ChemFirst Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-End Earnings.JACKSON Jackson. 1 City (1990 pop. 37,446), seat of Jackson co., S Mich., on the Grand River; inc. 1857. It is an industrial and commercial center in a farm region. , Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 1998--ChemFirst Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : CEM CEM contagious equine metritis. CEM selective medium chocolate agar made with Eugon agar and 5% horse blood; used to cultivate Taylorella equigenitalis. ) earnings from continuing operations continuing operations Parts of a business that are expected to be maintained as an ongoing segment of an overall business operation. Income and losses from continuing operations are reported separately if any segments have been discontinued during the for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1997, were $16.1 million, or 78 cents per diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. common share, including $8.9 million, or 43 cents per share Cents per share The amount of a mutual fund's dividend or capital gains distributions that a shareholder will receive for each share owned. , from the sale of Melamine melamine (mĕl`əmēn'), common name for 2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine. Melamine is a trimer (see polymer) of cyanamide, H2NC≡N, and is synthesized from calcium carbide. Chemicals, Inc. stock to Borden Bor·den , Gail 1801-1874. American surveyor and inventor who developed condensed milk (1853) and other food products. Borden, Lizzie Andrew 1860-1927. Chemical, Inc. Sales increased 27 percent to $118 million. Results from continuing operations for the same period last year were a loss of $6.3 million, or 30 cents per share, which included an $8 million, or 38 cents per share, after tax provision for restructuring restructuring - The transformation from one representation form to another at the same relative abstraction level, while preserving the subject system's external behaviour (functionality and semantics). costs and asset writedowns. Earnings from continuing operations for the year were $38.9 million, or $1.86 per share, including approximately $10.3 million, or 50 cents per share, related to the sale of Melamine stock and a gain on a second quarter Melamine technology exchange agreement. Sales increased 16 percent to $446 million. Results for the same period last year were a loss of $10.4 million, or 50 cents per share, which included $23.1 million, or $1.10 per share, in special charges for restructuring and asset writedowns, as well as operating losses operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. for the aluminum dross processing business sold in January January: see month. 1997. Excluding Melamine gains, special charges and aluminum recovery operating losses, earnings from continuing operations were $7.2 million, or 35 cents per share, for the quarter and $28.6 million, or $1.36 per share, for the year versus $1.7 million, or 8 cents per share, and $12.6 million, or 60 cents per share, for the same periods last year. Results for the quarter reflected record sales and operating profits Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. for the Chemicals segment. Results for the year reflected record sales and operating profits from both Chemicals and Engineered Products and Services, and lower unallocated corporate expenses and higher interest income. Chemicals pretax pre·tax adj. Existing before tax deductions: pretax income. pretax adj [profit] → vor (Abzug der) Steuern operating profits for the quarter were up 72 percent from last year to $13.7 million and up 19 percent for the year to $51.7 million. All businesses improved. Sales were up 39 percent for the quarter and 21 percent for the year. Construction of the new aniline aniline (ăn`əlĭn), C6H5NH2, colorless, oily, basic liquid organic compound; chemically, a primary aromatic amine whose molecule is formed by replacing one hydrogen atom of a benzene molecule with an amino facility at Baytown, Texas Baytown is a city located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Harris County with small portion in Chambers County, located along both State Highway 146 and , is on schedule for startup (STARTing UP) "At startup" means when the computer is first turned on or when a program is first loaded. See Startup folder. in April 1998. Engineered Products and Services pretax operating profits were $706,000 for the quarter and $2.9 million for the year. Results for the prior year, excluding losses and asset writedowns related to the aluminum dross processing business, were operating losses of $1.2 million for the quarter and $6.1 million for the year. The improvement was primarily due to higher margins from better project management. Sales were unchanged for the quarter and up 13 percent to $73 million for the year. Steel pretax operating results were a loss of $249,000 for the quarter and