Q2 2023 Powell Industries Inc. Earnings Call

Speaker 1: To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touchtone phone. To withdraw from the question queue, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I'd like to turn the conference over to Ryan Coleman, Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin. Please return to your seats as a rate.

Speaker 2: Thank you and good morning everyone. Thank you for joining us for Powell Industries conference call today to review fiscal year 2023 second quarter results. With me on the call are Brett Cope, Powell's Chairman and CEO , and Mike Metcalf, Powell's CFO .

Speaker 2: There will be a replay of today's call and it will be available via webcast by going to the company's website powellind.com or a telephonic replay will be available until May 10th. The information on how to access the replay was provided in yesterday's earnings release.

Speaker 2: Please note that the information reported on this call speaks only as of today, May 3rd, 2023, and therefore you are advised that any time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of replay listening or transcript reading.

Speaker 2: This conference call includes certain statements, including statements related to the company's expectations of its future operating results that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meeting of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Speaker 2: Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements.

Speaker 2: These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competition and competitive pressures, sensitivity to general economic and industry conditions, international, political, and economic risks, availability and price of raw materials, and execution of business strategies.

Speaker 2: For more information, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Brett.

Speaker 3: Thank you Ryan, and good morning. Thank you for joining us today to review Powell's fiscal 2023 second quarter results.

Speaker 3: I will make a few comments and then turn the call over to Mike for more financial commentary before we take your questions.

Speaker 3: I am very pleased to share that Powell delivered second quarter results that were among the best in our history as the continued execution against our strategic initiatives combined with the cyclical recovery of our core markets are driving improved margins and increased earnings along with achieving another record backlog.

Speaker 3: The momentum that started to build over the past few quarters in our industrial markets accelerated in the second quarter.

Speaker 3: Two significant awards underscored the strength of our bookings during the quarter, including an award for another large domestic LNG project.

Speaker 3: which marks three consecutive quarters of significant activity in this market sector.

Speaker 3: We were also fortunate to have received a new award for a Greenfield petrochemical project during the quarter.

Speaker 3: This mega project is for a gas to chemical facility that will be located in the U.S. domestic market.

Speaker 3: While the strength of new orders was certainly driven by strong demand from our core oil and gas petrochemical end markets,

Speaker 3: the majority of the sectors and geographies that we compete remain very active.

Speaker 3: industrial sectors during the quarter.

Speaker 3: higher than the second quarter of fiscal 2022.

Speaker 3: in our oil and gas sector increased by 17%.

Speaker 3: Petrochemical revenue increased by 37%.

Speaker 3: while the utility sector saw revenue jump 40%. And the newer commercial and other industrial sectors saw revenue of $22 million, which is nearly four times higher versus the prior year.

Speaker 3: quarter of fiscal 2022, mainly the function of wrapping up a large municipal project in Canada.

Speaker 3: Order activity in the second fiscal quarter was exceptionally strong as we secured $508 million in new bookings. That figure is more than three times higher than the same period in the prior year and more than double the $212 million that we saw in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.

Speaker 3: which until this quarter was our best quarter of bookings Pollitt has had since Q1 of fiscal 2013.

Speaker 3: Our book to bill ratio in the current quarter of three times was equally strong and was a six straight quarter with a book to bill over one.

Speaker 3: Our teams delivered a gross margin in the quarter of 19.5%.

Speaker 3: which is an increase of 460 basis points compared to the same period last year.

Speaker 3: Strong project execution, volume leverage, and positive closeouts help to deliver the underlying margin growth.

Speaker 3: Moving to the bottom line, we reported net income of $8.5 million in the second fiscal quarter of 2023.

Speaker 3: or $0.70 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $1.2 million or a loss of $0.10 per diluted share in the prior year.

Speaker 3: Lastly, we ended the quarter with an order backlog of just over $1 billion, an increase of nearly 50% from the end of the first quarter of 2023, and more than double the $440 million at the same time last year.

Speaker 3: The growth is driven by improved strength across our core oil, gas, and petrochemical market sectors, and it is the first time in Powell's history that our backlog has exceeded $1 billion.

Speaker 3: That said, we are very comfortable with the size, mix, and quality of our order book.

Speaker 3: Our project backlog is well balanced across our seven manufacturing facilities.

Speaker 3: and project schedules extend through fiscal 2024 and into fiscal 2025.

Speaker 3: providing us with a steady, balanced cadence of future activity. The nature and scope of these projects are also core to what Powell does best in markets where we excel.

