Zimmer Biomet Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2017 Results

WARSAW, Ind., Jan. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE and SIX: ZBH) today reported financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2017.  The Company reported fourth quarter net sales of $2.074 billion, an increase of 3.0% over the prior year period, and an increase of 1.5% on a constant currency basis.  Diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter were $6.16, and include a one-time tax benefit of approximately $6.40 resulting from the recently enacted U.S. tax reform legislation.  Fourth quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share were $2.10, a decrease of 1.9% from the prior year period.

Full-year 2017 net sales were $7.824 billion, an increase of 1.8% over the prior year, on both a reported and constant currency basis.  Full-year revenues increased by 0.5% over the prior year on a constant currency basis, excluding approximately 130 basis points of contribution from the LDR Holding Corporation acquisition.  Diluted earnings per share for the full year were $9.03.  Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the full year were $8.03, an increase of 0.9% over the prior year.

Bryan Hanson, President and CEO of Zimmer Biomet, said: "Since joining the Company last month, I have been performing a thorough review of the business.  My immediate priorities are to improve Zimmer Biomet's execution and address a number of near-term challenges that have impacted, and will continue to impact, our performance.  With that said, I fully believe in the power of the Zimmer Biomet global brand and portfolio of products, and I am confident that with sound strategy and enhanced execution we can drive sustained shareholder value."

Net earnings for the fourth quarter were $1.257 billion, and $428.5 million on an adjusted basis.  Operating cash flow for the fourth quarter was $402.9 million.

Net earnings for full-year 2017 were $1.840 billion, and $1.636 billion on an adjusted basis.

In the quarter, the Company paid $48.6 million in dividends and declared a fourth quarter dividend of $0.24 per share.  The Company also repaid $300.0 million of debt during the quarter.  For full-year 2017, the Company paid $193.6 million in dividends and repaid approximately $1.250 billion of debt.

⁽¹⁾ U.S. tax reform legislation resulted in a net favorable provisional adjustment due to the reduction of certain deferred tax liabilities which were partially offset by provisional tax charges related to the toll tax provision of U.S. tax reform. The amount recognized is a provisional estimate and subject to change, possibly materially, due to, among other things, refinements of the Company's calculations, changes in interpretations and assumptions the Company has made or additional guidance issued by the U.S. Treasury, Securities and Exchange Commission or Financial Accounting Standards Board.

Guidance
For the first quarter of 2018, the Company expects revenue in the range of $1.955 billion to $1.995 billion, representing a change of negative 1.0% to positive 1.0% compared to the prior year period, and negative 4.0% to negative 2.0% on a constant currency basis compared to the prior year period, inclusive of negative impact related to approximately one less billing day compared to the prior year period.

Additionally, the Company expects its diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2018 to be in a range of $0.73 to $0.88, and in a range of $1.84 to $1.91 on an adjusted basis.

Conference Call
The Company will conduct its fourth quarter and full-year 2017 investor conference call today, January 30, 2018, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.  The audio webcast can be accessed via Zimmer Biomet's Investor Relations website at http://investor.zimmerbiomet.com. It will be archived for replay following the conference call.

Individuals in the U.S. and Canada who wish to dial into the conference call may do so by dialing (888) 312-9837 and entering conference ID 7278985.  For a complete listing of international toll-free and local numbers, please visit http://investor.zimmerbiomet.com.  A digital recording will be available 24 hours after the completion of the conference call, from January 31, 2018 to March 1, 2018.  To access the recording, U.S. callers should dial (888) 203-1112 and international callers should dial +1 (719) 457-0820, and enter the Access Code ID 7278985.

Sales Tables
The following fourth quarter and full-year sales tables provide results by geography and product category, as well as the percentage change compared to the prior year periods on a reported basis and a constant currency basis. 

About the Company
Founded in 1927 and headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Zimmer Biomet is a global leader in musculoskeletal healthcare. We design, manufacture and market orthopaedic reconstructive products; sports medicine, biologics, extremities and trauma products; office based technologies; spine, craniomaxillofacial and thoracic products; dental implants; and related surgical products.

We collaborate with healthcare professionals around the globe to advance the pace of innovation. Our products and solutions help treat patients suffering from disorders of, or injuries to, bones, joints or supporting soft tissues. Together with healthcare professionals, we help millions of people live better lives.

We have operations in more than 25 countries around the world and sell products in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.zimmerbiomet.com or follow Zimmer Biomet on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zimmerbiomet. 

Website Information
We routinely post important information for investors on our website, www.zimmerbiomet.com, in the "Investor Relations" section.  We use this website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.  Accordingly, investors should monitor the Investor Relations section of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts.  The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document.

