EX-99.1 2 dex991.htm PRESS RELEASE Press Release

Exhibit 99.1

BRIGGS & STRATTON CORPORATION REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE SECOND QUARTER AND FIRST SIX MONTHS OF FISCAL 2007

MILWAUKEE, January 18, 2007/PR Newswire/-Briggs & Stratton Corporation (NYSE:BGG)

Briggs & Stratton today announced second quarter fiscal 2007 consolidated net sales of $423.1 million and a consolidated net loss of $5.9 million or $.12 per diluted share. The second quarter of fiscal 2006 had consolidated net sales of $574.3 million and net income of $21.8 million or $.42 per diluted share. The $151.2 million, or 26%, decrease in consolidated net sales was primarily due to two factors. Unit shipments were lower due to reduced generator sales as compared to the prior year when landed hurricanes had contributed to higher demand. Also, we experienced a delay in shipments to lawn and garden engine customers who have chosen to assemble product closer to the selling season. The $27.7 million decrease in consolidated net income reflects the impact of both lower sales and production volumes in both reporting segments, offset by lower expenses related to engineering, selling and administrative activities.

For the first six months of fiscal 2007, the Company had consolidated net sales of $761.3 million and a consolidated net loss of $23.9 million or $.48 per diluted share. For the same period a year ago, consolidated net sales were $1.086 billion and consolidated net income was $26.5 million or $.51 per diluted share. The decline in the first six month’s consolidated net sales of the $324.7 million, or 30%, was primarily attributable to lower shipments resulting from the same factors mentioned above for the second fiscal quarter. The $50.4 million decrease in consolidated net income primarily reflects the significant decline in unit shipments and production volume in both reporting segments, partially offset by planned reductions in engineering, selling and administrative expenses.

Engines:

Fiscal 2007 second quarter net sales were $279.0 million versus $380.8 million for the same period a year ago, a decrease of 27%. The decrease resulted from a 30% decrease in engine unit shipments between quarters. Sales for the first half of fiscal 2007 were $468.6 million versus $666.3 million in the prior year, a 30% reduction. The decrease resulted from a 33% decrease in engine unit shipments between years. Engine unit shipment reductions in the quarter were the result of lower demand for generator engines and deferral of demand for engines for lawn and garden equipment. Last year demand for generator engines was strong due to significant landed hurricanes which were absent this year. Manufacturers of lawn equipment have chosen to assemble closer to the spring selling season and consequently our expected shipments have shifted into the last half of our fiscal year.

Income from operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was $6.0 million, down $29.7 million from the same period a year ago. The major reasons for the decrease in income from operations were the loss of margins due to lower sales ($33 million) and the reduction in margins resulting from a 20% decrease in production activity ($8 million). Margin declines were offset by a reduction in operating expenses ($11 million), which were primarily reductions in professional services.

The loss from operations for the first half of fiscal 2007 was $18.1 million, a decline in income from operations of $62.6 million from the same period a year ago. The major reasons for the decrease in income from operations were the loss of margins due to lower sales ($63 million) and the reduction in margins resulting from a 16% decrease in production activity ($12 million). Margin declines were offset by reductions in operating expenses ($13 million), related to professional services and employee related costs.

Power Products:

Fiscal 2007 second quarter net sales were $170.4 million, an $86.3 million decrease from the same period a year ago. Approximately 60% of the decrease in net sales was related to a 60% decline in portable generator sales caused by the lack of landed hurricanes in the first and second quarters of fiscal 2007. The remainder of the decrease was primarily due to a reduction in shipments of consumer lawn and garden equipment. Fiscal 2006 included sales to retailers from the bankrupt Murray operation that we acquired in February 2005. The wind-down of this operation was completed in fiscal 2006 and accordingly, fiscal 2007 sales for Murray products have dropped significantly.

Net sales for the first six months of fiscal 2007 were $357.3 million, a $200.0 million decrease over the same period a year ago. Similar to the second fiscal quarter, approximately half of the decrease in net sales was related to a 53% decline in portable generator sales caused by the lack of landed hurricanes and the remainder of the decrease was primarily due to a reduction in shipments of consumer lawn and garden equipment for the same reasons mentioned for the quarter.


