EnerSys Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
August 10, 2023

There are 7 speakers on the call.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Q1 Fiscal Year 20 24 EnerSys Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question and answer Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Lisa Hartman, Vice President of Investor Relations.

Speaker 1

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss EnerSys' Q1 fiscal 2024 results. On the call with me today are David Schafer, EnerSys' President and Chief Executive Officer and Andrea Funk, EnerSys' Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Last evening, we published our Q1 results and filed our 10 Q with the SEC, which are available on our website. We also posted slides that we will be referencing during this call.

Speaker 1

The slides are available on the Presentations page within the Investor Relations section of our website. As a reminder, we will be presenting certain forward looking statements on this call that are subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances. Our actual results may differ materially from these forward looking statements for a number of reasons. These statements are made only as of today. For a list of forward looking statements and factors which could affect future results, please refer to our recent 10 Q filed with the SEC.

Speaker 1

In addition, we will be presenting certain non GAAP financial measures, particularly concerning our adjusted consolidated operating earnings performance, Free cash flow, adjusted diluted earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA, which excludes certain items, For an explanation of the difference between the GAAP and non GAAP financial metrics, please see our company's Form 8 ks, which includes our press release dated August 9, 2023. Now I'll turn over the call to EnerSys President and CEO, Dave Schaeffer.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Lisa. Please turn to slide 4. Our first quarter results reflect the exceptional work our team has performed over the last few years to transform our business. Collectively, we have taken EnerSys from a product based business to an end to end solutions provider, expanding our technology platform offerings and reach in existing end markets while also entering new markets. Andy will provide details on our Q1 fiscal 'twenty four performance and outlook, but I will first provide a few highlights.

Speaker 2

Our strong operational results in the Q1 were further aided by $19,000,000 of IRC 45x tax credits. Unless noted, my comments include the tax free $19,000,000 of 45x credits reported as a reduction to our cost of of goods sold in the quarter. Revenue of $909,000,000 was up slightly against a strong prior year comparison, primarily driven by price mix improvement, particularly in Energy Systems. We remain bullish on our mid term 7% to 8% Sales CAGR on our base business with global megatrends such as 5 gs expansion, rural broadband build outs, electrification, automation and decarbonization driving growth for us. In addition, at our Investor Day, we called out an 8% to 10% sales through fiscal year 20 27 inclusive of revenue from our new fast charging storage initiative.

Speaker 2

I am pleased to update you that we recently achieved a major milestone in our product innovation journey, receiving our first customer PO for 10 fast charge and storage systems and being part of a winning bid related to National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure or NEVI, which included the hardware for 2 additional systems. In the near term, we are seeing a reduction in year on year orders with tough prior year comps in motive power and some softness in EMEA demand and U. S. Telecom, partially offset by robust data center volume. Customer order patterns are normalizing as they absorb high inventory levels and a few large telecom customers are delaying or reducing CapEx budgets.

Speaker 2

This has pushed out our growth from small cell installations and network expansions, which we expect to continue through the end of the calendar year. That said, our backlog is healthy and 2 times higher than pre COVID levels. The value of our solutions to our customers is evident in our exceptional gross margin improvement this quarter. Adjusted gross margin in the quarter improved over 600 basis points versus prior year to 26.8%. Excluding the IRA benefit, Adjusted gross margin was 24.7 percent, up 4 10 basis points year over year and the highest gross margin we have achieved in 10 quarters even with significant zero margin cost pass through as we are retaining price across all of our lines of business.

Speaker 2

Our gross margin was also supported by an easing of supply chain pressures. We achieved record adjusted operating earnings of 1 which all represent significant increases over prior year. Our accelerated earnings, strong operating cash flow and healthy balance sheet provide us with the flexibility to continue investing for long term growth and returning capital to shareholders. As such, our Board of Directors approved a 29% increase in our quarterly dividend to $0.225 per share. I am proud of our results and we remain cautiously optimistic as we continue to navigate this uncertain environment.

Speaker 2

Broad, secular and megatrends give us confidence in our long term outlook. We have a lot of shots on goal and we have demonstrated our ability to execute in uncertain times. Please turn to slide 5. In June, we hosted our Investor Day where we presented our strategic plans, growth drivers and long term outlook. We introduced our strategic framework of innovate, optimize and accelerate.

Speaker 2

Let me take a moment to recap this framework presented at our Investor Day. Innovation has been a key area of focus at EnerSys. We continue to remain at the forefront of technology for our industry. Leveraging our modular technology platforms across all lines of business, we are constantly evolving our product lines to be more efficient, intelligent and with better interfaces to meet current and anticipated market needs. Within Energy Systems, we are creating customer centered end to end solutions.

