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"Sales up 88%, Earnings per share doubled"
Rogers, Connecticut, April 21, 2004: Rogers Corporation (NYSE:ROG) announced today that diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2004 were a record $0.72, up 100% compared to the $0.36 earned in the first quarter of 2003. Net income increased to $12.2 million, more than double last year's first quarter earnings of $5.7 million.
Net sales in the first quarter were $97.7 million, up 88% compared to the $51.9 million sold in the first quarter of 2003. The Durel acquisition which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2003, added $18.2 million to revenues this quarter. All three of Rogers' business segments experienced double-digit sales growth this quarter as compared to the first quarter of 2003.
Sales of Printed Circuit Materials for the quarter again set a new sales record totaling $45.1 million, up over 86% from the first quarter of 2003. The flexible circuit material portion of this segment’s sales increased dramatically over the same quarter last year, as the growing popularity of feature rich as well as clamshell style cell phones both require more flexible interconnects. The cellular 3G base station and satellite television markets continue to drive high frequency circuit material sales, which also increased significantly compared to last year’s first quarter.
High Performance Foams revenues were a record $22.1 million for the quarter, up 28% from the first quarter of last year. This period marked all-time quarterly sales records for both the PORON® urethane and BISCO® silicone foam product lines. Higher revenues resulted from increasing industrial, consumer and automotive applications, helped further by an improved economy in the US, as well as continued growth in Asia.
Sales of Polymer Materials and Components totaled $30.5 million for the quarter. This quarter’s sales include Durel Division sales, formerly a 50-50 joint venture with 3M. Other than Durel, which experienced about a 12% sales decline year-over-year, each of the other businesses in this segment saw some growth. The decrease in Durel revenue was due to some handset design programs reaching end of life, however increasing automotive business helped offset these declines. The first flexible electroluminescent lamp products shipped late this quarter for a smart phone application.
Rogers’ three 50% owned joint ventures had sales this quarter of $18.1 million compared to $13.2 million in the first quarter of 2003. Both Rogers Chang Chun Technologies (RCCT), a flexible circuit materials joint venture, and Rogers Inoac Corporation (RIC), which produces PORON® urethane foams, had strong year-over-year sales increases primarily driven by new business and improved market penetration.
The Company continues to make progress in raising its gross margin, which was 34.2% in the first quarter, up from 31.8% in last year’s first quarter. This improvement is the result of better operating efficiencies from implementing Six Sigma projects and greater operating leverage from the higher revenues. Mitigating the margin improvement were expenses for growth-related hiring in Europe and China, as well as transition costs associated with moving the polyolefin business to Illinois, and relocating the elastomeric components business to China.
Rogers’ balance sheet remains in excellent condition and the Company remains debt free with a cash and short-term investment balance of about $36 million. Net cash flow was positive despite capital expenditures of $6.6 million and acquisition costs of $3.5 million.
As Rogers’ business in Asia, currently 41% of sales, continues to expand, the Company made the decision to place key personnel there to manage operations and support its rapidly growing customer base. This includes, as announced last week, Rogers appointment of Michael L. Cooper as Vice President for Asia to oversee all manufacturing and staff operations in the region. In addition to the two factories the Company currently has in Suzhou, it is in the process of building a third facility to be completed this year, to produce PORON urethane foams. Also, design has begun for a high frequency circuit materials manufacturing plant that should come on-line in 2005.
Robert D. Wachob, President and CEO commented, “I am very pleased with our record results this quarter. We remain agile and on track to take advantage of the emerging opportunities both geographically and in our top growth markets, namely wireless infrastructure, cellular handsets, satellite television, computers, and transportation. Despite the upcoming quarter having 13-weeks versus 14-weeks in the first quarter, we again expect strong sales in the second quarter. Compared with previous years, we expect only a minor seasonal effect and are estimating a record second quarter with net sales of $90 to $98 million, and earnings per diluted share of $0.66 to $0.73. This represents an increase over last year’s second quarter of approximately 84% to 99% and 106% to 128% for sales and earnings respectively.”
