Steelcase Inc. Tuesday reported fourth quarter revenue of $772.7 million and breakeven net income, which included $27.9 million of charges recorded in connection with U.S. tax reform. Excluding these charges, adjusted earnings were $0.24 per share. The results also included non-operating gains of $13.9 million related to an investment in an unconsolidated affiliate, which increased earnings per share by approximately $0.05, net of related variable compensation and income tax effects. In the prior year, Steelcase reported $769.1 million of revenue, diluted earnings of $0.21 per share and adjusted earnings of $0.22 per share.
Revenue grew modestly in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year, but declined 2 percent on an organic basis after adjusting for favorable currency translation effects and the impacts of an acquisition and divestitures. Americas revenue declined 5 percent, largely driven by lower customer order backlog at the beginning of the quarter compared to the prior year. Orders in the Americas strengthened in the fourth quarter, growing 2 percent over the prior year, compared to a 6 percent decline in the third quarter. EMEA posted revenue growth of 17 percent, or 3 percent on an organic basis, and orders (in constant currency) grew 15 percent, driven by continued strength in Western Europe. The Other category posted revenue growth of 11 percent, or 7 percent on an organic basis, while orders declined 9 percent compared to the prior year, which included a record level of quarterly orders in Asia Pacific.
"We finished the fourth quarter better than we were expecting, particularly in the Americas and EMEA, and Asia Pacific finished the year with record levels of annual revenue and profitability," said Jim Keane, president and CEO. "Our win rate continues to grow as does interest in our new products, including the SILQ chair which we expect to begin shipping in the first half of fiscal 2019."
Current quarter operating income of $33.4 million compares to operating income of $50.4 million in the prior year. The decline of $17.0 million (or 230 basis points as a percentage of revenue) was driven by lower revenue and gross margin in the Americas and higher operating expenses (which included severance costs and an impairment totaling $5.3 million in the Americas and increased investment in the Asia Pacific region), offset in part by significant improvements in EMEA. During the quarter, EMEA posted operating income of $1.5 million, compared to a $6.0 million operating loss in the prior year.
"In EMEA, we achieved positive operating income in the quarter, which represented a $7.5 million improvement compared to the prior year, driven by a combination of revenue growth, a significant increase in gross margin and lower operating expenses (in constant currency)," said Dave Sylvester, senior vice president and CFO. "The significant improvement in our EMEA business resulted from the momentum we have been seeing in order growth, day-to-day business stability, improved win rates and increasing customer traffic at our Munich Learning + Innovation Center."
Gross margin of 32.8 percent in the current quarter represented a decline of 40 basis points compared to the prior year and reflected mixed results across the segments. In the Americas, gross margin decreased by 90 basis points compared to the prior year due to unfavorable impacts from lower volume and shifts in product mix, offset in part by benefits of continued cost reduction efforts. EMEA gross margin improved by 250 basis points compared to the prior year driven by favorable impacts from intentional shifts in business mix and cost reduction efforts.
Operating expenses of $219.7 million in the fourth quarter represented an increase of $14.8 million compared to the prior year, and included approximately $5 million of unfavorable currency translation effects, $3.8 million of severance costs in the Americas, increased investment in the Asia Pacific region and an impairment related to an asset held for sale in the Americas. Increased operating expenses related to the acquisition of AMQ Solutions were largely offset by decreases from divestitures, and higher spending on product development and marketing was largely offset by lower spending in other areas.
Other income, net increased by $11.7 million compared to the prior year, driven by $13.9 million of gains related to a partial sale of an investment in an unconsolidated affiliate and the receipt of a premium related to a change in control of the affiliate. In addition, the current quarter included foreign exchange losses compared to foreign exchange gains in the prior year.
Income tax expense was $44.7 million in the current quarter compared to $24.3 million in the prior year. On December 22, 2017, the U.S. Government enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was effective January 1, 2018 and made broad changes to the U.S. tax code, including a reduction of the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and taxation of undistributed foreign earnings, regardless of reinvestment intent. As a result, the company recorded $27.9 million of charges in the fourth quarter, primarily related to a reduction in the value of its deferred tax assets. The company recognized approximately $3 million of net benefits in the fourth quarter related to its blended tax rate under the new legislation and a few other favorable items. In addition, during the fourth quarter, the French Parliament approved a progressive reduction in the French income tax rate, which resulted in a $4.0 million charge in the current quarter compared to a $7.8 million charge in the prior year attributable to a previous reduction in the French income tax rate, both of which reduced the value of the company’s deferred tax assets.