a loss of $1 million for the year. Results for the prior year, excluding a $10.1 million provision for anticipated disposition of steel assets, were losses of $213,000 for the quarter and $370,000 for the year. Unallocated corporate expenses, excluding $1 million in restructuring costs in the prior year, were up 8 percent for the quarter and down 8percent for the year. Net interest income was $559,000 for the quarter and $2.9 million for the year. Capital expenditures were $29.7 million for the quarter and $95.6 million for the year. Approximately 90 percent of the capital expenditures for the year were in Chemicals, primarily for the Baytown, Texas, aniline facility scheduled for completion in first quarter 1998 and additional batch specialty chemicals A Specialty chemical is a chemical produced for a specialized use. They are produced in lower volume than bulk chemicals, of which petrochemicals, made from oil feedstocks, are the most common. However, both are produced in a chemical plant. capacity completed mid-year 1997 at Pascagoula, Miss. Dividend -- A quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents per share was declared payable Dec. 29, 1997, to stockholders of record at the close of business Dec. 11, 1997. Stock repurchase Stock repurchase A firm's repurchase of outstanding shares of its common stock. -- During the quarter 268,987 shares of ChemFirst stock were acquired, bringing total purchases for the year to 776,976 shares. The $20 million repurchase re·pur·chase tr.v. re·pur·chased, re·pur·chas·ing, re·pur·chas·es To buy (something) again. n. The act of buying something that one previously sold or owned. Noun 1. authorization The right or permission to use a system resource; the process of granting access. See access control. announced in January 1997 was essentially completed at year end. An additional $40 million repurchase program was announced in November 1997. Acquisitions -- In December 1997, the company acquired Clariant Corporations acylation acylation introduction of an acyl radical into the molecules of a compound. derivatives derivatives In finance, contracts whose value is derived from another asset, which can include stocks, bonds, currencies, interest rates, commodities, and related indexes. Purchasers of derivatives are essentially wagering on the future performance of that asset. business and the chemical mechanical planarization assets for semiconductor production from Baikowski Chimie and from Moyco Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : MOYC). The acquisition of these technologies and products are part of ChemFirst's growth strategy and complement the company's electronic and performance chemicals business. Sale of Power Sources, Inc. -- In January 1998, the company finalized See finalization. the sale of its 50 percent interest in Power Sources Inc. (PSI) to Trigen Energy Corporation (NYSE:TGN TGN Trans-Golgi Network TGN Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) TGN Thesaurus of Geographic Names TGN The Good News (Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo newspaper) TGn Task Group N (IEEE) ). PSI, which develops and operates biomass-to-energy power plants, was jointly owned by ChemFirst and Canal Industries. The sale will result in a first quarter after tax gain of approximately $5 million, or 24 cents per share, and net proceeds Net Proceeds The amount received after all costs are deducted from the sale of a piece of property or security. Notes: In the case of an investor selling a security, net proceeds represent the proceeds from the sale minus any trading costs (i.e. commissions). of approximately $11 million. Outlook -- "1997 was a good year for ChemFirst with record sales and earnings in Chemicals and Engineered Products and Services," said J. Kelley Williams, ChemFirst chairman and chief executive officer. "We think 1998 continuing operations will be better. However, earnings for the March quarter may be off due to lower custom manufacturing sales. We are also feeling some price pressure from Asian semiconductor manufacturers and are seeing a drop in Asian inquiries for Engineered Products and Services. We expect to return to trend line growth in the second half." This release includes forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. which are based on certain underlying assumptions and expectations of management. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements included in this release. For additional information on those factors, excluding the Asian economic downturn Downturn The transition point between a rising, expanding economy to a falling, contracting one. downturn A decline in security prices or economic activity following a period of rising or stable prices or activity. , which could affect actual results, please refer to the company's Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the transition period from July 1, 1996, to Dec. 31, 1996. Unaudited condensed con·dense v. con·densed, con·dens·ing, con·dens·es v.tr. 1. To reduce the volume or compass of. 2. To make more concise; abridge or shorten. 3. Physics a. financial information is attached. ChemFirst Inc. companies produce electronic and performance chemicals, specialty chemicals and chemical intermediates for industry and agriculture, and provide engineered products and services to chemical and other industries. -0-
