Accuride Reports Increase in Profitability in Second Quarter 2015

EVANSVILLE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Accuride Corporation (NYSE:ACW) – a leading supplier of components to the North American commercial vehicle industry – today reported strong financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015, reporting increased year-over-year profitability.

Second Quarter 2015 Results

Second quarter 2015 net sales were $185.4 million, compared with $181.6 million in the same period in 2014, an increase of 2.1 percent, primarily reflecting the impact of stronger industry conditions in the Company’s Wheels segment during the quarter. Accuride’s operating income was $14.2 million for the quarter, compared to operating income of $12.3 million in the second quarter of 2014. The Company reported income from continuing operations of $6.1 million, or $0.13 per share, during the quarter, compared to income from continuing operations of $5.1 million, or $0.11 per share, in 2014. Second quarter Adjusted EBITDA increased by 11.5 percent year-over-year to $25.9 million, or 14.0 percent of net sales, compared to $23.2 million, or 12.8 percent of net sales, in the same quarter of 2014. As of June 30, 2015, Accuride had $30.8 million of cash plus $59.4 million in availability under its ABL Credit Facility, for total liquidity of $90.2 million.

Industry Conditions

North American commercial vehicle industry conditions remained robust in the second quarter, with truck and trailer production continuing to increase at a healthy pace. Class 8, Class 5-7 and Trailer production grew by 20.3 percent, 0.5 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively, over 2014. Class 8 and Trailer net orders continued to moderate in the quarter, but full-year production is expected to remain strong. The Class 8 backlog remains high at 42 percent above year-ago levels, while the Trailer backlog is 33 percent above last year. As a result, few Class 8 OEM production slots remain open for the remainder of the year, and many Trailer makers are completely sold out for 2015. Demand in the medium duty segment is steady, with backlogs standing 11 percent above year-ago levels. Fleets are generally optimistic about current industry conditions, despite some driver-shortage constraints. U.S. freight tonnage is forecasted to steadily increase over the next several years, which will continue to drive future demand for trucks and trailers.

Second Quarter Business Segment Results

Accuride Wheels

Accuride Wheels segment net sales were $114.4 million, up $13.2 million, or 13.1 percent, from the same period in 2014, primarily due to stronger OEM demand and market share gains in the aftermarket. Wheels’ Adjusted EBITDA was $26.1 million, an increase of $5.2 million, or 24.6 percent, from the second quarter of 2014. Accuride flexed up its expanded aluminum wheel production capacity to accommodate the increase in volume.

Gunite

Gunite segment net sales of $47.0 million were down $1.3 million, or 2.7 percent, from the second quarter of 2014, due primarily to lower pricing related to reduced raw material costs that are passed through to our customers. Gunite’s Adjusted EBITDA increased by $0.4 million to $8.7 million from $8.3 million in the second quarter of 2014. As previously announced, Gunite secured and began serving a multi-year contract as primary aftermarket brake drum supplier to Daimler Trucks North America. The Company continues to see increased interest in Gunite’s products, as recent independent tests validated that Gunite’s 3600A®X brake drum delivers 15 percent longer life than the nearest North American competitor and twice the drum life of offshore competitors.

Brillion Iron Works

Brillion Iron Works’ second quarter net sales were $24.0 million, down $8.1 million, or 25.2 percent, from the second quarter of 2014 on lower customer volumes. Brillion’s Adjusted EBITDA was a negative $0.3 million, a decrease of $1.9 million, from the second quarter of 2014. The Company currently expects Brillion’s 2015 net sales will be 15 percent to 20 percent lower year-over-year, as compared to its previous guidance of flat top-line growth. This primarily reflects the impact of global commodity prices on demand in Brillion's oil and gas, agricultural and mining end markets.

Liquidity and Debt

As of June 30, 2015, total debt was $316.8 million, consisting of $306.8 million of our outstanding 9.5% senior secured notes, net of discount, and a $10.0 million draw on our ABL Credit Facility. As of June 30, 2015, Accuride had $30.8 million of cash plus $59.4 million in availability under its ABL Credit Facility, for total liquidity of $90.2 million.

