Tupperware Brands Reports First Quarter 2019 Results

ORLANDO, Fla., April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- (NYSE: TUP) Tupperware Brands Corporation today announced first quarter 2019 operating results.

Tricia Stitzel, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We delivered local currency sales and earnings per share within our expectations in the first quarter.  Our results included sequential sales and sales force trend improvements in several of our units including France, Germany, Indonesia and Italy, and a five-percentage point sequential sales improvement overall."

Stitzel continued, "We are beginning to implement the detailed project plans for transformation initiatives that we announced in January aimed at enabling sales growth and providing some future direct annualized cost savings.  In the near term, we are pleased to see sequential improvement in sales as we continue to stabilize the business during this transformation period.  We are also making good progress on our access and engagement strategies through studio expansion and digital deployment."

First Quarter Executive Summary - (Comparisons with First Quarter 2018)

• Net sales were $487.3 million, down 10% (2% local currency).   Emerging markets**, accounting for 69% of sales, were down 11% (down 3% local currency). The emerging market operating units with the most significant local currency sales growth in the first quarter were Argentina, China, CIS and Poland, more than offset by significant decreases in Brazil, Fuller Mexico, Malaysia/Singapore, India, Indonesia and Turkey.  Established market sales decreased 7% (2% local currency). The local currency sales decreases were most significant in the United States and Canada, partially offset by significant business-to-business (B2B) sales in France and Switzerland.
• GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share were $36.9 million and $0.76, versus net income of $35.7 million and $0.70 in 2018, respectively, primarily reflecting lower unallocated and re-engineering expenses and a lower tax rate, partially offset by lower profit from the segments.
• Adjusted, diluted earnings per share were $0.90 compared with $0.91 in the prior year, up 13% in local currency before an $0.11, or 12%, negative impact from weaker exchange rates.  This was within the guidance range provided for the quarter in January 2019, and versus 2018 reflected lower unallocated expenses and a lower tax rate, partially offset by lower profit from three of the segments.
• Total sales force of 3.0 million was down three percent compared with the prior year, and a two-percentage point sequential improvement from the fourth quarter.

First Quarter Business Highlights - (Comparisons with First Quarter 2018)

Europe: Segment sales were down 4% (up 8% local currency).

• Emerging markets in Europe decreased 11% (up 5% local currency).  Local currency improvement was primarily in CIS, up 1% (16% local currency) and Poland, up 73% (94% local currency).
• Established markets were up 2% (11% local currency), due to significant B2B sales in France and Switzerland.

Asia Pacific: Segment sales were down 9% (5% local currency).

• Emerging markets in Asia Pacific were down 8% (4% local currency), primarily in India, down 49% (45% local currency) and Indonesia, down 20% (17% local currency).  Both of these units continued to struggle with sales force size.  These decreases were partially offset by an increase in China, up 1% (7% local currency).

North America: Segment sales were down 11% (10% local currency).

• Tupperware United States and Canada sales were down 17%, driven largely by lower sales force additions and fewer average active sellers.
• Tupperware Mexico sales were down 3% (1% local currency), due to strong productivity, partially offset by lower average active sellers.  Fuller Mexico sales were down 14% (11% local currency) from a lower active sales force.  Both units were impacted by a gasoline shortage during the beginning of the quarter, and uncertainty associated with the new government.

South America: Segment sales were down 20% (3% local currency).

• Local currency sales decrease primarily from Brazil, down 21% (8% local currency). This reflected the consumer spending environment in connection with political and macro-economic instability. The impact of Brazil was partially offset by Argentina, down 32% in dollars (up 35% local currency), due to price increases in connection with high inflation.

2019 Outlook

Based on current business trends and foreign currency rates, the Company's second quarter and fiscal 2019 full year outlook is provided below.

Company Level

Forecast Notes

• U.S. GAAP and excluding items profit amounts both include a $4.5 million and $17.2 million pretax benefit in the second quarter and full year, respectively, due to changes in reporting forward points under foreign exchange contracts under new accounting guidance on hedging that was effective the beginning of 2019.

