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8-K - FORM 8-K Q4 2015 EARNINGS RELEASE - CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc.a8-kcttq42015earningsrelea.htm



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE        

CatchMark Announces Strong Full-Year 2015 Results:
Revenues Up 27%, Adjusted EBITDA Increases 36%
ATLANTA - March 7, 2016 - Exceeding company guidance, CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CTT) announced today that continued gains from operations and timberland acquisitions produced solid year-over-year increases in company revenues and Adjusted EBITDA for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2015. Full-year 2015 operating highlights included:
Increased revenues to $69.1 million, a 27% gain over full-year 2014.
Increased Adjusted EBITDA to $32.2 million, a 36% increase over full-year 2014.
Increased total harvest volumes to 1.84 million tons from 1.37 million tons in 2014.
CatchMark’s acquisitions of prime timberlands during 2015, totaling $73.7 million, excluding transaction costs, and comprising 42,900 acres, expanded its holdings into North Carolina and South Carolina and increased its total owned interests in timberlands across the U.S. South to 425,000 acres. For the year, CatchMark completed 19 timberland sales, totaling approximately 6,400 acres, for $11.8 million.
At year end, the company’s low-leveraged balance sheet provided ample liquidity for future opportunistic acquisitions and timely share repurchases with a multi-draw term loan capacity of $280 million and a line of credit of $35 million. Under CatchMark’s $30 million share repurchase program announced in August 2015, nearly 600,000 shares have been repurchased by year-end at an average price of $10.25.
Jerry Barag, CatchMark’s President and CEO, said: “We are very pleased with the execution of our strategic business plan during 2015 and we are well-positioned for another year of growth in 2016.  We remain focused on allocating capital into markets with favorable current and long-term fundamentals that





fit our profile for producing durable earnings over long-term holding periods and improving our product mix. Our operational focus remains on maximizing current harvest volumes to match demand in our mills markets as well as practicing intensive forest management and applying silvicultural techniques.”
Chairman of the Board Willis J. Potts, Jr., said: "Our efforts remain concentrated on long-term growth and the 2015 results set the stage for meeting our objectives of increasing adjusted EBITDA per share, raising our dividend, and creating greater value for our stockholders over time."
CatchMark’s year-over-year results for fourth quarter 2015 were impacted by a large land sale, which had an outsized positive impact on revenues and Adjusted EBITDA in fourth quarter 2014. Gross timber sales revenues and harvest volumes increased significantly year over year. Highlights of the company’s 2015 fourth quarter include:
Generated total revenues of $17.1 million compared to $20.9 million for fourth quarter 2014.
Produced Adjusted EBITDA of $6.9 million compared to $11.6 million for fourth quarter 2014.
Registered a net loss of $3.3 million compared to net income of $2.2 million in the fourth quarter 2014.
Increased gross timber sales revenues by 32% to $14.4 million from $11.0 million in fourth quarter 2014.
Increased total harvest volume by 47% to 509,000 tons from 346,000 tons in fourth quarter 2014.
Acquired 25,300 acres of new timberlands in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas for a total of $45.5 million, exclusive of transaction costs.
Completed timberland sales of $1.5 million, comprising 800 acres.
Paid a dividend of $0.125 per share to stockholders of record on December 14, 2015.


   





Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015
Revenues decreased to $17.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 from $20.9 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 primarily because of a decrease in timberland sales revenue of $7.5 million, offset by an increase in timber sales revenue of $3.5 million and an increase of $0.3 million in other revenues. Timber sales revenue increased by 32%, mainly as a result of an increase in harvest volume from properties acquired in the past 12 months.
Timberland sales revenue decreased due to selling fewer acres during the quarter ended December 31, 2015. The average sales price per acre on timberland sales was down during the fourth quarter of 2015 as a result of receiving above-average pricing on a large land sale during the fourth quarter of 2014. Other revenues increased due to having more acreage under recreational leases due to the growth of our timberland portfolio.
 
