Exhibit 99
[Applica logo]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
|
Investor Relations Department | |
| (954) 883-1000 | ||
| investor.relations@applicamail.com |
Applica Incorporated Reports 2004 Third-Quarter and
Year-to-Date Financial Results
Miramar, Florida (November 4, 2004) — Applica Incorporated (NYSE: APN) today announced that third-quarter sales for 2004 were $187.8 million, an increase of 8.2% from the same period in 2003. For the first nine months of 2004, sales were $479.2 million, an increase of 11.0% over the first nine months of 2003. The increases in sales in the third quarter and nine-month period resulted primarily from sales of new products and increased sales of core Black & Decker® branded products, offset by a decline in contract manufacturing sales.
Applica reported a net loss for the 2004 third quarter of $9.9 million, or $0.41 per share, compared with earnings of $4.9 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, for the 2003 third quarter. The third quarter of 2004 included expenses of $9.2 million related to termination benefits and a loss of $0.8 million on the sale of Applica’s Chinese manufacturing operations. The third-quarter 2003 earnings included $16.2 million of equity in the net earnings of a joint venture in which Applica owned a 50% interest.
For the first nine months of 2004, Applica reported a net loss of $138.2 million, or $5.78 per share, as compared to net income of $21.7 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, for the same period last year. As previously announced, Applica incurred a non-cash tax expense in the second quarter of 2004 of approximately $24.0 million related to the U.S. taxes on previously undistributed foreign earnings. Additionally, as previously announced, in the second quarter of 2004, the Company recognized a non-cash adjustment to goodwill of $62.8 million (or $46.4 million after tax) as the result of its annual test of its existing goodwill for impairment in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.’’ Finally, Applica increased its allowance related to deferred tax assets by $51.4 million, resulting in a non-cash tax expense in the second quarter. The 2003 year-to-date earnings included $55.2 million ($33.1 million after tax) of equity in the net earnings of a joint venture.
Applica’s gross profit margin increased to 29.8% in the three-month period ended September 30, 2004 as compared to 29.1% for the same period in 2003. The increase in the gross profit margin was primarily attributed to sales of new products with higher margins and the movement of production of core products from our manufacturing facility in Mexico to third parties in China. For the first nine months of the year, the gross profit margin increased to 29.6% as compared to 29.1% for the same period in 2003.
Harry D. Schulman, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, “We have gone through significant changes over the last few months, including the sale of our Chinese manufacturing operations, the renewal of the Black & Decker® license, the move of our executive offices and other matters. Additionally, this past week, we sold our Jerdon division. We believe that these are profound changes that will have a lasting positive effect on the company, and we intend to continue to transform Applica to create long-term shareholder value.”
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Applica will hold a conference call today at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Standard Time, to discuss its third-quarter and year-to-date results and to give guidance on future results and trends in operations. Live audio of the conference call will be simultaneously broadcast over the Internet and will be available to members of the news media, investors and the general public. The conference call is expected to last approximately one hour. Broadcast of the event can be accessed on the Company’s website, www.applicainc.com by clicking on the Investor Relations page. You may also access the call via CCBN at www.streetevents.com. The event will be archived and available for replay through Thursday, November 11, 2004, at midnight.
Applica Incorporated and its subsidiaries are marketers and distributors of a broad range of branded and private-label small electric consumer goods. Applica markets and distributes kitchen products, home products, pest control products, pet care products and personal care products. Applica markets products under licensed brand names, such as Black & Decker®, its own brand names, such as Windmere®, LitterMaid® and Applica®, and other private-label brand names. Applica’s customers include mass merchandisers, specialty retailers and appliance distributors primarily in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Company operates manufacturing facilities in Mexico. Additional information regarding the Company is available at www.applicainc.com.
Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These factors include uncertainties regarding our transition from manufacturers to a company that purchases all of its products from third party sources; complications resulting from our implementation of the new ERP system; success or failure of our growth strategy; increases in cost and availability of raw materials and components; our dependence on purchases from large customers; the strength of the U.S. retail market; currency fluctuations in our international operations; the potential for product recalls and product liability claims against us; the bankruptcy or loss of a major retail customer, distributor or supplier; the risks of our international operations; changes in trade relations with China; our dependence on the timely development, introduction and customer acceptance of products; competitive products and pricing; dependence on foreign suppliers and supply and manufacturing constraints; cancellation or reduction of orders; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Applica undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.
