- Revenue for Fiscal Second Quarter of 2015 was $451 Million
- Adjusted Earnings for Fiscal Second Quarter of 2015 was $0.04 Per Diluted Share
- Company Updates Annual Fiscal 2015 Guidance

Titan Machinery Inc., a network of full-service agricultural and construction equipment stores, today reported financial results for the fiscal second quarter and first six months ended July 31, 2014.

Fiscal 2015 Second Quarter Results

For the second quarter of fiscal 2015, revenue was $451.0 million, compared to $488.2 million in the second quarter last year. Equipment sales were $320.1 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to $358.4 million in the second quarter last year. Parts sales were $70.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to $70.6 million in the second quarter last year. Revenue generated from service was $38.4 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to $39.9 million in the second quarter last year. Revenue from rental and other increased to $21.9 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 from $19.3 million in the second quarter last year.

Gross profit for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 was $79.7 million, compared to $83.5 million in the second quarter last year. The Company’s gross profit margin was 17.7% in the second quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to 17.1% in the second quarter last year. Gross profit from parts and service for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 was 57.4% of overall gross profit, compared to 57.6% in the second quarter last year.

Operating expenses were 15.1% of revenue or $67.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to 14.4% of revenue or $70.1 million for the second quarter of last year. The increase in operating expenses as a percentage of revenue was primarily due to the deleveraging of our fixed expenses as total revenue decreased from the prior year. In the second quarter of 2015, the Company recognized a $1.3 million charge from the balance sheet impact of the Ukrainian Hryvnia devaluation and store closing costs of $0.2 million.

Floorplan interest expense increased to $5.3 million for the second quarter of 2015, compared to $3.7 million for the same period last year primarily due to increased levels of interest-bearing equipment inventory.

Pre-tax income for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 was $1.8 million. Excluding the aforementioned Ukraine currency devaluation and store closing charges, adjusted pre-tax income for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 was $3.3 million. This compares to pre-tax income of $6.6 million in the second quarter last year. Pre-tax Agriculture segment income was $5.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to pre-tax income of $9.8 million in the second quarter last year. Pre-tax Construction segment income was $0.1 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to a pre-tax loss of $1.7 million in the second quarter last year. In the second quarter of fiscal 2015, adjusted pre-tax International segment loss was $3.7 million, compared to a pre-tax income of $0.1 million in the second quarter last year.

Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 was $0.6 million, or a loss per diluted share of $0.03. Excluding the foreign currency losses of $1.3 million and store closing costs of $0.2 million, adjusted net income attributable to common stockholders for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 was $0.8 million, or $0.04 per diluted share. This compares to net income attributable to common stockholders of $3.8 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the second quarter last year.

Fiscal 2015 First Six Months Results

For the six months ended July 31, 2014, revenue was $916.5 million, compared to $929.9 million in the same period last year. Gross profit margin for the first six months of fiscal 2015 was 17.0%, compared to 16.9% in the same period last year. Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the first six months of fiscal 2015 was $7.0 million, or loss per diluted share of $0.34. In the first six months of fiscal 2015, the Company recognized charges of $7.8 million, including $4.4 million from the balance sheet impact of the Ukrainian Hryvnia devaluation and store closing costs of $3.4 million, the majority of which was recognized in the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Excluding these charges, adjusted net loss for the first six months of fiscal 2015 was $0.7 million, or a loss per diluted share of $0.03. This compares to net income of $3.4 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, in the same period last year.

Balance Sheet

The Company ended the second quarter of fiscal 2015 with cash of $89.7 million. The Company’s inventory level was $1.14 billion as of July 31, 2014, which is in line with the Company’s annual inventory plan. This compares to inventory of $1.08 billion as of January 31, 2014 and $1.12 billion as of April 30, 2014. The Company had $850.3 million outstanding floorplan payables on $1.2 billion total discretionary floorplan lines of credit as of July 31, 2014.

In the first six months of fiscal 2015, the Company’s net cash used for operating activities was $79.4 million on a GAAP basis. The Company evaluates its cash flow from operating activities net of all floorplan payable activity. Taking this adjustment into account, the Company generated adjusted net cash provided by operating activities of $21.4 million.

Acquisition

Subsequent to the end of the second quarter, on August 29, 2014, the Company acquired certain assets of Midland Equipment, Inc., consisting of one agriculture equipment store in Wayne, Nebraska, which expands the Company’s agriculture presence in the state. In its most recently reported fiscal year, Midland Equipment, Inc. generated revenue of approximately $4.5 million.

