H.B. Fuller Company reported financial results for the fourth quarter ended November 28, 2015. Net income was $25 million, or $0.49 per diluted share.
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This compares to net income of $10.7 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, in last year’s fourth quarter. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.691, up about 8 percent versus the prior year’s adjusted result of $0.641.
Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $548.1 million, up 0.1 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2014. Higher volume and higher average selling prices positively impacted net revenue growth by 4.8 and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.
Foreign currency translation negatively impacted net revenue growth by 4.9 percentage points. Constant currency revenue grew by 5 percent year-over-year.
Adjusted gross profit margin3 was up 390 basis points versus the prior year, driven primarily by the benefit of effective price management and raw material cost management. Adjusted SG&A expense4 was up about 13 percent versus last year primarily due to the SG&A added by the TONSAN acquisition.
Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter was $79.2 million and 14.4 percent of adjusted net revenue5, up 18 percent and 220 basis points, respectively, from the prior year.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, H.B. Fuller had cash totaling $119 million and total debt of $723 million. This compares to third quarter 2015 cash and debt levels of $86 million and $728 million, respectively. Sequentially, net debt was down by $38 million.
Cash flow from operations was positive $57 million in the fourth quarter and $211 million for the year-to-date. Capital expenditures were $10 million in the fourth quarter and $59 million for the year.
Income from continuing operations for the 2015 fiscal year was $88.4 million, or $1.71 per diluted share, versus income from continuing operations of $50.2 million, or $0.97 per diluted share, in the 2014 fiscal year. Adjusted total diluted earnings per share in the 2015 fiscal year were $2.171, down versus the prior year’s result of $2.331.
Lower revenue in the Americas, the adverse impact of foreign exchange rates, high operating costs in our EIMEA segment and a higher core tax rate were key drivers of the year-over-year decline in adjusted diluted EPS. These negative factors were mostly offset by the successful integration of the TONSAN business and effective price and raw material cost management.
Net revenue for the 2015 fiscal year was $2,083.7 million, down 1 percent versus the 2014 fiscal year. Higher volume and higher average selling prices positively impacted net revenue growth by 4.5 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively.
Constant currency revenue grew by 5 percent year-over-year. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted net revenue growth by 6 percentage points, or about $125 million in the 2015 fiscal year.
Adjusted gross profit margin for the year was up 160 basis points to 27.7 percent, driven primarily by the benefit of effective price management and raw material cost management, offset somewhat by foreign currency translation and excess costs associated with the continuous improvement phase of the EIMEA business integration project.
Adjusted SG&A expense was up 5 percent versus the prior year, but down nearly 3 percent when adjusting for the additional SG&A expense added from TONSAN. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 12.8 percent, up 100 basis points versus the 2014 fiscal year. ■