Navistar International Corporation has announced a first quarter 2016 net loss of $33 million, or $0.40 per diluted share, an improvement of 21% and 23%, respectively, compared to a first quarter 2015 net loss of $42 million, or $0.52 per diluted share.
Revenues in the quarter were $1.8 billion, a decline of 27% compared to $2.4 billion in the first quarter last year. The decline reflects lower volumes in its Core U.S. and Canadian markets, due to softer industry conditions; lower volumes in Mexico and export markets, reflecting a stronger U.S. dollar; and, lower engine volumes in Brazil, due to ongoing weak economic conditions in that country. Additionally, one-quarter of the year-over-year decline was due to the discontinuation of the company's Blue Diamond Truck joint venture in mid-2015.
First quarter 2016 EBITDA was $82 million, compared to first quarter 2015 EBITDA of $101 million. This year's results included a $5 million charge for pre-existing warranties and a net$10 million benefit related to a one-time fee received, partly offset by asset impairment and restructuring costs. As a result, first quarter adjusted EBITDA was $77 million, up 43%, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $54 million in the comparable period last year.
"Despite a lower revenue base, we continued to unlock value by significantly improving adjusted EBITDA through managing and optimizing our costs," says Troy A. Clarke, Navistar President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are encouraged by our Q1 performance and remain on track to achieve our goals of returning to profitability and generating manufacturing free cash flow in 2016."
"This was a solid quarter in which we made real progress toward our 2016 targets," says Walter G. Borst, Navistar Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "We operated within our indicated cash range in what is seasonally our weakest revenue and most cash-intensive quarter, ending the first quarter 2016 with $673 million in manufacturing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. We also continued to manage costs out of our business, putting us on track to achieve our annual $200 million cost reduction target."
Significant first quarter items include:
- Achieved $57 million in structural cost reductions.
- Delivered record Q1 Parts segment profit of $150 million.
- Used truck inventory increased $50 million to $440 million.
- Warranty expense, excluding pre-existing adjustments, declined to 2.6% of manufacturing revenue, approaching best-in-class quality levels.
"We expect the industry's oversupply of used trucks will continue in the near term," Borst says. "While our inventory is higher than we planned, I am confident in our abilities to address this issue and bring these inventories down over time."
On February 1, the company unveiled its new HX Series of premium severe service trucks, returning Navistar to a segment from which it had been largely absent since 2010. One week after the launch, the company had received more than 300 orders for the HX, and customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
"Navistar is bringing to market trucks that customers want to buy and solutions that deliver uptime, support our Parts business, and position our dealer network for success," Clarke says. Over the next few years, the company expects to announce a new product on average every six months, completely refreshing the product line by the end of 2018.
GUIDANCE
Industry
- Continue forecast of fiscal year 2016 retail deliveries of Class 6-8 trucks and buses in the United States and Canada of 350,000-380,000 units.
- Class 8 (heavy) market to be down for the fiscal year, at 240,000-270,000 units versus 279,000 for 2015.
- Project the medium, school bus and severe service segments to grow in 2016.
Navistar
- Revised 2016 revenue guidance to $9.0-$9.25 billion.
- Tightened 2016 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $600-$650 million.
- Maintained total cost reduction guidance of $200 million.
- Updated its end-of-year manufacturing cash guidance to be $900 million to $1 billion.
- Reiterated its goal is to achieve profitability and be manufacturing free cash flow positive in 2016.
SEGMENT REVIEW
Truck Segment – Truck segment first quarter 2016 net sales decreased $573 million, or 34%, due to lower core truck volumes as a result of softer industry conditions; a decline of $158 million in Ford sales through the BDT joint venture, as production for the JV ceased in mid-2015; and, a decline in export truck markets. Truck chargeouts in the company's Core market were down 19% year over year.
The Truck segment loss increased by $33 million in first quarter 2016 versus first quarter 2015. Lower structural and product costs and lower accelerated depreciation charges in first quarter 2016 were more than offset by the impact of lower volumes and an increase in used truck reserves this year, and a benefit for adjustments to pre-existing warranties in the first quarter of 2015 of $55 million.
Parts Segment – Parts segment first quarter net sales decreased $56 million, or 9%, primarily due to lower volumes in North America markets compared to strong North America markets in the previous year; a decline in Blue Diamond Parts due to a decrease of units in operation; and, decreased export parts sales due to economic conditions in export markets.
The Parts segment profit increased by $5 million, or 3%, primarily due to the impact of cost-reduction initiatives, partially offset by the decline in volumes.
Global Operations Segment – Global Operations segment first quarter net sales decreased $60 million, or 39%, primarily driven by a decrease in South America engine operations, reflecting lower volumes and unfavorable movements in foreign currency exchange rates, as the average conversion rate of the Brazilian Real to the U.S. dollar weakened by 33% for the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period last year. The continued economic downturn in the Brazil economy contributed to 18% lower engine volumes in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the comparable prior year period.
The Global Operations segment results improved $2 million, to a loss of $13 million, compared with the comparable prior year period, primarily due to lower manufacturing and structural costs as a result of prior year restructuring and cost-reduction efforts.
Financial Services Segment – Financial Services segment first quarter net revenues decreased by $1 million, or 2%, primarily driven by a decrease in the average retail notes receivable balances, partially offset by higher revenues from operating leases.
The Financial Services segment profit increased by $2 million, or 8%, primarily due to an increase in gains on lease terminations, a decrease in the provision for loan losses, and cost reduction initiatives, partially offset by a decrease in revenue and lower interest income from inter-company loans.
