NEENAH, WI, Oct. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ: PLXS) today announced financial results for our fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year ended October 2, 2021, and guidance for our fiscal first quarter ending January 1, 2022.

• Fiscal fourth quarter revenue of $843 million, GAAP operating margin of 5.0% and GAAP diluted EPS of $1.16, including $0.23 of stock-based compensation expense
• Fiscal 2021 revenue of $3.4 billion, GAAP operating margin of 5.2% and GAAP diluted EPS of $4.76, including $0.85 of stock-based compensation expense
• Initiates fiscal first quarter 2022 revenue guidance of $825 to $865 million with GAAP diluted EPS of $1.01 to $1.17, including $0.21 of stock-based compensation expense
  

Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2021 Information

• Won 38 manufacturing programs during the quarter representing $251 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Trailing four quarter wins total $1.0 billion in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Purchased $29.3 million of our shares at an average price of $88.39 per share under our share repurchase programs. $46.9 million of our current $50 million authorization remains available to repurchase shares.
  

Fiscal Year 2021 Information

• GAAP diluted EPS of $4.76, an increase of 21% from fiscal 2020
• ROIC of 15.4%, delivering an economic return of 730 basis points above our weighted average cost of capital of 8.1%
• Purchased $108.5 million of our shares at an average price of $84.78 per share under our share repurchase programs
  

Todd Kelsey, President and CEO, commented, “I am proud of the resilience and unyielding focus on operational excellence of our more than 19,000 Plexus team members. Their actions during fiscal 2021 were foundational to advancing our vision to help create the products that build a better world. Plexus delivered robust 21% growth in GAAP EPS for fiscal 2021 as well as significant economic return on essentially flat revenue. Challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and worsening supply chain shortages impacted our ability to support demand that was well in excess of our fiscal 2021 revenue. For our fiscal fourth quarter, we delivered revenue of $843 million, which fell short of our forecast given unanticipated supply chain shortages and workforce absences resulting from the pandemic. Despite the revenue shortfall, our GAAP operating margin of 5.0% and GAAP EPS of $1.16 were consistent with our guidance given our team’s focus on cost control, a strong start of a new Aftermarket Services program and continued robust demand for Engineering Solutions across all of our regions.”

Mr. Kelsey continued, “Fiscal 2021 represented a record year for new manufacturing program wins. We exited fiscal 2021 with trailing four-quarter wins of $1.03 billion, an increase of 8% year-over-year. In addition, our team engaged with 22 new customers. These engagements create a significant opportunity to drive incremental new manufacturing program wins and, in turn, revenue growth in future quarters.”

Patrick Jermain, Executive Vice President and CFO, commented, “For fiscal 2021, we delivered return on invested capital of 15.4%. This equates to an economic return of 730 basis points above our weighted average cost of capital, creating substantial shareholder value. Strong operating performance while maintaining consistent year-over-year invested capital led to a 140 basis point improvement in our ROIC compared to fiscal 2020. We exited fiscal 2021 delivering $85 million in free cash flow, with all three of our regions generating positive free cash flow. All free cash flow was allocated to repurchasing approximately $109 million of stock under our share repurchase programs for the year, continuing our commitment to shareholder returns.”

Mr. Kelsey further commented, “In light of the constrained component market, we are guiding fiscal first quarter revenue of $825 to $865 million. We forecast continued solid operating performance and are guiding GAAP operating margin of 4.6% to 5.0% and GAAP diluted EPS of $1.01 to $1.17. Our guidance assumes supply chain constraints and COVID-19, including potential vaccination and testing mandates, do not further materially impact end markets or our operations.”

Mr. Kelsey concluded, “As we look to fiscal 2022, customer demand remains robust as a result of improved end markets, new program wins and our participation in secular growth markets and far exceeds our 9% to 12% revenue growth goal. However, supply chain constraints are a limiting factor in our ability to fulfill all the available demand. We continue to believe that we will achieve quarterly sequential revenue growth while delivering industry-leading GAAP operating margin throughout fiscal 2022.”

Business Segment and Market Sector Revenue
Plexus measures operational performance and allocates resources on a geographic segment basis. Plexus also reports revenue based on the market sector breakout set forth in the table below, which reflects Plexus’ market sector focused strategy. Top 10 customers comprised 56% of revenue during both the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 and 2020. This is up one percentage point from the third quarter of fiscal 2021. For both fiscal 2021 and 2020, top 10 customers comprised 55% of revenue.

