Belden Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
November 2, 2023

There are 9 speakers on the call.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to this morning Belden Reports Third Quarter 2023 Results Call. Just a reminder, this call is being recorded. At this time, you're in a listen only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session.

Operator

I would now like to turn the call over to Aaron Redington, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Belden's Q3 2023 earnings conference call. With me today are Belden's President and CEO, Ashish Chand and Senior Vice President and CFO, Jeremy Parks. Ashish will provide a strategic overview of our business and then Jeremy will provide a detailed review of our financial and operating results followed by Q and A. We issued our earnings release earlier this morning and have prepared a slide presentation that we will reference on this call.

Speaker 1

The press release, presentation and transcript of these prepared remarks are currently available online at investor. Belden.com. Turning to slide 2 in the presentation. During this call, management will make certain forward looking statements. For more information, please review today's press release and our most recent annual report on Form 10 ks.

Speaker 1

Additionally, during today's call, management will reference adjusted or non GAAP financial information. In accordance with Regulation G, the appendix to our presentation and the Investor Relations section of our website contain a reconciliation of the most Closely associated GAAP financial information to the non GAAP financial information we communicate. I will now turn the call over

Speaker 2

We appreciate you joining us today. As highlighted in our communication 3 weeks ago, 3rd quarter results were below our expectations as demand unexpectedly weakened within our industrial and broadband markets, adding to ongoing pressure from channel destocking. Despite a softening in demand, our expanding solutions driven mix drove gross margin outperformance, resulting in Belden achieving the lower end of our initial adjusted EPS outlook. Our proactive efforts towards becoming a premier solutions provider continue, Even amid the current market weakness, we believe this approach will drive incremental growth and margin expansion over the long term. In the meantime, we are evaluating opportunities to protect margin where appropriate and have already taken cost saving measures in response to the market weakness.

Speaker 2

Furthermore, we remain confident in the resilience of our portfolio, which stands well positioned To benefit from significant secular trends with lengthy investment cycles. Now let's review the quarter. Please turn to Slide 4 for a summary of the Q3 of 2023. As a reminder, I will be referring to adjusted results today. Our team performed admirably considering the difficult operating backdrop.

Speaker 2

Unfortunately, industry demand weakness came about unexpectedly and we experienced a marked change in orders in our industrial and broadband markets during the quarter. After growing orders 4% sequentially in the 2nd quarter, Total orders were down 19% sequentially in the 3rd quarter. As such, we achieved quarterly revenues of $627,000,000 down 7% year over year. Despite end demand softness, our shift to solution sales continues, which led to favorable margins during the period. Gross margins were up 2 80 basis points to 39% and EBITDA margins were up 80 basis points to 18.4%.

Speaker 2

Organic growth was down 4% in our Industrial Automation segment with EBITDA margins up 230 basis points to 22.5%. In Enterprise Solutions, organic growth was down 14% with EBITDA margins down 110 basis points. As we adjust to this temporary weakness, we expect to continue to follow our previously outlined capital allocation priorities With organic growth as a top priority, followed by M and A and finally returning capital to shareholders. Our balance sheet is strong with ample liquidity and leverage at Belden remains low at 1.3 times, down from 1.4 times in the prior quarter. We have significant financial flexibility to execute upon our strategic plans, While staying around our targeted net leverage ratio of 1.5 times, even if the outlook becomes more challenging.

Speaker 2

Free cash flow for the quarter was robust and we continue to deploy capital to grow the business. I'm pleased to report that year to date we have invested nearly $110,000,000 in M and A with our most recent acquisition of CloudRail, An edge software provider that helps connect and manage devices in industrial environments. Welcome to the team, CloudRail. Further, year to date, we have returned over $150,000,000 to shareholders. In summary, the unexpected shifts in market demand in industrial and broadband during the Q3 impacted orders.

Speaker 2

That being said, our team executed well and we are proud to have sustained these healthy levels of profitability With such a strong balance sheet and cash flow position. Now please turn to Slide 5 for a summary of our market performance In the Q3 and where we see things trending over the short term. Taking a step back, During the Q3, orders changed considerably in our industrial and broadband markets. Smart Buildings performed as expected, but was more than offset by the sequential change in orders in our other markets. Starting with the industrial automation market.

