Plexus Announces Fiscal First Quarter Financial Results

• Record quarterly revenue of $852 million during the fiscal first quarter of 2020
  
  
• GAAP diluted EPS of $1.03
  
  
• Non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS of $1.00, excluding a net benefit of $0.03 per share related to special tax items
  
  
• Initiates fiscal second quarter 2020 revenue guidance of $790 to $830 million with GAAP diluted EPS of $0.80 to $0.90, excluding any non-recurring charges

NEENAH, Wis., Jan. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS) today announced financial results for its fiscal first quarter ended January 4, 2020, and guidance for its fiscal second quarter ending April 4, 2020.

Fiscal First Quarter 2020 Information

• Won 30 manufacturing programs during the quarter, representing $167 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Trailing four quarter wins total $843 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Purchased $6.3 million of our shares at an average price of $69.82 per share under our existing share repurchase program

Todd Kelsey, President and CEO, commented, “I am pleased with our strong performance in the fiscal first quarter, during which we delivered record quarterly revenue of $852 million and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.00, each result exceeding the high end of our expectations entering the quarter.  This revenue represents 11% growth over the comparable period in fiscal 2019 and 5% growth sequentially.  Our Healthcare/Life Sciences sector exceeded our expectations coming into the quarter as our team responded to increased demand from several of our customers.  The Industrial/Commercial sector was exceptionally strong as we capitalized on further strengthening in the semiconductor capital equipment sub-sector.  Our global teams continue to prioritize operational excellence, and through that focus delivered fiscal first quarter operating margin of 4.7%."

Patrick Jermain, Executive Vice President and CFO, commented, “During the fiscal first quarter, we generated $61 million in free cash flow, a result that was above our projections.  Compared to the prior year fiscal first quarter during which we had cash outflows of $58 million, this quarter’s strong result positions us well to generate over $100 million in free cash flow for fiscal 2020.  Fiscal first quarter cash cycle of 71 days was favorable to our expectations and sequentially lower by 9 days, as we benefited from continued progress on our working capital initiatives.  Over the past two quarters we have reduced our cash cycle by 18 days, largely due to our success with these initiatives.”

Mr. Kelsey continued, “As we look ahead to the fiscal second quarter, we expect revenue to moderate from the exceptionally strong fiscal first quarter.  As such, we are guiding revenue in the range of $790 to $830 million.  We anticipate revenue at this level will lead to GAAP diluted EPS in the range of $0.80 to $0.90, excluding any non-recurring charges, a projection that is impacted by seasonal payroll costs and the pause of two larger programs in our engineering organization. We are proactively responding to these program pauses by strategically repositioning our Boulder Design Center to co-locate with our existing manufacturing facility in Boise, ID, creating an Aerospace and Defense Center of Excellence.  This combination of engineering and manufacturing services will provide the synergies and cost advantages of a campus environment while delivering a compelling service offering for our customers in the Aerospace and Defense sector.”

Mr. Kelsey concluded, “Our outlook for fiscal 2020 remains generally unchanged from previous expectations as we anticipate sequentially increasing revenue during the second half of the fiscal year.  Coupling this with our largely stable end-markets, a talented work force focused on delighting our customers, and our comprehensive service offerings, we anticipate solid operating performance with a return to operating margin within our target range of 4.7% to 5.0%.  This would lead to robust EPS expansion for the fiscal year.”

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 market sector focused strategy.  Top 10 customers comprised 54% of revenue during the fiscal first quarter, up three percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter of 2019.

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 with 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 non-recurring items that are not reflective of continuing operations.  For a full reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures, please refer to the attached Non-GAAP Supplemental Information Tables.

ROIC and Economic Return
ROIC for the fiscal first quarter was 14.7%.  The Company defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized adjusted operating income divided by average invested capital over a two-quarter period for the fiscal first quarter.  Invested capital is defined as equity plus debt and operating lease liabilities, less cash and cash equivalents.  The Company’s weighted average cost of capital for fiscal 2020 is 8.8%.  ROIC for the fiscal first quarter less the Company’s weighted average cost of capital resulted in an economic return of 5.9%.

Free Cash Flow
The Company defines free cash flow as cash flows provided by operations less capital expenditures.  For the three months ended January 4, 2020, cash flows provided by operations was $74.7 million, less capital expenditures of $13.7 million, resulting in free cash flow of $61.0 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Investor and Media Contact
Heather Beresford
+1.920.751.3612
heather.beresford@plexus.com

About Plexus
Since 1979, Plexus has been partnering with companies to create the products that build a better world.  We are a team of over 19,000 individuals who are dedicated to providing global Design and Development, Supply Chain Solutions, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing, and Aftermarket Services.  Plexus is a global leader that specializes in serving customers in industries with highly complex products and demanding regulatory environments.  Plexus delivers customer service excellence to leading global companies by providing innovative, comprehensive solutions throughout the product’s lifecycle.  For more information about Plexus, visit our website at www.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, natural disasters or otherwise; the effects of tariffs, trade disputes, trade agreements 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 risks of concentration of work for certain customers;  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 effects of start-up costs of new programs and facilities or the costs associated with the closure or consolidation of 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 and demanding quality, regulatory, and other requirements; 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; risks related to information technology systems and data security; 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; 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 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; an inability to successfully manage human capital; 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 2019 Form 10-K.