Miller Industries Reports 2009 Fourth Quarter And Year End Results

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MLR) (the "Company") today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

For the fourth quarter of 2009, net sales were $67.0 million, an increase of 8.2% compared with $61.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.  Net income in the fourth quarter of 2009 was $2.0 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, an increase of 189.8% as compared to net income of $0.7 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, in the prior year period.  

On a sequential basis, net sales for the fourth quarter of 2009 increased 16.4% over net sales of $57.5 million for the third quarter of 2009. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2009 increased 18.6% over net income of $1.7 million in the third quarter of 2009.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $10.0 million, or 14.9% of net sales, compared to $8.9 million, or 14.4% of net sales, for the fourth quarter of 2008.  For the fourth quarter of 2009, selling, general and administrative expenses were $6.7 million versus $6.9 million for the prior year period.  

The Company repaid the remaining balance of the term loan under its credit facility in June of 2009, and had no bank debt outstanding at December 31, 2009. This compares to total bank debt of $2.1 million at December 31, 2008.

Other income related to foreign currency transactions was a net gain of $75,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to a net loss of $725,000 in the fourth quarter of 2008.

For the 2009 full-year period, net sales were $237.6 million, compared to $271.0 million in the prior year period.  The Company reported net income of $6.0 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, for the 2009 full-year period, compared to net income for the 2008 full-year period of $3.6 million, or $0.31 per diluted share. Other income related to foreign currency transactions was a net gain of $442,000 for the full year of 2009 compared to a net loss of $678,000 in 2008.

Jeffrey I. Badgley, President and Co-CEO of the Company stated, "Although 2009 was challenging for Miller Industries, we concluded the year on a more positive note. Our 2009 fourth quarter net sales increased both year-over-year and sequentially, driven by some improvement in orders from our domestic distributors and a slight increase in orders associated with government-related contracts. Gross margins for the quarter improved 50 basis points year-over-year primarily due to stronger net sales, product mix, enhanced efficiencies associated with our prior capital expenditures and the steps we took early in 2009 to align our cost structure with our sales.  These steps helped the Company nearly triple its net income in the 2009 fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of last year. We are pleased with the performance in our domestic markets in the quarter, which has demonstrated some improvement in volume and activity. However, demand in our European markets continues to lag, primarily due to the tight credit markets which have not shown signs of easing."  

Mr. Badgley added, "In 2009, we further strengthened our financial position in spite of the continuing economic recession. We paid off the remaining portion of our term loan in June, increased our free cash flow and lowered our inventories. We also increased our profitability throughout the year, and ended the year nearly doubling our available cash. As the economy improves, we believe we are now in an even stronger position to take advantage of the upturn in our markets and continue to execute on our business strategy."