Speaker 2

The first half of the year, our business performed well with orders roughly flat sequentially in the Q2 and point of sale data confirming our order trends. As the 3rd quarter progressed, Industrial customers became increasingly cautious and we saw a material change in our orders and point of sale data. On a sequential basis, our industrial orders for the 3rd quarter were down 21%. The softness in the industrial market has many contributing But at a high level, the weakness in orders has 2 major drivers. First, we experienced a pause in end customer demand due to broad weakness in discrete manufacturing.

Speaker 2

2nd, both OEMs and distributors took action to further reduce inventory levels during the quarter. The smart change in demand for industrial automation products and solutions is a temporary reaction Coming into the back half of twenty twenty three, amid overall macro uncertainties. Looking forward, We expect to see reduced demand for a few quarters as end users adjust to challenges in the marketplace. However, We expect them to emerge with continued investments in automation. Longer term, our secular trends remain intact, Led by reshoring, labor shortages and investments in industrial automation, I'm confident that we are well positioned to grow market share once we get past this temporary slowdown.

Speaker 2

In the smart buildings market, we saw revenue and orders more or less in line with our guidance. Within smart buildings, we experienced weakness in commercial real estate with more stability in our targeted verticals such as hospitality and government. The smart building market continues to face challenges with higher interest rates creating uncertainty And distributors continuing to destock as they adjust to lower demand and work to improve cash flow. Similar to our industrial market, point of sales data declined in the 3rd quarter, which points to further weakness into the Q4 and 2024. Longer term, we expect to see demand growth from increasing digitization and expanding connectivity needs.

Speaker 2

Our customers have increasingly complex challenges, including hybrid networks that combine disparate data and network protocols onto a single backbone. Belden is well positioned to address these challenges with our product breadth and technical expertise. Finally, With orders down 28% sequentially. This change in the 3rd quarter is the result of MSOs adjusting their procurement processes To reduce inventory and rely on shorter lead times to meet demand. Planned network upgrades remain intact.

Speaker 2

However, we anticipate a soft 4th quarter as customers further adjust inventory into year end. We expect a pickup in orders as we move through the first half of twenty twenty four with further momentum as government funding increases throughout NextEra. I will now request Jeremy to provide additional insight into our Q3 financial performance. Thank you, Ashish.

Speaker 3

I will start my comments with results for the 3rd quarter, followed by a review of our segment results, a discussion of the balance sheet and cash flow performance, and finally, our outlook. As a reminder, I will be referencing adjusted results today. Now please turn to Slide 6 in our presentation for a review of our 3rd quarter results. 3rd quarter revenue decreased 7% year over year and was down 9% organically to $627,000,000 exceeding our preliminary view of 625,000,000 We experienced softness in industrial automation with revenues decreasing 4% organically. Longer term, we continue to see compelling secular demand drivers for automation solutions As industrial customers respond to labor shortages, capacity requirements and the reshoring of production.

Speaker 3

Enterprise Solutions revenue decreased 14% organically with increased weakness in our broadband solutions market. As Ashish mentioned earlier, orders for the 3rd quarter were down 19% Gross profit margins were a robust 39%, expanding 280 basis points compared to the prior year. The quarter benefited from a better than typical product mix driven by our solutions business. EBITDA was down 2% year over year to $115,000,000 While EBITDA margins expanded 80 basis points to 18.4%. Margins for the quarter benefited by approximately 100 basis points due to an adjustment to lower year to date incentive compensation.

Speaker 3

Net income in the quarter was $76,000,000 down 3% from $78,000,000 in the prior year period. EPS increased 1% year over year to 1.78 compared to $1.77 in the year ago period, which was slightly above our updated guidance range of $1.75 to $1.77 Turning now to Slide 7 in the presentation for a review of our business Segment results. I will begin with our Industrial Automation Solutions segment, which helps customers transmit and secure Audio, video and data in harsh industrial environments. Key markets include discrete manufacturing, Process Facilities, Energy and Mass Transit. The Industrial Automation Solutions segment represented 55 percent of our sales in the quarter, with With revenue totaling $343,000,000 For the quarter, revenue decreased 2% year over year and decreased 4% organically.

