News Details

• Second quarter Revenue grew 11.6% to a new record of $142.3 million; up 13.4% on a Constant Currency Basis
• Second Quarter diluted EPS grew by 12.3% to $0.73
• Reiterates Full-Year Guidance for Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA

MP MENASHE, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE), a manufacturer of high quality engineered quartz surfaces, today reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Revenue in the second quarter of 2016 increased by 11.6% to a new record of $142.3 million compared to $127.5 million in the same quarter of the prior year. On a constant currency basis, second quarter revenue growth was 13.4%. Growth in revenue was driven primarily by continued increases in Canada and Australia sales, which were up 26.8% and 24.1%, respectively. On a constant currency basis, Canada and Australia revenue grew by 33.1% and 29.5%, respectively. Growth in the United States was 5.0% in the second quarter.

Yosef Shiran, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to have delivered a strong quarter. Our good performance in major markets around the world reflects both the strength of our brand and our consistent execution. In the U.S., we have worked hard and implemented various changes to deepen our capabilities and to support the execution of our go to market strategy. We expect to leverage our global strength to achieve our full-year plan while we successfully position our US business for accelerated growth in 2017 and beyond."

Gross margin in the second quarter was 42.1% compared to 41.3% in the same period in the prior year. The increase was predominantly driven by favorable product mix, economies of scale and, to a lesser extent, lower raw material costs and lower manufacturing costs in Israel. The increase was partially offset by inefficiencies related to the U.S. manufacturing facility and negative exchange rate fluctuations.

Operating expenses in the second quarter were $28.7 million, or 20.2% of revenues. This compares to the prior year second quarter level of $24.3 million, or 19.1% of revenues. The increase in expenses was primarily due to increased marketing and sales capabilities, particularly in the United States, as well as legal settlements and loss contingency expenses that were not incurred in the prior year's second quarter.

Operating income in the second quarter was $31.3 million, a margin of 22.0%, compared to $28.3 million, an operating margin of 22.2%, in the second quarter of 2015.

Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes share-based compensation and legal settlements and loss contingencies expenses, reached a record of $39.8 million in the second quarter of 2016, a margin of 27.9%. This compares to adjusted EBITDA of $33.5 million in the prior year's second quarter, a margin of 26.3%. This year-over-year margin improvement reflects the improved gross margin mentioned above.

Finance expense in the second quarter was $1.4 million compared to $0.4 million during the same period in the prior year. The change was primarily due to $0.5 million net losses related to currency exchange rates fluctuations in the second quarter of 2016 compared with net gains of $0.4 million in the second quarter of 2015.

The Company reported net income attributable to controlling interest for the second quarter of 2016 of $25.4 million compared to $22.9 million in the same quarter in the prior year. Adjusted diluted net income per share for the second quarter was $0.73 on 34.9 million shares as compared to last year's second quarter result of $0.65 on 35.5 million shares. This growth mainly reflects operating improvements with a minor beneficial impact of the Company's share repurchases over the first half of 2016. The Company repurchased 494,776 shares in the second quarter for a total of $18.0 million.

The Company's balance sheet as of June 30, 2016 included cash, cash equivalents and short-term bank deposits of $55.7 million.

Guidance

The Company today reiterated its full-year 2016 guidance for revenue of $550 million to $565 million and for full-year adjusted EBITDA of $138 million to $145 million.

CEO Update

The Company expects that a new CEO will be appointed by the end of September 2016. As the Company published on May 23, 2016, Yos Shiran's last day in office is August 21, 2016. The Company's Chairman of the Board, Yonathan Melamed, will act as an interim CEO for the period before a new CEO is in office.

Conference Call Details

Yosef Shiran, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, and Yair Averbuch, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call today, August 3, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss the results of the second quarter ended June 30, 2016, followed by a question and answer session for the investment community. A live webcast of the call can be accessed at ir.caesarstone.com. To access the call, dial toll-free 1-888-481-2877 or +1-719-325-2315 (international). The toll-free Israeli number is 1 80 924 5906. The pass code is 487277.

To listen to a telephonic replay of the conference call, dial toll-free 1-877-870-5176 or +1-858-384-5517 (international) and enter pass code 487277. The replay will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, August 3, 2016 and will last through 11:59 p.m. ETAugust 17, 2016.

About Caesarstone

Caesarstone manufactures high quality engineered quartz surfaces, which are used in both residential and commercial buildings as countertops, vanities, wall cladding, floors and other interior surfaces. The wide variety of colors, styles, designs and textures of Caesarstone® products, along with Caesarstone's inherent characteristics such as hardness, non-porous, scratch and stain resistance and durability, provide consumers with excellent surfaces for their internal spaces which are highly competitive to granite, manufactured solid surfaces and laminate, as well as to other engineered quartz surfaces. Caesarstone's four collections of products — Classico, Supernatural, Motivo, and Concetto — are available in over 50 countries around the world. For more information about the Company, please visit our website www.caesarstone.com. (CSTE-E)

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The non-GAAP measures presented by the Company should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, comparable GAAP measures. A reconciliation of GAAP net income attributable to controlling interest to adjusted net income attributable to controlling interest and net income to Adjusted EBITDA are provided in the schedules within this release. The Company provides these non-GAAP financial measures because it believes that they present a better measure of the Company's core business and management uses the non-GAAP measures internally to evaluate the Company's ongoing performance. Accordingly, the Company believes that they are useful to investors in enhancing an understanding of the Company's operating performance.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information provided in this press release may contain statements relating to current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally relate to the Company's plans, objectives and expectations for future operations, including its projected results of operations and the expected timing of expanding its manufacturing facilities. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current estimates and projections of future results or trends. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These factors include, but are not limited to: the strength of the home renovation and construction sectors; economic conditions within any of our key existing markets; actions by our competitors; changes in raw material prices, particularly polymer resins and pigments; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; the success of our expansion efforts in the United States; the outcome of silicosis claims and the claim by our former quartz processor; unpredictability of seasonal fluctuations in revenues; delays in manufacturing if our suppliers are unable to supply raw materials; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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Source: Caesarstone Ltd.

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