Hexcel Reports Record 2013 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Regulatory News:

Hexcel Corporation (NYSE: HXL) (Paris:HXL):

Hexcel Corporation, today reported results for the fourth quarter of 2013. Net sales during the quarter were $426.8 million, 10.2% higher than the $387.3 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2012. Operating income for the period was $67.0 million, compared to $54.3 million last year. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $47.1 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, compared to $36.9 million or $0.36 per diluted share in 2012.

Chief Executive Officer Comments

Mr. Stanage commented, "This was another strong quarter that completed another great year for Hexcel. For the year, sales were up 5.6% in constant currency, while our adjusted operating income was up 13% and our adjusted EPS was up nearly 19%. Led by Commercial Aerospace sales (up 20.6% for the quarter and 14.5% for the year in constant currency), this was our best fourth quarter (and full year) in history for sales, gross margin, operating income and adjusted net income. We are also particularly pleased that our adjusted operating income for the year increased to 16.1% of sales, 90 basis points better than last year, and we generated free cash flow of $78 million even with $195 million of capital expenditures.”

Looking ahead, Mr. Stanage said, "The large backlog of orders at our major customers suggests we are well positioned for 2014 and beyond. We remain highly focused on delivering earnings leverage and cash on anticipated higher sales in the coming years, driven by both increasing composite-intensive aircraft and production rates.”

Markets

Commercial Aerospace

• Commercial Aerospace sales of $283.6 million increased 21.1% (20.6% in constant currency) for the quarter as compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Revenues attributed to new aircraft programs (A380, A350, B787, B747-8) increased 30% over the same period last year. Sales for Airbus and Boeing legacy aircraft were up over 15% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, and were about the same run rate as the first half of 2013.
• Fourth quarter sales to "Other Commercial Aerospace”, which include regional and business aircraft customers, were up about 9% compared to the same period last year.
• For the full year 2013, Commercial Aerospace sales were up 14.5% in constant currency, with new program sales up about 25%, legacy sales up 12% and Other Commercial Aerospace sales about the same as last year. Combined sales to Airbus and Boeing and their subcontractors accounted for 85% of Commercial Aerospace sales.

Space & Defense

• Fourth quarter Space & Defense sales of $88.8 million were 4.9% lower (6.0% in constant currency) than the fourth quarter of 2012, primarily due to the expected lower V22 production rates and reductions in customers’ inventories at year-end. For the year, Space & Defense sales were up 4.5% in constant currency. We continue to benefit from participating in a wide range of programs, in the US, Europe and Asia, including rotorcraft, transport, fixed wing and satellite programs.

Industrial

• Total Industrial sales of $54.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2013 were 8.9% lower (11.4% in constant currency) than the fourth quarter of 2012. Wind sales declined by less than 10% in constant currency from the fourth quarter of 2012, and sales for each of the four quarters of 2013 were about the same level. For the year, Industrial sales were down nearly 23% in constant currency, including the wind submarket which was down over 25% from 2012. Wind sales are expected to increase mid-single digits in 2014, which would return sales to 2011 levels.

Operations

• Growth, sales mix and continued improvement in operating performance resulted in gross margin of 26.5% as compared to 24.7% in the fourth quarter of 2012. For the year, gross margin of 27.1% was 130 basis points higher than 2012. Selling, General and Administrative expenses for the year were $141.4 million or 7.7% higher than 2012 in constant currency, reflecting added infrastructure to support growth and higher variable incentive compensation. For the year, Research and Technology expenses were $41.7 million as compared to $36.7 million last year. The higher spending is in line with our expectations and reflects the increased efforts on new product and process developments.
• For the full year, 2013 adjusted operating income leverage was 34% on the incremental sales after adjusting for the impact of exchange rates, driven by sales mix and continued improvement in operating performance.

Tax

• The tax provision was $18.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2013 resulting in an effective tax rate of 28.7%. This quarter benefitted primarily from the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions. Last year’s fourth quarter tax provision was $15.6 million, an effective tax rate of 29.7%. For the 2013 full year, our effective tax rate was 28.9%, down from 2012’s effective tax rate of 31.2%. Excluding discrete items impacting this year’s provision, our adjusted effective tax rate for 2013 would have been 30.7%.

Cash and other

• In 2013, we generated $78 million of free cash flow (defined as cash provided from operating activities less cash paid for capital expenditures) versus a use of $31 million in 2012, reflecting lower capital expenditures, higher earnings and lower working capital usage.
• In December 2013, we invested $40 million to buy back Hexcel shares, bringing the total buyback for the year to $90 million. We have $110 million remaining under our currently authorized share repurchase program. Total debt, net of cash as of December 31, 2013 was $229.5 million, an increase of $5.5 million from December 31, 2012.

