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The Andersons, Inc. Reports Strong Earnings Third Quarter & Nine Months Income Exceed Previous Records

             Reaffirms Full-Year EPS Guidance of $1.90 - $2.10

    MAUMEE, Ohio, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Andersons, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ANDE), today announced third-quarter net income of $8.4 million,
or $0.51 per diluted share, and total revenues of $336 million. In the same
three-month period of 2005, the company reported a net loss of $0.6
million, or $0.04 per diluted share, on $289 million of revenues. For the
first nine months of 2006, the company's net income was $22.6 million, or
$1.41 per diluted share, on revenues of $995 million. In the first nine
months of 2005, The Andersons earned net income of $10.8 million, or $0.70
per diluted share, on revenues of $913 million. The third quarter and nine
months results this year both established new records for the company. All
of the earnings per share data have been adjusted to reflect the June 2006
stock split. During the quarter, the company raised $81.6 million of
additional equity to support its growth initiatives and strengthen its
balance sheet.
    The Grain & Ethanol Group's third-quarter operating income of $12.0
million was $14.5 million better than its year-earlier result. Total
revenues of $209 million for the period were $50 million higher than the
third quarter of 2005. Total grain gross profit for the period was also
significantly higher than it had been in the previous year. This included
the sale of a large number of wheat bushels at excellent margins during the
period and appreciation in corn basis values more usually seen in the
fourth quarter. The group's third quarter operating income also included
the settlement of the 2005 portion of the business interruption insurance
claim related to an elevator in Toledo which had been damaged by an
explosion and fire in the third quarter of 2005. Now that the elevator has
re-opened and is receiving grain, the company is actively working on the
2006 portion of the business interruption claim. Because of the degree of
volatility in recent wheat and ethanol markets, the group's investment in
its commodity trading affiliate, Lansing Trade Group, LLC, incurred a loss
during the most recent three-month period, although its income remains at a
record level through nine months. Construction of an ethanol plant in
Albion, Michigan, in which The Andersons, Inc. is a significant investor,
was completed during the third quarter, and the plant began to produce and
ship ethanol and distillers dried grain. Construction of another ethanol
plant, located in Clymers, Indiana, is underway and scheduled to start
production by the end of the first quarter of 2007. Through the first nine
months of 2006, the Grain & Ethanol Group achieved operating income of
$15.7 million. In the same period last year, the group incurred an
operating loss of $2.1 million.
    The Rail Group's operating income of $4.9 million in the third quarter
of 2006 was $0.9 million below its third quarter 2005 results. Revenues of
$27 million for the quarter were $4 million higher than the prior period.
Railcar lease rates and the utilization rate of the group's railcar fleet
remained strong during the third quarter of 2006, but fleet maintenance
costs were higher. Operating income during the period from the group's
railcar repair and manufacturing businesses was higher than the third
quarter of 2005. Through the first nine months of 2006, the group achieved
revenues of $90 million and $16.1 million of operating income. Last year,
it reported revenues of $59 million and operating income of $13.3 million
for the same nine month period.
    The Plant Nutrient Group incurred an operating loss of $1.9 million on
$39 million of revenues in the third quarter this year. It lost $0.8
million on $47 million of revenues during the same three-month period of
2005. Because energy and nutrient input costs through the third quarter
have been significantly higher this year, the company believes that farmers
reduced the amount of nutrients applied to their fields this season. This
resulted in reduced wholesale and retail demand for plant nutrients and a
deferral of pre- fall season purchasing. With volume down, the group's
third-quarter gross profit declined from last year. Through the first nine
months of 2006, the group's operating income was $1.9 million on $198
million of revenues. In the same period last year, operating income
amounted to $8.7 million on $211 million of revenues.
    The Turf and Specialty Group continued to achieve improved results
during the most recent quarter. For the period, the group's operating loss
amounted to $0.4 million on $20 million of revenues. In 2005, it incurred
an operating loss of $3.0 million in the third quarter on $19 million of
revenues. The group's lawn and cob products businesses both contributed to
this improvement. Also included in this year's third quarter income was the
settlement of an insurance claim regarding a storage tank that was damaged
last year. Through the first nine months of this year, the group has
reported operating income of $3.1 million and revenues of $93 million. In
the first nine months of 2005, the group had revenues of $101 million and
an operating loss of $1.6 million. The improved third quarter and
year-to-date results were primarily due to restructuring actions and other
charges incurred in the third quarter of 2005.
    The Retail Group reported revenues of $41 million for the third quarter
of 2006, an increase of 1.3 percent in same-store sales from the same
period in 2005. With higher gross margins and total gross profit, the
group's operating loss was $0.4 million for the quarter, about $0.4 million
better than the same period last year. For the first nine months of the
year, the group generated revenues of $128 million and operating income of
$1.3 million. In the first nine months of 2005, it reported operating
income of $0.9 million and revenues of $130 million.
    According to President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Anderson,
"We've frequently noted that it's not unusual for some of our units to
experience volatility in quarterly income over and above normal seasonal
patterns. This has often been true in our commodity-based grain and plant
nutrient businesses, and to some degree in our rail business, given the
unpredictable timing of opportunistic railcar sales. With our strong
third-quarter income this year, one might conclude that our prospects for
the full year had noticeably improved. There are several variables which
could still swing either way. Supply and demand dynamics in the grain
markets, including rainfalls that have delayed the fall harvest, will
impact fourth quarter income. Accordingly, I believe that our
previously-announced guidance of $1.90 to $2.10 for our 2006 full-year
earnings per diluted share is still a reasonable expectation. There are
also some non-recurring items which, if they were to occur prior to
year-end, could raise this guidance range. These include the 2006 portion
of our elevator business interruption claim and additional ethanol
development activities."
    The company will host a webcast on Thursday, November 2, 2006 at 11:00
A.M. ET, to discuss its third-quarter performance and full-year outlook.
This can be accessed under the heading "Financial Information" on its
website at http://www.andersonsinc.com.
    The Andersons, Inc. is a diversified company with interests in the
grain, ethanol and plant nutrient sectors of U.S. agriculture, as well as
in railcar leasing and repair, turf products production and general
merchandise retailing. Founded in Maumee, Ohio, in 1947, the company now
has operations in seven U.S. states plus rail leasing interests in Canada
and Mexico.
    This release contains forward-looking statements. These statements
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially. Without limitation, these risks include economic, weather and
regulatory conditions, competition, and the risk factors set forth from
time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Although the company believes that the assumptions upon which
the financial information and its forward-looking statements have been
based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions and
the forward-looking statements will prove to be correct.
    The Andersons, Inc. is located on the Internet at http://www.andersonsinc.com


    FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW . . .


                               The Andersons, Inc.
                        Consolidated Statements of Income

                                       Three Months ended  Nine Months ended
                                          September 30        September 30
    (in thousands, except for per
     share amounts)                      2006      2005      2006      2005

    Sales and merchandising revenues   $335,871  $288,755  $994,638  $912,528
    Cost of sales and merchandising
     revenues                           284,327   252,162   848,056   782,958
    Gross profit                         51,544    36,593   146,582   129,570

    Operating, administrative and
     general expenses                    40,310    36,654   115,583   109,410
    Interest expense                      3,818     2,830    12,513     8,971

    Other income, net                     6,352     1,009    11,763     3,518
    Equity in earnings of affiliates       (483)      877     5,279     1,337
    Income (loss) before income taxes    13,285    (1,005)   35,528    16,044
    Income tax provision                  4,898      (369)   12,959     5,293
    Net income  (loss)                   $8,387     $(636)  $22,569   $10,751

    Per common share:
          Basic earnings                  $0.52    $(0.04)    $1.46     $0.73
          Diluted earnings                $0.51    $(0.04)    $1.41     $0.70
          Dividends paid                 $0.045   $0.0425   $0.1325   $0.1225

    Weighted average shares
     outstanding-basic                   16,080    14,890    15,467    14,812
    Weighted average shares
     outstanding-diluted                 16,591    14,890    16,021    15,382