Note on Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes non-GAAP financial measures that differ from financial measures calculated in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP").  These non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies and should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, other measures prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Sales change information for the three-month period and the year ended December 31, 2017 is presented on a GAAP (reported) basis and on a constant currency basis.  The sales change information for the full year is also presented on a constant currency basis that excludes the contribution from the Company's acquisition of LDR Holding Corporation in July 2016.  Projected revenue change information is also presented on a GAAP basis and on a constant currency basis.  Constant currency rates exclude the effects of foreign currency exchange rates.  They are calculated by translating current and prior-period sales at the same predetermined exchange rate.  The translated results are then used to determine year-over-year percentage increases or decreases. 

Net earnings, diluted earnings per share and projected diluted earnings per share are presented on a GAAP (reported) basis and on an adjusted basis.  Adjusted earnings and adjusted diluted earnings per share exclude the effects of inventory step-up; certain inventory and manufacturing-related charges connected to discontinuing certain product lines, quality enhancement and remediation efforts; special items; intangible asset amortization; certain claims; goodwill impairment; debt extinguishment charges; any related effects on our income tax provision associated with these items; the effect of U.S. tax reform; and other certain tax adjustments.  Special items include expenses resulting directly from our business combinations and/or global restructuring, quality and operational excellence initiatives, including employee termination benefits, certain contract terminations, consulting and professional fees, dedicated project personnel, asset impairment or loss on disposal charges, certain litigation matters, costs of complying with our deferred prosecution agreement and other items.  Other certain tax adjustments include a tax restructuring that lowered the tax rate on deferred tax liabilities recorded on intangible assets recognized in acquisition-related accounting, net favorable resolutions of various tax matters, a favorable tax rate change in a foreign jurisdiction and charges from internal restructuring transactions that provide the Company access to cash in a tax efficient manner.

Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally to evaluate the performance of the business and believes they are useful measures that provide meaningful supplemental information to investors to consider when evaluating the performance of the Company.  Management believes these measures offer the ability to make period-to-period comparisons that are not impacted by certain items that can cause dramatic changes in reported operating results, to perform trend analysis, to better identify operating trends that may otherwise be masked or distorted by these types of items and to provide additional transparency of certain items.  In addition, certain of these non-GAAP financial measures are used as performance metrics in the Company's incentive compensation programs.

Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are included in this press release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among others, statements regarding sales and earnings guidance and any statements about our expectations, plans, strategies or prospects.   We generally use the words "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "assumes," "guides," "targets," "forecasts," "sees," "seeks," "should," "could," "intends" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements.   All statements other than statements of historical or current fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements.   Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of management and are subject to significant risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially.  These risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances include, but are not limited to:  our chief executive officer transition, including disruptions and uncertainties related thereto, the potential impact on our business and future strategic direction resulting from our transition to a new chief executive officer, and our ability to retain other key members of senior management; the possibility that the anticipated synergies and other benefits from mergers and acquisitions will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time periods; the risks and uncertainties related to our ability to successfully integrate the operations, products, employees and distributors of acquired companies; the effect of the potential disruption of management's attention from ongoing business operations due to integration matters related to mergers and acquisitions; the effect of mergers and acquisitions on our relationships with customers, vendors and lenders and on our operating results and businesses generally; compliance with the Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered into in January 2017; the success of our quality and operational excellence initiatives, including ongoing quality enhancement and remediation efforts at the legacy Biomet Warsaw facility; challenges relating to changes in and compliance with governmental laws and regulations affecting our U.S. and international businesses, including regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and foreign government regulators, such as more stringent requirements for regulatory clearance of products; the ability to remediate matters identified in any inspectional observations or warning letters issued by the FDA, while continuing to satisfy the demand for our products; the outcome of government investigations; competition; pricing pressures; changes in customer demand for our products and services caused by demographic changes or other factors; the impact of healthcare reform measures; reductions in reimbursement levels by third-party payors and cost containment efforts of healthcare purchasing organizations; dependence on new product development, technological advances and innovation; shifts in the product category or regional sales mix of our products and services; supply and prices of raw materials and products; control of costs and expenses; the ability to obtain and maintain adequate intellectual property protection; the ability to form and implement alliances; changes in tax obligations arising from tax reform measures, including European Union rules on state aid, or examinations by tax authorities; product liability and intellectual property litigation losses; the ability to retain the independent agents and distributors who market our products; dependence on a limited number of suppliers for key raw materials and outsourced activities; changes in general industry and market conditions, including domestic and international growth rates; changes in general domestic and international economic conditions, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of the ongoing financial and political uncertainty on countries in the Euro zone on the ability to collect accounts receivable in affected countries.  For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see our reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2017, June 30, 2017 and September 30, 2017.  Copies of these filings, as well as subsequent filings, are available online at www.sec.gov, www.zimmerbiomet.com or on request from us.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  Readers of this release are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements, since there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate.  This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this release.

SOURCE Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.zimmerbiomet.com