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Applica Incorporated and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
| September 30, | ||||||||
| 2004 | December 31, | |||||||
| (Unaudited) |
2003 |
|||||||
| (In thousands) | ||||||||
Assets |
||||||||
Current Assets: |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 5,107 | $ | 12,735 | ||||
Accounts and other receivables, less
allowances of $11,652 in 2004 and $12,543 in
2003 |
136,177 | 131,021 | ||||||
Notes receivable – current and former officers |
1,554 | 1,615 | ||||||
Inventories |
173,849 | 106,326 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other |
18,980 | 21,828 | ||||||
Refundable income taxes |
2,686 | 4,823 | ||||||
Future income tax benefits |
2,442 | 11,616 | ||||||
Total current assets |
340,795 | 289,964 | ||||||
Investment in Joint Venture |
— | 5,389 | ||||||
Property, Plant and Equipment - at cost, less
accumulated depreciation of $76,680 in 2004 and
$100,445 in 2003 |
43,252 | 62,154 | ||||||
Future Income Tax Benefits, Non-Current |
8,304 | 49,695 | ||||||
Goodwill |
— | 62,812 | ||||||
Other Intangibles, Net |
4,998 | 6,146 | ||||||
Other Assets |
2,005 | 2,676 | ||||||
Total Assets |
$ | 399,354 | $ | 478,836 | ||||
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity |
||||||||
Current Liabilities: |
||||||||
Accounts payable |
$ | 49,925 | $ | 39,273 | ||||
Accrued expenses |
60,703 | 61,362 | ||||||
Current maturities of long-term debt |
8,955 | 5,919 | ||||||
Current taxes payable |
2,462 | 2,172 | ||||||
Deferred rent |
665 | 301 | ||||||
Total current liabilities |
122,710 | 109,027 | ||||||
Other Long-Term Liabilities |
1,313 | 1,327 | ||||||
Long-Term Debt, Less Current Maturities |
173,022 | 130,869 | ||||||
Shareholders’ Equity: |
||||||||
Common stock – authorized:75,000 shares of
$0.10 par value; issued and outstanding: |
||||||||
24,069 shares in 2004 and 23,687 shares in
2003 |
2,407 | 2,369 | ||||||
Paid-in capital |
158,865 | 156,604 | ||||||
(Accumulated deficit) retained earnings |
(51,766 | ) | 86,474 | |||||
Note receivable – former officer |
(1,496 | ) | (1,496 | ) | ||||
Accumulated other comprehensive earnings (loss) |
(5,701 | ) | (6,338 | ) | ||||
Total shareholders’ equity |
102,309 | 237,613 | ||||||
Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity |
$ | 399,354 | $ | 478,836 | ||||
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Applica Incorporated and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)
| Three Months Ended September 30, |
||||||||||||||||
| 2004 |
2003 |
|||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||
Net sales |
$ | 187,750 | 100.0 | % | $ | 173,512 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
Cost of goods sold |
131,850 | 70.2 | 123,004 | 70.9 | ||||||||||||
Gross profit |
55,900 | 29.8 | 50,508 | 29.1 | ||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative
expenses: |
||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses |
52,846 | 28.1 | 53,358 | 30.8 | ||||||||||||
Termination benefits |
9,153 | 4.9 | — | — | ||||||||||||
Loss on sale of subsidiary |
784 | 0.4 | — | — | ||||||||||||
Operating loss |
(6,883 | ) | (3.7 | ) | (2,850 | ) | (1.7 | ) | ||||||||
Other expense (income): |
||||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
2,360 | 1.3 | 3,597 | 2.1 | ||||||||||||
Interest and other income |
(80 | ) | — | (245 | ) | (0.1 | ) | |||||||||
Loss on early extinguishment of debt |
— | — | 1,906 | 1.1 | ||||||||||||
| 2,280 | 1.2 | 5,258 | 3.0 | |||||||||||||
Loss before equity in net earnings of
joint venture and income taxes |
(9,163 | ) | (4.9 | ) | (8,108 | ) | (4.7 | ) | ||||||||
Equity in net earnings of joint venture |
— | — | 16,199 | 9.3 | ||||||||||||
Loss before income taxes |
(9,163 | ) | (4.9 | ) | 8,091 | 4.7 | ||||||||||
Income tax provision |
780 | 0.4 | 3,236 | 1.9 | ||||||||||||
Net (loss) earnings |
$ | (9,943 | ) | (5.3 | )% | $ | 4,855 | 2.8 | % | |||||||
Earnings (loss) per common share: |
||||||||||||||||
(Loss) earnings per common share –
basic |
$ | (0.41 | ) | $ | 0.21 | |||||||||||
(Loss) earnings per common share –
diluted |
$ | (0.41 | ) | $ | 0.20 | |||||||||||
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Applica Incorporated and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)
| Nine Months Ended September 30, |
||||||||||||||||
| 2004 |
2003 |
|||||||||||||||
| (In thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||
Net sales |
$ | 479,236 | 100.0 | % | $ | 431,598 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
Cost of goods sold |
337,377 | 70.4 | 305,962 | 70.9 | ||||||||||||
Gross profit |
141,859 | 29.6 | 125,636 | 29.1 | ||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative expenses: |
||||||||||||||||
Operating expenses |
146,729 | 30.6 | 132,240 | 30.6 | ||||||||||||
Termination benefits |
9,153 | 1.9 | — | — | ||||||||||||
Loss on sale of subsidiary |
784 | 0.2 | — | — | ||||||||||||
Repositioning charge |
(563 | ) | (0.1 | ) | — | — | ||||||||||
Impairment of goodwill |
62,812 | 13.1 | — | — | ||||||||||||
Operating loss |
(77,056 | ) | (16.1 | ) | (6,604 | ) | (1.5 | ) | ||||||||
Other expense (income): |
||||||||||||||||
Interest expense |
6,718 | 1.4 | 11,431 | 2.6 | ||||||||||||
Interest and other income |
(1,069 | ) | (0.2 | ) | (893 | ) | (0.2 | ) | ||||||||
Loss on early extinguishment of debt |
187 | — | 1,906 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
| 5,836 | 1.2 | 12,444 | 2.9 | |||||||||||||
Loss before equity in net earnings of joint
venture and income taxes |
(82,892 | ) | (17.3 | ) | (19,048 | ) | (4.4 | ) | ||||||||
Equity in net earnings of joint venture |
— | — | 55,199 | 12.8 | ||||||||||||
(Loss) earnings before income taxes |
(82,892 | ) | (17.3 | ) | 36,151 | 8.4 | ||||||||||
Income tax provision |
55,348 | 11.5 | 14,460 | 3.4 | ||||||||||||
Net (loss) earnings |
$ | (138,240 | ) | (28.8 | )% | $ | 21,691 | 5.0 | % | |||||||
Earnings (loss) per common share: |
||||||||||||||||
(Loss) earnings per common share – basic |
$ | (5.78 | ) | $ | 0.92 | |||||||||||
(Loss) earnings per common share –
diluted |
$ | (5.78 | ) | $ | 0.91 | |||||||||||
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