Q3 2023 Park-Ohio Holdings Corp Earnings Call
Good morning, and welcome to the Park, Ohio third quarter 2023 results conference call. At this time all participants are in a listen only mode. After the presentation. The company will conduct a question and answer session. Today's conference is also being recorded.
[noise] objections, you may disconnect at this time before we get started I want to remind everyone that certain statements made on today's call may be forward looking statements as defined in the private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.
A list of relevant risks and uncertainties may be found in the earnings press release as well as in the company's 2022, 10-K, which was filed on March 16, 2023 with the SEC. Additionally, the company May discuss adjusted EPS EPS adjusted operated income and EBITDA as defined on a continuing operations are concerned.
Validated basis. These metrics are not measures of performance under generally accepted accounting principles for reconciliation of EPS to adjusted EPS operating income to adjusted operating income and net income attributable attributable to park, Ohio common shareholders to EBITDA as defined please refer to the company's earnings recent release.
I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Matthew Crawford Chairman President and CEO. Please proceed Mr. Crawford.
Uh huh.
Thank you very much and good morning to everybody.
Well, let's start by going off script here, a little bit and discuss how we view our results as compared to prior periods.
As I've stated before.
Despite demand volatility supply chain challenges inflation and labor have challenged our results over the last couple of years, our business model and our value proposition remains unchanged.
This is why we often choose to compare ourselves to the financial record setting 2018, and not 2022 as we do in this report.
On that note. We're pleased to have achieved an all time record revenue year to date in 2023 and expect based on our forecast to have a record setting year for revenue in 2023.
While we've not achieved the same and profitability metrics. It's important to note the third quarter EBITDA was nearing the record also set into.
2018.
Turning to the results the third quarter showed strong revenue growth of 9% as.
As well as solid operating leverage in our gross margins and other profit results.
Additionally, we're pleased to see significant free cash flow during the quarter, which we anticipate will extend through the end of the year and will continue to strengthen our balance sheet and strong liquidity position.
Again quarter diversity in end markets continues to be our strength, while revenue growth overall moderated from a blistering rate of 17% in the first half.
All three business segments contributed to our improved performance during the third quarter while.
While the demand continues to be stable across the business, it's worth noting that aerospace and defense has become an increasing part of our growth profile of our growth profile.
We also continue to benefit from commercial and pricing adjustments, which had been our priority. This year as we grapple with inflation, especially as it relates to labor.
In addition, as we conclude our restructuring of our operations during the last several years. We're now pursuing a more focused operating model, which aims to increase productivity by allocating capital to our best products services incentives about centers of excellence.
The UAW strike at some of our truck and auto customers, we will provide a headwind to our fourth quarter results I am certain that we will end the year a much stronger more focused and disciplined company than we began the year and well positioned to take advantage of important macro trends around industrial policy infrastructure spending and reassuring with that.
I'll turn it over to Pat.
Thank you, Matt and good morning.
Our third quarter results reflect continued strong sales growth year over year and significant profit improvement across all three of our business segments.
Sales were at a near record level gross margins growth their highest level in over five years and operating income earnings per share and EBITDA were higher than both last quarter and the third quarter of last year.
Our year over year sales growth in the quarter was driven by continued strong customer demand in each of our business segments and increased product pricing.
Sales growth was achieved in each business unit within our three business segments as we continue to benefit from a very diverse and global customer base.
Our consolidated net sales from continuing operations were $419 million of.
Up 9% compared to $384 million in the third quarter of last year.
And for the first nine months of this year, our sales were a record $1 3 billion.
Representing a 14% growth rate.
We estimate that approximately half of our growth was volume driven and the remainder was driven by material and value added price increases implemented across each business, which offset higher raw material labor and operational costs.
In addition to the strong sales quarter, we also delivered sequential and year over year improvement in our gross margin.
In the current quarter, our gross margin was 16, 7%.
