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Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Matthews International first-quarter financial call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session, and instructions will be given at that time.
(Operator Instructions)
As a reminder, this call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Steve Nicola, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.
- CFO
Thank you, Linda. Good morning. I'm Steve Nicola, Chief Financial Officer of Matthews. Also on the call this morning is Joe Bartolacci, our Company's President and CEO.
Today's conference call has been scheduled for one hour and will be available for replay later this morning. To access the replay, dial 1-320-365-3844 and enter the access code 350-805. The replay will be available until 11:59 PM, February 13, 2015.
We have posted on our website, which is www.matw.com, the first-quarter earnings release and financial information we will discuss this morning. On the top of our homepage under the investor tab, click on Investor News to access the earnings release.
For the quarterly financial data, click on Financial Reports to access the information under the section Matthews International Quarterly Reports. The documents are presented in a PDF-file format.
Before beginning the discussion, at the advice of legal counsel, I've been advised to read the following disclaimers that pertains to forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements in connection with this discussion are being made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Security's Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results and future periods to be materially different from management's expectations.
Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove correct. Factors that could cause the Company's results to differ from those discussed today are set forth in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and other periodic filings with the SEC.
To begin the conference, I will review the financial results for the quarters, Joe will then provide general comments on our operations. Following that, we will open the discussion for questions.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2014, the Company reported earnings of $0.45 per share, compared to $0.29 per share a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, the Company's adjusted earnings per share were $0.55 for the current quarter, compared to $0.41 a year ago. The net amount of these non-GAAP adjustments was $0.10 per share for the FY15 first quarter and $0.12 for the same quarter a year ago.
In our earnings release, we've provided a reconciliation of earnings per share on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. Beginning last quarter, we are including intangible amortization expense as a non-GAAP adjustment for earnings per share. Due to the significant amount of additional intangible amortization resulting from the acquisition of Schawk Inc., or SGK, we consider the inclusion of these amounts as a non-GAAP adjustment to be appropriate for comparability and analysis of the Company's operating performance.
The other non-GAAP adjustments included in our FY15 earnings were as follows: one acquisition-related cost. In July 2014, we closed on the acquisition of SGK. Integration-related costs in connection with the acquisition totaled approximately $0.13 per share for the FY15 first quarter.
Two, litigation settlement net of cost. As we reported earlier during the quarter, our memorialization segment reached a settlement in a legal dispute. The net gain from this settlement, net of incurred cost, favorably impacted our earnings by $0.18 per share.
Three, cost-reduction initiatives. We continue to have ongoing strategic cost-reduction programs in our businesses. The additional costs associated with these initiatives unfavorably impacted earnings by approximately $0.02 per share during the current quarter, compared to $0.06 a year ago.
And four, pension and post-retirement expense. Consistent with last year, for our non-GAAP disclosure, we have adjusted pension and post-retirement expense to reflect only the service cost components of this expense.
Consolidated sales for the FY15 first quarter were $344 million, compared to $230 million for the same quarter a year ago. The acquisition of SGK contributed $107 million to the Company sales increase for the current quarter. In addition, our SGK brand solutions businesses, excluding the incremental impact of the SGK acquisition and the industrial segment, reported higher sales this quarter.
Beginning this quarter, the Company has realigned its operations into three reporting segments: SGK brand solutions, memorialization, and industrial. The SGK brand solutions segment is comprised of the graphics imaging business, including Schawk, and the merchandising solutions operation. The memorialization segment is comprised of the Company's cemetery products, funeral home products, and cremation operations. The industrial segment is comprised of the Company's marketing and automation products and fulfillment systems.
Consolidated operating profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $25.6 million compared to $14.7 million a year ago. Excluding from both periods the impact of acquisition-related costs, charges related to cost-structure initiatives, and litigation settlement and related cost, consolidated operating profit increased approximately 40% from the FY14 first quarter. The increase resulted primarily from the SGK acquisition and the incremental operating profit impact from higher sales.
Sales for the SGK brand solutions segment were $200.8 million for the current quarter, compared to $91.1 million for the same period a year ago, primarily resulting from incremental sales of $106.9 million from the acquisition of SGK. In addition, the segment reported sales growth in all of its principle markets particularly Europe. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of $5.6 million on the segment's current quarter sales compared to a year ago.
