Plexus Reports FY2016 Revenue of $2.6B

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Plexus today announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended October 1, 2016, and guidance for its fiscal first quarter ending December 31, 2016.

Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2016 Information 

• Won 37 programs during the quarter representing approximately $200 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Trailing four quarter wins total approximately $747 million in annualized revenue
• Purchased $7.1 million of our shares at an average price of $45.81 per share

Fiscal Year 2016 Information 

• Revenue: $2.6 billion, down 3.7% from prior year
• Diluted EPS: $2.24, including $0.57 per share of stock-based compensation expense
• ROIC: 13.8%, 280 basis points above our weighted average cost of capital
• Purchased $30 million of our shares at an average price of $39.43 per share

Todd Kelsey, President and CEO, commented, "Despite late fiscal fourth quarter revenue headwinds, we achieved solid operating performance and EPS, resulting in adjusted EPS firmly in our guidance range. Our revenue was slightly below guidance as a result of softness within our Networking/Communications sector and the temporary impact to our Xiamen, China operations from Typhoon Meranti that made landfall on September 15, 2016. When reflecting on fiscal 2016, I am pleased with our operational performance. We quickly executed our cost reduction and productivity improvement initiatives to overcome a challenging revenue environment in the first half of the fiscal year, enabling us to achieve adjusted operating margin at the high-end of our target  range of 4.7% to 5.0% in the back half of the fiscal year." 

"During the quarter we successfully repatriated $100 million in cash from our overseas operations. We believe the additional cash will enable us to maximize shareholder value by returning excess cash to shareholders through our previously announced share repurchase program," Patrick Jermain, Senior Vice President and CFO, commented. "Fiscal fourth quarter cash cycle days were higher than anticipated at 71 days. The most significant contributing factor was an increase in accounts receivables due to the timing of customer shipments and mix. We exited the fiscal year with annual free cash flow of approximately $97 million, more than doubling our performance over the prior year."

Kelsey continued, "In the fiscal first quarter of 2017, we anticipate strong operating performance despite near-term revenue softness as a result of a delay in orders with a large Industrial/Commercial customer and further end-market weakness within our Networking/Communications market sector. As a result, we are guiding fiscal first quarter revenue of $620 to $650 million with diluted GAAP EPS in the range of $0.74 to $0.82.  With previously disclosed restructuring activities behind us and improved resiliency in our model, we are guiding GAAP operating margin in the range of 4.9% to 5.2% for the fiscal first quarter of 2017."

Kelsey concluded, "We have confidence in our outlook for fiscal 2017 based on our strengthening wins momentum and record funnel.  We currently anticipate that we will return to sequential growth after the fiscal first quarter and grow revenue within each of our market sectors for the full fiscal year.  Consequently, we are increasingly optimistic that our goal of a $3 billion annual revenue run rate as we exit the fiscal year is attainable.  Furthermore, with the exception of our seasonally challenged fiscal second quarter, we anticipate delivering operating margins within our target range throughout fiscal 2017."

About Plexus – The Product Realization Company

Plexus delivers optimized Product Realization solutions through a unique Product Realization Value Stream service model.  This customer-focused services model seamlessly integrates innovative product conceptualization, design, commercialization, manufacturing, fulfillment and sustaining services to deliver comprehensive end-to-end solutions for customers in the America, European and Asia-Pacific regions. 

Plexus is the industry leader in servicing mid-to-low volume, higher complexity customer programs characterized by unique flexibility, technology, quality and regulatory requirements.  Award-winning customer service is provided to over 140 branded product companies in the Healthcare/Life Sciences, Industrial/Commercial, Networking/Communications and Defense/Security/Aerospace market sectors.