Press Release Details

MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) today reported third quarter 2017 financial results.

• Third quarter 2017 earnings were $0.46 per share, diluted, compared to $0.40 per share in the third quarter of 2016.
• Third quarter 2017 adjusted earnings were $0.50 per share, diluted, up 9% from third quarter 2016 adjusted earnings of $0.46 per share.
• Net sales for the third quarter of 2017 were $294.3 million, compared to $249.6 million for the third quarter of 2016.
• Third quarter 2017 value-added sales totaled $171.4 million, up 9% from third quarter 2016 value-added sales of $157.0 million.
• Net income for the first nine months of 2017 was $0.97 per share, diluted, compared to $0.94 per share for the first nine months of 2016. Adjusted earnings for the first nine months of 2017 totaled $1.21 per share, diluted, an increase of 17% versus adjusted earnings of $1.03 per share in the same prior-year period.
• The Company is narrowing its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $1.55 to $1.60 per share, the high end of the previous range.

THIRD QUARTER 2017 RESULTS

Net sales for the third quarter were $294.3 million, compared to net sales of $249.6 million for the third quarter of 2016. Value-added sales were $171.4 million in the third quarter of 2017, up 9% compared to value-added sales of $157.0 million for the third quarter of 2016.

The acquisition of Heraeus' high-performance target materials business (HTB) contributed $11.4 million of value-added sales in the third quarter of 2017. Growth in the base business, including our two largest end markets of consumer electronics and industrial components, added $3.0 million of value-added sales, and was driven by new product sales growth and improved end market demand. New product sales in the third quarter of 2017 reached record levels at $30.7 million, or approximately 18% of total value-added sales.

Net income for the third quarter of 2017 was $9.3 million, or $0.46 per share, diluted, versus net income of $8.1 million for the third quarter of 2016. Adjusted earnings for the third quarter of 2017, which excludes costs related to the Company's CEO transition and cost reduction initiatives, were $0.50 per share, diluted, up 9% compared to third quarter 2016 adjusted earnings of $0.46 per share.

For the first nine months of 2017, net sales were $830.8 million compared to net sales of $734.9 million for the same period last year. Value-added sales for the first nine months of 2017 were $496.5 million, compared to $454.8 million for the same period last year. Year-over-year growth of 9% in value-added sales is attributable to the HTB acquisition and a combination of higher new product sales growth and strength in the consumer electronics and industrial components end markets.

Year-to-date net income was $19.7 million or $0.97 per share, diluted, as compared to $19.0 million or $0.94 per share in the prior year. Excluding special items, earnings for the first nine months of 2017 were $24.7 million, or $1.21 per share, diluted, as compared to $20.9 million, or $1.03 per share, for the same period last year. The increase in year-to-date adjusted earnings of 17% per share is driven by performance improvements across the business and topline sales growth.

Jugal Vijayvargiya, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "I am pleased to see continued improvement in both the top and bottom lines in the second half of 2017. For the third consecutive quarter, we have delivered solid year-over-year value-added sales and adjusted operating profit growth. With increased confidence in our ability to execute the four-pillar strategy of commercial excellence, operational excellence, innovation, and acquisitions to consistently deliver profitable growth, we are narrowing full-year adjusted earnings guidance to $1.55 to $1.60 per share."

BUSINESS SEGMENT REPORTING

Advanced Materials

Advanced Materials' net sales for the third quarter of 2017 were $157.8 million, versus third quarter 2016 net sales of $107.2 million. Value-added sales for the third quarter of 2017 were $60.4 million, an increase of over 31% compared to value-added sales of $46.0 million for the same period last year. The HTB acquisition contributed $11.4 million of value-added sales growth in the third quarter of 2017, while the base business growth of 7% was led by strength in the consumer electronics and defense end markets.

Operating profit for the third quarter of 2017 was $9.8 million, or 16% of value-added sales, an increase of $1.5 million from third quarter of 2016. This represents an increase in operating profit of 18% versus the third quarter of the prior year, driven mainly by sales growth across most major end markets, including the segment's largest end market of consumer electronics.

Performance Alloys and Composites

Net sales for Performance Alloys and Composites business in the third quarter of 2017 were $109.4 million compared to net sales of $103.7 million in the third quarter of 2016. Value-added sales were $90.6 million in the third quarter of 2017 compared to $87.2 million in the third quarter of 2016. The 4% year-over-year improvement in value-added sales was driven by new product sales and end market demand, particularly in the consumer electronics and industrial components end markets.

Operating profit for the third quarter of 2017 was $6.8 million. Excluding cost reduction efforts related to the closure of the service center in Fukaya, Japan, adjusted operating profit for the third quarter of 2017 was $7.0 million, or 8% of value-added sales, as compared to $4.4 million for the same period last year. The 59% year-over-year increase in adjusted operating profit is led by performance improvements across the business, new product sales growth, and an improved product mix.

Precision Coatings

Precision Coatings' net sales for the third quarter of 2017 were $27.1 million versus net sales of $38.7 million in the third quarter of 2016. Value-added sales for the third quarter of 2017 were $21.9 million, a 15% decline compared to $25.8 million for the same period of 2016. The decrease in value-added sales is attributable to lower medical end market sales, partially offset by sales growth in the defense and industrial components end markets.

Precision Coatings' operating profit for the third quarter of 2017 was $1.6 million. Excluding severance costs related to headcount reductions in Asia and North America, adjusted operating profit for the third quarter of 2017 was $2.0 million, or 9% of value-added sales, as compared to $3.4 million for the same period in the prior year. The decrease in adjusted operating profit was primarily due to the aforementioned reduction in medical end market sales, which was partially offset by improved profitability for optical filter products.

