John Bean Technologies Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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February 21, 2023

Key Takeaways

  • JBT delivered 16% revenue growth and 11% adjusted EBITDA growth in 2022, with adjusted EPS up 18% to $4.77, driven by strong FoodTech and AeroTech performance.
  • For 2023, JBT expects 6–10% total revenue growth, ~21% EBITDA increase at the midpoint, adjusted EPS of $5–$5.50 and free cash flow conversion >100%, underpinning a robust outlook.
  • FoodTech benefited from two strategic acquisitions (ALCO and Bev Corp) and the launch of the OmniBlue digital solution, generating supply chain and commercial synergies plus incremental recurring revenue.
  • JBT plans to separate AeroTech via a likely sale, with a defined path announcement in H1 2023 and transaction execution targeted for H2 2023 to unlock shareholder value.
  • The company incurred $7 million in Q4 restructuring charges (with another $3–4 million expected in 2023) while realigning its European cost structure ahead of $9–12 million in 2024 run-rate savings.
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Earnings Conference Call
John Bean Technologies Q4 2022
00:00 / 00:00

There are 7 speakers on the call.

Operator

And welcome to JBT Corporation's 4th Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Chris, and I'll be your conference operator today. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. At this time, all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session.

Operator

I'll now turn the call over to JBT's Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations, Kendrick Meredith, to begin today's conference.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Chris. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Q4 year end 2022 conference call. With me on the call is our Chief Executive Officer, Brian Deck and Chief Financial Officer, Matt Meister. In today's call, we will Forward looking statements that are subject to the Safe Harbor language in today's press release and 8 ks filing. JBT's periodic SEC filings also contain information regarding Risk Factors that may have an impact on our results.

Speaker 1

These documents are available in the Investor Relations section of our website. Also, our discussion today includes references to certain non GAAP measures. A reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable GAAP measure can Now, I'll turn the call over to Brian.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Kendrick, and good morning, everyone. JBT captured double digit growth on the top and bottom lines for 2022, notwithstanding the much discussed challenges associated with rapid inflation And supply chain disruptions. In each quarter, we realized sequential margin improvement at both FoodTech and AeroTech. And we ended the year on a strong note, especially as it relates to profitability and orders at FoodTech. While there remains a level of caution among our food customers, it is clear they need to invest in capacity, automation, optimization of yield and uptime And sustainability.

Speaker 2

During 2022, we completed 2 strategic acquisitions. As I'll talk about later, they are highly complementary to our FoodTech solutions and are quickly adding value. At AeroTech, margin improvement continued to progress, albeit at a slower pace than originally planned. At the same time, the demand side remains robust, positioning the business for a great 2023. As demonstrated by our 2022 performance, JBT enjoys a highly resilient model.

Speaker 2

Nearly half of FoodTech represents recurring revenue from parts and aftermarket services. The food and beverage end markets enjoy higher level stability throughout the business cycle. And moreover, JBT's highly diverse product line and broad participation across end markets enhances the With that, I'll turn the call over to Matt to provide details about the year. He'll also present our initial guidance for 2023, Another year in which we expect further growth and margin expansion.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Brian. JBT delivered solid Double digit revenue and earnings growth in 2022. Total revenue increased 16% And adjusted EBITDA grew 11% year over year. Earnings per share and adjusted earnings per share increased 10% 18%, respectively. In FoodTech, 2022 revenue increased 14% With growth of 12% organic and 7% from acquisitions, partially offset by a 5% negative foreign exchange impact.

Speaker 3

For the year, FoodTech generated adjusted EBITDA of $290,000,000 with margins of 18.2%. FoodTech margins improved each quarter sequentially with adjusted EBITDA margins of 19.7% in the 4th quarter as we continue to close the gap on price cost and benefit from higher volume. In AeroTech, 2022 revenues increased 23%. Full year adjusted EBITDA margins were 8.4% 10.3% in Q4, Continuing their sequential margin recovery. And as I'll discuss in the guidance, we expect that momentum to continue into 2023.

