Houston Wire & Cable Company Reports Results for the First Quarter of 2014

HOUSTON, TX–(Marketwired – May 8, 2014) – Houston Wire & Cable Company (NASDAQ: HWCC) (the “Company”) announced operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014.

Selected highlights were:

• Record first quarter sales of $100.3 million
• Improving regional sales trends contributed to overall growth
• Net income of $3.7 million
• Diluted EPS of $0.21
• Declared a dividend of $0.12 per share

First Quarter Summary
Jim Pokluda, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, “We are very pleased to report record first quarter sales levels, which represented a 6% increase over the prior year quarter, or 10% as adjusted for fluctuations in metals prices, and a 6% increase sequentially. These results are primarily due to improved regional performances, including contributions from territories that had under-performed in 2013, increased project activity and continued Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) growth. Despite these enhanced contributions from certain regions, however, there are still areas of the country where demand remains sluggish and shows minimal signs of recovery.

MRO business increased slightly over 1%, or approximately 4% on a metals adjusted basis, and project sales increased 16%, or approximately 19% on a metals adjusted basis over the prior year quarter. We are pleased that the release of formerly booked project business was not negatively impacted by the inclement weather conditions experienced across a wide portion of the country. We do believe, however, that the weather did have some negative impact on the MRO side of our business, which is largely dependent on immediate daily demand.”

Strategic expansion of our distribution platform into underserviced geographic regions continued as we opened a new location in Odessa, Texas, in February, which followed the fourth quarter 2013 opening of our Alaska location. 

The continued overall competitiveness of the marketplace, varying levels of market demand, and deflation in the price of copper resulted in a gross margin of 21.6%, which was down 110 basis points from the first quarter of 2013, but near flat sequentially.

Operating expenses, although up 2% from the prior year period decreased as a percent of sales to 15.3% from 15.9% in the prior year period and from 16.1% sequentially.

Interest expense was flat with the prior year period and the effective interest rate remained at 1.9%. The effective tax rate for the quarter was 38.4%, up from the 36.8% rate in 2013. The prior year included a state tax credit, but 2014 was consistent with historical annual rates.

Net income of $3.7 million fell 3% short of the prior year period, but increased sequentially by 19%. Diluted earnings per share were $0.21, compared to $0.22 in the prior year quarter.

Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call to discuss first quarter results today, Thursday, May 8, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., C.D.T. Hosting the call will be James Pokluda, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Nicol Graham, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

A live audio web cast of the call will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website www.houwire.com.  

Approximately two hours after the completion of the live call, a telephone replay will be available until May 15, 2014.

Replay, Toll-Free #: 855-859-2056
Replay, Toll #: 404-537-3406
Conference ID #35031280

About the Company
With 39 years of experience in the industry, Houston Wire & Cable Company is one of the largest providers of wire and cable in the U.S. market. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the Company has sales and distribution facilities strategically located throughout the nation.

Standard stock items available for immediate delivery include: continuous and interlocked armor cable; control and power cable; electronic wire and cable; flexible and portable cords; instrumentation and thermocouple cable; lead and high temperature cable; medium voltage cable; premise and category wire and cable; primary and secondary aluminum distribution cable; wire rope and wire rope slings, as well as synthetic slings, chain, shackles and other related hardware. We also offer private branded products including our proprietary brand, LifeGuard™, a low-smoke, zero-halogen cable. Comprehensive value-added services include same-day shipping, knowledgeable sales staff, inventory management programs, just-in-time delivery, logistics support, customized internet-based ordering capabilities and 24/7/365 service.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains comments concerning management’s view of the Company’s future expectations, plans and prospects that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and projections about future events may, and often do, vary materially from actual results.

Other risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release can be found in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with the SEC. These documents are available under the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.houwire.com.

Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such statements.