CANTON, Ohio, Jan. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) today reported record sales of $5.2 billion for 2011, up 28 percent from the prior year on strong demand from diverse industrial markets. The increase primarily reflects growth from the energy, heavy truck, mining, rail and industrial distribution sectors, as well as favorable pricing, material surcharges and acquisitions.

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In 2011, the company generated $454.3 million in income from continuing operations, net of non-controlling interest, or $4.59 per diluted share, up 65 percent from $274.8 million, or $2.73 per diluted share, a year ago. Higher volume, favorable mix, surcharges and pricing drove the improvement, more than offsetting increased raw material and administrative costs.

"Our financial results tell the story of a transformed Timken Company," said James W. Griffith, Timken president and chief executive officer. "We've successfully repositioned the company, focusing our efforts on those industries and applications where we bring significant value and can make a difference in our customers' performance. As a result of this and our improved operating model, we have increased our earning power, serving Timken customers across a multitude of high-performance applications in industrial markets."

Among developments announced in 2011, Timken:

• Completed two acquisitions further diversifying its portfolio, including  Philadelphia Gear for $200 million in July and Drives for $92 million in October;
• Launched initiatives to further enhance productivity and serve growth in its Steel business, including a new $35 million in-line forge press at the company's Faircrest plant in Canton;
• Continued to expand bearing capacity, with approximately $50 million invested in 2011 to serve global growth in attractive industrial markets;
• Returned capital to shareholders, increasing quarterly dividends 11 percent to 20 cents per share, and repurchasing 1 million shares of company stock;
• Entered into an amended and restated $500 million unsecured senior credit facility that matures in May 2016;
• Contributed approximately $400 million to the company's pension and post-retirement benefit plans; and
• Began collaborating with The University of Akron to establish a new laboratory focused on surface-engineering technologies, and formed a new alliance with Stark State College to construct a large bearing test center in Canton.

Fourth-Quarter Results

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2011, Timken reported sales of $1.3 billion, an increase of 18 percent from the same period in 2010. Growth across most of the company's end markets, higher surcharges, pricing and acquisitions contributed to the improvement. Acquisitions accounted for approximately one third of the growth.

The company earned $1.11 per diluted share from continuing operations net of non-controlling interest for the quarter, compared with $0.87 per share a year ago. The improvement reflects higher volume, favorable mix, acquisitions, surcharges and pricing, which more than offset increased raw material and administrative costs.

At year-end, total debt was $515.1 million, or 20.1 percent of capital, and the company had cash of $468.4 million, or $46.7 million of net debt. That compares with a net cash position of $363.4 million on Dec. 31, 2010. The company generated $211.7 million in net cash from operating activities in 2011, while using $69.6 million in free cash flow (net of capital expenditures and dividends). Excluding discretionary pension and VEBA trust contributions of $256 million after tax, free cash flow was $186.4 million, compared with $322 million the prior year. This decline reflects higher working capital and capital expenditures in 2011 to support the company's growth, as well as increased dividends. The company's available liquidity was approximately $1.3 billion at Dec. 31, 2011.

Mobile Industries Segment Results

Mobile Industries' 2011 sales were $1.8 billion, up 13 percent from $1.6 billion a year ago. Higher demand in the off-highway, rail and heavy-truck sectors drove most of the increase, along with favorable pricing and currency.

Mobile Industries achieved EBIT of $243.2 million, or 13.7 percent of sales, for the year, up 17 percent from $207.6 million, or 13.3 percent of sales, earned in 2010. Higher volume and pricing drove the increase, partially offset by higher raw material costs and administrative expense.

In the fourth quarter, Mobile Industries' sales were $419.6 million, up 8 percent from the prior year's fourth-quarter sales of $388.6 million. Higher demand in the off-highway and rail sectors drove most of the increase, along with acquisitions, favorable pricing and surcharges. Excluding acquisitions, fourth-quarter sales were up 5 percent in the segment.

The Mobile segment recorded fourth-quarter EBIT of $43.2 million, or 10.3 percent of sales, compared with $42.3 million, or 10.9 percent of sales in 2010, as strong demand was offset by higher raw material and administrative costs. In addition, fourth-quarter results in both years included approximately $6 million in costs associated with the closure of the company's plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Process Industries Segment Results

Sales for the Process Industries segment were $1.2 billion in 2011, an increase of 38 percent from $903.4 million a year ago. Stronger distribution demand, acquisitions, growth in Asia, new-product sales and pricing accounted for the increase. Excluding acquisitions, sales were up 26 percent.

Process Industries generated $281.6 million, or 22.6 percent of sales, in EBIT for the year, up 111 percent from the prior year's EBIT of $133.6 million, or 14.8 percent of sales. Higher volume, acquisitions, pricing and favorable mix due to higher aftermarket sales contributed to the increase.

Process Industries' fourth-quarter sales grew to $322.4 million, compared with $250.7 million in the same period a year ago. The 29 percent increase reflects stronger demand from industrial distribution and acquisitions. Excluding acquisitions, fourth-quarter sales were up 9 percent.

