Apr 25, 2003
Net sales in the first quarter were $51.9 million, compared to the $54.6 million sold in the first quarter of 2002, reflecting the divestiture of the Company�s Moldable Composites Division (�MCD�) that occurred in November of 2002. MCD sales were $8.3 million for the first quarter of 2002. Revenues across most of the Company�s product lines improved with strong sales into key market niches.
The Company considers its four 50%-owned unconsolidated joint ventures as an integral part of its business. These joint ventures had total revenues in the first quarter of 2003 of $34.0 million. Adding 50% of these joint venture sales to the Company�s net sales, Rogers� Combined Sales were $68.9 million compared to $68.7 million in last year�s first quarter. (See reconciliation for Combined Sales to net sales below.)
Sales of Printed Circuit Materials for the quarter totaled $24.2 million, up 24% from the $19.5 million reported in the first quarter of 2002. Printed Circuit Material sales were also up 12% compared to the fourth quarter of 2002. Revenue increases were driven by strong sales of high frequency laminates into the satellite television and cellular base station infrastructure markets as well as sales of flexible laminates for disk drive applications and increased penetration into cellular telephone handsets. The improved sales into the cellular base station market reflected higher than expected sales to two of the Company�s most important customers.
First quarter sales of High Performance Foams were $17.3 million, up 10% from quarter one last year. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2002, High Performance Foam revenues increased 11% this quarter, propelled by healthy sales of urethane foams into industrial applications, new polyolefin foam adoptions and progress on R/bak� thin tapes.
Sales of Other Polymer Materials and Components totaled $10.4 million, down significantly from the $19.4 million in last year�s first quarter and the $14.3 million sold during the fourth quarter of 2002. Lower sales for this segment are primarily the result of the Company�s divestiture of MCD.
The revenues of Rogers� joint ventures increased by over 20% compared to last year�s first quarter. Sales at Durel Corporation, the largest of Rogers� joint ventures, were 17% higher for the first quarter of 2003 compared to the first quarter of 2002 as a result of strength in automotive and cell telephone programs. Due to seasonality, sales in the first quarter were 17% lower than the fourth quarter of 2002.
Capital expenditures were $3.7 million during this year�s first quarter. The Company is planning on total capital expenditures for 2003 of approximately $25 million, mainly reflecting the move of the polyolefin business to Carol Stream, Illinois and the expansion of manufacturing operations in China.
Rogers continues to strengthen its already solid balance sheet. The Company is generating positive cash from operations, lowering days of sales outstanding for accounts receivable and keeping inventories under control. Although the Company made a $3.1 million voluntary early contribution to its pension plans during the first quarter, its cash position, including short-term investments, increased $1.3 million to $30.2 million and it continues to be essentially debt free.
Manufacturing margins increased in the first quarter of 2003 to 32% compared to 30% in the first quarter of 2002. Increasing margins are the result of improved efficiencies from the Company�s Six Sigma efforts, cost reductions, and greater operating leverage from higher margin products.
Walter E. Boomer, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, commented, �We are pleased with our results despite the difficult economic environment affecting many of the markets we serve. Looking forward, we anticipate that for the second quarter we can achieve earnings in the range of $0.32 to $0.36 per diluted share, an increase of between 14% and 29% over the second quarter last year, on sales of between $49 and $52 million. In our outlook for the second quarter we see a mixture of negatives and positives. The economy does not appear to be improving and the second quarter of the year is typically a slow time for some of our primary markets. Having said that, we continue to make improvements in our operations, control our expenses, introduce products into new applications, gain market share in several areas, and forge ahead with our plans for the future.�
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this news release that are not strictly historical may be deemed to be �forward-looking� statements which should be considered as subject to the many uncertainties that exist in the Company�s operations and environment. These uncertainties, which include economic conditions, market demand and pricing, competitive and cost factors, and the like, are incorporated by reference in the Rogers Corporation 2002 Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
Additional Information and April 18th Conference Call
For more information, please contact the Company directly, visit Rogers website on the Internet, or send a message by e-mail.
Website Address: http://www.rogerscorporation.com
Financial E-mail Address: finfo@rogers-corp.com
Financial News Contact:
James M. Rutledge
Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Phone: 860-774-9605
FAX: 860-779-5585
Editorial Contact:
Debra J. Granger
Phone: 860-774-9605
Fax: 860-779-5509
email: debra.granger@rogers-corp.com
A conference call to discuss first quarter results will be held on Friday, April 18 at 9:00AM (Eastern Time).
Rogers participants in the conference call will be:
Walter E. Boomer, Chairman of the Board and CEO
Robert D. Wachob, President and COO
James M. Rutledge, Vice President Finance and CFO
Robert M. Soffer, Vice President and Secretary
A Q&A session will immediately follow management�s comments.
To participate in the conference call, please call: 1-800-574-8929 toll-free in the United States and 1-706-634-1907 internationally. There is no passcode for the live teleconference. For playback access, please call: 1-800-642-1687 in the United States and 1-706-645-9291 internationally through 11:59PM, Friday, April 25th. The passcode for the audio replay is 9613137.
The call will also be webcast live in a listen only mode. The webcast may be accessed through links available on the Rogers Corporation website at http://www.rogerscorporation.com. Replay of the archived webcast will be available on the Rogers website beginning two hours following the webcast.
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