AZZ Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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July 10, 2023

There are 7 speakers on the call.

Operator

Participants will be in listen only mode. After today's presentation, Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Sandy Martin with 3 Part Advisors. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, operator. Good morning and thank you for joining us today to review AZZ's financial results for the fiscal 2024 Q1 ended May 31, 2023. Joining the call today are Tom Ferguson, President and Chief Executive Officer Philip Shlom, Chief Financial Officer and David Nark, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations. After the conclusion of today's prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions. Please note, there is a webcast and slide presentation for today's call, Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that our discussion today will include forward looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Speaker 1

Forward looking statements by their nature are uncertain and outside of the company's control. Except for actual results, our comments containing forward looking statements may involve risks and uncertainties, some of which are detailed from time to time in documents filed by AZZ with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the annual report on Form 10 ks for the fiscal year. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and therefore undue reliance should not Actual results could differ materially from these expectations. In addition, today's call will include a discussion of non GAAP financial measures, non GAAP measures should be considered as a supplement to and not substitute for GAAP financial measures. We refer you to the reconciliation of non GAAP to the nearest GAAP measure included in today's earnings press release and investor presentation for Further details, the earnings press release and Q1 presentation are posted on our website and have been included in the Form 8 ks submitted to the SEC.

Speaker 1

I would now like to turn the call over to Tom Ferguson. Tom?

Speaker 2

Thank you, Sandy. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for a review of our fiscal 2024 Q1 results. Today, I will provide an overview of our Q1 performance, talk about progress made with our digital galvanizing system or DGS technology and end with a discussion of what we are seeing in the demand environment this year, as well as our outlook for the rest of fiscal 2024. I'm quite pleased with the pride and passion of our employees as they kicked off fiscal year 2020 We are focusing primarily on sequential comparisons due to only having pre COVID for 2 weeks of the Q1 last year.

Speaker 2

Turning to Slide 3, We are off to a strong start to the fiscal year with total sales of $391,000,000 up 16.2% on a sequential basis. Metal Coatings delivered a record setting sales quarter of $169,000,000 up 3.3% versus last year. I'm also pleased to report that our precope metals business delivered sequentially higher sales this quarter, totaling $222,000,000 Up 18.7% compared to the 4th quarter. On a comparable basis, precoast sales declined slightly versus a record Q1 in fiscal 2023. This is primarily attributable to last year's inventory ramp up and reaction to supply chain disruptions and was not anticipated to repeat this year.

Speaker 2

We improved our profitability in the Q1 by delivering adjusted earnings per share of $1.14 against the prior year EPS comparison of $1.10 keeping in mind these are on significantly different share counts, which Philip will cover late in a minute. In addition, we generated strong adjusted EBITDA of $85,400,000 up 62.6% over the prior year or 21.8 percent of sales. Our total adjusted EBITDA margin increased sequentially by 4.80 basis points over the 4th quarter due to seasonally higher sales That drove our improved fixed cost leverage, coupled with the impact of certain production improvement initiatives implemented previously. Our first quarter Metal Coatings EBITDA margin was 30.7%, up sequentially by 3 70 basis points And our PreCoat Metals EBITDA was 19.4%, up 5.60 basis points. The past two quarters, we discussed disruption caused by excessive customer owned inventories at most precoat plants.

Speaker 2

In the Q1, we successfully resolved these issues and achieve margins for PreCote that felt comfortably within our intended targets. PreCote did see softer demand in HVAC, transportation and some Like the Metal Coatings business, Precoat has a highly variable cost structure However, we anticipated this current demand environment, which was built into our annual guidance, and we are pleased that Q1 results met our expectations. Kurt and the team will continue to drive growth through their supply chain solution strategies focusing on market expansion through post paint conversions and table as we focus on reducing debt. In addition to high value investments and meaningful debt reduction, we are laser focused on value creation and high ROI projects and initiatives to drive incremental shareholder value. I will turn now to our Digital Galvanizing System or DGS technology.

Speaker 2

For the past 7 years, we have been digitizing our galvanizing operations to improve productivity, efficiencies and energy consumption. Approximately 18 months ago, we enhanced our proprietary state of the art technology on the customer side to allow us to have a more integrated relationship with our customers. This was an important pivot away from an off the shelf CRM tool to full utilization of an internally built tool, linking AZZ's standing Servant Miner leadership team, deep management bench and intense focus on service and quality, we believe AZZ has built a sustainably differentiated hot business. Precope, which operates predominantly more continuous flow automated processes, has also developed primary Proprietary applications such as Coil Zone that provide them similar productivity and enhanced customer engagement. More broadly, we are very excited about the power and scale of the transformed AZZ.

