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Text: Today, we'll update you on the company's first quarter results.
In the first quarter, we had all-time record sales of almost $2.7 billion, an increase of 17% as reported or 9% on a constant basis with adjusted operating income of $329 million, our highest ever first quarter earnings per share of $3.49.
Our business continued to strengthen in the first quarter and did not reflect the industry's normal seasonality.
Around the world, consumers are continuing to invest in their homes and new flooring plays a major role in most remodeling projects.
We're also starting to see moderate improvement in commercial demand as global economies expand and businesses begin to invest in an anticipation of a return to normal.
In most countries, construction is considered an essential business, so our sales have been less impacted by government restrictions.
Those specific regions have interrupted our customers' businesses.
Our Flooring Rest of World segment continues to outperform with strong residential sales of our flooring, improved mix from our premium products and less exposure to commercial channels.
The segment benefited from lower marketing expenses, product mix and increased days, which resulted in a greater margin in the first quarter.
Our other segments also performed well with strong growth in residential products and expanding operating margins, while their results were impacted by low commercial sales and severe storms in the United States.
Market demand strengthened as the period progressed, and our order backlog remains robust going into the second quarter.
Most of our businesses are running at high production rates, though inventories remain lower than we would like.
Our production and operating costs were impacted in the period by supply limitations in many of our markets as well as absenteeism, new employee training and severe winter weather in the United States.
Our margins have benefited from stronger consumer demand, our restructuring and productivity actions and leverage our SG&A costs.
With increased prices in most product categories and geographies, reflecting inflation in raw materials, labor, energy and transportation.
Global transportation capacity has been limited, increasing our cost and delaying receipt of our imported products.
We've seen similar constraints on local shipments and are increasing our freight rates to respond.
The investments we made in our U.S. trucking fleet and local delivery systems have enabled us to provide our customers with more consistent service while improving our efficiencies.
Even with COVID surges in some markets, we anticipate continued strengthening of economies around the world.
Government actions and monetary policies are stimulating higher economic growth rates and stronger housing markets, and vaccination program should reduce the risk of COVID related disruptions.
Recent U.S. stimulus actions as well as proposed infrastructure spending should further expand economic growth and employment level.
Though government investments are lower than in the U.S. Other countries are beginning to see their economies expand, which should support ongoing demand in our product categories.
We continue to implement our restructuring plans, which have achieved $75 million of our anticipated $100 million to $110 million in savings.
The balance of the savings will be spread over the next three quarters as specific projects are completed.
In the first quarter, we purchased $123 million of our stock at an average price of $179 for a total of $686 million since we initiated our purchasing program.
Our balance sheet remains strong with net debt less short-term investments of $1.3 billion.
Our leverage is now below onetime adjusted EBITDA.
Given our higher sales and operating levels, we are reviewing additional investment opportunities to expand our business and capacity.
Jim will you review the first quarter financials.
Sales in Q1 2021 were $2,669 billion.
That's a 17% increase as reported and 9% on a constant basis.
All segments showed positive volume growth with Flooring Rest of the World being the strongest.
As a reminder, Q1 had three additional shipping days and Q4 will have four fewer days.
Gross margin was 29.7% as reported or 30.1% excluding charges, increasing from 27.5% in the prior year.
The year-over-year increase was driven primarily by higher volume and productivity, greater manufacturing uptime, improved price mix and favorable FX, partially offset by increased inflation.
The actual detailed amounts of these items will be included in the MD&A section of our 10-Q, which will be filed later today.
SG&A, as reported, was 17.
8% or 17.7% versus 20.3% in the prior year, both excluding charges, as we saw strong leverage on the increased volume and productivity actions, partially offset by inflation in FX.
Gives us an operating income, as reported, of 11.9% of sales.
Restructuring charges for the quarter were $11 million, and our savings, as Jeff said, are on track as we have recorded approximately $75 million of the plan.
Operating margin excluding charges of 12.3%, improving from 7.2% in the prior year or 510 basis points.
Similar to gross margin, the increase was driven by stronger volume productivity actions, improved price/mix and FX, greater manufacturing uptime, partially offset by the increased inflation.
Interest expense of $15 million includes the full impact of the 2020 bond offerings.
