- Fourth Quarter 2015 Revenue $559.7 Million; GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share $0.09; Non-GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share $0.27

(PRNewswire) —  Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) today announced fourth quarter and fiscal year end 2015 results.

Fourth Quarter 2015 Financial Summary

Fourth quarter 2015 revenue of $559.7 million was down 1 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Engineering and Construction revenue was $319.1 million, down 3 percent. Field Solutions revenue was $79.4 million, down 2 percent. Mobile Solutions revenue was $132.2 million, up 7 percent. Advanced Devices revenue was $29.0 million, down 5 percent. Foreign currency translation unfavorably impacted company revenue by approximately 3 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.

GAAP operating income was $32.9 million, down 57 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Fourth quarter 2014 GAAP operating and net income results were positively impacted by the reversal of a $51.3 million reserve for legal matters related to a jury verdict that was overturned. GAAP operating margin was 5.9 percent of revenue as compared to 13.6 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014.   

GAAP net income was $24.0 million, down 57 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Diluted GAAP earnings per share were $0.09 as compared to diluted GAAP earnings per share of $0.21 in the fourth quarter of 2014. The GAAP tax rate for the fourth quarter was 16 percent. 

Non-GAAP operating income of $91.1 million was up 8 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Non-GAAP operating margin was 16.3 percent of revenue as compared to 14.9 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Non-GAAP net income of $67.3 million was down 12 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Diluted non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.27 as compared to diluted non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.29 in the fourth quarter of 2014. The non-GAAP tax rate for the fourth quarter was 24 percent, compared to 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014. 

"The quarter was more robust than we originally anticipated with relative strength across the company," said Steven W. Berglund, Trimble's president and chief executive officer. "The quarterly performance provides additional support for our 2016 expectations. Agriculture revenue was flat year to year, geospatial continues its recovery from the oil price shock, building construction's growth continues to be consistent, and transportation and logistics continues to build momentum." 

Fiscal 2015 Financial Summary

Fiscal 2015 revenue of $2.3 billion was down 4 percent as compared to fiscal 2014. Engineering and Construction revenue was $1.3 billion, down 5 percent. Field Solutions revenue was $355.3 million, down 16 percent. Mobile Solutions revenue was $520.3 million, up 7 percent. Advanced Devices revenue was $131.5 million, down 5 percent. Foreign currency translation unfavorably impacted company revenue by approximately 4 percent as compared to fiscal 2014.

GAAP operating income was $154.4 million, down 41 percent as compared to fiscal 2014. GAAP operating margin was 6.7 percent of revenue as compared to 10.9 percent of revenue in fiscal 2014.  

GAAP net income was $121.1 million, down 43 percent as compared to fiscal 2014. Diluted GAAP earnings per share were $0.47 as compared to diluted GAAP earnings per share of $0.81 in fiscal 2014. The GAAP tax rate for fiscal year 2015 was 20 percent.

Non-GAAP operating income of $389.9 million was down 19 percent as compared to fiscal 2014. Non-GAAP operating margin was 17.0 percent of revenue as compared to 20.0 percent of revenue in fiscal 2014.

Non-GAAP net income of $291.8 million was down 25 percent as compared to fiscal 2014. Diluted non-GAAP earnings per share were $1.13 as compared to diluted non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.46 in fiscal 2014. The non-GAAP tax rate for fiscal 2015 was 24 percent, compared to 19 percent in fiscal 2014. 

Operating cash flow in fiscal 2015 was $354.9 million, down 13 percent as compared to fiscal 2014.

During fiscal 2015, Trimble repurchased $234.4 million of its common stock, through a combination of open market purchases and an accelerated share repurchase program. Approximately $250 million remains under the current share repurchase authorization.

Forward Looking Guidance

For the first quarter of 2016 Trimble expects revenue to be between $565 million and $595 million with GAAP earnings per share of $0.06 to $0.11 and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.25 to $0.30. Non-GAAP guidance excludes the amortization of intangibles of $40 million related to previous acquisitions, anticipated acquisition costs of $3 million, the anticipated impact of stock-based compensation expense of $15 million, and $3 million in anticipated restructuring charges. GAAP and non-GAAP guidance assume a tax rate of 24 percent and approximately 254 million shares outstanding.

Investor Conference Call / Webcast Details

Trimble will hold a conference call on February 9 at 1:30 p.m. PT to review its fourth quarter and full year 2015 results. It will be broadcast live on the Web at http://investor.trimble.com. Investors without Internet access may dial into the call at (800) 528-9198 (U.S.) or (702) 928-6633 (international). The pass code is 30806350. The replay will also be available on the Web at the address above.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

To help our investors understand our past financial performance and our future results, as well as our performance relative to competitors, we supplement the financial results that we provide in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, with non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP measures can be used to evaluate our historical and prospective financial performance, as well as our performance relative to competitors. Our management regularly uses our supplemental non-GAAP financial measures internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business, and to make operating decisions. These non-GAAP measures are among the primary factors management uses in planning for and forecasting future periods. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects of our operations that, when viewed with our GAAP results, provide a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our business. Further, we believe some of our investors track our "core operating performance" as a means of evaluating our performance in the ordinary, ongoing, and customary course of our operations. Core operating performance excludes items that are non-cash, not expected to recur or not reflective of ongoing financial results. Management also believes that looking at our core operating performance provides a supplemental way to provide consistency in period to period comparisons.