It is an increase of 300 basis points over 13, 7% last year and our highest gross margin percentage since the second quarter of 2018.
SG&A expenses compared favorably to the second quarter levels and totaled $43 million in the third quarter up approximately $6 million year over year.
The increase compared to the prior year quarter was due to higher sales levels increased personnel costs and general inflation.
As a percentage of sales SG&A was 10, 3% in the third quarter compared to 10, 9% for the second quarter of this year.
Consolidated operating income from continuing operations was $27 million compared to 11 $6 million a year ago on an adjusted basis operating income was up 70% compared to the third quarter of last year, and 16% sequentially compared to the second quarter.
Our third quarter improvement in operating margins reflects the positive impact, resulting from the plant consolidation actions completed in the prior periods from customer price increases implemented and from operational improvement initiatives across our businesses.
Interest expense was $11 $6 million in the quarter compared to $9 million a year ago.
Of the $2 $6 million year over year increase $2 $4 million was driven by higher interest rates with the remainder due to higher average borrowings year over year.
Our effective income tax in the quarter was 24%, which is in line with our expectations for the full year.
GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations for the quarter was <unk> 99 per diluted share compared to <unk> 58 in the third quarter of last year on.
On an adjusted basis diluted earnings per share was equal to our GAAP earnings of 99 cents compared to 85 per share last year, an increase of 16%.
On a sequential basis compared to last quarter's 83 per share our adjusted earnings per share was up 19%.
Our EBITDA from continuing operations was $38 $5 million in the third quarter compared to approximately $30 million a year ago, an increase of 29% and improved 8% sequentially.
This is our highest EBITDA level since the second quarter of 2018.
On a year to date basis EBITDA from continuing operations has increased 35% over last year.
During the third quarter, we generated $23 million of operating cash flows and $17 million of free cash flow.
During the first nine months of the year, we have made significant progress in reducing our net working capital days and are seeing the benefits across most of our businesses.
As a result, we continue to expect strong free cash flow during the fourth quarter and estimate our full year free cash flow to range between 20 and $25 million.
Our liquidity continues to be strong at the end of the third quarter and totaled $175 million, which consisted of $51 million of.
Cash on hand, and $124 million of unused borrowing capacity under our various banking arrangements.
In September we amended our existing revolving credit facility to extend the scheduled maturity date.
<unk> facility combined with free cash flow of 20% to $25 million expected. This year enhances our strong liquidity foundation to support our future growth strategy.
Turning now to our segment results.
Technologies net sales were $193 million during the quarter up 4% compared to $186 million a year ago.
On a year to date basis sales in this segment have grown 10% to a record $586 million.
Average daily sales and our supply chain business were up 6% year over year.
Sales increase was driven by higher customer demand in most key end markets and realized customer price increases.
During the quarter, the largest end market increases where heavy duty truck and bus military and civilian aerospace power sports and industrial and agricultural equipment.
The few end markets, which declined year over year were again isolated in certain consumer related end markets and in the semiconductor market.
In addition, our faster manufacturing business continues to perform well and achieve continued strong sales in the quarter driven by increasing global demand for our proprietary self peers and <unk> products.
Operating income in this segment totaled $15 6 million compared to $10.7 million a year ago, an increase of 46%.
Operating margins were up 230 basis points year over year to eight 1% in the current quarter driven by the profit flow through from higher sales levels customer price increases and reduced operating costs.
We remain focused on our initiatives to grow our higher margin industrial supply business and our proprietary self Pearson clinch products in this segment.
The integration of our prior year acquisitions has gone well as both southern fasteners and charter automotive have exceeded our expectations and will position, our industrial supply business and our spec products for future growth.
In our assembly components segment sales for the quarter were $108 million compared to $101 million a year ago, an increase of 7% year over year.
Sales from each of our product categories, which include a rubber and plastic products as well as our fuel related products grew year over year, resulting from new business launched in the last year and increased customer pricing realized during the quarter.
