Balchem Corporation (Nasdaq:BCPC)
reported
as follows (unaudited) for the period ended September 30,
2011.
($000 Omitted Except for Net Earnings per
Share)
For the Three
Months Ended September 30, |
|
|
|
|
2011 |
2010 |
|
|
|
Net sales |
$ 74,439 |
$ 63,910 |
Gross profit |
22,617 |
20,233 |
Operating expenses |
7,442 |
7,215 |
Earnings from operations |
15,175 |
13,018 |
Other income (expense) |
63 |
(73) |
Earnings before income tax expense |
15,238 |
12,945 |
Income tax expense |
4,453 |
4,452 |
Net earnings |
$ 10,785 |
$ 8,493 |
|
|
|
Basic net earnings per common
share |
$ 0.38 |
$ 0.30 |
Diluted net earnings per common
share |
$ 0.36 |
$ 0.29 |
|
|
|
Shares used in the calculation of diluted net
earnings per common share |
30,311 |
29,667 |
|
For the Nine
Months Ended September 30, |
|
|
|
|
2011 |
2010 |
|
|
Net sales |
$ 222,134 |
$ 185,271 |
Gross profit |
65,158 |
56,763 |
Operating expenses |
22,626 |
20,810 |
Earnings from operations |
42,532 |
35,953 |
Other income |
434 |
204 |
Earnings before income tax expense |
42,966 |
36,157 |
Income tax expense |
13,697 |
12,296 |
Net earnings |
$ 29,269 |
$ 23,861 |
|
|
|
Basic net earnings per common
share |
$ 1.03 |
$ 0.86 |
Diluted net earnings per common
share |
$ 0.97 |
$ 0.81 |
|
|
|
Shares used in the calculation of diluted net
earnings per common share |
30,212 |
29,515 |
Record Quarterly Results for Earnings
For the third quarter ended September 30, 2011, the company
achieved record net earnings of $10.8 million, an increase of $2.3
million, or 27.0% over the prior year comparative quarter. The
$10.8 million generated diluted net earnings per common share of
$0.36 versus $0.29 for the prior year comparable period, an
increase of 24.1%. Net sales of $74.4 million were achieved
for the quarter which is an increase of 16.5% above the $63.9
million result of the prior year comparative quarter.
In this third quarter of 2011, sales of the Animal Nutrition
& Health ("ANH") segment, including specialties, choline and
industrial derivative product sales, totaled $51.2 million, an
increase of 20.9% or $8.8 million from the prior year comparable
quarter. Our global feed grade choline product sales were up double
digit, principally a result of increased volumes sold from our
North American operations to both domestic and especially
international customers, along with increases in selling price
which partially offset raw material cost increases. We continue to
contest raw material price escalation; however, where necessary, we
implement price increases within contractual guidelines. While the
number of chick placements for U.S. broiler meat production in the
quarter was down from a year earlier, average live bird weights
were much higher than during the same period in 2010. Data from
USDA Broiler statistics project that broiler chick placements and
egg sets will be lower for the comparative fourth quarter due to
continued high grain prices, along with only minor improvements in
the domestic economy. Export sales are expected to remain stable
for the balance of the year. ANH specialty ingredients, largely
targeted to the ruminant animal markets, realized approximately 26%
sales growth from the prior year comparable quarter, as regional US
and certain export markets showed improvement in dairy economics,
supporting greater volume demand for these products despite
relatively high feed prices. Particularly strong were sales of
Reashure®, Nitroshure™ and Aminoshure-L®, our rumen protected
lysine. Sales of industrial grade products again realized
significant growth from the prior year comparable quarter, and
comprised approximately 31% of the sales in this segment for the
quarter. This improvement came from sales of various choline and
choline derivatives for industrial applications, including natural
gas fracking, as well as intermediate sales of our Italian-produced
methylamines. Earnings from operations for the entire ANH segment
increased approximately 21% to a quarterly record of $7.3 million
as compared to $6.1 million in the prior year comparable quarter,
largely due to improved volumes sold. In this quarter, due to the
traditional European summer holiday schedule, our results reflect
unfavorable manufacturing variances at our Italian facility.
