NYSEAMERICAN:CMT Core Molding Technologies Q4 2023 Earnings Report $15.66 +0.23 (+1.49%) As of 05/15/2025 04:10 PM Eastern Earnings HistoryForecast Core Molding Technologies EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.25Consensus EPS $0.06Beat/MissBeat by +$0.19One Year Ago EPSN/ACore Molding Technologies Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$73.78 millionExpected Revenue$69.60 millionBeat/MissBeat by +$4.18 millionYoY Revenue GrowthN/ACore Molding Technologies Announcement DetailsQuarterQ4 2023Date3/12/2024TimeN/AConference Call DateTuesday, March 12, 2024Conference Call Time10:00AM ETConference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptPress Release (8-K)Annual Report (10-K)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfilePowered by Core Molding Technologies Q4 2023 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrMarch 12, 2024 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 6 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Hello, and welcome to the Core Molding Technologies 4th Quarter Fiscal 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. All participants will be in listen only mode. Operator00:00:29As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the call to Sandy Martin, 3 part advisors. Sandy, please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:38Thank you, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for the Core Molding Technologies conference call to review Q4 and full year results for the 2023. Joining me on the call today are the company's President and CEO, Dave DuVall and EVP and CFO, John Zimmer. This call is being webcast and can be accessed through coremt.comviaanaudiolink on the Investor Relations, Events and Presentations page. Today's conference call, including the Q and A session, will be recorded. Speaker 100:01:11Please be advised that any time sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the date of any replay or transcript reading. I would also like to remind you that the statements made in today's discussion that are not historical fact, including statements or expectations or future events or future financial performance are forward looking statements and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements, by their nature, are uncertain and outside of the company's control. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Please refer to the earnings press release issued today for our disclosures on forward looking statements. Speaker 100:01:55These factors and other risks and uncertainties are described in detail in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Core Molding Technology assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements publicly. Management will refer to non GAAP measures, including adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS, debt to trailing 12 months EBITDA ratio, free cash flow and return on capital employed. Reconciliations to the nearest GAAP measures can be found at the end of our earnings release. Finally, a copy of the press release has been submitted to the SEC on Form 8 ks. Speaker 100:02:34And now, I would like to turn the call over to the company's President and CEO, Dave Duvall. Speaker 200:02:40Dave? Thank you, Sandy, and thank you all for joining us to review our 2023 annual and 4th quarter results. 2023 was an exciting successful year for the company with significant achievements both in terms of executing our strategic initiatives and progressing on our long term transformation journey. We're proud of our team's hard work and exceptional accomplishments in 2023. We stated in March of 'twenty three, one of our key strategic goals for 2023 was specifically margin improvement. Speaker 200:03:12This was driven through our must win battles to improve both our operational performance and working through the product line profitability on some of our larger customer programs to achieve what we see as market based pricing. We have done exactly what we said we would do. I believe this is an important statement to make. Within 2023, we have significantly improved our overall business model. The result of this accomplishment is directly reflected in our gross margins for the year, which increased by 4 10 basis points. Speaker 200:03:45This is the result of a summation of many improvements attributable to a high performing organization executing to a defined strategy. What I find most exciting is that we're now in a much better position to focus on growth, which is just our next challenge to overcome. As a quick review, these are some of the 2023 highlights that demonstrate our disciplined approach and commitment to achieving organizational goals. We successfully executed the company's strategic initiatives and operational must win battle projects. We made targeted operational improvements in key plants that significantly improved the product line profitability and created more capacity with the existing infrastructure as originally discussed in March of 'twenty three. Speaker 200:04:32We formalized and implemented our company wide continuous improvement systems, leveraging our expert knowledge across the organization to embed a culture of continuous