Novelis Reports Third Quarter Results for Fiscal 2012

ATLANTA, Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Novelis Inc., the world's leading producer of aluminum rolled products, today reported a net loss attributable to its common shareholder of $12 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2012.  Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $213 million compared to $238 million for the same period of the previous year.

"These are good results, particularly when you consider the market pressures we saw in most of our regions and the fact that this is our seasonally low quarter.  Our business model serves as a competitive advantage by reducing our overall exposure in volatile market conditions," said Phil Martens, Novelis President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Our premium product portfolio, long-term customer base and business model are what differentiates us in our industry. As a result of this, our EBITDA per ton was flat versus last year on a 9 percent decline in shipments.  Going forward, we are seeing a recovery, particularly in our European segment which was the most negatively impacted in the third quarter. For the full year, we are on par with last year's record EBITDA results, despite the softer volumes we've experienced this year."

Shipments of aluminum rolled products totaled 648 kilotonnes for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to shipments of 715 kilotonnes in the third quarter of the previous year.  This decrease in shipments was primarily a result of customer destocking in Europe due to economic uncertainty and continued weakness in the Company's electronics business in Asia.  

Net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 were $2.5 billion, a decrease of 4 percent compared to the $2.6 billion reported in the same period a year ago, mainly the result of lower shipments and a decrease in average aluminum prices compared to the same period last year.  

The Company reported a pre-tax loss of $21 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2012, compared to a pre-tax loss of $2 million for the same period of fiscal 2011.  Excluding restructuring charges, unrealized losses on derivatives and gain on sale of assets, adjusted pre-tax income was $42 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2012.

"Our results this quarter were impacted by softer demand in Europe and Asia, reducing our ability to absorb fixed costs and higher net interest expense as a result of our debt refinancing last year," said Steve Fisher, Chief Financial Officer for Novelis.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2012, Novelis reported solid liquidity of $857 million and free cash flow of $63 million.  The decrease in liquidity compared to the previous quarter primarily relates to short-term borrowings used to purchase the 31.2% minority interest in the Company's Korean operations.  "As expected, we continued to generate strong cash flow, in part because of our ability to react quickly in this environment and manage our global inventory position down nearly 60 kilotonnes," said Fisher.  "Free cash flow for the quarter was also robust given we doubled our capital expenditures year-over-year. Going forward, we expect continued strong cash flow generation which will enable us to fund our strategic expansion projects across the globe."  

Business Outlook

As a result of market pressures and higher than expected destocking levels in several regions in the third quarter, the Company revised its adjusted EBITDA guidance down slightly to between $1.05-1.08 billion for fiscal 2012. In addition, it reaffirms its fiscal 2012 free cash flow before capital expenditures target of $600-700 million and capital expenditures of approximately $550-600 million primarily focused on its global expansion projects in Brazil, Korea and North America.

Strategic Investments

"Despite the softness we saw in the third quarter, we still believe in the strong long-term growth of the aluminum flat rolled products (FRP) market which is expected to grow 34% over the next 5 years," said Martens.

"To this end, you will see us continue to take action to ensure we are best positioned to capture this growth going forward. We are committed to our strategy and continue to execute on our global rolling and recycling expansions.  In addition, as part of our approach to strengthen our operations and gain control over our assets in Asia, we completed the acquisition of the minority stake in our Korean operations in December, bringing our total ownership to over 99%."

Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q

The results described in this press release have been reported in detail on the Company's Form 10-Q on file with the SEC, and investors are directed to that document for a complete explanation of the Company's financial position and results through December 31, 2011.  The Novelis Form 10-Q and other SEC filings are available for review on the Company's website at www.novelis.com.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2012 Earnings Conference Call

Novelis will discuss its third quarter fiscal 2012 results via a live webcast and conference call for investors at 9:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, February 8, 2012.  Participants may access the webcast at https://cc.callinfo.com/r/1uc7nr5yvkdoz.  To join by telephone, dial toll-free in North America at 800 736 4610, India toll-free at 0008001007106 or the international toll line at +1 212 231 2921.  Access information may also be found at www.novelis.com/investors.

About Novelis

Novelis Inc. is the global leader in aluminum rolled products and aluminum can recycling.  The Company operates in 11 countries, has nearly 11,000 employees and reported revenue of $10.6 billion in fiscal year 2011.  Novelis supplies premium aluminum sheet and foil products to automotive, transportation, packaging, construction, industrial, electronics and printing markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and South America.  Novelis is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited (BSE: HINDALCO), one of Asia's largest integrated producers of aluminum and a leading copper producer.  Hindalco is a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India.  For more information, please visit www.novelis.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release and the presentation slides for the earnings call contain non-GAAP financial measures as defined by SEC rules.  We think that these measures are helpful to investors in measuring our financial performance and liquidity and comparing our performance to our peers.  However, our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.  These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP financial measures.  To the extent we discuss any non-GAAP financial measures on the earnings call, a reconciliation of each measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure will be available in the presentation slides filed as Exhibit 99.2 to our Current Report on Form 8-K furnished to the SEC concurrent with the issuance of this press release. In addition, the Form 8-K includes a more detailed description of each of these non-GAAP financial measures, together with a discussion of the usefulness and purpose of such measures.

Attached to this news release are tables showing the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows, Reconciliation to Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this news release which describe Novelis' intentions, expectations, beliefs or predictions may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities laws.  Forward-looking statements include statements preceded by, followed by, or including the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," or similar expressions.  Examples of forward-looking statements in this news release include our expectations for free cash flow generation and our projected capital expenditures through the end of the fiscal year.  Novelis cautions that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty and that Novelis' actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.  We do not intend, and we disclaim any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  Factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ from the results expressed or implied by forward-looking statements include, among other things: changes in the prices and availability of aluminum (or premiums associated with such prices) or other materials and raw materials we use; the capacity and effectiveness of our metal hedging activities, including our internal used beverage cans (UBCs) and smelter hedges; relationships with, and financial and operating conditions of, our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders; fluctuations in the supply of, and prices for, energy in the areas in which we maintain production facilities; our ability to access financing for future capital requirements; changes in the relative values of various currencies and the effectiveness of our currency hedging activities; factors affecting our operations, such as litigation, environmental remediation and clean-up costs, labor relations and negotiations, breakdown of equipment and other events; the impact of restructuring efforts in the future; economic, regulatory and political factors within the countries in which we operate or sell our products, including changes in duties or tariffs; competition from other aluminum rolled products producers as well as from substitute materials such as steel, glass, plastic and composite materials; changes in general economic conditions including deterioration in the global economy, particularly sectors in which our customers operate; changes in the fair value of derivative instruments; cyclical demand and pricing within the principal markets for our products as well as seasonality in certain of our customers' industries; changes in government regulations, particularly those affecting taxes, derivative instruments, environmental, health or safety compliance; changes in interest rates that have the effect of increasing the amounts we pay under our principal credit agreement and other financing agreements; the effect of taxes and changes in tax rates; our indebtedness and our ability to generate cash. The above list of factors is not exhaustive.  Other important risk factors included under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 are specifically incorporated by reference into this news release.

Reconciliation from Net Income Attributable to our Common Shareholder to Adjusted EBITDA

Novelis is providing disclosure of the reconciliation of reported non-GAAP financial measures to their comparable financial measures on a GAAP basis.

The following table shows the "Free cash flow" for the nine months ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, the change between periods, as well as the ending balances of cash and cash equivalents (in millions).

SOURCE Novelis Inc.