Thomas & Betts Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Net Earnings from Continuing Operations of $0.77 and $2.75 per Share, Excluding Unusual Items

Thomas & Betts Corporation today reported an 11.5% increase in net sales and a 13.8% increase in net earnings from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2010.

Sales in the quarter were $532.5 million, up 11.5% compared to the fourth quarter 2009. Acquisitions accounted for $35.7 million or 7.5% of the increase while organic sales growth accounted for approximately 5%. Price negatively impacted sales by approximately 1% in the quarter while the impact of foreign currency was negligible.

Fourth quarter 2010 net earnings increased 13.8% to $40.3 million compared to $35.4 million in the prior-year period. Earnings per share increased 14.9% to $0.77. Earnings in the current quarter benefitted from a significant decline in the effective tax rate resulting from routine income tax estimate revisions.

Full-year 2010 net sales increased 9.4% to $2.0 billion. Acquisitions accounted for $98.7 million or 5.4% of the sales increase while organic sales growth accounted for approximately 4%.

Full-year 2010 net earnings increased 28.2% percent to $145.3 million compared to $113.3 million last year. Earnings per share increased 28.5% year over year to $2.75 compared to $2.14 for 2009.

“2010 was an active and successful year for Thomas & Betts, capped by sales growth of nearly 10% and an improvement in operating earnings per share of over 28%,” said Dominic J. Pileggi, chairman and chief executive officer. “Demand in our end markets played out as we predicted and we executed as planned – both tactically in response to challenging market dynamics and strategically in preparation for future growth. Notably, we completed three acquisitions which expanded our portfolio of leading brands, enhanced our specifiable product mix and improved and expanded our geographic footprint.”

“We further refined our portfolio by divesting our non-strategic communications products business and enhanced our market leadership by focusing our sales efforts in the most active vertical markets. Lastly, our focus on continuous productivity improvement allowed us to consolidate two facilities in 2010 and initiate two additional consolidation projects expected to be completed in 2011.”

SEGMENT HIGHLIGHTS:

Fourth quarter 2010 consolidated segment earnings were $96.9 million, or 18.2% of sales, compared to $94.0 million, or 19.7% of sales, in the fourth quarter 2009. The decline in segment earnings as a percent of sales is primarily due to a less favorable project mix and a more competitive pricing environment in the Steel Structures segment as well as the impact of customary purchase accounting adjustments related to the current-quarter international acquisition of Cable Management Group, Ltd. (CMG, Ltd.)

For the full year 2010, consolidated segment earnings increased 15.2% to $376.4 million compared to $326.7 million in 2009. As a percent of sales, segment earnings improved 100 basis points to 18.8% of sales. Favorable Electrical segment product mix, improved volumes and the benefits from prior and current-year right-sizing activities contributed to the earnings improvement.

Electrical:

Fourth quarter 2010 Electrical sales increased 17.8% to $442.9 million compared to $376.1 million in the prior-year period. Acquisitions accounted for $35.7 million or 9.5% of the sales increase. Organic sales growth was approximately 9% and was driven by higher industrial and utility distribution volume. The effects of price and currency were largely offset in the quarter.

Electrical segment earnings were $82.6 million in the fourth quarter or 18.6% of sales. This compares to $76.5 million or 20.3% of sales in the prior-year period. As a percent of sales, segment earnings in the current quarter were adversely impacted by customary purchase accounting adjustments related to the acquisition of CMG, Ltd.

For the full year 2010, Electrical segment sales increased 12.8% to $1.7 billion. Acquisitions accounted for $98.7 million or 6.6% of the sales increase. Organic sales growth was approximately 4% and was driven by higher industrial and utility distribution volume. The impact of price was negligible while foreign currency benefitted sales by approximately 2%.

Full year 2010 Electrical segment earnings increased 23.9% to $323.6 million compared to $261.1 million. As a percent of sales, Electrical segment earnings increased 180 basis points to 19.3% compared to 17.5% of sales in 2009. The earnings improvement reflects improved product mix, higher volumes and the benefits from prior and current-year right-sizing activities.

Steel Structures:

Fourth quarter 2010 Steel Structures sales were $53.1 million, down 20.3% compared to the prior-year period. Segment earnings were $5.9 million or 11.1% of sales in the quarter. As expected, Steel Structures segment earnings were lower than the historical mid-teens range as a result of project mix and a more competitive pricing environment.