ChemFirst Inc. and Subsidiaries
Operating Results and Industry Segment Information
(Unaudited. In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
3 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31 Dec. 31
1997 1996 1997 1996
------------------------------------------ -------- -------- --------
Sales:
Chemicals $ 81,588 58,907 297,822 246,014
Engineered Products and
Services 17,023 16,819 72,712 64,536
Steel 19,223 17,274 75,287 73,087
-------- -------- -------- --------
Total Sales $117,834 93,000 445,821 383,637
======== ======== ======== ========
Operating profit (loss):
Chemicals $ 13,683 7,963 51,688 43,593
Engineered Products and
Services 706 (3,441) 2,926 (31,897)
Steel (249) (10,338) (1,003) (10,495)
-------- -------- -------- --------
14,140 (5,816) 53,611 1,201
Unallocated corporate expenses (2,996) (3,766) (11,347) (13,324)
Interest income (expense), net 559 (979) 2,904 (5,055)
Other income, net 14,702 58 14,998 259
-------- -------- -------- --------
26,405 (10,503) 60,166 (16,919)
Income tax expense (benefit) 10,430 (3,861) 23,765 (5,632)
Equity in net earnings of equity
investees 129 305 2,497 846
-------- -------- -------- --------
Earnings (loss) from continuing
operations 16,104 (6,337) 38,898 (10,441)
Earnings from discontinued
operations, net of taxes - 10,341 - 36,562
Gain on disposal of businesses,
net of taxes - 225,485 - 223,739
-------- -------- -------- --------
Net earnings $ 16,104 229,489 38,898 249,860
======== ======== ======== ========
Earnings (loss) per common share:
Continuing operations $ 0.80 (0.31) 1.91 (0.51)
Discontinued operations - 0.50 - 1.77
Gain on disposal of
businesses, net of taxes - 10.93 - 10.86
-------- -------- -------- --------
Earnings per
common share $ 0.80 11.12 1.91 12.12
======== ======== ======== ========
Average shares outstanding 20,202 20,640 20,395 20,615
Earnings (loss) per common share,
assuming dilution:
Continuing operations $ 0.78 (0.30) 1.86 (0.50)
Discontinued operations - 0.49 - 1.75
Gain on disposal of businesses,
net of taxes - 10.75 - 10.70
-------- -------- -------- --------
Earnings per
common share,
assuming dilution $ 0.78 10.94 1.86 11.95
======== ======== ======== ========
Average shares outstanding 20,722 20,974 20,888 20,909
Cash dividend declared per share $ 0.100 0.100 0.400 0.400
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited. In Thousands)
Dec. 31
---------------------
1997 1996
---------- ----------
Cash and cash equivalents $ 7,766 68,385
Other current assets 165,649 145,452
Other assets 285,931 209,253
---------- ----------
Total assets $ 459,346 423,090
========== ==========
Current liabilities $ 95,356 83,357
Long-term debt 4,865 2,122
Other liabilities 37,428 29,125
Stockholders equity 321,697 308,486
---------- ----------
Total liabilities & stockholders equity $ 459,346 423,090
========== ==========
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited. In Thousands)
12 Months ended
Dec. 31
---------------------
1997 1996
---------- ----------
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net earnings $ 38,898 249,860
Depreciation and amortization 20,642 18,056
Other - including gains on dispositions (36,102) (225,715)
---------- ----------
Net cash provided by continuing
operations 23,438 42,201
Cash provided by discontinued
operations, net 41 37,365
---------- ----------
Net cash provided by operating
activities 23,479 79,566
---------- ----------
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures (95,570) (53,732)
Other - including proceeds on dispositions 18,166 143,636
---------- ----------
Net cash provided by (used in) investing
activities of continuing operations (77,404) 89,904
Cash used in investing activities of
discontinued operations, net - (44,532)
---------- ----------
Net cash provided by (used in)
investing activities (77,404) 45,372
---------- ----------
Cash flows from financing activities:
Net borrowings of notes payable to banks 20,000 -
Net repayments of debt (769) (106,292)
Other financing activities (25,925) 3,656
---------- ----------
Net cash used in financing activities (6,694) (102,636)
---------- ----------
Net increase (decrease) in cash and
cash equivalents $ (60,619) 22,302
========== ==========
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 7,766 68,385
========== ==========
CONTACT: ChemFirst Inc., Jackson Jim McArthur, Secretary, Manager, Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. 601/948-7550 |
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