• Fiscal second quarter 2021 revenue of $881 million
• GAAP diluted EPS of $1.42, including $0.07 of restructuring charges and $0.22 of stock-based compensation expense
• Initiates fiscal third quarter 2021 revenue guidance of $875 to $915 million with GAAP diluted EPS guidance of $1.23 to $1.38, excluding any unforeseen COVID-19 impacts
  

NEENAH, WI, April 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Plexus (NASDAQ: PLXS) today announced financial results for our fiscal second quarter ended April 3, 2021, and guidance for our fiscal third quarter ending July 3, 2021.

Fiscal Second Quarter 2021 Information

• Won 42 manufacturing programs during the quarter representing $284 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Trailing four quarter wins total a record $1.044 billion in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production
• Purchased $29.2 million of our shares at an average price of $83.39 per share under our existing share repurchase programs. A balance of $53.4 million remains outstanding under the $100 million fiscal 2021 program.
  

Todd Kelsey, President and CEO, commented, “Our robust fiscal second quarter results highlight the advantages of our unique value proposition and consistent focus on operational excellence. Our GAAP operating margin of 5.75% expanded 11 basis points from the prior quarter, representing the best performance in more than a decade and the fourth consecutive quarter in excess of 5.0%. Productivity gains, expense management and another solid performance from our Engineering Solutions team contributed to better than anticipated profitability. Revenue of $881 million was in line with our expectation and at the midpoint of our guidance. Through this combination, we delivered GAAP EPS of $1.42, which exceeded the top end of our guidance range.”

Mr. Kelsey continued, “Leveraging the record $3.3 billion funnel of qualified manufacturing opportunities from our fiscal first quarter, we won 42 new manufacturing programs. For the second consecutive quarter, these program wins include a number of meaningful new customer engagements, positioning us for further growth. These wins, which include a notable Aftermarket Services engagement, represent $284 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production and contribute to our trailing four quarter wins, once again, exceeding $1.0 billion.”

Patrick Jermain, Executive Vice President and CFO, commented, “With our exceptional operating performance and working capital management, we delivered return on invested capital of 17.3%, sequentially improved by 100 basis points and the highest return delivered in four years. This result generated economic return of 920 basis points above our weighted average cost of capital, creating considerable shareholder value. Further, given the strength of our balance sheet and free cash flow generation, we elected to repay our 364-day term loan of $138 million three months early. We ended the quarter with ample liquidity given our cash balance of approximately $295 million and only $38 million borrowed under our $350 million revolving credit facility.   In addition, we reconfirm our fiscal 2021 expectation for free cash flow of approximately $100 million.”

Mr. Kelsey further commented, “We anticipate our robust performance will continue for the fiscal third quarter based upon incrementally stronger demand, particularly in our Healthcare/Life Sciences sector, and confidence in our ability to consistently execute. We are guiding revenue of $875 to $915 million, GAAP operating margin of 5.1% to 5.6% and GAAP EPS of $1.23 to $1.38. Our guidance assumes that neither supply chain constraints, which are a near term limiter in our ability to meet customer demand upside, nor COVID-19 will materially impact end markets or our operations beyond what is already anticipated.”

Mr. Kelsey concluded, “We believe we have a platform to sustain strong revenue growth moving forward through the strengthening in the overall demand environment, including equipment used in elective medical procedures, an eventual commercial aerospace market recovery, our ability to support secular growth markets and the acceleration in new program wins. Looking beyond fiscal 2021, we are confident these factors support our goal to achieve 9% to 12% annual revenue growth while continuing to deliver industry leading operating performance.”

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 55% of revenue for both the fiscal first and second quarters of 2021.

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 the fiscal second quarter was 17.3%. Plexus defines ROIC as tax-effected annualized adjusted operating income divided by average invested capital over a three-quarter period for the fiscal second quarter. 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 is 8.1%. ROIC for the fiscal second quarter less Plexus’ weighted average cost of capital resulted in an economic return of 9.2%.

Free Cash Flow

Plexus defines free cash flow as cash flows provided by operations less capital expenditures. For the three months ended April 3, 2021, cash flows provided by operations was $82.1 million, less capital expenditures of $7.3 million, resulting in free cash flow of $74.8 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

Investor and Media Contact
Shawn Harrison
+1.920.751.3612
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 approximately 19,000 individuals who are dedicated to providing global 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 global companies by providing innovative, comprehensive solutions throughout the 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 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 shortages and delays in obtaining components as a result of economic cycles, natural disasters or otherwise; 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 in our fiscal 2020 Form 10-K and any subsequently filed Form 10-Q.