=RPM Inc. (RPM) reported earnings on Thur 19 July 18 (b/o)

RPM International Inc. manufactures, markets, and sells specialty chemical products for industrial, specialty, and consumer markets worldwide.

Sector: Basic Materials
Industry: Specialty Chemicals
Full Time Employees: 14,318
http://www.rpminc.com
The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Medina, Ohio.



RPM Inc misses by $0.13, misses on revs; says Q1 is expected to be the most difficult in terms of bottom-line leverage, elects not to provide EPS guidance 

• Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $1.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.18; revenues rose 4.4% year/year to $1.56 bln vs the $1.58 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• "We began addressing operating improvement opportunities with our board over a year ago. We were in the early phases of this initiative when a now major shareholder -- Elliott Management -- contacted us because they believed that RPM's stock was undervalued, particularly in relationship to opportunities to improve our operating performance and margin profile. We agree," stated Frank C. Sullivan, RPM chairman and chief executive officer.
• Outlook Commentary:
  • During fiscal 2019, we expect the challenging raw material environment to continue, perpetuating the stress on gross profit margins. All of our businesses are aggressively pursuing price increases and we expect to see some of that benefit in our consumer segment this fiscal year.
  • Although, top-line sales will continue to be solid, the first quarter is expected to be the most difficult in terms of bottom-line leverage for several reasons. In consumer, there will be a higher first quarter promotional advertising and load-in spend to support recent market share gains. Furthermore, the gap between current price increases and raw material inflation is at its peak, with our consumer businesses finally realizing some of their price increases now. In our specialty segment, the first quarter of fiscal 2019 is the last quarter of negative comparisons relating to the NatureSeal patent expiration last August.
  • During fiscal 2019, we intend to adjust out charges relating to our operational improvement initiative to provide better clarity on the performance of our core businesses. We have committed to announcing a comprehensive update to our operating improvement initiative, which we call our 2020 MAP to Growth, prior to the end of November and have elected not to provide EPS guidance as we navigate through this transitional period