Speaker 3

On a sequential basis, revenue declined 10%. During the quarter, we experienced broad declines in discrete manufacturing, partially offset by stability in process automation. Industrial Automation segment EBITDA margins were 22.5% for the quarter compared to 20.2% in the prior year with margins expanding by 230 basis points. Turning now to our Enterprise segment, which enables customers to transmit and secure audio, video and data across complex enterprise networks. Our key markets include smart buildings and broadband solutions.

Speaker 3

The Enterprise Solutions segment represented 45% of our sales in the quarter, With revenue totaling $284,000,000 For the quarter, revenue decreased 11% year over year and declined 14% organically. On a sequential basis, revenue decreased 9%. Enterprise Solutions segment EBITDA margins were 13.3% for the quarter compared to 14.4% in the prior year. In the smart buildings market, revenues were down 14% organically. In the broadband solutions market, revenues were down 15% organically.

Speaker 3

Fiber revenue was up slightly year over year due to the benefit of recent acquisition. If you will please turn to Slide 8 for our balance sheet and cash flow highlights. Our cash and cash equivalents balance at the end of the 3rd quarter was $531,000,000 Compared to $688,000,000 in the Q4 of 2022 $547,000,000 in the Q3 of 2022. Our financial leverage was 1.3 times net debt to EBITDA at the end of the 3rd quarter, down from 1.4 times last quarter. As we communicated before, we intend to maintain net leverage We have a reasonable level of debt much lower than in the past with no maturities until 2027.

Speaker 3

In addition, all our debt is fixed with an average interest rate of approximately 3.5%. Looking ahead, we expect to generate meaningful Free cash flow in the 4th quarter and achieved full year free cash flow slightly lower than 2022 levels. We expect to have ample liquidity to deploy towards high return opportunities even as we manage through a dynamic environment. Year to date, we invested nearly $110,000,000 in new and complementary businesses And $150,000,000 towards share repurchases. So far in 2023, we have repurchased 1,700,000 shares, which is 4% of shares outstanding.

Speaker 3

Please turn to Slide 9 for our updated outlook. Looking forward to the 4th quarter, we expect weakness to continue in line with levels Experienced in the second half of the third quarter. This weakness is in contrast to our performance in the first half of the year. For the Q4, assuming the current market environment does not deteriorate further, We expect sales in the range of $510,000,000 to $530,000,000 and adjusted EPS in the range of $1.05 to $1.20 This outlook implies full year revenue will decrease between 4% 5 Percent and full year EPS will be flat to up 3%. Further, this outlook would imply that full year 2023 organic growth will be down mid single digits overall With Enterprise down high single digits and Industrial Automation down low single digits.

Speaker 3

That concludes my prepared remarks. I would like to turn the call back to Ashish.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Jeremy. While it is hard to estimate the continued impact of the challenges and uncertainties facing our customers, As we see it, the 4th quarter is likely to be the most challenging. However, we believe that demand will start to return as the longer term secular drivers of our business Prevail over the coming year. Regarding our investment philosophy over the next few quarters, I assure you we will act accordingly to balance Two key priorities. 1st, we will further adjust the cost structure as necessary to help offset the overall impact on the bottom line We will strive to achieve decremental EBITDA margins between 20% 30% for the cycle.

Speaker 2

2nd, I want to emphasize that the current uncertainty provides our solutions business with an opportunity to further differentiate ourselves from competitors. My goal is to come out of the cycle with increased solution sales, market share gains and higher margins. I would like to take a step back and highlight the progress we've made over the last few years growing and transforming Belden. The key objective of our Pivot2 Solutions was to build differentiated capabilities Whilst the business environment was positive, so that we would enter inevitable periods of increased uncertainty as a stronger company, We proactively invested in go to market and technical capabilities that have driven higher margins and will provide a significant leverage As we get past this temporary downturn and return to growth based on secular trends, we have developed The unique approach of offering network and data backbone solutions customized by market vertical that help our customers tackle multiple use cases And justify investments in smart infrastructure and digitization, much needed as customers strive to increase Capital productivity and improved customer experience. Through the combination of organic growth, targeted M and A and share repurchases, we have a clear and reasonable path forward towards future revenue and EPS growth beyond prior run rates.

