- Fourth Quarter 2014 Revenue $563.8 Million, Down 6 Percent; GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share $0.21: Non-GAAP Diluted Earnings per Share $0.29

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

Fourth Quarter 2014

Fourth quarter 2014 revenue of $563.8 million was down 6 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Engineering and Construction revenue was $328.5 million, down 1 percent. Field Solutions revenue was $80.7 million, down 27 percent. Mobile Solutions revenue was $124.1 million, down 1 percent. Advanced Devices revenue was $30.5 million, down 2 percent. Foreign currency translation unfavorably impacted company revenue by approximately 2 percent.

GAAP operating income was $76.9 million, up 14 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. GAAP operating margin was 13.6 percent of revenue as compared to 11.2 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2013, and benefitted from the reversal of a $51.3 million reserve for legal matters related to a jury verdict that was overturned.   

GAAP net income was $55.8 million, down 7 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Diluted GAAP earnings per share were $0.21 as compared to diluted GAAP earnings per share of $0.23 in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Non-GAAP operating income of $84.2 million was down 33 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Non-GAAP operating margin was 14.9 percent of revenue as compared to 20.9 percent of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Non-GAAP net income of $76.1 million was down 33 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. Diluted non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.29 as compared to diluted non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.43 in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Operating cash flow in the quarter was $96.6 million, down 29 percent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.   

Fiscal 2014

Fiscal 2014 revenue of $2.4 billion was up 5 percent as compared to fiscal 2013. Engineering and Construction revenue was $1.3 billion, up 10 percent. Field Solutions revenue was $422.1 million, down 11 percent. Mobile Solutions revenue was $486.8 million, up 5 percent. Advanced Devices revenue was $138.5 million, up 9 percent.  

GAAP operating income was $260.8 million, up 4 percent as compared to fiscal 2013. GAAP operating margin was 10.9 percent of revenue as compared to 11.0 percent of revenue in fiscal 2013.

GAAP net income was $214.1 million, down 2 percent as compared to fiscal 2013. Diluted GAAP earnings per share were $0.81 as compared to diluted GAAP earnings per share of $0.84 in fiscal 2013.

Non-GAAP operating income of $479.8 million was up 1 percent as compared to fiscal 2013. Non-GAAP operating margin was 20.0 percent of revenue as compared to 20.7 percent of revenue in fiscal 2013.

Non-GAAP net income of $386.6 million was down 6 percent as compared to fiscal 2013. Diluted non-GAAP earnings per share were $1.46 as compared to diluted non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.58 in fiscal 2013.

Operating cash flow in fiscal 2014 was $407.1 million, down 2 percent as compared to fiscal 2013.  

"We were impacted in the fourth quarter by a stronger dollar, deferred revenue accounting effects associated with new acquisitions, and the short term reaction to the decline in oil prices. The combined effect of these factors pushed us lower in our anticipated revenue range for the quarter and will influence first half 2015 results. Agriculture revenue for the quarter was consistent with our expectation and represents a significant year-over-year decline," said Steven W. Berglund, Trimble's president and chief executive officer. "Total fiscal year 2014 results for the company showed revenue and non-GAAP operating income expansion, despite the significant declines in agriculture. Although the agriculture market remains volatile and difficult to forecast, we continue to invest in the coming agriculture technology transformation while also taking steps in the short term to maintain our historically strong financial model for the company. Despite continuing headwinds in the first half of 2015 we anticipate strengthening results as the year progresses."

Forward Looking Guidance

For the first quarter of 2015 Trimble expects revenue to be between $590 million and $620 million with GAAP earnings per share of $0.09 to $0.16 and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.26 to $0.33. Non-GAAP guidance excludes the amortization of intangibles of $41 million related to previous acquisitions, anticipated acquisition costs of $4 million, and the anticipated impact of stock-based compensation expense of $13 million. GAAP guidance assumes a tax rate of 23 percent and non-GAAP guidance assumes a tax rate of 22 percent.  Both GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share assume approximately 264 million shares outstanding.

Investor Conference Call / Webcast Details

Trimble will hold a conference call on February 10, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. PT to review its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014 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 75288322. 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.

The specific non-GAAP measures, which we use along with a reconciliation to the nearest comparable GAAP measures and the explanation for why these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors regarding our financial condition and results of operations and why management chose to exclude selected items can be found at the end of this release. The method we use to produce non-GAAP results is not computed according to GAAP and may differ from the methods used by other companies. Our non-GAAP results are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures and should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP results, which is attached to this earnings release. Additional financial information about our use of non-GAAP results can be found on the investor relations page of our Web site at http://investor.trimble.com.

About Trimble

Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location—including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.