cost and efficiency improvements. We continue to invest in developing our organizational capabilities by expanding our leadership development, technical training programs, internships and government training grants. This is an ongoing process which is foundational to our organization. Creating a culture and environment where it's easier to succeed is the cornerstone of our current and future success. We issued Core's inaugural sustainability report in 2023 focusing on advancements in corporate citizenship and our environmental stewardship of the company. Speaker 200:05:19The second publication will be in April. We were honored with the Material and Process Innovation Award nomination for our development of the Seadoo Hall for BRP, which underscores our culture of innovation at Core Molding. At the 22nd Annual National Industrial Meeting, our facilities in Matamoros and Monterrey were honored for their commitment to high ethical standards, practices and sustainability in our Mexican plants. The result of our disciplined execution resulted in full year record net income and earnings per share, strengthened the balance sheet and generated record cash flows. These accomplishments and the company's inclusion in the Russell 3,000 Index last year were the direct result of Core's dedicated teams, operational performance, winning culture and dedication to driving shareholder value. Speaker 200:06:17Now turning to a review of our top level financial results. As we previously signaled, annual net sales of $358,000,000 were down 5%, primarily due to changing market dynamics and tougher 2022 comparisons. Gross margins for the year increased by 4 10 basis points to 18%. We also generated over $42,000,000 in adjusted EBITDA or 11.8 percent of sales, resulting in meaningful free cash flows of $26,000,000 for the year. Operational performance metrics improved for the full year, exceeded our target of 20% and created the additional capacity we originally stated. Speaker 200:07:01Given tougher prior year comps, we expected softer sales in the Q4 of 2023 and cautioned in the Q3 conference call about industrial and utility customers continuing to work through inventories. Although the Q4 is always challenging due to fewer workdays and customer shutdowns during the holidays, we still improved gross margin and adjusted EBITDA margins for the quarter compared to a year ago. Again, this is the result of our organizational ability to execute and deliver on improved product line profitability in the quarter and for the full year, as we had stated at the beginning of 2023. Lastly, yesterday, we announced that our Board has authorized a new stock repurchase program, authorizing the company to purchase from time to time up to 7,500,000 of the company's common stock at current market prices. This buyback program because it allows us to opportunistically purchase core molding stock, which we believe is the critical component of the company's capital allocation strategy. Speaker 200:08:08With that, I'd like to now turn it over to John to cover the financials in more detail. Speaker 300:08:13Thank you, Dave, and good morning, everyone. As Dave mentioned, we accomplished our 2020 to 2023 full year profitability targets during a changing demand environment that normalized to the more typical seasonality as the year progressed. We also had a backdrop of difficult sales comparisons in 2023 versus 2022. Our 2023 total net sales were $357,700,000 down 5.2% compared to a year ago, and product sales were down 3.2% compared to the prior year. Product sales were pressured by softer demand for building products and the industrial and utility verticals. Speaker 300:08:56During the first half of twenty twenty three, higher customer demand levels finally result in customer inventory levels returning to optimal levels or in certain cases becoming overbuilt. In the second half of the year, customers slowed demand as they worked through the excess inventory levels. We continue to see customers primarily in the industrial and utility markets work through the inventory coming into 2024. As building products and industrial and utility sales rebalanced their demand levels down, product sales were strong for medium and heavy duty trucks throughout the year. Our 2023 sales mix for full year shifted to 52% truck compared to 44% truck sales in 2022. Speaker 300:09:41In the past, the increase in truck sales would have had a significant negative impact on gross margins, but that impact has decreased over the past several years as we have worked with our truck customers to improve the profitability of their business and return it to a healthy position. With the 2023 full year gross margin was $64,500,000 or 18 percent of sales, an improvement from 13.9% in the year ago period. These margin improvements were primarily due to production efficiencies, favorable net customer pricing and raw material cost. Gross margin was negatively impacted by lower fixed cost leverage for the full year as sales decreased and to a lesser extent by unfavorable foreign currency exchange fluctuations. SG and A expenses were $38,000,000 compared to $34,400,000 in the prior year period, primarily driven by higher labor