Mohawk Industries announced Q4/2015 net earnings of $192 million and diluted earnings per share of $2.57. Excluding restructuring, acquisition and other charges, net earnings were $210 million and EPS was $2.82, a 24% increase over last year's Q4 adjusted EPS.
Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2015 were $2.0 billion, up 2% versus the prior year's Q4. For the Q4 of 2014, net sales were $1.95 billion, net earnings were $147 million and EPS was $2.00; excluding restructuring, acquisition and other charges, net earnings were $167 million and EPS was $2.27.
For the twelve months ending December 31, 2015, net sales were $8.1 billion, an increase of approximately 3% versus prior year or an increase of approximately 10% on a constant currency exchange rate basis. Net earnings and EPS for the twelve month period were $615 million and $8.31, respectively.
As Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum, Chairman and CEO of Mohawk Industries, said, the company had a strong growth strategy that began back in 2013. Since then, they invested nearly $5 billion, another $3.5 billion in 9 acquisitions and $1.5 billion to bring in innovative products in their existing businesses.
Mr. Lorberbaum added: "We remain optimistic about 2016, and this year we will invest an additional $600 to $650 million in internal projects, which include increased ceramic capacity and upgrades in the U.S, Mexico, Europe and Russia, process improvements in carpet manufacturing, additional LVT manufacturing in the U.S. and Europe, increased wood production in U.S. and Europe and installation of advanced technology in our U.S. and European laminate businesses. Last year, we achieved record results in every quarter with about 30% of our business outside the U.S., where we faced significant foreign exchange translation headwinds.
"During the fourth quarter, our Flooring North America segment's sales were flat versus last year as reported, or increased 6% on a constant day's basis with adjusted operating income increasing 31%. The adjusted operating margin increased to 14% due to improved productivity, volume, input costs and the IVC acquisition partially offset by price and mix. The Flooring North America segment has made progress in expanding our brands and customer relationships, enhancing our style and design, transferring innovative manufacturing practices and utilizing the Mohawk distribution system for all products. Our vinyl sales are performing as planned and our new LVT plant continues to improve its performance with increased production levels. We continue to ramp up our Mohawk branded LVT and sheet vinyl sales in the builder, multi-family and retail markets, and we are developing new products to extend our sheet vinyl further into commercial channels.
"For the quarter, our Flooring Rest of the World segment's sales rose 22% as reported or 41% on a constant days and exchange rate basis with adjusted operating income improving 59% over the prior year. The adjusted operating margin increased to 16% due to improved volume, input costs and the IVC acquisition. Our laminate and wood business in Europe outperformed the market as a result of our focus on differentiated products at mid to high-end price points. We continue to expand our latest laminate embossing technology, which creates more realistic visuals. Our European wood sales are growing quickly, supplied from our Czech wood plant with the balance coming from our Malaysian facility. The IVC vinyl sales increased but were constrained by capacity limitations. Our new LVT plant in Belgium is operating well, and sales are developing better than planned. The plant is constrained by manufacturing limitations, and equipment additions in the middle of the year will increase our capacity about 50%. Our insulation products had record sales this year, and we have expanded our offering and our geographical footprint with recently acquired plants in Ireland, the U.K. and Belgium. Our other board product sales were up slightly and margins improved from mix, asset upgrades and plant consolidations.
"2015 was the best year in Mohawk's history, and we expect the momentum to continue this year. We anticipate that the demand trends in our U.S. and international markets will remain consistent with what we have been experiencing. Although growth in Europe is limited and negative in Russia, our international businesses are delivering solid results on a local basis. Our sales and margins should continue to improve over last year as a result of our continued innovations, process improvements and disciplined execution. Our recent acquisitions are progressing with operational and market synergies that we anticipated. This year we will increase investments in our existing businesses to improve our long-term performance. Taking all these factors into account, our guidance for the first quarter is $2.24 - $2.33 per share, which would be a 32 -37% increase over 2015, excluding any restructuring, acquisition and other charges, " Mr. Lorberbaum concluded.
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