BATESVILLE, Ind., April 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillenbrand, Inc.
(NYSE: HI) today provided the following update regarding its
actions to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
company's business.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us. Hillenbrand's
priority in responding to the crisis has been on protecting the
health and wellbeing of our employees and serving our customers
globally," said Joe Raver, President
and CEO of Hillenbrand. "In addition, we are taking several
decisive actions we believe will lessen the financial impact on the
business while protecting our ability to continue to generate
profitable growth over the long term. I am proud of our
organization for stepping up to the challenges we are currently
facing and working collaboratively for the safety of our people,
continuity of our operations and service to our customers."
Operational Status
As of April 6, 2020, all
significant global production locations remained open and able to
operate at or near normal production levels. We are working with
the appropriate authorities with a goal to keep our critical
operations open as suppliers to essential businesses.
We have experienced disruptions at some smaller facilities in
locations such as India as we take
actions to comply with temporary government restrictions related to
the COVID-19 pandemic. These affected facilities account for
approximately 5% of expected revenue. We are closely monitoring the
supply chain and taking actions as needed to mitigate disruptions.
We continue to work with our suppliers and customers to preserve
business continuity and prepare for anticipated developments.
Financial Flexibility
Hillenbrand has taken proactive measures to maintain its
financial flexibility. We believe the company has a solid financial
position with sufficient liquidity to operate in the current
business environment. Hillenbrand recently increased cash holdings
by about $200 million, including a
portion of the proceeds from the recent sale of the Cimcool
business and a draw from its existing revolving credit facility. As
of March 31, 2020, the company was in
full compliance with all covenants under its revolving credit
facility, and estimates that as of that date, it had liquidity of
approximately $475 million, including
approximately $375 million in cash on
hand. The company continues to evaluate additional measures
to maintain its financial flexibility.
Company-wide Actions
Due to the uncertainty of the current environment, Hillenbrand
has implemented proactive measures to help mitigate the financial
and operational impact of COVID-19 by reducing expenses and
conserving cash. These measures include:
- Voluntary reduction in CEO base salary by 30% through at least
the end of the fiscal year;
- Voluntary waiver by the Board of Directors of its scheduled
cash compensation increase for 2020;
- Cancellation of all regularly scheduled merit-based salary
increases for salaried US- and Canada-based employees for 2020;
- Suspension of all hiring for exempt and nonexempt positions,
except for critical positions;
- Reduction in capital spend while prioritizing critical
maintenance, safety and regulatory projects;
- Additional actions may be taken in certain businesses in
response to lower customer demand, including temporary reductions
in work hours, furloughs or layoffs, if required; and
- The company's share repurchase program remains suspended.
Given the uncertainty related to the impact of the COVID-19
virus on its business, Hillenbrand is suspending fiscal year 2020
guidance.
Hillenbrand has used, and intends to continue to use, the
homepage and the investor relations section of the company's
website at www.hillenbrand.com as a means of disclosing additional
information, which may include material non-public information.
"While we are not able to predict the duration or the extent of
the disruptions caused by COVID-19, we are taking necessary
actions, are confident we are well-positioned to manage through the
challenges, and expect we will be in a good position when the
environment improves," Raver concluded.
About Hillenbrand
Hillenbrand
(www.Hillenbrand.com) is a global diversified industrial company
with businesses that serve a wide variety of industries around the
world. We pursue profitable growth and robust cash generation to
drive increased value for our shareholders.
Hillenbrand's portfolio includes industrial businesses such as
Coperion, Milacron Injection Molding & Extrusion, and
Mold-Masters, in addition to Batesville, a recognized leader in the death
care industry in North America.
Hillenbrand is publicly traded on the NYSE under "HI."
Forward-Looking Statements
Throughout this release, we
make a number of "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. As the words
imply, these are statements about future plans, objectives,
beliefs, and expectations that might or might not happen in the
future, as contrasted with historical information. Forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable,
but by their very nature they are subject to a wide range of risks.
If our assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks and
uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially
from Hillenbrand's (the "Company") expectations and
projections.
Words that could indicate that we are making forward-looking
statements include the following:
intend
|
believe
|
plan
|
expect
|
may
|
goal
|
would
|
become
|
pursue
|
estimate
|
will
|
forecast
|
continue
|
could
|
target
|
encourage
|
promise
|
improve
|
progress
|
potential
|
should
|
This is not an exhaustive list, but is intended to give you an
idea of how we try to identify forward-looking statements. The
absence of any of these words, however, does not mean that the
statement is not forward-looking.
Here is the key point: Forward-looking statements
are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results
could differ materially from those set forth in any forward-looking
statements. Any number of factors, many of which are beyond our
control, could cause our performance to differ significantly from
what is described in the forward-looking statements. These factors
include, but are not limited to: the outcome of any legal
proceedings that may be instituted against the Company, or any
companies we may acquire; risks that the integration of Milacron or
any other integration, acquisition, or disposition activity
disrupts current operations or poses potential difficulties in
employee retention or otherwise affects financial or operating
results; the ability to recognize the benefits of the acquisition
of Milacron or any other acquisition or disposition, including
potential synergies and cost savings or the failure of the Company
or any acquired company to achieve its plans and objectives
generally; global market and economic conditions, including those
related to the credit markets; volatility of our investment
portfolio; adverse foreign currency fluctuations; involvement in
claims, lawsuits and governmental proceedings related to
operations; our reliance upon employees, agents, and business
partners to comply with laws in many countries and jurisdictions;
labor disruptions; the impact of the additional indebtedness that
the Company has incurred in connection with the acquisition of
Milacron and the ability of the Company to comply with financial or
other covenants in its debt agreements or meet its de-leveraging
goals; the dependence of our business units on relationships with
several large providers; increased costs or unavailability of raw
materials or certain outsourced services; continued fluctuations in
mortality rates and increased cremations; competition in the
industries in which we operate, including from nontraditional
sources in the death care industry; our level of international
sales and operations; the impact of contagious diseases such as the
recent coronavirus outbreak that could result in an extended
shutdown or reduction of our operations, substantially reduced
sales volumes, or supply constraints; cyclical demand for
industrial capital goods; impacts of decreases in demand or changes
in technological advances, laws, or regulation on the revenues that
we derive from the plastics industry; certain tax-related matters;
and changes to legislation, regulation, treaties or government
policy, including any resulting from the current political
environment. For a more in-depth discussion of these and other
factors that could cause actual results to differ from those
contained in forward-looking statements, see the discussions under
the heading "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of Hillenbrand's Form
10-K for the year ended September 30,
2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC") on November 13, 2019, and in
Part II, Item 1A of Hillenbrand's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
December 31, 2019, filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 5, 2020. We assume no obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking information.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hillenbrand-provides-covid-19-business-update-301036222.html
SOURCE Hillenbrand, Inc.