CAE reports second quarter financial results for fiscal year 2012

CAE today reported financial results for the second quarter ended September 30, 2011. Net income attributable to equity holders of the company was C$38.4 million (C$0.15 per share) this quarter, compared to C$39.1 million (C$0.15 per share) last year. Excluding C$8.4 million (C$2.7 million after tax) of business acquisition and integration charges, net income attributable to equity holders of the company would have been C$41.1 million (C$0.16 per share). All financial information is in Canadian dollars.

Revenue for the quarter was $433.5 million, 12% higher than $388.0 million in the second quarter last year.

“Demand for our Civil aviation training products and services was strong in all regions this quarter and we signed a number of key contracts in defence, adding to our healthy $3.6 billion backlog”, said Marc Parent, CAE’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This quarter also marked a turning point in the development of our New Core markets segment, which is now on track to generate over $120 million of revenue next fiscal year and to become profitable.”

Second quarter operating profit(1) was $63.9 million, or 14.7% of revenue. Excluding $8.4 million business acquisition and integration charges, operating profit would have been $72.3 million. 

Civil segments
Revenue for our combined Civil segments increased 22% in the second quarter to $211.7 million compared to $172.9 million last year. Operating profit was $42.3 million (20.0% of revenue) compared to $31.5 million (18.2% of revenue) last year.

Civil market activity continued to be strong in the second quarter in all regions with eight full-flight simulator orders for customers in both emerging and legacy markets. We signed training services contracts expected to generate $245.5 million in future revenue, including long term agreements with airline customers in Asia and South America. Our Emirates-CAE Flight Training joint venture announced that it will open a second training centre in Dubai, and we also announced that CAE is initiating pilot training in the Czech Republic to serve customers in Eastern Europe.

We received $336.9 million in combined civil segment orders this quarter representing a book-to-sales ratio of 1.59x. The ratio for the last 12 months was 1.35x.

Military segments
Revenue for CAE’s combined Military segments decreased 3% in the second quarter to $201.5 million compared to $207.0 million last year. Operating profit was $30.2 million (15.0% of revenue), compared to
$38.6 million (18.6% of revenue) last year. 
 
During the quarter, CAE was awarded contracts to design and manufacture seven simulators for the United States military and a customer in the Middle East.  We were awarded a contract to upgrade the US Air Force’s KC-135 tanker simulators, as well as deliver the second year of training services, as part of a 10-year Aircrew Training System program, which CAE USA leads as prime contractor. We won a contract to provide two simulators to the US Navy for joint, network-centric warfare training.  In Europe, we were awarded a contract to perform upgrades on the German Air Force’s Tornado simulators as well as a contract to provide maintenance and support services on Eurofighter simulators.

Combined Military orders in the quarter totaled $206.2 million for a book-to-sales ratio of 1.02x. The ratio for the last 12 months was 0.98x. In addition to CAE’s combined military backlog of $2.2 billion at September 30, 2011, CAE’s unfunded military backlog(2) was $280.2 million.

New Core Markets
Revenue for New Core Markets was $20.3 million compared to $8.1 million last year. Operating loss was $8.6 million, which includes $8.4 million of charges related to the acquisition and integration of Medical Education Technologies, Inc. (METI). This compares to a loss of $1.3 million last year.

CAE Healthcare acquired METI for US$130 million, establishing CAE as the market leader in technology-based simulation for healthcare education, and providing us with a comprehensive line of patient simulators. We also acquired products and technology from Haptica to enhance our capabilities and broaden our surgical simulation offering. During the quarter we sold products including certain of our surgical, medical imaging and human patient solutions to customers including the Madigan and Ft. Bragg Womack Army Medical Centres in the US; New York University and Western Carolina University.  

In CAE Mining, we sold geological modeling, mine planning systems and professional services to customers including JSC Polymetal in Russia, Yamana Gold Inc. in Brazil, and Negociación Minera Santa Maria de la Paz y Anexas S.A. de C.V. in Mexico.