Speaker 2

Our portfolio is well positioned and our balance sheet is strong. We will continue to execute operationally through these challenges, Look to deploy capital towards tuck in acquisitions that make sense. And finally, we will continue to return capital to shareholders. To close, I would like to take a moment and recognize the contributions of our associates, including our newest CloudRail team members. I appreciate your efforts this past quarter and would like to thank you for your support as we continue to transform Belden through a challenging environment.

Speaker 2

Thank you for your hard work. That concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, please open the call to questions.

Operator

Our first question comes from the line of William Stein with Truist Securities. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Great. Thanks for taking my questions. I'm hoping you can contextualize Margins in the guidance. It's clear that in Q3, margins did Better than one would expect in the revenue shortfall. As you said, the solutions business performed a bit stronger.

Speaker 4

That's not clear to me that that continues in Q4 and I'm hoping you can again contextualize it and provide some comments on that. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Sure Will. So for 2023 as a whole, we expect margins to be In the 38% range gross margins and that's what we've previously spoken of. There's no change in that perspective. By the way, this is over 5% better than what we had in 2020 and that process has continued Based on how we've worked on solutions and new products that we've talked about At some points in time. Indeed, Q3 benefited from better mix given Push out from the broadband customers, which are relatively Lower margin because they are more less solutions, more components.

Speaker 2

But yes, we expect it to be in that 38% range In Q4 and for the full year, slightly better than 38.

Speaker 4

Perhaps the follow-up is just a clarification on this. Do you expect that in Q4 Solution selling will continue at a somewhat more protected pace than the rest of the business? Or is it Seeing similar trends or even worse than the overall revenue growth?

Speaker 2

I think we're seeing very similar trends. It will be the same kind of growth somewhere in the low double digit range, Will. We look at our active and software portfolio, that's a good proxy for solutions And that was low double digit for Q3. So we don't see a change in that given our backlog And also given the kinds of projects in our pipeline right now that are closing.

Speaker 5

Thank you.

Operator

Next, we go to the line of Rob Jamieson with UBS. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I guess Just wanted to start off first with the prelim and then just kind of when did the weakness start to show up in the Quarter, I mean, you guys have a significant amount of business that goes through distribution and a couple of large customers, it's like 40 Percent plus. So I feel like you'd have a pretty good pulse on what's happening through the quarter. So just trying to kind of understand when this showed up in the quarter?

Speaker 6

And then also, what you've learned through this and how you intend to maybe change something internally in terms of getting a better Pulse on demand per quarter, just because like destock headwinds have been something that we've seen in industrials just kind of more broadly. So just any color there would be

Speaker 2

Sure, Rob. So I think if I look back, there have been So many things going on in the markets, right, because of interest rates, geopolitics, Changes in how people think about where they manufacture, changes in commercial real estate, etcetera. So it's been difficult for most people to kind of read, right? What we saw In Q2 was our orders were up sequentially 4%. Our POS was strong.

Speaker 2

The point of sale data we were getting from our channel partners is strong. And frankly, at that point, as we were entering Q3, We did not see in the early part of the quarter any clear indicator. However, as we were working through the quarter, we saw 2 things change. The first was There was a lot of tightness with OEMs and end users who started adjusting Inventories on the industrial side and that just accelerated how our channel partners were reacting. And I think you can see that across different indicators in the industry.

Speaker 2

And I know other companies have released their earnings and you can see some of that clearly showcased there. The other thing that happened was on the broadband side. Smart buildings is more or less as expected. We had already foreshadowed Some weakness in the channel which manifested. But in broadband, partly because of how our lead times have improved And partly because of how the large MSOs were managing their procurement processes, we saw a rather sudden change in their approach.

Speaker 2

But the silver lining is I think that is also more temporary than what's going on, on the industrial and smart building side. And I think that adjustment did surprise us. So between what happened in the industrial markets with OEMs and then with end users and then accelerated in the channels, Now by the way, part of that was also the Eurozone, and I think few people have called that out. So we saw the Eurozone changing more materially than we expected. And then like I said, as we work through the quarter, There was this phenomenon on the broadband side and It really has a lot to do.

