ATLANTA, March 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE:NWL) announced it will reaffirm its fiscal year 2014 outlook, as provided in its fourth quarter 2013 earnings press release dated January 31, 2014, during its presentation at RBC Capital Markets' Consumer & Retail Conference on March 13, 2014.
The company will note that its first quarter results will be negatively impacted by the broad weather-driven retailer point of sale challenges in the United States and lost sales and costs associated with last month's announced recall of toddler car seats. The company expects the combined impact of these events to negatively affect the first quarter 2014 global core sales growth rate by approximately 100 to 200 basis points and normalized earnings per share by approximately 3 to 4 cents.
For the full year, the company expects to recover momentum led by its strong brand and innovation plans, extensive savings programs related to Project Renewal, and the natural rebound of point of sale in key US retailers as the seasons finally change.
Michael Polk, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: "As a result of the progress we have made over the past several years driving our Growth Game Plan into action, our company is far stronger and more nimble today. This enables us to respond in stride, adjusting our full year plans to absorb the first quarter disruption related to the broad weather-driven retailer point of sale challenges and the toddler car seat recall."
As a result, the company's full year guidance remains unchanged for 2014:
- Core sales growth of 3 to 4 percent
- Normalized operating margin improvement of up to 40 basis points
- Normalized EPS of $1.94 to $2.00
- Operating cash flow between $600 and $650 million
A reconciliation of the 2014 earnings outlook is as follows:
| FY 2014 | |
| Diluted earnings per share | $1.61 to $1.67 |
| Restructuring and restructuring-related costs | $0.29 to $0.37 |
| Normalized EPS | $1.94 to $2.00 |
President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Polk will present on March 13, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. ET. The presentation will be webcast live and may be accessed through Events & Presentations in the Investor Relations section of the Newell Rubbermaid website at www.newellrubbermaid.com. The webcast will be archived and available for replay.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This release contains non-GAAP financial measures within the meaning of Regulation G promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and includes a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.
The company uses certain financial measures that are included in this press release both in explaining its results to stockholders and the investment community and in its internal evaluation and management of its businesses. The company's management believes that these measures - including those that are "non-GAAP financial measures" - and the information they provide are useful to investors since these measures (a) permit investors to view the company's performance using the same tools that management uses to evaluate the company's past performance, reportable business segments and prospects for future performance and (b) determine certain elements of management's incentive compensation.
The company's management believes that core sales is useful to investors because it demonstrates the effect of foreign currency on reported sales. The effect of foreign currency on reported sales is determined by applying a fixed exchange rate, calculated as the 12-month average in the prior year, to the current and prior year local currency sales amounts, with the difference in these two amounts being the change in core sales and the difference between the change in as reported sales and the change in core sales reported as the currency impact. The company's management believes that "normalized" earnings per share, which excludes restructuring and restructuring-related charges and one-time events such as losses related to the extinguishments of debt, tax benefits and charges, impairment charges, discontinued operations and certain other items, is useful to investors because it permits investors to better understand year-over-year changes in underlying operating performance. The company also uses both core sales and normalized earnings per share as two of the three performance criteria in its management cash bonus plan.
The company determines the tax effect of the items excluded from normalized diluted earnings per share by applying the estimated effective rate for the applicable jurisdiction in which the pre-tax items were incurred, and for which realization of the resulting tax benefit, if any, is expected.
While the company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating the company's performance, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and not as a substitute for or superior to the related financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from similar measures presented by other companies.
About Newell Rubbermaid
Newell Rubbermaid Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a global marketer of consumer and commercial products with 2013 sales of $5.7 billion and a strong portfolio of leading brands, including Sharpie®, Paper Mate®, Rubbermaid Commercial Products®, Irwin®, Lenox®, Parker®, Waterman®, Rubbermaid®, Levolor®, Calphalon®, Goody®, Graco®, Aprica® and Dymo®. As part of the company's Growth Game Plan, Newell Rubbermaid is making sharper portfolio choices and investing in new marketing and innovation to accelerate performance.
This press release and additional information about Newell Rubbermaid are available on the company's Web site, www.newellrubbermaid.com.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical in nature constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements relate to information or assumptions about the effects of sales, income/(loss), earnings per share, operating income, operating margin or gross margin improvements or declines, Project Renewal, capital and other expenditures, cash flow, dividends, restructuring and restructuring-related costs, costs and cost savings, inflation or deflation, particularly with respect to commodities such as oil and resin, debt ratings, and management's plans, projections and objectives for future operations and performance. These statements are accompanied by words such as "anticipate," "expect," "project," "will," "believe," "estimate" and similar expressions. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our dependence on the strength of retail, commercial and industrial sectors of the economy in light of the continuation or escalation of the global economic slowdown or regional sovereign debt issues; currency fluctuations; competition with other manufacturers and distributors of consumer products; major retailers' strong bargaining power; changes in the prices of raw materials and sourced products and our ability to obtain raw materials and sourced products in a timely manner from suppliers; our ability to develop innovative new products and to develop, maintain and strengthen our end-user brands; product liability or regulatory actions; our ability to expeditiously close facilities and move operations while managing foreign regulations and other impediments; a failure of one of our key information technology systems or related controls; the potential inability to attract, retain and motivate key employees; future events that could adversely affect the value of our assets and require impairment charges; our ability to improve productivity and streamline operations; changes to our credit ratings; significant increases in the funding obligations related to our pension plans due to declining asset values, declining interest rates or otherwise; the imposition of tax liabilities greater than our provisions for such matters; the risks inherent in our foreign operations; our ability to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Accelerated Share Repurchase Plan; and those factors listed in the company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Changes in such assumptions or factors could produce significantly different results. The information contained in this news release is as of the date indicated. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this news release as a result of new information or future events or developments.