Speaker 2

One great example is the work we did to help We developed a tailored solution of TPPL batteries, lithium ion modules and power supplies also known as our XRT system. We were the only company to meet industry standards with the highest energy density to extend run times and scale deployment within the required timeframe. When we think about optimize, We think about our EnerSys operating system or EOS operational excellence program, which ultimately drives margin expansion. The team has done a tremendous job in this area, delivering high quality products, but the work is never done. We are focused on our cost structure, not just to reduce costs, but to be more efficient and flexible as we meet growing customer demand, while also looking to expand our higher margin solutions.

Speaker 2

Within our facilities, we are deploying standardized processes and automated workflows to improve productivity and reduce waste. In our Missouri plants alone, these efforts present an opportunity to create additional TPPL capacity and save us approximately $40,000,000 per year by fiscal year 20 27. And then accelerate. Accelerate in its simplest terms means bringing our new innovative solutions to market quickly and scaling them for long term sustainable growth and value creation. Our end to end energy storage and management solution with fast charge and storage capabilities is the epitome of our accelerate strategy and is a game changer for EnerSys.

Speaker 2

This technology leverages our core modular platform to create a high density smart energy ecosystem that addresses a critical and growing need in the market. I am proud of how quickly the team designed and developed this truly lithium based AI enabled technology bringing this to market in under 2 years, a phenomenal accomplishment. The IRA further enables our acceleration by supporting investments in high density qualifying U. S. Produced batteries, such as our plan to build a domestic lithium plant, which I will discuss later.

Speaker 2

Control over lithium cell Supply will be critical for our fast charging storage launch as well as for our proprietary maintenance free conversions in our other lines of business. Our strategy is clear and consistent and it is not new to EnerSys. This is how we have been operating for the last several years and the time has come in which we will truly be able to innovate, optimize and accelerate our business to maximize shareholder value. Our record earnings this quarter demonstrate the momentum we are building against the long term targets we laid out at Investor Day. If you turn to Slide 6, you will see these targets we introduced at our Investor Day.

Speaker 2

I won't walk through each of them, but I will tell you I am confident that we have the right team and strategy in place to achieve these goals and our progress in fiscal year 2023 and Q1 2024 demonstrates this momentum. Our resilient business model and flexible balance sheet are key enablers to driving our long term success. Slide 7 represents a drill down on the targets and milestones we communicated. As a leading provider of energy storage solutions, we see tremendous growth driven by megatrends including energy transition, energy security and connectivity. Supply Vacation and automation are driving demand, particularly in our motive power business.

Speaker 2

We are using software enabled intelligence to help our logistics and warehouse customers optimize their operations with proprietary maintenance free batteries and wireless charging solutions. The EV market is growing rapidly and those vehicles will need access to fast charging. Our electrical grids need to be more reliant and resilient. 5 gs radios and AI technology are both extremely power hungry. Broadband networks need to expand, particularly in rural areas and are supported by government programs such as the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

Speaker 2

Data communications plays an essential role in the world's infrastructure and evolving technologies are increasing the need for power to support the density of energy needed for new equipment. EnerSys is a critical enabler of the technology we rely on every day and that reliance is increasing dramatically as time goes on. We are helping our customers optimize their power usage and making their networks and operations more efficient. We have sustainable competitive advantages, including industry leading core technologies coupled with deep customer relationships. We are focused on achieving our long term targets and we will provide an annual update on our progress.

Speaker 2

Please turn to Slide 8. As we think about executing against our strategic pillars and long term targets, I'd like to spotlight a few developments in the quarter, which I am pleased to share with you. Starting with innovate, during the quarter, we continued to make significant strides on our innovation roadmap. I'm proud to say that we began installing our 1st lithium based extended runtime XRT systems at key communication customer sites in June announced our DPX distributed power transport system, which uses new fault managed power technology to safely deliver 10x more power to meet the ever growing energy requirements of small cell nodes and we are also on track for production readiness to meet the deployment timelines for our 1st fast charging storage customers. We optimized the business with the successful closure of our Sylmar plant this quarter.

Speaker 2

Also during the quarter, we accelerated by making great progress against our lithium strategy. In June, we announced we are exploring the development of a lithium battery Gigafactory in the U. S. And that we entered into a non binding MOU with VIRCOR, a European leader in battery technology as part of this initiative. This new factory will allow EnerSys to secure our supply chain while providing independence from non domestic cell suppliers, which is critical for our defense customers.