and incentive costs, professional fees and a one time severance expense of $570,000 for the year. Speaker 300:10:49Operating income for the year was $26,500,000 up 47 percent from the 2022 levels. Our full year operating income as a percentage of sales increased to 7.4% compared to 4.8% in 2022. One of our long term financial goals is operating income in the 8% to 10% of sales range. This year was a positive step towards that goal. Net interest expense was $1,000,000 in 2023, down 48% from the year earlier. Speaker 300:11:23The benefit of the company's refinancing of its credit facility in the second half of twenty twenty two and lower debt balances in 2023 are being reflected in the lower overall interest cost. Another favorable 2023 comparison was against the 2022 loss due to extinguishment of debt of $1,600,000 Our 20 23 effective tax rate was 21 percent, comprising the weighted tax costs of the 3 tax jurisdictions where we operate. Our net income totaled $20,300,000 or EPS of $2.31 per diluted share, up over 60% compared to $12,200,000 or diluted EPS of $1.44 in the comparable year period. We also delivered a strong 2023 adjusted EBITDA, a record $42,300,000 or 11.8 percent of sales, an increase of 3.30 basis points from 8.5% in 2022. Now turning to the 4th quarter results. Speaker 300:12:30Net sales were $73,800,000 compared to $86,400,000 a year ago. Product sales were down 12.9% on a difficult comparison to 2022 product sales. We had indicated at the end of the 3rd quarter that we were seeing a return to normal seasonality customer demand reductions due to inventory levels. We anticipate this decrease in the 4th quarter. Gross profit for the 4th quarter was 10.9 dollars 1,000,000 or 14.8 percent of sales, an improvement compared to 13.4% of sales in the prior year. Speaker 300:13:06In Q4, the company reduced its material, labor and overhead costs as demand decreased. The company's ability to react quickly to reduce variable costs, which is approximately 70% to 75% of sales, is critical to maintain our profitability and cash flows. In Q4, the company was able to reduce costs quickly, which provided for higher gross margins than in 2022, even with lower sales. 4th quarter SG and A expenses were $8,400,000 compared to $8,600,000 in the prior year. Q4 operating income was $2,500,000 or 3.4 percent of sales, flat against last year's 3.4%. Speaker 300:13:49Operating income as a percent of sales did not benefit similar to gross margin percentage as we lost leverage on fixed and SG and A costs due to lower sales. As we proceed in 2024, the company will monitor its fixed and SG and A costs and adjust the costs if necessary based on sales levels. The company is focused on long term growth and will retain the infrastructure required to grow the company. Net interest expense decreased by 61 percent compared to the year ago quarter due to debt paydowns from last year. This year's focus on operational improvements generated free cash flows that allowed us to eliminate borrowings and earn interest income on cash reserves. Speaker 300:14:32For Q4, net income was $2,200,000 or $0.25 per diluted share versus last year's diluted EPS of $0.57 Recall that we reported $2,400,000 income tax benefit from reversing cumulative valuation reserves related to NOLs last year. Excluding the 2022 tax benefit, diluted EPS last year would have been $0.29 per share. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $6,500,000 or 8.9 percent of sales, up 190 basis points from the prior year's EBITDA margin of 7%. Based on our actions and strategic initiatives, we are pleased with our year over year improvements in gross margin and adjusted EBITDA. Our GAAP to non GAAP tables are at the end of our press release. Speaker 300:15:22Turning now to the company's financial position, starting with a discussion of cash flow. 2023's focus on operational improvements resulted in higher profitability and significant cash flow generation. The company's cash provided by operating activities was $34,800,000 for 2023, which compared favorably to $19,000,000 in 2022. Capital expenditures for the year were $9,100,000 and free cash flows for 2023 were $25,700,000 compared to $2,400,000 in 2022. We expect capital expenditures in 2024 to be approximately $13,000,000 We ended 2023 with total outstanding liquidity of $74,000,000 which includes cash and cash equivalents of $24,000,000 $50,000,000 available under the revolver and capital credit lines. Speaker 300:16:17The company's term debt balance was $23,000,000 at the end of the year and our debt to trailing 12 months EBITDA ratio was less than 1 times. Our working capital continues to be well managed and netted to $57,000,000 at the end of the year. Finally, our return on capital employed, a pre tax return metric was 16.4% on a trailing 12 month basis, which exceeds our targeted range of 14% to Speaker 400:16:4516%. Today, Speaker 300:16:48we want to share our 2024 outlook for sales. These estimates combine industry projection, customer forecasts and price changes, as well as expected new program launches and a material program end. We expect 2024 annual net sales to decrease by 10% to 15% compared to 2023. Our sales outlook includes