MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Executive Summary
Until 2007, our business was focused upon three businesses: hermetically sealed
compressors, small gasoline engine and power train products, and electrical
components. Over the course of 2007 and 2008, we successfully executed a
strategy to divest operations that we did not consider to be core to our ongoing
business strategy. As part of that strategy, we sold the Residential &
Commercial, Asia Pacific and Automotive & Specialty portions of our Electrical
Components business, and also sold our Engine & Power Train business (with the
exception of TMT Motoco, which recently completed a judicial restructuring and
is in the process of finalizing its liquidation). We also completed the sale of
MP Pumps, a business not associated with any of our major business segments. As
a result of these initiatives, we are now primarily focused on our global
compressor and compressor-related condensing unit business.
In addition to the relative competitiveness of our products, our business is
significantly influenced by several specific economic factors: the strength of
the overall global economy, which can have a significant impact on our sales
volumes; the drivers of product cost, especially the price of copper and steel;
the relative value against the U.S. dollar of those foreign currencies where we
operate; and global weather conditions.
With respect to global economic activity, the recent global recession
precipitated by the financial crisis, has had a detrimental effect on our sales
volumes for the last five consecutive quarters. Given that the slow down in
economic activity has affected all of the geographic regions where we sell our
product with nearly equal severity, the impact on our financial results in these
periods has been significant. Overall, volumes in the first half of 2009 across
all product lines were approximately 34% lower than the previous year. Volumes
in the third quarter of 2009 reflected less of a decline when compared to third
quarter of 2008, but nonetheless were down 12.5% in the current year exclusive
of the effects of currency translation. While seasonal activity and some recent
increases in order activity suggest that second half volumes will improve over
the first half of the year, we cannot currently project when market conditions
may begin to improve on a sustained or significant basis. Accordingly, we have
idled underutilized assets and reduced employment levels throughout the world.
Some actions have been implemented during last year and the first nine months of
the year, while additional actions have been authorized with the relevant
governmental labor entities, including Works Councils. These additional actions,
which are related to our European operations, are expected to result in
restructuring expense of $13 to $15 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Due to the high material content of copper and steel in compressor products, our
results of operations are very sensitive to the prices of these commodities.
Overall, commodity prices have been extremely volatile in recent history
including the first three quarters of 2009. The price of copper is
representative of this overall market volatility; from January 1 through
July 31, 2008, copper prices increased by 22.6%; in the subsequent five months,
the price dropped by 62.8%; then, from January 1 to September 30, 2009, copper
prices more than doubled, increasing by 103.7%. Such extreme volatilities create
substantial challenges to our ability to control the cost of our products, as
the final product cost can depend greatly on our ability to secure optimally
priced forward and futures contracts. The price for the types of steel utilized
in our products escalated in a manner similar to copper in 2008 (one type of
steel increased by 86.2% from the beginning of 2008 to September 30) but did not
begin to experience any decline in certain markets, particularly in Brazil,
until the second quarter of 2009; in the third quarter of
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FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
2009, steel prices rebounded to levels approximately commensurate with the
beginning of the year. Due to competitive markets, we are typically not able to
quickly recover product cost increases through price increases or other cost
savings. While we have been proactive in addressing the volatility of these
costs, including executing forward purchase and futures contracts to cover
approximately 75% of our anticipated copper requirements for the remaining
quarter of 2009, renewed rapid escalation of these costs would nonetheless have
an adverse affect on our results of operations both in the near and long term.
The rapid increase of steel prices has a particularly negative impact, as there
is currently no well-established market for hedging against increases in the
price of steel. In addition, while the use of forwards and futures can mitigate
the risks of price increases associated with these commodities by "locking in"
prices at a specific level, declines in the prices of the underlying commodities
can result in downward pressure in selling prices, particularly if competitors
have lesser future purchase positions, thus causing a contraction of margins.