Operating profit for the SGK brand solutions segment was $1.9 million for the current quarter, compared to $1.3 million for the same period a year ago. Excluding charges related to the acquisition integration and cost-structure initiatives, the segment reported operating profit of $9.5 million compared to $2.1 million last year. The year-over-year increase primarily relates to the SGK acquisition and sales growth.
Operating profit for this segment also reflects intangible amortization expense of approximately $4 million for the current quarter compared to approximately $400,000 for the same quarter last year. This significant increase resulted from the incremental amortization from the SGK acquisition.
Memorialization segment sales for the FY15 first quarter were $116.2 million, compared to $117.4 million for the same quarter a year ago. The segment reported a higher sales of bronze and granite memorials and caskets during the current quarter.
In addition, sales of cremation equipment in North America increased during the quarter. These increases were offset by declines in mausoleum sales and European cremation equipment sales.
Operating profits for the memorialization segment for the FY15 first quarter was $21.5 million, compared to $12.2 million for the same quarter a year ago. The increase primarily reflected the benefit of a gain from a litigation settlement, which was approximately $9 million net of cost. Excluding this settlement, the segment's operating profit was approximately $13 million for the current quarter, compared to $14 million excluding unusual items a year ago; the decline primarily resulted from lower sales.
The industrial segment reported sales of $26.5 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 compared to $21.5 million for the same quarter last year. The increase of $5 million, or 23.2%, primarily resulted from higher sales of warehouse control systems and increased unit volume of marking products and related inks.
Operating profit for the industrial segment was $2.2 million for the current quarter, compared to $1.1 million for the same period last year. The operating profit improvement resulted primarily from the benefit of the segment's sales growth.
Sales and operating profit by segment, including non-GAAP adjustments for the quarter, are posted on our website for your reference. Our FY15 first-quarter consolidated operating margin was 7.4% of sales, compared to 6.4% a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, our operating margin was 7.1% for the current quarter, compared to 7.6% last year. The decline primarily reflected the impact of the incremental intangible amortization expense from the SGK acquisition.
The Company's consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $43.8 million, or 12.7%, of sales for the FY15 first quarter, compared to $29.5 million, or 12.8% of sales, a year ago. A reconciliation of consolidated adjusted EBITDA is included in the quarterly financial data on our website for your reference.
Gross margin for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was 36.3% of sales, compared to 35.4% a year ago, primarily reflecting the SGK acquisition and higher sales in the SGK brand solutions segment.
Selling and administrative expense for the current quarter was 28.8% of sales compared to 29% for the same quarter last year. The decreased percentage mainly reflected the net gain from the litigation settlement, partially offset by the impact of the acquisition integration costs and incremental intangible amortization expense.
Investment income for the 2015 first fiscal quarter was $271,000, compared to $874,000 a year ago. The year-over-year decline primarily reflected investment performance on assets held in trust for certain of the Company's benefit plans.
Interest expense for the current quarter was $5.3 million compared to $2.9 million for the same period last year. The increase resulted from additional borrowings in connection with the SGK acquisition.
Other income deductions net for the FY15 first quarter represented a deduction of $435,000, compared to $665,000 a year ago. Other income and deductions generally include, among other items, banking-related fees, and the impact of currency gains or losses on certain inner-Company debt.
Net income from non-controlling interests for the current quarter resulted in additional income of $115,000, compared to $8,000 a year ago. The amount for the current period primarily reflected the minority interest portion of losses generated by our European cremation operations.
The Company's effective income tax rate for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was 26.1% of pre-tax income. The effective tax rate was 34.6% for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014.
The effective tax rate for the FY15 first quarter included the benefit of the utilization of certain tax attributes, resulting from organizational restructuring during the quarter. Excluding this first-quarter benefit, the Company is currently estimating an effective tax rate for FY15 of 32%. The effective tax rate for FY14 reflected the unfavorable impact of nondeductible acquisition-related costs.
At December 31, 2014, the Company's consolidated cash was $69.5 million, compared to $75.6 million at September 30, 2014. Accounts receivable at the end of the current quarter totaled $268 million compared to $283 million at the end of FY14.
Consolidated inventories at December 31, 2014 were $155 million, compared to $153 million at September 30, 2014. Long-term debt at the end of the current quarter, including both current and long-term portions, approximated $720 million, compared to $729 million at September 30, 2014. The decrease resulted primarily from the repayment of an additional $10 million on the Company's domestic revolving credit facility.
