SPX FLOW Builds Momentum With Strong Results In The First Half Of 2021

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW), a leading provider of process solutions for the nutrition, health and precision solutions markets, today reported results for the quarter ended July 3, 2021.

"Our strong first half results demonstrate significant progress in the strategic plan the Company outlined at the start of 2021. We are demonstrating the ability to deliver organic growth, meaningful margin expansion, and strong free cash flow," said Marc Michael, SPX FLOW President and CEO. "The strategic assessments we conducted over the past two years created clarity on the products, services and markets that allow us to grow profitably with our customers. And the deployment of 80/20 and our business operating system has supported our strong execution of this strategy, evidenced by growth in our highest margin product categories, investment in new product development and CAPEX, and outstanding progress on our SG&A productivity plans. By instilling the 80/20 mindset company-wide, we see sustainable margin expansion and increased free cash flow over the coming years." 

"We are also executing on our commitment to systematically allocate capital within our balanced and disciplined framework," Michael said. "We have increased investments in high returning CAPEX projects, R&D programs and customer innovation. We closed two acquisitions this year that are great strategic fits and enhance our ability to create profitable growth.  We are also returning capital to shareholders through our share repurchase program and dividend."

"We are proud of the outcomes our solutions makers have delivered through the first half of 2021, and confident we are building the capabilities and culture to deliver on our long-term commitments. The momentum we are seeing in our operating performance is a testament to strong teams, customer focus, high quality offerings and strategic clarity. We are focused on creating value for shareholders through earnings growth, reinvesting in the business, executing strategic acquisitions and distributing excess cash to our shareholders." concluded Michael.

Outlook:

The company anticipates mid-single digit organic revenue growth in 2021 with meaningful improvement in operating margins continuing in the second half of the year. The long-term strategy is to generate higher organic growth driven by 80/20 segmentation, with improved quality and mix of revenue, supported by a lean and dynamic cost structure. These building blocks, together with continuous manufacturing and supply chain productivity, are leading to an accelerated shift in fundamental performance of the Company.

• Backlog was up 11.4%, or $62.2 million primarily due to the positive impact of foreign exchange rates and the impact of current period acquisitions. Organically, backlog decreased 4.8%  in the Nutrition & Health segment, partially offset by a slight increase of  1.4% in the Precision Solutions segment.
• Orders increased 15.5% organically, or $49.7 million, driven by a 7.4% increase in Nutrition & Health segment orders and a 22.8% increase in Precision Solutions segment orders.
• Revenues increased 23.9%, or $73.5 million driven by an 14.1% increase in organic revenues, with 10.5% organic growth in the Nutrition & Health segment and 17.3% organic growth in the Precision Solutions segment.
• Operating income was $28.9 million, or 7.6% of revenues. After excluding discrete, non-operational and non-cash items and reclassifying transitional services income, adjusted operating income* was $42.7 million, or 11.2% of revenues, representing an increase of approximately 260 basis points year-over-year on a comparable basis.
• Segment income was $50.0 million, up 28.2%, and segment margin increased by 40 basis points to 13.1%. The increase in segment income was primarily driven by operating leverage related to meaningful volume recovery across both segments, price realization and structural SG&A cost savings and was only partially offset by increased intangible amortization charges and the impact of fair value adjustments to inventory directly attributable to the company's acquisition strategy.
• Adjusted free cash flow* from continuing operations was $30.7 million, including investments of $5.1 million on capital expenditures and excluding $4.8 million on restructuring actions and $2.4 million on certain M&A activities.
• Nutrition & Health segment revenues increased 16.3% primarily driven by a 10.5% increase in organic revenues related to a higher shippable backlog entering the quarter and elevated short cycle book and turn activity. Segment income was $26.4 million, up 38.2%, and margin increased by 250 basis points to 15.7%. The increase in segment income was primarily driven by an improved mix of higher quality revenue, pricing and SG&A cost reductions.
• Precision Solutions segment revenues increased 30.5%, primarily driven by a 17.3% increase in organic revenues related to a higher shippable backlog to start the quarter and volume recovery in short cycle end markets. Segment income was $23.6 million, up 18.6% and margin decreased by 110 basis points to 11.1%. The increase in segment income was primarily driven by increased price realization, operating leverage related to meaningful volume recovery and SG&A cost reductions and was partially offset by increased intangible amortization charges and the impact of fair value adjustments to inventory directly attributable to the company's acquisition strategy.

OTHER ITEMS

About SPX FLOW, Inc.: Based in Charlotte, N.C., SPX FLOW, Inc. (NYSE:FLOW) improves the world through innovative and sustainable solutions. The company's product offering is concentrated in process technologies that perform mixing, blending, fluid handling, separation, thermal heat transfer and other activities that are integral to processes performed across a wide variety of nutrition, health and precision solutions markets. SPX FLOW had approximately $1.4 billion in 2020 annual revenues and has operations in more than 30 countries and sales in more than 140 countries. To learn more about SPX FLOW, please visit www.spxflow.com.

*Non-GAAP measure. See attached schedules for reconciliation from most comparable GAAP measure. Management believes these non-GAAP metrics are commonly used financial measures for investors to evaluate our operating performance for the periods presented, and when read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements, present a useful tool to evaluate continuing operations and provide investors with metrics they can use to evaluate our management of the business from period to period. In addition, these are some of the factors we use in internal evaluations of the overall performance of our business.

On July 26, 2021 we announced that our Board of Directors authorized a review of strategic alternatives, including a possible sale or merger of the Company and the continued execution of the Company's standalone strategy. No assurances can be given regarding the outcome or timing of the review process. Until completed or until we deem appropriate, we do not intend to make any further public comments around the process. 

Management acknowledges that there are many items that impact a company's reported results and the adjustments reflected in these non-GAAP measures are not intended to present all items that may have impacted these results. In addition, these non-GAAP measures are not necessarily comparable to similarly-titled measures used by other companies.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby. The words "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "targets," "projects," "believes," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "should," "could," "would," "will," "may" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially because of market conditions or other factors, and forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. Among other factors that may affect future performance are: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and governmental and other actions taken in response; cyclical changes and specific industry events in the company's markets; changes in anticipated capital investment and maintenance expenditures by customers; availability, limitations or cost increases of raw materials, component products and/or commodities that cannot be recovered in product pricing; overruns, the incurrence of delays, penalties or liquidated damages with respect to long-term fixed-price contracts; international economic, political, legal, accounting and business developments adversely affecting the company's ability to do business in emerging markets; ability to identify acceptable strategic acquisition targets; uncertainties surrounding timing, successful completion or integration of acquisitions and similar transactions; inadequate performance by third-party suppliers and subcontractors for outsourced products; defects or errors in current or planned products; potential labor disputes, extreme weather conditions and natural and other disasters; compliance costs associated with environmental laws and regulations; threats associated with and efforts to combat terrorism and cyber-security risks; global competitive market conditions, including global reactions to U.S. trade policies, and resulting effects on sales and pricing; and global economic factors, including currency exchange rates, difficulties entering new markets and general economic conditions such as inflation, deflation, interest rates and credit availability. These risk factors may not be exhaustive. Further, the company operates in a continually changing business environment and cannot predict new risk factors that may arise as a result of these and other changes. Statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, and SPX FLOW disclaims any responsibility to update or revise such statements.

Investor Contact:

Scott Gaffner

VP, Investor Relations and Strategic Insights

704-752-4485

[email protected]

Media Contact:

Peter Smolowitz

External Communications Manager

704-341-2915

[email protected]