HNI Corporation Reports Increased Earnings For Fiscal Year 2016

MUSCATINE, Iowa, Feb. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- HNI Corporation (NYSE: HNI) today announced sales for the full year ended December 31, 2016 of $2,203 million and net income of $86 million or $1.88 per diluted share.  Non-GAAP net income per diluted share increased 1.6 percent from the prior year to $2.62. 

Fourth quarter sales were $581 million and net income was $11 million or $0.24 per diluted share.  Non-GAAP net income per diluted share decreased 9.9 percent from the prior year quarter to $0.82.  GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations follow the financial statements in this release.

Year-End Summary Comments
"2016 was another strong year.  We increased non-GAAP operating margins 50 basis points while generating significant cash flow and increasing our strong dividend.  Our businesses performed well as we strategically repositioned and simplified our portfolio to increase profitability.  We continued to significantly invest in our businesses to drive long-term profitable growth.  I am pleased with our 2016 results.  We exit the year a stronger company, well positioned to drive long-term shareholder value," said Stan Askren, HNI Corporation Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Full Year Summary Comments

• Consolidated net sales decreased $100.9 million or 4.4 percent to $2.2 billion. Compared to prior year, the net impact of small office furniture company acquisitions and divestitures increased sales $27.2 million. On an organic basis, sales decreased 5.6 percent.
• GAAP gross profit margin increased 110 basis points and non-GAAP gross profit margin increased 160 basis points compared to prior year driven by strong operational performance, price realization, favorable material costs and productivity, partially offset by lower volume.
• Selling and administrative expenses, as a percentage of sales, increased 110 basis points compared to prior year driven by lower volume, strategic investments and the impact of stock price appreciation on deferred compensation, partially offset by broad-based cost reductions.
• The Corporation recorded $10.5 million of restructuring costs and $9.3 million of transition costs in 2016 in conjunction with previously announced closures and structural realignments, of which $14.6 million was recognized in cost of goods sold. The Corporation recorded $5.8 million of goodwill and intangible impairment charges related to a small office furniture business. The Corporation also recorded $4.4 million of accelerated depreciation associated with the charitable donation of a building.
• The Corporation recorded a $22.6 million non-cash loss on the sale of Artcobell, a K-12 education furniture company. The sale of this non-core business unit will result in approximately $5.0 million of improved operating profit in 2017. This sale was partially offset by a $2.0 million non-recurring gain on a litigation settlement.

Fourth Quarter Summary Comments

• Consolidated net sales decreased $15.6 million or 2.6 percent to $581.3 million. Compared to prior year, the net impact of small office furniture company acquisitions and divestitures increased sales $10.0 million. On an organic basis, sales decreased 4.3 percent.
• GAAP gross profit margin decreased 10 basis points driven by restructuring and transition costs and lower volume partially offset by strong operational performance, price realization and favorable material costs. Non-GAAP gross profit margin, which excludes restructuring and transition costs, increased 70 basis points compared to prior year.
• Selling and administrative expenses, as a percentage of sales, increased 160 basis points compared to prior year, due to lower volume, strategic investments and the impact of stock price appreciation on deferred compensation.
• The Corporation recorded $6.3 million of restructuring costs and $2.5 million of transition costs in the fourth quarter in connection with previously announced closures and structural realignments, of which $5.6 million was recognized in cost of goods sold. The Corporation recorded $5.8 million of goodwill and intangible impairment charges related to a small office furniture business. The Corporation also recorded $2.8 million of accelerated depreciation associated with the charitable donation of a building.
• The Corporation recorded a $22.6 million non-cash loss on the sale of Artcobell, a K-12 education furniture company.

• Fourth quarter sales decreased $10.3 million or 2.3 percent to $433.5 million. Sales increased in the supplies-driven business but were more than offset by decreases in the contract and international businesses. Compared to prior year, the net impact of small office furniture company acquisitions and divestitures increased sales $10.0 million. On an organic basis, sales decreased 4.6 percent.
• Fourth quarter GAAP operating profit margin decreased 460 basis points to 1.8 percent driven by the sale of Artcobell and lower volume partially offset by material productivity and lower freight costs. Non-GAAP operating profit margin, which excludes the loss on sale and impacts from structural realignment and previously announced closures, increased 70 basis points to 9.9 percent.

• Fourth quarter sales decreased $5.3 million or 3.5 percent to $147.8 million. Sales for the quarter decreased in the retail wood/gas and retail pellet businesses partially offset by an increase in the new construction channel.  
• Fourth quarter GAAP operating profit margin decreased 110 basis points to 19.2 percent due to lower volume, unfavorable material and freight costs and restructuring and transition costs related to a previously announced closure, partially offset by price realization and cost reductions. Non-GAAP operating profit margin, which excludes the impact of the previously announced closure, increased 30 basis points to 20.6 percent.

Outlook
"We expect strong 2017 performance driven by top line growth and the continued benefit of structural cost reductions and operational improvements.  As we progress through 2017, we expect demand to start slowly and build throughout the year driven by an improving economy and investments in new products and selling capabilities," said Mr. Askren.