                             The Andersons, Inc.
                         Consolidated Balance Sheets
                                 (Unaudited)

                                         September 30 December 31 September 30
               (in thousands)                2006        2005        2005

    Assets
    Current assets:
      Cash and cash equivalents              $47,773     $13,876      $9,592
      Restricted cash                          3,815       3,936       1,367
      Accounts receivable (net) and
       margin deposits                        92,867      83,291      78,845
      Inventories                            163,121     240,806     184,247
      Other current assets                    24,335      30,632      28,537
    Total current assets                     331,911     372,541     302,588

    Investments and other assets              63,973      39,008      33,732
    Railcar assets leased to others (net)    148,936     131,097     112,882
    Property, plant and equipment (net)       93,065      91,498      92,098
                                            $637,885    $634,144    $541,300

    Liabilities and shareholders' equity
    Current liabilities:
      Short-term borrowings                 $    -       $12,400     $42,900
      Other current liabilities              171,638     263,922     178,583
    Total current liabilities                171,638     276,322     221,483

    Deferred items and other long-term
     liabilities                              37,832      30,896      29,869
    Long-term debt non-recourse               77,222      88,714      59,164
    Long-term debt                            87,076      79,329      87,128
    Shareholders' equity                     264,117     158,883     143,656
                                            $637,885    $634,144    $541,300



                                  Segment Data

                                          Grain &    Plant            Turf &
                                          Ethanol   Nutrient  Rail   Specialty
      Quarter ended September 30, 2006
    Revenues from external customers      $208,540  $38,580  $27,339  $20,396

    Gross Profit                            20,501    3,623   11,628    4,138

    Other income / Equity in earnings of
     affiliates                              4,064      348      127      569

    Operating income (loss)                 11,950   (1,868)   4,898     (420)

      Quarter ended September 30, 2005
    Revenues from external customers       158,875   46,986   23,176   19,227

    Gross Profit                             6,263    4,443   11,232    3,398

    Other income / Equity in earnings of
     affiliates                                908      384       (5)     238

    Operating income (loss)                 (2,504)    (808)   5,841   (3,047)

      Nine months ended September 30, 2006
    Revenues from external customers       485,928  197,921   89,558   93,329

    Gross Profit                            37,750   17,866   36,389   16,401

    Other income / Equity in earnings of
     affiliates                             12,068      781      442    1,087

    Operating income (loss)                 15,653    1,938   16,115    3,073

      Nine months ended September 30, 2005
    Revenues from external customers       412,460  210,971   58,554  100,582

    Gross Profit                            23,801   25,623   28,336   14,079

    Other income / Equity in earnings of
     affiliates                              1,733      896      536      545

    Operating income (loss)                 (2,147)   8,700   13,280   (1,558)


                                  Segment Data

                                              Retail      Other       Total
      Quarter ended September 30, 2006
    Revenues from external customers         $41,016      $ -       $335,871

    Gross Profit                              11,654        -         51,544

    Other income / Equity in earnings of
     affiliates                                  265        496        5,869

    Operating income (loss)                     (418)      (857)      13,285

      Quarter ended September 30, 2005
    Revenues from external customers          40,491        -        288,755

    Gross Profit                              11,257        -         36,593

    Other income / Equity in earnings of
     affiliates                                  140        221        1,886

    Operating income (loss)                     (827)       340       (1,005)

      Nine months ended September 30, 2006
    Revenues from external customers         127,902        -        994,638

    Gross Profit                              38,176        -        146,582

    Other income / Equity in earnings of
     affiliates                                  697      1,967       17,042

    Operating income (loss)                    1,296     (2,547)      35,528

      Nine months ended September 30, 2005
    Revenues from external customers         129,961        -        912,528

    Gross Profit                              37,731        -        129,570

    Other income / Equity in earnings of
     affiliates                                  517        628        4,855

    Operating income (loss)                      918     (3,149)      16,044


SOURCE The Andersons, Inc.




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Related links:
  • http://www.andersonsinc.com
    CONTACT:
    Gary Smith of The Andersons, Inc.,
    +1-419-891-6417