Segment Level

• For the full year, sales are expected to be down by a mid-single digit percentage in dollars in Europe and even to down a low single digit in local currency.  Asia Pacific is expected to be down by a low single digit in dollars and even to down a low single digit in local currency.  North America, down by a mid-single digit in dollars and local currency.  In South America, sales are expected to be down by a mid-single digit in dollars and up 2 to 4% in local currency.
• Segment profit return on sales versus 2018, excluding items, is expected to be down about 1/2 point in Europe and Asia Pacific in dollars and local currency, down slightly in dollars and local currency in North America and down in South America by about 1.5 points in dollars and 2 points in local currency, due to higher product costs not offset with pricing in the difficult consumer spending environment in Brazil and Argentina.

Share Repurchases

The Company did not repurchase any shares during the first quarter. It may repurchase up to $100 million of shares opportunistically in 2019.  The Company targets, over time, a debt-to-EBITDA ratio, as defined under its revolving credit agreement, of below 2 times.

First Quarter Earnings Conference Call

Tupperware Brands will conduct a conference call today, Wednesday, April 24, 2019, at 8:30 am Eastern time. The conference call will be webcast and accessible, along with a copy of this news release and slides presented during the conference call, on ir.tupperwarebrands.com.

Tupperware Brands Corporation, through an independent sales force of 3.0 million, is the leading global marketer of innovative, premium household, beauty and personal care products across multiple brands utilizing social selling. Product brands and categories include design-centric preparation, storage and serving solutions for the kitchen and home through the Tupperware brand and beauty and personal care products through the Avroy Shlain, Fuller Cosmetics, NaturCare, Nutrimetics and Nuvo brands.

The Company's stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TUP). Statements contained in this release that are not historical fact and use predictive words such as "estimates", "outlook", "guidance", "expects", "intends", "target",  "plans" or "will" are forward-looking statements.  These statements involve risks and uncertainties that include impairment and other charges related to purchase accounting goodwill and restructuring actions, the success of growth and transformation initiatives, enactment related and ongoing impacts related to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the "Tax Act"), recruiting and activity of the Company's independent sales forces relating to governmental actions and otherwise, the success of new product introductions and promotional programs, success in arranging and success of business-to-business selling arrangements and their timing, governmental approvals of materials for use in food containers and beauty, personal care, nutritional and nutraceutical products, the success of buyers in obtaining financing or attracting tenants for commercial and residential developments, the timing and success of closing asset sales related to re-engineering actions, the effects of economic and political conditions generally and foreign exchange risk in particular, leadership development and succession changes, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic reports as filed in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

The Company updates each month the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates versus the prior year, posting it on Tupperware Brands Foreign Exchange Translation Impact Update. Other than updating for changes in foreign currency exchange rates, the Company does not intend to update forward-looking information, except through its quarterly earnings releases, unless it expects diluted earnings per share for the current quarter, excluding items impacting comparability and changes versus its guidance of the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates, to be significantly below its previous guidance.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company has utilized non-GAAP financial measures in this release, which are provided to assist readers' understanding of the Company's results of operations. These amounts exclude certain items that at times materially impact the comparability of the Company's results of operations. The adjusted information is intended to be indicative of the Company's primary operations, and to assist readers in evaluating performance and analyzing trends across periods. These results should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, results reported in accordance with GAAP.

