Zebra Technologies Announces 2015 Q3 Financial Results

Growth and Profitability Demonstrate Continued Execution on Acquisition Objectives

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., Nov. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) today reported that net sales for the three months ended October 3, 2015, were $916.3 million, compared with $303.3 million for the third quarter of 2014. The GAAP net loss for the third quarter was $29.0 million, or $0.57 per share, compared with GAAP net income of $14.9 million, or $0.29 per share, for the third quarter of 2014.  

Non-GAAP Financial Results (unaudited) 

For the third quarter of 2015, sales excluding the impact of purchase accounting were $919.1 million. Non-GAAP net income was $72.4 million, or $1.39 per diluted share, compared with $41.6 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2014. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2015 were $159.4 million, or 17.3% of sales compared to $74.5 million, or 24.6% of sales for the third quarter of 2014.  

The company's calculation of non-GAAP results adjusts for certain items on a tax-effected basis. Please refer to the tables included in this press release for reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial results.

"Our third quarter results demonstrate the continued success of our focus on growth and execution. In the year since the acquisition closed, we have returned Enterprise to consistent growth and made progress toward achieving our long-term financial objectives," said Anders Gustafsson, CEO of Zebra Technologies. "With the proliferation of connected devices and the expanding mobile workforce, organizations are increasingly choosing our technology to expand their competitive advantage and enable the smart, connected enterprise."

Discussion and Analysis – Third Quarter

  • Net sales were $916.3 million on a GAAP basis, and include a reduction of $2.8 million for a purchase accounting adjustment related to service contracts acquired with the Enterprise business. This reflects an increase of $613.0 million from the third quarter of 2014. Sales in the Enterprise business, excluding the purchase accounting adjustment noted above, accounted for $605.1 million of the increase. Pre-transaction Zebra sales were $314.0 million compared to $303.3 million in the third quarter of 2014. On a constant currency basis, and excluding the purchase accounting adjustment, third quarter year-over-year sales growth inclusive of estimated 2014 Enterprise sales was 6% for total Zebra and 5% for Enterprise. Pre-transaction Zebra sales were up 8% in constant currency.
  • Gross margin for the third quarter on a GAAP basis was 45.2% including the impact of purchase accounting adjustments associated with service contracts and costs of goods sold. Excluding purchase accounting adjustments, adjusted gross margin percentage for the quarter was 45.5%. Compared to 50.0% gross margin in the third quarter of 2014, gross margin percentage reflects the change in mix associated with the sale of Enterprise products which generally have a lower gross margin percentage than pre-transaction Zebra products and the impact of foreign currency movements, net of hedges.
  • Operating expenses for the third quarter of 2015 of $389.0 million, increased by $264.5 million from the prior year's third quarter, primarily as a result of the Enterprise acquisition. Operating expenses for the third quarter of 2015 include $42.7 million in acquisition, integration, exit and restructuring costs, versus $35.2 million in the prior year quarter, as well as $58.5 million for amortization of intangible assets, compared with $2.6 million for the third quarter of 2014.
  • As of October 3, 2015, the company had cash of $258.0 million, accounts receivable of $625.8 million, inventories of $408.2 million, and long-term debt of $3.0 billion.
  • Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the company made $65 million of scheduled interest payments and $20 million in additional term loan principal payments.

Fourth Quarter Outlook

The company expects net sales in the fourth quarter of 2015 to be within a range of $945 million to $975 million excluding purchase accounting adjustments. This forecast reflects an expectation of year-over-year growth of 3.6% to 6.9% in constant currency, on an estimated historical basis for the Enterprise business. Non-GAAP earnings are expected in the range of $1.38 to $1.63 per share. Adjusted EBITDA are forecasted within a range of $155 million to $170 million.  Compared to the third quarter currency environment, the impacts on our fourth quarter outlook resulting from the most recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the Euro include reductions in top-line sales of approximately $6 million, EBITDA of approximately $5 million and Non-GAAP EPS of approximately five cents per share.

Conference Call Notification

Investors are invited to listen to a live webcast of Zebra's conference call regarding the company's financial results for the third quarter of 2015. The conference call will be held at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time today. To listen to the call, visit the company's website at http://www.zebra.com.

Forward-looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements, as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, the statements regarding the company's outlook. Similarly, statements herein that describe the transaction between Zebra and Motorola Solutions including, its financial impact, and other statements of management's beliefs, intentions, or goals are also forward-looking statements. When used in this release and documents referenced, the words "anticipate," "believe," "outlook," and "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the company or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying these statements. Actual results may differ from those expressed or implied in the company's forward-looking statements. These statements represent estimates only as of the date they were made. Zebra undertakes no obligation, other than as may be required by law, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or any other reason after the date of this release.

These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and are subject to the risks and uncertainties inherent in Zebra's industry, market conditions, general domestic and international economic conditions, and other factors. These factors include customer acceptance of Zebra's hardware and software products and competitors' product offerings, and the potential effects of technological changes. The continued uncertainty over future global economic conditions, the availability of credit and capital markets volatility may have adverse effects on Zebra, its suppliers and its customers. In addition, a disruption in our ability to obtain products from vendors as a result of supply chain constraints, natural disasters or other circumstances could restrict sales and negatively affect customer relationships. Profits and profitability will be affected by Zebra's ability to control manufacturing and operating costs. Because of its debt, interest rates and financial market conditions will also have an impact on results. Foreign exchange rates will have an effect on financial results because of the large percentage of our international sales. The outcome of litigation in which Zebra may be involved is another factor. The success of integrating acquisitions, including the Enterprise business of Motorola Solutions, could also affect profitability, reported results and the company's competitive position in it industry. These and other factors could have an adverse effect on Zebra's sales, gross profit margins and results of operations and increase the volatility of our financial results. Descriptions of the risks, uncertainties and other factors that could affect the company's future operations and results can be found in Zebra's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, readers are referred to Zebra's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

About Zebra Technologies

Zebra (NASDAQ: ZBRA) makes businesses as smart and connected as the world we live in. Zebra tracking and visibility solutions transform the physical to digital, creating the data streams businesses need in order to simplify operations, know more about their business, and empower their mobile workforce. For more information, visit www.zebra.com/possibilities.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, consisting of "EBITDA," "Adjusted EBITDA," "Non-GAAP net income" and "Non-GAAP earnings per share" in addition to measure our operating performance. Management presents these measures to focus on the on-going operations and believes it is useful to investors because they enable them to perform meaningful comparisons of past and present operating results. The company believes it is useful to present non-GAAP financial measures, which exclude certain significant items, as a means to understand the performance of its ongoing operations and how management views the business. Reconciliations of Operating Income to EBITDA, EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA, and GAAP net income to Non-GAAP net income are included in the financial schedules contained in this press release. These measures, however, should not be construed as an alternative to any other measure of performance determined in accordance with GAAP.