3 February 2015, 00:00
Fourth Quarter Highlighted by Progress on Expense and Inventory Reduction Company Achieves Full Year Adjusted EPS of $4.70 and Reported EPS of $4.36.
Net sales for the full year of 2014 were approximately
Fourth Quarter and Full Year Highlights
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Fourth quarter regional sales results(1):
North America (15.6)%,Europe /Africa /Middle East (“EAME”) (6.1)%,South America +2.2%,Asia/Pacific (“APAC”) +12.7% -
Fourth quarter regional operating margin performance: EAME 9.8%,
North America 5.6%,South America 9.6%, APAC (4.0)% -
Inventory reduced significantly in the fourth quarter; approximately
$80 million below year-end 2013 on a constant currency basis -
Expense and workforce reduction program initiated; fourth quarter operating expenses 8% below 2013 levels on a constant currency basis
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Full year earnings per share guidance for 2015 remains at approximately
$3.00 -
Share repurchase program resulted in reduction of 10 million shares during the full year of 2014. Initial
$500 million program completed inDecember 2014 . New$500 million repurchase program authorized through 2016 -
Quarterly dividend increased 9% to
$0.12 effective first quarter 2015
(1)Excludes currency translation impact. See reconciliation of Non-GAAP measures in appendix.
“Despite softening market demand in the fourth quarter, we made solid progress with both inventory reduction and our expense savings program,” stated Martin Richenhagen, AGCO’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “By lowering production approximately 20% compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, inventories ended the year well below
Market Update
Industry Unit Retail Sales
“Nearly ideal growing conditions produced record global harvests during 2014, resulting in higher grain inventories. The increased grain stocks pressured soft commodity prices and farm income across the major agricultural markets. Farmer sentiment was negatively impacted by the deteriorating farm economics, and we experienced softer industry equipment demand. Retail sales in
Regional Results
AGCO Regional Net Sales (in millions)
Excluding the negative impact of currency translation, net sales in the North American region declined 11.5% in the full year of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. The most significant decreases were in high-horsepower tractors and implements, with growth in small tractor sales and hay tools partially offsetting the declines. Lower sales and production volumes and a weaker sales mix contributed to a reduction in income from operations of
South America
Net sales, excluding unfavorable currency translation impacts, decreased 9.6% in AGCO’s South American region in the full year of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. Softer market demand and reduced sales in
Net sales in EAME decreased 5.2% in the full year of 2014 compared to the full year of 2013, excluding the impact of unfavorable currency translation due to softer end-market demand. Sales declines in
Asia/Pacific
AGCO’s
Outlook
Lower commodity prices relative to 2014 are expected to negatively impact farm income, pressuring industry demand across the developed agricultural equipment markets in 2015. Net sales for 2015 are expected to range from
“As we look ahead, we expect weaker end market demand and currency headwinds to make 2015 more challenging than 2014,” continued Mr. Richenhagen. “Despite the market challenges, our priorities remain unchanged, focusing on margin performance and cash generation while providing superior products and services to our customers. When we look beyond the softer market conditions we face today, the healthy, long-term fundamentals of our industry remain intact. We will continue to invest in new product development, distribution enhancements and productivity improvements to enable our long-term growth and improve our financial performance.”
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Safe Harbor Statement
Statements that are not historical facts, including the projections of earnings per share, sales, industry demand, market conditions, population growth, biofuel consumption, commodity prices, currency translation, farm income levels, margin levels, investments in product development, operational and financial initiatives, production volumes, market development and performance and general economic conditions, are forward-looking and subject to risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the statements. The following are among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in or implied by the forward-looking statements.
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Our financial results depend entirely upon the agricultural industry, and factors that adversely affect the agricultural industry generally, including declines in the general economy, increases in farm input costs, lower commodity prices, lower farm income and changes in the availability of credit for our retail customers, will adversely affect us.
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A majority of our sales and manufacturing take place outside
the United States , and, as a result, we are exposed to risks related to foreign laws, taxes, economic conditions, labor supply and relations, political conditions and governmental policies. These risks may delay or reduce our realization of value from our international operations. -
Most retail sales of the products that we manufacture are financed, either by our joint ventures with
Rabobank or by a bank or other private lender. Our joint ventures withRabobank , which are controlled byRabobank and are dependent uponRabobank for financing as well, finance approximately 50% of the retail sales of our tractors and combines in the markets where the joint ventures operate. Any difficulty byRabobank to continue to provide that financing, or any business decision byRabobank as the controlling member not to fund the business or particular aspects of it (for example, a particular country or region), would require the joint ventures to find other sources of financing (which may be difficult to obtain), or us to find another source of retail financing for our customers, or our customers would be required to utilize other retail financing providers. As a result of the recent economic downturn, financing for capital equipment purchases generally has become more difficult in certain regions and in some cases, was expensive to obtain. To the extent that financing is not available or available only at unattractive prices, our sales would be negatively impacted. -
Both
AGCO and our retail finance joint ventures have substantial account receivables from dealers and end customers, and we would be adversely impacted if the collectability of these receivables was not consistent with historical experience; this collectability is dependent upon the financial strength of the farm industry, which in turn is dependent upon the general economy and commodity prices, as well as several of the other factors listed in this section. -
We have experienced substantial and sustained volatility with respect to currency exchange rate and interest rate changes, including uncertainty associated with the Euro, which can adversely affect our reported results of operations and the competitiveness of our products.
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Our success depends on the introduction of new products, particularly engines that comply with emission requirements, which requires substantial expenditures.
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Our production levels and capacity constraints at our facilities, including those resulting from plant expansions and systems upgrades at our manufacturing facilities, could adversely affect our results.
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Our expansion plans in emerging markets, including establishing a greater manufacturing and marketing presence and growing our use of component suppliers, could entail significant risks.
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We depend on suppliers for components, parts and raw materials for our products, and any failure by our suppliers to provide products as needed, or by us to promptly address supplier issues, will adversely impact our ability to timely and efficiently manufacture and sell products. We also are subject to raw material price fluctuations, which can adversely affect our manufacturing costs.
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We face significant competition, and if we are unable to compete successfully against other agricultural equipment manufacturers, we would lose customers and our net sales and profitability would decline.
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We have a substantial amount of indebtedness, and, as result, we are subject to certain restrictive covenants and payment obligations that may adversely affect our ability to operate and expand our business.
Further information concerning these and other factors is included in AGCO’s filings with the
Source: AGCO