Aptiv Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Financial Results

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DUBLIN - Aptiv PLC (NYSE: APTV), a global technology company enabling the future of mobility, today reported fourth quarter 2018 U.S. GAAP earnings from continuing operations of $0.94 per diluted share. Excluding special items, fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations totaled $1.34 per diluted share.

Fourth Quarter Highlights Include:

• Revenue of $3.6 billion, up 8% adjusted for currency exchange, commodity movements and divestitures
•  U.S. GAAP net income from continuing operations of $247 million, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.94
  • Excluding special items, earnings from continuing operations of $1.34 per diluted share
• U.S. GAAP operating income margin of 9.8%
  • Adjusted Operating Income margin of 11.8%; Adjusted Operating Income of $430 million
• Generated $750 million of cash from continuing operations
• Returned $335 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends

Full Year 2018 Highlights Include:

• Revenue of $14.4 billion, up 10% adjusted for currency exchange, commodity movements and divestitures
• U.S. GAAP net income from continuing operations of $1,067 million, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $4.02
  • Excluding special items, earnings from continuing operations of $5.26 per diluted share, up 13%
• U.S. GAAP operating income margin of 10.2%
  • Adjusted Operating Income margin of 12.1%; Adjusted Operating Income of $1,751 million, up 10%
• Generated $1,640 million of cash from continuing operations
• Returned $732 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends

“In 2018, Aptiv continued to build on its track record of industry leadership, innovation and execution, delivering double-digit earnings growth and record new business awards totaling $22 billion, focused on delivering the software capabilities, advanced computing platforms and networking architecture that are making the future of mobility real,” said Kevin Clark, president and chief executive officer. “We increased the long-term competitiveness of our business model by continuing to reduce overhead costs and reinvest those savings in the development of advanced technologies. We also continued our track record of value-enhancing and balanced capital deployment, investing $1.2 billion in the accretive bolt-on acquisitions of KUM and Winchester, and returned over $700 million of cash to shareholders. Looking ahead, I’ve never been more confident and excited about our future, and our outlook for 2019 reflects our commitment to delivering sustainable value for shareholders.”

Fourth Quarter 2018 Results
The Company reported fourth quarter 2018 revenue of $3.6 billion, an increase of 6% from the prior year period. Adjusted for currency exchange, commodity movements and divestitures, revenue increased by 8% in the fourth quarter. This reflects growth of 18% in North America, 4% in Europe, 2% in Asia and flat performance in South America, our smallest region.

The Company reported fourth quarter 2018 U.S. GAAP net income from continuing operations of $247 million and earnings from continuing operations of $0.94 per diluted share, compared to $207 million and $0.77 per diluted share in the prior year period. Fourth quarter Adjusted Net Income, a non-GAAP financial measure defined below, totaled $352 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, an increase of 5% on a per share basis compared to $343 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, in the prior year period.

Fourth quarter Adjusted Operating Income, a non-GAAP financial measure defined below, was $430 million, compared to $450 million in the prior year period. Fourth quarter Adjusted Operating Income margin was 11.8%, compared to 13.1% in the prior year period, reflecting our continued incremental investments for growth, partially offset by above-market sales growth and the beneficial impacts of cost reduction initiatives. Depreciation and amortization expense totaled $202 million, an increase from $154 million in the prior year period, resulting from non-cash impairment charges and increases related to acquisitions and capital investments.

Interest expense for the fourth quarter totaled $37 million, consistent with interest expense of $37 million in the prior year period.

Tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $42 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of approximately 14%. Tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2017 was $135 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of approximately 39%, which includes $55 million, or approximately 16 points, for the one-time impacts of the U.S. tax reform enactment, as well as $27 million, or approximately 8 points, resulting from the effectiveness of the spin-off transaction and classification as discontinued operations.

Full Year 2018 Results
The Company reported full year 2018 revenue of $14.4 billion, an increase of 12% from the prior year. Adjusted for currency exchange, commodity movements and divestitures, revenue increased by 10% during the year. This reflects growth of 15% in North America, 7% in Asia, 6% in Europe and 6% in South America, our smallest region.

For full year 2018, the Company reported U.S. GAAP net income from continuing operations of $1,067 million and earnings from continuing operations of $4.02 per diluted share, compared to $1,021 million and $3.81 per diluted share in the prior year. Full year 2018 Adjusted Net Income totaled $1,396 million, or $5.26 per diluted share, an increase of 13% on a per share basis compared to $1,243 million, or $4.64 per diluted share, in the prior year.

