The Middleby Corporation Reports First Quarter Results

ELGIN, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ: MIDD), a leading worldwide
manufacturer of equipment for the commercial foodservice, food
processing, and residential kitchen industries, today reported net sales
and earnings for the first quarter ended March 30, 2019. Net earnings
for the first quarter were $69.0 million or $1.24 diluted earnings per
share on net sales of $686.8 million as compared to the prior year first
quarter net earnings of $65.4 million or $1.18 diluted earnings per
share on net sales of $584.8 million. Net earnings in the current
quarter were negatively impacted by the transition costs resulting from
the retirement of the former Chairman and CEO. Excluding these items,
earnings per share would have been $1.38 for the 2019 first quarter.

2019 First Quarter Financial Highlights

• Net sales increased 17.4% in the first quarter of 2019 over the
  comparative prior year period. Sales related to recent acquisitions
  added 17.2% in the first quarter. The impact of foreign exchange rates
  on foreign sales translated into U.S. Dollars decreased net sales by
  approximately 2.1% during the first quarter. Excluding the impacts of
  acquisitions, closure of a non-core business and foreign exchange
  rates, sales increased 2.9% in the first quarter.
• Net sales at the company’s Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group
  increased 27.1% in the first quarter of 2019 over the comparative
  prior year period. During fiscal 2018, the company completed the
  acquisitions of Firex, Josper, Taylor and Crown. During fiscal 2019,
  the company completed the acquisition of EVO. Excluding the impacts of
  acquisitions and foreign exchange, sales increased 3.4% in the first
  quarter.
• Net sales at the company’s Residential Kitchen Equipment Group
  increased 0.4% in the first quarter of 2019 over comparative prior
  year period. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates and
  closure of a non-core business, sales increased 5.5% during the first
  quarter, led by continued double digit sales growth at Viking.
• Net sales at the company’s Food Processing Equipment Group increased
  4.4% in the first quarter of 2019 over the comparative prior year
  period. During fiscal 2018, the company completed the acquisitions of
  Hinds-Bock, Ve.Ma.C and M-TEK. Excluding the impacts of acquisitions
  and foreign exchange rates, net sales decreased 3.2% during the first
  quarter.
• Gross profit in the first quarter increased to $257.3 million from
  $211.6 million and the gross margin rate increased from 36.2% to
  37.5%. The increase in gross margin rate for the quarter was primarily
  related to improved profitability at the Residential Kitchen Equipment
  Group.
• Operating income in the first quarter increased to $101.1 million from
  $87.0 million in the prior year period. The transition costs resulting
  from the retirement of the former Chairman and CEO also negatively
  impacted the quarter by approximately $10.1 million.
• Operating income included $26.2 million of non-cash expenses during
  the first quarter, comprised of $9.0 million of depreciation expense,
  $16.1 million of intangible amortization and $1.1 million of share
  based compensation. Prior year first quarter non-cash expenses
  amounted to $19.8 million, including $8.2 million of depreciation
  expenses, $11.5 million of intangible amortization and $0.1 million of
  share based compensation.
• The provision for income taxes in the first quarter amounted to $20.7
  million at a 23.1% effective rate in comparison to $21.3 million at a
  24.5% effective rate in the prior year quarter.
• Diluted net earnings per share was $1.24 in the first quarter as
  compared to $1.18 in the prior year quarter. Net earnings in the
  current quarter were negatively impacted by the transition costs from
  the retirement of the former Chairman and CEO. The impact of these
  costs reduced earnings per share by $0.14 for the first quarter.
• Operating cash flows during the first quarter amounted to $33.9
  million in comparison to $44.7 million in the prior year period.
• Net debt, defined as debt less cash, at the end of the 2019 fiscal
  first quarter amounted to $1,811.1 million as compared to $1,820.4
  million at the end of fiscal 2018. During the first quarter, the
  company invested $12.4 million to fund 2019 acquisition activities.

