JASPER, Ind., Feb. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Kimball Electronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:KE), a leading global electronics manufacturing services provider of high-quality, durable electronic products, today announced financial results for its second quarter ended December 31, 2018.

• Second quarter net sales of $284 million, up 10% year-over-year
• Net income of $7.1 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.27
• Returned $13.3 million $13.3 million to Share Owners in stock repurchases during the quarter 
• Complete the GES acquisition on October 1, 2018 

Donald D. Charron, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We achieved solid year-over-year organic growth in three of our four end market verticals as the ramp-up of new program launches helped to more than offset continued softness in certain other programs primarily caused by global macro-economic conditions, component shortages, and trade uncertainties.”

Mr. Charron continued, “We made good progress in optimizing our core business and with the acquisition of GES, we took a significant step in our strategy to diversify ourselves into a multifaceted manufacturing solutions provider.  We are cautiously optimistic that our goal of 8% organic growth remains in reach for fiscal year 2019, and we expect to meet our 4.5% operating income goal for the second half of fiscal year 2019.”

Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2019 Overview:

• Consolidated net sales increased 10% compared to the second quarter of fiscal year 2018.  Net sales in the second quarter were impacted by:
     ◦ The GES acquisition increased net sales by 2%.
     ◦ Net sales increased 2% as a result of the adoption of new revenue recognition accounting rules.
     ◦ Unfavorable foreign currency movements decreased net sales by 1% compared to the prior year second quarter. 

• The  facility improved its impact on consolidated operating income percent by 30 basis points compared to the prior year second quarter as its ramp-up progresses; however, GES unfavorably impacted consolidated operating income percent by 60 basis points, including 20 basis points resulting from the amortization of acquired intangibles.

• Other Income (Expense), net includes interest expense of $1.1 million in the current year quarter compared to $0.1 million in the prior year quarter as a result of increased borrowings on the credit facilities, in large part related to the financing of the GES acquisition.

• Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS exclude $16.6 million of provisional discrete tax expense for the three and six months ended December 31, 2017 related to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Tax Reform”) and a $0.3 million income tax benefit for the three and six months ended December 31, 2018 from adjustments to the Tax Reform provisions prior to the end of the measurement period. See below for additional information and a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures.

• Operating activities provided cash of $5.6 million during the quarter, which compares to cash provided by operating activities of $11.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018.

• Cash conversion days (“CCD”) for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 were 76 days, up from 60 days in the same quarter last year primarily related to an increase in raw material inventories to maintain appropriate buffer stock levels in the current tight supply environment. CCD is calculated as the sum of days sales outstanding plus contract asset days plus production days supply on hand less accounts payable days.

• $13.3 million was returned to Share Owners during the quarter in the form of common stock repurchases.

• Investments in capital expenditures were $4.3 million and cash payments, net of cash acquired, for the GES acquisition was $43.9 million during the quarter.

• Cash and cash equivalents were $35.9 million and borrowings outstanding on credit facilities were $89.1 million at December 31, 2018.

• Return on invested capital (“ROIC”), calculated for the trailing twelve months, was 8.9% and 9.8% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively (see reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures for ROIC calculation).

Net Sales by Vertical Market:

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained within this release are considered forward-looking under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, successful integration of acquisitions and new operations, global economic conditions, geopolitical environment, significant volume reductions from key contract customers, loss of key customers or suppliers, financial stability of key customers and suppliers, availability or cost of raw materials, impact related to tariffs and other trade barriers, and increased competitive pricing pressures reflecting excess industry capacities.  Additional cautionary statements regarding other risk factors that could have an effect on the future performance of the Company are contained in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended .

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release contains non-GAAP financial measures.  A non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s financial performance that excludes or includes amounts so as to be different than the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) in  in the statement of income, statement of comprehensive income, balance sheet, statement of cash flows, or statement of equity of the Company.  The non-GAAP financial measures contained herein include adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, and ROIC.  These measures include adjustments in the three and six months ended December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 related to provisional tax adjustments resulting from Tax Reform, and for the six months ended December 31, 2018, for proceeds from a lawsuit settlement.  Reconciliations of the reported GAAP numbers to these non-GAAP financial measures are included in the financial highlights table below.  Management believes it is useful for investors to understand how its core operations performed without the effects of the provisional tax adjustments resulting from Tax Reform and proceeds from the lawsuit settlement.  Excluding these amounts allows investors to meaningfully trend, analyze, and benchmark the performance of the Company’s core operations.  Many of the Company’s internal performance measures that management uses to make certain operating decisions excludes these items to enable meaningful trending of core operating metrics.

About 
WHO WE ARE  Kimball Electronics is a leading contract manufacturer of durable electronics serving a variety of industries on a global scale.  The customer is the focus of everything we do and our touch is felt throughout daily life via the markets we serve:  Automotive, Industrial, Medical, and Public Safety.  Recognized for a reputation of excellence, we are committed to a high-performance culture that values personal and organizational commitment to quality, reliability, value, speed, and ethical behavior.  Our employees know they are part of a company culture that is committed to doing the right thing.  We build lasting relationships and global success for customers while enabling employees to share in the Company’s success through personal, professional, and financial growth.

WHAT WE DO Kimball Electronics trades under the symbol “KE” on The NASDAQ stock market. Kimball Electronics is a preeminent Electronics Manufacturing Services (“EMS”) provider serving customers around the world.  Additionally, Kimball Electronics offers diversified contract manufacturing services (“DCMS”) for non-electronic components, medical disposables, and plastics. GES, a , specializes in design, production and servicing of automation, test, and inspection equipment for the semiconductor, electronics, and life sciences industries.  From our operations in proud to provide manufacturing services for a variety of industries globally. Kimball Electronics is headquartered in Jasper, Indiana.

To learn more about Kimball Electronics, visit: www.kimballelectronics.com.

Click here to access the full press release with further details of Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2019 Results on our Investor Relations page. 

Lasting relationships. Global success.