CALHOUN, Georgia, April 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mohawk Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MHK) today announced 2021 first quarter net earnings of $237 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.36. Adjusted net earnings were $246 million, and EPS was $3.49, excluding restructuring, acquisition and other charges. Net sales for the first quarter of 2021 were $2.7 billion, up 16.8% as reported and 9.1% on a constant currency and days basis. For the first quarter of 2020, net sales were $2.3 billion, net earnings were $111 million and EPS was $1.54, adjusted net earnings were $119 million, and EPS was $1.66, excluding restructuring, acquisition and other charges.

Commenting on Mohawk Industries’ first quarter performance, Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum, Chairman and CEO, stated, “Our outstanding performance in the period included all-time record sales and our highest ever first quarter EPS. Our business continued to strengthen in the period and did not reflect our industry’s normal seasonality. Around the world, consumers are continuing to invest in their homes, and new flooring has a major role in most remodeling projects. We are also starting to see moderate improvement in commercial demand as global economies expand and businesses begin to invest in anticipation of a return to normal.

“Market demand strengthened as the period progressed, and our order backlog remains robust going into the second quarter. Most of our businesses are running at high production rates, though our inventories remain lower than we would like. Our production and operating costs were impacted in the period by supply limitations in most of our markets, as well as absenteeism, new employee training and severe weather in the U.S. Our margins have benefited from stronger consumer demand, our restructuring and productivity actions and leverage on SG&A costs. We have increased prices in most product categories and geographies, reflecting inflation in raw materials, labor, energy and transportation. Global transportation capacity has been limited, increasing our cost and delaying receipt of our imported products. We have seen similar constraints on local shipments and are increasing our freight rates to respond.”

“We continue to implement our restructuring plans and have achieved approximately $75 million of our anticipated $100 to $110 million in savings. In the first quarter, we purchased $123 million of our stock at an average price of approximately $179 for a total of $686 million since we initiated our purchasing program. Our balance sheet remains strong with net debt less short-term investments of $1.3 billion, reflecting leverage at a historically low level for the Company.

“For the quarter, our Flooring Rest of the World Segment’s sales increased 30.7% as reported and 14.6% on a constant currency and days basis. The segment’s operating margins increased 780 basis points to 20.7% as reported. The increase was due to higher volume, favorable price and product mix, increased productivity and favorable exchange rates, partially offset by inflation. Q1 benefited from lower marketing expenses, product mix and increased days which resulted in a greater margin in the period. During the period, most of our facilities ran at high levels, though some supply constraints limited our utilization. We anticipate some material shortages continuing at least in the second quarter. Our laminate business, the segment’s largest product category, continues to record significant growth as consumers embrace our more realistic visuals and superior performance. In the second quarter, we are installing additional laminate manufacturing assets to support further growth. Our LVT sales rose substantially, and our margins expanded due to enhanced formulations and increased production speeds. Our sheet vinyl sales were limited by Covid lockdowns of our retailers in Europe. Our Russian sheet vinyl business continues to expand rapidly as we broaden our customer base and product offering. Our insulation business continues to grow, though material supply and cost increases pressured our margin. Our wood panels business delivered improved performance and we are installing a new melamine press to increase higher value sales and efficiencies. Our sales and margins in both Australia and New Zealand expanded significantly by leveraging our comprehensive soft and hard surface collections, strong sales organization and industry-leading service.

“During the quarter, our Flooring North America Segment’s sales increased 14.3% as reported and approximately 9% on a constant basis and operating margin was 8.4% as reported, increasing 410 basis points. Operating income for the segment increased primarily due to higher volume and productivity, partially offset by inflation. Our order rates remain strong and our backlog is higher than normal. All of our operations are maximizing their output as we managed interference from labor shortages and supply constraints. Our residential carpet sales improved with retail remodeling improving sales of our premium products. Our commercial business continued to improve sequentially from its trough with growing investments in new projects. Our laminate sales are setting records as the appeal of our realistic visuals and water-proof performance expands across all channels. We have significantly increased our domestic laminate production and are supplementing with imports from our global operations. We are installing additional laminate production to further expand our sales by the end of this year. Our LVT sales continue to increase as we expand our offering and our local manufacturing has continued its improvement as we implemented processes similar to our European operations.   We are ramping up production of our premium Ultrawood, the first water-proof natural wood flooring that also features industry-leading scratch, dent and fade resistance.