Timothy FitzGerald, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “At the
Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group, we reported growth both
domestically and internationally. In the U.S., we continued to benefit
from sales momentum with our restaurant chain customers, as they adopt
our latest product innovation. International growth reflects improved
market conditions in Latin America and Asia, although we continue to
face challenging conditions in Europe and U.K. with uncertainty from the
impact of Brexit. We continue to work closely with our customers on
solutions to address current operator challenges of labor cost and
availability, space constraints and rising operating costs, while
providing flexibility for menu updates. In particular, we continue to
see demand in the areas of beverage, ventless cooking and automated
conveyor equipment. Our focus remains on positioning Middleby for
long-term growth through strategic investments in technology and our
global manufacturing, sales and support capabilities.”

“We continue to make progress on the integration of commercial
foodservice acquisitions completed over the past several years. At
Taylor, EBITDA margins improved to approximately 25% in the quarter and
added to our earnings by approximately $0.04 this quarter. Investments
to achieve our longer-term profitability goals will be ongoing. Most
importantly, these efforts include the development of new product
innovations for the market in the frozen beverage and dessert
categories, which we anticipate will generate future growth and margin
enhancement opportunities.”

Mr. FitzGerald added, “At our Residential Kitchen Equipment Group, we
continued to see favorable progress and market share gains with our
brands domestically. Viking again reported double-digit sales growth in
the quarter and there is steady interest and momentum with new,
innovative product lines including the Viking Virtuoso line which was
introduced in the first quarter. Additionally, we expanded our
refrigeration offering and are excited to launch a new generation of
under counter refrigeration from U-Line. Investments in the residential
business are ongoing with the recent grand opening of our New York City
Residential Showroom and third residential showroom planned for Southern
California in 2019. Outside of North America, we were pleased to also
see modest growth in the AGA Rangemaster business during the quarter,
reflecting initial benefits of new product introductions. However,
challenging market conditions persist in the U.K. and we anticipate
consistent growth will be difficult until the market conditions improve.”

Mr. FitzGerald further noted, “At the Food Processing Equipment Group,
the absence of large projects due to market dynamics, remains a
challenge, particularly in the meat processing business. We continue to
introduce innovation to the market and launch new products to address
growing market categories and trends such as pet foods, dried meats and
jerky, and sous-vide cooking and remain optimistic that positive results
are achievable in the coming quarters.”

Mr. FitzGerald concluded, “We recently announced the acquisitions of the
Standex Cooking Solution Group and PowerHouse Dynamics. Through the
Standex acquisition, we are excited to add the highly-respected brands
Ultrafryer, BKI, APW and Bakers Pride to the Middleby family as this
acquisition further extends our technologies in frying, cooking and
warming within our Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group. With the
addition of BKI, we are now strategically well-positioned to serve and
penetrate the growing retail and convenience store market segment. The
acquisition of PowerHouse Dynamics significantly adds to our IoT and
Cloud-Based offerings and capabilities. This acquisition, as an addition
to our current Middleby Connect technology, expands our solutions
platform allowing customers to remotely monitor and operate a broad set
of operations for restaurants, allowing our customers to achieve gains
in labor efficiency, energy conservation, food cost and enhanced food
safety.”

Conference Call

A conference call will be held at 10 a.m. Central Time on Wednesday,
May 8, 2019 and can be accessed by dialing (888) 391-6937 or (315)
625-3077 and providing conference code 6871299#. The conference call is
also accessible through the Investor Relations section of the company
website at www.middleby.com.
A replay of the conference call will be available two hours after the
conclusion of the call by dialing (855) 859-2056 and entering conference
code 6871299#.