OUTLOOK

Year-over-year results have improved significantly, led by performance improvements across the business, record new product sales, and end market demand growth. We expect these trends to continue for the fourth quarter, and as such, we are narrowing full-year 2017 adjusted earnings guidance from $1.45 to $1.60 per share, diluted, to the high end of the range of $1.55 to $1.60 per share.

ADJUSTED EARNINGS GUIDANCE

It is not possible for the Company to identify the amount or significance of future adjustments associated with potential insurance and litigation claims, legacy environmental costs, acquisition and integration costs, certain income tax items, or other non-routine costs that the Company adjusts in the presentation of adjusted earnings guidance. These items are dependent on future events that are not reasonably estimable at this time. Accordingly, the Company is unable to reconcile without unreasonable effort the forecasted range of adjusted earnings guidance for the full year to a comparable GAAP range. However, items excluded from the Company's adjusted earnings guidance include the historical adjustments noted in Attachments 4 and 5 to this press release.

CONFERENCE CALL

Materion Corporation will host an investor conference call with analysts at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, October 26, 2017. The conference call will be available via webcast through the Company's website at www.materion.com or through www.InvestorCalendar.com. By phone, please dial (877) 407-0778. Callers outside the U.S. can dial (201) 689-8565. A replay of the call will be available until November 9, 2017 by dialing (877) 481-4010 or (919) 882-2331; please reference Replay ID Number 20310. The call will also be archived on the Company's website.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Portions of the narrative set forth in this document that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements, in particular, the outlook provided above. Our actual future performance may materially differ from that contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors.

These factors include, in addition to those mentioned elsewhere herein:

• Actual net sales, operating rates and margins for 2017;
• Our ability to effectively integrate the HTB acquisition;
• The global economy;
• The impact of any U.S. Federal Government shutdowns and sequestrations;
• The condition of the markets which we serve, whether defined geographically or by segment, with the major market segments being: consumer electronics, industrial components, defense, medical, automotive electronics, telecommunications infrastructure, energy, commercial aerospace, and science;
• Changes in product mix and the financial condition of customers;
• Our success in developing and introducing new products and new product ramp-up rates;
• Our success in passing through the costs of raw materials to customers or otherwise mitigating fluctuating prices for those materials, including the impact of fluctuating prices on inventory values;
• Our success in identifying acquisition candidates and in acquiring and integrating such businesses;
• The impact of the results of acquisitions on our ability to fully achieve the strategic and financial objectives related to these acquisitions;
• Our success in implementing our strategic plans and the timely and successful completion and start-up of any capital projects;
• The availability of adequate lines of credit and the associated interest rates;
• Other financial factors, including the cost and availability of raw materials (both base and precious metals), physical inventory valuations, metal financing fees, tax rates, exchange rates, pension costs and required cash contributions and other employee benefit costs, energy costs, regulatory compliance costs, the cost and availability of insurance, and the impact of the Company's stock price on the cost of incentive compensation plans;
• The uncertainties related to the impact of war, terrorist activities, and acts of God;
• Changes in government regulatory requirements and the enactment of new legislation that impacts our obligations and operations;
• The conclusion of pending litigation matters in accordance with our expectation that there will be no material adverse effects;
• The success of the realignment of our businesses;
• Our ability to strengthen our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures; and
• The risk factors as set forth in Item 1A of our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Materion Corporation is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, supplies highly engineered advanced enabling materials to global markets. Products include precious and non-precious specialty metals, inorganic chemicals and powders, specialty coatings, specialty engineered beryllium alloys, beryllium and beryllium composites, and engineered clad and plated metal systems.

The cost of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and copper is passed through to customers and, therefore, the trends and comparisons of net sales are affected by movements in the market price of these metals. Internally, management also reviews net sales on a value-added basis. Value-added sales is a non-GAAP financial measure that deducts the value of the pass-through metals sold from net sales. Value-added sales allows management to assess the impact of differences in net sales between periods or segments and analyze the resulting margins and profitability without the distortion of the movements in pass-through metal prices. The dollar amount of gross margin and operating profit is not affected by the value-added sales calculation. The Company sells other metals and materials that are not considered direct pass throughs, and these costs are not deducted from net sales to calculate value-added sales.

The Company's pricing policy is to pass the cost of these metals on to customers in order to mitigate the impact of price volatility on the Company's results from operations. Value-added information is being presented since changes in metal prices may not directly impact profitability. It is the Company's intent to allow users of the financial statements to review sales with and without the impact of the pass-through metals.

In addition to presenting financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this earnings release contains financial measures, including gross margin, operating profit, segment operating profit, net income, and earnings per share, on a non-GAAP basis. As detailed in the above reconciliation and Attachment 4, we have adjusted the results for certain special items such as CEO transition costs, cost reduction initiatives (i.e., asset impairment charges and severance), legacy environmental costs, merger and acquisition costs, and certain income tax items from the applicable GAAP financial measure. Internally, management reviews the results of operations without the impact of these costs in order to assess the profitability from ongoing activities. We are providing this information because we believe it will assist investors in analyzing our financial results and, when viewed in conjunction with the GAAP results, provide a more comprehensive understanding of the factors and trends affecting our operations.

Prior year numbers have been restated to conform to the current year presentation.

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Materion Corporation
Investor Contact:
Stephen F. Shamrock, 216-383-4010
stephen.shamrock@materion.com
or
Media Contact:
Patrick S. Carpenter, 216-383-6835
patrick.carpenter@materion.com
http://www.materion.com
Mayfield Hts-g

Source: Materion Corporation

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