The compressor industry and our business in particular are characterized by
global and regional markets that are served by manufacturing locations
positioned throughout the world. An increasing portion of our manufacturing
presence is in international locations. From January 1 to December 31, 2008,
approximately 81% of our compressor manufacturing activity took place outside
the United States, primarily in Brazil, France, and India. Similarly,
approximately 82% of our sales in 2008, and approximately 80% of our sales in
the first three quarters of 2009, were to destinations outside the United
States. As a result, our consolidated financial results are extremely sensitive
to changes in foreign currency exchange rates, most notably the Brazilian real,
the euro and the Indian rupee. Due to our significant manufacturing and sales
presence in Brazil, changes in the Brazilian real have been especially adverse
to our results of operations when compared to prior periods. For a discussion of
the risks to our business associated with currency fluctuations, refer to
"Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk" in Part 1, Item 3
of this report.
Ultimately, long-term changes in currency exchange rates have lasting effects on
the relative competitiveness of operations located in certain countries versus
competitors located in different countries. Only one major competitor to our
compressor business faces similar exposure to the real. Other competitors,
particularly those with operations in countries where the currency has been
substantially pegged to the U.S. dollar, currently enjoy a cost advantage over
our compressor operations.
Our foreign manufacturing operations are subject to many other risks, including
governmental expropriation, governmental regulations that may be disadvantageous
to businesses owned by foreign nationals, and instabilities in the workforce due
to changing political and social conditions.
Aside from our efforts to manage increasing commodity prices and foreign
exchange risk with forward purchase contracts and futures, we have executed
other strategies to mitigate or partially offset the impact of rising costs and
declining volumes, which include cost reduction actions, cost optimization
engineering strategies, selective out-sourcing of components where internal
supplies are not cost competitive, continued consolidation of our supply base
and acceleration of low-cost country sourcing. In addition, the sharing of
increases in raw material costs has been, and will continue to be as the
situation warrants, the subject of negotiations with our customers, including
seeking mechanisms that would result in more timely adjustment of pricing in
reaction to changing material costs. While we believe that our mitigation
strategies have offset a substantial portion of the financial impact of these
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FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
increased costs, we cannot provide assurances that they will not have a
continued material adverse impact on our operating results. As we have raised
prices to address cost increases, it is possible that customers may react by
choosing to purchase their requirements from alternative suppliers, or, in the
case of certain customers, to source more compressors utilizing internal
capabilities. It is also expected that prices would be adjusted downward when
the economy contracts for an extended period of time as price competitiveness
increases to secure volume. Any increases in cost that could not be recovered
through increases in selling prices would make it more difficult for us to
achieve our business plans.
Upon completion of the divestitures of the business operations discussed above,
we eliminated all our North American debt, and accumulated substantial net cash
on our balance sheet. This cash balance has become increasingly important in
light of recently constrained capital markets and the current economic
environment. As an additional benefit, cash paid for interest has been and will
continue to be substantially reduced in comparison to 2008 levels. We also have
received and expect further non-operational cash inflows through the end of
2009, including the receipt in July 2009 of a $14.9 million tax refund in the
U.S. and possible proceeds of approximately $45 million in the fourth quarter
from the termination and reversion of our over-funded hourly pension plan
(although the pension plan reversion is more likely to occur in 2010). However,
challenges remain with respect to our ability to generate appropriate levels of
liquidity solely from cash flows from operations, particularly challenges
related to global economic conditions, currency exchange effects and commodity
pricing as discussed above. With current macroeconomic conditions and expected
further volatility of the U.S. dollar versus key currencies, we did not generate
cash from operations in the first nine months of 2009. While we expect continued
improvement as our restructuring activities take effect, we still may not
generate cash from normal operations unless further restructuring activities are
implemented and/or economic conditions improve. As part of our strategy to
maintain sufficient liquidity, we continue to maintain various credit
facilities, both drawn and undrawn upon, in most of the jurisdictions in which
we operate. While we believe that current cash balances (including the recently
received U.S. income tax refund) combined with available borrowings and the cash
to be generated by the pension plan reversion will produce adequate liquidity to
implement our business strategy over at least the next twelve months, there can
be no assurance that such improvements will ultimately be adequate if economic
conditions deteriorate. We anticipate that we will restrict non-essential uses
of our cash balances until the global economy begins to recover, credit markets
become less constrained, and cash production from normal operations improves. In
addition, while our business dispositions have improved our liquidity, many of
the sale agreements provide for certain retained liabilities, indemnities and/or
purchase price adjustments including liabilities that relate to environmental
issues and product warranties. While we believe we have adequately provided for
such contingent liabilities based on currently available information, future
events could result in the recognition of additional liabilities that could
consume available liquidity and management attention.
