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Text: Today, we'll update you on the company's second quarter results.
In the second quarter, we generated revenue of approximately $3 billion, the highest quarterly sales of any period in our company's history.
Our sales increased significantly over last year when the pandemic interrupted the global economy.
Our adjusted earnings per share of $4.45 was the highest on record for any quarter.
Our success is the result of the extraordinary efforts of all of our team members across the world.
They have shown their dedication and resilience to overcome the challenges that we have faced.
We greatly appreciate what they have been able to achieve.
Our second quarter results were significantly stronger than we had anticipated across all of our businesses with sales building on a momentum from our first period.
In the quarter, our operating margin expanded to their highest level in the last four years as we leveraged our operational and SG&A expenses.
The actions we have taken to simplify our product offering, enhance our productivity and restructure our costs are benefiting our results.
We've delivered almost $95 million of the anticipated $100 million to $110 million in savings for our restructuring initiatives.
Across the enterprise, we continue to respond to rising material, energy and transportation costs by increasing prices and optimizing manufacturing and logistics.
During the quarter, most of our manufacturing ran at capacity or we were limited by material supply and labor availability.
Raw material constraints and many of our operations led to unplanned production shutdowns during the period.
Overall, we've successfully managed interruptions that impeded our normal operations as well as regional manufacturing and customer closings related to COVID regulations in local areas.
Our inventory levels increased slightly in the period, primarily reflecting higher material costs.
Rising freight cost and limited shipping capacity impacted our material costs, availability of imported products, local shipments to customers and international exports.
Presently, we do not anticipate near-term abatement of these constraints.
All of our markets continue to show strength, with robust housing sales and remodeling investments across the world.
Commercial projects are increasing as the global economy improves and businesses gain confidence to expand and remodel.
Inventory levels in most channels remain low, and our sales backlogs are above our historical levels.
To improve our sales mix and efficiencies, we will introduce more new products with enhanced features and lower production complexity in the second half of the year.
To alleviate manufacturing constraints, we have approved new capital investments of approximately $650 million to increase our production, with most taking 12 to 18 months to fully implement.
In the second quarter, we purchased $142 million of our stock at an average price of $2.08 (sic) $208 for a total amount of approximately $830 million since we initiated the program.
With our strong balance sheet and historically low leverage, we're reviewing additional investments to expand our sales and profitability.
Jim will now cover the second quarter financials.
For the quarter, our sales were $2.954 million, an increase of 44% as reported and 38% on a constant basis.
All segments showed significant year-over-year growth versus Q2 of 2020, which was a period we were most impacted by the pandemic shutdowns.
Gross margin for the quarter was 30.5% as reported or 30.7%, excluding charges, increasing from 21.4% in the prior year.
The increase in gross profit was a result of higher volume and productivity, improved price/mix, reduction of last year's temporary shutdowns due to the pandemic and favorable FX, partially offset by the increasing inflation.
SG&A, as reported, was 16.9% of sales or 16.8% versus 19.7% in the prior year, both excluding charges as a result of strong leverage by the business on the sharp increase in volume.
The absolute year-over-year dollar increase was primarily due to higher volume, normal operating costs previously curtailed by the pandemic, impact of FX, increased product development costs and inflation.
Operating margin as reported was 13.7%, with restructuring charges of approximately $7 million.
Our restructuring savings are on track as we have recorded approximately $95 million of the planned $100 million and $110 million of savings.
Operating margin excluding charges, 13.9%, improving from 1.7% in the prior year.
The increase was driven by the stronger volume, improved price/mix, productivity actions, the reduction of the temporary shutdowns and favorable FX, partially offset by the higher inflation and increased product development costs.
Interest for the quarter was $15 million.
Other income, other expense was $11 million income, primarily a result of a settlement of foreign non-income tax contingency and other miscellaneous items.
Income tax rate, as reported, was 16% and 22.5% on a non-GAAP basis versus a credit of 2.5% in the prior year.
We expect the full year rate to be between 21.5% and 22.5%.
That leads us to a net earnings as reported of $336 million or an earnings per share of $4.82.
Earnings per share excluding charges was $4.45 percent -- or $4.45, excuse me.
Turning to the segments.
The Global Ceramic segment had sales of just over $1 billion, an increase of 38% as reported or 34% on a constant basis, with strong geographic growth across our business led by Mexico, Brazil and Europe.