Speaker 2

We are working collaboratively with our people, processes and We have effectively added more than $100,000,000 of incremental EBITDA annually between the sale of our majority interest in AIS and the acquisition of Precope. This strategic pure play shift into coating segments that command industry leading market positions accompanied by a broad portfolio of galvanizing and coil coating services and solutions allow us to deliver an exceptional customer experience. With that, I will turn it over to Philip.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Tom. Turning to Slide 4. As Tom mentioned, we reported year 20 24 Q1 sales from continuing operations of $390,900,000 or 88.7 percent above the $207,100,000 which reflects typical seasonality moving from Q4 to Q1 for both segments. Gross profit increased to $97,000,000 the impact of labor and material costs between years. Selling, general and administration expenses were $31,500,000 in this year's Q1, Compared to $32,100,000 in the prior year Q1.

Speaker 3

Recall that we recorded $12,600,000 in acquisition and transaction related costs as well as incremental pre code amortization of intangible assets in fiscal year 2023. The SG and A expenses in the Q1 of fiscal year 2024 are closer to a run rate number that can fluctuate over time. 1st year adjusted EBITDA of $85,400,000 Exceeded the prior year's $52,500,000 by a strong $32,900,000 This was an increase of 62.6%, Which reflects good earnings traction and the impact of incremental earnings of the precope business. Adjusted EBITDA margins for the Q1 were 21.8%, If you reference our earnings release tables, EBITDA margin comparisons for both segments reflect sequential improvements for the quarter. Adjusted net income was $33,400,000 compared to $28,200,000 in the prior year's Q1, up 18.4%.

Speaker 3

Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.14 was 3.6% above the adjusted EPS of $1.10 in the prior year Q1. Since the preferred convertible shares are dilutive in both periods presented on Slide 4, the preferred dividends are added back to earnings for the EPS computation. Also shares are adjusted for a full conversion of the preferred convertible, which resulted in 29,200,000 weighted average shares this year compared with last year's shares of 25,700,000. The prior year share compensations reflected the convertible debt standing for 2 weeks versus an entire quarter. Moving to Slide 5.

Speaker 3

We reported strong net cash provided by operating activities of $46,900,000 and free cash flow of $29,900,000 in the 1st quarter, Almost double compared to the prior year amounts. This was a result of prudent working capital management and excellent operational performance. Also, capital expenditures for the period were $17,000,000 and included normal safety, maintenance and growth spending, as well as 5,300,000 incurred on the new coil coating build in Washington, Missouri. We are slightly ahead of schedule On the new build as a result of favorable weather to plan and spending on the new facility is in line with our expectations during the quarter and compared with our full year CapEx to our Series A preferred shareholders. I will discuss debt pay down, interest expense and taxes in a few moments.

Speaker 3

Turning to Slide 6. We continue to invest in organic growth, strategic customer partnerships, high return projects and productivity projects that meet our Our focus on debt pay down continues and the Board as well as our leadership believe that returning capital to shareholders through a quarterly cash dividend remains a priority. And as Tom mentioned, acquisitions are not a near term focus for the company. Turning to Slide 7. During the Q1, we paid down debt of $20,000,000 in what is normally a seasonally high cash outflow quarter.

Speaker 3

As we had discussed last quarter, we plan to pay down a total of $75,000,000 to $100,000,000 of debt this fiscal year with a near term target leverage of 3 times trailing 12 months EBITDA. We recorded interest expense for the Q1 of $28,700,000 compared to $7,500,000 in the prior year due to acquisition related borrowings as well as the higher interest rate environment we operate in today. Last fall, we secured a cash flow hedge of Half of our variable rate debt via swap. This fixed rate this fixed are rated approximately 8.6% We currently incur roughly 9.5% on the remaining variable rate debt. We have no maturities until 2027 And we know that our strong cash flow generation will continue to support our plan to delever.

Speaker 3

Our current quarter tax expense was $9,700,000 which reflects an interim effective tax rate of 25.3 percent consistent with prior year. We expect our full year effective tax rate to remain around 24% fiscal year 2024. With that, I'd like to turn the call back to Tom. Thank you,

Speaker 2

Philip. As you can see on Slide 8, We are maintaining our full fiscal 2024 sales guidance of $1,400,000,000 to $1,550,000,000 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $300,000,000 to $325,000,000 and adjusted EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.35 Our minority ownership in the AIS joint venture is not included in the balance of the year guidance because we don't control it and they are still in the purchasing price accounting period, consequently, which makes predicting a specific equity income amount difficult for now. We believe Avail is progressing well on their business plan and we will provide an outlook on equity income as soon as reasonably possible. Our financial outlook for the Q2 on Metal Coatings is a repeat of the Q1, with many of our fabrication customers citing good backlogs as they benefit from increased infrastructure spending. Additionally, with improvements in labor availability and more predictable supply chain support, activity and growing industries that directly relate to a broad range of construction markets and opportunities to convert customers from post paint to prepaint construction markets, which is why we remain focused on expanding our supply chain solution offerings, including converting customers from their own internal painting.