Speaker 3: Our 75-year history of success and leadership in the industry has earned us our current position in this cycle.

Speaker 3: leaves us very comfortable with our ability to fulfill our backlog with the same level of service and execution that has earned us our reputation.

Speaker 3: We have taken every dollar of our backlog thoughtfully and on schedules that we are confident that we can achieve.

Speaker 3: Turning to our operational performance, I am very proud of the progress our teams are making across all of our facilities as we rise to meet the increase in market demand.

Speaker 3: Minimizing or eliminating inefficiencies and addressing headwinds quickly and as a team to ensure that we leverage our processes, plants, and facilities optimally and in the best interest of our customers and our stakeholders, but without ever sacrificing the quality of our products, systems, and solutions synonymous with the Powell brand. The investments that we have made in the tools, processes, and our people over the last six plus years have prepared the business to meet this increased workload.

Speaker 3: Further, throughout fiscal 2023, our teams continue to identify a number of incremental capital improvement projects that will facilitate both incremental capacity as well as improved production efficiency in several of our facilities. Additionally, our operational teams continue working to mitigate the effects of the inflationary cost environment and availability challenges. Key engineered components continue to create longer lead times, however we are managing through these challenges, and where possible, factor contingencies and allowances for these components in our bidding activity.

Speaker 3: Meanwhile, prices for key commodities such as steel and copper have stabilized versus prior periods, however, remain subject to macroeconomic volatility.

Speaker 3: Our teams work hard to ensure that these inputs do not create significant cost overruns on current and future project activity.

Speaker 3: Further to this point, our commercial teams continue to ensure that pricing initiatives are aligned to the current cost environment when and where possible in order to protect our margins, which together is evidenced by our strong second-order margin performance.

Speaker 3: The labor markets, while not presenting significant issues presently, will remain an area for our teams to exercise diligence as we plan for the next several years.

Speaker 3: Over the last few quarters, we have shared that we are currently comfortable with staffing levels as we work to support the growth and execution of our backlog.

Speaker 3: But we are attentive to our current capacity levels as that backlog continues to grow.

Speaker 3: Our Human Resources teams have been working extremely hard and remain closely aligned with our operational teams to forecast and plan for the future.

Speaker 3: Voting activity remains robust across most market sectors.

Speaker 3: We continue to see favorable opportunities within LNG, gas pipeline, and the gas to chemical sector.

Speaker 3: We are also active in the renewable markets of hydrogen, biodiesel, and related biofuels such as sustainable aviation fuel as well as carbon capture and sequestration.

Speaker 3: Additionally, we continue to take incremental steps to further improve our market channels in order to capitalize on our growth and the market adjacencies within our commercial and other industrial sector.

Speaker 3: We remain acutely focused on executing against each of our strategic initiatives in fiscal 2023, which include growing our electrical automation platform,

Speaker 3: expanding our existing services franchise, and diversifying our product portfolio through both targeting tangential applications that complement our existing product offerings.

Speaker 3: as well as expanding the scope of our product catalog into new electrical technologies.

Speaker 3: While we are very pleased with our fiscal second quarter and year-to-date first half financial performance, as well as our positioning for the second half of fiscal 2023.

Speaker 3: We are cognizant of the fact that this is the nature of the cyclical markets in which we operate.

Speaker 3: Powell has been through more than its share of cycles over its 75-year history, but we have maintained and fortified our position as an industry leader and trusted partner to our customers because of our focused execution and diligent planning process through good years and lean years.

Speaker 3: We are confident that this culture, coupled with the positive transformational steps being taken internally at the company, will drive another strong year of improved financial performance for Powell.

Speaker 3: With that, I'll turn the call over to Mike to provide more detail around our financial results. Thank you, Brett, and good morning, everyone.

Speaker 3: In the second quarter of fiscal 2023, we reported net revenue of $171 million compared to $128 million, or 34% higher versus the same period in the prior year.

Speaker 3: Commercial activity across our core industrial markets continues to be robust, recording new orders booked in the second fiscal quarter of 2023 of $508 million.

Speaker 3: During the quarter, we booked two large projects that when combined totaled roughly $200 million of the reported current quarter orders.

Speaker 3: one petrochemical project and an LNG project.

Speaker 3: With the exception of the traction market, commercial activity is favorable across all of our reported market sectors on a year-over-year basis.

Speaker 3: however, was driven predominantly by the gas markets within the domestic industrial sector, driving the total reported bookings for the second fiscal quarter to over a threefold increase, or $357 million higher versus the same period one year ago.