“For the quarter, our Global Ceramic Segment’s sales increased 9.6% as reported and 5.4% on a constant currency and days basis. The segment’s operating margin increased 370 basis points to 9.4% as reported, primarily due to favorable price and mix, higher volumes and increased productivity, partially offset by inflation. Our U.S. plants are running at higher levels, and we have increased our productivity with our restructuring actions. Our quartz plant is improving its productivity and we are introducing more sophisticated veined collections which are increasing our mix and should enhance our margins. In the period, the ice storm that hit the southwest temporarily stopped production at most of our manufacturing facilities by interrupting our electricity and natural gas supply. The facilities have all recovered and are operating as expected, improving our service. Our European ceramic business delivered a strong performance, driven by productivity, improving mix and greater consumer demand. Our Russian, Brazilian and Mexican ceramic businesses delivered strong results, though they were limited by their capacities. In all three businesses, we are maximizing output and allocating production as necessary. In Brazil and Mexico, we are increasing capacity this year to improve our sales and mix. In Russia, we are optimizing our tile production and ramping up our new premium sanitary ware plant to meet growing demand.

“As we progress through the year, we anticipate that historically low interest rates, government actions and fewer pandemic restrictions should improve our markets around the world. Vaccination programs should keep people safer and reduce the risk of further Covid-related disruption. We foresee the present robust residential trends continuing with commercial sales slowly improving in the second period. Across the enterprise, we will increase product introductions that provide additional features and benefits to strengthen our offering and margins. We are enhancing our manufacturing operations to increase our volume and efficiencies, while executing our ongoing cost savings programs. Our suppliers indicate that material availability should improve from the first quarter, though some operations could still face future supply constraints. We are managing challenging labor markets in some of our U.S. communities, and supplemental federal unemployment programs could interfere with staffing to maximize those operations. If raw material, energy and transportation costs continue to rise, further price increases could be required around the world. Given these factors, we anticipate our second quarter adjusted EPS to be $3.57 to $3.67, excluding any restructuring charges.

“Currently, our strong order backlog reflects the escalated levels of residential demand across the globe. We are introducing new product innovations to enhance our offering and customers sales and optimizing our production to improve our service. We are preparing for an improvement in commercial projects, anticipating an economic expansion and a return to normal business investments. With strong liquidity and historically low leverage, we will increase our capital investments and take advantage of additional opportunities to expand.”

ABOUT MOHAWK INDUSTRIES

Mohawk Industries is the leading global flooring manufacturer that creates products to enhance residential and commercial spaces around the world. Mohawk’s vertically integrated manufacturing and distribution processes provide competitive advantages in the production of carpet, rugs, ceramic tile, laminate, wood, stone and vinyl flooring. Our industry leading innovation has yielded products and technologies that differentiate our brands in the marketplace and satisfy all remodeling and new construction requirements. Our brands are among the most recognized in the industry and include American Olean, Daltile, Durkan, Eliane, Feltex, Godfrey Hirst, IVC, Karastan, Marazzi, Mohawk, Mohawk Group, Pergo, Quick-Step and Unilin. During the past decade, Mohawk has transformed its business from an American carpet manufacturer into the world’s largest flooring company with operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, India, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.

Certain of the statements in the immediately preceding paragraphs, particularly anticipating future performance, business prospects, growth and operating strategies and similar matters and those that include the words “could,” “should,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” and “estimates,” or similar expressions constitute “forward-looking statements.” For those statements, Mohawk claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements will be accurate because they are based on many assumptions, which involve risks and uncertainties. The following important factors could cause future results to differ: changes in economic or industry conditions; competition; inflation and deflation in raw material prices and other input costs; inflation and deflation in consumer markets; energy costs and supply; timing and level of capital expenditures; timing and implementation of price increases for the Company’s products; impairment charges; integration of acquisitions; international operations; introduction of new products; rationalization of operations; taxes and tax reform, product and other claims; litigation; and other risks identified in Mohawk’s SEC reports and public announcements.

Conference call April 30, 2021, at 11:00 AM Eastern Time

The telephone number is 1-800-603-9255 for US/Canada and 1-706-634-2294 for International/Local. Conference ID # 6084517. A replay will be available until May 30, 2021, by dialing 1-855-859-2056 for US/local calls and 1-404-537-3406 for International/Local calls and entering Conference ID # 6084517.

Contact: James Brunk, Chief Financial Officer (706) 624-2239

Source: Mohawk Industries, Inc.