Speaker 2

The site selection process is underway and we are particularly excited about The scale and flexibility this factory will provide us with both large production capacity and the ability to create Cell designs optimized for EnerSys applications. Based on our current outlook, we are targeting capacity of 4 gigawatt hours, which typically requires a capital investment in the range of $500,000,000 The benefits we received from IRC-45X will help us fund this important manufacturing facility and we're exploring additional government funding that supports the critical need for domestically produced high density batteries. As we evaluate our funding options, we fully intend to stay within our 2x to 3x leverage target range. Please turn to slide 9. Along with our innovation roadmap and disciplined cost structure, we remain highly focused on our sustainability goals.

Speaker 2

This week, we published our 2022 value change Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions data, which follows our Scope 1 and Scope 2 neutrality goals set earlier this year. Value chain emissions disclosures is another milestone of our commitment to enhancing our operations to foster long term sustainability. Before I turn it over to Andy, let me close with this. We have been on a multiyear transformation journey. EnerSys today is very different from just a few years ago.

Speaker 2

Our earnings growth and strong balance sheet allow us to make the investments needed to achieve our long term profitable growth targets. Our incredible team brings the commitment, discipline and drive to move our strategy forward. We are focused on executing in order to accelerate our impact on diverse and expanding end markets with products that are critical enablers of multiple global megatrends. Over the past 3 quarters, the benefits of our investment and hard work from the last several years have been materializing in our financial results, but the real opportunity is still in front of us and is ours to capture. Thank you to our more than 11,000 employees globally for your consistent hard work and dedication.

Speaker 2

I will now turn it over to Andi to take you through our results and outlook in greater detail. Andi?

Speaker 3

Thanks, Dave. Please turn to Slide 11. Before I review the details of our Q1 'twenty four results, I first want to discuss the change in our reporting, which is effective as of April 1, 2023, for our fiscal year 2024. You may recall, in the Q4 of fiscal 2023, we recorded benefits from IRA production tax credits on a separate line item, which we did not allocate to our reportable segments. We are now expanding the items not allocated to our reportable segments to include start up operating expenses and results from a new operating segment we have entitled New Ventures, which consists of our fast charge and storage initiative previously reported in our Energy Systems line of business.

Speaker 3

We will also include any non capitalizable costs related to our exploration of a domestic lithium plant. These three items managed on a company wide basis, will be lifted together on a line item called corporate and other when we report our results. Now moving to our Q1 results. Our Q1 2024 net sales were $909,000,000 The slight year over year improvement was primarily driven by a 9% increase in price mix, which was partially set by an 8% decrease in organic volume due primarily to the customer destocking and inventory normalization that Dave discussed. During the quarter, we booked an IRA benefit of $19,000,000 as a reduction to cost of goods sold.

Speaker 3

This benefited our results from gross margin through net income. However, it is important to note that our results excluding the IRA benefit saw significant year over year improvement as well. I will speak to our results with and without the $19,000,000 benefit for better year over year comparability purposes and insight into our operating performance. We achieved a record adjusted gross profit of $243,000,000 and 26.8 percent of net sales in the Q1 of fiscal 2024. Excluding the IRA benefit, adjusted gross profit was $224,000,000 24.7 percent of revenue, reflecting an impressive improvement of 410 basis points over prior year.

Speaker 3

As Dave mentioned, this was the highest gross margin in 10 quarters, driven by the very strong price mix performance, which more than offset $123,000,000 of higher quarterly costs versus Q3 2021 and is underscored by the impact of margin math. Adjusting for the 0 margin pass through of these costs over this time horizon. Our gross margin pre IRA benefit would have been 28.5% in Q1 2024, made possible by our significant accomplishments in product mix, including maintenance free conversions and higher electronic content product sales, Price stickiness driven by our differentiated solutions and a smaller footprint with 4 less factories over the past 5 years. Our adjusted operating earnings were a record $107,000,000 in the quarter. Excluding the IRA benefits, we achieved adjusted operating earnings of $88,000,000 up $23,000,000 versus prior year with our adjusted operating margin of 9.7 percent improving nearly 2 50 basis points year on year.

