The Middleby Corporation Reports Third Quarter Results

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091109006749/en

ELGIN, Ill.--(Business Wire)--
The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ: MIDD), a leading worldwide manufacturer of
restaurant and foodservice cooking equipment, today reported net sales and
earnings for the third quarter ended October 3, 2009. Net earnings for the third
quarter were $15,501,000 or $0.83 per share on net sales of $153,989,000 as
compared to the prior year third quarter net earnings of $16,290,000 or $0.96
per share on net sales of $166,472,000. Net earnings for the nine months ended
October 3, 2009 were $43,282,000 or $2.34 per share on net sales of $494,136,000
as compared to net earnings of $46,588,000 or $2.72 per share on net sales of
$500,868,000 in the prior year first nine months.

2009 Third Quarter Financial Highlights

* Net sales declined 7.5% in the third quarter. Excluding the impact of
acquisitions, sales declined 19.8% during the third quarter. Sales of the
Commercial Foodservice Group declined 19.6% for the quarter and sales of the
Food Processing Group declined 21.0% for the quarter. Sales continued to be
impacted by economic conditions.
* Gross profit decreased to $62,037,000 from $64,737,000 as a result of lower
sales volumes; however the gross margin rate improved to 40.3% from 38.9%. The
improvement in the gross margin rate reflects efficiency gains from the
consolidation of production facilities, lower material costs from strategic
supply chain initiatives and more favorable steel pricing as compared to the
prior year.
* Operating income decreased to $28,074,000 from $30,953,000. Operating income
included a $2.5 million non-cash charge associated with the write-down of
property and equipment associated with a production facility which was exited
during the third quarter as result of production consolidation initiatives.
Excluding this nonrecurring charge, operating income amounted to $30,574,000 as
compared to $30,953,000, and operating margins increased to 19.9% in the 2009
third quarter as compared to 18.6% in the prior year quarter.
* Depreciation and amortization amounted to $3,681,000 in the 2009 third quarter
and as compared to $3,130,000 in the 2008 third quarter.
* Net interest expense and deferred financing costs amounted to $2,797,000 in
the third quarter as compared to $3,168,000 in the prior year third quarter.
Reduced interest expense reflects the benefit of lower interest rates, offset in
part by higher levels of debt to fund acquisition activities.
* Total debt at the end of the 2009 third quarter amounted to $295,000,000 as
compared to $321,000,000 at the end of the second quarter 2009. Net debt
continued to be reduced utilizing cash flows from operating activities. The
company`s debt is financed under a $497,500,000 senior revolving credit facility
that matures in December 2012.

Selim A. Bassoul Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "Sales to our
customers both in the Commercial Foodservice Group and the Food Processing Group
continued to be affected by the general economic environment. As sales have
declined, we have continued to focus on maintaining our profitability levels
through cost reduction initiatives and remaining disciplined with our product
pricing. During the third quarter we also realized the benefit of lower steel
costs which lessened the impact of reduced sales volumes during the quarter."

Mr. Bassoul continued, "We anticipate that the business environment may continue
to be challenging into the beginning of next year. Accordingly, we continue to
implement measures to reduce our costs to offset lower volumes in the near term.
These cost reduction efforts include strategic initiatives to reduce supply
chain costs and to improve manufacturing efficiencies. Additionally, we continue
to make progress on the integration of our most recently acquired businesses
including Turbochef, Anets, and CookTek."

"We were pleased with our third quarter cash flow and debt reduction. We were
able to pay down over $26 million in debt during the third quarter. We will
continue to focus on debt reduction and anticipate operating cash flows will
remain strong for the remainder of the year."

Mr. Bassoul concluded, "We continue to invest in new product development and in
our selling organization. We are pleased with the progress of our newly created
national accounts sales team introduced to support our top restaurant chain
customers. Additionally, we have made investments in the second half of the year
to expand our international selling organization in an effort to further
penetrate the worldwide markets."

Conference Call

A conference call will be held at 9:30 a.m. Central time on Tuesday, November
10, 2009 and can be accessed by dialing (212) 659-4245 and providing conference
code 528529# or through the investor relations section of The Middleby
Corporation website at www.middleby.com. An audio replay of the call will be
available approximately one half hour after its completion and can be accessed
by calling (866) 206-0173 and providing code 248712#.

