HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 2015--
Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (NYSE: FIX), a leading provider of
commercial, industrial and institutional heating, ventilation and air
conditioning (“HVAC”) services, today announced that it has entered into
an agreement to acquire the remaining 40% noncontrolling interest in
Environmental Air Systems (“EAS”) headquartered in Greensboro, North
Carolina effective January 1, 2016.
In November 2011 Comfort Systems USA acquired 60% of EAS with an option
to acquire the remainder of EAS beginning in late 2016. Since that
transaction, EAS has been a majority-owned subsidiary and has been
accounted for on a consolidated basis. This agreement will result in
Comfort Systems USA acquiring the remaining interest of EAS on January
1, 2016.
Brian Lane, Comfort Systems USA’s Chief Executive Officer, commented,
“We are extremely happy to announce that our long term commitment to and
partnership with EAS will soon be complete. EAS has been a strong
contributor to our ongoing improvement due to its great execution and
willingness to support its sister operations. With this transaction
complete, we believe EAS can make an even more important contribution to
all of Comfort Systems.”
The transaction is expected to be accretive to Comfort Systems USA’s
earnings in 2016. EAS was the company’s most profitable subsidiary in
2015. EAS’s 2016 earnings are also expected to be very strong, although
not as exceptional as its 2015 earnings. However, despite the expected
lower profit contribution in 2016 from EAS, the result of the
transaction will allow Comfort Systems USA to see a flat to slightly
higher earnings per share contribution from this division as a result of
eliminating the minority position.
As required under applicable accounting standards, since the original
acquisition, EAS has been fully consolidated with Comfort Systems USA’s
financial results. As a result, this transaction will not affect the
presentation of revenues, EBITDA or other financial metrics for Comfort
Systems USA that are above the elimination of noncontrolling interest
numbers in the financial statements. EAS is currently the only entity in
which the company reports a noncontrolling interest for financial
statement purposes.
Comfort Systems USA® is a premier provider of business
solutions addressing workplace comfort, with 88 locations in 83 cities
around the nation. For more information, visit the Company’s website at
www.comfortsystemsusa.com.
Certain statements and information in this press release may
constitute forward-looking statements regarding our future business
expectations, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “believe,”
“expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “foresee,” “should,” “would,”
“could,” or other similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, which are generally not historic in nature.
These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations
and beliefs of Comfort Systems USA, Inc. and its subsidiaries
(collectively, the “Company”) concerning future developments and their
effect on the Company. While the Company’s management believes that
these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there
can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will
be those that it anticipates. All comments concerning the Company’s
expectations for future revenue and operating results are based on the
Company’s forecasts for its existing operations and do not include the
potential impact of any future acquisitions. The Company’s
forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties
(some of which are beyond the Company’s control) and assumptions that
could cause actual future results to differ materially from the
Company’s historical experience and its present expectations or
projections. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are
not limited to: the use of incorrect estimates for bidding a fixed-price
contract; undertaking contractual commitments that exceed the Company’s
labor resources; failing to perform contractual obligations efficiently
enough to maintain profitability; national or regional weakness in
construction activity and economic conditions; financial difficulties
affecting projects, vendors, customers, or subcontractors; the Company’s
backlog failing to translate into actual revenue or profits; failure of
third party subcontractors and suppliers to complete work as anticipated;
difficulty in obtaining or increased costs associated with bonding
and insurance; impairment to goodwill; errors in the Company’s
percentage-of-completion method of accounting; the result of competition
in the Company’s markets; the Company’s decentralized management
structure; material failure to comply with varying state and local laws,
regulations or requirements; debarment from bidding on or performing
government contracts; shortages of labor and specialty building
materials; retention of key management; seasonal fluctuations in the
demand for HVAC systems; the imposition of past and future liability
from environmental, safety, and health regulations including the
inherent risk associated with self-insurance; adverse litigation
results; an increase in our effective tax rate; an information
technology failure or cyber security breach; and other risks detailed in
our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements,
which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements
after the date they are made, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151221006124/en/
Source: Comfort Systems USA
Comfort Systems USA
William George, (713) 830-9600
Chief
Financial Officer