Other income of $2 million, mainly the result of favorable transactional FX.
Our non-GAAP tax rate was 22% versus 20% in the prior year, and we expect the full year to be 21.5% to 22.5%.
Giving us an earnings per share as reported of $3.36 or excluding charges, $3.49, which is 110% improvement versus prior year.
Now turning to the segments.
Global Ceramic had sales of $930 million, a 10% increase as reported, or approximately 5% on a constant basis with strong geographic growth, especially in Brazil, Mexico and Russia, while the U.S. was unfavorably impacted by the February ice storm.
Operating income, excluding charges of 9.6%, that's up 400 basis points versus prior year, and this improvement was from strengthening volume and price/mix increased manufacturing uptime and productivity, partially offset by unfavorable inflation.
In Flooring North America, sales of $969 million or a 14% increase as reported or 9% on a constant basis, driven by strong residential demand with commercial beginning to recover from its trough.
Operating income excluding charges of 9.3%, that's an increase of 410 basis points versus prior year.
The improvement similar to global ceramic was driven by increased volume and productivity, less temporary shutdowns, partially offset by higher inflation.
And finally, Flooring Rest of the World with sales of $770 million.
That's an increase of 31% as reported or 15% on a constant basis as our focus on the residential channel drove improvement across product -- all our product groups led by laminate, LVT and soft surface business in Australia and New Zealand.
The operating margin excluding charges of 20.9%, an increase of 740 basis points versus prior year, driven by the higher volume, favorable impact of price/mix and productivity, partially offset by the increase in inflation.
Corporate and eliminations came in at $11 million, and I expect for the full year 2021 to be approximately $40 million to $45 million.
Turning to the balance sheet; cash and short-term investments are approximately $1.3 billion, with free cash flow in the quarter of $145 million.
Receivables at just over $1.
8 billion, giving us a DSO improvement to 54.
4 days versus 57 days in the prior year.
Inventories were just shy of $2 billion.
That's a decrease of approximately $200 million or 9% from the prior year, with the marginal sequential increase of 4% from Q4 or approximately $80 million.
Inventory days remained historically low at 105.5 days versus almost 130 in the prior year.
Property plant equipment just over $4.4 billion with CapEx for the quarter of $115 million versus D&A of $151 million.
Full year CapEx is currently estimated at $620 million with us reevaluating our plan, and we will most likely see an increase from that level.
Full year D&A is projected to be $583 million.
And lastly, the overall balance sheet and cash flow remained very strong with gross debt of $2.7 billion.
As I said, total cash and short-term investments of over $1.3 billion, giving us a leverage of 0.9 times adjusted EBITDA.
First quarter sales of our Flooring Rest of World segment increased 31% as reported or 15% on a constant basis, exceeding our expectations.
Sales across all our product categories and geographies were strong as housing and residential renovation continued at a brisk pace.
Margins expanded over last year to approximately 21% due to higher volume, favorable price and mix and positive leverage on SG&A, partially offset by inflation.
During the period, most of our facilities ran at high levels, though some supply constraints limited our utilization.
At this point, we anticipate some material shortages continuing into the second quarter.
Our backlog has increased as customer inventories remain low.
We have raised prices across all product categories and have announced additional increases where material inflation has continued to expand.
Our laminate business, the segment's largest product category continues to record significant growth as consumers embrace our more realistic visuals and superior performance.
Our leadership in premium laminate products and our higher volumes drove improved margins during the period.
Our unique manufacturing methods create proprietary products that cannot be duplicated.
Our next-generation laminate technology provides premium wood consumers with features that exceed traditional wood in beauty and durability.
In the second quarter, we are installing additional manufacturing assets to support future growth.
During the period, our LVT sales rose substantially with significant growth in rigid LVT.
Our margins expanded from enhanced formulations and operational improvements that increased our production speeds.
In the period, our sales were restricted by material supply disruptions that caused unscheduled shutdowns.
We anticipate continued improvement in our operations as the material supply normalizes and production increases to expand our new rigid LVT collections.
Our sheet vinyl sales were limited in the period by COVID lockdowns of our retailers in Europe.
