Bemis Company Reports 2017 Results and 2018 Outlook

Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE:BMS) today reported financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2017. Refer to the reconciliation of Non-GAAP measures detailed in the attached schedule, including adjusted earnings per share, adjusted EBITDA, and net debt, and discussion of items impacting comparability in this press release.

SUMMARY OF THE FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2017

Refer to the reconciliation of Non-GAAP measures detailed in the attached schedule, including adjusted earnings per share, referenced in this release, which denotes that fourth quarter 2017 GAAP EPS was driven primarily by the Goodwill impairment charge in Latin America.

2018 GUIDANCE SUMMARY

Management set guidance for the full year 2018:

• Adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $2.75 to $2.90, which includes a $.31 benefit related to U.S. tax reform at the midpoint of the range.
• Capital expenditures expected between $150 and $160 million.
• Cash flow from operations expected to be in the range of $420 to $450 million, which includes approximately $50 million of restructuring and related cash costs.

“We made progress during the second half of 2017, as reflected in adjusted operating profit that was up nearly $35 million compared to the first half of the year. This increase reflects operational improvements and the early benefits of Agility, which is our plan to fix, strengthen, and grow our business,” said William F. Austen, Bemis Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are focused on executing our plan to create a more agile, streamlined, and efficient business.”

2017 LAUNCH OF “AGILITY”

During 2017, the Company launched an improvement plan called “Agility” to fix, strengthen, and grow its business.

As part of this three-pronged approach, the fix aspect involves the restructuring and cost savings plan announced in June and increased in September to target pre-tax annual savings of $65 million. As anticipated, $4.1 million of this benefit was realized in 2017; the Company anticipates approximately $35 million of benefit in 2018, with the remainder of the plan benefit in 2019. Estimated total pre-tax costs to implement the plan are $110 to $125 million. Of that total, pre-tax cash expense is estimated between $75 and $85 million. The announced plan includes optimizing manufacturing capacity, consolidating office space, and reducing SG&A cost structure and other costs.

The strengthen and grow aspects of Agility create the foundation for the Company’s long-term success by simplifying its product portfolio and organizational structure, rebalancing R&D efforts to focus on manufacturing improvements, and deliberately pursuing targeted areas of growth in its North American business. The Company’s actions during 2018 related to these work streams will lay the foundation for future growth.

BUSINESS SEGMENT RESULTS

New Reportable Segment Structure

Effective with reporting for the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company realigned its segment reporting to transition from two reportable segments to three reportable segments as follows: U.S. Packaging, Latin America Packaging, and Rest of World Packaging. The U.S. Packaging business segment is unchanged. The Company will now report Latin America Packaging and Rest of World Packaging business segments, which had previously been aggregated and named Global Packaging.

The Latin America Packaging segment includes all food and non-food packaging-related manufacturing operations located in Latin America. The Rest of World Packaging business segment includes all food and non-food packaging-related manufacturing operations located in Europe and Asia-Pacific, as well as medical device and pharmaceutical packaging manufacturing operations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Historical detail of the new reportable segments is provided in the supplemental schedules on the Company’s investor website and in the attached schedules in this press release.

U.S. Packaging

U.S. Packaging net sales of $643.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 represented an increase of 1.8 percent compared to the same period of 2016. Unit volumes were relatively flat compared to the prior fourth quarter. The increase in net sales was driven primarily by sales price increases partially offset by mix of products sold.

U.S. Packaging net sales of $2,626.0 million for the full year 2017 represented an increase of 0.2 percent compared to the same period of 2016. Compared to the prior year, unit volumes were up nearly 1 percent.

U.S. Packaging operating profit decreased to $89.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, or 13.9 percent of net sales, compared to $94.0 million, or 14.9 percent of net sales, in 2016.

U.S. Packaging operating profit decreased to $352.5 million for the full year 2017, or 13.4 percent of net sales, compared to $400.0 million, or 15.3 percent of net sales, in 2016. Compared to the prior year, lower profits were driven by mix of products sold, previously-negotiated contractual selling price reductions on select products, and inefficiencies related to an ERP system implementation at one of the Company's manufacturing facilities during the second quarter.