The Corporation estimates full year non-GAAP earnings per share to be in the range of $2.80 to $3.15, which excludes restructuring and transition costs.  Full year organic sales growth is expected to be 3 to 6 percent.

For the first quarter, organic sales are expected to be down 3 to 6 percent over the same period in the prior year.  Non-GAAP earnings per share are anticipated to be in the range of $0.17 to $0.24 for the first quarter, which excludes restructuring and transition costs.

Conference Call
HNI Corporation will host a conference call on Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (Central) to discuss fourth quarter and fiscal year 2016 results.  To participate, call 1-877-512-9166 – conference ID number 55453960.  A live webcast of the call will be available on HNI Corporation's website at http://www.hnicorp.com (under Investors – News Releases & Events).  A replay of the webcast will be made available at this website address.  An audio replay of the call will be available until Thursday, February 16, 2017, 10:59 p.m. (Central) by dialing 1-855-859-2056 or 1-404-537-3406 – Conference ID number 55453960.

About HNI Corporation
HNI Corporation is a NYSE traded company (ticker symbol:  HNI) providing products and solutions for the home and workplace environments.  HNI Corporation is a leading global provider and designer of office furniture and the leading manufacturer and marketer of hearth products.  We sell the broadest and deepest selection of quality office furniture solutions available to meet the needs of every customer through an extensive portfolio of well-known and trusted brands. Our hearth products are the strongest, most respected brands in the industry and include a full array of gas, electric, wood and biomass burning fireplaces, inserts, stoves, facings and accessories. More information can be found on the Corporation's website at www.hnicorp.com.

Forward-looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements based on current expectations regarding future plans, events, outlook, objectives and financial performance, expectations for future sales growth and earnings per diluted share (GAAP and non-GAAP) for the first quarter and full year fiscal 2017.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by words including "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "may," "will," "would," "could," "confident" or other similar words, phrases or expressions.  Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Corporation's actual future results and performance to differ materially from expected results.  These risks include but are not limited to:  general economic conditions in the United States and internationally; unfavorable changes in the United States housing market; industry and competitive conditions; a decline in corporate spending on office furniture; changes in raw material, component or commodity pricing; future acquisitions, divestitures or investments; the cost of energy; changing legal, regulatory, environmental and healthcare conditions; the Corporation's ability to successfully complete its business software system implementation; the Corporation's ability to implement price increases; changes in the sales mix of products; and force majeure events outside the Corporation's control.   A description of these risks and additional risks can be found in the Corporation's annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.  The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update, amend or clarify forward-looking statements.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This earnings release includes certain non-GAAP financial information as defined by Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation G. Pursuant to the requirements of this regulation, reconciliations of this non-GAAP financial information to HNI's financial statements as prepared in accordance with GAAP are included below and throughout this earnings release. HNI's management believes providing investors with this information gives additional insights into HNI's financial performance and operations. While HNI's management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures herein are useful in evaluating HNI's operations, this information should be considered supplemental and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these measures may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes.

To supplement our condensed consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP, we use the following non-GAAP financial measures within this earnings release: organic sales, gross profit, operating income, operating profit, and net income per diluted share (i.e., EPS). These measures are adjusted from the comparable GAAP measures to exclude the after-tax impacts of the selected items as summarized in the table below. Non-GAAP EPS is calculated using HNI's overall effective tax rate for the period.

The sales adjustments to arrive at our non-GAAP organic sales information included in this earnings release include the impacts of acquisitions and divestitures. The transactions excluded for purposes of our other non-GAAP financial information included in this earnings release include restructuring and transition costs, the impairment of goodwill and other intangibles, the accelerated depreciation in conjunction with the donation of a building, the loss on the sale of Artcobell, a large K-12 education furniture company, and a nonrecurring gain on a litigation settlement. The restructuring and transition costs are costs incurred as part of the previously announced closures of the hearth manufacturing facility in Paris, Kentucky and the office furniture manufacturing facility in Orleans, Indiana and structural realignments between office furniture facilities in Muscatine, Iowa and China. Specific items incurred include severance, accelerated depreciation and production move costs.

This earnings release also contains a forward-looking estimate of non-GAAP earnings per diluted share for the fiscal year. We provide such non-GAAP measures to investors on a prospective basis for the same reasons we provide them to investors on a historical basis. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of our forward-looking estimate of non-GAAP earnings per diluted share to a forward-looking estimate of GAAP earnings per diluted share without unreasonable efforts because certain information needed to make a reasonable forward-looking estimate of GAAP earnings per diluted share is highly variable and difficult to predict and estimate, and is dependent on future events which are uncertain or outside of our control. These may include unanticipated charges related to asset impairments (fixed assets, intangibles or goodwill), unanticipated acquisition related costs and other unanticipated nonrecurring items not reflective of ongoing operations. We expect the variability of these charges to have a potentially unpredictable, and potentially significant, impact on our GAAP earnings per diluted share.

For Information Contact:
Marshall H. Bridges, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (563) 272-7400
Jack D. Herring, Treasurer, Director of Finance and Investor Relations (563) 506-9783

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SOURCE HNI Corporation