At December 31, 2014, $670 million of the outstanding debt balance represented borrowings under our domestic revolving credit facility at an average interest rate of around 2.5%. In July, the borrowing capacity of this facility was increased to $900 million, with a maturity of July 2018 to accommodate the SGK acquisition.
Additionally, as we disclosed in our annual report, we received a claim from a customer for a draw on a letter of credit in an amount of approximately $13 million and accordingly, payment was initiated on this claim. The Company has assessed the customer's claim to be without merit, and as such, pursuant to an action initiated by the Company, a court order has been issued required these funds to ultimately be deposited with the court until the matter is resolved.
The Company had approximately 33 million shares outstanding at December 31, 2014. During the FY15 first quarter, the Company purchased approximately 174,000 shares under its share repurchase program at a cost of approximately $8 million. At the end of the current quarter, approximately 792,000 shares remained under the current share repurchase authorization.
Depreciation and amortization expense for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $15.4 million, compared to $9.3 million a year ago. The increase resulted primarily from the acquisition of SGK and related intangible amortization.
Capital expenditures for the current quarter were $9.3 million, compared to $4.6 million for the same period last year. The increase primarily resulted from the SGK acquisition, expenditures by our gravure operations in Europe, and purchases of casket-delivery vehicles.
With respect to the remainder of FY14, we will continue to devote a significant level of effort to the integration of SGK. As we have previously discussed, with the size of the acquisition and the projected synergy opportunity, we expect this effort to continue for an extended period of time.
The cost associated with this ongoing effort will continue to impact our FY15 results, which we will identify on a quarterly basis as they are incurred. In addition, certain economic factors are expected to impact our earnings for the remainder of the current fiscal year. These include the recent fluctuations in commodity cost, such as copper and fuel, and the unfavorable changes in foreign currency rates.
Lastly, the Board last week declared a dividend of $0.13 per share on the Company's common stock. The dividend is payable February 16, 2015 to stockholders of record February 2, 2015.
This concludes the financial review and Joe will now comment on our operations.
- President and CEO
Thank you, Steve. Good morning. Our results for the first quarter of 2015 were modestly better than we had expected. Each of our significant businesses met or exceeded our expectations.
The addition of SGK for the full quarter has clearly had a positive impact on our overall results, while our European brand solutions businesses performed well despite currency translation challenges.
Our automation business, which is part of our industrial segment, formerly known as our marking and fulfillment business, had a strong quarter with revenues up in most geographies and businesses. Specifically, we had a strong performance from our pyramid control business, which is our warehouse control business, which we expect to have a very strong year throughout 2015. As we have stated in the past, this business is our bellwether for economic activity, and we see each of our businesses in this segment improving in all economies in which they operate.
Our memorialization business had a good volume year -- quarter in bronze markers and in granite, but we were challenged in our Italian bronze business and our mausoleum construction business. Similarly, our US cremation business had good results and continued to build a very strong backlog, but we had challenges in our European cremation group, which otherwise impacted a good quarter.
All in all, we're pleased with the performance of our businesses this quarter. But we remain cautious for many reasons. Although our SGK integration is going well and is on track to achieve our desired synergies, this business is largely new to us as it relates to understanding the volatility of volume.
In the end, our SGK brand solution business is the leading provider of packaging solutions to CPGs around the world and is highly dependent on marketing spend and product innovation of the consumer products companies that we serve. Even if we do see improvement in most of our geographies, the warning signs of potential challenges are all around us.
Also despite positive trends in commodity prices, which should benefit the quarters to come, the strengthening dollar will pose currency translations to our consolidated results, which do not reflect the operating performance of the underlying businesses. Given all of the above, we remain cautiously optimistic. We see a clear path in our integration goals with SGK and improvement in several of our other businesses; therefore, we will continue targeting $3 per share of non-GAAP earnings for FY15.
Let's open it up for questions at this point.
Operator
(Operator Instructions)
Daniel Moore, CJS Securities.
- Analyst
Good morning.
- President and CEO
Hi Dan.
- CFO
Good morning Dan.
- Analyst
Joe, you just started to allude to it, but can you talk about the outlook for organic growth in the SGK brand solutions? Maybe breakout between North America and Europe for 2015? And what changes will we need to see in the macro environment before generating sustainably higher levels of demand?
