Oil-Dri Announces Second Quarter and Six-Month Results


CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - Mar 11, 2013) - Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE: ODC) today announced net sales of $61,122,000 for the second quarter ended January 31, 2013, a 2% increase compared with net sales of $60,203,000 in the same quarter one year ago. Net income for the second quarter was $2,146,000, or $0.31 per diluted share, down 31% from net income of $3,239,000, or $0.45 per diluted share, for the same quarter one year ago.

Net sales for the six-month period were $122,539,000, a 2% increase compared with net sales of $119,785,000 in the same period one year ago. Net income for the six-month period was $6,598,000, or $0.94 per diluted share, up 57% from net income of $4,314,000, or $0.60 per diluted share, in the same period one year ago.

Business Review

President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel S. Jaffee said, "We are pleased to report a significant increase in earnings for the first six-months. However, due to anticipated increased advertising and promotional spending for Cat's Pride Fresh & Light in the Retail and Wholesale segment, quarterly earnings per share were down substantially from last year's second quarter.

"We are encouraged by the repeat purchases of our Cat's Pride Fresh & Light and are focusing our efforts on obtaining consumer trial and expanded distribution."

 
Segment Review
 
Business to Business
Products
  Three Months Ended January 31,   Change
             
    Fiscal 2013   Fiscal 2012    
Net Sales   $21,715,000   $21,303,000   2%
Segment Income   $7,101,000   $6,427,000   10%
         
         
Business to Business
Products
  Six Months Ended January 31,   Change
             
    Fiscal 2013   Fiscal 2012    
Net Sales   $43,497,000   $42,237,000   3%
Segment Income   $14,624,000   $13,867,000   5%
             

Net sales for the Company's Business to Business segment for the second quarter were up $412,000 or 2% while segment income was up $674,000 or 10% from the prior year period. The increase was due to volume growth of bleaching clays and animal health products. Market conditions in the global production and processing of agricultural products continued to be favorable in the quarter. Sales of our animal health products grew in volume and dollars. Net sales of co-packaged coarse cat litters were also up during the quarter. Sales declined for products used as agricultural chemical carriers sold to corn rootworm producers and products used in other horticultural applications.

Net sales of Business to Business products for the six-month period were $43,497,000, a 3% increase compared with net sales of $42,237,000 in the same period one year ago. Segment income for the six-month period was $14,624,000, a 5% increase from the same period one year ago. The increase was due to an increase in volume of bleaching clays and animal health products, offset by decreased volume in the recycled oil and agricultural chemical markets.

         
Retail and Wholesale
Products
  Three Months ended Jan 31,   Change
             
    Fiscal 2013   Fiscal 2012    
Net Sales   $39,407,000   $38,900,000   1%
Segment Income   $1,936,000   $3,058,000   -37%
         
         
Retail and Wholesale
Products
  Six Months Ended January 31,   Change
             
    Fiscal 2013   Fiscal 2012    
Net Sales   $79,042,000   $77,548,000   2%
Segment Income   $6,460,000   $1,839,000   251%
             

Net sales for the company's Retail and Wholesale Products for the second quarter were up 1% while segment income was down $1,122,000 or 37% from the prior year period. The decrease in income was due to increased costs incurred to encourage consumer trial and expanded distribution of Cat's Pride Fresh & Light cat litter introduced in 2011. Net sales of industrial and automotive products were down while sales by our foreign subsidiaries were up from the same quarter one year ago.

Net sales of Retail and Wholesale products for the six-month period were $79,042,000, a 2% increase compared with net sales of $77,548,000 in the same period one year ago due to lower trade spending. Segment income for the six-month period was $6,460,000, a 251% increase from the same period one year ago. The increase was due to more sales, better product mix, lower packaging costs and lower natural gas costs compared to last year.

Financial Review

On December 4, 2012, Oil-Dri's Board of Directors declared a one-time accelerated cash dividend of $0.36 per share of outstanding Common Stock and $0.27 per share of outstanding Class B Stock, which reflect dividends normally paid in third and fourth quarters. The dividends were paid on December 28, 2012 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 14, 2012. The Company has paid cash dividends continuously since 1974 and has increased dividends annually for the past nine years.