For further information related to other factors that have had, or may in the
future have, a significant impact on our business, financial condition or
results of operations, see "Other Matters - Adequacy of Liquidity Sources,"
"Outlook," and "Cautionary Statements Relating To Forward-Looking Statements"
below.
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FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Results of Operations
A summary of our operating results as a percentage of net sales is shown below
(dollar amounts in millions):
Three Months Ended September 30,
(dollars in millions) 2009 % 2008 %
Net sales $ 208.0 100.0 % $ 256.2 100.0 %
Cost of sales 189.4 91.1 % 238.7 93.2 %
Selling and administrative expenses 29.4 14.1 % 33.7 13.2 %
Impairments, restructuring charges, and
other items 3.6 1.7 % 16.2 6.3 %
Operating loss (14.4 ) (6.9 %) (32.4 ) (12.7 %)
Interest expense (3.0 ) (1.4 %) (7.0 ) (2.7 %)
Interest income and other, net 0.5 0.2 % 2.7 1.1 %
Loss from continuing operations before
taxes (16.9 ) (8.1 %) (36.7 ) (14.3 %)
Tax benefit 0.7 0.3 % 0.2 0.1 %
Loss from continuing operations $ (16.2 ) (7.8 %) $ (36.5 ) (14.2 %)
|
Three Months Ended September 30, 2009 vs. Three Months Ended September 30, 2008
Consolidated net sales from continuing operations in the third quarter of 2009
decreased to $208.0 million from $256.2 million in 2008. After consideration for
the effect of currency translation, which decreased sales in U.S. dollars by
$16.2 million, sales declined by $32.0 million, or 12.5%. Compressors for
commercial and aftermarket applications declined by $24.5 million, or 18.3%,
when compared to the third quarter of 2008. These volume reductions tracked
overall market declines, which were driven by continued adverse economic
conditions. Sales for refrigeration & freezer ("R&F") applications also recorded
a significant decline, with sales reduced by $16.4 million, or 19.4%,
year-on-year. Volumes for R&F product were also substantially affected by the
global economic contraction, driven by constrained consumer demand and a decline
in housing starts. The downturn in market volumes for R&F applications was the
end result of a twofold effect of these economic conditions; a decreased demand
by consumers, combined with lower demand from our R&F customers as they brought
their own inventories in line with lower volumes. Cooler-than-normal weather in
certain key geographies also adversely affected R&F sales in the third quarter
of 2009. Sales of compressors for air conditioning and other applications also
declined, by $7.3 million, or 19.3%.
Cost of sales was $189.4 million in the three months ended September 30, 2009
compared to $238.7 million in the three months ended September 30, 2008. As a
percentage of net sales, cost of sales improved in 2009, to 91.1% versus 93.2%
in the third quarter of 2008. Gross profit in the third quarter of 2009 (defined
as net sales less cost of sales) improved slightly when compared to the prior
year, moving from $17.5 million, or 6.8%, in the third quarter of 2008 to
$18.6 million, or 8.9%, in the third quarter of 2009, despite substantially
lower volumes. Gross profit in the third quarter of 2008 was adversely affected
by the declining sales volumes at the outset of the global financial crisis,
which resulted in Iower absorption of fixed costs. Over the course of 2009, we
have worked to reduce our fixed cost structure to more closely match our current
levels of sales, as well as reducing our variable cost structure by
repositioning production capabilities to lower-cost locations.