Speaker 3

Our adjusted EBITDA was a record $122,000,000 Excluding the IRA benefits, our Q1 2024 adjusted EBITDA was $103,000,000 11.3 percent of revenue compared to $86,000,000 9.5 percent of revenue in Q1 fiscal 2023. From an operational perspective, margins continue to benefit from mix improvements as well as pricing, which is more than offsetting net cost increases. EnerSys operating system or EOS Cost savings in the quarter were offset by inflation and manufacturing variances, primarily from under absorption in our factories related to demand softness in telecom and to a lesser extent some continued productivity issues in our Missouri plants. While there's still work to do, we have seen year over year improvements in productivity, which we expect to continue. In addition, as Dave mentioned, in June, we successfully completed the closure of our Sylmar manufacturing facility and production transfers.

Speaker 3

This will save an estimated $4,000,000 per year going forward. Please turn to Slide 12. Our record adjusted EPS was $1.89 per share, including IRA benefits of $0.47 per share

Speaker 4

in the

Speaker 3

quarter. Adjusted EPS excluding the IRA benefit was $1.41 an impressive 23 percent increase over prior year's $1.15 adjusted EPS. Similar to margins, Adjusted EPS benefited from favorable price mix actions, which outpaced year on year cost increases in the quarter. In the Q1, our tax rate on an adjusted basis was 17.6% before the impact of IRA benefits. On the right half of the page, you can see the detail of net sales and AOE by segment, including our consolidated totals.

Speaker 3

Let me now provide details on demand and the performance for each of our segments, starting with our customer order patterns and then providing year on year performance by each line of business. Turning to Slide 13. Looking at backlog, as Dave mentioned, overall, We are seeing order patterns normalizing as customers destock their large inventory balances and supply chains loosen, reducing customer requirements for longer lead time orders and their strategic inventory buffers. Backlog declined from prior year peak levels. However, backlog remains very healthy with minimal cancellations in the quarter and is still 2 times pre COVID levels.

Speaker 3

In fiscal Q4 2022, we began presenting backlog details on a temporary basis to provide visibility into the drivers behind the significant increase in backlog related to supply chain headwinds. Now that supply chains are settling and backlog is normalizing, We do not intend to present this slide going forward. As previously stated, we expect backlog to gradually normalize toward a run rate of approximately 1 quarter of bookings moderately higher than pre COVID levels. The change in customer order patterns, which is reducing our backlog should not have a material impact on our customer sales. Please turn to Slide 14.

Speaker 3

In the Q1, Energy Systems revenue grew 4% over prior year to $425,000,000 This increase was primarily driven by improvements in price mix and higher battery volumes in the Americas, particularly with our record data center sales, which were up 50% versus prior year Q1. In the aggregate, Energy Systems volumes were pressured by softness in EMEA and several large U. S. Telecom customers pushing out capital expenditures. Energy Systems' 1st quarter results were highlighted by strong margin improvement as a result of positive price mix cost recapture taking hold for the 4th consecutive quarter.

Speaker 3

Adjusted operating earnings of $30,000,000 more than doubled from prior year and adjusted operating margins of 7% improved in impressive 3 60 basis points over prior year. We are pleased that the recapture lag in Energy Systems has reversed as we had anticipated. We expect this trend to continue as the cost recapture in this business has lagged our other business segments and we should continue to make gradual progress in closing the gap towards what should be more normalized margins in the low double digit range. We will benefit from additional volumes, mix improvements and cost savings over the next several quarters, particularly when U. S.

Speaker 3

Telecom CapEx resumes. Please turn to Slide 15. Turning to Motus Power. Revenue in the Q1 declined 5% from prior year to $351,000,000 as we saw volumes normalize across all geographies against a tough prior year comp. The decline was partly offset by extremely strong price mix.

Speaker 3

I am very pleased to report that Motive Power maintenance reconversion trajectory is on track with the goals we set at Investor Day and we are quoting more than 1 third of new projects with our proprietary maintenance free offerings. Motive Power reported strong adjusted operating earnings of $50,000,000 which improved 19% over prior year and adjusted operating margins of 14.3%, which improved 280 basis points over prior year. This strong margin performance was driven by the significant TPPL mix improvements in the Americas as well as ongoing positive price cost recapture. Please turn to Slide 16. Turning to our Specialty segment.

Speaker 3

In the Q1, Specialty revenue grew 9% over Prior year to $133,000,000 driven by strong volume in U. S. Transportation market and continued benefits from price mix, limited only by our TPPL capacity constraints out of our Missouri plants. Adjusted operating earnings of 10,000,000 improved 10% over prior year and adjusted operating margin of 7.4% improved 10 basis points over prior year despite absorbing elevated manufacturing costs from our Missouri plant and operating inefficiencies of our Sylmar plant prior to closure.