Speaker 3

With that, we posted earnings per share of $4.07 compared with $3.69 in 2021. 2022 results included a $0.25 per share negative impact from foreign exchange translation, offset by 0.26 dollars per share of discrete tax benefits. Adjusted EPS, which excludes LIFO expense, M and A and restructuring costs It was $4.77 compared with $4.04 in the prior year. During the year, we took restructuring charges of $7,000,000 Including $4,200,000 in the 4th quarter as we implemented additional actions to reduce our cost structure in Europe. In 2023, we expect to incur another $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 of charges And anticipate the total impact of these actions to generate run rate cost savings of approximately $9,000,000 to $12,000,000 in 2024.

Speaker 3

Free cash flow of $59,000,000 for the year represented conversion rate of 45%. As we've discussed in 2022, we invested in our digital strategy, increasing capital expenditure investment by approximately 40,000,000 Additionally, the change in the U. S. Tax law that required the capitalization of R and D costs resulted in an acceleration of cash Tax payments of approximately $25,000,000 Finally, we are carrying a higher than normal level of inventory. And as the supply chain situation improves and vendors catch up with demand, we expect better inventory turns in 2023.

Speaker 3

As we are pleased, however, with the progress we made on net debt leverage, Achieving our target of 3 times by year end 2022, down from 3.4 times at the end of the third quarter. This demonstrates our ability to deploy capital and delever quickly to our target leverage ratio of 2 to 3 times adjusted EBITDA. Moving to 2023, we anticipate full year total JBT revenue growth of 6% to 10%. That's comprised of 5% to 9% growth in FoodTech, including 1% to 4% organic And 10% to 13% growth in AeroTech. We expect FoodTech's adjusted EBITDA margins to be within the range of 18.5 19.5%, which includes OmniBlue expense associated with the launch and ongoing customer support efforts.

Speaker 3

These expenses should be largely offset by anticipated OmniBlue revenue. All this considered, that represents an adjusted EBITDA range of $310,000,000 to $335,000,000 from FoodTech in 2023, A year over year increase of 11% at the midpoint. In AeroTech, we expect significant improvement in profitability Adjusted EBITDA margins of 12% to 12.5%. We are forecasting corporate expense of roughly 2.7% of revenue, excluding any LIFO, M and A and restructuring expense. Included in corporate expense, although at a much lower amount than last year, There will be ongoing development costs related to OmniBlue as we expand to additional product lines.

Speaker 3

Interest expense is forecasted to be between 26 $27,000,000 and we are projecting an annual tax rate of 22% to 23%. That gets us to projected 2023 earnings per share of $4.50 to $5 and adjusted EPS of $5 to $5.50 We are forecasting adjusted EBITDA of $330,000,000 to $350,000,000 which represents a year over year gain of 21% at the midpoint. We expect free cash flow to return to more historical performance levels with the conversion rate of greater than 100% for the full year. Regarding the Q1, which is typically our slowest, we anticipate year over year revenue growth of 7% to 10%. This is comprised of 4% to 7% growth at FoodTech and 15% to 20% at AeroTech.

Speaker 3

We anticipate FoodTech adjusted EBITDA margins of 16.5% to 17% and AeroTech margins of 10% to 11%. With corporate expense of 3.2 percent of sales excluding any LIFO, M and A and restructuring charges As well as interest expense of $7,000,000 to $7,500,000 we are projecting GAAP earnings per share of $0.50 to $0.60 And adjusted EPS of $0.65 to $0.75 With that, let me turn the call back to Brian.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Matt. As I stated at the top of the call, we were encouraged by the pace of 4th quarter orders. FoodTech orders of $432,000,000 were up 24% sequentially, exceeding our expectations with improvements in Europe and Asia. And despite price weakness and pressure affecting our customers in the poultry industry, we also experienced some order improvement in North America As a result of JBT's highly diverse product portfolio, that is JBT had some nice wins in the period in the pet food, food and vegetable, infant formula and in pharmaceutical end markets. While the backdrop of economic uncertainty, including higher interest rates and operating costs may impact the pace of customers' investment decision making, We remain pleased with our robust pipeline and high level of customer engagement.