Speaker 3: On a fiscal year-to-date basis, our book-to-bill ratio is 2.4 times, resulting in continued backlog growth, reporting a record-high backlog of just over $1 billion in the period.

Speaker 3: which was $581 million higher versus one year ago, and $341 million higher sequentially.

Speaker 3: The current capital cycle and resulting demand for industrial electrical products and associated capital assets.

Speaker 3: has resulted in extended lead times partially due to capacity and supply chain challenges for select electrical components compared to 12 to 18 months ago. And as a result, many of these large orders extend well into fiscal 2024 and in some cases fiscal 2025.

Speaker 3: such that we can ensure our ability to execute to our committed lead times.

Speaker 3: Compared to one year ago, domestic revenues were higher by 54% versus the prior year to $134 million, while international revenues were 9% lower compared to the prior year driven by lower project volume across our Middle East markets versus the prior year. In total, international revenues were lower by $4 million.

Speaker 3: Additionally, we experienced strong year-over-year increases in both the utility and the commercial and other industrial sectors increasing by 40% and 285% respectively.

Speaker 3: The traction sector was lower versus the second fiscal quarter of 2022 by 27% as we draw close to completion on a large municipal project in Canada.

Speaker 3: We reported gross profit in a period of $33 million, an increase of $14 million in the second fiscal quarter versus the same period one year ago.

Speaker 3: As a percentage of revenue, gross profit increased by 460 basis points to 19.5% versus the same period a year, one year ago, driven largely by ongoing pricing initiatives targeting persistent inflationary pressures.

Speaker 3: as well as project closeouts, volume leverage, and strong project execution across all of the Powell manufacturing and service facilities. Selling, general, and administrative expenses were $22 million in the current quarter.

Speaker 3: Higher by 5 million versus the same period a year ago on an increase in variable performance based compensation based upon the expectation for higher levels of operating performance versus the prior year. SG&A as a percentage of revenue decreased by 110 basis points.

Speaker 3: to 12.7% in the current quarter on the higher revenue base. In the second quarter of fiscal 2023, we reported net income of $8.5 million, generating $0.70 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.2 million or a loss of $0.10 per diluted share.

Speaker 3: cycle in advance of building working capital attributable to the new projects booked into the backlog.

Speaker 3: Investments in property, plant and equipment totaled $630,000 as we continue to leverage our liquidity position and invest in capacity and productivity projects across the business.

Speaker 3: This will continue to be a strong focus as we thoughtfully leverage our balance sheet to enhance and expand our core competencies, helping our operational teams deliver more efficiently for our customers.

Speaker 3: At March 31, 2023, we had cash and short-term investments of $163 million.

Speaker 3: $46 million higher than our fiscal 2022 year-end position.

Speaker 3: The company holds no long-term debt.

Speaker 3: Finally, during the fiscal second quarter of 2023, we amended our credit facility with our banking partner, Bank of America, increasing our facility capacity to $125 million from the previous ceiling of $75 million. As we presently utilize this facility solely for commercial use, we are looking for a solution

Speaker 3: into fiscal 2024, we remain very encouraged with where Powell is positioned.

Speaker 3: Commercial activity across most market sectors remains strong and the margin initiatives that the business has been focused on over the past 12 to 18 months are gaining traction.

Speaker 3: Operationally, we are confident in our ability to execute our growing backlog while we continue to develop plans to expand our capacity in order to deliver to our customers' expectations. And finally, the strength of our balance sheet and overall liquidity position.

Speaker 3: provides the flexibility to pursue both organic and inorganic options to grow the business while also meeting increasing working capital requirements.

Speaker 3: Combined, these variables all support positive momentum for Powell's revenues and earnings for the remainder of fiscal 2023 and into fiscal 2024.

Speaker 1: At this point, we will be happy to answer your questions. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then 1 on your touch tone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw from the question queue, please press star then 2.

Speaker 2: Our first question is from John Franzreb of Sidoti & Co. Please go ahead. Good morning guys and congratulations on an eye-opening quarter. I'd like to start the quarter in and of itself. Presumably revenues and the...

Speaker 2: margin profiles of this business was locked in six to nine months ago. So I'm curious if there is anything unusual in the quarter as far as revenue, cost equation or you know excess project closeouts that drove the stellar results in March quarter.

Speaker 3: Yeah, John , this is Mike and I'll address that. First, if you look at the year-to-date margin, we're just under 18%, 17.7%. And it has a few drivers behind it. First, we've been managing both cost and price here for the last 12 to 18 months.