We anticipate sheet vinyl sales improving as government restrictions are lifted and our customers reopen their shops.
Our Russian sheet vinyl business continues to expand rapidly as we broaden our customer base and product offering.
We have initiated a third shift at the plant to support higher sales volumes.
Our insulation business continues to grow as our panels provide the best option for energy conservation.
Sales growth was robust in most of our geographies, though COVID restrictions in Ireland impacted our plant operations and results.
Chemical supply problems have limited our production and dramatically increased our costs.
We have announced our third price increase to offset the continued inflation and chemical shortages are expected to last through the second quarter.
Our wood panels business delivered improved performance with our plant running full and operating margins expanding.
As market demand for panels grows, we are allocating our production.
We improved our mix during the period with increased sales of our higher-value decorative products and mezzanine floors.
We're installing a new melamine press to expand production of our higher-value products and increased efficiencies.
Our new plant that uses waste to create energy for the facilities is operating well and benefiting our results.
Sales in both Australia and New Zealand increased significantly and margins expanded due to higher volume, improved productivity and favorable price mix, partially offset by inflation.
Sales grew in soft and hard surfaces with a strong residential performance driven by high levels of remodeling and a solid housing market.
Our updated carpet collections and SmartStrand and Wolf have enhanced our sales and mix.
We increased our sales by leveraging our comprehensive soft and hard service collections, strong sales organization, and industry-leading service.
The commercial performance was stronger, primarily driven by projects that were postponed.
For the period, our Flooring North America sales increased 14% as reported or 9% on a constant basis.
Adjusted margins expanded to 9% due to higher volume, productivity gains and mix improvements, partially offset by inflation.
Our performance was seasonally stronger than historical first quarters with consumers increasing investments in residential remodeling and new construction.
Our commercial business continued to improve sequentially from its trough with growing investments in new projects.
Our order rates remain strong and our backlog is higher than normal.
We have increased prices as a material and transportation costs have escalated and we'll adjust further as required.
All of our operations are maximizing their output to support higher sales and improve our service.
In the period, we managed through interference from labor shortages and supply constraints, which impacted our production levels.
Our inventories and service levels have also been impacted by delayed shipment of our imported products due to bottlenecks in ocean freight.
We are continuing to execute our restructuring initiatives, which will provide ongoing benefit to our results as they are completed this year.
Our residential carpet sales improved as consumers desire more comfortable, quieter spaces in their homes.
Retail remodeling was our strongest channel, improving our mix through increased sales of our premium products.
We are expanding our proprietary SmartStrand franchise with new collections that offer superior design and performance.
We have significantly reduced operational complexity by simplifying our yarn and product strategies and reducing low-volume SKUs.
So that our workforce to meet higher market demand, we have implemented extensive training processes and are relocating assets to increase production where necessary.
Our commercial sales are recovering as business remodeling increases along with the economic improvement.
We are also seeing increasing volume of higher-value products as larger specified projects are commencing.
The April Architectural Billing Index reflects the highest level of project inquiries since 2019.
We have increased carpet tile production in anticipation of the commercial markets improving.
In our commercial LVT business, we are managing supply limitations and import delays.
Our laminate sales are setting records as the appeal of our realistic visuals and waterproof performance expands across all channels.
Through numerous process improvements, we have significantly increased our domestic production and are supplementing it with imports from our global operations.
We are installing additional production at the end of this year to further expand our sales.
Our new line will also produce the next generation of Redwood, which is already being well accepted by European consumers.
We have completed upgrades and streamlined our MDF board facility to enhance our volume and cost.
We are ramping up production of our premium ultra wood, the first waterproof natural wood flooring that also features industry-leading scratch, dent and fade resistance.
Ultra wood is being well received as a superior alternative to traditional engineered wood flooring.
Our LVT and sheet vinyl sales continue to increase in the new construction and residential retail channels.
We are upgrading our LVT offering with enhanced visuals unique water type joints and improved stain and scratch resistance.
Our local manufacturing has continued its improvement and production output increased as we implemented processes similar to those proven to work in our European operations.
Our service has been impacted by material supply disruptions in the U.S. and delays in shipments of sourced products.
We anticipate our supply will increase and we will see further improvements in our domestic offering and production output.
