Plexus announce Q1 results - $238 Million revenue & $0.06 EPS

Initiates Q2 revenue guidance of $245 to $255 million with EPS of $0.07 to $0.09Plexus Corp. (Nasdaq: PLXS) today announced revenue for its first quarter of fiscal 2004 increased 16% to $238.5 million compared to $205.4 million in the comparable prior year period. Net income for the first fiscal quarter was $2.5 million, equivalent to $0.06 earnings per diluted share. There was a net loss in the prior year period of ($44.3) million or ($1.05) per diluted share, including $31.8 million in restructuring charges and a $28.2 million partial write-off of goodwill. Excluding restructuring costs and the partial write-off of goodwill, Plexus reported a loss of ($0.9) million or ($0.02) per diluted share in the first fiscal quarter of 2003. The Company provides non-GAAP supplemental information -- more specifically, net income and EPS excluding restructuring costs and the partial write-off of goodwill. These non-GAAP financial data are provided to facilitate meaningful period-to-period comparisons of underlying operational performance by eliminating infrequent or unusual charges. Similar non-GAAP measures are used internally by management in assessing performance of its business because such measures provide additional insight into ongoing financial performance. Please refer to the attached accompanying reconciliations of the GAAP net income/(loss) and EPS to the non-GAAP supplemental data. Dean Foate, President and Chief Executive Officer of Plexus, commented, "This is our third consecutive quarter of revenue growth and EPS improvement. The 10% sequential revenue growth in our fiscal first quarter was a result of two distinct elements. First, we experienced strengthening end-market demand, particularly in our Networking/Datacom and Medical sectors. Additionally, we are making clear progress on our commitment to build our sales and marketing into a world-class organization. During the quarter we won significant new programs with Advanced Energy, AMX, Respironics, Telular and ViVOtech.""Based on our current outlook," continued Foate, "we are expecting the revenue and earnings momentum to continue into Q2 with sales in the range of $245 to $255 million and EPS in the $0.07 to $0.09 range. Second quarter earnings will be moderated by higher SG&A expense to support the ERP system installation in our Chicago facility and by other outside professional services. Looking at the full year, we are now increasingly comfortable with our 15% to 20% revenue growth target."Gordon Bitter, CFO, added, "Improved revenues in Q1 resulted in gross margins of 8.2% for the quarter compared to 7.4% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003. SG&A increased during the quarter reflecting increased expenses for compensation and healthcare benefits, but declined modestly as a percent of revenue. We had a 20% effective tax rate in the first quarter due to our expanding operations in Asia, where we benefit from tax holidays.""Cash and short-term investments at the end of the first quarter were approximately $60 million as we used approximately $19 million during the quarter, primarily to finance increased inventories to support growth. Debt remains low and the $100 million credit facility that was established early in the first quarter provides additional financial resources," Bitter concluded.Fiscal Q1 Highlights * Sales by industry were:Networking/Datacom – 39%, up from 38% last quarterMedical – 33%, up from 31%Industrial/Commercial – 12%, down from 14%Computing – 11%, down from 12%Transportation and other – steady at 5%* Top 10 customers comprised 60% of sales during the quarter, compared to 58% in the previous quarter.* Juniper Networks, with 13% of sales, was the only customer representing more than 10% of sales for the quarter.* Cash flow used in operations was approximately $16.9 million for the quarter.* Days sales outstanding in accounts receivable decreased to 45 days compared to 47 days in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003.* Inventory increased sequentially by approximately $26.4 million to $162.9 million, while annualized turns decreased to 5.8 turns this quarter from 6.2 turns in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003. Conference Call/Webcast and Replay InformationWhen: Thursday, January 22, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. EasternDial in: 800-721-7189 with conference ID PLEXUS Webcast: www.videonewswire.com/PLXS/012204 (requires Windows Media Player)Replay: 800-633-8284 with passcode: 21177344 or www.videonewswire.com/PLXS/012204. The call will be archived until midnight on January 29, 2004.NOTE: If you experience problems with the webcast, please email webcastsupport@tfprn.com.