Speaker 2

I mean, if you look at the MSO results, they've all talked about reasonable growth in the subscriber base. So the long term trends and the long term investments are intact. It's an adjustment in how they buy. And You can kind of look back now and say there were some signs around that, but there was nothing concrete, Rob, at the beginning of the quarter.

Speaker 6

Okay. Okay, thank you for that. That's helpful. And then I guess, you mentioned that you expect 4Q to be the weakness, like the weakest And this cycle right now, was that specific to Industrial Automation? And I guess, a fall on to that is Just how many quarters into should this persist into the first half or through the first half of twenty twenty four?

Speaker 6

Not looking for specific guidance, but how long should we expect this weakness to persist?

Speaker 2

Yes. At this point, based on all the conversations we're having, we see broadband coming out of This space is the earliest. One thing that I didn't probably address in your previous question was What are some of the learnings and what are the things we've changed? And we've actually gone a lot deeper through Q3 into our MSO customers' procurement process and how they are planning To old inventory at different points, they are large businesses. And we have confidence that that will come back Faster, it's a more temporary phenomenon.

Speaker 2

On the industrial and smart building side, at this point, I would say The weakness will persist into the first half as we go into 2024. Just given the cycles around how our customers plan their projects, but we also see A lot of customers talking about accelerating the need for productivity improvement and reassuring In response to some of the broader macro phenomena. So I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. It's a difficult read. But I would say, quicker turn in broadband, let's say, within the early part of Next year and then slightly later as we go into mid-twenty 24 for industrial and for smart buildings.

Speaker 6

Okay. Now that makes sense. Thank you very much for the color and taking my questions.

Speaker 3

Thank

Operator

And we go to the line of Mark Delaney with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Speaker 7

Yes. Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I wanted to better understand how much of the revenue weakness that you're seeing in the Q4 is related to inventory destocking and better I'd textualize that compared to just weaker overall end demand. So is there any way you can help us in terms of what sell out of your products is relative to sell And kind of where would revenue be if inventory wasn't being reduced in distribution?

Speaker 2

Sure, Mark. So Our POS for example, industrial automation was up 8% in the first half of twenty twenty three. And we expect for the full year that to be flattish, right? So in some sense, basically, There was more confidence that went down. And I think as it went And it became flat.

Speaker 2

Essentially, there was this channel adjustment based on the kind of turns we expect In that particular market. So I think as we emerge from 'twenty three, we've essentially That market as a whole has the end user level has just stayed flat, Right. And I think that's how I would model industrial. I think smart buildings is further down driven by commercial real estate. And I think broadband end markets are they remain as expected slightly up.

Speaker 2

But with this change in terms of how people buy because of lead times reducing.

Speaker 7

Understood. Thank you for the additional color on that. And then as you think about your 2025 target model and to get to $8 I mean, how do you think you're tracking there? And are there other changes you may need to implement in order to get there given the incremental demand weakness that you're seeing at least in the near Thank you.

Speaker 2

Sure. So yes, so I think when we articulated that The target for 2025, we had a certain expectation of growth over the cycle and that already Anticipated some kind of over the cycle of 3, 4 years, there would be some changes And how the business grew. So I think our long term fundamentals remain fine. We are well we still feel very good about that target. Well, I'm going to request Jeremy to throw to add some more color to that in terms of the mechanics.

Speaker 3

Yes. Hey, Mark. Good morning. So I would say, 1st of all, and just in terms of the EPS trend versus what we expected when we gave the target, we had been running far ahead. I think right now based upon this revised guidance, we're more or less on track.

Speaker 3

So we're on the path exiting 2023. We will require growth over the next couple of years. Our expectation is that Some of the slowness that we're seeing is temporary and that things will recover over the next couple of years. At the same time, we'll manage cost structure appropriately and I feel like we're still in Pretty good shape relative to that 2025 target. I think we have a lot of flexibility with respect to how we manage the cost structure.