Operating margin, excluding charges was 13.2%, a significant increase from the low point of 2020 at 0.5%.
The earnings improvement was a result of strengthening volume and productivity, favorable price/mix and a reduction of temporary shutdowns, partially offset by increasing inflation.
Flooring North America had sales of just under $1.1 billion for a 35% increase, driven by a strong residential demand with commercial channel continuing its growth versus prior year, but still below historic levels.
The segment experienced solid growth across all product lines, led by residential carpet, LVT and laminate.
Operating income, excluding charges, was 11.2% and similar to Global Ceramic, a significant increase from the 2020 margin trough.
The operating income improvement was also driven by the increase in volume, strengthening productivity, improvement in price/mix, with a reduction in temporary shutdowns, partially offset by higher inflation.
Lastly, Flooring Rest of the World with sales of just over $830 million, a 68% improvement as reported or 50% on a constant basis, as continued strength in residential remodeling and new home construction drove improvement across all product groups, led by resilient, panels, laminate and our soft surface business in Australia and New Zealand.
Operating margin, excluding charges of 19.7%, and similar to our other segments, was a significant increase from prior year's low point of 11.9%.
And again, the main drivers were consistent in that they had higher volume, favorable impact from price/mix with a reduction of temporary shutdowns, favorable FX, partially offset by increasing inflation.
Corporate and eliminations came in at $12 million and expect full year 2021 to be approximately $45 million.
Turning to the balance sheet.
Cash and short-term investments are approximately $1.4 billion with free cash flow of $226 million in the quarter.
Receivables of just over $2 billion, an improvement in DSO to 53 days versus 64 days in the prior year.
Inventories for the quarter were just shy of $2.1 billion, an increase of approximately $160 million or 8% from the prior year or increasing $85 million or 4% compared to Q1 2021.
Inventory days remain historically low at 99 days versus 126 in the prior year.
Property, plant and equipment were just shy of $4.5 billion and capex for the quarter was $113 million with D&A of $148 million.
Full year capex has been increased to approximately $700 million to strengthen future growth with full year D&A projected to be approximately $580 million.
Overall, the balance sheet and cash flow remained very strong, with gross debt of $2.7 billion, total cash and short-term investments of approximately $1.4 billion and a leverage at 0.7 times to adjusted EBITDA.
For the period, our Flooring Rest of the World segment, sales increased 68% as reported and 50% on a constant basis.
Operating margins expanded to 19.7% due to higher volume, pricing and mix improvements and a reduction of COVID restrictions, partially offset by inflation.
Flooring Rest of the World outperformed our other segments with all our major product categories significantly as residential sales expanded in all regions.
We have implemented multiple price increases in most product categories to cover inflation in materials and freight.
Raw material supplies are problematic and have impacted our LVT production and sales the most.
We anticipate material and freight challenges will continue to impact our business in the third quarter.
Sales of our high-end laminate continue to grow dramatically as our proprietary products are being widely accepted as waterproof alternative to LVT and wood.
We are beginning to introduce our next-generation of laminate at premium levels with collections featuring handcrafted visuals.
We are increasing our production in Europe, with new capacity coming online and further capacity expansion projects are being initiated.
Our laminate business in Russia and Brazil are growing strongly as we enhance our offering and expand our distribution.
We recently completed the acquisition of a laminate distributor in the U.K. that will improve our position in the market.
Our LVT sales growth was strong during the period and would have been higher if material shortages had not interrupted manufacturing.
To compensate for material inflation, we have increased prices and we expect further increases will be required as our costs continue to rise.
We are significantly expanding sales of our rigid LVT collections with our patented water-tight joints that prevent moisture from penetrating the floor.
Our manufacturing operations have made substantial progress improving throughputs, material costs and yields.
Our production in the third quarter will continue to be limited by material availability.
Our sheet vinyl sales rebounded strongly as retail stores opened in our primary markets.
Our sheet vinyl distribution in Russia has expanded, and we are maximizing production to meet the growing demand.
Our wood plant in Malaysia has been idle since the government instituted lockdowns to address surging COVID rates.
Wood is a small product category for us, so the sales impact in the third quarter will be limited.
We are awaiting permits to complete the acquisition of a plant that reduces wood veneers to lower our cost.