The loss from operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was $4.0 million, a decline in income from operations of $9.5 million from the same period a year ago. The decrease in income from operations was the result of significantly lower portable generator sales and production activity and increased costs for raw materials and components for product that was produced.

The loss from operations for the first six months of fiscal 2007 was $1.2 million, a decline in income from operations of $6.9 million from the same period a year ago. The majority of the decrease in income from operations was the result of the same factors mentioned for the quarter. The margin decline from those factors was partially offset by reduced expenses that totaled $10.7 million in the prior year related to the wind down of Murray operations.

General:

Interest expense was higher in the second quarter of fiscal 2007 due to increases in variable interest rates between years. The second quarter and year to date fiscal 2007 effective tax rates are at 30% and 33%, respectively, versus the 35% used in both comparable periods last year.

Other Matters:

We continue to evaluate and make changes to our manufacturing footprint. Location, capacity, flexibility, product demand and costs are all factors that are considered to optimize our global manufacturing operations. As a result of this effort:

 

  In December 2006, we began assembly of engines for walk behind lawnmowers in the Czech Republic. We believe this assembly plant will allow us to better serve the entire European market by addressing delivery and flexibility needs in this market similar to how we have addressed these issues for customers in the United States. This plant will also help us address a capacity constraint we have experienced on walk behind engines in past years.

 

  We are establishing a manufacturing facility in Newbern, Tennessee. This plant will produce end products for our Power Products Segment. The plant will allow us to continue implementing our strategy of focused factories to achieve low cost through improved operating efficiency and improved supply chain through the close proximity of this plant to two of our engine operations. Equipping the facility is expected to cost between $18 and $22 million and it is projected to be operational for fiscal 2008.

 

  We are evaluating the future direction of our Rolla, Missouri plant. With the success of our ramp up of our China operations and the continued cost pressures from the market and cost increases imposed by government regulations, we must continually evaluate our manufacturing operations in the United States. There are several alternatives being considered for this operation. We plan to make a decision by the end of this fiscal year.

Outlook:

Our forecast continues to assume that the lawn and garden market will be flat in the spring of 2007. However, current information about our placement in the European market for the upcoming lawn and garden season, what appears to be a soft snow thrower sales season due to limited snow fall and further reductions in our projections of the potential generator market make us believe we may ship 2% to 3% fewer engines than we had anticipated. This reduces our current sales forecast for the Engines Segment to approximately $1.51 billion. The reduced sales projection also causes us to lower our production output to address the reduced demand forecast. This loss of production volume will increase our operating costs and reduce our efficiency as we experience lower utilization of our fixed costs at several plants. The impact of reduced sales and production volumes results in an income from operations projection in the range of $76 to $85 million for the Engines Segment for fiscal 2007.

Our fiscal 2007 projections for the Power Products Segment now reflect a further fall-off in spring generator needs, a higher mix of lower margined pressure washer product and softer demand for snow product due to what we believe will be a poor snow season. We now estimate that the Power Products Segment sales will be $1.03 billion and income from operations in the range of $46 to $51 million.

We forecast interest expense and other income for fiscal 2007 to be $43.0 million and $14.0 million, respectively. The effective tax rate for the full year is projected to be in a range from 32% to 34%. The current forecast results in consolidated net income for fiscal 2007 in the range of $62 to $72 million or $1.24 to $1.44 per diluted share.

Net income for the second half of fiscal 2007 is projected to be in the range of $86 to $96 million or $1.72 to $1.92 per diluted share. We are providing projections for the second half of the fiscal year because we feel lawn and garden equipment manufacturers will schedule more of their production closer to the selling season which could cause some shifting of engine shipments between our fiscal third and fourth quarters.


The Company will host a conference call at 10:00 AM (EST) on January 18, 2007 to review this information. A live web cast of the conference call will be available on its corporate website: http://www.briggsandstratton.com/shareholders. Also available is a dial-in number to access the call real-time at (866) 804-3545. A replay will be offered beginning approximately two hours after the call ends and will be available for one week. Dial (888) 266-2081 to access the replay. The access code will be 1023082.