Additional financial highlights
Income taxes this quarter were $10.3 million representing an effective tax rate of 21%, compared to 27% last year. The decrease was mainly attributable to the recognition of previously unrecognized tax assets resulting from net operating losses in the U.S., which was triggered by our acquisition of METI this quarter. Excluding that element, the income tax expense this quarter would have been $13.5 million, representing an effective tax rate of 28%.

Free cash flow(3) was $109.3 million this quarter due mainly to a $67.3 million favourable change in non-cash working capital.

Capital expenditures totalled $46.7 million this quarter, including $35.8 million in support of our growth initiatives and the balance for maintenance.

Net debt(4) was $618.8 million as at September 30, 2011 compared with $520.5 million as at June 30, 2011. The increase of $98.3 million was mainly due to additional debt obligations undertaken to finance our acquisition of METI.

CAE will pay a dividend of $0.04 per share on December 30, 2011 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 15, 2011.

Additional information
You will find a more detailed discussion of our results by segment in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) as well as in our consolidated interim financial statements which are posted on our website at www.cae.com/Q2FY12.

CAE’s unaudited consolidated interim financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 have been filed with the Canadian securities commissions and are available on our website (www.cae.com) and on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). They have also been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on their website (www.sec.gov).

Conference call Q2 FY2012

CAE will host a conference call focusing on fiscal year 2012 second quarter financial results today at 1:00 p.m. ET. The call is intended for analysts, institutional investors and the media. Participants can listen to the conference by dialling + 1 877 586-3392 or + 1 416 981-9024. The conference call will also be audio webcast live for the public at www.cae.com. 

CAE is a global leader in modeling, simulation and training for civil aviation and defence. The company employs more than 7,500 people at more than 100 sites and training locations in more than 20 countries. Through CAE’s global network of 33 civil aviation, military and helicopter training centres, the company trains more than 80,000 crewmembers yearly. CAE’s business is diversified, ranging from the sale of simulation products to providing comprehensive services such as training and aviation services, professional services and in-service support. The company aims to apply its simulation expertise and operational experience to help customers enhance safety, improve efficiency, maintain readiness and solve challenging problems. CAE is now leveraging its simulation capabilities in new markets such as healthcare and mining.  www.cae.com

Certain statements made in this news release, including, but not limited to, statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking and are subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events. These statements do not reflect the potential impact of any non-recurring or other special items or events that are announced or completed after the date of this news release, including mergers, acquisitions, or other business combinations and divestitures.

You will find more information about the risks and uncertainties associated with our business in the MD&A section of our annual report and annual information form for the year ended March 31, 2011. These documents have been filed with the Canadian securities commissions and are available on our website (www.cae.com), on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and a free copy is available upon request to CAE. They have also been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under Form 40-F and are available on EDGAR (www.sec.gov). The forward-looking statements contained in this news release represent our expectations as of November 10, 2011 and, accordingly, are subject to change after this date. We do not update or revise forward-looking information even if new information becomes available unless legislation requires us to do so. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Notes
(1) Operating profit is a non-GAAP measure that shows us how we have performed before the effects of certain financing decisions and tax structures. We track operating profit because we believe it makes it easier to compare our performance with previous periods, and with companies and industries that do not have the same capital structure or tax laws. 

(2) Unfunded backlog is a non-GAAP measure that represents firm military orders we have received but have not yet executed for which funding authorization has not yet been obtained. We include unexercised options with a high probability that they will be exercised, but exclude indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts.
 
(3) Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure that shows us how much cash we have available to build the business, repay debt and meet ongoing financial obligations. We use it as an indicator of our financial strength and liquidity. We calculate it by taking the net cash generated by our continuing operating activities, subtracting maintenance capital expenditures, other assets not related to growth and dividends paid and adding proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment.

(4) Net debt is a non-GAAP measure we use to monitor how much debt we have after taking into account liquid assets such as cash and cash equivalents. We use it as an indicator of our overall financial position, and calculate it by taking our total
long-term debt, including the current portion, and subtracting cash and cash equivalents.

Media contact:
Nathalie Bourque, Vice President, Public Affairs and Global Communications, (514) 734-5788, [email protected]

Investor relations:
Andrew Arnovitz, Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategy, (514) 734-5760, [email protected]