Management Comments

David Meyer, Titan Machinery’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “In the second quarter, we remained focused on executing on our key initiatives. Following the realignment and consolidation of our Construction segment earlier this year, we are pleased to report top line growth and pre-tax income profitability in this segment of our business in the second quarter. We believe that we have taken the necessary steps to position our Construction business for long-term growth. In addition, we remain encouraged by steady improvements in the overall construction industry, particularly in our key markets.”

Mr. Meyer continued, “The Agriculture industry continues to face a number of headwinds, including lower projected net farm income, and lower corn and soybean prices. This has impacted farmers’ sentiment and resulted in lower farmer spending for equipment as well as more cautious spending on parts and services. While this impacted our financial results in the quarter, we remain confident in our business model as well as the long-term agriculture industry outlook as farmers continue to carry strong balance sheets and the underlying demand for commodities rebuilds. Our International business continued to face challenges, including the impact of regional flooding in Serbia and Bulgaria as well as the geopolitical turmoil in Ukraine. This resulted in lower than anticipated revenue and a larger pre-tax loss for our International segment for the quarter.

“As we begin the second half of fiscal 2015, we will continue to focus on managing the controllable aspects of our business, including inventory reductions which will enable us to further improve our operating cash flow in coming quarters. Based on our year-to-date results, and outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2015, we believe our construction segment will continue to improve but we expect this improvement to be offset by continued headwinds in the Agriculture and International segments of our business.”

Revised Fiscal 2015 Outlook

The Company evaluates its financial performance based on its customers’ annual production cycles as opposed to a quarterly basis, due to weather fluctuations and the seasonal nature of each customer’s business. For the fiscal year ending January 31, 2015, the Company is revising its annual outlook. The Company expects revenue to be in the range of $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion, compared to its previous range of $1.95 billion to $2.15 billion. The Company expects adjusted net income attributable to common stockholders to be in the range of $6.4 million to $12.7 million, compared to its previous range of $14.8 million to $21.1 million. The Company also expects adjusted earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $0.30 to $0.60, compared to its previous range of $0.70 to $1.00, based on estimated weighted average diluted common shares outstanding of 21.1 million.

The Company expects GAAP net income attributable to common stockholders to be in the range of breakeven to $6.3 million, compared to the previous range of $12.5 million to $18.8 million, and GAAP earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $0.00 to $0.30, compared to the previous range of $0.59 to $0.89 based on estimated weighted average diluted common shares outstanding of 21.1 million. GAAP net income and earnings per diluted share guidance includes the impact of the $3.4 million pre-tax charge, or $0.10 per diluted share, associated with the Company’s realignment as well as $4.4 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, due to the balance sheet impact of the Ukrainian Hryvnia devaluation, which were realized in the first six months of fiscal 2015.

The Company expects to generate annual Non-GAAP cash flow from operations in the range of $50.0 million to $70.0 million for fiscal 2015, compared to the previous range of $60.0 to $80.0 million. This reflects an improvement of $100.8 million to $120.8 million compared to Non-GAAP cash flow from operations of $(50.8) million in fiscal 2014. The primary driver of the improved cash flow is the Company’s anticipated reduction in equipment inventory level of approximately $250 million in fiscal 2015.

Conference Call and Presentation Information

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast today at 7:30 a.m. Central time (8:30 a.m. Eastern time). A copy of the presentation that will accompany the prepared remarks from the conference call is available on the Company’s website under Investor Relations at www.titanmachinery.com. An archive of the audio webcast will be available on the Company’s website under Investor Relations at www.titanmachinery.com for 30 days following the audio webcast.

Investors interested in participating in the live call can dial (888) 455-2296 from the U.S. International callers can dial (719) 325-2362. A telephone replay will be available approximately two hours after the call concludes and will be available through Tuesday, September 23, 2014, by dialing (877) 870-5176 from the U.S., or (858) 384-5517 from international locations, and entering confirmation code 9318881.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Within this announcement, the Company makes reference to certain adjusted financial measures, which have directly comparable GAAP financial measures as identified in this release. These adjusted measures are provided so that investors have the same financial data that management uses with the belief that it will assist the investment community in properly assessing the underlying performance of the Company for the periods being reported. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliations of adjusted financial measures used in this press release to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures as provided with the financial statements attached to this press release.