CLEVELAND, April 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: LECO) today reported first quarter 2020 net income of $55.6 million, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.91, which includes special item after-tax net charges of $5.4 million, or $0.09 EPS.  This compares with prior year period net income of $71.5 million, or $1.12 EPS, which included special item after-tax charges of $3.5 million, or $0.05 EPS.  Excluding these items, first quarter 2020 adjusted net income was $60.9 million, or $1.00 EPS, as compared with $75.0 million, or $1.17 EPS in the prior year period.  The reported and adjusted effective tax rate was 26.8% in the first quarter 2020 as compared with a reported 23.1% tax rate in the prior year period, or 22.9% on an adjusted basis.
First quarter 2020 sales decreased 7.5% to $702.0 million from a 9.5% decrease in organic sales and 1.3% unfavorable foreign exchange, partially offset by a 3.2% benefit from acquisitions.  Operating income for the first quarter 2020 was $81.1 million, or 11.5% of sales.  This compares with operating income of $94.5 million, or 12.4% of sales, in the prior year period.  Excluding special items, adjusted operating income was $88.4 million, or 12.6% of sales, as compared with $98.8 million, or 13.0% of sales, in the prior year period.“We executed well in an increasingly challenging environment,” said Christopher L. Mapes, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our priority has been to protect employees’ health and safety as we operated as an ‘essential business’ across substantially all of our locations in the quarter.”“Global demand trends weakened significantly in April, declining in the low 40% range versus the prior year,” stated Mapes. “To mitigate the impact of lower demand, we expanded our cost reduction initiatives and expect these new measures, combined with earlier actions, to now generate $40 to $45 million in realized cost savings in 2020.  While we expect demand to trough in the second quarter, our strong investment-grade balance sheet profile, liquidity, and cash flow generation give me tremendous confidence in our ability to successfully navigate this challenging period and generate long-term value for our shareholders.”Webcast InformationA conference call to discuss first quarter 2020 financial results will be webcast live today, April 27, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time.  This webcast is accessible at https://ir.lincolnelectric.com.  Listeners should go to the web site prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software.  A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company’s web site.If investors would like to ask questions, please dial (877) 344-3899 (domestic) or (315) 625-3087 (international) and use confirmation code 9746539.  Telephone participants are asked to dial in 10 – 15 minutes prior to the start of the conference call.Financial results for the first quarter 2020 can also be obtained at https://ir.lincolnelectric.com.About Lincoln ElectricLincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, automated joining, assembly and cutting systems, plasma and oxy-fuel cutting equipment and has a leading global position in brazing and soldering alloys.  Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln has 59 manufacturing locations in 18 countries and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries.  For more information about Lincoln Electric and its products and services, visit the Company’s website at https://www.lincolnelectric.com.Non-GAAP InformationAdjusted operating income, Adjusted net income, Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted effective tax rate, Adjusted diluted earnings per share, Organic sales, Cash conversion, Return on invested capital and Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) are non-GAAP financial measures.  Management uses non-GAAP measures to assess the Company’s operating performance by excluding certain disclosed special items that management believes are not representative of the Company’s core business.  Management believes that excluding these special items enables them to make better period-over-period comparisons and benchmark the Company’s operational performance against other companies in its industry more meaningfully.  Furthermore, management believes that non-GAAP financial measures provide investors with meaningful information that provides a more complete understanding of Company operating results and enables investors to analyze financial and business trends more thoroughly.  Non-GAAP financial measures should not be viewed in isolation, are not a substitute for GAAP measures and have limitations including, but not limited to, their usefulness as comparative measures as other companies may define their non-GAAP measures differently.Forward-Looking StatementsThe Company’s expectations and beliefs concerning the future contained in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These statements reflect management’s current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties.  Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “forecast,” “guidance” or words of similar meaning.  Actual results may differ materially from such statements due to a variety of factors that could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.  The factors include, but are not limited to: general economic, financial and market conditions; the effectiveness of operating initiatives; completion of planned divestitures; interest rates; disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit markets that may limit our access to capital; currency exchange rates and devaluations; adverse outcome of pending or potential litigation; actual costs of the Company’s rationalization plans; possible acquisitions, including the Company’s ability to successfully integrate acquisitions; market risks and price fluctuations related to the purchase of commodities and energy; global regulatory complexity; the effects of changes in tax law; tariff rates in the countries where the Company conducts business; and the possible effects of events beyond our control, such as political unrest, acts of terror, natural disasters and pandemics, including the current coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”) outbreak, on the Company or its customers, suppliers and the economy in general.  The Company has begun to see the impacts of COVID-19 on its markets and operations including softening demand, supply chain disruptions, and other logistics constraints.  The full extent to which COVID-19 will adversely impact the Company’s business depends on future developments, which are highly uncertain and unpredictable, including new information concerning the severity of the outbreak and the effectiveness of actions globally to contain or mitigate its effects. While this matter will negatively impact the Company’s results of operations, cash flows and financial position, the current level of uncertainty over the economic and operational impacts of COVID-19 means the full financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. For additional discussion, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.ContactAmanda Butler
Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications
Tel: 216.383.2534
Email: [email protected] 

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