Speaker 3: We're beginning to see that exit backlog, so we feel very confident we've got the inflation component under control via our pricing levers. Secondly, the mix of projects that are in backlog today. Then …

Speaker 3: I've been very fortunate to build the backlog on the industrial side, which carries a little more, it favors the margin a little more. And then third, as Brett mentioned in his prepared comments, really all of our seven facilities are pretty well balanced from a backlog perspective.

Speaker 3: As that backlog converts to revenue, we will generate and are generating pretty good volume leverage across the system. We anticipate the backlog will continue to support this similar level of profit. Great, and I guess this is a good problem to have, but...

Speaker 3: tools, processes, and systems. More recently, not just as we've taken the order and worked with our customers and their engineering partners to lay out the schedules, to be predictive and credible to what we can deliver supporting the brand, but we've also identified...we've had investments in land that we're going to convert in the second half, so you'll see an uptick in capital gains

Speaker 3: up to speed, up to date, you know, tending and all the maintenance. We'll do some additive pieces here and there, but we definitely have the capacity to handle this and we feel good that there's still room to go.

Speaker 2: Okay, and Brett, it sounds like you're enthusiastic about what you're still bidding on out there. Can you talk about the sustainability of the booking profile? I really don't expect $500 million in orders, but what kind of opportunity pipeline remains out there and how long do you think it will last for? I am optimistic, John . If you look at the second quarter, Mike...

Speaker 3: gave some color around the two large orders, roughly 200 million of the total, 500 million. So certainly timing brought in this...

Speaker 3: really significant performance in terms of the booking piece. But as we look forward, still pretty active. As we've talked about in the gas market, there's a lot of things going on. There's still a lot of activity going on. I think that certainly through the balance of this calendar year....

Speaker 3: possibly in the next year. Things still haven't shut off, and we're right in the middle of that market that we know well.

Speaker 1: Okay, great. Thanks guys. I'll get back into queue. The next question is from John Bratz of Kansas City Capital. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4: Good morning Brett, Mike. Good morning. Sort of going back to the previous question, order flows are good, business is strong, and does that put you into a better position to be more selective on the projects that you've been on and thatnot being a clouds of.

Speaker 4: As we go down a couple quarters out, that we may even see better margins, you can be more selective.

Speaker 3: John , let me jump on this since Mike can jump in. One thing I'd make a comment, first of all, to your question is, the nice thing about this cycle, especially in the gas side, is we're seeing all the projects.

Speaker 3: in our home markets of the US, Canada, and the UK really nicely. I feel like from a share perspective, we're getting a chance to take a look at all these and have chats with the customers and the engineering teams that are out there. So we aren't being selective in terms of bidding or not bidding, but we are able to go, what's the right answer for everybody on these projects? And from a timing standpoint for delivery...

Speaker 4: the gross margin in the quarter that there was, it sounds like there's some favorable closeouts. Was that significant at all? No, if you looked quarter over quarter, John , it was about flat, nothing unusual.

Speaker 3: The projects that we booked 12 to 18 months ago, they're exiting, they're closing out. Nothing unusual in that whole process. So it was really, as I said, we're starting to see some of the cost actions, pricing actions that we've diligently been working over the last year, year and a half.

Speaker 3: along with great project execution flowing through the system.

Speaker 4: So does the looking ahead.

Speaker 4: Does the gross margin look more reflective of the...

Speaker 4: of the second quarter number versus the year to date. You did mention the year to date, 17.7%. So going forward is more reflective of the second quarter number as opposed to the first half.

Speaker 3: Now I I would look at the first half number as kind of the litmus test and and Then layer in all of the initiatives that I laid out that will be a creative I think that will be a creative to the 17-7 But as as we communicated in the past we were really targeting and aspire to be in the high teens. Yep. Yep.

Speaker 3: as we exit our fiscal year. Okay, thank you, Mike. Okay, thanks. Again, if you have a question, please press star then 1.

Speaker 1: If there are no questions at this time, this concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Brett Cope for closing remarks.

Speaker 3: Thank you Kate. Our second quarter delivered solid performance with sequential improvements in both our top and bottom line and year-to-date through the first half of our 2023. Our employees have and continue to do a tremendous job. The resilience of Powell is on display through the first half of our fiscal 2023.

Speaker 3: I could not be more proud to be part of this incredible team. I would like to thank our valued customers and our supplier partners for their continued trust and support of Powell.