Speaker 2

We recently attended the International Production and Processing Expo, otherwise known as IPPE, the largest event for the poultry and meat industry in the U. S. It's good to see some of you there. We introduced several new products at the show including a lower cost, more compact DSI Portioner. This product, which leverages JBT's strong DSI franchise, addresses the needs of smaller food processors with a highly effective Compact Plug and Play Water Jet Cutting System.

Speaker 2

We also introduced the chicken breast de boning solution that specifically targets What is known as the large bird market. This is a gap in the market today where our existing automation solutions underperform on yield relative to manual labor. Our solution known as Yield King addresses this challenge and as a result is generating a lot of interest in the market. We also featured our digital solution Omniblue. Since our last call, we have signed many additional contracts on our first wave of product introductions.

Speaker 2

OmniBlue represents a new way of doing business for our customers with a digitally enabled solution that optimizes machine performance and maintenance management, provides frictionless parts and service and enhances uptime capacity utilization yield and quality. We are encouraged by customers' response to OmniBlue as they realize its tangible and measurable benefits. We expect our investment in OmniBlue to generate long term advantages for JBT as we continue to commercialize over the next few years. Its revenue stream from subscription fees and incremental aftermarket revenue will expand our growing recurring revenue base. More importantly, our digital connection further solidifies our partnership with customers.

Speaker 2

Regarding the deployment of capital, we are pleased with the value we have already captured from the acquisitions of ALCO and Bev Corp. Specifically, we are generating supply chain synergies with the core of JBT and we are enjoying commercial synergies such as a new Full line vegetable processing solution, which combines capabilities from our ALCO, Eurdesan and Frigos Gandia brands. At AeroTech, 4th quarter orders picked up as expected with a 42% sequential gain And continued strong demand from the infrastructure and commercial airline markets. AeroTech's record year end backlog And the expectations of further order strength in the Q1 positions the business for a great 2023. Regarding our intent to become a pure play food and beverage solutions company, as you know, we've been a range of options for Aratech with the goal of identifying the best value creation for shareholders.

Speaker 2

While we are keeping a range of options on the table And I in the debt markets, our current view is that a separation is more likely to be realized through a sale of AeroTech. We remain on track to announce a defined path in the first half of twenty twenty three with transaction execution targeted for the back half. Before I open the call to questions, I'd like to talk about JBT's corporate responsibility and sustainability initiatives. Issues that are at the core of our culture DNA. We view JBT's responsibility and sustainability framework through the lens of customer solutions, Responsible Operations and People and Communities.

Speaker 2

Last quarter, we outlined the many ways we aid Customers on their sustainability journey from environmentally friendly packaging solutions and low emission technologies to systems that combat food waste And lower energy and water consumption and helping our customers reduce waste and more efficiently use precious resources, We're also enhancing our value proposition and competitive strength. At the same time, we're taking steps to reduce the environmental In fact, our plants and office operations around the world and are embedding these efforts into our continuous improvement program. For example, we're collecting, analyzing and auditing global utility usage to track cost and consumption for the entire enterprise to give us a platform for developing and reporting against emission reduction targets. In terms of people and communities, we promoted Employee volunteerism, charitable contribution and enhanced matching programs and engagement initiatives around the world. Most importantly, we have maintained an unwavering commitment to all employees to create a safe, engaging and inclusive workplace.

Speaker 2

On that note, I'd like to thank everyone at JBT. They are the reason for our growth and success. With that, let's take your questions. Operator?

Operator

Thank you. Our first question is from Walt Liptak with Seaport Research. Your line is open.

Speaker 4

Hi, thanks. Good morning, guys. Good morning, Chris. Thanks for the clarification about AeroTech And the timing, I just wanted to make sure I understood it that, it sounds like a sale is more likely. Is that an all in one Transaction and I think you said that the timing might be in the second half.

Speaker 4

So does that mean an announcement in the first half And closing the deal in the second half or something different?

Speaker 2

Essentially, yes. More likely it's going to be a sale and of course ideally it would be in full, right? That would be we think that the platform value The AeroTech is more than the sum of its parts. Therefore, we do feel that that's certainly the better path. And in terms of timing, you essentially have it.

Speaker 2

We will provide more detail here in the Q2 and then thereafter look to execute and transact in the back half.