Segment operating income in the quarter increased significantly to $11 million compared to $3 million a year ago.
The operating margins exceeded 10%.
On a year to date basis, adjusted operating income has improved $23 million year over year.
The significant increase in margins has been driven by lower operating costs, resulting from our plant consolidation efforts and other profit enhancement activities, including increased customer pricing.
With respect to our aluminum business, which has historically been included in this segment. The sales process is ongoing we continue to implement operational improvements and customer price increases, which will positively impact future results.
During the third quarter, the operating loss incurred in this business was approximately $1 million.
We continue to believe the automotive Oems initiative around light weighting electrification and the onshoring of certain products for key auto platforms will benefit this business over the long term.
In our engineered products segment sales in the third quarter were $182 million.
Of 21% compared to $97 million, a year ago, driven by strong customer demand in both our capital equipment business and our forged and machine products business.
In our capital equipment business sales of new equipment, and aftermarket parts and services were both higher year over year, resulting in a sales increase of 21% in this business compared to a year ago.
Revenues increased again this quarter in every region as our strong backlogs are being converted into sales.
Looking to remains strong in the quarter and totaled $44 million.
And our backlog as of September 30 was $172 million, an increase of 6% compared to the end of last year.
In our forged and machine products business sales in the quarter were up 22% driven by increasing customer demand in several key end markets, including rail and aerospace and defense.
During the quarter operating income in this segment was $7 million compared to $6 million a year ago and on an adjusted basis operating income was $7 million in each period as the profit flow through from the higher sales was offset by lower operating margins in our forging business.
Our capital equipment operating income margins were strong in the third quarter and were approximately 9% and in our forging business equipment downtime in the early part of the quarter and startup costs incurred on our newly installed forging line in our canton, Ohio facility impacted our results.
On a year to date basis sales in this segment were $354 million, an increase of 23% year over year and adjusted operating income increased to $20 million, 15% higher than the prior year.
We continue to win new business in this segment in support of the increased production of electrical steel used in battery technologies and certain munitions used in defense end markets.
This year, we have reached received over $50 million of new equipment orders directly related to these market trends and believe this part of our business, we will continue to benefit.
And finally with respect to our full year 2023 sales guidance.
Maintaining our sales growth range of 10% to 15% year over year, our fourth quarter revenues will be negatively impacted by the United Auto workers strike, which affected several OEM customer plants.
Although there appears to be tentative agreements between the Oems and the UAW is difficult to estimate the full impact of the strikes on our fourth quarter revenues as production ramps back up to normal levels.
Our current revenue levels from the OEM plants impacted by the strikes total approximately $25 million to $30 million per month across our assembly components and supply technologies segments.
We continue to expect year over year improvement in adjusted operating income EBITDA as defined free cash flow and adjusted earnings per share for the full year.
Now I will turn the call back over to Matt.
Great. Thank you very much Pat I will now open the line for questions.
Thank you we will now be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question. Please press star one on your telephone keypad.
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You May press Star two if you would like to remove your question from the queue.
For participants using speaker equipment may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys, one moment. Please while we poll for your questions.
Our first questions come from the line of Dave storms with Stonegate capital markets. Please proceed with your questions.
It may be.
Hey, guys.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Just wanted to kind of start you mentioned in the call that.
Your strong revenues, but as a product of half volume and half pricing.
How do you see that going forward is there still room to push pricing or do you think volumes are going to kind of be the driver.
Through the remainder of 2003 and into 'twenty four.
Yes, that's a great question.
We'd love to know the answer no that's a joke.
There is no question that pricing during what's been.
A very challenging inflationary market in industrial space over the last couple of years migrating from supply chain issues to our raw material issues or supply chain issues to know labor has provided the opportunity for us to push pricing. It has been a strategic priority as I mentioned and one that has been.
An incredible amount of focus over the last couple of years.
Clearly as inflation subdued, particularly in those first two areas not so much in labor yet.
The opportunity is.
<unk> is lesser.