Process Industries' fourth-quarter EBIT was $67.1 million, or 20.8 percent of sales, up 51 percent from $44.4 million, or 17.7 percent of sales, a year ago. Higher volume, acquisitions, favorable mix and manufacturing utilization contributed to the improvement.

Aerospace and Defense Segment Results

For the full year 2011, Aerospace and Defense ("Aerospace") sales were $324.1 million, down 4 percent from the same period a year ago. The decrease primarily reflects lower demand for defense-related products.

Aerospace EBIT was $7.6 million for the year, or 2.3 percent of sales, compared with 2010 EBIT of $16.7 million, or 4.9 percent of sales. The decline primarily reflects lower volume and unfavorable mix.

Aerospace sales in the fourth quarter were $79.7 million, compared with $82.5 million in 2010, primarily driven by lower demand for defense-related products.

Aerospace improved fourth-quarter EBIT to $3.6 million, or 4.5 percent of sales, from a prior-year loss of $3.8 million. The prior-year quarter included $7 million in inventory and warranty-related expenses.

Steel Segment Results

Sales for Steel, including inter-segment sales, were $2 billion in 2011, an increase of 44 percent from $1.4 billion in 2010. Demand from the energy and industrial sectors drove the improvement, as well as favorable pricing and an increase in raw-material surcharges of approximately $210 million.

The Steel segment posted $270.7 million in EBIT for the year, or 13.8 percent of sales, up 85 percent from $146.2 million, or 10.8 percent of sales, in 2010. The improvement reflects higher volume, surcharges, pricing and favorable mix led by the industrial and energy sectors, partially offset by higher material costs.

For the quarter, Steel segment sales were $468.4 million, up 23 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010. Strong demand from the energy sector, pricing and an increase in surcharges of approximately $35 million, drove sales higher.

EBIT for the fourth quarter was $71.5 million, or 15.3 percent of sales, compared with EBIT of $42 million, or 11.1 percent of sales, in 2010. Higher surcharges, improved pricing and mix were partially offset by increased raw-material costs.

Outlook

Timken expects sales growth of 5 to 8 percent in 2012, with:

• Mobile Industries sales relatively flat for the year, reflecting improved off-highway and rail demand, offset by reduced light-vehicle business;
• Process Industries sales up 8 to 13 percent, projecting increased demand from global industrial distribution, continued growth in Asia, the full-year impact from acquisitions and new-product sales;
• Aerospace and Defense sales up 10 to 15 percent, driven by increased demand in the defense and commercial aerospace sectors; and
• Steel sales up 5 to 10 percent, driven by demand in the energy and mobile on-highway sectors, as well as pricing.

Timken projects 2012 annual earnings in the range of $4.90 to $5.20 per diluted share, reflecting improved operating performance.

The company expects to generate approximately $515 million in cash from operations, which includes discretionary pension and VEBA trust contributions of approximately $150 million, net of tax. Free cash flow is expected to be $90 million after making capital expenditures of about $345 million and paying roughly $80 million in dividends. Excluding the discretionary pension and VEBA trust contributions, the company expects free cash flow of approximately $240 million in 2012.

Conference Call Information

The company will host a conference call for investors and analysts as follows:

About The Timken Company

The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR; www.timken.com) keeps the world turning with innovative friction management and power transmission products and services that help machinery perform more efficiently and reliably. With sales of $5.2 billion in 2011 and approximately 21,000 people operating from locations in 30 countries, Timken is Where You Turn® for better performance.

Certain statements in this news release (including statements regarding the company's forecasts, estimates and expectations) that are not historical in nature are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, the statements related to expectations regarding the company's future financial performance, including information under the heading "Outlook", are forward-looking. The company cautions that actual results may differ materially from those projected or implied in forward-looking statements due to a variety of important factors, including: the finalization of the company's financial statements for the fourth quarter and full year of 2011; the company's ability to respond to the changes in its end markets that could affect demand for the company's products; unanticipated changes in business relationships with customers or their purchases from the company; changes in the financial health of the company's customers, which may have an impact on the company's revenues, earnings and impairment charges; fluctuations in raw material and energy costs and their impact on the operation of the company's surcharge mechanisms; the impact of the company's last-in, first-out accounting; weakness in global economic conditions and financial markets; changes in the expected costs associated with product warranty claims; the ability to achieve satisfactory operating results in the integration of acquired companies; the impact on operations of general economic conditions; higher or lower raw material and energy costs; and fluctuations in customer demand. Additional factors are discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2010, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8K. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

The Timken Company

Media Contact: Lorrie Paul Crum
Manager – Global Media and
Strategic Communications
Mail Code: GNW-37
1835 Dueber Avenue, S.W.
Canton, OH 44706 U.S.A.
Office Phone: (330) 471-3514
Mobile Phone: (330) 224-5021
lorrie.crum@timken.com

Investor Contact: Steve Tschiegg
Director – Capital Markets and
Investor Relations
Mail Code: GNE-26
1835 Dueber Avenue, S.W.
Canton, OH 44706 U.S.A.
Office Phone: (330) 471-7446
Facsimile: (330) 471-2797
steve.tschiegg@timken.com

For Additional Information:
www.timken.com/media
www.timken.com/investors