Speaker 1

Please turn

Speaker 3

to Slide 17. Our balance sheet remains strong and positions us well to invest in growth and navigate the current economic environment. As of July 2, 2023, we had 258 $1,000,000 of cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet. Our net debt position of 690 of approximately $46,000,000 from the Q4 of fiscal 2023. Our credit agreement leverage ratio was 1.5 times EBITDA.

Speaker 3

Adding back our off balance sheet asset securitization program, our leverage ratio was 1.8 times EBITDA, the lower target range of 2 to 3 times and an improvement of 0.3 times from the end of the Q4 of fiscal 2023, enabling us to mitigate higher interest rates and provide dry powder going forward. In the quarter, we generated strong cash flow of $75,000,000 and free cash flow of $59,000,000 Capital expenditures were $16,000,000 Please turn to Slide 18. Our capital allocation strategy remains focused and disciplined around investing in organic growth, complemented by strategic M and A, maintaining a net leverage ratio at the lower end of our 2 to 3 times adjusted EBITDA target range and returning capital to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. During the Q1, we paid $7,000,000 in dividends and did not repurchase for any shares. Please turn to Slide 19.

Speaker 3

As Dave noted, our Board of Directors recently approved an increase in our quarterly dividend to $0.225 per share from $0.175 per share. As part of our disciplined capital allocation strategy, we are committed to a competitive dividend that grows with earnings excluding IRA benefits over time. We have ample room on our balance sheet to remain flexible to meet our business needs and we will continue to allocate capital with the goal of delivering the best long term shareholder returns. Please turn to Slide 20. We expect to continue to operate in a dynamic macro environment and anticipate headwinds to persist for some time.

Speaker 3

We are working with our customers and keeping a close eye on any changes in order patterns, particularly with the U. S. Telecom market as CapEx budgets have tightened. While volume was down versus prior year, We are encouraged by impressive margin improvement and excellent demand prospects driven by megatrends for which our products are key enablers. Our fiscal Q2 2024 guidance range is $1.77 to $1.87 adjusted diluted earnings per share, inclusive of $0.42 to $0.52 per share from IRA benefits.

Speaker 3

Excluding the IRA credit, This represents an increase of approximately 22% over the prior year. I would like to remind everyone that the IRS has not yet Additional clarification guidance related to Section 45X, which could materially increase or decrease the quantity of our U. S. Produced batteries that qualify for this credit. We anticipate realizing gross margins of 25% to 27%, including 150 basis points to 250 basis points from the IRA benefit.

Speaker 3

Our CapEx expectation for the full year fiscal 2024 is unchanged at approximately $120,000,000 reflecting investments in new products, including lithium production lines and continued expansion of our TPPL capacity and they increase over time as we deploy additional investments to increase our capacity of U. S. Produced qualifying batteries from the IRA credits. I would like to highlight again that we are key participants in large and growing end markets supported by global megatrends. We continue to generate healthy cash flow and have clear capital allocation priorities.

Speaker 3

Our team is energized and focused on executing our strategic initiatives to achieve our long term goals. And with that, I will turn it back over to Dave.

Speaker 2

Please turn to Slide 22. As we close today, I want to summarize what makes EnerSys a differentiated investment of choice for long term profitable growth. We are a global leader in energy storage technology. We provide highly differentiated energy solutions with a full suite of technologies for diverse end markets. We are strategically aligned with megatrends in large and growing markets.

Speaker 2

We have a resilient business model, which is well positioned for strong cash flow generation, profitable growth and margin expansion. We have a strong flexible balance sheet with clear capital allocation priorities for accelerated earnings growth. And we are led by an energized team focused on execution and continuous value creation for all stakeholders. With that, let's open it up for questions. Operator?

Operator

Thank you. Our first question comes from Brian Drab with William Blair. You may proceed.

Speaker 4

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. Good morning. I just wanted to first Good morning. Yes, good morning.

Speaker 4

Just regarding the guidance, I guess is it fair to infer that in the second quarter fiscal quarter for you that it's going to be more of the same In terms of volumes in general across the segments and it also looks like your because the EPS guidance is down slightly from what you produced in the Q1 and also looks like the gross margin is a little bit lighter in the Q2. So if you just Elaborate on the guidance a little bit in terms of volume and margin that would be great.

Speaker 3

Sure, Brian. This is Andy. Good morning. As you know, our Q2 is typically our lightest Quarter. We actually think volumes will probably be just about neutral over Q1, maybe even slightly up despite the European holiday That usually gives us a little bit of drag.