At the end of the second quarter, the annualized dividend yield on the Company's Common Stock was 2.6%, based on the quarter's closing stock price of $27.75 per share and an annual cash dividend of $0.72.

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments at January 31, 2012, totaled $35,818,000, which was only $506,000 less than last year despite paying $2,368,000 more in dividends than in the first six-months of fiscal 2012. Capital expenditures for the six-month period totaled $5,009,000, which was $534,000 more than depreciation and amortization of $4,475,000. Capital expenditures included improvements to and replacement of machinery at our manufacturing facilities. Capital expenditures were $3,512,000 at this time last year.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $10,811,000 in the second quarter compared to $10,281,000 for the same period one year ago due to the increase in income and changes in working capital.

Looking Forward

Jaffee continued, "In the balance of the fiscal year we will continue to support Cat's Pride Fresh & Light and our other value added products with more advertising and promotional spending than we have historically. We expect that our overall advertising and promotional spending for the fiscal year will remain high, but be less than last fiscal year."

The Company will offer a live webcast of the second quarter earnings teleconference on Wednesday, March 13, 2013 from 10:00 am to 10:30 am, CT. To listen via the web, visit www.streetevents.com or www.oildri.com. An archived recording of the call and written transcripts of all teleconferences are posted on the Oil-Dri website.

Cat's Pride and Fresh & Light are registered trademarks of Oil-Dri Corporation of America.

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a leading supplier of specialty sorbent products for agricultural, horticultural, fluids purification, specialty markets, industrial and automotive, and is the world's largest manufacturer of cat litter.

Certain statements in this press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on our current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our future performance, our business, our beliefs, and our management's assumptions. In addition, we, or others on our behalf, may make forward-looking statements in other press releases or written statements, or in our communications and discussions with investors and analysts in the normal course of business through meetings, webcasts, phone calls, and conference calls. Words such as "expect," "outlook," "forecast," "would," "could," "should," "project," "intend," "plan," "continue," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "anticipate, "may," "assume," variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Such statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to, the dependence of our future growth and financial performance on successful new product introductions, intense competition in our markets, volatility of our quarterly results, risks associated with acquisitions, our dependence on a limited number of customers for a large portion of our net sales and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, intended, expected, believed, estimated, projected or planned. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except to the extent required by law, we do not have any intention or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements after the distribution of this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, or otherwise.

   
Oil-Dri Corporation of America  
   
Consolidated Statements of Income  
(in thousands, except for per share amounts)  
(unaudited)  
   
    Second Quarter Ended January 31,  
    2013     % of Sales     2012     % of Sales  
Net Sales   $ 61,122     100.0 %   $ 60,203     100.0 %
Cost of Sales     (44,853 )   73.4 %     (45,649 )   75.8 %
Gross Profit     16,269     26.6 %     14,554     24.2 %
Operating Expenses     (12,834 )   21.0 %     (9,725 )   16.2 %
Capacity Rationalization Charges     (50 )   0.1 %     --     0.0 %
                             
Operating Income     3,385     5.5 %     4,829     8.0 %
Interest Expense     (446 )   0.7 %     (504 )   0.8 %
Other Income     92     -0.2 %     (46 )   0.1 %
                             
Income Before Income Taxes     3,031     5.0 %     4,279     7.1 %
Income Taxes     (885 )   1.4 %     (1,040 )   1.7 %
Net Income   $ 2,146     3.5 %   $ 3,239     5.4 %
                             
Net Income Per Share:                            
  Basic Common   $ 0.33           $ 0.49        
  Basic Class B Common   $ 0.25           $ 0.36        
  Diluted   $ 0.31           $ 0.45        
                             
Average Shares Outstanding:                            
  Basic Common     4,896             5,124        
  Basic Class B Common     1,976             1,938        
  Diluted     6,922             7,128        
                             
    Six Months Ended January 31,  
    2013     % of Sales     2012     % of Sales  
Net Sales   $ 122,539     100.0 %   $ 119,785     100.0 %
Cost of Sales     (89,039 )   72.7 %     (91,028 )   76.0 %
Gross Profit     33,500     27.3 %     28,757     24.0 %
Operating Expenses     (23,654 )   19.3 %     (22,132 )   18.5 %
Capacity Rationalization Charges     (62 )   0.1 %     --     0.0 %
Operating Income     9,784     8.0 %     6,625     5.5 %
Interest Expense     (927 )   0.8 %     (1,028 )   0.9 %
Other Income     231     0.2 %     155     0.1 %
                             