So we have not entered our business planning process, yet so it's really difficult to comment.
You know really into next year, but I would say that our ability and our efforts around pricing.
We will become less significant as we close out what has been.
A very challenging period, and with a lot of robust and difficult conversations so and they are not complete yet and we're still dealing with inflation and labor. So I don't want to suggest it's over I just think that.
The opportunities will get smaller and smaller and less moving forward.
And we have to anticipate that we can manage the additional inflation and if we can't then that's a different issue.
Understood very helpful.
And then just switching to cash flows for a second it looks like you had a nice bump in cash flows in Q3. Obviously you have your stated goal to 2000 $25 million for 'twenty three kind of what levers do you expect to pull to.
<unk> closed out the end of the year and hit those goals.
Yes, David this is Pat.
As I mentioned.
We've said.
Very aggressive working capital reduction targets in terms of days of working capital demands of the business.
Our progress has been being made throughout the first three quarters and we expect that to continue in.
In the fourth quarter.
So, it's really driven off of of reduced working capital.
The investments that we made in 2022.
When supply chain restrictions required us to really carry more inventory, we're starting to see that reduce.
And as you look at the sales growth that we've seen in the current year.
We've invested very little in working capital.
Which is a tremendous achievement by our business units and we expect that to continue in the fourth quarter.
That's perfect. Thank you for taking my questions and good luck.
Just comment and this is unrelated to your question.
But as we as we think through.
Our business.
We do anticipate our business model, particularly around continuing operations as a less capital intensive business.
So.
Yes, as we think about cash flows.
I'll talk about in my comments about being stronger more focused business that is.
Part of the story, our ability to generate cash flow through the business cycle.
That's great clarification. Thank you.
Thank you our next questions come from the line of Steve Barger with Keybanc capital markets. Please proceed with your questions.
Good morning, everyone. This is actually Krishna <unk> on for Steve partners. Thank you for taking my questions.
Good morning first question good morning.
First question with your guidance held that implies about a 6% year over year growth rate in <unk> on a pretty nice 17% comp.
During a time, where customers are and suppliers continue to talk about destocking and broad macro uncertainty, which end markets do you see that strength continuing and are you hearing any slowdowns from your customers.
I'll give pat a minute to answer that question I try to beat the drum on diversity full time.
Sure.
There is no doubt that volume unit volume is year over year.
<unk> has softened in terms of from a growth perspective.
Our numbers and our forecast incorporate some of the pricing work that I alluded to earlier. So no I think we agree we've seen some of the unit slowdown that you mentioned.
But again I think our diversity strong and I'll, let I would highlight a couple of different areas one as I mentioned the rotation.
And I guess leadership for lack of a better word to aerospace and defense again, an important part of our business not one we spend a lot of time on.
But that is not slowing down it's increasing.
So that diversity continues I think to support the other thing I'll mention is while supply technologies in particular.
Is affected I think by consumption and demand rates at our customers on a daily weekly monthly basis. We also have an equipment business in our forging business that have backlogs that extend.
Some cases beyond 2024 so.
This is our diversity at flat.
Okay.
Yes.
Matt touched on.
On the topics that we will show.
Increases in revenue year over year in the fourth quarter, but we have tremendous backlog right now and our engineered products segment and the diversity of our supply technologies.
Segment.
That stretches beyond.
No one particular part of the business, whether it be bus and truck.
Aerospace agricultural we see strength year over year in each of those those markets and Matt highlighted aerospace and defense, where we expect that to continue.
To be strong for us.
Last two years have been been quite sluggish in that end market. So the increases are going to be seen not only on the commercial aerospace side, but on the defense side as well.
Great Thanks for that color.
Moving to the UAW comments I just want to make sure I understand your comments you quantified about $27 million in monthly revenues from the Detroit three automakers impacted by the strikes how should we think about hair cutting that I guess is like a 20% haircut on those revenues fair or are you shifting production from some of those products in the near term just trying to think about how we should haircut.