Speaker 3

I think we'll still see growth between here and 2025, obviously, and I think the balance sheet is in great shape. So I think we still have a lot of options to get to that $8 target for 2025. So we feel good.

Speaker 2

Thank you. Sure.

Operator

Our next question or comment comes from the line of Reuben Garner with Benchmark Company. Please go ahead.

Speaker 8

Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Ashish, maybe if you could talk about any similarities or differences in this environment versus What you guys saw back in 2015, early 2016? I asked that because it sounds like you think this is the worst of the Demand in the industrial piece specifically and it seemed to kind of get progressively worse back then in that environment. So any thoughts on what Might be different this go around.

Speaker 2

Sure. Yes, so we've discussed that a lot, Ruben. And I think, first of all, the prior Contraction was driven by demand side factors. We're going into this environment more driven by supply side We've had this spike in demand. There's been inflation.

Speaker 2

And I think what remains different is the shortage of labor, especially The OECD markets, you can see that in the U. S. Quite a bit. And we think that as People deal with this particular slowdown. They have to keep working on productivity And they have to keep investing in new technology.

Speaker 2

There's a lot of talk about using AI, for example, In manufacturing as co pilot so that you can elevate how each worker performs, right? This is a different environment versus What we saw previously where there was less there was kind of less investment Underpinning that whole phenomenon because people were just unclear about how the future is going to look. And here I think it's more short term uncertainty with a lot of robust Investment focused on the longer term trends. And I think we've talked about this Across our markets, on the industrial side, there's reshoring, there's the labor and skills gap, There's investment in automation. On the smart building side, there's more digitization, Hybrid Networks, on the broadband side, of course, there's the DOCSIS transition, all sorts of investments in broadband, Including from the federal government and that's true in multiple jurisdictions.

Speaker 2

So this feels like a very different situation in that sense. The question is, how will this temporary weakness how long will this temporary weakness last? And like I said previously, We expect that on the broadband side, it will turn faster, and it will persist a little more In the industrial and the smart buildings markets, it's given how those markets plan Investments, how the cycles work. But yes, I think it's different from 15, 16 in that sense. And I think we as a company have come out much better Over each cycle that we've gone through and I think this cycle is going to be different because of the technology investments we've made.

Speaker 8

Okay, thanks. And I guess it doesn't sound like I recognize the targeted Incremental or decremental margins, it doesn't sound like you necessarily have any material or Restructuring our cost initiatives right now, what would it take, I guess, for something like that to need to come Into play is another quarter of what we just saw or how would things have to progress before you have to make some other kind of moves?

Speaker 2

Well, I think our current thought process is that Based on our anticipated, like we said, Q4 is going to be probably the weakest point And then it will take a couple of quarters more before things start turning. I think for that we are well set with the plans we have. We feel good about The 20% to 30% decremental margins we've articulated. We do want to protect our solutions transformation. So there's a lot of investment we've already made in go to market and in technology.

Speaker 2

We don't have to repeat all of that. There's a lot of leverage over there. There are obviously pieces that we need to protect. So as you said, at this point, we don't have any Dramatic restructuring in mind. We have articulated A plan and started executing upon that for the current period.

Speaker 2

And I think For that to be expanded, we would have to see continued weakness Going into the second half of twenty twenty four.

Speaker 3

Yes. If I could just jump in, Ruben, and add a little bit to Ashish's response. If you do the math on the second half of the year, the decrementals are actually a little bit better. Decrementals are around 15%. On a year over year basis, SG and A and R and D are both coming down substantially from first half to second half based upon this guidance.

Speaker 3

So We are taking some cost actions. We're managing the cost structure very proactively and tightly. I mean, obviously, if volume continues to be low, we'll as Ashish said, we'll evaluate other Options. But I don't want you to leave this call feeling like we're not doing anything substantial because I think we are.

Speaker 8

Okay. Thanks guys. Good luck through the rest of the year.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

And we go next to the line of Steven Fox with Fox Advisors. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Hi, good morning. A couple of questions from me, if I could. First on the industrial comments that you've made. I'm just, given the sudden change And what you're seeing in the markets in that distribution, what are the points that give you confidence that this is An elongated cycle that's just starting. You mentioned maybe a couple more quarters of downturn, but if This is sort of the starting point or even if Q2 was a starting point, it's not unusual to see these cycles last 4 to 6 quarters, especially with historically high interest So like is there any data points you would say besides obviously secular trends that I'm not arguing are still in place that Can give you some confidence in like making sort of some of the comments you made so far about the churn?