2014 Outlook

We reaffirm our 2014 outlook, which was previously issued on December 16, 2013. Our 2014 outlook:

• Sales of $1,800 to $1,880 million
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.00 to $2.12
• Free cash flow of $25 to $75 million, with the typical use of cash in the first quarter
• Accrual basis capital expenditures of $225 to $250 million

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Hexcel will host a conference call at 10:00 A.M. ET, tomorrow, January 24, 2014 to discuss the fourth quarter results and respond to analyst questions. The telephone number for the conference call is (719) 457-2645 and the confirmation code is 7511822. The call will be simultaneously hosted on Hexcel’s web site at www.hexcel.com/investors/index.html. Replays of the call will be available on the web site for approximately three days.

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Hexcel Corporation is a leading advanced composites company. It develops, manufactures and markets lightweight, high-performance structural materials, including carbon fibers, reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb, matrix systems, adhesives and composite structures, used in commercial aerospace, space and defense and industrial applications such as wind turbine blades.

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Disclaimer on Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are forward looking, including statements relating to anticipated trends in constant currency for the markets we serve (including changes in commercial aerospace revenues, the estimates and expectations based on aircraft production rates provided or publicly available by Airbus, Boeing and others, the revenues we may generate from an aircraft model or program, the impact of delays in new aircraft programs, the outlook for space & defense revenues and the trend in wind energy, recreation and other industrial applications, including whether certain programs might be curtailed or discontinued or customers’ inventory levels reduced); our ability to maintain and improve margins in light of the current economic environment; the success of particular applications as well as the general overall economy; our ability to manage cash from operating activities and capital spending in relation to future sales levels such that the company funds its capital spending plans from cash flows from operating activities, but, if necessary, maintains adequate borrowings under its credit facilities to cover any shortfalls; and the impact of the above factors on our expectations of financial results for 2014 and beyond. The loss of, or significant reduction in purchases by Airbus, Boeing, Vestas, or any of our other significant customers could materially impair our business, operating results, prospects and financial condition. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward looking statements due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to changes in currency exchange rates, changing market conditions, increased competition, inability to install, staff and qualify necessary capacity or achievement of planned manufacturing improvements, conditions in the financial markets, product mix, achieving expected pricing and manufacturing costs, availability and cost of raw materials, supply chain disruptions, work stoppages or other labor disruptions and changes in or unexpected issues related to environmental regulations, legal matters, interest expense and tax codes. Additional risk factors are described in our filings with the SEC. We do not undertake an obligation to update our forward-looking statements to reflect future events.

(a) Other operating income for the year ended December 31, 2012 includes income from a $9.6 million business interruption insurance settlement related to a prior year claim, a $4.9 million gain on the sale of land and a $5.0 million charge for additional environmental reserves primarily for remediation of a manufacturing facility sold in 1986.

(b) Non-operating expense is the accelerated amortization of deferred financing costs and the deferred expense on interest rate swaps related to repaying the term loan and refinancing our revolving credit facility in June 2013. In 2012, the non-operating expense is the accelerated amortization of deferred financing costs and expensing of the call premium from redeeming $73.5 million in June 2012 of the Company’s 6.75% senior subordinated notes.

(a) To assist in the analysis of our net sales trend, total net sales and sales by market for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2012 have been estimated using the same U.S. dollar, British pound and Euro exchange rates as applied for the respective period in 2013 and are referred to as "constant currency” sales.

(b) FX effect is the estimated impact on "as reported” net sales due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

(a) We do not allocate corporate expenses to the operating segments.

(b) Other operating (income) expense for the year ended December 31, 2012 includes income from a $9.6 million business interruption insurance settlement related to a prior year claim, a $4.9 million gain on the sale of land and a $5.0 million charge for additional environmental reserves primarily for remediation of a manufacturing facility sold in 1986.

(a) Other operating income for the year ended December 31, 2012 includes income from a $9.6 million business interruption insurance settlement related to a prior year claim, a $4.9 million gain on the sale of land and a $5.0 million charge for additional environmental reserves primarily for remediation of a manufacturing facility sold in 1986.

(b) Non-operating expense in 2013 is the accelerated amortization of deferred financing costs and the deferred expense on interest rate swaps related to repaying the term loan and refinancing our revolving credit facility in June 2013. Non-operating expense in 2012 is the accelerated amortization of deferred financing costs and expensing of the call premium from redeeming $73.5 million in June 2012 of the Company’s 6.75% senior subordinated notes.

Management believes that adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and free cash flow (defined as cash provided by operating activities less cash payments for capital expenditures), which are non-GAAP measurements, are meaningful to investors because they provide a view of Hexcel with respect to ongoing operating results excluding special items. Special items represent significant charges or credits that are important to an understanding of Hexcel’s overall operating results in the periods presented. In addition, management believes that total debt, net of cash, which is also a non-GAAP measure, is an important measure of Hexcel’s liquidity. Such non-GAAP measurements are not recognized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and should not be viewed as an alternative to GAAP measures of performance.