- President and CEO
Well, as we've said in the past, Dan, what we've done is before acquiring SGK, we retained some outside consulting help to give us a picture of where we are. And the results of that study came back and suggested that marketing dollars and innovation of CPG companies have been depressed throughout this economic period.
We need improvement in that, and we are starting to see some of that. We're seeing it in Europe right now, as our businesses over there has picked up from a rather bit of a doldrum over there. I think we should expect volume to increase 1% to 2% on the long-term growth side; that's what our expectations are. And we think our position in the market at the leader on a global basis should give us more than our fair share of opportunity.
- Analyst
And in North America?
- President and CEO
North America was probably the segment of the business that did not perform where we wanted it to be. We think that is going to come, particularly with what's called the FLMA, which is a Federal labeling act, which starts here in another year or so. Every product on the grocer shelf will have to relabeled if it's a food product, so we're expecting that to be a significant driver for a period of time. I think the effective date of the FLMA is 2017 right now, and that can get pushed. But at the same time, right now we're expecting 2015 to start to see that; 2016 to be strong and 2017 to be strong.
- Analyst
Very helpful, and maybe just shifting gears quickly to the integration at the end of I think FY14, you had identified $37 million of the projected cost synergies. What run rate are we at, at the end of fiscal Q1? Has the $37 million changed, and maybe just any detail you can provide in terms of the buckets of those would be very helpful?
- President and CEO
We've -- we're still holding firm at that $37 million, maybe a little bit more that we see out there, and we're early into the process. Steve, I don't know the exact amount we will have recognized this quarter; maybe you can comment on that. But we are early into it. I would tell you that the buckets of where you are going to see change over the next several years will be predominantly in the G&A section of the P&L. When you see the -- our combined G&A spend, we think there's a significant opportunity to benefit all of our businesses. You're not going to see that only on SGK or the brand solutions portion of our business because the G&A is a common element for all of us. So we expect margins to improve in all of our businesses we reintegrate into one solution.
Steve, maybe you can comment on where we are right now. We're not in the same room, so Steve, maybe you can comment on where we stand on the integration at this point in time from a dollar standpoint.
- CFO
Right, yes, we did realize some of the benefit here in the first quarter, and we expect as the year goes on we'll start -- we'll see that increasing progressively. That's correct. We continued to affirm that we are in that range, that $37 million, Joe, you're right. We are a little higher than that in terms of where we're projecting right now. But I think the word of caution here is that as we go through the year, our P implementation, which is the basis for a lot of this synergy, that's really when we start to realize the full value.
- Analyst
Still the lion's share in that year two, three time frame.
- President and CEO
Yes, sir. The key to that, as Steve said, is we've got to get an ERP implementation. It's not a new implementation in the sense of what we're putting them on is our SAP system and allowing us to integrate a lot of the back-office functions that SGK has separate right now.
- Analyst
Thanks. I'll jump back in queue.
Operator
Jamie Clement, Macquarie.
- Analyst
Good morning, Joe. Good morning, Steve.
- President and CEO
Hi Jamie.
- CFO
Good morning, Jamie.
- Analyst
Joe, first question, in the cemetery products business, going back two years, obviously there was some challenges and obviously some costs associated with the software system implementation. Are you now at the point in FY15 where you're actually starting to realize benefits from that? And is there potentially a margin improvement in that product line that we might see this year over where you've been over the last couple of years?
- President and CEO
Well, clearly, you are going to see a margin improvement in that segment for several reasons; one is we are beyond the SAP integration, so we're starting to improve on our operations today. I know the team may be listening on the phone, but we are operating today at efficiency levels that we've not seen in a long time. But more importantly, from a customer service level, we're delivering product faster than we ever have and more accurately than we ever have. That's the true benefit that will benefit the Company for years to come.
Secondly, I think the real opportunity comes with the commodity price itself. As you heard in my comments -- and you all are fully aware, copper continues to run and operating levels -- at levels that are lower than prior years. So we -- as usual, we have bought out, so we're going to see some of that improvement drop through in the quarters to come; however, that's just for that segment. We now have a significant portion of our business that is international and that is going to be impacted by currency translation that's going to eat up a lot of that, unfortunately.