Business and Market Outlook

"Accuride achieved record profitability in the quarter as the result of Aftermarket share gains for aluminum wheels, and world-class operating performance and cost containment by Wheels and Gunite," Accuride President and CEO Rick Dauch said. "Looking ahead to the second half of 2015, we are confident in our outlook for continued strong performance from our Wheels and Gunite businesses. Conditions in the North American commercial vehicle industry remain robust, with healthy order backlogs and OEM tractor and trailer build schedules pointing to a near-record year for the industry. In addition, we are experiencing strong demand for aluminum wheels and Gunite drums in the aftermarket. Customers are actively interested in the quality and test-proven superior durability of our Made-in-the-USA Gunite brake drums. Both trends enable us to maintain our full-year earnings guidance, despite weaker end-market demand at Brillion. In our drive to boost profitability, Accuride continues to actively explore potential opportunities to expand our business globally, and opportunistically refinance our debt."

2015 Financial Guidance

Accuride management expects the Company’s 2015 net sales to be in the range of $700 million to $750 million, and Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $85 million to $95 million. The midpoints of the Company’s revenue and Adjusted EBITDA ranges represent increases of 3 percent and 15 percent, respectively, over Accuride’s 2014 results. The Company has based its 2015 guidance on the following projections for the North American commercial vehicle industry: Class 8 production in the range of 310,000 to 330,000 units, Class 5-7 production in the range of 220,000 to 225,000 units and Trailer segment production in the range of 280,000 to 300,000 units. In addition, management expects net sales for the Brillion business unit to be down by 15 percent to 20 percent versus 2014 due to continued softness in its oil and gas, agricultural and mining end markets.

Earnings Conference Call Information

Accuride will host a conference call to discuss the financial and operational results of its Second Quarter 2015 on Monday, July 27, 2015, beginning at 9:00 a.m. CDT. Analysts and investors may participate on the conference call by dialing (855) 542-4217 in the United States, or (412) 455-6081 internationally, and using participant code 85101918. A live webcast of the call can be accessed at the Accuride website Investors section: www.AccurideCorp.com/investors. A replay will be available from July 27, 2015, at Noon CDT until 10:59 p.m. CDT, August 3, 2015, by calling (855) 859-2056 in the United States, or (404) 537-3406 internationally, using access code 85101918.

About Accuride Corporation

With headquarters in Evansville, Ind., USA, Accuride Corporation is a leading supplier of components to the North American commercial vehicle industry. The company’s products include commercial vehicle wheels; wheel-end components and assemblies; and specialty cast-iron components for a range of agricultural, construction and mining, and oil and gas equipment applications. The company’s products are marketed under its brand names, which include Accuride®, Accuride Wheel End Solutions^TM, Gunite®, and Brillion^TM. Accuride’s common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ACW. For more information, visit the Company’s website at http://www.accuridecorp.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding Accuride’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, and intentions with respect to future results. Such statements are subject to the impact on Accuride’s business and prospects generally of, among other factors, market demand in the commercial vehicle industry, general economic, business and financing conditions, labor relations, governmental action, competitor pricing activity, expense volatility and other risks detailed from time to time in Accuride’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including those described in Item 1A of Accuride’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. Any forward-looking statement reflects only Accuride’s belief at the time the statement is made. Although Accuride believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee its future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by law, Accuride undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or developments after the date of this news release.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as our net income or loss before income tax expense or benefit, interest expense, net, depreciation and amortization, restructuring, severance, and other charges, impairment, and currency losses, net. Adjusted EBITDA has been included because we believe that it is useful for us and our investors to measure our ability to provide cash flows to meet debt service. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to net income (loss) or other traditional indicators of operating performance and cash flows determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). We present the table of Adjusted EBITDA because covenants in the agreements governing our material indebtedness contain ratios based on this measure on a quarterly basis. While Adjusted EBITDA is used as a measure of liquidity and the ability to meet debt service requirements, it is not necessarily comparable to other similarly titled captions of other companies due to differences in methods of calculations.