Latin America Packaging

Latin America Packaging net sales of $178.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 represented a decrease of 0.6 percent compared to the same period of 2016. Currency translation decreased net sales by 0.5 percent. Organic sales were approximately flat reflecting flat unit volumes and increased selling prices that were offset by unfavorable sales mix driven by the economic environment in Brazil.

Latin America Packaging net sales of $711.4 million for the full year of 2017 represented an increase of 1.2 percent compared to the full year of 2016. Currency translation increased net sales by 4.0 percent. Organic sales decline of 2.8 percent reflects decreased unit volumes of approximately 4 percent and unfavorable sales mix driven by the challenging economic environment in Brazil, partially offset by increased selling prices.

Latin America Packaging operating profit for the fourth quarter was $6.2 million, compared to $15.2 million for the same period in 2016. Latin America Packaging operating profit for the full year was $30.0 million, compared to $50.0 million for the same period in 2016. Compared to the prior year, lower profits in Latin America Packaging were driven primarily by the impacts of the challenging economic environment in Brazil, including lower unit volumes and unfavorable mix of products sold.

Rest of World Packaging

Rest of World Packaging net sales of $181.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 represented an increase of 3.1 percent compared to the same period of 2016. Currency translation increased net sales by 4.1 percent. The acquisition of Evadix increased net sales by 0.5 percent. Organic sales decline of 1.5 percent reflects unfavorable mix of products sold, partially offset by increased unit volumes of approximately 8 percent and increased selling prices.

Rest of World Packaging net sales of $708.8 million for the full year 2017 represented an increase of 4.2 percent compared to the full year of 2016. Currency translation decreased net sales by 1.7 percent. The acquisitions of Steripack and Evadix increased net sales by 3.7 percent. Organic sales growth of 2.2 percent reflects increased unit volumes of approximately 6 percent and increased selling prices, partially offset by unfavorable mix of products sold.

Rest of World Packaging operating profit for the fourth quarter was $15.4 million, compared to $18.2 million for the same period in 2016. Rest of World Packaging operating profit for the full year 2017 was $61.1 million, compared to $64.0 million for the same period in 2016. Compared to the prior year, lower profits in Rest of World Packaging were driven primarily by rising raw material input prices in Europe and mix of products sold.

SIGNIFICANT ITEMS IMPACTING THE COMPARABILITY OF FOURTH QUARTER U.S. GAAP RESULTS

While the following items impact the Company’s fourth quarter U.S. GAAP results, they do not impact the Company's operational segment results, compliance with debt covenants, or cash flows.

Goodwill Impairment

In accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s guidance for goodwill, during the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company recognized a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $196.6 million pretax related to the Latin America Packaging segment. This impairment is a result of the impact on profits from the decline in the economic environment in Brazil during 2017 and the related forecasted slower economic recovery.

Pension Settlement Charge

During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company recognized a non-cash pension settlement charge of $10.1 million pretax. The Company initiated a program during the third quarter of 2017 in which it offered terminated vested participants in the U.S. qualified retirement plans the opportunity to receive their benefits early as a lump sum. This charge does not impact the Company's operations, compliance with debt covenants, or cash flows.

Impact of U.S. Tax Reform

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) was signed by the President of the United States and became enacted law. As a result of this legislation, the Company recorded a $67.2 million non-cash tax benefit in the fourth quarter of 2017. This net benefit was driven primarily by the revaluation of deferred tax liabilities under TCJA, partially offset by the one-time transition tax on unremitted earnings.

CASH FLOW AND CAPITAL STRUCTURE

Cash flow from operations for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 was $379.0 million, compared to $437.4 million in the prior year. Cash flow from operations included cash used for restructuring and related activities of $24.5 million in 2017 and $8.2 million in 2016. The decline in 2017 cash flow from operations was driven primarily by profit levels in 2017, partially offset by working capital improvements made during 2017.

Total company net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 2.7 times at December 31, 2017.

Capital expenditures totaled $188.5 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, reflecting planned investment to support productivity improvements in the U.S. Packaging segment and growth initiatives throughout the Company’s business.

