Zebra Technologies Announces Financial Results for the 2012 Fourth Quarter and Full Year

Zebra Technologies Corporation announced 2012 fourth quarter diluted earnings from continuing operations of $0.68 per share, including acquisition and restructuring costs that reduced earnings by $0.03 per share. Earnings from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2011 totaled $0.63 per share. Net sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2012, increased 2.4% to $253,179,000 from $247,308,000 for the fourth quarter of 2011.

“Results for the quarter and full year reflect the meaningful progress made on meeting more of our customers’ extended supply chain visibility needs,” stated Anders Gustafsson, Zebra’s CEO. “We introduced a record 14 new printer products in 2012. This high development cadence led to a stronger complement of innovative products and solutions. More effective sales and marketing programs enabled a deeper level of engagement with customers in manufacturing, healthcare and retail. We enter 2013 mindful of the challenges in the current business environment, yet optimistic about Zebra’s opportunities for accelerating growth and improving profitability.”

For the full year, diluted earnings from continuing operations for 2012 totaled $2.35 per share, including acquisition and restructuring costs and an asset impairment charge that reduced earnings by $0.23 per share. For 2011, diluted earnings from continuing operations were $2.40, including acquisition and restructuring costs that reduced earnings by $0.03 per share. Net sales increased 1.3% to a record $996,168,000 for 2012 from $983,488,000 for 2011.

As of Dec. 31, 2012, Zebra had $394,075,000 in cash and investments, and no long-term debt.

Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 included record sales in Latin America, up 21.7%. North American sales increased 6.7%. This growth offset sales declines of 2.5% in Asia Pacific and 5.7% in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. On a constant-currency basis, sales in EMEA declined 3.6%. Sales of supplies – thermal ribbons, labels, wristbands and receipts – increased by 24.9% to a new quarterly record.

Gross profit of 49.2%, versus 49.1% in 2011, reflects reduced overhead, freight and reserve costs, partially offset by unfavorable movements in foreign exchange rates and product mix. Unfavorable foreign currency movements decreased fourth quarter gross profit by $1,806,000.

During the fourth quarter of 2012, Zebra returned $14.7 million to shareholders through the repurchase of 400,000 shares of Zebra Technologies Corporation Class A Common Stock at an average price of $36.69 per share. At Dec. 31, 2012, the company had 2,022,336 shares remaining in its stock buyback authorization, and 50,908,267 shares of common stock were outstanding.

Zebra announced its financial forecast for the first quarter of 2013. Net sales are expected within a range of $240,000,000 to $252,000,000, which primarily reflects the company’s typical seasonality in sales. Diluted earnings per share are expected within a range of $0.55 to $0.65.