The non-GAAP financial measures include comparisons related to profit. They exclude gains from the sale of property, plant and equipment and insurance settlements related to casualty losses, other income in connection with real estate related operations, inventory obsolescence and operating losses in conjunction with decisions to exit, wind-down or significantly restructure businesses, along with asset sales related to exited or restructured businesses, certain asset retirement obligations, re-engineering including the exit of businesses and fixed asset impairment charges, pension settlements and significant discrete impacts of new tax laws upon adoption. While the Company is engaged in a multi-year program to sell land adjacent to its Orlando, Florida headquarters, and also disposes of other excess land and facilities periodically, these activities are not part of its primary business operations. Additionally, amounts recognized in any given period are not indicative of amounts that may be recognized in any particular future period. For this reason, these amounts are excluded as indicated. The Company excludes significant charges related to casualty losses caused by significant weather events, fires or similar circumstances. It also excludes any related gains resulting from the settlement of associated insurance claims. While these types of events can and do recur periodically, they are excluded from indicated financial information due to their distinction from ongoing business operations, inherent volatility and impact on the comparability of earnings across periods. The Company periodically records exit costs accounted for using the applicable accounting guidance for exit or disposal cost obligations and other amounts related to rationalizing its supply chain operations and other re-engineering activities, including the exit of businesses and upon liquidation of operations in a country, the recognition in income of amounts previously recorded in equity as a cumulative translation adjustment. Also, the Company excludes the impact of changes in tax laws on cumulative deferred taxes from items previously recorded as cumulative translation adjustments. The Company believes these amounts are similarly volatile and impact the comparability of earnings across periods. Therefore, they are also excluded from indicated financial information to provide what the Company believes represents a useful measure for analysis and predictive purposes.

The Company believes that excluding from reported financial information, costs incurred in connection with a change in its capital structure that is of a nature that would be expected to recur sporadically, also provides a useful measure for analysis and predictive purposes. The Company accounts for its operations in Argentina and Venezuela using hyper-inflation rules under GAAP.  Due to volatility in changes in exchange rates, the Company's non-GAAP measures exclude for analysis and predictive purposes, the impact from devaluations on the Argentine peso and Venezuelan bolivar denominated net monetary assets and other balance sheet positions that impact near term income, since they appear in the income statement at the exchange rate at which they were originally translated rather than the exchange rate at which current operating activity is being translated.

The Company has also elected to present financial measures excluding the impact of amortizing the purchase accounting carrying value of certain definite-lived intangible assets, primarily the value of its Fuller trade name recorded in connection with the Company's December 2005 acquisition of the direct selling businesses of Sara Lee Corporation.  The amortization expense related to these assets will continue for several years.  Similarly, in connection with its evaluation of the carrying value of acquired intangible assets and goodwill, the Company has periodically recognized impairment charges.  The Company believes that these types of non-cash charges will not be representative in any single reporting period of amounts recorded in prior reporting periods or expected to be recorded in future reporting periods. Therefore, they are excluded from indicated financial information to also provide a useful measure for analysis and predictive purposes.

The Company enters into a limited number of business-to-business transactions, in which it sells products to a partner company.  Since the level of these sales is volatile from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year, and is largely independent of the activities of its sales force, the Company at times in addition to disclosing reported sales, discloses "core" sales amounts and comparisons, which exclude amounts sold under business-to-business transactions.  This illustrates sales results and trends directly associated with activities of its independent sales force.  Also, as the impact of changes in exchange rates is an important factor in understanding period-to-period comparisons, the Company believes the presentation of results on a local currency basis, in addition to reported results, helps improve readers' ability to understand the Company's operating results and evaluate performance in comparison with prior periods. The Company presents local currency information that compares results between periods as if current period exchange rates had been the exchange rates in the prior period. The Company uses results on a local currency basis as one measure to evaluate performance. The Company generally refers to such amounts as calculated on a local currency basis, as restated or excluding the impact of foreign currency. These core sales and local currency results should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, results reported in accordance with GAAP. Core sales and results on a local currency basis may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and are not measures of performance presented in accordance with GAAP.

In information included with this release, the Company has referred to Adjusted EBITDA and a Debt/Adjusted EBITDA ratio, which are non-GAAP financial measures used in the Company's credit agreement. The Company uses these measures in its capital allocation decision process and in discussions with investors, analysts and other interested parties, and therefore believes it is useful to disclose this amount and ratio. The Company's calculation of these measures is in accordance with its credit agreement, and is set forth in the reconciliation from GAAP amounts in an attachment to this release; however, the reader is cautioned that other companies define these measures in different ways, and consequently they may not be comparable with similarly labeled amounts disclosed by others.

SOURCE Tupperware Brands Corporation

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