For the full year 2017, the Company repurchased 2.2 million shares for $103.8 million. At December 31, 2017, the remaining Board authorization for the repurchase of Bemis common stock was 18.2 million shares.

OUTLOOK

Management expects adjusted diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.75 to $2.90 for the full year 2018, which includes a $.31 per share benefit related to U.S. tax reform at the midpoint of the range.

“Our adjusted earnings guidance reflects a double-digit increase over last year, driven in part by U.S. tax reform and in part by the decisive actions we have taken to improve our cost structure through the fix portion of our Agility plan,” said William F. Austen, Bemis Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The changes we are making through the strength & grow aspects of our Agility plan lay an even stronger foundation for long-term growth.”

Austen continued, “In our U.S. business, we have initiated what we call “agile lane”, which is a pilot that aligns our people, processes, and assets to excel at short-run business. This effort deliberately focuses on the pockets of growth that are available in the U.S. today.”

Austen further commented, “In our Latin American business, we continue to focus on what we can control through fixed and variable cost reductions, and we anticipate profit improvement from this in 2018. The impact of the economic environment in Brazil has stabilized, and our business is well-positioned to prosper when the economy turns in the future. In our Rest of World business, we anticipate that net growth will continue in 2018 and that margins will expand, particularly driven by growth in our healthcare business.”

Austen concluded, “During 2018, we are taking action to build on Bemis Company’s strong foundation to create value for our shareholders over the long-term. We remain committed to a strong balance sheet, to returning free cash flow to our shareholders, and to deliberately pursuing pockets of growth that will deliver long-term health and success for Bemis Company.”

Management expects full year 2018 cash from operations to be in the range of $420 to $450 million. This guidance includes approximately $50 million of restructuring and related cash costs. Cash from operations improvement in 2018 as compared to the prior year is driven by planned profit improvements as well as planned inventory reductions.

Management expects capital expenditures for 2018 between $150 and $160 million.

Management expects an effective income tax rate for 2018 of approximately 24 percent, which incorporates the benefit of recent U.S. tax reform.

PRESENTATION OF NON-GAAP INFORMATION

This press release refers to non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted diluted earnings per share, organic sales growth or decline, adjusted EBITDA, and net debt to adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted return on invested capital. These non-GAAP financial measures adjust for factors that are unusual or unpredictable. These measures exclude the impact of certain amounts related to the effect of changes in currency exchange rates, acquisitions, and restructuring, including employee-related costs, equipment relocation costs, accelerated depreciation and the write-down of equipment. These measures also exclude gains or losses on sales of significant property and divestitures, certain litigation matters, and certain acquisition-related expenses, including transaction expenses, due diligence expenses, professional and legal fees, purchase accounting adjustments for inventory and order backlog and changes in the fair value of deferred acquisition payments. This adjusted information should not be construed as an alternative to results determined in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). Management of the Company uses the non-GAAP measures to evaluate operating performance and believes that these non-GAAP measures are useful to enable investors to perform comparisons of current and historical performance of the Company. All historical non-GAAP information is reconciled with reported GAAP results. Forward looking non-GAAP measures contained in our 2018 outlook are reconciled to GAAP measures as practically as possible. However, we are not providing forward looking guidance for full year 2018 U.S. GAAP guidance or a reconciliation of full year 2018 adjusted EPS to U.S. GAAP EPS because we are unable to predict with reasonably certainty the ultimate outcome of certain significant items without unreasonable effort. These items include, but are not limited to, restructuring expenses, asset impairments, possible gains or losses on the sale of businesses or other assets, certain other gains or losses and the income tax effects of these items and/or other income tax-related events. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors, and could have a material impact on U.S. GAAP EPS for the guidance period.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains certain estimates, predictions, and other “forward-looking statements” (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). Forward-looking statements are generally identified with the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “target,” “may,” “will,” “plan,” “project,” “should,” “continue,” or the negative thereof or other similar expressions, or discussion of future goals or aspirations, which are predictions of or indicate future events and trends and which do not relate to historical matters. Such statements are based on information available to management as of the time of such statements and relate to, among other things, expectations of the business environment in which we operate, projections of future performance (financial and otherwise), including those of acquired companies, perceived opportunities in the market and statements regarding our strategy and vision. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expected include, but are not limited to:

• Changes in the value of our goodwill and other intangible assets;
• The ability of our foreign operations to maintain working efficiencies, as well as properly adjust to continuing changes in global politics, legislation, and economic conditions;
• A failure to realize the full potential of our restructuring activities;
• Changes in the competitive conditions within our markets, as well as changes in the demand for our goods;
• Our ability to retain and build upon the relationships and sales of our key customers;
• The potential loss of business or increased costs due to customer or vendor consolidation;
• The costs, availability, and terms of acquiring our raw materials (particularly for polymer resins and adhesives), as well as our ability to pass any price changes on to our customers;
• Changes in import and export regulation that could subject us to liability or impair our ability to compete in international markets;
• Variances in key exchange rates that could affect the translation of the financial statements of our foreign entities;
• Our ability to effectively implement and update our global enterprise resource planning ("ERP") systems;
• Our ability to realize the benefits of our acquisitions and divestitures, and whether we are able to properly integrate those businesses we have acquired;
• Fluctuations in interest rates and our borrowing costs, along with other key financial variables;
• A potential failure in our information technology infrastructure or applications and their ability to protect our key functions from cyber-crime and other malicious content;
• Changes in our credit rating;
• Unexpected outcomes in our current and future administrative and litigation proceedings;
• Changes in governmental regulations, particularly in the areas of environmental, health and safety matters, fiscal incentives, and foreign investment;
• Our ability to effectively introduce new products into the market and to protect or retain our intellectual property rights;
• Changes in our ability to attract and retain high performance employees; and
• Our ability to manage all costs associated with our pension plans.

These and other risks, uncertainties, and assumptions identified from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation, those described under Item 1A "Risk Factors" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, could cause actual future results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. In addition, actual future results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of changes in the assumptions used in making such forward-looking statements.

INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL

Bemis Company, Inc. will webcast an investor telephone conference regarding its fourth quarter and full year 2017 financial results this morning at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time. Individuals may listen to the call on the Internet at www.bemis.com under “Investor Relations.” Listeners are urged to check the website ahead of time to ensure their computers are configured for the audio stream. Instructions for obtaining the required, free, downloadable software are available in a pre-event system test on the site.

Bemis Company, Inc. will webcast an investor telephone conference regarding its first quarter 2018 financial results on April 26, 2018 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time.

ABOUT BEMIS COMPANY, INC.

Bemis Company, Inc. (“Bemis” or the “Company”) is a major supplier of flexible and rigid plastic packaging used by leading food, consumer products, healthcare, and other companies worldwide. Founded in 1858, Bemis reported 2017 net sales from continuing operations of $4.0 billion. Bemis has a strong technical base in polymer chemistry, film extrusion, coating and laminating, printing, and converting. Headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, Bemis employs approximately 16,500 individuals worldwide. More information about Bemis is available at our website, www.bemis.com.

BEMIS COMPANY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
HISTORICAL DETAIL OF NEW REPORTABLE SEGMENTS
(in millions, except percentages)
(unaudited)

Effective with reporting for the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company realigned its segment reporting to transition from two reportable segments to three reportable segments as follows: U.S. Packaging, Latin America Packaging, and Rest of World Packaging. The U.S. Packaging business segment is unchanged. The Company will now report Latin America Packaging and Rest of World Packaging business segments, which had previously been aggregated and named Global Packaging.

The Latin America Packaging segment includes all food and non-food packaging-related manufacturing operations located in Latin America. The Rest of World Packaging business segment includes all food and non-food packaging-related manufacturing operations located in Europe and Asia-Pacific as well as medical device and pharmaceutical packaging manufacturing operations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

The changes to the business segments have no effect on the historical consolidated results of operations. Prior period segment results have been conformed to the new business segment presentation.

A summary of the Company's business activities recast in these three new business segments follows:

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