In the quarter, our Global Ceramic sales rose 10% as reported and 5% on a constant basis, with sales increases in each of our markets, driven by growth in residential remodeling and new construction.
The segment's adjusted margin expanded to approximately 10% due to volume, price, mix and productivity gains, partially offset by inflation.
Our Russian, Brazilian and Mexican ceramic businesses delivered strong results though they were limited by their capacities and are allocating production as necessary.
All of our businesses are facing rising material, energy and transportation costs, and we have taken pricing actions to offset.
Our U.S. ceramic residential sales grew from remodeling and new construction and commercial sales are improving from their low levels.
Our strongest growth was in new residential construction, and we are seeing activity strengthen with contractors at our service centers.
We are introducing higher-value products, including polished, mosaic, decorative wall and antimicrobial collections to improve our mix.
We are focusing on the fastest-growing channels and implementing advanced technologies to make doing business with us faster, easier and more profitable for our customers.
Across the business, our plants are running at higher levels, and we have increased our productivity with our restructuring actions.
Escalating freight costs have hurt our margins, and we are raising prices to offset.
Our quartz plant is improving its productivity, and we are introducing more sophisticated bank collections, which are increasing our mix and should enhance our margins.
In the period, the ice storm that hit the Southwest temporarily stopped production at most of our manufacturing facilities by interrupting our electricity and natural gas supply.
The facilities have all recovered and are operating as expected, improving our service.
Our European ceramic business delivered a strong performance in the quarter, risk productivity, improving mix and greater consumer demand.
Sales grew substantially in Southern Europe and in our export markets, led by a robust residential business and with some improvement in commercial projects.
Our operations are running at high rates to satisfy the greater demand and improve service, leveraging our cost and enhancing our results.
We are increasing our production levels through improvements in our processes and equipment as well as optimizing product flows to support growth and enhance our mix.
Our ceramic businesses in Mexico, Brazil and Russia are all benefiting from lower interest rates and expanded credit, which are driving greater home remodeling and housing sales.
In all three businesses, our order backlog is high, and we are allocating production as necessary.
We have streamlined our product offering and enhanced our planning strategies to optimize service.
Our inventory levels are low, and we are maximizing our output by enhancing our manufacturing and scheduling processes.
In Brazil and Mexico, we are increasing capacity this year to improve our sales and mix.
In Russia, we are optimizing our tile production and ramping up our new premium sanitary ware plant to meet growing demand.
Sanitary Ware complements our floor and wall tile offering and allows our owned and franchised stores to provide a more complete solution to satisfy our customer needs.
Given higher market demand and our increased sales, we are reviewing the expansion of our ceramic capacities.
As we progress through the year, we anticipate that historically low interest rates, government actions and fewer pandemic restrictions should improve our markets around the world, which we see the present robust residential trends continuing with commercial sales slowly improving in the second period.
Across the enterprise, we will increase product introduction to provide additional features to strengthen our offering and margins.
We're enhancing our manufacturing operations to increase our volume and efficiencies while executing our ongoing cost savings programs.
Our suppliers indicate that material availability should improve from the first quarter though some operations could still face supply constraints.
We are managing challenging labor markets in some of our U.S. communities and supplemental federal unemployment programs could interfere with staffing to maximize those operations.
If raw materials, energy and transportation costs continue to rise, further price increases could be required around the world.
Given these factors, we anticipate our second quarter adjusted earnings per share to be $3.57 to $3.
67 excluding any restructuring charges.
Currently, our strong backorder -- backlog reflects the escalated levels of residential demand across the globe.
We're introducing new product innovations to enhance our offering and optimizing our production to improve our service.
We're preparing for an improvement in commercial projects, anticipating an economic expansion and a return to normal business investments.
With strong liquidity and historically low leverage, we will increase our capital investments and take advantage of opportunities to expand.

user
compname reports q1 earnings per share of $3.49 excluding items.
q1 earnings per share $3.49 excluding items.
sees q2 adjusted earnings per share $3.57 to $3.67 excluding items.
q1 earnings per share $3.36.
q1 sales rose 16.8 percent to $2.7 billion.
anticipate some material shortages continuing at least in q2.

assistant