Three Months Ended
December 31, 2014
 
Changes attributable to:
 
Three Months Ended
December 31, 2015
(in thousands)
 
Price
 
Volume
 
Timber sales (1)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pulpwood
$
6,048

 
$
116

 
$
823

 
$
6,987

Sawtimber (2)
4,925

 
(108
)
 
2,634

 
7,451

 
$
10,973

 
$
8

 
$
3,457

 
$
14,438

(1) 
Timber sales are presented on a gross basis.
(2) 
Includes sales of chip-n-saw and sawtimber.

CatchMark incurred a net loss of $3.3 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared to net income of $2.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, as a result of a $5.2 million decrease in operating income from lower net timberland sales, higher depletion expense, and an increase in interest expense.
Revenues increased to $69.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2015 from $54.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2014 primarily due to an increase in timber sales revenue of $12.2 million, an increase in timberland sales revenue of $1.2 million and an increase of $1.4 million in other revenues. Timber sales revenue increased by 30%, mainly due to an increase in harvest volume as a result of





incremental harvest on properties acquired in the past 12 months. We incurred an $8.4 million net loss for the year ended December 31, 2015 as compared to generating net income of $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2014 due to a $7.9 million decrease in our operating income, a $0.9 million increase in our interest expense, and a $0.2 million decrease in interest income.
 
For the Year Ended
December 31, 2014
 
Changes attributable to:
 
For the Year Ended
December 31, 2015
(in thousands)
 
Price
 
Volume
 
Timber sales (1)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pulpwood
$
23,800

 
$
(203
)
 
$
4,263

 
$
27,860

Sawtimber (2)
16,835

 
336

 
7,806

 
24,977

 
$
40,635

 
$
133

 
$
12,069

 
$
52,837

(1) 
Timber sales are presented on a gross basis.
(2) 
Includes sales of chip-n-saw and sawtimber.

Adjusted EBITDA for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015
The discussion below is intended to enhance the reader’s understanding of our operating performance and our ability to satisfy lender requirements. Earnings from Continuing Operations before Interest, Taxes, Depletion, and Amortization (“EBITDA”) is a non-GAAP measure of operating performance. EBITDA is defined by the SEC; however, we have excluded certain other expenses due to their non-cash nature, and we refer to this measure as “Adjusted EBITDA.” As such, our Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies and should not be viewed as an alternative to net income as a measurement of our operating performance. Due to the significant amount of timber assets subject to depletion and the significant amount of financing subject to interest and amortization expense, management considers Adjusted EBITDA to be an important measure of our financial condition and performance. Our credit agreement contains a minimum debt service coverage ratio based, in part, on Adjusted EBITDA since this measure is representative of adjusted income available for interest payments.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2015, Adjusted EBITDA was $6.9 million, a $4.6 million decrease from the quarter ended December 31, 2014, primarily due to a $7.3 million decrease in revenue from net





timberland sales and increases in cash paid for general and administrative expenses, other operating expenses, and forestry management fees, offset by a $3.7 million increase in net timber sales.
For the year ended December 31, 2015, Adjusted EBITDA was $32.2 million, a $8.5 million increase from the year ended December 31, 2014, primarily due to a $9.6 million increase in net timber sales, a $0.8 million increase in revenue from net timberland sales, and a $1.4 million increase in other revenues, offset by increases in cash paid for general and administrative expenses, other operating expenses, and forestry management fees.
Our reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for the three months and 12 months ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 follows:
(in thousands)
Three Months Ended
December 31,
 
Years Ended
December 31,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Net (loss) income
$
(3,296
)
 
$
2,161

 
$
(8,387
)
 
$
660

Add:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Depletion
7,783

 
4,398

 
27,091

 
14,788

Basis of timberland sold
1,133

 
4,029

 
8,886

 
5,072

Amortization (1)
187

 
182

 
765

 
836

Stock-based compensation expense
247

 
133

 
889

 
418

Interest expense
882

 
653

 
2,924

 
1,897

Adjusted EBITDA
$
6,936

 
$
11,556

 
$
32,168

 
$
23,671

(1) 
For the purpose of the above reconciliation, amortization includes amortization of deferred financing costs, amortization of intangible lease assets, and amortization of mainline road costs, which are included in either interest expense, land rent expense, or other operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
2016 Outlook
CatchMark also announced earnings guidance for full-year 2016, expecting Adjusted EBITDA of between $31 million and $35 million, excluding the impact of new acquisitions, and increased harvest volumes targeted in a range of 1.9 million to 2.1 million tons, also excluding new acquisitions. Planned land sales are expected to total between $11 million and $13 million, comprising 1% to 2% of fee timberlands in line with the ongoing land sales program.
The company projects a net loss between $10 million and $11.5 million, primarily resulting from non-cash charges related to depletion expense driven by the higher harvest volume and change in product mix as