- Analyst
Fair enough. And Steve, just out of -- I was looking at the financial data page that you put up on your website this morning. When you go from the segment results chart to the unusual items and then the reconciliation of non-GAAP EBITDA, is -- so presumably, the litigation gain is an unusual item that you're backing out in the second chart. Are you all calling intangible amortization an unusual adjustment, or do we not see that until we get to table number 3, the reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP EBITDA?
- CFO
You don't see that till you get the reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP. We're not calling intangible amortization is an unusual item, but if for purposes of trying to present a non-GAAP adjusted -- a cash basis, if you will, earnings per share that certainly is an add-back.
- Analyst
Great. Joe, last question, you mentioned the FLMA. I think there was some speculation in the marketplace that calendar 2015 might actually be a relatively slow year so far, at least in the December quarter, looks as if things are holding up pretty well.
- President and CEO
Yes, I would tell you Jamie, we don't expect it to be significantly slower than SGK and we've seen for last several years.
- Analyst
Okay.
- President and CEO
So obviously, on a year-over-year basis, we would love to see growth. You're right, we expected some CPGs are holding back on innovation because they have to do repackaging on everything. But I think we'll probably see that pickup toward the end of the year as clarity comes out as to the timing on FLMA.
- Analyst
Okay, because it sounded like out of the marketplace, if we rewind about three months, it sounded like there was a distinct possibility we could actually see volume down a 2% this year because of timing issues and stuff like that, but maybe it doesn't sound like that stays. Maybe we're looking at flat this year. Any comment?
- President and CEO
I would say flat to plus a couple or minus a couple points.
- Analyst
Got it.
- President and CEO
We're not projecting big number changes.
- Analyst
No, I just thought there was maybe a risk we could be down 3 [points], but it doesn't seem like it. Okay, that's terrific. Thank you very much
- President and CEO
It's early, Jamie. It's early.
- Analyst
Absolutely, thank you very much though.
Operator
Liam Burke, Wunderlich Securities.
- Analyst
Thank you. Good morning, Joe. Good morning, Steve.
- President and CEO
Good morning, Liam.
- CFO
Good morning, Liam.
- Analyst
Joe, you mentioned fulfillment; the margins were nicely up year-over-year on the industrial side. How is the pipeline for contracts on the fulfillment on some of these potential solutions that you've talked about?
- President and CEO
Well, you heard my comment referencing we are expecting a good year; that reflects the backlog that we have right now. I would say to you our backlog is strong; however, contracts -- we don't lose contracts. They can get deferred, as they have in the past.
So as we look out to the year today, we'd tell you we should have a strong year. But historically, one or two and we get pushed out that moves into another quarter moves into another fiscal year, and that could be the impact. Today, we're feeling good about the year.
- Analyst
Are you looking at acquiring -- do you see any new customers in the -- on the horizon or in the mix here?
- President and CEO
Oh yes. We've landed a couple now that we're not at liberty to talk about. But we think we've got a very, very strong offering right now, and it will continue to add bits and pieces to that puzzle over the next year or two. As we continue to add those pieces to the puzzle, I think we only get stronger
- Analyst
Thank you. Steve, if I adjusted for the -- on the memorialization side, if I adjusted for the one time, it looked like margins were down on an adjusted basis. If you had up year-over-year revenue, both the bronze memorial and the casket side of the business, was there anything in there that would be a setback in terms of profitability?
- CFO
Two things in there, one -- well actually both of them that Joe had mentioned earlier, the larger of the two would be the European cremation equipment side. Those impacted margins for the quarter, as those equipment sales, that equipment volume was off. And then also mausoleum sales in the first quarter were off compared to a year ago. And then we did have some memorial sales off in the -- our Italian -- our European bronze operation.
- Analyst
Okay, but the mausoleum sales and cremation system, that profitable or were they that profitable a year ago?
- CFO
Well, I would tell you mausoleum sales generally have lower margins and the -- overall, the cremation equipment generally have lower margins. But just the mix of how that played out this quarter resulted in an overall lower margin.
- Analyst
Okay, thank you.
Operator
Scott Blumenthal, Emerald Advisors.
- Analyst
Good morning, gentlemen.
- President and CEO
Hi Scott.
- CFO
Good morning, Scott.
- Analyst
Joe, can you talk about the European growth in brand solutions? And maybe if you're expecting or you might see any impact from the whole Russia/Ukraine situation?