a cyclical demand slowdown in truck, stabilizing customer inventories, as well as consumer demand environment that is more consistent with pre pandemic levels. Also beginning in the second half of twenty twenty four and continuing through 2026, Volvo is transitioning from an existing truck model to a new model that Core is not part of. Speaker 300:17:31Notwithstanding this Volvo transition, we are actively being on new Volvo business and believe we are well positioned to secure future programs outside of the current programs. We have a good relationship with Volvo and remain highly on new programs from Volvo and new projects from other customers. We will continue working on profitability initiatives with a focus on additional continuous improvements across all product lines, which we forecast will allow us to maintain full year gross margins in the targeted range of 17% to 19%, with some quarterly gross margin levels outside of this range due to seasonality of one time events. I'll let Dave further discuss our plans and outlook for this year. With that, I'd like to Speaker 200:18:14turn it back to Dave. Dave? Thank you, John. For 2024, we're focused on offsetting certain end market headwinds, truck cyclicality and end of life programs. Industry projections for 2024 in North America Class 8 truck market, which still make up half of our revenue, calls for a cyclical correction in 2024 compared to 2023, with expectations for truck demand to rebound in 20252026. Speaker 200:18:45We have seen a slowdown in demand power, sports and industrial utilities, which are interest rate sensitive and seeing some return to pre pandemic levels. We've aggressively ramped up our lead generation and quote to cash processes to offset slowing demand and to grow our business. Same as with our 2023 commitments, this is another opportunity that we will drive to success. We've already won $17,000,000 of new business that will launch at the end of 2024 through 2025. These wins are in addition to wins for new business that replaces existing business as programs come to end of life. Speaker 200:19:24We also have a new business opportunity pipeline of over 150,000,000 dollars which we're actively pursuing. Our sales strategy remains intact with the primary driver being to continue to diversify our customer base through technical solution sales that provide our customers with unique solutions to their challenges. Our process offering capabilities provide lightweight, durable, low cost recyclable solutions that strategically position us to benefit from current market conditions such as infrastructure spending, manufacturing and reshoring and overall growth in the industries we serve. We continue adjusting our cost structure to match current sales projections while sustaining operational improvements. The operational and product line profitability improvements we made in 2020 3 and cost structure changes in 2024 put us in a better position in 2024 to maintain solid gross margin levels even with lower customer demand. Speaker 200:20:25Our operational improvements to date and in the future make our asset utilization more efficient, resulting in additional capacity. We believe we now have capacity in place that can generate between $425,000,000 to $475,000,000 of annual product revenue, which will allow us to continue growing the company. Continue to manage our capital allocation strategy, which includes evaluating M and A opportunities. We have prioritized revenue and customer diversification as part of our acquisition strategy. This includes adding capacity and process offerings and expanding our footprint in North America to new areas where we see good opportunities for future growth. Speaker 200:21:10The size and price of an acquisition matters. We do not plan to over lever the company or overpay for an opportunity, especially in a choppy demand environment. We will plan to deploy capital carefully and prudently. Our 2023 must win battle successes helped us operational excellence systems across the organization and we've created an organization that can execute well. The foundation and technical resource capacity is prepared for growth as we look to invest capital to support our long term growth plans. Speaker 200:21:51We will continue to manage the business with discipline and purpose as we navigate internal and external factors impacting our business. Although 2024 will reflect some choppiness at the top line, we believe we built a resilient organization that is well positioned for growth and long term shareholder value creation. We appreciate the continued support from our customers, employees, shareholders and Board members. So with that, I'd like to open the line for questions. Operator? Operator00:22:51Today's first question comes from Tim Moore with E. F. Hutton. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:22:57Thanks. John and Dave, nice work on the strong free cash flow for the year. That was impressive even considering the decrease in the CapEx. I like the gross margin expansion. But regarding your 2024 sales decline guidance, how much maybe annual sales is that Volvo new model that you won't participate in, the one that you currently do that will be rolling off? Speaker 200:23:24Yes. So Volvo will be a phase out. It's actually several different programs that are part of different product families. It will only be about maybe $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 for this year and then the remaining would phase out over $25,000,000 and $26,000,000 The total sales in 2023 for Volvo was about just over $50,000,000 Speaker 400:23:47No, that's good. So when you kind of talk about the following 2 years, 2025 and 2026, if it's $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 this year, how much do you think it will be combined in the following 2? Speaker 200:23:58It'll be about $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 this year and then probably the 70% of that in $25,000,000 and then the remainder in $26,000,000 Speaker 400:24:07Okay. That makes sense. Speaker 300:24:09Tim, we'll still have some business with them at the end. We still do some programs that are not on their on the major model that's changing out. And so we will still retain probably somewhere around $10,000,000 of business. Right. Speaker 400:24:23I figured that in. Yes, because they had the Mack truck strike, right? There was a little bit of an impact in the Q4? Speaker 200:24:30Yes. And also the Bronco strike on the Q1 effect of the total. Speaker 300:24:35That's Speaker 400:24:38helpful. I want to just kind of touch a little bit more. I mean, I think you just explained mostly the difference maybe before what it was expecting for this year versus the Volvo impact. But are there any other end of life phase outs this year that are impacting you that are notable? Speaker 300:24:57No, not really. I think the bigger thing with this year is we're seeing the 1st two quarters of last year were really high quarters. Customers, especially personal watercraft, ATV, utilities, they were still building that inventory. And this year, I think we're going to see those levels come back to normal levels. And so some of our guidance is more about those industries probably for the first half of the year, coming back to a little bit more normal levels and burning through some of that inventory that they build up over time. Speaker 300:25:29And then the second half of the year is probably for us a little bit more reasonable on a comp standpoint because it seemed like most people had figured out what they were doing with their inventories by about June 30th last year or sometime in Q3. So really most of that's going to be the first half of the year, real tough comps and then I think it kind of evens out as the year goes on. Speaker 200:25:52Yes, at the beginning of 'twenty three, it was really building and deliver at all costs on a lot of the especially on truck, personal watercrafts as they're filling the pipeline and industrial. Speaker 400:26:05That makes sense. The commercial vehicle, I cover Mabel Engineering and I know they're guiding for the commercial vehicle truck area to be down just on restocking and normalization. But I like when you mentioned the 70% to 75% cost structure. So it seems like you gave the 17% to 19% gross margin guidance. Would I be off base by thinking you're facing easier comparables in the second half of the year, maybe the sales won't be down as much in the second half as in the first half depending when that Volvo starts rolling off. Speaker 400:26:38But with your cost structure being so variable, should we forecast or model second half gross margin better than the first half? Speaker 300:26:49I think you hit the model right on the head is that our job and it's always been this company's job is that with variable cost somewhere between 70%, 75%, it's how fast we react and get rid of the cost. And so I do think yes, I would say the second half of the year will be a little bit better than the first half. I think even Q2 would probably be maybe even better than Q1, just because we've already reacted very quickly to a lot of that. Some of the severance costs you saw that we mentioned in Q4 was us changing ship structures at our plants, plants that were running 20 fourseven, now back to a 24.5, those types of things. So we've been moving quick. Speaker 300:27:28But yes, I would kind of think that way is that the Q1 might be the softest and then second goes up and then 3rd and 4th other than 4th being normal seasonality with shutdowns and everything else. But the middle of the year probably being a little bit better than the first half of the year, first quarter of the year. Speaker 400:27:45That makes sense. That's really good color. Dave mentioned, I think you said $150,000,000 customer pipeline. Are there any new OEMs qualifying this year? And if not, there are any big ones looking to do a big line with you? Speaker 200:28:02We have several new customers. We've got a new customer in the truck area that we just won this year. We also have really 2 big programs that we're looking at and quoting on right now on the pipeline for industrial for either the lids or the vaults that get buried in the ground for the data transmission or the energy transmission. Speaker 400:28:29That's great. That could probably be pretty big. And then my last question, not to hog the limelight here. I