well as higher interest expense reflecting higher average debt outstanding after consideration of the fourth quarter acquisitions totaling nearly $50 million.
Barag said, “In assessing our outlook for 2016, we have confidence in continued strong performance driven by our core asset base and growth derived from our acquisitions pipeline. Through an extremely disciplined approach in allocating capital, we remain committed to assembling the industry's highest quality portfolio, targeting local market dynamics, sustainable productivity, merchantable inventory, and targeted cash yield.”
Conference Call/Webcast
The company will host a conference call and live webcast at 10 a.m. EST on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 to discuss these results. Investors may listen to the conference call by dialing 1-877-870-4263 for U.S/Canada and 1-412-317-0790 for international callers.  Participants should ask to be joined into the CatchMark call. Access to the live webcast will be available at www.catchmark.com.  A replay of this webcast will be archived on the company's website shortly after the call.  
About CatchMark
Headquartered in Atlanta, CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed publicly traded REIT that began operations in 2007 and owns interests in approximately 425,000 acres* of timberland located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Listed on the NYSE (CTT), CatchMark provides institutions and individuals an opportunity to invest in a public company focused exclusively on timberland ownership with an objective of producing stockholder returns from sustainably recurring harvests. For more information, visit www.catchmark.com. From time to time, CatchMark releases important information via postings on its corporate website. Accordingly, investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic email alerts regarding new postings. Enrollment information is found in the “Investors Relations” section of www.catchmark.com.
* As of December 31, 2015.






Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," or other similar words. However, the absence of these or similar words or expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are based on certain assumptions, discuss future expectations, describe plans and strategies, contain projections of results of operations or of financial condition or state other forward looking information. Such statements include, but are not limited to, that we have ample liquidity for future opportunistic acquisitions and timely share repurchases, that we are well-positioned for another year of growth, and that our 2015 results set the stage for meeting our objectives to increase adjusted EBITDA per share, raise our dividend and create greater value for stockholders over time. Readers of this press release should be aware that there are various factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made in this press release. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: (i) we may not generate the harvest volumes from our timberlands that we currently anticipate; (ii) the demand for our timber may not increase at the rate we currently anticipate or at all due to changes in general economic and business conditions in the geographic regions where our timberlands are located; (iii) the cyclical nature of the real estate market generally, including fluctuations in demand and valuations, may adversely impact our ability to generate income and cash flow from sales of higher-and-better use properties; (iv) timber prices may not increase at the rate we currently anticipate or could decline, which would negatively impact our revenues; (v) the supply of timberlands available for acquisition that meet our investment criteria may be less than we currently anticipate; (vi) we may be unsuccessful in winning bids for timberland that are sold through an auction process; (vii) we may not be able to access external sources of capital at attractive rates or at all; (viii) potential increases in interest rates could have a negative impact on our business; (ix) our share repurchase program may not be successful in improving stockholder value over the long-term; and (ix) the factors described in Item 1A. of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, under the heading “Risk Factors” and our other filings with Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements, except as required by law.


