Carpenter Technology Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2018 Results

Reported Earnings Per Share of $1.92; Excluding Special Items, Adjusted Earnings Per Share of $0.55

Net sales of $487.8 million

Specialty Alloys Operations (SAO) delivers best second quarter and best first half since fiscal year 2014

Strong sequential improvement at Performance Engineered Products (PEP)

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS (the "Company") today announced financial results for the fiscal second quarter ended December 31, 2017.  The Company reported net income of $92.1 million, or $1.92 earnings per share, for the second quarter of fiscal year 2018. Excluding special items, adjusted earnings per diluted share was $0.55 in the quarter.

"We delivered a solid first half to fiscal year 2018 including driving consistent backlog growth, gaining market share through expanded and new customer relationships, and enhancing our manufacturing discipline through the Carpenter Operating Model," said Tony Thene, Carpenter's President and CEO.  "Our SAO segment recorded its best second quarter and best first half since fiscal year 2014, while results at our PEP segment finished well ahead of our expectations.  In addition, we submitted the majority of our Aerospace Vendor Approved Processes (VAP) qualifications for our Athens facility, representing a major milestone. We are now actively working with our major customers to secure necessary approvals."

"Conditions across our end-use markets continue to improve and we are generating increased customer demand for our solutions and growing our backlog. In the Aerospace and Defense end-use market, new engine platform demand is increasing and we are further benefiting from our strong position across a range of attractive sub-markets. In addition, demand for our solutions portfolio in the Medical end-use market remains high while the recovery in the oil & gas sub-market is strengthening."

"Moving forward, we will continue to strategically invest in our core long-term growth capabilities. In addition, given the recent tax legislation, we plan to accelerate our investment into key areas including additive manufacturing and soft magnetics, which is consistent with our commitment to being a leading solutions provider for our customers. By combining our solutions-focused commercial approach with high-end specialty alloys, we have a real opportunity to raise our performance for both customers and investors to sustain a healthy, dynamic and growing enterprise that will reward our shareholders for years to come."

Financial Highlights

Net sales for the second quarter of fiscal year 2018 were $487.8 million compared with $427.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017, an increase of $60.4 million (or 14.1 percent), on 13.1 percent higher volume.  Net sales excluding surcharge were $415.5 million, an increase of $48.8 million (or 13.3 percent) from the same period a year ago.

Operating income was $40.8 million compared to $15.4 million in the prior year period. Operating income—excluding pension earnings, interest and deferrals (EID)—was $41.3 million, compared to $21.0 million in the prior year period.  These results primarily reflect stronger market conditions driving higher product demand compared to the same quarter a year ago.

In December 2017, "An Act to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Titles II and V of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2018" (the "Act") was enacted.  The Act includes provisions that reduce the federal corporate income tax rate, create a territorial tax system with a one-time mandatory tax on previously deferred foreign earnings (transition tax), and change certain business deductions including allowing for immediate expensing of certain qualified capital expenditures.  The permanent reduction to the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% was effective January 1, 2018.  Based on the provisions of the Act, during the quarter ended December 31, 2017, the Company's estimated annual effective tax rate was adjusted to incorporate the lower federal tax rate that will be phased in for fiscal year 2018.  During the quarter ended December 31, 2017, the Company recorded a discrete income tax net benefit of $66.0 million.  Provisional amounts related to the Act include a $73.3 million income tax benefit to reflect the re-measurement of deferred tax assets and liabilities at the reduced federal tax rate and a $5.1 million income tax charge for the liability associated with the transition tax. Also included in the net discrete income tax benefit is a charge of $2.2 million related to increases in certain state valuation allowances resulting from a state law change that will limit the Company's ability to utilize certain state net operating loss carryforwards in future periods.

Cash provided from operating activities in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018 was $24.7 million, compared to cash used from operating activities of $29.5 million in the same quarter last year.  The increase in operating cash flow was primarily related to the $100 million voluntary pension contribution made in October 2016.

Free cash flow in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018 was negative $10.7 million, compared to negative free cash flow of $56.5 million in the same quarter last year. Capital expenditures were $26.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018 compared to $18.5 million in the same quarter last year.

Total liquidity, including cash and available revolver balance, was $405.4 million at the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2018.  This consisted of $20.7 million of cash and $384.7 million of available borrowings under the Company's credit facility.

Conference Call and Webcast Presentation

Carpenter will host a conference call and webcast presentation today, February 1^st at 10:00 a.m. ET, to discuss the financial results of operations for the second quarter of fiscal year 2018. Please dial +1 412-317-9259 for access to the live conference call.  Access to the live webcast will be available at Carpenter's website (http://www.cartech.com), and a replay will soon be made available at http://www.cartech.com. Presentation materials used during this conference call will be available for viewing and download at http://www.cartech.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes discussions of financial measures that have not been determined in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).  A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, accompanied by reasons why the Company believes the non-GAAP measures are important, are included in the attached schedules.