The Company reported Adjusted Operating Income of $1,751 million for full year 2018, compared to $1,594 million in the prior year. Adjusted Operating Income margin was 12.1% for full year 2018, compared to 12.4% in the prior year, reflecting our continued incremental investments for growth, partially offset by above-market sales growth, the beneficial impacts of cost reduction initiatives and the absence of certain warranty charges recorded in the prior year. Depreciation and amortization expense totaled $676 million, an increase from $546 million in the prior year, resulting from non-cash impairment charges and increases related to acquisitions and capital investments.

Interest expense for full year 2018 totaled $141 million, as compared to $140 million in the prior year.

Tax expense for full year 2018 was $250 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of approximately 19%, which includes $29 million, or approximately 2 points, due to the adjustment to the provisional amounts recorded for the one-time impacts of the U.S. tax reform enactment and $33 million, or approximately 2 points, due to the one-time impacts of the Company’s organizational entity restructuring resulting from the spin-off transaction at the end of 2017. Tax expense for full year 2017 was $223 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of approximately 18%, which includes $55 million, or approximately 4 points, for the one-time impacts of the U.S. tax reform enactment.

The Company generated net cash flow from continuing operating activities of $1,640 million in 2018, compared to $1,106 million in the prior year, reflecting the $310 million payment made in 2017 to settle the Unsecured Creditors litigation. As of December 31, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $0.6 billion and total available liquidity of $2.6 billion.

Reconciliations of Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Per Share, Adjusted Operating Income and Cash Flow Before Financing, which are non-GAAP measures, to the most directly comparable financial measures, respectively, calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) are provided in the attached supplemental schedules.

Share Repurchase Program
During 2018, the Company repurchased 6.53 million shares for approximately $499 million under its existing authorized share repurchase program, leaving approximately $490 million available for future share repurchases. The Company’s Board of Directors also authorized a new $2.0 billion share repurchase program, commencing upon the completion of the existing program. All repurchased shares were retired, and are reflected as a reduction of ordinary share capital for the par value of the shares, with the excess applied as reductions to additional paid-in-capital and retained earnings.

Q1 and Full Year 2019 Outlook
The Company’s first quarter and full year 2019 financial guidance is as follows:

(1)  The Company’s first quarter and full year 2019 financial guidance includes $10 million and $60 million, respectively, for the anticipated impacts of tariffs.

Conference Call and Webcast
The Company will host a conference call to discuss these results at 8:00 a.m. (ET) today, which is accessible by dialing 866.393.4306 (US domestic) or 734.385.2616 (international) or through a webcast at ir.aptiv.com. The conference ID number is 3938939. A slide presentation will accompany the prepared remarks and has been posted on the investor relations section of the Company’s website. A replay will be available two hours following the conference call.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
This press release contains information about Aptiv’s financial results which are not presented in accordance with GAAP. Specifically, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Per Share and Cash Flow Before Financing are non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted Operating Income represents net income before interest expense, other income (expense), net, income tax expense, equity income (loss), net of tax, income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax, restructuring, other acquisition and portfolio project costs, asset impairments, gains (losses) on business divestitures and deferred compensation related to acquisitions. Other acquisition and portfolio project costs include costs incurred to integrate acquired businesses and to plan and execute product portfolio transformation actions, including business and product acquisitions and divestitures. Adjusted Operating Income margin is defined as Adjusted Operating Income as a percentage of net sales.

Adjusted Net Income represents net income attributable to Aptiv before discontinued operations, restructuring and other special items, including the tax impact thereon. Adjusted Net Income Per Share represents Adjusted Net Income divided by the weighted average number of diluted shares outstanding for the period. Cash Flow Before Financing represents cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations plus cash provided by (used in) investing activities from continuing operations, adjusted for the purchase price of business acquisitions and net proceeds from the divestiture of discontinued operations and other significant businesses.

Management believes the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release are useful to both management and investors in their analysis of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and liquidity. In particular, management believes Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Per Share and Cash Flow Before Financing are useful measures in assessing the Company’s ongoing financial performance that, when reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measure, provide improved comparability between periods through the exclusion of certain items that management believes are not indicative of the Company’s core operating performance and that may obscure underlying business results and trends. Management also uses these non-GAAP financial measures for internal planning and forecasting purposes.

Such non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in the attached supplemental schedules at the end of this press release. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP and, as calculated, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.

About Aptiv
Aptiv is a global technology company that develops safer, greener and more connected solutions enabling the future of mobility. Visit aptiv.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release, as well as other statements made by Aptiv PLC (the “Company”), contain forward-looking statements that reflect, when made, the Company’s current views with respect to current events and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the Company’s operations and business environment, which may cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from any future results. All statements that address future operating, financial or business performance or the Company’s strategies or expectations are forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are discussed under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect the Company. It should be remembered that the price of the ordinary shares and any income from them can go down as well as up. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events and/or otherwise, except as may be required by law.