Motorola Solutions Reports Third-Quarter 2014 Financial Results

Announces $5 billion increase to share repurchase program
 

• Sales of $1.4 billion, down 5 percent from a year ago
• GAAP earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations* of $0.27
• Non-GAAP** EPS from continuing operations of $0.62
• Returned $728 million to shareholders through share repurchases and cash dividends, including the repurchase of $650 million of stock in the third quarter

 
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – Nov. 4, 2014 – Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) today reported its earnings results for the third quarter of 2014. Click here for a printable news release and financial tables.
 
SHARE REPURCHASE AUTHORIZATION
 
Today, the company also announced that its board of directors has approved a $5 billion increase to the share repurchase program following receipt of $3.45 billion from the sale of its Enterprise business, raising the total authorization since July 2011 to $12 billion. Under the company’s previously authorized $7 billion share repurchase program, $600 million remained as of the end of the third quarter of 2014. The company may continue to repurchase shares from time to time in the open market or in other privately negotiated transactions, subject to market conditions.
 
SUPPORTING QUOTE
 
“We are encouraged by third-quarter revenues and earnings as the business continues to show signs of improvement,” said Greg Brown, chairman and CEO, Motorola Solutions. “Additionally, our actions to simplify our operations and remove costs continue to yield sustainable operating expense reductions, which will further position us for long-term success.”
 
KEY FINANCIAL RESULTS
 

 
Non-GAAP financial information excludes after-tax charges of approximately $0.35 per diluted share related to share-based compensation and highlighted items. Details on these non-GAAP adjustments and the use of non-GAAP measures are included later in this news release.
 
OTHER SELECTED FINANCIAL RESULTS
 

• Revenue – Sales declined 5 percent to $1.4 billion primarily reflecting lower sales in North America and Asia-Pacific. Product sales declined 8 percent driven primarily by lower devices revenues, while Services declined 1 percent.
• Operating margin – GAAP operating margin was 14.4 percent of sales; non-GAAP operating margin was 18.0 percent. These results include $43 million in lower operating expenses compared with the third quarter of 2013 primarily due to ongoing cost-reduction initiatives.
• Taxes – The 2014 GAAP effective tax rate was 56 percent driven by a one-time $55 million adjustment. This compares with a favorable tax rate of -4 percent in the third quarter of 2013. The 2014 non-GAAP tax rate was 33 percent, compared with a favorable tax rate of -3 percent in the third quarter of 2013. The GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates in the third quarter of 2013 were favorably impacted by benefits largely associated with excess foreign tax credits on undistributed foreign earnings in that quarter.
• Cash flow – The company used $115 million in operating cash from continuing operations during the quarter largely driven by a $397 million contribution related to the U.S. pension plan transactions announced on Sept. 25, 2014.

 
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
 

• Reduced funding volatility associated with U.S. pension plan while preserving benefits for retirees through actions that cut pension liability by one-half, or $4.2 billion; the company expects no U.S. pension plan cash contribution requirements for the next five to six years
• Secured significant projects including a $33 million statewide public safety system expansion with the state of Maryland, and two command and control solutions that include multi-year lifecycle services: $16 million with Loudoun County, Virginia, and $8 million Spartanburg County, South Carolina
• Extended leadership in two key growth areas, including:
  • Public safety long-term evolution (LTE): a $21 million services project for the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System Authority (LA-RICS) network, as well as a $10-15 million project resulting from an agreement that Harris County, Texas, reached with FirstNet to move forward with the expansion of its public safety LTE deployment
  • Smart public safety: project with the city of Elgin, Illinois, for a Real-Time Crime Center solution that enables access to existing video feeds, computer-aided dispatch records and other systems to drive proactive policing and improve situational awareness at the command center
• Demonstrated commitment to U.S. national public safety broadband LTE network with introduction of enhanced VML750 LTE Vehicle Modem, which enables roaming between public and private networks for enhanced interoperability

 BUSINESS OUTLOOK***

• Fourth quarter 2014 – Motorola Solutions expects a revenue decline of 1 to 3 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2013, with non-GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations in the range of $1.13 to $1.19 per share. This is consistent with the company’s prior full-year outlook of low- to mid-single digit revenue decline, excluding iDEN.
• Cost reductions – The company is ahead of schedule with operating cost reductions, expecting to achieve more than $200 million in savings in 2014 and on track to achieve approximately $300 million by the end of 2015. This will result in a total reduction in operating expenses from $2 billion in 2013 to approximately $1.7 billion for 2015. 

 
RESULTS FROM DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS
 
On Oct. 27, Motorola Solutions closed the sale of its Enterprise business to Zebra Technologies, and the Enterprise business is reflected as discontinued operations. Sales from discontinued operations were $605 million in the third quarter of 2014 compared with $595 million in the year-ago quarter. The sales increase reflects strength in both North America and Europe, while supply chain and IT execution issues that had an unfavorable impact on second-quarter 2014 sales were addressed during the quarter.
 
CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST
 
Motorola Solutions will host its quarterly conference call beginning at 7 a.m. U.S. Central Standard Time (8 a.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time) Tuesday, Nov. 4. The conference call will be webcast live with audio and slides at www.motorolasolutions.com/investor.
 
CONSOLIDATED GAAP RESULTS
 
A comparison of results from operations is as follows:
 

 
 
 
HIGHLIGHTED ITEMS AND SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE
 
The table below includes highlighted items and share-based compensation expense for the third quarter of 2014.