About Carpenter Technology

Carpenter Technology Corporation is a leading producer and distributor of premium specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, nickel and cobalt based superalloys, stainless steels, alloy steels and tool steels. Carpenter's high-performance materials and advanced process solutions are an integral part of critical applications used within the aerospace, transportation, medical and energy markets, among other markets. Building on its history of innovation, Carpenter's powder technology capabilities support a range of next-generation products and manufacturing techniques, including additive manufacturing and 3D Printing. Information about Carpenter can be found at www.cartech.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This presentation contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Carpenter's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2017, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, and the exhibits attached to those filings. They include but are not limited to: (1) the cyclical nature of the specialty materials business and certain end-use markets, including aerospace, defense, industrial, transportation, consumer, medical, and energy, or other influences on Carpenter's business such as new competitors, the consolidation of competitors, customers, and suppliers or the transfer of manufacturing capacity from the United States to foreign countries; (2) the ability of Carpenter to achieve cash generation, growth, earnings, profitability, operating income, cost savings and reductions, qualifications, productivity improvements or process changes; (3) the ability to recoup increases in the cost of energy, raw materials, freight or other factors; (4) domestic and foreign excess manufacturing capacity for certain metals; (5) fluctuations in currency exchange rates; (6) the degree of success of government trade actions; (7) the valuation of the assets and liabilities in Carpenter's pension trusts and the accounting for pension plans; (8) possible labor disputes or work stoppages; (9) the potential that our customers may substitute alternate materials or adopt different manufacturing practices that replace or limit the suitability of our products; (10) the ability to successfully acquire and integrate acquisitions; (11) the availability of credit facilities to Carpenter, its customers or other members of the supply chain; (12) the ability to obtain energy or raw materials, especially from suppliers located in countries that may be subject to unstable political or economic conditions; (13) Carpenter's manufacturing processes are dependent upon highly specialized equipment located primarily in facilities in Reading and Latrobe, Pennsylvania and Athens, Alabama for which there may be limited alternatives if there are significant equipment failures or a catastrophic event; (14) the ability to hire and retain key personnel, including members of the executive management team, management, metallurgists and other skilled personnel; and (15) fluctuations in oil and gas prices and production. Any of these factors could have an adverse and/or fluctuating effect on Carpenter's results of operations. The forward-looking statements in this document are intended to be subject to the safe harbor protection provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Carpenter undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

The Company has two reportable segments, Specialty Alloys Operations ("SAO") and Performance Engineered Products ("PEP").

The SAO segment is comprised of Carpenter's major premium alloy and stainless steel manufacturing operations.  This includes operations performed at mills primarily in Reading and Latrobe, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas as well as South Carolina and Alabama.

The PEP segment is comprised of the Company's differentiated operations. This segment includes the Dynamet titanium business, the Carpenter Powder Products (CPP) business, the Amega West business, and the Latrobe and Mexico distribution businesses. The businesses in the PEP segment are managed with an entrepreneurial structure to promote flexibility and agility to quickly respond to market dynamics.  It is our belief this model will ultimately drive overall revenue and profit growth.  The pounds sold data above for the PEP segment includes only the Dynamet and CPP businesses.

Corporate costs are comprised of executive and director compensation, and other corporate facilities and administrative expenses not allocated to the segments. Also included are items that management considers not representative of ongoing operations and other specifically-identified income or expense items.

The service cost component of net pension expense, which represents the estimated cost of future pension liabilities earned associated with active employees, is included in the operating results of the business segments.  The residual net pension expense, or pension earnings, interest and deferrals (pension EID), is comprised of the expected return on plan assets, interest costs on the projected benefit obligations of the plans, and amortization of actuarial gains and losses and prior service costs and is included under the heading "Pension earnings, interest and deferrals".

Management believes that removing the impacts of raw material surcharge from operating margin provides a more consistent basis for comparing results of operations from period to period, thereby permitting management to evaluate performance and investors to make decisions based on the ongoing operations of the Company. In addition, management believes that excluding the impact of pension earnings, interest and deferrals, which may be volatile due to changes in the financial markets, is helpful in analyzing the true operating performance of the Company. Management also believes that removing the impact of the special items is helpful in analyzing the operating performance of the Company, as these costs are not indicative of ongoing operating performance. Management uses its results excluding these amounts to evaluate its operating performance and to discuss its business with investment institutions, the Company's board of directors and others.

*** Discrete income tax charge recorded as a result of reduced tax benefits claimed in prior years in connection with the Company's decision to make a $100 million voluntary pension contribution in October 2016.

Management believes that earnings per share adjusted to exclude the impact of the special items is helpful in analyzing the operating performance of the Company, as these costs are not indicative of ongoing operating performance. Management uses its results excluding these amounts to evaluate its operating performance and to discuss its business with investment institutions, the Company's board of directors and others.

Management believes that the free cash flow measure provides useful information to investors regarding our financial condition because it is a measure of cash generated which management evaluates for alternative uses.

Media Inquiries:                                                                                               
William J. Rudolph, Jr.                                                                                                 
+1 610-208-3892                                                                                             
wrudolph@cartech.com                                                                                   

Investor Inquiries:
Brad Edwards
The Plunkett Group
+1 212-739-6740
brad@theplunkettgroup.com