Our Australian and New Zealand flooring businesses delivered excellent results with sales and margins exceeding our expectations.
The residential business was strong, with hard surface products leading the growth.
Carpet sales are strengthening with our national consumer advertising, enhanced merchandising and the launch of a new high-end wool and triexta collections that improved our mix.
Most of our facilities operated at a high level with increased volumes benefiting our results.
As in all of our markets, commercial sales have not recovered to their pre-pandemic levels.
Though the Australian government has locked down specific regions to contain the spread of COVID, it has not meaningfully impacted our business.
Our European insulation sales grew even though chemical shortages limited our production.
Our margins are recovering after we implemented price increases to cover rising material costs.
We have announced an additional price increase for the third quarter to offset further raw material inflation.
We anticipate chemical supplies to remain tight and could impact our future sales.
To expand our existing insulation business in Ireland and the U.K., we have signed an agreement to acquire an insulation manufacturer, which is pending government approval.
Our panels business is running at full capacity, and so far, we've been able to manage material shortages without interruptions to our operations.
We have raised prices and improved our mix with higher value decorative products.
To enhance our results, we are expanding our offering of premium products as well as our project specification team.
To enhance our panel offering, we are commissioning a new line that creates unique surfaces and visuals to differentiate our offering in the market.
For the period, our Flooring North America segment sales increased 35%, and adjusted margins expanded to 11.2% due to higher volume, productivity, pricing and mix improvements and fewer COVID interruptions, partially offset by inflation.
Our business trends continued from the first quarter with sales growth being driven by residential remodeling and new construction.
Commercial sales continued to improve, though the channel remains below pre-pandemic levels.
Through the period, our order rate remains strong and our sales backlog remains above historical levels.
We are maximizing output at our facilities to support higher sales and improve our service.
During the quarter, our production levels were hindered by local labor shortages and material supply, particularly in LVT, sheet vinyl and carpet.
Ocean freight constraints delayed receipt of our imported products, impacting our sales, inventories and service levels.
We implemented price increases as a material and transportation cost increase and we have announced additional pricing actions as inflation continues.
Our restructuring initiatives are improving efficiencies as planned, and we should realize additional savings in the third quarter.
Our residential carpet sales continued their growth trend across all channels with consumers investing in home improvement projects.
Sales of our proprietary SmartStrand franchise expanded with our new collections being well accepted.
Our EverStrand polyester collections are expanding by providing enhanced value, styling and environmental sustainability.
Our carpet sales have been limited by personnel shortages in our operations, and we are implementing many actions to increase our staffing and productivity.
We have improved our efficiencies by rationalizing low volume SKUs and streamlining our operational strategies.
Our commercial sales have improved as businesses increased remodeling and new construction projects.
Both carpet, tile and hard surface products grew with healthcare, senior living, education and government recovering faster.
Though down slightly from record levels, the June Architecture Billing Index had a fifth consecutive month of expansion, indicating the continued strengthening of new commercial development and renovation projects.
With realistic visuals and waterproof performance, our premium laminate collections are growing substantially.
To support higher demand, we have implemented many process improvements to maximize our U.S. production and are importing product from our global operations.
Our laminate expansion remains on schedule and should be operational by the end of this year.
Our new line will produce the next-generation of RevWood which is already being introduced in Europe.
To support the growth of our laminate business, our U.S. MDF operation completed investments to increase our volume and lower our cost.
Our new waterproof Ultrawood collections are being launched as a high-performance alternative to typical engineered wood floors.
Our LVT and sheet vinyl sales continue to increase, with growth in the residential, retail and new construction channels.
Our LVT and sheet vinyl growth and plant productivity were impacted by disruptions in supply that stopped our operations and delays in imported LVT caused by transportation constraints.
We have enhanced our LVT offering with more realistic visuals, proprietary water-tight joints and improve stain and scratch resistance.
Our U.S. operations implemented process enhancements that have increased our speeds and throughput.
When material availability increases, we should see further improvements in our domestic manufacturing, which will support our recent product launches.
For the period, our Global Ceramic segment sales increased 38% as reported and 34% on a constant basis.
Adjusted margins expanded to 13.2% due to higher volume, productivity, pricing and mix, improvements and fewer COVID disruptions, partially offset by inflation.
Our ceramic businesses around the world have greatly improved with strength in the residential channel and increasing commercial sales.