Statements in this press release or otherwise attributable to the
company regarding the company’s business which are not historical facts
are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The
company cautions investors that such statements are estimates of future
performance and are highly dependent upon a variety of important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from such
statements. Such factors include variability in financing costs;
quarterly variations in operating results; dependence on key customers;
international exposure; foreign exchange and political risks affecting
international sales; changing market conditions; the impact of
competitive products and pricing; the timely development and market
acceptance of the company’s products; the availability and cost of raw
materials; and other risks detailed herein and from time-to-time in the
company’s SEC filings. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of
the date hereof, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to
publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a
result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as
required by law.

The Middleby Corporation is a global leader in the foodservice equipment
industry. The company develops, manufactures, markets and services a
broad line of equipment used in the commercial foodservice, food
processing, and residential kitchen equipment industries. The company’s
leading equipment brands serving the commercial foodservice industry
include Anets®, APW Wyott®, Bakers Pride®, Bear Varimixer®, Beech®,
BKI®, Blodgett®, Blodgett Combi®, Blodgett Range®, Bloomfield®,
Britannia®, Carter-Hoffmann®, Celfrost®, Concordia®, CookTek®, Crown
Food Equipment®, CTX®, Desmon®, Doyon®, Eswood®, EVO®, frifri®, Firex®,
Follett®, Giga®, Globe®, Goldstein®, Holman®, Houno®, IMC®, Induc®,
Jade®, JoeTap®, Josper®, L2F®, Lang®, Lincat®, MagiKitch’n®, Market
Forge®, Marsal®, Middleby Marshall®, MPC®, Nieco®, Nu-Vu®, PerfectFry®,
Pitco Frialator®, QualServ®, SiteSage®, Southbend®, Star®, Sveba
Dahlen®, Taylor®, Toastmaster®, TurboChef®, Ultrafryer®, Wells® and
Wunder-Bar®. The company’s leading equipment brands serving the food
processing industry include Alkar®, Armor Inox®, Auto-Bake®, Baker
Thermal Solutions®, Burford®, Cozzini®, CVP Systems®, Danfotech®,
Drake®, Emico®, Glimek®, Hinds-Bock®, Maurer-Atmos®, MP Equipment®,
M-TEK®, RapidPak®, Scanico®, Spooner Vicars®, Stewart Systems®, Thurne®
and Ve.Ma.C.®. The company’s leading equipment brands serving the
residential kitchen industry include AGA® AGA Cookshop®, Fired Earth®,
EVO®, Heartland®, La Cornue®, Leisure Sinks®, Lynx®, Marvel®, Mercury®,
Rangemaster®, Rayburn®, Redfyre®, Sedona®, Stanley®, TurboChef®, U-Line®
and Viking®.

For more information about The Middleby Corporation and the company
brands, please visit www.middleby.com.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

The company supplements its consolidated financial statements presented
on a GAAP basis with this non-GAAP financial information to provide
investors with greater insight, increase transparency and allow for a
more comprehensive understanding of the information used by management
in its financial and operational decision-making. The non-GAAP financial
measures disclosed by the Company should not be considered a substitute
for, or superior to, financial measures prepared in accordance with
GAAP, and the financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP and
reconciliations from these results should be carefully evaluated. In
addition, the non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release
do not have standard meanings and may vary from similarly titled
non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

The company believes that the non-GAAP adjusted segment EBITDA measures
are useful as supplements to its GAAP results of operations to evaluate
certain aspects of its operations and financial performance, and its
management team primarily focuses on non-GAAP items in evaluating
performance for business planning purposes. The Company also believes
that these measures assist it with comparing its performance between
various reporting periods on a consistent basis, as these measures
remove from operating results the impact of items that, in its opinion,
do not reflect its core operating performance including, for example,
intangibles amortization expense, impairment charges, restructuring
expenses, and other charges which management considers to be outside
core operating results. The Company believes that its presentation of
these non-GAAP financial measures is useful because it provides
investors and securities analysts with the same information that
Middleby uses internally for purposes of assessing its core operating
performance.

Contacts

Darcy Bretz, Investor and Public Relations, (847) 429-7756
Bryan
Mittelman, Chief Financial Officer, (847) 429-7715