Speaker 3

Just because Q1 we had it was a little lighter than we had expected, and we're seeing an order book that It's really in line with pre COVID levels. So we think Q1 was a little softer than it normalized. And then, we had a really Exceptional price mix as you can see by our margin improvement in Q1. And so we're a little cautious to forecast that at the same level. So We pulled back a little bit, and that's what's driving the slight margin erosion.

Speaker 2

And Brian, part of that too is Because of the summer holidays, our service groups a lot of our costs in our service group tend to be fixed costs and we don't have as many billable hours. So we always get a little bit of sequential margin pressure from Q2 to Q2 from Q1. So I would say that's probably the biggest issue as well that when we rolled up the numbers from the groups, the service piece is always a little bit lighter in Q2.

Speaker 4

Okay, great. Thanks. And I guess, can you elaborate also on the inventory draw downs and the timing of that? How I guess you said that you expect that to continue to persist, but if you could just elaborate on that timing, how long you think it persists? And then Is that still primarily in motive or are you really because I know there's been a lot of volatility of In the fork truck industry, but are you seeing those drawdowns also in other industries?

Speaker 2

Yes. I would say motive it's The most obvious is that people are getting back to trusting the supply chains and The ports have opened up and things are largely back to normal for us. I suspect for our customers they're seeing similar improvement in their overall supply chain situation. So I would say indeed people are Getting back to their normal levels of inventory, obviously, the higher interest rates puts more pressure on all of us holding that inventory. So there's just a natural tendency to want to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.

Speaker 2

In our ES group, I would say there's some But you also have to remember that in ES, we had a big order book with the CPUC project, so those orders tend to be very lumpy in that business. So I would say in ES, it was as much are more about just some big project wins as opposed to but in addition to as you said people are starting to trust the supply chains a bit more. So it's a combination. And in the specialty segment, again, it's more similar to ES. We had some big project wins Along the way, we always get that's a lumpy business in the aerospace and defense side.

Speaker 2

And on the supply chain side, I would say the Class 8 OEM market is similar to the fork truck OEM market in terms of them getting back to more normalcy. So It's a mixed bag of issues, but certainly as Andy noted the overall Demand signals from outside of a few key areas. Andy touched on the Europe is certainly an area We've got our eye on and we need to adapt our business accordingly. And then certainly Telecom, I would say that this spectrum space seems to be slowing down in terms of building out this kind of early or first tranche of the 5 gs spectrum. And they're getting ready and they're signaling for us to get ready for the next phases of investment as additional spectrum comes online.

Speaker 2

And part of that obviously is the small cell focus. So there's I would say most of the customers are telling us This is just it's a slowdown, but it's not a in no way are we Done with 5 gs per se. It's just this early phase of it is and it's all the telcos. It's not just we had signaled, I think, last quarter that we had one customer, but all of them seem to be in this mindset of getting ready for this next layer of the investment. But outside of those areas, We're seeing pretty much a normalcy in the order patterns.

Speaker 2

Andi?

Speaker 3

Yes. 2 of the things I'd add, I think some bright spots. Data centers are up 50% year on year, 65% versus 2 years ago. And in Motive Power, You look at our history last year about 18% of motive power business was thinplate pure lead. Our order book 3rd of it is thinplate pure lead, which is obviously very accretive to margins.

Speaker 3

So we're seeing a lot of great activity just with some normalization.

Speaker 4

Great. Thanks. Just one quick follow-up. On the data centers, is the product that you're shipping there primarily TPPL or lithium or mix?

Speaker 2

Could you repeat that again?

Speaker 4

I was just wondering, you mentioned such strong growth in the data centers, which of your products is most in demand for data centers

Speaker 2

in the recent quarter? TPPL. TPPL.

Speaker 4

Okay. I'll follow-up more later. Thank you very much.

Speaker 2

Okay.

Operator

Thank you. One moment for questions. Our next question comes from Noah Kaye with Oppenheimer. You may proceed.

Speaker 5

Thank you. Maybe a follow-up question on ES. I think you gave us good color on the telecom dynamics, but just want to make sure we understand the CPUC project dynamics. So that was Was that a source of strength in the quarter? Is it in your expectations continuing to ramp from here?

Speaker 5

Because we're kind of looking at Energy Systems backlog pretty much flat sequentially. And Just trying to understand the dynamics around what has kept that sort of backlog steady. It sounds like some of that's the telecom push out, but If you're getting more orders in this growth case from CPUC, just help us understand that dynamic as well.

