Summary
Flex Ltd. reported a modest increase in net sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2019, reaching $6.4 billion, up 7% year-over-year. This growth was primarily driven by strong performance in the Consumer Technologies Group (CTG) and High Reliability Solutions (HRS) segments, while the Communications & Enterprise Compute (CEC) segment saw a slight decline. The company's gross profit, however, experienced a decrease in both absolute terms and as a percentage of net sales, mainly due to higher start-up costs and operational inefficiencies associated with new product ramps. A significant event impacting the quarter was the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard (ASC 606), which introduced contract assets and liabilities on the balance sheet and resulted in a slight reduction in reported revenue and gross profit for the period due to certain contract amendments. Additionally, the company recorded a substantial non-cash gain of $91.8 million from the deconsolidation of its investment in AutoLab AI, which boosted other income. Despite the gross profit pressure, the company ended the quarter with a solid cash and cash equivalents balance of approximately $1.3 billion, though it used $672 million in operating activities during the quarter.
Financial Highlights
50 data points| Revenue | $6.40B |
| Cost of Revenue | $6.02B |
| Gross Profit | $377.85M |
| SG&A Expenses | $262.88M |
| Interest Expense | $33.52M |
| Net Income | $116.03M |
| EPS (Basic) | $0.22 |
| EPS (Diluted) | $0.22 |
| Shares Outstanding (Basic) | 529.38M |
| Shares Outstanding (Diluted) | 535.45M |
Key Highlights
- 1Net sales increased by 7% to $6.4 billion in Q1 FY2019 compared to Q1 FY2018, driven by CTG and HRS segments.
- 2Gross profit declined to $378 million (5.9% of net sales) from $407 million (6.8% of net sales) year-over-year, impacted by higher start-up costs and inefficiencies.
- 3Adoption of ASC 606 revenue recognition standard resulted in the creation of contract assets and liabilities, with a net impact of reducing reported revenue and gross profit slightly due to contract amendments.
- 4A significant gain of $91.8 million was recognized from the deconsolidation of the AutoLab AI investment, boosting 'Other income, net'.
- 5Cash used in operating activities was $672 million for the quarter, a notable outflow driven by increases in operating assets and liabilities.
- 6The company maintained a strong liquidity position with $1.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of June 29, 2018.
- 7Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased slightly due to costs related to an independent audit committee investigation.