With that.
So I'm going to let Pat gathers thoughts here for a second.
Please understand that the UAW strikes had not only impacted our strikes in general organized labor strikes have not only impacted.
The big three.
While that is a significant chunk of impact there have been other labor disruptions in the marketplace I might point went out Mack truck.
So it's still currently dealing with a strike so.
Yes, I just want to point out this in this environment. This is an ongoing.
Sure.
Thing that is happening in the industrial workplaces as I think many of these unions are sort of the last people to the table.
Relative to what the nonunion workers have gotten particularly on the direct labor side over the last several years so.
We probably will see more of this is my guess.
But this isn't just the big three so for starters, particularly as we think about supply technology assume doesn't do as much auto so.
So I would just comment briefly on that risk and then turn it back over to Pat.
Yes, I would comment that the cable.
The ability to forecast the impact of the strikes is very very difficult.
It's fluid there's tentative agreements that are have to be voted on.
Ramping up each of our production sites based on volume demand coming not only from the Oems, but as Matt mentioned, the tier ones and tier twos, we will start to see that come back throughout the month of November.
My script included the monthly impact based on what we do.
As of the end of October and.
That's probably a good barometer, obviously as is.
The production plants get back back to work and volumes start to begin to.
Get back to normal levels of <unk>.
5% to $30 million, a month will drop pretty significantly.
But it's unknown right now at this time, how quickly that's going to have.
Got it that's helpful. Thank you for that clarity.
And then I guess switching over to M&A to southern fasteners seems to have been a really good value deal.
When you guys bought it are there other good value deals out there and what does your pipeline look like and what are you most interested in acquiring.
Yeah.
Yes.
So pipeline is.
It's always been consistent the diversity of our business allows us to take.
To get a look at a number of strategic opportunities throughout the course of the year.
We're careful with.
The capital allocation sub.
Southern fasteners was a tremendous acquisition allowed us to expand our our industrial supplies business.
What we're seeing in the marketplace.
Credit markets are tight.
And as a result valuation multiples are starting to drop.
And so there could be more opportunities that come our way.
We continue to look for strategic acquisitions that are accretive.
Two our two our margins not only our gross margins, but our operating income margins.
And those those businesses that were able to grow.
<unk>.
A faster pace.
And then the current organic growth levels.
Great and just last one for me I guess, a follow up on fasteners or southern fasteners can you just remind us how our southern <unk> margins relative to the overall <unk> segment and then what are the opportunities that you have to think about for improving that in the long term. Thanks. So much.
Sure.
Yeah.
Before we acquired southern fasteners, we had built up in industrial supply of business within supply technologies, which is primarily an OEM production supply chain manager.
The margins are higher than our segment margins would indicate in that space.
Typically those are our MRO products or products used to.
To fix equipment fasteners and other supplies used in the production plants.
That often are our critical spares needed in the business that generate higher margins.
I won't comment on the individual margins in that particular business for us, but they are higher than the traditional segment margin Stacy.
I would also add to that that as we think about how to identify opportunities in supply tech.
Our focus is going to be bringing value to our customers.
We think that there are opportunities to do that which will be accretive and provide.
Improved consolidated margins.
But our strategy both internally and externally is to continue to provide more value to our to our customers. So, but yes, I think that there will be opportunities to extend that product portfolio in a very accretive way.
If you think about it the systems already setup.
<unk>, which is nice.
That's right.
Hi.
Thank you we have reached the end of our question and answer session I would now like to turn the floor back over to Matthew Crawford for any closing comments.
Great. Thank you all.
Your interest and your ownership.
In our company and know that while times are still interesting and challenging in many ways again, we have a more focused disciplined business model here and we're anxious to.
So you take advantage of what we see a very bright future a future in industrial space are both globally and particularly in the U S. Thank you very much bye bye.
Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect. Your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation and enjoy the rest of your day.
Okay.
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Yes.
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