All of them have low inventories, which impacted our sales growth and service levels.
We have initiated expansion plans to increase our capacity in mix in Mexico, Brazil, Russia and Europe.
Our ceramic businesses continue to raise prices to cover material, energy and transportation inflation.
Our U.S. ceramic business is strengthening, and we are implementing price increases to cover material and freight inflation.
We are improving our product mix with new shapes, sizes and service structures.
We are reengineering our products to improve material cost and productivity.
Our restructuring projects have been fully implemented and are growing the expected -- providing the expected benefits.
Our countertop sales and mix continue to improve as we expand our premium offer with new technologies.
In the period, a mechanical failure temporarily reduced production, which has been repaired.
We have initiated the expansion of our plant to further grow our countertop business.
Our Mexican and Brazilian ceramic businesses are very strong, with our residential business in both regions at historically high levels and commercial still recovering.
Due to capacity constraints, our facilities could not fulfill customer demand, so we are allocating our production.
We have executed multiple price increases to offset energy and material inflation.
We are expanding operations in Mexico this quarter, and we have initiated new investments to increase capacity in Brazil.
Our European ceramic business delivered strong sales and profitability as pricing, product mix, and productivity improved our margins.
We increased sales of our premium products, including slabs, small sizes, outdoor and antibacterial collections.
Commercial sales trends are starting to improve though they remain below historical levels.
We are selectively increasing prices to recover material, energy and freight inflation.
During the period, our operations ran at high levels with improved efficiencies and increased throughputs.
We continue to rationalize low volume SKUs to optimize our operations.
To support our sales of high-end collections, we have initiated expansion projects, some of which will take through next year to complete.
Our ceramic sales in Russia were robust across all channels with our direct sales to customers through our own stores and new construction projects outperforming.
We have announced price increases to cover rising inflation.
During the period, our manufacturing operations ran at capacity to respond to accelerated sales with inventory remaining below historical levels.
Due to present capacity limitations, we are focusing on optimizing our product mix.
We have initiated expansion plans with new production expected in the second half of next year.
Sales of our new sanitaryware products are expanding primarily through our owned and franchised retail stores as our manufacturing ramps up.
The global economy should continue to improve due to low interest rates, government stimulus and the success of COVID vaccines.
Around the world, flooring sales trends remain favorable, with residential remodeling and new construction at high levels and commercial projects strengthening.
In the third quarter, we expect our strong sale to continue, with our typical seasonal slowing from the second quarter.
We will expand the introduction of new products with additional features and increase our investments to enhance our future sales and mix.
Material, energy and transportation inflation is expected to continue and will require further pricing actions to offset.
Most of our facilities will operate at high utilization rates, though ongoing material and local labor constraints will limit our production.
Our Global Ceramic and Flooring Rest of the World segments will observe the European vacation schedules in the third quarter, which reduces production and increases cost in the period.
In many countries, future government actions to contain COVID remain a risk and could impact our business.
Given these factors, we anticipate our third quarter adjusted earnings per share to be between $3.71 and $3.81, excluding any restructuring charges.
We entered this year with uncertainty about COVID, the economic recovery, home renovation and new construction.
Our business is stronger than we had anticipated, and we are increasing investments to support additional growth and improve efficiencies.
Longer term, housing sales and remodeling are expected to remain at historical high levels.
Apartment renovation should accelerate as rent deferment expires, and investments in commercial projects should continue to strengthen.
We're expanding our operations and introducing new innovations to maximize our results.
Our balance sheet is strong, and we're exploring additional internal projects and acquisition opportunities.

user
q2 earnings per share $4.45 excluding items.
sees q3 adjusted earnings per share $3.71 to $3.81 excluding items.
q2 earnings per share $4.82.
longer term, housing sales and remodeling are expected to remain at a high level.
longer term, apartment renovation should accelerate as rent deferment expires.
around the world, flooring sales trends remain favorable.
material, energy and transportation inflation is expected to continue and will require further pricing actions to offset.
mohawk industries - most of our facilities should operate at high utilization rates though ongoing material, labor constraints will limit production.
expanding operations in mexico this quarter, and we have initiated new investments to increase capacity in brazil.
approved new capital investments of about $650 million to increase production with most taking 12 to 18 months to implement.

assistant