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this news release that are not strictly historical may be deemed to be “forward-looking” statements which should be considered as subject to the many uncertainties that exist in the Company’s operations and environment. These uncertainties, which include economic conditions, market demand and pricing, competitive and cost factors, and the like, are incorporated by reference in the Rogers Corporation 2003 Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
Additional Information and April 22nd Conference Call
For more information, please contact the Company directly, visit Rogers website on the Internet, or send a message by e-mail.
Website Address: http://www.rogerscorporation.com
Financial News Contact:
James M. Rutledge
Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Phone: 860-774-9605
FAX: 860-779-5585
Editorial Contact:
Edward J. Joyce
Manager of Investor and Public Relations
Phone: 860-774-5705
Fax: 860-779-5509
email: edward.joyce@rogerscorporation.com
A conference call to discuss first quarter results will be held on Thursday, April 22nd at 9:00AM (Eastern Time).
Rogers participants in the conference call will be:
- Robert D. Wachob, President and CEO
- James M. Rutledge, Vice President Finance and CFO
- Robert M. Soffer, Vice President and Secretary
- Paul B. Middleton, Corporate Controller
A Q&A session will immediately follow management’s comments.
To participate in the conference call, please call: 1-800-574-8929 toll-free in the United States and 1-706-634-1907 internationally. There is no passcode for the live teleconference. For playback access, please call: 1-800-642-1687 in the United States and 1-706-645-9291 internationally through 11:59PM, Thursday, April 29th. The passcode for the audio replay is 6624676.
The call will also be webcast live in a listen only mode. The webcast may be accessed through links available on the Rogers Corporation website at www.rogerscorporation.com. Replay of the archived webcast will be available on the Rogers website beginning two hours following the webcast.
(FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOLLOW)
Consolidated Statements of Income
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Quarters Ended
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(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
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April 4, 2004
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March 30, 2003
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Net Sales
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$ 97,670
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$ 51,878
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Costs and Expenses:
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Cost of Sales
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64,285
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35,390
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Selling and Administrative
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14,895
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9,701
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Research and Development
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4,641
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2,838
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Total Costs and Expenses (Including Depreciation and Amortization of: 2004 - $4,658; 2003 - $3,392)
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83,821
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47,929
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Operating Income
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13,849
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3,949
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Other Income less Other Charges
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2,381
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3,628
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Interest Income/(Expense), Net
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78
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75
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Income Before Taxes
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16,308
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7,652
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Income Taxes
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4,077
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1,913
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Net Income
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$ 12,231
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$ 5,739
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Net Income Per Share:
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Basic
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$ 0.76
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$ 0.37
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Diluted
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$ 0.72
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$ 0.36
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Shares Used in Computing:
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Basic
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16,177
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15,572
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Diluted
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16,973
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16,038
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Consolidated Balance Sheets
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(In Thousands)
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April 4, 2004
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December 28, 2003
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ASSETS
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Current Assets:
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Cash and Cash Equivalents
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$ 33,237
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$ 31,476
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Short-term investments
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3,005
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3,005
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Accounts Receivable, Net
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58,723
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52,981
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Accounts Receivable – Joint Ventures
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2,196
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3,178
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Note Receivable, Current
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2,100
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2,100
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Inventories
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32,219
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27,501
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Other Current Assets
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6,595
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6,856
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Total Current Assets
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138,075
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127,097
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Notes Receivable, Long-term
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7,800
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7,800
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Property, Plant and Equipment, Net
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132,589
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131,157
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Investment in Unconsolidated Joint Ventures
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9,321
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10,741
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Pension Asset
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6,886
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6,886
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Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, Net
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25,857
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25,121
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Other Assets
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7,111
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5,638
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Total Assets
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$327,639
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$314,440
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LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
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Current Liabilities:
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Accounts Payable
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$ 19,561
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$ 20,442
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Accrued Employee Benefits and Compensation
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11,732
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13,359
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Other Current Liabilities
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19,981
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16,222
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Total Current Liabilities
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51,274
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50,023
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Noncurrent Deferred Income Taxes
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10,281
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14,058
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Noncurrent Pension Liability
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14,916
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14,909
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Noncurrent Retiree Health Care and Life Insurance Benefits
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6,198
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6,198
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Other Long-Term Liabilities
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2,484
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2,383
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Shareholders’ Equity
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242,486
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226,869
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Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
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$327,639
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$314,440
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These statements are subject to year-end audit
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