Income Before Income Taxes     9,088     7.4 %     5,752     4.8 %
Income Taxes     (2,490 )   2.0 %     (1,438 )   1.2 %
Net Income   $ 6,598     5.4 %   $ 4,314     3.6 %
                             
Net Income Per Share:                            
  Basic Common   $ 1.02           $ 0.65        
  Basic Class B Common   $ 0.77           $ 0.49        
  Diluted   $ 0.94           $ 0.60        
                             
Average Shares Outstanding:                            
  Basic Common     4,887             5,119        
  Basic Class B Common     1,960             1,929        
  Diluted     6,904             7,114        
             
             
Oil-Dri Corporation of America
 
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except for per share amounts)
(unaudited)
             
        As of January 31,
        2013   2012
                 
Current Assets                
  Cash and Cash Equivalents       $ 25,430   $ 27,359
  Investment in Short-term Securities         10,388     8,965
  Accounts Receivable, net         31,004     28,907
  Inventories         22,186     21,640
  Prepaid Expenses         8,169     7,230
          97,177     94,101
Property, Plant and Equipment         65,117     66,810
Other Assets         14,124     13,311
Total Assets       $ 176,418   $ 174,222
                 
Current Liabilities                
  Current Maturities of Notes Payable       $ 5,000   $ 3,800
  Accounts Payable         6,172     6,034
  Dividends Payable         --     1,132
  Accrued Expenses         18,223     15,284
    Total Current Liabilities     29,395     26,250
Long-Term Liabilities                
  Notes Payable         22,400     27,400
  Other Noncurrent Liabilities         34,782     22,833
    Total Long-Term Liabilities     57,182     50,233
Stockholders' Equity         89,841     97,739
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity       $ 176,418   $ 174,222
Book Value Per Share Outstanding       $ 13.12   $ 13.87
Acquisitions of                
  Property, Plant and Equipment     Second Quarter   $ 2,852   $ 1,901
      Year to Date   $ 5,009   $ 3,512
  Depreciation and Amortization Charges     Second Quarter   $ 2,220   $ 2,289
      Year to Date   $ 4,475   $ 4,634
             
   
Oil-Dri Corporation of America  
   
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows  
(in thousands)  
(unaudited)  
             
    For the Six Months Ended  
    January 31,  
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES   2013     2012  
                 
Net Income   $ 6,598     $ 4,314  
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:                
  Depreciation and Amortization     4,475       4,634  
  Capacity Rationalization Plan Charges     62       --  
  (Increase) Decrease in Accounts Receivable     (812 )     265  
  Increase in Inventories     (2,513 )     (2,410 )
  Decrease in Accounts Payable     (168 )     (179 )
  Increase (Decrease) in Accrued Expenses     690       (98 )
  Increase in Pension and Postretirements benefits     882       952  
  Other     1,597       2,803  
    Total Adjustments     4,213       5,967  
  Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities     10,811       10,281  
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES                
  Capital Expenditures     (5,009 )     (3,512 )
  Net (Purchases) Dispositions of Investment Securities     (1,222 )     6,855  
  Other     34       23  
  Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Investing Activities     (6,197 )     3,366  
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES                
  Principal Payments on Long-Term Debt     (2,300 )     (2,100 )
  Dividends Paid     (4,630 )     (2,262 )
  Purchase of Treasury Stock     (175 )     --  
  Other     852       166  
  Net Cash Used in Financing Activities     (6,253 )     (4,196 )
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents     (24 )     23  
Net (Decrease) Increase in Cash and Cash Equivalents     (1,663 )     9,474  
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Beginning of Period     27,093       17,885  
Cash and Cash Equivalents, End of Period   $ 25,430     $ 27,359  
                 

Contact Information:

Investor Relations Contact
Reagan Culbertson
reagan.culbertson@oildri.com
(312) 706 3256