- President and CEO
Well, the -- our European business, if you know the FLMA in the United States, Europe passed that similar type of regulation a little while ago, and we're starting to see some of that benefit over there right now.
But more importantly, some of our customers, particularly in the tobacco industry, are accelerating on some of the picture packs that they were doing in coming out with new product innovation. Some things that some of our customers are coming out with new product completely, when you talk about the vapor products that we're seeing in the United States, we're seeing some of that grow in Europe, and that's becoming another product line for us to be able to create packaging for.
As it relates to Russia, Ukraine, it is not impacting us directly, from the standpoint of any volume, because the Ukraine is a small part of our business, although contributory, both the Ukraine and Russia. The challenge for us is that the -- Russia, the largest tobacco market in Europe today, or what I would call the continent, is Russia. I believe Philip Morris has their largest factory outside of Moscow.
We have obligated ourselves, with great desire, to put a facility up to support the tobacco industry in Russia, and we are cautiously moving forward. That was part of our anticipated growth over the next year or two, as we get that business up and running. We are slow in getting there, and I can't tell you what our government may do that may impact those results. But that's where we see the challenges with Ukraine and Russia today.
- Analyst
Okay, wasn't there a -- didn't one of the European company's -- countries pass a law to make cigarette packaging generic, or was there some discussion?
- President and CEO
The UK is currently considering a -- what they call black-and-white labeling, and that has still has not passed; they are considering that. We will see whether that gets done. We know the tobacco industry will fight that in courts, and we will see whether that gets passed or not.
So that will be one of the challenges going forward, as people consider whether or not that's been successful. If you read any of the reports coming out of Australia, there's a great deal of debate as to whether it's been effective, where -- in Australia today, where they have gone to black-and-white packaging.
- Analyst
Okay, can you maybe reminder us as to how much of your European packaging business is then would be exposed to such a thing, were that to hit the UK?
- President and CEO
If it hit the UK -- if it hit only the UK, it would not be significant. Obviously if it spread across the European continent, we would have a challenge.
- Analyst
Sure. And Joe, ink is a meaningful business at Matthews. Do you expect there to be a material change in the cost basis of some of your ink products due to the decrease in oil prices?
- President and CEO
I know some of the team is listening in; we've had that discussion internally about how we get to our suppliers. Some of the key components are not made in the United States, so we are looking at those suppliers of componentry to the ink, to the elements that we use for ink, and see whether we can reduce that cost. We've not seen it yet though, Scott. We expect that over time we will get some of that benefit. We're also seeing some of that benefit that we think over time in our photopolymer that we use for our graphics business, our brand solutions businesses. So over time, that will pass through.
- Analyst
That's helpful, Joe. Thank you. And Steve, could you remind us as to what you are currently using for your -- for the year for your projected dollar/euro exchange rate, and if you have updated that at all recently?
- CFO
Right now, we were originally projecting the euro rate, as you know, last year it was about $1.35. For purposes of the projections that we provided, it was earlier in the year, it was closer to that range. As we look to -- as Joe mentions the target for this year, we have certainly pulled that back a little bit.
- Analyst
Great, thank you.
Operator
Jason Rodgers, Great Lakes Review.
- Analyst
Good morning.
- President and CEO
Good morning, Jason.
- Analyst
You mentioned opportunities in Europe with similar laws passing to the upcoming FLMA in this country. I wonder if you could expand on that and if you think that opportunity is as large as it is potentially in this country?
- President and CEO
It probably is as large over a period of time. I believe their implementation and timing is a lot longer than it is in the United States, so we should see an uptick across the businesses for a while. But I don't think we are going to see the rush that we will see in the United States, given what is currently estimated to be about a 2017 implementation date.
So the US clearly has more consumer products on the shelves in the grocery stores than we do around most of the European continent, at least as it relates to the CPGs that we do work for. But it should be an uptick for both businesses for a period of time.
- Analyst
Thank you.
Operator
There are no further questions.
- Analyst
All right, thank you, Linda. We'd like to thank all participants on the call this morning, and we look forward to our call after our second-quarter earnings release in April. Thank you and have a great day.
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, this conference will be available for replay after 11 AM Eastern today until February 13, 2015 at midnight. You may access the AT&T replay system at any time by dialing 1-320-365-3844 and entering the access code 350805. That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.