###





Contacts
Investors:                                                                  Media:
Brian Davis                                                             Mary Beth Ryan, Miller Ryan LLC
(855) 858-9794                                                       (203) 268-0158
info@catchmark.com                                            marybeth@millerryanllc.com







CATCHMARK TIMBER TRUST, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per-share amounts)
 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
 
Year Ended
December 31,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Revenues:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Timber sales
$
14,438

 
$
10,973

 
$
52,837

 
$
40,635

Timberland sales
1,525

 
9,075

 
11,845

 
10,650

Other revenues
1,112

 
839

 
4,440

 
3,026

 
17,075

 
20,887

 
69,122

 
54,311

Expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Contract logging and hauling costs
5,093

 
4,896

 
19,911

 
17,322

Depletion
7,783

 
4,398

 
27,091

 
14,788

Cost of timberland sales
1,251

 
4,372

 
9,747

 
5,558

Forestry management expenses
1,242

 
1,204

 
4,495

 
3,567

General and administrative expenses
2,451

 
1,971

 
7,667

 
6,185

Land rent expense
203

 
215

 
736

 
831

Other operating expenses
1,310

 
866

 
4,295

 
2,942

 
19,333

 
17,922

 
73,942

 
51,193

Operating (loss) income
(2,258
)
 
2,965

 
(4,820
)
 
3,118

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Other income (expense):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interest income
3

 

 
6

 
177

Interest expense
(1,041
)
 
(804
)
 
(3,573
)
 
(2,635
)
 
(1,038
)
 
(804
)
 
(3,567
)
 
(2,458
)
Net (loss) income available to common stockholders
$
(3,296
)
 
$
2,161

 
$
(8,387
)
 
$
660

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Weighted-average common shares outstanding - basic and diluted
38,888

 
39,361

 
39,348

 
31,568

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net (loss) income per-share available to common stockholders - basic and diluted
$
(0.08
)
 
$
0.05

 
$
(0.21
)
 
$
0.02







CATCHMARK TIMBER TRUST, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except per-share amounts)
 
December 31, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
Assets:
 
 
 
Cash and cash equivalents
$
8,025

 
$
17,365

Accounts receivable
2,562

 
798

Prepaid expenses and other assets
3,277

 
2,781

Deferred financing costs, less accumulated amortization of $123 and $39 as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively
354

 
418

Timber assets (Note 3):
 
 
 
Timber and timberlands, net
584,854

 
543,101

Intangible lease assets, less accumulated amortization of $934 and $931 as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively
23

 
26

Total assets
$
599,095

 
$
564,489

 
 
 
 
Liabilities:
 
 
 
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
$
3,307

 
$
2,359

Other liabilities
3,703

 
3,265

Note payable and line of credit, less net deferred financing costs (Note 4)
181,047

 
114,173

Total liabilities
188,057

 
119,797

 
 
 
 
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6)

 

 
 
 
 
Stockholders’ Equity:
 
 
 
Class A common stock, $0.01 par value; 900,000 and 889,200 shares authorized; 38,975 and 36,193 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively
390

 
362

Class B-3 common stock, $0.01 par value; 0 and 3,500 shares authorized; 0 and 3,164 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively

 
32

Additional paid-in capital
607,409

 
612,518

Accumulated deficit and distributions
(195,341
)
 
(167,364
)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(1,420
)
 
(856
)
Total stockholders’ equity
411,038

 
444,692

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
$
599,095

 
$
564,489







CATCHMARK TIMBER TRUST, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands)
 
Three Months Ended
December 31,
 
Year Ended
December 31,
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net (loss) income
$
(3,296
)
 
$
2,161

 
$
(8,387
)
 
$
660

Adjustments to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by operating activities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Depletion
7,783

 
4,398

 
27,091

 
14,788

Basis of timberland sold
1,133

 
4,029

 
8,886

 
5,072

Other amortization
29

 
31

 
117

 
98

Stock-based compensation expense
247

 
453

 
889

 
738

Noncash interest expense
158

 
(169
)
 
648

 
418

Changes in assets and liabilities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Accounts receivable
(357
)
 
(30
)
 
(1,764
)
 
(204
)
Prepaid expenses and other assets
(210
)
 
(211
)
 
187

 
619

Accounts payable and accrued expenses
(30
)
 
(1,176
)
 
985

 
(998
)
Other liabilities
(718
)
 
(2,365
)
 
(158
)
 
(1,346
)
Net cash provided by operating activities
4,739

 
7,121

 
28,494

 
19,845

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Timberland acquisitions
(47,252
)
 