believe you mentioned there's $425,000,000 to $475,000,000 sales capacity in place. But just regarding acquisitions, are presses still the top priority or is there anything else you're looking at in the funnel when you rank it? Speaker 200:28:48Yes, I don't think I really I think the work that we've done to as far as getting the capacity out of what we have plus the capacity that we installed in 2023. I think we're where we need to be with capacity for at least for most of our parts. Really for the M and A strategy, we're really looking at industries with growing our current sales channels to be able to build that with all the other processes that we have, getting into more industrials water treatment and construction projects, those sales channels to strengthen those so that we can then grow the wallet share with that sales channel with our other processes. Speaker 300:29:27Yes, Tim, one of the things that we keep running up against is the Build America, Buy America challenge. With the infrastructure bill, there's a requirement that stuff is built in America, United States. We do have one of our process that we do not currently do in the United States. So we are actively looking about how do we get that process in the United States. Would it be better to acquire into it or to try to buy some presses and get them up and running. Speaker 300:29:55So we're definitely looking at how do we take advantage of the Build America, Buy America. All our other processes we do in the United States for the most part, so we're good there. And then I think we'll also look at a little bit of our footprint. We still are a company that make large parts, so where you're located is very important. And so some of our strategy might be to continue to build up a little bit Southwest and see how we can maybe get across the United States a little bit more with all different processes and have additional locations maybe more in the Southwest. Speaker 400:30:29Great. That's really helpful granularity and color. Yes, I wish you luck with the year. I actually think like the other company I cover, hopefully you're being conservative on sales guidance and you get to the 4th quarter lapping things, the destocking could be done and maybe some normalization, so you could have a maybe a decent second half of the year on the top line at least. So thanks a lot. Speaker 400:30:52Appreciate it. Thanks, Tim. Thanks, Joe. Operator00:30:57Thank you very much. The next question comes from Bill Dezellem with Tieton Capital. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:31:09Thank you. Would you please discuss the building products revenue decline from $5,000,000 last year Q4 down to $2,000,000 or so this year? Speaker 200:31:24Yes, it was quite an abrupt change for us. We were actually had several programs that we're getting ready to launch and we were already supplying product. And a lot of the customers were basically saying we'll take everything that you can build. And when we did that, I think they have a lot of areas to store inventories, whether that's in their warehouses or at job sites. So you'll see a lot of the storm barge, stormwater drains, vaults, lids, things like that that are already outside. Speaker 200:31:54They store them outside and I think when they started seeing some of the volume decline, they looked at their inventories and reevaluated their inventories and really put a slowdown on consuming that inventory near year end and into the beginning of this year. We've talked with really every customer as far as when they expected demand to come back. Right now, they're telling us sometime near the end of Q1. Speaker 300:32:19And Bill, I think maybe you mentioned building products kind of in that concept. So our building products is primarily one customer that we Yes, I Speaker 200:32:28was talking industrial and utilities. Speaker 300:32:30Yes. And so I think you guys said building products, which kind of Dave did a good explanation on that one. On building products, we deal with one customer that does big box retail. And so we're a little bit subject to the programs they have at the big box retailers. And again, we produce their lattice, so we have all their lattice. Speaker 300:32:50And it really is their structure, their sales throughput with the big box retailers and how many stores they have and those types of things. And so at this point, I think there's been a little bit of a slowdown in that area. And I not totally clear, but I'm sure our the person we sell to has different situations going on with the building or with the big box and what they're selling and those types of things. But we're still selling Lattice to that customer, to Universal Forest Products and so have a real good relationship with them. And so we really count on them to drive the sales. Speaker 300:33:25They drive the sales into the big box. We produce the parts for them. Speaker 500:33:29Okay. Just to be clear, then your utility business that saw the slowdown really that abrupt decline as they reviewed their inventory and then Universal Forest Products was the one that had the slowdown basically as a result of the Home Depot Lowe's seeing their sales slow. Is that did I