Speaker 2

Yes. I would say largely Noah the CPUC has been a source of Steady loading over the last 4 or 5 quarters. And that project is 80% complete something in that zip code. I don't have that exact where we're at through that project. In terms of new orders this last quarter, The book to bill in the quarter was still above 0.9%.

Speaker 2

I don't know exactly. Do you have that, Andy, for ES?

Speaker 3

Yes, it was around 0.1000000.

Speaker 2

0.9. So we're still getting additional orders in other areas and we were able to shift quite a bit. We've been unleashing some of that backlog. So, yes, I would say and then the RDOF project and there's other areas Where we expect the broadband investments to improve.

Speaker 3

Yes, we probably still have of our CPUC around 180, we've around 110 of it.

Speaker 2

Okay.

Speaker 5

I mean, I guess the logical fall to that is, do you See book to bill trending above 1 or 1 in subsequent quarters, tough to say? And what would drive that?

Speaker 3

Yes. I think as we mentioned in the last quarter, we'll probably be slightly below 1, which is good. I think it's a good sign that Supply chains are starting to normalize. What we really look is what we project our shipments to be and there There's been some change in customer order patterns. We used to do a lot more of book and ship for example in motive power.

Speaker 3

ES had a lot Choppiness with some of these large program orders, but now we're able to start getting some of the electronics, some of the forklift OEMs. They still have long lead times, so we don't Quite as much of the book and ship as we used to, but it's starting to get unclogged a little bit. So That's why we commented when we look at what we expect our shipments to be, that will be pretty much normalized in line with pre COVID levels and we expect the backlog coverage to start leveling off closer to a little over 1. Right now we're still at about 1.3 times quarterly backlog.

Speaker 5

And can we understand the margin implications of starting to I see that backlog come down, which means you're converting right faster. Obviously, you said some volume impacts both in ES and in Motive this quarter. But just looking at the backlog and I assume it's price mix benefited versus what you've been able to ship. What would that mean for where margins can go?

Speaker 3

Yes. I think the team has done a fantastic job with Capturing price, I mean we talked about some of the stats and we have repriced backlog. We do have a little bit of richer mix in backlog. But we're getting the pricing on our orders right now. It's holding firm.

Speaker 3

We do expect that costs will start to come down a little bit also. So I think, Noah, as we see the backlog unwind, the positive side to me is we don't have this big egg and this snake that's going to come through and things are going to change. It's just a gradual return to normalization and we've got healthy pricing and mix in the backlog. So I don't see that as having a material impact on margins. Yes.

Speaker 5

Okay, helpful. You mentioned earlier you're on track with DC fast charging. Can you just give us a little bit more detail on that timing of production, expected shipments, whether you've gotten For the mortars and yet just a little bit more of an update please.

Speaker 2

Yes. We noted in the prepared comments we've gotten 12 systems now. So that's really exciting for us. And the timing is still a little bit up in the air as we're finalizing the terms and conditions and so forth of the orders. But we will start shipping in the coming quarters.

Speaker 2

So we've done some as we had noted prior, we've done some advanced long term purchasing in preparation. These two opportunities were not Our original target launch customer, which is still fairly imminent, we suspect as an opportunity. So The program is achieving all of the marks. So It's really a testament to our long term strategy and what we've laid out and we couldn't be more excited about the progress. So there'll be more additional updates to come, but Twelve systems and we expect that to just continue to grow as time progresses.

Speaker 3

Yes. No, I think it's worth noting that That's really why we decided to pull this out of Energy Systems. It's really now becoming starting to become a new segment in and of itself. And while we don't expect there'll be a material financial impact this fiscal year, it's It's materializing into a business in and of itself. It's exciting.

Speaker 5

Very helpful. Thank you.

Operator

Great. Thank you. Our next question comes from Greg Lewis with BTIG. You may proceed.

Speaker 6

Yes. Thank you and good morning and thank you for taking my questions. Andy, thanks for all the color you've been given given us around The IRA benefit. I want to say last quarter you mentioned that around 60% of the portfolio is subject to the benefits from IRA. Is that kind of still the number or just given that we're gaining realizing that it's still a smaller number with the fast charging.

Speaker 6

Is that percent would you be surprised did that percentage of the portfolio continues to melt higher over the next 1 to 2 years?

Speaker 3

Yes. Thank you and good morning, Greg. As we mentioned last About 60% of our U. S. Produced batteries qualify in what we currently have in the calculation.

