Spectrum Maintains in Q1 2017

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. reported solid profit growth for the first quarter that ended Jan. 1, 2017. Net sales stayed almost flat at $1.21 billion. Operating expenses of $299.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 were essentially unchanged compared to $298.2 million in the prior year.


“We delivered solid first quarter adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings per share growth with strong margin expansion despite a continuation of foreign currency headwinds,” said Andreas Rouvé, chief executive officer of Spectrum Brands Holdings. “These results maintain the momentum from our record fiscal 2016 and provide a good start to achieving an 8th consecutive year of record financial performance in fiscal 2017.


“As expected, our sales performance was challenged by a difficult comparison to our large quarterly organic revenue increase last year in the first quarter of 6.3%,” he said. “Our flat 2017 first quarter reported sales and organic growth of 1% were impacted by planned exits of unprofitable businesses of approximately $8 million and two fewer shipping days of approximately $20-$25 million which combined had an approximately 2.5% adverse effect on our top line.


“We are seeing the operating leverage benefits of our global infrastructure and shared services platform, as well as our continuous improvement of processes and strong cost reduction results in our plants and supply chains,” Rouvé said. “The positive impact of the exit of unprofitable businesses and the launch of innovative products is helping to improve profitability, margins and free cash flow.


“We continue to expect top-line growth above category rates, strong bottom-line growth and a free cash flow increase of up to 10% in fiscal 2017, driven by the continuous launch of innovation and further leveraging of our global platform to expand distribution of our products,” Rouvé said.