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Gross profit continued to be unfavorably impacted in the third quarter of 2009
by volume declines, which had an unfavorable impact of $8.7 million when
compared to the same quarter of 2008. Product mix effects also affected gross
profit unfavorably, by $10.7 million. Offsetting the volume declines and
pricing/mix effects were favorable currency impacts of $9.9 million, favorable
commodity costs of $8.5 million, productivity improvements of $5.1 million and
improvements in purchasing expenses of $1.1 million as compared to the same
period in 2008. Lower pension and OPEB credits, however, reduced 2009 gross
profit by $1.4 million when compared to the third quarter of 2008, and all other
income and expense items included in cost of sales reduced 2009 results by an
additional $2.7 million.
Selling and administrative ("S&A") expenses were $29.4 million and $33.7 million
in the three months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008 respectively. As a
percentage of net sales, S&A expenses were 14.1% in the third quarter of 2009
compared to 13.2% in the third quarter of 2008. We recorded expenditures of
approximately $4.5 million in the third quarter of 2009 for professional fees
outside the ordinary course of business, primarily comprised of legal fees for
corporate governance issues. This expenditure constituted a reduction of
$0.6 million in professional fees incurred for one-time projects when compared
to the $5.1 million incurred during the same period in 2008. All other S&A
expenses decreased in the aggregate by $3.7 million.
We recorded expense of $3.6 million and $16.2 million in impairments,
restructuring charges, and other items in the three months ended September 30,
2009 and 2008 respectively. For further discussion of the expenses recorded,
refer to Note 12, "Impairments, Restructuring Charges, and Other Items," of the
Notes to the consolidated condensed financial statements, as well as "Adequacy
of Liquidity."
Interest expense amounted to $3.0 million in the three months ended
September 30, 2009 compared to $7.0 million in the same period of 2008. The
substantial decrease in the current quarter was primarily attributable to
reduced borrowings, particularly in Brazil, including both debt balances and
accounts receivable factoring, as well as to slightly lower interest rates.
Interest income and other, net was $0.5 million in the third quarter of 2009
compared to $2.7 million in the third quarter of 2008, primarily reflecting the
lower levels of cash and short-term investments held in 2009.
Our results of operations reflect a $0.7 million income tax benefit from
continuing operations for the third quarter of 2009 and a $0.2 million income
tax benefit from continuing operations for the third quarter of 2008. For
further discussion of the factors that affect our tax benefits and expenses,
refer to Note 13, "Income Taxes," of the Notes to the consolidated condensed
financial statements.
As a result of the factors described above, net loss from continuing operations
for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 was $16.2 million ($0.87 per share,
basic and diluted) as compared to net loss of $36.5 million ($1.98 per share,
basic and diluted) in the same period of 2008.
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Nine Months Ended September 30,
(dollars in millions) 2009 % 2008 %
Net sales $ 517.3 100.0 % $ 805.2 100.0 %
Cost of sales 484.3 93.6 % 708.6 88.0 %
Selling and administrative expenses 94.7 18.3 % 99.6 12.4 %
Impairments, restructuring charges, and
other items 10.6 2.1 % 20.0 2.5 %
Operating loss (72.3 ) (14.0 %) (23.0 ) (2.9 %)
Interest expense (7.9 ) (1.5 %) (20.5 ) (2.5 %)
Interest income and other, net 1.8 0.3 % 7.8 1.0 %
Loss from continuing operations before
taxes (78.4 ) (15.2 %) (35.7 ) (4.4 %)
Tax (benefit) expense (14.4 ) 2.8 % 0.6 (0.1 %)
Loss from continuing operations $ (64.0 ) (12.4 %) $ (36.3 ) (4.5 %)
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2009 vs. Nine Months Ended September 30, 2008
Consolidated net sales from continuing operations in the first three quarters of
2009 decreased to $517.3 million from $805.2 million in 2008. After
consideration for the effect of currency translation, which decreased sales in
U.S. dollars by $69.8 million, sales declined by $218.1 million, or 27.1%. Sales
of compressors used in commercial applications decreased by $129.7 million, or
31.3%. For the commercial and aftermarket business, volume declines were driven
by softer economic conditions as well as lower shipments to customers as they
too reduced inventory balances to better reflect current sales levels. Dollar
volume declines in sales of compressors used in R&F applications were
$101.3 million or 39.4%. Volumes for R&F product were also substantially
affected by the global economic contraction, as consumer credit became more
constrained than in the first three quarters of 2008 and the rate of housing
starts declined. The downturn in market volumes for R&F applications was the end
result of the effect of these economic conditions; a decreased demand by
consumers, combined with lower demand from our R&F customers as they brought
their own inventories in line with lower volumes. These factors were further
compounded by unusually cool weather in many of the geographic locations served.