This release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “forecast”, “intend”, “may”, “objective”, “plan”, “project”, “seek”, “think”, “will”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current views and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that include, among other things, the ability to successfully forecast demand for our products and appropriately adjust our manufacturing and inventory levels; changes in our operating expenses; changes in interest rates; the effects of weather on the purchasing patterns of consumers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); actions of engine manufacturers and OEMs with whom we compete; the seasonal nature of our business; changes in laws and regulations, including environmental, tax, pension funding and accounting standards; work stoppages or other consequences of any deterioration in our employee relations; work stoppages by other unions that affect the ability of suppliers or customers to manufacture; acts of war or terrorism that may disrupt our business operations or those of our customers and suppliers; changes in customer and OEM demand; changes in prices of raw materials and parts that we purchase; changes in domestic economic conditions, including housing starts and changes in consumer disposable income; changes in foreign economic conditions, including currency rate fluctuations; the actions of customers of our OEM customers; actions by potential acquirers of certain OEMs; the ability to bring new productive capacity on line efficiently and with good quality; the ability to successfully realize the maximum market value of assets that may require disposal if products of production methods change; new facts that come to light in the future course of litigation proceedings which could affect our assessment of those matters; and other factors that may be disclosed from time to time in our SEC filings or otherwise. Some or all of the factors may be beyond our control. We caution you that any forward-looking statement reflects only our belief at the time the statement is made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made.


BRIGGS & STRATTON CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Fiscal Periods Ended December

(In Thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

 

     Second Quarter     Six Months  
     2006     2005     2006     2005  

NET SALES

   $ 423,059     $ 574,313     $ 761,308     $ 1,086,022  

COST OF GOODS SOLD

     355,695       456,961       649,582       887,362  
                                

Gross Profit on Sales

     67,364       117,352       111,726       198,660  

ENGINEERING, SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

     64,853       78,722       131,174       148,999  
                                

Income from Operations

     2,511       38,630       (19,448 )     49,661  

INTEREST EXPENSE

     (11,829 )     (11,305 )     (20,866 )     (21,333 )

OTHER INCOME, Net

     921       6,223       4,378       12,487  
                                

Income before Provision for Income Taxes

     (8,397 )     33,548       (35,936 )     40,815  

PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES

     (2,487 )     11,730       (11,988 )     14,270  
                                

Net Income (Loss)

   $ (5,910 )   $ 21,818     $ (23,948 )   $ 26,545  
                                

Average Shares Outstanding

     50,583       51,695       49,983       51,714  
                                

BASIC EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE

   $ (0.12 )   $ 0.42     $ (0.48 )   $ 0.51  
                                

Diluted Average Shares Outstanding

     50,583       52,066       49,983       52,093  
                                

DILUTED EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE

   $ (0.12 )   $ 0.42     $ (0.48 )   $ 0.51  
                                

Segment Information

(In Thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

     Second Quarter     Six Months  
     2006     2005     2006     2005  

NET SALES:

        

Engines

   $ 279,018     $ 380,844     $ 468,614     $ 666,273  

Power Products

     170,406       256,666       357,293       557,273  

Inter-Segment Eliminations

     (26,365 )     (63,197 )     (64,599 )     (137,524 )
                                

Total*

   $ 423,059     $ 574,313     $ 761,308     $ 1,086,022  
                                

*Includes international sales of

   $ 182,808     $ 150,067     $ 294,220     $ 265,604  
                                

GROSS PROFIT ON SALES:

        

Engines

   $ 53,428     $ 93,505     $ 78,127     $ 153,189  

Power Products

     13,477       26,470       33,730       45,974  

Inter-Segment Eliminations

     459       (2,623 )     (131 )     (503 )
                                

Total

   $ 67,364     $ 117,352     $ 111,726     $ 198,660  
                                

INCOME (LOSS) FROM OPERATIONS:

        

Engines

   $ 6,030     $ 35,701     $ (18,092 )   $ 44,468  

Power Products

     (3,978 )     5,552       (1,225 )     5,696  

Inter-Segment Eliminations

     459       (2,623 )     (131 )     (503 )
                                