Production in this facility has now returned to normalized
levels.
The ARC Specialty Products segment generated record quarterly
sales of $12.2 million, an increase of 12.8% from the comparable
prior year quarter. This increase was principally the result of
strong volumes of ethylene oxide sold for medical device
sterilization. Propylene oxide sales, particularly for nutmeat
fumigation, also continued to show steady, improving revenue
growth. Earnings from operations for this segment, at $4.7 million,
improved 5.0% from the prior year comparable quarter, as the
benefits of the increased volumes sold of ethylene oxide were
partially offset by continued increases in petro-chemical
commodities.
Sales of the Food, Pharma & Nutrition segment were $11.0
million, which was a modest 2.8% improvement over the prior year
comparable quarter. In the quarter, we realized double digit growth
in sales of our human choline products for nutritional enhancement.
Food sector sales, while shy of our prior year results, did
increase sequentially from quarter two, with steady sales of
encapsulated ingredients for baking, prepared food, preservation
and confection markets, particularly into international markets.
Earnings from operations for this segment increased approximately
27.6% to a quarterly record of $3.2 million, reflecting a favorable
product mix and the favorable earnings impact of our previously
announced decision to sell the calcium product line.
Consolidated gross margin for the quarter ended September 30,
2011 improved to $22.6 million, as compared to $20.2 million for
the prior year comparable period. Gross margin percentage declined
slightly to 30.4% of sales as compared to 31.7% in the prior year
comparative period, principally due to the previously mentioned raw
material cost increases. We did, however, realize a $2.4 million
increase, which was principally a result of increased sales volumes
and sequentially we have improved our margin by 1.2 percentage
points, as we continue to leverage our plant capabilities, driving
supply chain efficiencies and broadening product applications of
our human and animal health specialty products into both the
domestic and international markets. During the quarter, in response
to growing demand for encapsulated ANH specialty ingredients, we
successfully introduced two products developed with a new
encapsulation technology. This new manufacturing technology is
expected to lower our overall cost for certain products, facilitate
higher throughput in our ANH encapsulation process and reduce the
production animal dosage cost to herd managers. Operating (Selling,
R&D, and General and Administrative) expenses at $7.4 million
were up 3.1% from the prior year comparable quarter; however, they
did decline as a percentage of sales to 10.0% from 11.3% in the
prior year quarter. Our effective income tax rates for the third
quarters of 2011 and 2010 were 29.2% and 34.4%, respectively. The
decrease in our effective rate for the quarter ended September 30,
2011 was principally a result of favorable adjustments related to
changes in state income tax apportionment and increases in certain
tax credits.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, consolidated net
sales have increased 19.9% to $222.1 million versus $185.3 million
in the comparable prior year period. Net earnings have increased
22.7% to $29.3 million, generating $0.97 per diluted share, versus
net earnings of $23.9 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, in the
prior year comparable period, an earnings per share improvement of
19.8%.
The company continues to maintain a healthy balance sheet with
diligent working capital controls, particularly effective inventory
and accounts receivable management. The $137.6 million of net
working capital on September 30, 2011 included a cash balance of
$104.9 million, up from $77.3 million at December 31, 2010,
reflecting continued strong cash flows.
Commenting on these third quarter results, Dino A. Rossi,
Chairman, CEO and President of Balchem said, "The third quarter
results continue to reflect the robustness of our diversified, yet
balanced, growth platforms. While all three segments did not
achieve record levels, overall volume growth of 6%, combined with
improved product mix, drove a very exciting 16.5% top line growth.
Persistent escalation of raw material costs continue to be a
challenge, but our supply chain efforts to minimize these increases
and methodically advise customers about new pricing is working
well. While these activities led to comparative quarter gross
margin erosion, we did show sequential quarterly gross margin
improvement. The volume growth generated ongoing plant
efficiencies, efficiencies required to help meet our customer
marketplace challenges and support the strong, growing global
demand for our products. In this quarter, the launch of two new
products for ANH Specialties, based on new innovative encapsulation
technology, has gone very well, leading to the improved product mix
noted earlier. These consolidated results continue to strengthen
our balance sheet, which will facilitate both innovative organic
and acquisitive growth objectives."
