OREANDA-NEWS. Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE: NWL) announced it will reaffirm its fiscal year 2016 outlook, as provided in its second quarter 2016 earnings press release dated July 29, 2016, during its presentation today at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference.

The company is reaffirming its full year 2016 guidance as follows:

       
      Year Ending December 31, 2016
Core sales growth     3.0% to 4.0%
 
Normalized earnings per share     $2.75 to $2.90
       

Newell Brands core sales include pro forma core sales associated with the Jarden acquisition as if the combination occurred April 15, 2015. Core sales exclude the impact of foreign currency, all acquisitions (other than the Jarden acquisition) until their first anniversary and all planned and completed divestitures (which includes the deconsolidation of Venezuela). Core sales include the negative impact of planned product line exits. Newell Brands expects to exit product lines with annual sales of $250 million to $300 million over the next two to three years.

About Newell Brands

Newell Brands (NYSE: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Paper Mate®, Sharpie®, Dymo®, EXPO®, Parker®, Elmer’s®, Coleman®, Jostens®, Marmot®, Rawlings®, Irwin®, Lenox®, Oster®, Sunbeam®, FoodSaver®, Mr. Coffee®, Rubbermaid Commercial Products®, Graco®, Baby Jogger®, NUK®, Calphalon®, Rubbermaid®, Contigo®, First Alert®, Waddington and Yankee Candle®. Driven by a sharp focus on the consumer, leading investment in innovation and brands, and a performance-driven culture, Newell Brands helps consumers achieve more where they live, learn, work and play.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release contains non-GAAP financial measures within the meaning of Regulation G promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and includes a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

The company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures that are included in this press release and the additional financial information both in explaining its results to stockholders and the investment community and in its internal evaluation and management of its businesses. The company’s management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures and the information they provide are useful to investors since these measures (a) permit investors to view the company’s performance using the same tools that management uses to evaluate the company’s past performance, reportable business segments and prospects for future performance and (b) determine certain elements of management’s incentive compensation.

The company’s management believes that core sales provides a more complete understanding of underlying sales trends by providing sales on a consistent basis as it excludes the impacts of acquisitions (other than the Jarden acquisition, which is included in core sales on a pro forma basis starting in the second quarter of 2016), planned or completed divestitures, the deconsolidation of the company’s Venezuelan operations and changes in foreign currency from year-over-year comparisons. The effect of foreign currency on reported sales is determined by applying a fixed exchange rate, calculated as the 12-month average in the prior year, to the current and prior year local currency sales amounts (excluding acquisitions and planned and completed divestitures), with the difference in these two amounts being the increase or decrease in core sales, and the difference between the change in as reported sales and the change in constant currency sales reported as the currency impact. The company’s management believes that “normalized” earnings per share, which exclude restructuring and other expenses and one-time and other events such as costs related to certain product recalls, the extinguishment of debt, certain tax benefits and charges, impairment charges, pension settlement charges, discontinued operations, costs related to the acquisition, integration and financing of acquired businesses, amortization of intangible assets associated with acquisitions (beginning in the second quarter of 2016), advisory costs for process transformation and optimization initiatives, costs of personnel dedicated to integration activities and transformation initiatives under Project Renewal and certain other items, is useful because it provides investors with a meaningful perspective on the current underlying performance of the company’s core ongoing operations.

The company determines the tax effect of the items excluded from normalized diluted earnings per share by applying the estimated effective rate for the applicable jurisdiction in which the pre-tax items were incurred, and for which realization of the resulting tax benefit, if any, is expected. In certain situations, in which an item excluded from normalized results impacts income tax expense, the company uses a “with” and “without” approach to determine normalized income tax expense.

While the company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating the company’s performance, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and not as a substitute for or superior to the related financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from similar measures presented by other companies.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Reconciliations of the 2016 core sales growth and normalized earnings per share outlooks are as follows:

     
    Year Ending December 31, 2016
Estimated net sales growth (GAAP)     122.0 %   to     127.0 %
Less: Jarden net sales growth included in pro forma base     115.0 %   to     120.0 %
Net sales growth, adjusted pro forma (1)     7.0 %   to     8.0 %
Less: Currency     (1.0 %)   to     (2.0 %)
Acquisitions, net of divestitures (2)     6.0 %   to     7.0 %
Venezuela deconsolidation       (1.0%)    
Core sales growth, adjusted pro forma     3.0 %   to     4.0 %
 

(1) Adjusted pro forma reflects Jarden sales from April 16, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

 

(2) Acquisitions, net of divestitures represents estimated sales of The Waddington Group, Inc., Jostens, Inc. and Elmer's Products, Inc. until the one-year anniversary of their respective dates of acquisition, net of the impacts of the divestiture of the Rubbermaid medical cart business in August 2015 and the divestiture of the Levolor and Kirsch window coverings brands ("D?cor") in June 2016.

 
 
    Year Ending December 31, 2016
Diluted earnings per share   $ 1.45     to   $ 1.60  
Project Renewal and Project Lean restructuring and other costs   $ 0.25     to   $ 0.35  
Integration costs to drive synergies   $ 0.15     to   $ 0.25  
Estimated gain on sale of D?cor*   $ (0.24 )   to   $ (0.26 )

Jarden transaction-related costs, including debit/credit facility extinguishment costs

  $ 0.15     to   $ 0.25  
Acquisition-related amortization** and inventory step-up   $ 0.75     to   $ 0.95  
Normalized earnings per share   $ 2.75     to   $ 2.90  
             

* Gain on sale of D?cor in the second quarter of 2016 was $160 million but subject to customary working capital adjustments

** Represents amortization of acquisition-related intangibles beginning in the second quarter of 2016.