Non-GAAP Supplemental Information
Plexus provides non-GAAP supplemental information, such as ROIC, economic return and free cash flow, because such measures are used for internal management goals and decision making, and because they provide management and investors with additional insight into financial performance. In addition, management uses these and other non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS, to provide a better understanding of core performance for purposes of period-to-period comparisons. Plexus believes that these measures are also useful to investors because they provide further insight by eliminating the effect of non-recurring items that are not reflective of continuing operations. For a full reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures, please refer to the attached Non-GAAP Supplemental Information Tables.

ROIC and Economic Return
ROIC for fiscal year 2021 was 15.4%. Plexus defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized adjusted operating income divided by average invested capital over a five-quarter period for the fiscal year. Invested capital is defined as equity plus debt and operating lease obligations, less cash and cash equivalents. Plexus' weighted average cost of capital for fiscal 2021 was 8.1%. ROIC for fiscal year 2021 less Plexus’ weighted average cost of capital resulted in an economic return of 7.3%.

Free Cash Flow
Plexus defines free cash flow as cash flows provided by operations less capital expenditures. For the three months ended October 2, 2021, cash flows provided by operations was $11.0 million, less capital expenditures of $22.7 million, resulting in free cash flow of $(11.7) million. For the fiscal year ended October 2, 2021, cash flows provided by operations was $142.6 million, less capital expenditures of $57.1 million, resulting in free cash flow of $85.5 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Investor and Media Contact
Shawn Harrison
+1.920.969.6325
shawn.harrison@plexus.com

About Plexus
Since 1979, Plexus has been partnering with companies to create the products that build a better world. We are a team of over 19,000 individuals who are dedicated to providing Design and Development, Supply Chain Solutions, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing and Aftermarket Services. Plexus is a global leader that specializes in serving customers in industries with highly complex products and demanding regulatory environments. Plexus delivers customer service excellence to leading companies by providing innovative, comprehensive solutions throughout a product’s lifecycle. For more information about Plexus, visit our website at www.plexus.com.

Safe Harbor and Fair Disclosure Statement
The statements contained in this press release that are guidance or which are not historical facts (such as statements in the future tense and statements including believe, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, goal, target and similar terms and concepts), including all discussions of periods which are not yet completed, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the evolving effect, which may intensify, of COVID-19 on our employees, customers, suppliers, and logistics providers, including the impact of governmental actions being taken to curtail the spread of the virus. Other risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the effects of shortages and delays in obtaining components as a result of economic cycles, natural disasters or otherwise; the risk of customer delays, changes, cancellations or forecast inaccuracies in both ongoing and new programs; the lack of visibility of future orders, particularly in view of changing economic conditions; the economic performance of the industries, sectors and customers we serve; the effects of tariffs, trade disputes, trade agreements and other trade protection measures; the effects of the volume of revenue from certain sectors or programs on our margins in particular periods; our ability to secure new customers, maintain our current customer base and deliver product on a timely basis; the risks of concentration of work for certain customers; the particular risks relative to new or recent customers, programs or services, which risks include customer and other delays, start-up costs, potential inability to execute, the establishment of appropriate terms of agreements, and the lack of a track record of order volume and timing; the effects of start-up costs of new programs and facilities or the costs associated with the closure or consolidation of facilities; possible unexpected costs and operating disruption in transitioning programs, including transitions between Company facilities; the risk that new program wins and/or customer demand may not result in the expected revenue or profitability; the fact that customer orders may not lead to long-term relationships; our ability to manage successfully and execute a complex business model characterized by high product mix and demanding quality, regulatory, and other requirements; the risks associated with excess and obsolete inventory, including the risk that inventory purchased on behalf of our customers may not be consumed or otherwise paid for by the customer, resulting in an inventory write-off; risks related to information technology systems and data security; the ability to realize anticipated savings from restructuring or similar actions, as well as the adequacy of related charges as compared to actual expenses; increasing regulatory and compliance requirements; the effects of U.S. Tax Reform, any tax law changes as a result of change in U.S. presidential administration, and of related foreign jurisdiction tax developments; current or potential future barriers to the repatriation of funds that are currently held outside of the United States as a result of actions taken by other countries or otherwise; the potential effects of jurisdictional results on our taxes, tax rates, and our ability to use deferred tax assets and net operating losses; the weakness of areas of the global economy; the effect of changes in the pricing and margins of products; raw materials and component cost fluctuations; the potential effect of fluctuations in the value of the currencies in which we transact business; the effects of changes in economic conditions, political conditions and tax matters in the United States and in the other countries in which we do business (including as a result of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union); the potential effect of other world or local events or other events outside our control (such as changes in energy prices, terrorism, global health epidemics and weather events); the impact of increased competition; an inability to successfully manage human capital; changes in financial accounting standards; and other risks detailed herein and in our other Securities and Exchange Commission filings, particularly in Risk Factors contained in our fiscal 2020 Form 10-K and subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.