Benchmark Electronics Reports Results for the Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2011

(PRNewswire) — Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: BHE), a leading integrated contract manufacturing provider, announced sales of $559 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, compared to $627 million for the same quarter in the prior year. The Company reported fourth quarter net income of $3 million, or $0.05 per diluted share. In the comparable period in 2010, the Company reported net income of $19 million, or $0.31 per diluted share. Excluding restructuring and Thailand flood related charges, net of insurance, the Company's net income would have been $10 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2011 and $23 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, in the same quarter of 2010.

Sales for the year ended December 31, 2011 were $2.3 billion, compared to $2.4 billion in 2010. The net income for the year ended December 31, 2011 was $52 million, or $0.87 per diluted share, which includes discrete income tax benefits of $12 million, or $0.20 per diluted share. In the prior year, the net income was $80 million, or $1.27 per diluted share. Excluding restructuring and Thailand flood related charges, net of insurance, the Company's  net income would have been $60 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, in 2011, compared to net income of $84 million, or $1.35 per diluted share, in 2010.

"Our fourth quarter revenues and earnings per share exceeded the high-end of our guidance. Customer demand levels were strong across each of our industry sectors in the fourth quarter," said Gayla J. Delly, the Company's Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, we are pleased with the phenomenal recovery in Thailand, made possible by the tremendous support of our global teams and our customers. We expect to return to full production levels by the end of March."

Fourth Quarter 2012 Financial Highlights

• Our facilities in Ayudhaya, Thailand were flooded and remained closed from October 13 to December 20, 2011.  Thailand flood related charges, net of insurance recoveries, were as follows (in millions):

• Operating margin for the fourth quarter was 1.2% excluding restructuring and Thailand flood related charges.
• Cash flows provided by operating activities for the fourth quarter were approximately $55 million.  No insurance proceeds were received related to the Thailand flood in 2011.  
• Cash and long-term investments balance was $309 million at December 31, 2011. Long-term investments consist of $25 million of auction rate securities.
• Accounts receivable was $426 million at December 31, 2011; calculated days sales outstanding were 69 days.
• Inventory was $392 million at December 31, 2011; inventory turns were 5.4 times.
• Repurchases of common shares for the fourth quarter totaled $3 million or 0.2 million shares.
• Income tax benefit for the fourth quarter includes $3 million ($0.05 per diluted share) of net discrete tax benefits primarily related to the settlement of income tax audits.

Industry Sectors

The following table sets forth sales by industry sector for the quarters ended December 31, 2011, September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010.

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