Lifetime Brands, Inc. Reports First Quarter Financial Results

Lifetime Brands, Inc. (NasdaqGS:LCUT), a leading global provider of branded kitchenware, tableware and other products used in the home, today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

• Consolidated net sales were $117.7 million, as compared to consolidated net sales of $118.4 million for the corresponding period in 2014. In constant currency, net sales were $120.4 million, an increase of $2.0 million, or 1.7%, as compared to the corresponding 2014 period.
• Gross margin was $44.9 million, or 38.2%, as compared to $44.3 million, or 37.4%, for the corresponding period in 2014.
• Loss from operations was $2.2 million in both the 2015 and 2014 periods.
• Net loss was $2.1 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, as compared to $2.9 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, in the corresponding period in 2014.
• Adjusted net loss was $1.9 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, as compared to $1.7 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, in the corresponding period in 2014.
• Consolidated EBITDA was $2.5 million, as compared to $3.7 million for the corresponding 2014 period.
• Equity in earnings, net of taxes, was $288,000, as compared to equity in losses, net of taxes of $208,000, in the corresponding 2014 period.

Jeffrey Siegel, Lifetime's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented,

“Lifetime’s financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2015, were in line with our expectations. Net sales in the first quarter were affected by the West Coast dockworkers slowdown, which prevented some shipments from reaching our distribution center in Fontana, California, by shifts in the timing of certain warehouse club promotions and by translation losses resulting from a weaker GBP/USD exchange rate. Excluding the effects of the dock slowdown and the weakness of the British Pound, net sales for the quarter would have increased by approximately 2.7% over the same period in 2014.

“Net sales for the U.S. Wholesale segment for the three months ended March 31, 2015 were $86.5 million, an increase of $0.8 million, or 0.9%, as compared to net sales of $85.7 million for the corresponding period in 2014.

“Net sales for the U.S. Wholesale’s Kitchenware product category were $54.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, an increase of $2.7 million, or 5.2%, as compared to $51.9 million for the corresponding period in 2014. The increase in the Kitchenware product category reflects the strength of Tools & Gadgets and an improvement for Cookware.

“Net sales for the U.S. Wholesale’s Tableware product category were $19.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, a decrease of $4.0 million, or 17.2%, as compared to $23.3 million for the corresponding period in 2014. The decrease in the Tableware product category was principally attributable to the timing of warehouse club programs in the current year.

“Net sales for U.S. Wholesale’s Home Solutions product category were $12.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, an increase of $2.1 million, or 20.0%, as compared to $10.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014. The increase in the Home Solutions product category reflects the inclusion of Built NY, acquired in the first quarter of 2014, as well as successful new Pantryware programs.

“Net sales for the International segment were $25.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, a decrease of $2.7 million, as compared to net sales of $28.1 million for the corresponding period in 2014. In local currency, net sales decreased approximately 1.0%. The decrease was in part due to a decline in export sales of kitchenware products as a result of the weakness in the European economy.

“Net sales for the Retail Direct segment were $5.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, an increase of $1.2 million, as compared to net sales of $4.6 million for the corresponding period in 2014. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in sales from the Mikasa.com Internet website.

"Our retailer partners generally are showing confidence in a strong Holiday selling season, which we see reflected in strong bookings and placements for products to be delivered later this year. Based on these indications, we currently forecast that, for the full year 2015, net sales are likely to increase by 3% to 6%, reaffirming the guidance we provided on our fourth quarter conference call. We expect our operating margin to be in the range of 4.5 to 5.5%.”

Conference Call

The Company has scheduled a conference call for Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. ET. The dial-in number for the conference call is (877) 280-4962 or (857) 244-7319 passcode #94839464. A replay of the call will also be available through Thursday, May 14, 2015 and can be accessed by dialing (888) 286-8010 or (617) 801-6888, conference ID #72789939. A live webcast of the conference call will be broadcast in the Investor Relations section of the Company's web site, www.lifetimebrands.com. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, an audio replay of the call will also be available on the site.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This earnings release contains non-GAAP financial measures. A non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows that excludes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding amounts, that are included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP in the statements of income, balance sheets, or statements of cash flows of the Company; or includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of including amounts, that are excluded from the most directly comparable measure so calculated and presented. As required by SEC rules, the Company has provided reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP measures are provided because management of the Company uses these financial measures in evaluating the Company's on-going financial results and trends, and management believes that exclusion of certain items allows for more accurate comparison of the Company’s operating performance. Management uses this non-GAAP information as an indicator of business performance. These non-GAAP measures should be viewed as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, GAAP measures of performance.

Forward-Looking Statements

In this press release, the use of the words “believe,” "could," "expect," "may," "positioned," "project," "projected," "should," "will," "would" or similar expressions is intended to identify forward-looking statements that represent the Company’s current judgment about possible future events. The Company believes these judgments are reasonable, but these statements are not guarantees of any events or financial results, and actual results may differ materially due to a variety of important factors. Such factors might include, among others, the Company’s ability to comply with the requirements of its credit agreements; the availability of funding under such credit agreements; the Company’s ability to maintain adequate liquidity and financing sources and an appropriate level of debt; changes in general economic conditions which could affect customer payment practices or consumer spending; the impact of changes in general economic conditions on the Company’s customers; changes in demand for the Company’s products; shortages of and price volatility for certain commodities; significant changes in the competitive environment and the effect of competition on the Company’s markets, including on the Company’s pricing policies, financing sources and an appropriate level of debt.

Lifetime Brands, Inc.

Lifetime Brands is a leading global provider of kitchenware, tableware and other products used in the home. The Company markets its products under such well-known kitchenware brands as Farberware^®, KitchenAid^®, Cuisine de France^®, Fred^® & Friends, Guy Fieri^®, Kitchen Craft^®, Kizmos^™, La Cafetière^®, Misto^®, Mossy Oak^®, Pedrini^®, Sabatier^®, Savora^™ and Vasconia^®; respected tableware brands such as Mikasa^®, Pfaltzgraff^®, Creative Tops^®, Gorham^®, International^® Silver, Kirk Stieff^®, Sasaki^®, Towle^® Silversmiths, Tuttle^®, Wallace^®, V&A^® and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew^®; and home solutions brands, including Kamenstein^®, Bombay^®, BUILT^®, Debbie Meyer^® and Design for Living^™. The Company also provides exclusive private label products to leading retailers worldwide.

The Company’s corporate website is www.lifetimebrands.com.

(1) Consolidated EBITDA for the four quarters ended March 31, 2014 excludes the effect of a pro forma acquisition adjustment of $6.4 million.

Consolidated EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that the Company defines as net income (loss), adjusted to exclude undistributed equity in earnings (losses), income taxes, interest, losses on early retirement of debt, depreciation and amortization, stock compensation expense, intangible asset impairment, accretion of contingent consideration, acquisition related expenses and restructuring expenses, as shown in the tables above.

Adjusted net loss in the three months ended March 31, 2015 excludes acquisition related expenses and financing expenses. Adjusted net loss in the three months ended March 31, 2014 excludes acquisition related expenses and the loss on retirement of debt.