News Details

Net revenues up 4.1% year over year for the third quarter and up 6.9% for the nine months.Fourth quarter 2013 guidance of $59 million to $64 million.

MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (NYSE: VPG), a leading producer of precision sensors and systems, based on its resistive foil technology, today announced its third quarter and nine month results ended September 28, 2013.

Ziv Shoshani, VPG’s chief executive officer, said, “Net revenues came in at the lower end of our expectations, at the same time, consolidated adjusted gross margin improved slightly from the third quarter last year. At the operational level in our Foil Technology Products segment, we completed the implementation of a complex, multinational enterprise resource planning system which we have been preparing for over the past two years. While the implementation caused some temporary decrease in revenues and margins in the segment, many issues have been addressed. The implementation had a significant negative impact on the quarter of approximately $3.6 million of revenues, with an associated gross profit of $2.0 million. We fully expect the system will help us provide a much higher level of service to our customers, and greater transparency and efficiencies in the business.”

Mr. Shoshani added, “I remain encouraged with our business environment, as this has been the third quarter in a row with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.04, excluding KELK. Even including the KELK business, which is project driven, our book-to-bill ratio in the quarter was 1.01.”

Net revenues for the third quarter of 2013 were $57.7 million, representing a 4.1% increase from $55.4 million of net revenues for the comparable prior year period. Net revenues for the nine months ended September 28, 2013 were $178.0 million, representing a 6.9% increase from the $166.6 million of net revenues for the comparable prior year period. Comparing sequential results, net revenues for the third quarter of 2013 decreased by $5.1 million, or 8.1%, from $62.8 million in the second quarter of 2013. The decrease is primarily attributable to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation in the Foil Technology Products segment, which temporarily affected revenues in that segment, the project nature of the KELK business, and normal seasonality.

GAAP net earnings attributable to VPG stockholders for the third quarter of 2013 were $1.5 million or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to net earnings attributable to VPG stockholders for the third quarter of 2012 of $1.9 million, or $0.14 per diluted share. GAAP net earnings attributable to VPG stockholders for the nine months of 2013 were $3.2 million, or $0.23 per diluted share compared to $6.5 million, or $0.47 per diluted share for the prior year nine month period.

GAAP net earnings attributable to VPG stockholders for the third quarter of 2013 include approximately $0.9 million of KELK acquisition purchase accounting adjustments which impacted costs of products sold, $0.1 million of acquisition costs and $0.1 million of restructuring costs which affect comparability, as listed on the attached reconciliation table. In the third quarter of 2013, the company recorded a one-time tax benefit of $1.3 million to adjust deferred tax assets subsequent to the enactment of a new tax law in Israel, which effectively increases the corporate income tax rate on certain types of income earned after January 1, 2014. Adjusted net earnings attributable to VPG stockholders for the third quarter of 2013 were $1.2 million or $0.09 per diluted share, compared to $1.9 million, or $0.14 per diluted share for the comparable prior year period. Additionally, the overall impact of foreign exchange rates for the third quarter of 2013 as compared to the prior year period had a negative impact to pretax income of $0.1 million, or $0.01 per diluted share.

GAAP net earnings attributable to VPG stockholders for the nine months of 2013 include approximately $4.4 million of KELK acquisition purchase accounting adjustments which impacted costs of products sold, $0.8 million of acquisition costs, $0.5 million of restructuring costs, and the impact of the one-time tax benefit of $1.3 million described above, which affect comparability, as listed on the attached reconciliation table. Adjusted net earnings attributable to VPG stockholders for the nine months of 2013 were $6.2 million, or $0.44 per diluted share compared to $6.5 million, or $0.47 per diluted share for the prior year nine month period. The overall impact of foreign exchange rates for the nine months of 2013 as compared to the prior year period had a negative impact to pretax income of $2.2 million, or $0.12 per diluted share.

Segments

The Foil Technology Products segment revenues were $22.4 million in the third quarter of 2013, down 3.9 million, or 14.7%, from $26.3 million in the third quarter last year, and down from $24.5 million in the second quarter of 2013. The gross margin for the segment decreased to 36.7% for the third quarter of 2013 versus 38.9% in the third quarter last year and decreased from 38.1% in the second quarter of 2013. The year-over-year decrease in gross margin is primarily due to lower volume, mainly due to the ERP implementation in the quarter, and the effects of foreign exchange rates. The sequential decrease in gross margin is due to lower volume.

