|
SECURITY: F0 (Common)
EXCHANGE: New York Stock Exchange CURRENCY: US Dollar
Fortune Brands, Inc. is a
consumer products company with annual sales exceeding $5.6 billion. Its
operating companies have premier brands and leading market positions in
home and hardware products, spirits and wine, golf equipment and office
products. Home and hardware brands include Moen faucets, Aristokraft, Schrock,
Diamond and Omega cabinets, Master Lock security products and Waterloo
tool storage sold by units of MasterBrand Industries, Inc. Major spirits
and wine brands sold by units of Jim Beam Brands Worldwide, Inc. include
Jim Beam and Knob Creek bourbons, DeKuyper cordials, The Dalmore single
malt Scotch, Vox vodka and Geyser Peak and Canyon Road wines. Acushnet
Company’s golf brands include Titleist, Cobra and FootJoy. Office brands
include Day-Timer, Swingline, Kensington and Wilson Jones sold by units
of ACCO World Corporation
FORTUNE
BRANDS REPORTS SECOND QUARTER RESULTS
-
Growth for Premium Spirits & Wine, New Products and Broad-Based Share
Gains Boost Results Above High End of Target Range
-
Results Benefit from Strong Global Growth for Jim Beam, Sauza, Maker's
Mark, Master Lock, Titleist and Cobra
-
Home Products Brands Outperform Market
Deerfield,
IL, July 27, 2007 - Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), a leading consumer
brands company, today reported results for the second quarter of 2007.
Broad-based market-share gains, strong international sales growth, newly
introduced products and the timing of brand spending for spirits and wine
helped the company achieve results above the high end of its EPS target
range for the quarter. Strong profit growth in the company's Spirits
& Wine and Golf businesses largely offset the impact of the downturn
in the U.S. housing market on the company's Home products business.
"Fortune
Brands' unique breadth and balance once again tempered the impact of the
downturn in the U.S. housing market," said Norm Wesley, chairman and chief
executive officer of Fortune Brands. "Each of our businesses outperformed
our expectations in the quarter and we continued to gain share in key consumer
categories. Our second quarter results, though still down, were a
significant improvement over the first quarter.
"Reflecting
rising consumer demand for premium brands including Jim Beam, Sauza, Maker's
Mark, Teacher's and Clos du Bois, our year-to-date spirits-and-wine case
volumes are up at a mid-single-digit rate," Wesley continued. "Operating
income for spirits and wine benefited in the quarter from the timing of
brand spending that will accelerate in the second half as we launch several
new marketing programs. Newly introduced products from Titleist,
Cobra and FootJoy drove second-quarter golf sales up double digits.
Our strength in the replace-remodel segment and share gains for Moen, Therma-Tru,
Master Lock and our cabinetry brands helped us outperform the home products
market. We're pleased that in the challenging environment facing
our home products - and also against challenging comparisons to last year's
very strong results - we achieved results above the high end of our EPS
target range for the quarter."
For
the second quarter of 2007:
-
Net income was $232 million, or $1.48 per diluted share, versus $248 million
($1.63 per diluted share) in the year-ago quarter.
- Comparisons were impacted by a restructuring-related
charge ($0.05 per share) in the current-year quarter and the absence of
a net gain ($0.08 per share) from one-time items in the prior-year quarter.
-
Excluding one-time items in both the current and prior-year periods, diluted
EPS before charges/gains was $1.53, down 1% from $1.55 in the year-ago
quarter.
- These results were above the top of the company's previously
announced target range for diluted EPS before charges/gains to be off in
the mid-single-digit-to-low-double-digit range.
-
Net sales were $2.35 billion, up 4%.
- On a comparable basis - assuming the company had owned
acquired brands in the year-ago quarter and excluding excise taxes - the
company estimates total net sales for Fortune Brands would have been off
approximately 2% in constant currency.
-
Operating income was $428 million, down 1%.
-
Return on equity before charges/gains was 17%.
-
Return on invested capital before charges/gains was 9%.
Fortune
Brands Declares Regular Dividend
Deerfield,
IL, September 26, 2006 – Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), a leading consumer
brands company, today declared a regular dividend of 39 cents per share
on the Common Stock, payable in cash on December 1, 2006, to stockholders
of record at the close of business November 8, 2006.
The
company also declared a regular dividend of 66.75 cents per share on the
$2.67 Convertible Preferred Stock, payable in cash on December 10, 2006,
to stockholders of record at the close of business November 8, 2006
FORTUNE
BRANDS REPORTS RECORD SECOND QUARTER RESULTS
-
Broad-Based Growth Across Consumer Categories Fuels Continued Share Gains
and Double-Digit EPS Growth
-
Company Exceeds Second Quarter Earnings Target, Delivers 20th Quarter in
a Row of Double-Digit EPS Growth Before Charges/Gains
Deerfield,
IL, July 27, 2006 - Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), a leading consumer
brands company, today reported double-digit growth in earnings per share
for the second quarter of 2006. Diluted earnings per share from continuing
operations increased 34%, benefiting from solid organic sales growth, the
success of the 2005 spirits and wine acquisition and a net gain from state
tax-related credits. Consumer demand across the company's brand portfolio
- including Moen faucets, Omega and Aristokraft cabinetry, Master Lock
security products, Jim Beam and Maker's Mark bourbon, Sauza tequila and
Titleist golf balls - fueled sales growth and share gains in key markets.
"Fortune
Brands delivered another strong quarter of double-digit earnings growth
that exceeded the earnings target we provided three months ago," said Fortune
Brands chairman and CEO Norm Wesley. "This was the 20th consecutive
quarter that Fortune Brands has achieved double-digit growth in earnings
per share on a before charges/gains basis, underscoring how Fortune Brands'
breadth and balance across high-return consumer businesses enhances our
ability to consistently deliver strong results."
"Our
home products brands outperformed a moderating housing market on the strength
of our innovations in function and style and the stability of the replace-and-remodel
segment. In spirits and wine, the addition of the brands we acquired
last July, the enhanced scale and quality of our portfolio, and a lower
cost structure helped fuel our strong spirits-and-wine results. The
soft spot in the quarter was in sales of golf clubs, which had a strong
first quarter but declined against a strong double-digit increase in the
year-ago quarter. Even so, we benefited from our unrivalled breadth
across the golf category as sales of golf balls, shoes, gloves and accessories
all grew solidly in the quarter."
For
the second quarter, on a continuing operations basis:
-
Net income was $248 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, up 34% from $1.22
in the year-ago quarter.
- Results reflected a net gain of 8 cents per share
from one-time items. The net gain resulted from credits related to
the favorable resolution of state tax audits ($0.10 per share), partly
offset by restructuring and restructuring-related items ($0.01 per share)
and currency mark-to-market expense ($0.01 per share) that finalized the
previously disclosed purchase price adjustment for the 2005 spirits and
wine acquisition.
-
Excluding the net gain, diluted EPS before charges/gains was $1.55, up
17%.
- These results were 5 cents above the mean estimate
of Wall Street securities analysts (source: Thomson First Call) and above
the company's previously announced second quarter target of high-single-digit
to low-double-digit growth.
-
Net sales were $2.3 billion, up 27%.
- On an adjusted basis - assuming the company had
owned acquired brands in the year-ago quarter, and excluding excise taxes
and foreign exchange - the company estimates total net sales for Fortune
Brands would have risen at a mid-single-digit rate.
-
Operating income was $434 million, up 30%.
-
Return on equity before charges/gains was 20%.
-
Return on invested capital before charges/gains was 10%.
Outlook
for Double-Digit EPS Growth for Third Quarter and Full Year
|