Speaker 2

We will have a better view of this after our Q2 is complete. We are also projecting a repeat of Q1 and the Q2 related to sales. As I noted earlier, customer inventories have normalized due to the actions we have taken, which allows us to benefit from process improvements and production Our corporate team continues to focus on cost initiatives, further debt reduction, customer credit metrics, governance and risk mitigation, and a disciplined method for allocating capital to the projects with the greatest return on method for allocating capital to the projects with the greatest return on investment. We are progressing with our greenfield plant construction that supports aluminum coatings with a valuable dedicated customer committed to filling the majority of our capacity in this new plant. As Philip mentioned, we are slightly ahead of schedule and continuing to track within budget.

Speaker 2

This is an exciting project for us and we will keep you updated each quarter on the progress. Finally, we are committed to growing sales and driving margins to our targeted ranges, which will generate significant cash flow and create shareholder value. I want to thank all of our shareholders and our Board for their support. And again, I want to thank our AZZ team for delivering strong first quarter results. With that operator, can you please open up the call for questions?

Operator

Of course. Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. Today's first question comes from John Franzreb with Sidoti and Company. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Good morning, guys, and thanks for taking the questions. I'd like to start with RECO, Tom. You mentioned that The sales profile should be similar in Q2 versus Q1. I'm curious, Normal seasonality on a historic basis, how would that quarter kind of line up and how would normal historical margins differ In Q2 versus Q1, because it seems like you have those headwinds that you called out on HVAC and transportation, just kind of get a better sense of the business.

Speaker 2

Yes, I think second, I mean usually as we've talked some, first half is the strongest Part of the year. Q2, I'd say, is usually slightly Stronger than Q1 and we pretty much anticipate that. And the only reason is that Q1 as the spring kind of Gains traction, so there's always a couple of weeks to ramp that up, whereas during the summer months, it's pretty much We get that full 12 or 13 weeks of solid production efficiencies and demand. Margins probably slightly better in Q2, but it is close. We're pretty close to that 20% target that we've talked about in the past.

Speaker 2

So we're at the margin on that. But no, the outlook is good. Just toured some of the plants. The excess Customer inventory is now fully under control. We've got rid of almost all of the excess warehouses that we had And which makes us more efficient, more productive.

Speaker 2

So I'm looking for what I hope becomes a very typical 2nd quarter for pre code as we go forward.

Speaker 4

Got it. And rising interest rates, has that had any impact On your order intake in any of the businesses?

Speaker 2

I think we may have seen some of that. It's Hard to attribute it directly to it. I think we've seen some projects in both sides, metal coatings and precoat That have probably been deferred, not necessarily canceled. And so deferrals just drag things out a little bit, but in some cases For our plants that are really busy this time of season, that can be good. So yes, I don't know that I can point to anything other than on the precoat side, Recreational vehicles, RVs, that business is kind of in the let's just call it way off.

Speaker 2

But, so I guess that's less affordable for people post COVID maybe. But Other than that, it's construction is a little commercial construction is a little bit softer, but we're in regions and geographies that tend to be Strong right now. So here in Texas, throughout the Southeast, Midwest quarter, which is a lot of the area that I visited over the last month or so, You just see lots of activity, lots of infrastructure activity, a lot of construction, a lot of cranes, new ballparks, ag. Spring, we saw docks going in. So it's actually fairly normal.

Speaker 2

So when we We're alluding to the areas that are softer, but on the other hand, there's areas that are actually stronger.

Speaker 4

Interesting. And just lastly on input costs, can you talk a little bit about how it's impacting the P and L? I noticed that zinc continues To slide downwards, maybe a little bit of thoughts on what your input costs are looking like company wide and maybe Zinc and specific what we can talk about there.

Speaker 3

Yes, I think as

Speaker 2

you look at our particularly for metal coatings or our galvanizing business Specifically, Q1 versus Q1 last year, the margin EBITDA margin, it's 30.7% is a really, really nice amount, but was off just a little bit as the higher zinc was Continuing to flow through our kettles and we've done a great job with discipline, value added pricing and our customers recognize What we bring to the table. So, but that's not to imply there hasn't been if things soft a little bit, there gets to be some price pressure. But we're We pretty much disconnected the underlying zinc cost with our value added pricing. Generally, labor has become more available. So while we had that inflationary impact last year, I'd say it's more normal now and also labor is more accessible.