Total liquidity, comprised of cash, cash equivalents and the cash surrender value of company-owned life insurance, aggregated $455 million, and total debt was $295 million, at the end of the fourth quarter. The company did not repurchase any shares during the fourth quarter under its share repurchase authorization.
"We generated $131.9 million of cash from operations in the fourth quarter, or approximately two times the level we generated in the prior year," said Dave Sylvester. "The significant improvement was driven by a number of factors, including realization of tax planning strategies and lower estimated tax payments in the quarter, as well as lower working capital, due to lower volume and improved collections of receivables."
The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.135 per share, to be paid on or before April 13, 2018, to shareholders of record as of March 30, 2018. This represents an increase of 0.75 cents per share compared to the third quarter.
Fiscal 2018 Results
For fiscal 2018, the company recorded $3.1 billion of revenue and net income of $80.7 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.68. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.91. In fiscal 2017, the company recorded $3.0 billion of revenue, net income of $124.6 million, diluted earnings per share of $1.03 and adjusted earnings per share of $1.05.
Revenue in fiscal 2018 increased 1 percent, with a 14 percent increase in the Other category and a 4 percent increase in EMEA, offset by a 2 percent decline in the Americas. On an organic basis, fiscal 2018 revenue was flat to the prior year, driven by 13 percent growth in the Other category and flat results in EMEA, offset by a 2 percent decline in the Americas.
Operating income of $156.0 million, or 5.1 percent of revenue, for fiscal 2018 compared to operating income of $200.2 million, or 6.6 percent of revenue, for fiscal 2017. After adjusting for $5.1 million of restructuring charges in the prior year, operating income for fiscal 2018 declined by $49.3 million compared to the prior year.
Gross margin was 32.9 percent in fiscal 2018, a decline of 40 basis points compared to the prior year. The decline was largely driven by the Americas, offset in part by improvements in EMEA. Operating expenses increased by approximately $41 million over the prior year, driven by increased investments in product development, sales, marketing and information technology that support the company's strategies, including developing new products, enhancements and applications, expanding ancillary offerings through marketing partnerships, addressing product gaps and pursuing other areas for growth.
"We launched more new products and enhancements in fiscal 2018 than in any of the past five years," said Jim Keane. "We believe the higher levels of investment we have been making in product development and marketing over the past two years have positioned us for stronger top line growth and improved profitability in the future."
The company paid $61.0 million in dividends and repurchased 2.0 million shares under its share repurchase authorization program during fiscal 2018 at a cost of $27.3 million. There is $99.2 million remaining on the company's share repurchase authorization.
Outlook
Orders in the Americas grew 2 percent in the fourth quarter and backlog at the end of the quarter in the Americas was flat compared to the prior year, which included $16 million of orders related to a very large project. EMEA orders grew 15 percent and backlog at the end of the quarter was 22 percent higher than the prior year. Orders and backlog in the Americas and EMEA were favorably impacted by the pull-forward effect of February list price adjustments. Orders in the Other category declined 9 percent compared to the prior year, which included a record level of quarterly orders in Asia Pacific. Considering these and other factors, the company expects first quarter fiscal 2019 revenue to be in the range of $740 to $765 million. Adjusted for an estimated $20 million of favorable currency translation effects, and the impact of an acquisition and divestitures, the projected revenue range translates to an expected organic decline of 3 percent to organic growth of 1 percent. In the first quarter of fiscal 2018, the company reported revenue of $735.1 million.
Steelcase expects to report diluted earnings per share between $0.12 to $0.16 for the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The estimates include lower gross margin compared to both the first and fourth quarters of fiscal 2018 (due to increasing commodity costs and continuation of some of the same drivers which negatively impacted gross margins in the fourth quarter) and a similar level of operating expenses compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018. Steelcase reported diluted earnings per share of $0.15 in the first quarter of fiscal 2018.
"As we enter fiscal 2019, we expect to maintain our level of increased investment in product development and marketing, while continuing to control spending in other areas of our business and managing the implications of expected higher raw material costs," said Jim Keane. "We also expect to see additional revenue growth from the expansion of our portfolio of offerings through acquisitions and marketing partnerships."
