Newell Brands Announces New Growth Game Plan
Sharpens Strategic Focus for Accelerated Growth
Consolidates Business Units
Creates New Global E-commerce Division
Holds Nearly 10 Percent of Portfolio for Sale
HOBOKEN, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE: NWL) announced a series of changes related to
a comprehensive strategic review of its business conducted since the
completion of the Newell Rubbermaid and Jarden combination. Newell
Brands will transform from a holding company to an operating company
and, with a new set of investment priorities and a sharpened set of
portfolio choices, accelerate growth and performance by deploying a
proven set of growth capabilities over a broader set of categories and
by disproportionately resourcing the business with the greatest
potential.
The company will simplify its operating structures consolidating the
existing 32 Business Units to 16 Operating Divisions, including the
creation of a new global enterprise-wide e-Commerce Division. The
company will also focus and strengthen its portfolio by holding a number
of businesses for sale, using the proceeds primarily to accelerate debt
pay down, and creating a platform for future acquisitions that
strengthen and scale the company’s core businesses.
The businesses held for sale represent about 10 percent of the portfolio
and include the vast majority of the Tools Segment, the Winter Sports
businesses within the Outdoor Solutions Segment, the Heaters,
Humidifiers, and Fans businesses within the Consumer Solutions Segment,
and the Consumer Storage Container business within the Home Solutions
Segment. The total 2015 net sales of the businesses held for sale are
approximately $1.5 billion, and include about $100 million of the $250
to $300 million of previously announced exits or assets held for sale.
“Newell Brands new strategic plan establishes a clear set of investment
priorities, a new organization design for the company, and a sharp set
of portfolio choices that will focus our resources on the businesses
with the greatest potential for growth and value creation,” said Michael
Polk, Newell Brands Chief Executive Officer. “We will drive growth
acceleration over time through more effective and scaled commercial
operations, increased investment in our brands and capabilities, and the
delivery of bigger, better innovation across a broader set of
categories. We will simultaneously expand margins through significant
cost synergies and other savings related to the combination of Newell
Rubbermaid and Jarden and other cost focused initiatives.”
“The combination of Newell Rubbermaid and Jarden has created a unique
platform for transformative value creation and the actions we are taking
to reshape the company will unlock this opportunity, bringing greater
investment and growth to our highest potential categories like Writing,
Home Fragrance, Baby, Food Storage & Preparation, Appliances & Cookware,
and Outdoor & Recreation. The choices we are making will strengthen the
underlying growth and performance of our most strategic businesses and
over time enable us to scale our core categories through external
development,” said Mark Tarchetti, Newell Brands President.
The sale processes are underway and the company hopes to complete the
divestiture of the assets held for sale within the first half of 2017.
Proceeds from successful divestitures will be used primarily to
accelerate the pay down of debt, with the goal of achieving the
company’s stated objective of a leverage ratio of 3 to 3.5 times EBITDA.
At a recent investor conference, the company announced that it expects
to deliver $500 million in costs synergies by the end of 2018, an
acceleration of cost synergy delivery relative to the original
commitment of 3 to 4 years from the completion of the Newell Rubbermaid
and Jarden Corporation combination on April 15, 2016. The acceleration
of cost synergy delivery is connected in part to the announcement today
of the consolidation of 32 Business Units to 16 Divisions. The actions
announced today will not impact 2016 core sales or normalized EPS
guidance. More details will be shared on the company’s third quarter
earnings call on October 28, 2016.
About Newell Brands
Newell Brands (NYSE: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company
with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Paper Mate®,
Sharpie®, Dymo®, EXPO®, Parker®, Elmer’s®, Coleman®, Jostens®, Marmot®,
Rawlings®, Oster®, Sunbeam®, FoodSaver®, Mr. Coffee®, Rubbermaid
Commercial Products®, Graco®, Baby Jogger®, NUK®, Calphalon®,
Rubbermaid®, Contigo®, First Alert®, Waddington and Yankee Candle®. For
hundreds of millions of consumers, Newell Brands makes life better every
day, where they live, learn, work and play.
This press release and additional information about Newell Brands are
available on the company’s website, www.newellbrands.com.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical in nature
constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
relate to information or assumptions about the effects of sales, income,
earnings per share, operating income, operating margin or gross margin
improvements or declines, Project Renewal, capital and other
expenditures, cash flow, dividends, restructuring and other project
costs, costs and cost savings, inflation or deflation, particularly with
respect to commodities such as oil and resin, debt ratings, changes in
exchange rates, expected benefits and financial results from the Jarden
transaction and other recently completed acquisitions and related
integration activities and planned divestitures and management’s plans,
projections and objectives for future operations and performance. These
statements are accompanied by words such as “anticipate,” “expect,”
“project,” “will,” “believe,” “estimate” and similar expressions. Actual
results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, our dependence on the
strength of retail, commercial and industrial sectors of the economy in
light of the continuation or escalation of the global economic slowdown
or regional sovereign debt issues; currency fluctuations; competition
with other manufacturers and distributors of consumer products; major
retailers’ strong bargaining power and consolidation of our retail
customers; changes in the prices of raw materials and sourced products
and our ability to obtain raw materials and sourced products in a timely
manner from suppliers; our ability to develop innovative new products
and to develop, maintain and strengthen our end-user brands, including
the ability to realize anticipated benefits of increased advertising and
promotion spend; product liability, product recalls or regulatory
actions; our ability to expeditiously close facilities and move
operations while managing foreign regulations and other impediments; a
failure of one of our key information technology systems or related
controls; our ability to attract, retain and motivate key employees;
future events that could adversely affect the value of our assets and
require impairment charges; our ability to improve productivity and
streamline operations; changes to our credit ratings; significant
increases in the funding obligations related to our pension plans due to
declining asset values, declining interest rates or otherwise; the
imposition of tax liabilities greater than our provisions for such
matters; the risks inherent in our foreign operations, including
exchange controls and pricing restrictions; our ability to complete
planned divestitures; our ability to successfully integrate acquired
businesses, including the recently acquired Jarden business; our ability
to realize the expected benefits and financial results from our recently
acquired businesses and planned divestitures; and those factors listed
in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including
the information set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K). Changes in such assumptions or
factors could produce significantly different results. The information
contained in this news release is as of the date indicated. The company
assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained
in this news release as a result of new information or future events or
developments.
Contacts
Investor Contact:
Newell Brands
Inc.
Nancy O’Donnell, +1-770-418-7723
Vice President, Investor
Relations
nancy.odonnell@newellco.com
or
Media
Contacts:
Newell Brands Inc.
Tom Sanford,
+1-973-600-3880
Vice President, Global Communications
tom.sanford@newellco.com
or
Weber
Shandwick
Liz Cohen, +1-212-445-8044
liz.cohen@webershandwick.com