Speaker 3

We are still waiting for clarification and We think there's a good chance there could be material upside or potential downside depending on how it gets Clarified. We have been intentionally conservative in our calculation. So there's 2 things Greg that could impact the IRA benefit going forward. 1 is The amount of our sales of domestic produced batteries, which it's been completely in line with Dave's strategy all along of increasing our capacity of high density batteries. So we do intend to increase that capacity and what the IRA has done is changed our focus to make sure we're looking at domestic production.

Speaker 3

And then second, as we get clarification, depending on how the clarification comes from the IRS, that could actually also Expand, we see there's more upside than downside, but it's, it obviously depends on what clarification comes out from the IRS over time.

Speaker 2

And besides the clarifications, Greg to your point your question, I think obviously there's Benefit and tendency for us to want to reshape and rebalance our factories and our product portfolios and all of our NPIs towards this 100 watt hours per liter threshold. So I think the natural tendency is for that number to increase over time independent of whether or not we change related to the IRS. So yes, I think the answer to your question is yes.

Speaker 6

Okay. And then just realizing there's always A disconnect between what can happen in the timing in the real world versus what Wall Street sometimes looking for. As you think about the U. S. Domestic lithium battery production, any kind of in realizing its early days, As you look continue to look at partners, realistically, when do we think we could get some clarity around what that is going to look like on a go forward basis I.

Speaker 6

E. Is that something we could potentially get an update on later this year or is that something that just given all the heavy lifting involved is something where we're probably going to have to wait until more of like a mid-twenty 24 before we start to understand what that actually could look like?

Speaker 2

I'm fairly optimistic we're going to be able to give you at least Progress updates, material progress updates every quarter. We've made exceptional progress so far in terms of building out our team and looking at different sites around the country. And as we noted, this will depend on making sure that we have enough funding available to keep us within our current expectations as they relate to our liquidity and frankly, our return on invested capital. So That's I'm very optimistic. I think that the as we look at especially in the areas of government projects.

Speaker 2

I recently was in a presentation where the government showed the amount of their projected growth in this area. And it's amazing, but what's staggering about it is as much as the government wants to grow in terms of their battery usage, It's still just a drop in the bucket compared to the electric vehicle volumes. And so there's this Challenge to 4 gigawatt hours to us is a significant investment in size of a factory, but it's a rounding error for some of These bigger EV initiatives. And so the ability for us to be able to control the design and the supply chain and have domestic sourcing, which is critical for all of these government projects, is one of the key drivers for this investigation. So I'm fairly optimistic that there's a need.

Speaker 2

There's a clear need. The government recognizes this need, and we should be able to line up the funding to push this forward in the coming quarters.

Speaker 6

Okay, great. And then just one more for me. I did want to touch a little bit more on motive. It seemed like in the prepared remarks and in the Q and A, you kind of obviously, you called out Europe as an area where you're seeing some softness. I guess around Asia realizing it's a very small piece of motive, very small piece of your business.

Speaker 6

Any kind of color there? And then as we look at the U. S, I imagine there has been some slowing and really realizing there's no such thing as kind of a normalized type level. Any kind of thoughts around the outlook for Motive in the U. S?

Speaker 6

And just everyone's looking at the same data and it Seems like it's slowing, but maybe where we could kind of as you see it playing out, like how should we be thinking about maybe a bottoming in mode of here over the next few quarters?

Speaker 2

Well, on Asia, Asia was a bright spot. So Asia is actually improving somewhat. And as it relates to the The repatriation of certain production from a broad The push towards the higher margin maintenance free products and the overall levels of opportunities we have With our new product portfolio, we remain very optimistic about what's happening in motive in the U. S. Market Specifically.

Speaker 2

And you said slowing. The way I view it is it's a normalization that's going on in Motive that when I've asked the teams to present to me in all the meetings is what the long term trajectories look like sort of pre COVID and forecast that forward. And as we assess order rates and activity levels and shipping levels, there definitely strikes me as a normalization. So It's been a very dynamic period, especially as it relates to orders. When you look at the shipments of trucks, they've actually been fairly stable for some time, nowhere near the surge in shipments of new trucks as compared to the order activity.

Speaker 2

So it's just things seem to be getting back to normal and we're very optimistic about this business.

Speaker 6

It's super helpful. Thanks for the color. Have a great day.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Greg. You too.

Operator

Thank you. I'd now like to turn it back to David Schafer for any closing remarks.

Speaker 2

I want to thank everyone for joining today's Call and thank you for your interest in EnerSys. We look forward to updating you again next quarter. Have a good day.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

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Earnings Conference Call
EnerSys Q1 2024
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