Statements in this press release or otherwise attributable to the Company
regarding the Company's business which are not historical fact are
forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company cautions investors
that such statements are estimates of future performance and are highly
dependent upon a variety of important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from such statements. Such factors include variability in
financing costs; quarterly variations in operating results; dependence on key
customers; international exposure; foreign exchange and political risks
affecting international sales; changing market conditions; the impact of
competitive products and pricing; the timely development and market acceptance
of the Company's products; the availability and cost of raw materials; and other
risks detailed herein and from time-to-time in the Company's SEC filings.

The Middleby Corporation is a global leader in the foodservice equipment
industry. The company develops, manufactures, markets and services a broad line
of equipment used for commercial food cooking, preparation and processing. The
company's leading equipment brands serving the commercial foodservice industry
include Anets, Blodgett, Blodgett Combi, Blodgett Range, Bloomfield, Carter
Hoffmann, CookTek, CTX, frifri, Giga, Holman, Houno, Jade, Lang, MagiKitch'n,
Middleby Marshall, Nu-Vu, Pitco Frialator, Southbend, Star, Toastmaster,
TurboChef and Wells. The company`s leading equipment brands serving the food
processing industry include Alkar, MP Equipment, and RapidPak. The Middleby
Corporation was recognized by Business Week as one of the Top 100 Hot Growth
Companies of 2007 and 2008, by Crain`s Chicago Business as one of the Fastest 50
Growth Companies in 2007 and 2008, and by Forbes as one of the Best Small
Companies in 2007 and 2008.

For more information about The Middleby Corporation and the company brands,
please visit www.middleby.com.

THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
(Amounts in 000`s, Except Per Share Information)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
3rd Qtr, 2009 3rd Qtr, 2008 3rd Qtr, 2009 3rd Qtr, 2008
Net sales $ 153,989 $ 166,472 $ 494,136 $ 500,868
Cost of sales 91,952 101,735 301,989 310,221

Gross profit 62,037 64,737 192,147 190,647

Selling & distribution expenses 16,361 16,822 49,335 49,743
General & administrative expenses 17,602 16,962 59,702 51,443

Income from operations 28,074 30,953 83,110 89,461

Interest expense and deferred
financing amortization, net 2,797 3,168 8,800 9,910
Other expense, net (137 ) 850 607 1,798

Earnings before income taxes 25,414 26,935 73,703 77,753

Provision for income taxes 9,913 10,645 30,421 31,165

Net earnings $ 15,501 $ 16,290 $ 43,282 $ 46,588

Net earnings per share:

Basic $ 0.88 $ 1.02 $ 2.46 $ 2.91

Diluted $ 0.83 $ 0.96 $ 2.34 $ 2.72
Weighted average number shares:

Basic 17,600 15,911 17,589 15,985

Diluted 18,754 17,017 18,520 17,143

THE MIDDLEBY CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Amounts in 000`s)
(Unaudited)

Oct 3, 2009 Jan 3, 2009
ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents $ 10,991 $ 6,144
Accounts receivable, net 79,033 85,969
Inventories, net 93,878 91,551
Prepaid expenses and other 8,335 7,646
Current deferred tax assets 33,047 18,387
Total current assets 225,284 209,697

Property, plant and equipment, net 46,184 44,757

Goodwill 361,515 266,663
Other intangibles 186,795 125,501
Other assets 3,403 3,314

Total assets $ 823,181 $ 649,932

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS` EQUITY

Current maturities of long-term debt $ 6,890 $ 6,377
Accounts payable 39,879 32,543
Accrued expenses 126,232 102,579
Total current liabilities 173,001 141,499

Long-term debt 288,118 228,323
Long-term deferred tax liability 12,450 33,687
Other non-current liabilities 30,452 23,029

Stockholders` equity 319,160 223,394

Total liabilities and stockholders` equity $ 823,181 $ 649,932

The Middleby Corporation
Darcy Bretz, Investor and Public Relations, 847-429-7756
or
Tim FitzGerald, Chief Financial Officer, 847-429-7744

Copyright Business Wire 2009