures of $22.9 million, resulting in free cash flow of $15.7 million. For the nine months ended June 30, 2018, cash flows provided by operations was $41.4 million, less capital expenditures of $52.0 million, resulting in negative free cash flow of $10.6 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Investor and Media Contact
Susan Hanson
+1.920.751.5491
susan.hanson@plexus.com

About Plexus – The Product Realization Company
Since 1979, Plexus has been partnering with companies to create the products that build a better world.  We are a team of over 18,000, providing global Design and Development, Supply Chain Solutions, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing, and Aftermarket Services.  Plexus is an industry leader that specializes in serving customers with complex products used in demanding regulatory environments.  With a culture built around innovation and customer service, Plexus’ teams create customized end-to-end solutions to assure the realization of the most intricate products.  For more information about Plexus, visit our website, plexus.com.

Safe Harbor and Fair Disclosure Statement
The statements contained in this press release that are guidance or which are not historical facts (such as statements in the future tense and statements including believe, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, goal, target and similar terms and concepts), including all discussions of periods which are not yet completed, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the risk of customer delays, changes, cancellations or forecast inaccuracies in both ongoing and new programs; the lack of visibility of future orders, particularly in view of changing economic conditions; the economic performance of the industries, sectors and customers we serve; the effects of shortages and delays in obtaining components as a result of economic cycles or natural disasters; the effects of tariffs and other trade protection measures; the effects of the volume of revenue from certain sectors or programs on our margins in particular periods; our ability to secure new customers, maintain our current customer base and deliver product on a timely basis; the particular risks relative to new or recent customers, programs or services, which risks include customer and other delays, start-up costs, potential inability to execute, the establishment of appropriate terms of agreements, and the lack of a track record of order volume and timing; the risks of concentration of work for certain customers; the effect of start-up costs of new programs and facilities; possible unexpected costs and operating disruption in transitioning programs, including transitions between Company facilities; the risk that new program wins and/or customer demand may not result in the expected revenue or profitability; the fact that customer orders may not lead to long-term relationships; our ability to manage successfully and execute a complex business model characterized by high product mix, low volumes and demanding quality, regulatory, and other requirements; the ability to realize anticipated savings from restructuring or similar actions, as well as the adequacy of related charges as compared to actual expenses; increasing regulatory and compliance requirements; risks related to information technology systems and data security; the effects of U.S. Tax Reform and of related foreign jurisdiction tax developments; current or potential future barriers to the repatriation of funds that are currently held outside of the United States as a result of actions taken by other countries or otherwise; the potential effects of jurisdictional results on our taxes, tax rates, and our ability to use deferred tax assets and net operating losses; the risks associated with excess and obsolete inventory, including the risk that inventory purchased on behalf of our customers may not be consumed or otherwise paid for by the customer, resulting in an inventory write-off; the weakness of areas of the global economy; the effect of changes in the pricing and margins of products; raw materials and component cost fluctuations; the potential effect of fluctuations in the value of the currencies in which we transact business; the effects of changes in economic conditions, political conditions, and tax matters in the United States and in the other countries in which we do business (including as a result of the United Kingdom’s pending exit from the European Union); the potential effect of other world or local events or other events outside our control (such as changes in energy prices, terrorism and weather events); the impact of increased competition; changes in financial accounting standards; and other risks detailed herein and in our other Securities and Exchange Commission filings (particularly in "Risk Factors" in our fiscal 2017 Form 10-K).