(146,201
)
 
(75,793
)
 
(237,527
)
Capital expenditures (excluding timberland acquisitions)
(1,042
)
 
(215
)
 
(2,668
)
 
(906
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(48,294
)
 
(146,416
)
 
(78,461
)
 
(238,433
)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Proceeds from note payable
47,000

 
234,250

 
67,500

 
320,750

Repayments of note payable

 
(116,250
)
 
(498
)
 
(254,910
)
Financing costs paid
(529
)
 
(2,338
)
 
(781
)
 
(3,302
)
Issuance of common stock

 

 

 
190,222

Dividends paid to common stockholders
(4,847
)
 
(4,921
)
 
(19,590
)
 
(15,336
)
Repurchase of common shares
(1,416
)
 
(43
)
 
(6,004
)
 
(43
)
Stock issuance costs

 
(1
)
 

 
(10,042
)
Net cash provided by financing activities
40,208

 
110,697

 
40,627

 
227,339

Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents
(3,347
)
 
(28,598
)
 
(9,340
)
 
8,751

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
11,372

 
45,963

 
17,365

 
8,614

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
$
8,025

 
$
17,365

 
$
8,025

 
$
17,365







SELECTED DATA

 
2015
 
2014
 
Q1
 
Q2
 
Q3
 
Q4
 
YTD
 
Q1
 
Q2
 
Q3
 
Q4
 
YTD
Timber Sales Volume ('000 tons)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pulpwood
262

 
292

 
289

 
288

 
1,131

 
177

 
236

 
258

 
215

 
886

Sawtimber
175

 
157

 
156

 
221

 
709

 
86

 
125

 
138

 
131

 
480

Total
437

 
449

 
445

 
509

 
1,840

 
263

 
361

 
396

 
346

 
1,366

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Delivered % as of total volume
65
%
 
59
%
 
61
%
 
57
%
 
60
%
 
79
%
 
63
%
 
62
%
 
80
%
 
70
%
Stumpage % as of total volume
35
%
 
41
%
 
39
%
 
43
%
 
40
%
 
21
%
 
37
%
 
38
%
 
20
%
 
30
%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net timber sales price ($ per ton)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pulpwood
$
13

 
$
13

 
$
13

 
$
13

 
$
13

 
$
14

 
$
13

 
$
13

 
$
13

 
$
13

Sawtimber
$
26

 
$
26

 
$
25

 
$
25

 
$
26

 
$
22

 
$
24

 
$
25

 
$
25

 
$
24

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Timberland Sales
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gross Sales (1) ('000)
$
6,174

 
$
591

 
$
3,554

 
$
1,526

 
$
11,845

 
$
65

 
$
1,025

 
$
486

 
$
9,074

 
$
10,650

Acres Sold
3,400

 
258

 
1,953

 
796

 
6,407

 
29

 
547

 
206

 
2,979

 
3,761

Price per acre
$
1,816

 
$
2,291

 
$
1,820

 
$
1,914

 
$
1,849

 
$
2,250

 
$
1,873

 
$
2,357

 
$
3,046

 
$
2,832

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Timberland Acquisitions
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gross Acquisitions (1) ('000)
$
14,533

 
$
12,771

 
$
550

 
$
45,451

 
$
73,305

 
$
243

 
$
85,376

 
$

 
$
149,539

 
$
235,158

Acres Acquired
7,668

 
9,686

 
290

 
25,261

 
42,905

 
203

 
44,321

 

 
77,088

 
121,612

Price per acre ($/acre)
$
1,895

 
$
1,318

 
$
1,898

 
$
1,799

 
$
1,709

 
$
1,200

 
$
1,926

 
$

 
$
1,940

 
$
1,934

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Period End Acres ('000)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fee
369

 
379

 
377

 
401

 
401

 
247

 
291

 
291

 
365

 
365

Lease
29

 
28

 
28

 
24

 
24

 
30

 
30

 
30

 
28

 
28

Total
398

 
407

 
405

 
425

 
425

 
277

 
321

 
321

 
393

 
393

(1) Exclusive of closing costs.