Speaker 4

Okay. All right. Great. Thanks for that clarification. And I wonder if you could just provide a little bit more detail about What you're seeing from the poultry market and primarily it looks like The CapEx plans are still on track, but just what you're seeing, is there a delay that's happening Or is it just a timing issue?

Speaker 2

Yes. As you've seen probably from the poultry industry, It's a bit of a challenging time right now in terms of profitability. We are heavily engaged with them. So orders were a little bit lower In the Q4 from them, but we were able to offset that with our diverse product offering. So that was good news.

Speaker 2

What we do hear from them is that the need for automation, sustainability, productivity and even volume remains high on their list And the pipeline remains quite strong with them. So and as you stated, their overall intentions on CapEx remains Solid. So we do expect that to start converting here as we enter the spring.

Speaker 4

Okay, great. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

The next question is from John Joyner with BMO Capital Markets. Your line is open.

Speaker 5

Hi there, guys. Thank you for taking my question. Hi, John. Hi, John. Hi, there.

Speaker 5

It's Erztah on for John Joyner. Thank you for taking my question.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Speaker 5

So my question primarily relates to the FoodTech end of the line solution, which kind of seems like a large market opportunity for Growth for JBT. Can you talk about some of the white space here and maybe areas that JBT can fill out through its capabilities? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Yes, absolutely. The end of line is indeed a very large opportunity. As you know, we've invested In 2019, in our Proseal acquisition as well as our ACS Auto Coating Solutions on that side as well. When you think about packaging in general, everything ends up being packaged, right, in one way shape or form whether or not it's going to retail or if it's going to foodservice. So it is a very large market.

Speaker 2

We do it is a meaningful part of our M and A strategy as we go forward from here. So we do look forward as we continue to deploy capital as part of our strategic plan that we introduced in 2022 as we look to meet our 2025 targets, that is a nice space to be in.

Speaker 5

That's great. Thank you for that color.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

The next question is from Laurence De Maria with William Blair. Your line is open.

Speaker 6

Hi, thanks. Good morning. Two questions. First question, Obviously, 1Q is looking a little lighter than expected, which implies another big ramp throughout the year. Can you maybe just Help us understand first half, second half split or maybe a little bit more around just some of the modeling to help us understand how big of a ramp we should expect into

Speaker 3

Sure, Larry. I think the Q1 as you noted is Certainly, a little bit lighter, primarily because, sort of seasonality that Typically happens at JBT, as well as we had, as you can recall, a little lighter order volume in Q3 that That impacted backlog for the Q1. But certainly, I think our backlog as we enter into the year It's actually pretty healthy for the remainder of the year and we have visibility between backlog for the year as well as our Very dependable recurring revenue streams to between 70% to 75% of the revenue for 2023. So I think we feel pretty confident in the back half of the middle part in the back half of the year. Certainly, there's some book to bill we have to get.

Speaker 3

But the margins will continue to improve sequentially as we go through the year and benefit not only from the higher volume, but also Just continued productivity in the FoodTech business.

Speaker 6

Okay, thanks. And then moving over to the AeroTech, Can you give us any kind of color on initial thoughts on multiples price talk and what would post sale corporate look like?

Speaker 2

Sure. In terms of multiples, Larry, we're going to let the market speak as to what the value is of that. Certainly, again, as I mentioned, it is an attractive asset as a whole. It's a platform business. So I think in terms of both, It's going to generate interest from both strategic interest as well as the financial buyer space.

Speaker 2

So Again, we're going to let the market speak for that. In terms of the corporate overhang, there is essentially We allocate quite a bit of our corporate expenses as is today. The percent of sales will go up a little bit when it comes to FoodTech, But because AeroTech has lower margins as a whole, ex AeroTech, the margins actually increase.

Speaker 6

Okay. Thank you.

Operator

And it appears that we have no further questions. I'll turn it over to Ryan Duck, for any closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Great. Thank you. Yes, we understand it's a busy period for earnings announcement. So, Kedrick and Marley are available for the rest of the day or for the week to take questions. Thanks very much everybody.

Speaker 2

Appreciate it.

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