Plexus Announces Fiscal Third Quarter Financial Results

• Fiscal third quarter 2021 revenue of $814 million
• GAAP diluted EPS of $0.95, including $0.04 of restructuring charges and $0.21 of stock-based compensation expense
• Initiates fiscal fourth quarter 2021 revenue guidance of $875 to $915 million with GAAP diluted EPS guidance of $1.13 to $1.29
  

NEENAH, WI, July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS) today announced financial results for our fiscal third quarter ended July 3, 2021, and guidance for our fiscal fourth quarter ending October 2, 2021.

Fiscal Third Quarter 2021 Information

• Won 31 manufacturing programs during the quarter representing approximately $275 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Trailing four quarter wins total a record $1.1 billion in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Purchased $27.3 million of our shares at an average price of $93.53 per share under our existing share repurchase program. A balance of $26.1 million remains outstanding under the $100 million fiscal 2021 programs.

Todd Kelsey, President and CEO, commented, “We delivered fiscal third quarter revenue of $814 million, GAAP operating margin of 4.5% and GAAP EPS of $0.95. Revenue met the high end of our revised expectation provided at the June 8, 2021, Stifel Virtual Cross Sector Insight Conference. This result was primarily due to the resilience and outstanding efforts of our team members in Penang, Malaysia amidst the challenging conditions created by government mandated workforce curtailments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. GAAP operating margin and EPS significantly exceeded our updated outlook on the better than anticipated revenue performance of our Penang operations, an outstanding contribution from our Engineering Solutions team and lower than anticipated healthcare costs.”  

Mr. Kelsey continued, “Our strong business development performance continued during our fiscal third quarter. We won 31 new manufacturing programs that represent approximately $275 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production. In addition, our trailing four-quarter wins expanded from the prior quarter to $1.1 billion. The wins reflect ongoing momentum in new customer engagements and multiple opportunities for our Aftermarket Services team, including an expansion of the notable new relationship highlighted last quarter.”  

Patrick Jermain, Executive Vice President and CFO, commented, “During the fiscal third quarter, we delivered return on invested capital of 15.9%. This equates to an economic return of 780 basis points above our weighted average cost of capital, creating solid shareholder value. Fiscal third quarter cash cycle of 80 days was consistent with our expectations and contributed to $31 million in free cash flow for the quarter. The majority of this quarter’s free cash flow was allocated to repurchasing approximately $27 million of stock under our share repurchase program, continuing our commitment to shareholder returns.”

Mr. Kelsey further commented, “I am pleased that as one of three manufacturers in Penang, Malaysia approved to establish an on-site COVID-19 vaccination clinic, we began vaccinations last week for our team members, customers, suppliers and other local manufacturers. We expect that vaccination efforts, coupled with the productivity improvements implemented by our regional leadership team, will allow our Penang operations to function closer to typical levels of manufacturing output during the fiscal fourth quarter despite ongoing workforce curtailment guidelines. As a result, we are guiding fiscal fourth quarter revenue of $875 to $915 million, GAAP operating margin of 4.8 to 5.2% and GAAP EPS of $1.13 to $1.29. Our guidance assumes that supply chain constraints and COVID-19 do not materially impact end markets or our operations beyond what is already anticipated.”

Mr. Kelsey concluded, “Looking forward, I see the potential to deliver double-digit revenue growth for fiscal 2022 while driving sustained industry leading operational performance. Enabling our growth expectations are the ongoing recovery in equipment used in elective medical procedures, an improving commercial aerospace market, sustained program win strength inclusive of new customer engagements, and our support of secular growth markets, including warehouse and factory automation, robotic assisted surgery and commercial space.”

Business Segment and Market Sector Revenue

Plexus 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 Plexus’ market sector focused strategy. Top 10 customers comprised 55% of revenue for both the second and third quarters of fiscal 2021.

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 third quarter was 15.9%. Plexus defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized adjusted operating income divided by average invested capital over a four-quarter period for the fiscal third quarter. Invested capital is defined as equity plus debt and operating lease obligations, less cash and cash equivalents. Plexus' weighted average cost of capital for fiscal 2021 is 8.1%. ROIC for the fiscal third quarter less Plexus’ weighted average cost of capital resulted in an economic return of 7.8%.

Free Cash Flow
Plexus defines free cash flow as cash flows provided by operations less capital expenditures. For the three months ended July 3, 2021, cash flows provided by operations were $42.7 million and capital expenditures were $11.2 million, resulting in free cash flow of $31.5 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Investor and Media Contact
Shawn Harrison
+1.920.751.3612
shawn.harrison@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 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 companies by providing innovative, comprehensive solutions throughout a 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 the evolving effect, which may intensify, of COVID-19 on our employees, customers, suppliers, and logistics providers, including the impact of governmental actions being taken to curtail the spread of the virus, particularly in the key geography of Malaysia. Other risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the effects of shortages and delays in obtaining components as a result of economic cycles, natural disasters or otherwise; 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 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, any tax law changes as a result of change in U.S. presidential administration, 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 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, global health epidemics 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 2020 Form 10-K and any subsequently filed Form 10-Q.