Total

   $ 2,511     $ 38,630     $ (19,448 )   $ 49,661  
                                


BRIGGS & STRATTON CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of the End of Fiscal December

(In Thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

     2006     2005  

CURRENT ASSETS:

    

Cash and Cash Equivalents

   $ 36,593     $ 39,759  

Accounts Receivable, Net

     306,473       467,248  

Inventories

     777,404       644,840  

Deferred Income Tax Asset

     61,632       94,719  

Other

     24,554       29,029  
                

Total Current Assets

     1,206,656       1,275,595  
                

OTHER ASSETS:

    

Goodwill

     251,885       253,663  

Investments

     46,781       47,879  

Prepaid Pension

     79,995       —    

Deferred Loan Costs, Net

     3,722       5,223  

Other Intangible Assets, Net

     93,506       95,520  

Other Long-Term Assets, Net

     7,283       27,046  
                

Total Other Assets

     483,172       429,331  
                

PLANT AND EQUIPMENT:

    

At Cost

     1,032,868       1,018,825  

Less - Accumulated Depreciation

     605,361       578,477  
                

Plant and Equipment, Net

     427,507       440,348  
                
   $ 2,117,335     $ 2,145,274  
                

CURRENT LIABILITIES:

    

Accounts Payable

   $ 152,916     $ 149,278  

Short-Term Borrowings

     273,514       138,060  

Current Maturity on Long-Term Debt

     81,056       40,000  

Accrued Liabilities

     179,209       201,335  
                

Total Current Liabilities

     686,695       528,673  
                

OTHER LIABILITIES:

    

Deferred Income Tax Liability

     101,742       106,900  

Accrued Pension Cost

     26,868       53,304  

Accrued Employee Benefits

     16,400       15,687  

Accrued Postretirement Health Care Obligation

     82,716       80,811  

Other Long-Term Liabilities

     2,895       15,778  

Long-Term Debt

     302,630       441,754  
                

Total Other Liabilities

     533,251       714,234  
                

SHAREHOLDERS’ INVESTMENT:

    

Common Stock and Additional Paid-in Capital

     72,303       61,318  

Retained Earnings

     1,038,408       1,030,172  

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

     3,702       (45,836 )

Treasury Stock, at Cost

     (217,024 )     (143,287 )
                

Total Shareholders’ Investment

     897,389       902,367  
                
   $ 2,117,335     $ 2,145,274  
                


BRIGGS & STRATTON CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In Thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

     Six Months Ended Fiscal December  
     2006     2005  

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

    

Net Income (Loss)

   $ (23,948 )   $ 26,545  

Depreciation and Amortization

     36,410       38,373  

(Gain) Loss on Disposition of Plant and Equipment

     174       (5,402 )

Provision for Deferred Income Taxes

     (4,728 )     (9,362 )

Increase in Accounts Receivable

     (32,971 )     (106,462 )

Increase in Inventories

     (215,389 )     (175,175 )

(Increase) Decrease in Other Current Assets

     10,515       (1,254 )

Decrease in Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities

     (13,231 )     (3,477 )

Stock Compensation Expense

     4,896       4,385  

Other, Net

     (2,921 )     3,901  
                

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

     (241,193 )     (227,928 )
                

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

    

Additions to Plant and Equipment

     (29,866 )     (34,354 )

Proceeds Received on Disposition of Plant and Equipment

     442       10,696  

Investment in Joint Venture

     —         (900 )

Refund of Cash Paid for Acquisition

     —         6,347  
                

Net Cash Used in Investing Activities

     (29,424 )     (18,211 )
                

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

    

Net Borrowings on Loans and Notes Payable

     270,040       132,617  

Dividends

     (11,267 )     (11,379 )

Stock Option Exercise Proceeds and Tax Benefits

     750       2,418  

Treasury Stock Purchases

     (48,232 )     —    
                

Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities

     211,291       123,656  
                

EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE CHANGES

     828       669  
                

NET DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

     (58,498 )     (121,814 )

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, Beginning

     95,091       161,573  
                

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, Ending

   $ 36,593     $ 39,759