Full year 2010 Steel Structures sales were $219.9 million, down 6.2% from the full year 2009. Higher year-over-year production levels of approximately 9% were masked by the revenue impact of lower year-over-year steel prices. Segment earnings for the full year were $34.9 million or 15.9% of sales compared to $47.4 million or 20.2% of sales in 2009.

HVAC:

Fourth quarter 2010 HVAC segment sales increased 4.6% to $36.5 million compared to $34.9 million last year. Earnings increased to $8.4 million or 23.1% of sales, a 390 basis point improvement in earnings as a percent of sales compared to the prior-year period.

For the full year, HVAC segment sales decreased 3.7% to $105.8 million largely as a result of continued declines in commercial activity. Segment earnings were $17.9 million or 16.9% of sales for the full year 2010 compared to $18.2 million or 16.6% of sales in 2009.

BALANCE SHEET AND LIQUIDITY HIGHLIGHTS:

Free cash flow was $242.3 million for the full year 2010. Continued strong working capital management drove the strong cash performance. At year end 2010, working capital was 13.0% of sales compared to 14.0% in 2009. The underlying improvement in working capital is sixty basis points excluding the impact of the communications products divestiture on net sales.

Primary uses of cash during 2010 included: $245 million used for strategic acquisitions; $66.5 million for the repurchase of 1,575,000 shares of stock; $65 million for repayment of outstanding indebtedness on the company’s revolving credit facility; and $33.4 million for capital expenditures. The company divested its non-strategic communications products business for $78 million cash in the fourth quarter 2010.

Total debt to total capitalization was 28.1% at year-end 2010, down from 32.3% at year-end 2009. The company ended 2010 with $455 million in cash and had $441 million of availability under its existing credit agreements.

UNUSUAL ITEMS AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS:

The company initiated two facility consolidations in the fourth quarter 2010 which impacted Gross Profit and Segment Earnings by $5.9 million pre-tax ($3.7 million net-of-tax or $0.07 per share in the quarter). At the segment earnings level, the $5.9 million impact is comprised of $1.7 million pre-tax in the HVAC segment and $4.2 million pre-tax in the Electrical segment.

Additional charges impacting the full year 2010 were: a facility consolidation charge impacting Gross Profit and Segment Earnings of $3.2 million in the Electrical segment ($2.1 million net-of-tax or $0.04 per share); an environmental remediation charge impacting SG&A and Corporate Expense of $5.3 million pre-tax ($3.3 million net-of-tax or $0.06 per share); and a $1.5 million ($0.03 per share) benefit related to the release of tax reserves. Total unusual items for full year 2010 were $14.4 million pre-tax ($7.6 million net-of-tax or $0.14 per share).

Unusual items in the fourth quarter 2009 were: a facility consolidation charge impacting Gross Profit and Electrical Segment Earnings of $3.6 million pre-tax ($2.2 million net-of-tax or $0.04 per share); asset impairment charges impacting Earnings From Operations of $5.8 million pre-tax ($3.6 million net-of-tax or $0.07 per share); and a $6.4 million pre-tax ($4.1 million net-of-tax or $0.08 per share) charge for debt refinancing impacting Net Earnings From Continuing Operations. Total unusual items for the fourth quarter 2009 were $15.8 million pre-tax ($9.9 million net-of-tax or $0.19 per share).

Full-year 2009 performance also included an environmental remediation charge impacting SG&A and Corporate Expense of $4.0 million pre-tax ($2.5 million net-of-tax or $0.04 per share). Total unusual items for the full-year 2009 were $19.8 million pre-tax ($12.4 million net-of-tax or $0.23 per share).

In November 2010, Thomas & Betts divested its non-strategic communications products business for cash consideration of $78 million. Quarterly results for 2010 and 2009 have been restated to reflect the divestiture. Previously included in the Electrical Segment, this business contributed $52.7 million in sales and $0.15 in earnings per share for 2010 including the net gain on sale and $65.9 million in sales and $0.13 per share in 2009. All amounts are reflected as discontinued operations in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

GAAP EARNINGS:

Fourth quarter 2010 net earnings were $40.0 million or $0.76 per share compared to $27.1 million or $0.51 per share in the prior-year period. Earnings from continuing operations were $36.6 million, or $0.70 per share, and $25.5 million, or $0.48 per share, in the fourth quarter 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Full-year 2010 net earnings were $145.6 million or $2.76 per share compared to $107.9 million or $2.04 per share in 2009. Earnings from continuing operations were $137.7 million, or $2.61 per share, and $100.9 million, or $1.91 per share, for the full year 2010 and 2009, respectively.