Sales of compressors for air conditioning applications and all other
applications also declined by $56.9 million, or 42.5%.
Cost of sales was $484.3 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2009, as
compared to $708.6 million in the same period of 2008. Expressed as a percentage
of net sales, cost of sales was 93.6% and 88.0% in the first nine months of 2009
and 2008, respectively. Gross profit (defined as net sales less cost of sales)
declined by $63.6 million, from $96.6 million, or 12.0%, through the third
quarter of 2008 to $33.0 million, or 6.4%, in the comparable period of 2009. The
current year decline is mostly attributable to the materially lower levels of
sales volume in 2009, which resulted in Iower absorption of fixed costs,
although reductions in our fixed cost structure during 2009 helped to mitigate
this effect.
Volume declines accounted for the majority of the decrease in gross profit,
reducing 2009 results by $67.6 million as compared to the first three quarters
of 2008. Current year margin was also unfavorably impacted by changes in sales
mix of $12.5 million. Other material variances were also unfavorable by
$3.4 million. In addition, certain items that were favorable to 2008 results did
not recur in 2009. These amounts included a gain on the sale of an airplane and
our former airport facility of $4.2
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FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
million and favorable litigation settlement costs of $2.2 million. Lower pension
and OPEB credits of $4.4 million were also recorded in the current year. In
contrast, productivity improvements of $20.1 million, favorable currency effects
of $17.3 million and lower commodity costs of $3.6 million improved 2009 results
when compared to the same period of 2008. Reduced export incentives for our
Indian operations adversely affected current year margins by $1.3 million; the
effect of all other income and expense items included in cost of sales was
unfavorable to 2009 results by $9.0 million.
S&A expenses were $94.7 million in the first three quarters of 2009 as compared
to $99.6 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2008. As a percentage of
net sales, S&A expenses were 18.3% and 12.4% in 2009 and 2008, respectively. We
incurred approximately $9.0 million in the first three quarters of 2009 for
professional fees outside the ordinary course of business, which included legal
fees for corporate governance issues, representing a decrease of $2.1 million
when compared to the $11.1 million incurred in 2008. In contrast, a favorable
change in estimate of $1.9 million that was recorded in the second quarter of
2008 was not repeated in 2009. The effect of foreign currency translation had a
favorable effect in 2009 of $7.2 million; all other S&A expenses increased in
the aggregate by $2.5 million.
We recorded $10.6 million and $20.0 million in impairments, restructuring
charges, and other items in the nine months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008
respectively. For further discussion of the expenses recorded, refer to Note 12,
"Impairments, Restructuring Charges, and Other Items," of the Notes to the
consolidated condensed financial statements.
Interest expense amounted to $7.9 million through September 30, 2009 compared to
$20.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2008. A portion of the 2008
expense was attributable to the amortization of $1.4 million in capitalized debt
amendment costs associated with our former First Lien credit agreement, which
were expensed in the first quarter of 2008 upon its termination. Aside from
these factors, the lower levels of discounted accounts receivable and overall
debt levels over the course of 2009 have contributed to the reduction in
interest costs.
Interest income and other, net was $1.8 million in the first nine months of 2009
compared to $7.8 million in the same period of 2008. The decrease was due to the
lower levels of cash and short-term investments held in 2009 as compared to
2008, particularly compared to the levels of cash held in the second and third
quarters of the prior year.
We recorded a $14.4 million income tax benefit from continuing operations for
the nine months ended September 30, 2009, compared to a $0.6 million income tax
expense from continuing operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2008.
For further discussion of the factors that affect our tax benefits and expenses,
. . .