The Force Sensors segment revenues were $16.4 million in the third quarter of 2013, compared to $16.5 million in the third quarter last year, and up 1.8% from $16.1 million in the second quarter of 2013. The gross margin for the segment was 17.6% in the third quarter of 2013 versus 20.2% in the third quarter of 2012 and 20.5% in the second quarter of 2013. The year-over-year decrease in gross margin is primarily due to lower volume and customer mix. The sequential decrease in gross margin is mainly due to inventory reduction and higher manufacturing costs related to a new product launch.

The Weighing and Control Systems segment revenues increased to $18.9 million in the third quarter of 2013, up 49.8% from $12.6 million in the third quarter last year, and down 14.9% from $22.2 million in the second quarter of 2013. The gross margin for the segment was 43.0% (47.8% excluding the KELK acquisition purchase accounting adjustments of $0.9 million) in the third quarter of 2013 versus 40.9% in the third quarter of 2012 and 40.1% (50.2% excluding the KELK acquisition purchase accounting adjustments of $2.3 million) in the second quarter of 2013. The year-over-year increase in adjusted gross margin is primarily due to inclusion of three months of KELK results in the segment. The sequential adjusted gross margin decrease is due to lower revenues at KELK, due to the project nature of the business and, to a lesser extent, to seasonality in the process weighing business.

Outlook

Mr. Shoshani concluded, “We expect net revenues in the range of $59 million to $64 million for the fourth quarter of 2013, as the benefits from our ERP system integration should begin to be realized.”

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call will be held today at 10:00 a.m. EST (9:00 a.m. CST). To access the conference call, interested parties may call 888-317-6016 or internationally 412-317-6016, or log on to the investor relations page of the VPG website at http://ir.vishaypg.com.

A replay will be available approximately one hour after the completion of the call by calling toll-free 877-344-7529 or internationally 412-317-0088 and using the conference number: 10034441. The replay will also be available on the investor relations page of the VPG website at http://ir.vishaypg.com. It will be available via phone and website for a limited time.

About Vishay Precision Group

Vishay Precision Group (VPG) is an internationally recognized designer, manufacturer and marketer of: components based on its resistive foil technology; sensors; and sensor-based systems specializing in the growing markets of stress, force, weight, pressure, and current measurements. VPG is a market leader of Foil Technology Products, providing ongoing technology innovations in precision foil resistors and foil strain gages, which are the foundation of the company's Force Sensors Products and its Weighing and Control Systems. The product portfolio consists of a variety of well-established brand names recognized for precision and quality in the marketplace. To learn more, visit VPG at www.vishaypg.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

From time to time, information provided by us, including but not limited to statements in this report, or other statements made by or on our behalf, may contain "forward-looking" information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those anticipated.

Such statements are based on current expectations only, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, expected, estimated, or projected. Among the factors that could cause actual results to materially differ include: general business and economic conditions, changes in the current pace of economic recovery, including if such recovery stalls or does not continue as expected; difficulties in implementing our ERP system and the associated impact on manufacturing efficiencies and customer satisfaction; difficulties or delays in completing acquisitions and integrating acquired companies, including KELK, the inability to realize anticipated synergies and expansion possibilities, difficulties in new product development; changes in competition and technology in the markets that we serve and the mix of our products required to address these changes; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; difficulties in implementing our cost reduction strategies such as underutilization of production facilities, labor unrest or legal challenges to our lay-off or termination plans, operation of redundant facilities due to difficulties in transferring production to lower-labor-cost countries; and other factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services, and prices that are set forth in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

⁽¹⁾ During the second quarter of 2013, the Company recorded purchase accounting adjustments associated with the KELK acquisition. An impact of these adjustments was an increase in the costs of products sold of $1.2 million during the first quarter of 2013, therefore, the first quarter 2013 operating results were recast to reflect these adjustments. The recast net earnings attributable to VPG stockholders for the fiscal quarter ended March 30, 2013 were $0.4 million, or $0.03 per diluted share.

Vishay Precision Group, Inc.
Wendy Wilson
Senior Director Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
919-374-5501
[email protected]

Source: Vishay Precision Group, Inc.