ELGIN, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 12, 2015--The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ: MIDD), a leading worldwide manufacturer of equipment for the commercial foodservice, food processing and residential kitchen industries, today reported net sales and earnings for the second quarter ended July 4, 2015. Net earnings for the second quarter were $54,267,000 or $0.95 per share on net sales of $436,291,000 as compared to the prior year second quarter net earnings of $48,405,000 or $0.85 per share on net sales of $424,776,000.

Selim A. Bassoul Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “In the second quarter at our Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group, we continued to see strong sales growth with our chain restaurant customers adopting our new and innovative technologies as they seek to improve the efficiency of their restaurant operations. We maintained our strong profitability in this segment while we integrate five businesses acquired in this segment during the past year.”

Mr. Bassoul continued, “At our Food Processing Equipment Group, lower reported sales reflect the timing impact of large orders in comparison to the prior year. Given the nature of this business, we have historically seen volatility on a quarter over quarter basis. Additionally, as approximately half the revenues of this business are in international markets, and as a result, strengthening of the U.S. dollar has had the greatest impact on reported sales. Despite the sales decline, we continue to see a strong pipeline of project opportunities and have realized an increase in order rates of 20% over the first six months of last year, which should favorably impact the second half. We also continued to realize profit margin improvement at this segment with EBITDA margins of approximately 23.0% in the quarter.”

Mr. Bassoul added, “At our Residential Kitchen Equipment Group, lower sales reflect the anticipated impact of non-core products that were discontinued in connection with the prior year Viking distributor acquisitions and lack of product availability related to the new line of Viking refrigeration during initial production startup in the first half of 2015. We are excited about the growth potential for the new lineup of Viking ranges, cooktops, ovens and refrigeration. These innovative, new-to-market appliances have generated much attention over the past year, and we would expect improved sales as these products continue to penetrate and gain acceptance in the market.”

A conference call will be held at 10:00 a.m. Central time on August 13, 2015 and can be accessed by dialing (888) 391-6937 and providing conference code 5506431# or through the investor relations section of The Middleby Corporation website at www.middleby.com. An audio replay of the call will be available approximately one half hour after its completion and can be accessed by calling (855) 859-2056 and providing code 5506431#.

Statements in this press release or otherwise attributable to the company regarding the company's business which are not historical fact are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company cautions investors that such statements are estimates of future performance and are highly dependent upon a variety of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Such factors include variability in financing costs; quarterly variations in operating results; dependence on key customers; international exposure; foreign exchange and political risks affecting international sales; changing market conditions; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the timely development and market acceptance of the company's products; the availability and cost of raw materials; and other risks detailed herein and from time-to-time in the company's SEC filings.

The Middleby Corporation is a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry. The company develops, manufactures, markets and services a broad line of equipment used for commercial food cooking, preparation and processing. The company's leading equipment brands serving the commercial foodservice industry include Anets®, Beech®, Blodgett®, Blodgett Combi®, Blodgett Range®, Bloomfield®, Britannia®, Carter-Hoffmann®, Celfrost®, Concordia®, CookTek®, CTX®, Desmon®, Doyon®, Eswood®, FriFri®, Giga®, Goldstein®, Holman®, Houno®, IMC®, Induc®, Jade®, Lang®, Lincat®, MagiKitch'n®, Market Forge®, Marsal®, Middleby Marshall®, MPC®, Nieco®, Nu-Vu®, PerfectFry®, Pitco Frialator®, Southbend®, Star®, Toastmaster®, TurboChef®, Viking®, Wells® and Wunder-Bar®. The company’s leading equipment brands serving the food processing industry include Alkar®, Armor Inox®, Auto-Bake®, Baker Thermal Solutions®, Cozzini®, Danfotech®, Drake®, Maurer-Atmos®, MP Equipment®, Process Equipment Solutions®, RapidPak®, Spooner Vicars®, Stewart Systems® and Thurne®. The company’s leading equipment brands serving the residential kitchen equipment industry includes Brigade®, Jade®, Turbochef®, U-Line® and Viking®.

The Middleby Corporation was named one of Fortune Magazine’s Fastest Growing Companies in October 2014. For more information about The Middleby Corporation and the company brands, please visit www.middleby.com.

THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (Amounts in 000’s, Except Per Share Information) (Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended					Six Months Ended
	2^nd Qtr, 2015			2^nd Qtr, 2014		2^nd Qtr, 2015		2^nd Qtr, 2014
Net sales	$	436,291		$	424,776	$	842,887	$	797,254
Cost of sales		263,402			258,602		512,436		488,104

Gross profit		172,889			166,174		330,451		309,150

Selling & distribution expenses		45,332			48,102		92,441		95,072
General & administrative expenses		44,197			42,333		88,070		82,406

Income from operations		83,360			75,739		149,940		131,672

Interest expense and deferred
financing amortization, net		4,048			4,169		7,797		8,156
Other expense, net		(366	)		195		4,195		1,060

Earnings before income taxes		79,678			71,375		137,948		122,456

Provision for income taxes		25,411			22,970		45,450		40,606

Net earnings	$	54,267		$	48,405	$	92,498	$	81,850

Net earnings per share:

Basic	$	0.95		$	0.85	$	1.62	$	1.44

Diluted	$	0.95		$	0.85	$	1.62	$	1.44
Weighted average number shares:

Basic		56,963			56,866		56,940		56,661

Diluted		56,965			56,867		56,941		56,662

Comprehensive income	$	61,148		$	50,038	$	83.230	$	85,264

THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in 000’s) (Unaudited)

	Jul 4, 2015		Jan 3, 2015
ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents	$	38,586	$	43,945
Accounts receivable, net		239,588		229,875
Inventories, net		291,936		255,766
Prepaid expenses and other		26,175		27,980
Prepaid taxes		3,862		5,538
Current deferred taxes		53,482		51,017
Total current assets		653,629		614,131

Property, plant and equipment, net		148,838		129,697

Goodwill		833,382		808,491
Other intangibles, net		494,328		492,031
Long-term deferred tax assets		4,773		2,925
Other assets		20,998		18,856

Total assets	$	2,155,948	$	2,066,131


LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current maturities of long-term debt	$	10,210	$	9,402
Accounts payable		109,860		98,327
Accrued expenses		221,272		220,585
Total current liabilities		341,342		328,314

Long-term debt		564,104		588,765
Long-term deferred tax liability		91,954		88,800
Other non-current liabilities		63,595		53,492

Stockholders’ equity		1,094,953		1,006,760

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	2,155,948	$	2,066,131

CONTACT:
The Middleby Corporation
Darcy Bretz, 847-429-7756
Investor and Public Relations
or
Tim FitzGerald, 847-429-7744
Chief Financial Officer