 
USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION
 
In addition to the GAAP results included in this presentation, Motorola Solutions also has included non-GAAP measurements of results. The company has provided these non-GAAP measurements to help investors better understand its core operating performance, enhance comparisons of core operating performance from period to period and allow better comparisons of operating performance to its competitors. Among other things, management uses these operating results, excluding the identified items, to evaluate performance of the businesses and to evaluate results relative to certain incentive compensation targets. Management uses operating results excluding these items because it believes this measurement enables it to make better period-to-period evaluations of the financial performance of core business operations. The non-GAAP measurements are intended only as a supplement to the comparable GAAP measurements and the company compensates for the limitations inherent in the use of non-GAAP measurements by using GAAP measures in conjunction with the non-GAAP measurements. As a result, investors should consider these non-GAAP measurements in addition to, and not in substitution for or as superior to, measurements of financial performance prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
 
Highlighted items: The company has excluded the effects of highlighted items (and any reversals of highlighted items recorded in prior periods) from its non-GAAP operating expenses and net income measurements because the company believes that these historical items do not reflect expected future operating earnings or expenses and do not contribute to a meaningful evaluation of the company’s current operating performance or comparisons to the company’s past operating performance.
 
Share-based compensation expense: The company has excluded share-based compensation expense from its non-GAAP operating expenses and net income measurements. Although share-based compensation is a key incentive offered to the company’s employees and the company believes such compensation contributed to the revenue earned during the periods presented and also believes it will contribute to the generation of future period revenues, the company continues to evaluate its performance excluding share-based compensation expense primarily because it represents a significant non-cash expense. Share-based compensation expense will recur in future periods.
 
Details of the above items and reconciliations of the non-GAAP measurements to the corresponding GAAP measurements can be found at the end of this press release.
 
BUSINESS RISKS
 
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable federal securities law. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and generally include words such as “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimates” and similar expressions. The company can give no assurance that any actual or future results or events discussed in these statements will be achieved. Any forward-looking statements represent the company’s views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing the company’s views as of any subsequent date. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from the statements contained in this release. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, Motorola Solutions’ financial outlook for the fourth quarter and full year of 2014, cost reduction targets and the reduction of U.S. pension plan cash contributions. Motorola Solutions cautions the reader that the risk factors below, as well as those on pages 10 through 21 in Item 1A of Motorola Solutions, Inc.'s 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K, on Page 31 in Part II, Item 1A of Motorola Solutions, Inc.’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2014, and in its other SEC filings available for free on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on Motorola Solutions’ website at www.motorolasolutions.com, could cause Motorola Solutions’ actual results to differ materially from those estimated or predicted in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties cannot be controlled by Motorola Solutions and factors that may impact forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) the economic outlook for the government communications industries; (2) the level of demand for the company's products, particularly if businesses and governments defer or cancel purchases in response to tighter credit; (3) the company's ability to introduce new products and technologies in a timely manner; (4) negative impact on the company's business from global economic conditions, which may include: (i) continued deferment or cancellation of purchase orders by customers; (ii) the inability of customers to obtain financing for purchases of the company's products; (iii) increased demand to provide vendor financing to customers; (iv) increased financial pressures on third-party dealers, distributors and retailers; (v) the viability of the company's suppliers that may no longer have access to necessary financing; (vi) counterparty failures negatively impacting the company’s financial position; (vii) changes in the value of investments held by the company's pension plan and other defined benefit plans, which could impact future required or voluntary pension contributions; and (viii) the company’s ability to access the capital markets on acceptable terms and conditions; (5) the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on the company when competing for business in foreign markets; (6) the outcome of currently ongoing and future tax matters; (7) the company's ability to purchase sufficient materials, parts and components to meet customer demand, particularly in light of global economic conditions; (8) risks related to dependence on certain key suppliers, subcontractors, third-party distributors and other representatives; (9) the impact on the company's performance and financial results from strategic acquisitions or divestitures; (10) risks related to the company's manufacturing and business operations in foreign countries; (11) the creditworthiness of the company's customers and distributors, particularly purchasers of large infrastructure systems; (12) exposure under large systems and managed services contracts, including risks related to the fact that certain customers require that the company build, own and operate their systems, often over a multi-year period; (13) the ownership of certain logos, trademarks, trade names and service marks including “MOTOROLA” by Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc.; (14) variability in income received from licensing the company's intellectual property to others, as well as expenses incurred when the company licenses intellectual property from others; (15) unexpected liabilities or expenses, including unfavorable outcomes to any pending or future litigation or regulatory or similar proceedings; (16) the impact of the percentage of cash and cash equivalents held outside of the United States; (17) the ability of the company to pay future dividends due to possible adverse market conditions or adverse impacts on the company’s cash flow; (18) the ability of the company to repurchase shares under its repurchase program due to possible adverse market conditions or adverse impacts on the company’s cash flow; (19) the impact of changes in governmental policies, laws or regulations; (20) negative consequences from the company's outsourcing of various activities, including certain business operations, information technology and administrative functions; (21) the impact of the company’s multi-year phased upgrade and consolidation of its enterprise resource planning systems into a single global platform; and (22) the company’s ability to return proceeds of the sale of the Enterprise business to shareholders and the timing thereof. Motorola Solutions undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement or risk factor, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
 
DEFINITIONS
 
* Amounts attributable to Motorola Solutions, Inc. common shareholders.
** Non-GAAP financial information excludes from GAAP results the effects of share-based compensation expense, intangible assets amortization expense and highlighted items.
*** Business outlook excludes share-based compensation, intangible amortization and charges associated with items typically highlighted by the company in its quarterly earnings releases.
 

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