Quarterly Conference Call
A quarterly conference call will be held on Wednesday, November
2, 2011 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) to review third quarter 2011
results. Dino A. Rossi, Chairman, President and CEO, and Frank
Fitzpatrick, Chief Financial Officer, will host the call. We invite
you to listen to the conference by calling toll-free 1-877-407-8289
(local dial-in 1-201-689-8341), five minutes prior to the scheduled
start time of the conference call. The conference call will be
available for digital replay through Friday, November 11, 2011. To
access the replay of the conference call, dial 1-877-660-6853
(local dial-in 1-201-612-7415), and use account #298 and replay ID
#381713. Both account and replay ID numbers are required for replay
access.
Segment Information
Balchem Corporation consists of three business segments: ARC
Specialty Products; Food, Pharma & Nutrition; and Animal
Nutrition & Health. Through ARC Specialty Products, Balchem
provides specialty-packaged chemicals for use in healthcare and
other industries. The Food, Pharma & Nutrition segment provides
proprietary microencapsulation solutions to a variety of
applications in the human food, pharmaceutical and nutrition
marketplaces. The Animal Nutrition & Health segment
manufactures and supplies products to numerous animal health
markets and certain derivative products into industrial
applications.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect
Balchem's expectation or belief concerning future events that
involve risks and uncertainties. Balchem can give no assurance that
the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements will prove
correct and various factors could cause results to differ
materially from Balchem's expectations, including risks and factors
identified in Balchem's annual report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2010. Forward-looking statements are qualified
in their entirety by the above cautionary statement. Balchem
assumes no duty to update its outlook or other forward-looking
statements as of any future date.
Selected Financial
Data |
($ in
000's) |
|
Business Segment
Net Sales: |
|
Three Months Ended September
30, |
Nine Months Ended September
30, |
|
2011 |
2010 |
2011 |
2010 |
ARC Specialty Products |
$ 12,197 |
$ 10,812 |
$ 35,516 |
$ 30,702 |
Food, Pharma & Nutrition |
10,993 |
10,696 |
32,920 |
31,245 |
Animal Nutrition & Health |
51,249 |
42,402 |
153,698 |
123,324 |
Total |
$ 74,439 |
$ 63,910 |
$ 222,134 |
$ 185,271 |
|
|
|
|
|
Business Segment
Earnings: |
|
Three Months Ended September
30, |
Nine Months Ended September
30, |
|
2011 |
2010 |
2011 |
2010 |
ARC Specialty Products |
$ 4,677 |
$ 4,455 |
$ 13,595 |
$ 11,385 |
Food, Pharma &
Nutrition |
3,151 |
2,470 |
8,495 |
7,298 |
Animal Nutrition & Health |
7,347 |
6,093 |
20,442 |
17,270 |
Interest and other income
(expense) |
63 |
(73) |
434 |
204 |
Total |
$ 15,238 |
$ 12,945 |
$ 42,966 |
$ 36,157 |
|
Selected Balance Sheet
Items |
|
September 30, |
December 31, |
|
2011 |
2010 |
Cash and Cash Equivalents |
$ 104,872 |
$ 77,253 |
Accounts Receivable |
36,415 |
32,050 |
Inventories |
18,431 |
15,720 |
Other Current Assets |
3,168 |
4,629 |
Total Current Assets |
162,886 |
129,652 |
|
|
|
Property, Plant, & Equipment
(net) |
44,484 |
43,388 |
Other Assets |
52,632 |
55,584 |
Total Assets |
$ 260,002 |
$ 228,624 |
|
|
|
Current Liabilities |
$ 25,252 |
$ 29,508 |
Long-Term Obligations |
10,753 |
11,649 |
Total Liabilities |
36,005 |
41,157 |
|
|
|
Stockholders' Equity |
223,997 |
187,467 |
|
|
|
Total Liabilities and Stockholders'
Equity |
$ 260,002 |
$ 228,624 |
CONTACT: Karin McCaffery, Balchem Corporation
Telephone: 845-326-5635
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