Speaker 2

So that helps us with our productivity, keeping our Not that we don't have significant overtime during this time of season, but it does allow us to keep our crews fully staffed and Hydration and safety is very important for us during the hot summer months. So we're feeling good right now. And zinc costs, they've peaked and should continue down in our kettles as the year goes on. Keeping in mind that the LME, while it's down, the premiums for this year were increased significantly. So it's not a one to one comparison when you look at it year over year.

Operator

The next question comes from Adam Thalhimer with Thompson Davis. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Hey, good morning guys. Congrats on a solid start to the year. First question on DGS, Is that something you can integrate with PreCote or does PreCote already have a similar solution?

Speaker 2

Yes. PreCote is one, they we're looking at Automated lines running at up to 700 feet per minute versus more of the batch process, although we do have some more automated process on the hot dip side with our spin plans. So generally, they've got a lot of controls and automation already in place. They have their own proprietary software that allows them to manage those massive inventories and huge amounts of steel and aluminum going through their It's called Coil Zone and that which is also something that integrates them with their customers. So different proprietary software structures, but both allow the businesses to accomplish the same kind of things from a productivity, Efficiency and customer integration perspective.

Speaker 5

Okay. And you alluded to this, but you said There were some stronger end markets that were offsetting weakness in HVAC, transportation and construction. Can you elaborate on those?

Speaker 2

Yes. We've had strength in the solar market particularly. So when you look at infrastructure, bridge and highway, even ag For us has been have been some strong markets over the last few months. It looks like that's going to continue. And that's why I mentioned Just look at the amount of work that has to go into our bridge, highway, water systems, there's airport construction activity going on everywhere.

Speaker 2

So I'll keep it tied to transmission distribution, renewable energy, including solar And Bridge and Highway and General Infrastructure. Those are strong and look to continue that way.

Speaker 5

Great. And then just a couple Thanks for modeling purposes. Can you give us any help with corporate expenses and D and A going forward?

Speaker 3

Corporate expenses should be fairly flat. We are just coming off the TSAs with AIS That we had and then you'll see those remain pretty flat to where they were at the end of Q1. And then D and A similarly. We finished all the purchase accounting at the end of the Q1 related to the Seco acquisition After the 1st year, so these should represent fairly good run rates.

Speaker 5

Got it. Okay. Thank you, guys. All right.

Operator

The next question comes from Brett Kearney with Gabelli Funds. Please go ahead.

Speaker 6

Good morning. Hi guys. Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Curious, Tom, particularly as you recently towards some of the pre co plants, To the extent they have some capacity maybe freeze up later this year, you mentioned opportunities expanding their supply chain solutions offering and converting customers who run their own lines internally, anything incrementally you guys are seeing in terms of maybe folks you already serve well On the galvanizing side that could also benefit in some area from precoat solutions and kind of the cross selling opportunity there?

Speaker 2

Yes, I think I'm encouraged. It's in some ways it's still early, but our sales teams Both sides have gotten together on a couple of occasions and are now working in their own geographies, Identifying leads, making introductions. So it's a I hesitate point anything real specific at this point, but we are fine and whether it's in trucking or Just some of the customers that use a lot of sheet metal components and Panels that there's opportunities and I think we're our teams work well together and They're making those introductions and I don't know that we've had any significant customers that have said It changes their mind about us, but it's early and we do look for more opportunities there And that's going to continue.

Speaker 6

Yes. Excellent. And then great to hear, the new Preco We'll be on track even ahead of schedule a bit. I know it's early days. We can't predict the weather from here.

Speaker 6

But To the extent that facility were to come online, just even a bit early, does your agreement with The anchor customer there allow them allow for you to be providing volumes like as soon as the plant comes online or is it more of a calendar date in the contract you have there?

Speaker 2

No, I think there will be opportunities. The customer Has existing demand, they're also building capacity as well. But no, there should be opportunities. That's something we probably need To probably check with Kurt and his team on the specifics, but I'd anticipate that. So we just want to Keep it under control and but yes, it would be great to have it up and running faster.

Speaker 6

Excellent. Thank you so much.

Speaker 5

Sure. Thanks.

Operator

This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the call back to Tom Ferguson for closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Well, hopefully, as you heard, we're excited about the opportunities in front of us. We look forward to continuing on Our path with precoat and metal coatings and finding opportunities to work more closely together offer even more solutions to our customers. So We're excited about the balance of this year and look forward to talking to everybody after the Q2. Thank you.

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