Speaker 2

Yes. I think as a new Belden, we feel more confident versus We would have felt going into a similar cycle previously because these solutions we have actually help Deal with what's going on in the market, right, shortage of labor, higher cost of capital, more brittle Supply chains, etcetera. So part of it is the secular trends and part of it is how we've changed ourselves to respond to that. And we see that In our pipeline. So when we look at our sales funnel pipeline and we look at the projects that we are working on right now with Our solutions consultants and customers, there's a lot of Investment plan there and customers are actually talking about how to deal with all those trends, how to build in more Infrastructure that will help them use leverage AI and other technologies that are emerging.

Speaker 2

And this seems different than the prior contraction we've seen. So it is I think it's a combination of how we've changed and what's going on in especially the OECD markets With reshoring.

Speaker 5

Okay. That's helpful. And then on the broadband side, the difference, At least from my opinion, maybe you disagree with this in terms of this cycle versus prior is in the U. S, you have a lot of government money coming into the system that Is incentivizing smaller Tier 2 service providers to also spend on fiber and connectivity. That seems to be having And some unintended consequences in the supply chain.

Speaker 5

And I'm just curious whether you think that has maybe helped you artificially in recent quarters, Changes your view on the cycle over the next few quarters. Just curious what you think the impact was specifically on Belden and maybe broader on Just the landscape you compete in on broadband. Thanks.

Speaker 2

Sure. So, yes, I think two perspectives in that. One is in terms of the product portfolio. So whilst we have grown our fiber content quite a bit, right, it's getting closer to that 40% plus mark in our broadband business, we are not exclusively fiber. So we've made sure that we've Retain a broader portfolio, there's obviously a lot going on in terms of Specialized copper cable and connectivity in broadband, but there's also value added there are value added solutions around cabinets And how we help people deploy, which goes beyond just the fiber product portfolio.

Speaker 2

So I think It is true that if one was only focused narrowly on fiber, Then what's going on in the buying process and the industry would have created Artificial highs and lows, and we've seen that with some of our competitors. But that's different for us. I think second, it's the mix of the customers. So remember, a lot of our Business, the bulk of our business is actually focused on the MSOs and not on the telcos. And I think With that kind of footprint, we are actually slightly differentiated from Some of the other players in the market.

Speaker 2

So yes, we are focused on fiber, but it's not everything we have. And our mix of MSO and telcos keeps us more balanced. And When we look at their plans for investment, when we look at and by the way, this is true in the U. S, of course, but I think it's true in a few other jurisdictions. We see them very bullish in terms of technology upgrades and that gives us confidence That this will turn around faster.

Speaker 5

Great. That's all very helpful. Thank you.

Speaker 1

If you have any questions, please contact the IR team here at Belden. Our email address is investor. Relationsbelden.com. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This concludes our call for today. You may now disconnect from the call. We thank you for participating.

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Key Takeaways

  • Unexpected demand weakness in industrial and broadband markets led to a 7% Q3 revenue decline to $627 M and a 19% sequential drop in orders, though the solutions mix helped deliver EPS at the low end of guidance.
  • Gross margin expanded 280 bps to 39% and EBITDA margin rose 80 bps to 18.4%, underscoring the benefit of higher‐margin solution sales.
  • Organic growth in Industrial Automation fell 4% with EBITDA margin up 230 bps, while Enterprise Solutions declined 14% with its EBITDA margin down 110 bps, highlighting segment variability.
  • Balance sheet remains robust with net leverage at 1.3×, strong free cash flow, $110 M invested in M&A (including the CloudRail acquisition) and $150 M returned to shareholders year-to-date.
  • Q4 outlook projects sales of $510–530 M and adjusted EPS of $1.05–1.20 amid ongoing destocking, with demand expected to bottom then recover in 2024 as secular trends drive growth.
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Earnings Conference Call
Belden Q3 2023
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