interpret kind of those pieces correctly? Speaker 300:34:00Yes, that's correct. Yes. Speaker 500:34:02Okay, excellent. And that just to be clear, that would be under the industrial and utilities category, the first answer, not in the all other category, which saw a pretty big decline from Q3. Is that correct? Speaker 200:34:21Yes. The specific inventory adjustment was industrial and utilities. Speaker 500:34:26Okay, excellent. That's helpful. And then I am going to just jump back to the all other category where revenues declined from Q3 at $12,500,000 or so and then went to Q4 more like $5,000,000 $6,000,000 that was also a pretty abrupt decline. Would you walk through that phenomenon also for us Speaker 300:34:50please? Yes. I mean, really what we see usually in the Q4 time period is the all other will be from seasonality standpoint, we look at Q3 to Q4, we'll usually have a normal slowdown. A lot of those will be where we're doing programs for customers that were overflow business on those types of things. And as they slow down in that quarter, they'll pull back from us. Speaker 300:35:16From that standpoint, we see those types of sales coming back slowly over time because we are in the all other in certain situations overflow Mulder. And so as they start to ramp back up in the Q1, Q time period, we'll start to pick up from that standpoint and pick up some of their business back Speaker 500:35:34up. That's really helpful, John. And what are the products that see that seasonality? Speaker 300:35:44So some customers like a customer with what we disclosed is Orbis, they'll do packaging for the auto industry and during that time period and when I say packaging, returnable packaging, big crates that are returnable packaging and used in the industrial market, those types of things. Those will be where they mold some themselves, but they also outsource to us some of their molding. And again, during Q4 is usually a very slow time period for them anyways. And so, at any given time, we'll have tools going back and forth between us and them and they'll send us over tools and ramp up for a quarter or 2 and then kind of take a tool back and then give us some additional tools. And so stuff like that, where Q4 by nature in those industries are just slow. Speaker 300:36:28We don't see a lot of tools moving back and forth. We kind of just kind of at that point are doing what's left. And then like I said, they start bringing those tools back to us Q2 Q1, Q2 as the year goes along, those types of things. Speaker 500:36:44Great. Thank you both for the time. Speaker 400:36:47Yes. Thank you. Operator00:36:50Thank you. This concludes our question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Duvall for any closing remarks. Speaker 200:36:59Thank you for your continued interest in our company. We'll be participating in the upcoming ROTH Conference in March. If you're interested in a meeting, please contact your ROTH representative. We look forward to providing an update on our progress when we report our Q1 results in May. So have a great day. Speaker 200:37:16Thank you. Operator00:37:18The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. 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But history shows these policy moves don't just create losers — they create massive trading opportunities.May 16, 2025 | Brownstone Research (Ad)Core Molding Technologies Reports Fiscal 2025 First Quarter ResultsMay 9, 2025 | morningstar.comCore Molding Technologies Inc (CMT) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Growth Amidst ...May 9, 2025 | finance.yahoo.comCore Molding Technologies (CMT) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on ThursdayMay 7, 2025 | americanbankingnews.comSee More Core Molding Technologies Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Core Molding Technologies? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Core Molding Technologies and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Core Molding TechnologiesCore Molding Technologies (NYSEAMERICAN:CMT), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a molder of thermoplastic and thermoset structural products. The company offers a range of manufacturing processes that include compression molding of sheet molding compound, resin transfer molding, liquid molding of dicyclopentadiene, spray-up and hand-lay-up, direct long-fiber thermoplastics, and structural foam and structural web injection molding. It serves various markets, including medium and heavy-duty truck, automotive, power sport, construction, building products, industrial, utilities, and other commercial markets in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Core Materials Corporation and changed its name to Core Molding Technologies, Inc. in August 2002. Core Molding Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.View Core Molding Technologies ProfileRead more More Earnings Resources from MarketBeat Earnings Tools Today's Earnings Tomorrow's Earnings Next Week's Earnings Upcoming Earnings Calls Earnings Newsletter Earnings Call Transcripts Earnings Beats & Misses Corporate Guidance Earnings Screener Earnings By Country U.S. Earnings Reports Canadian Earnings Reports U.K. Earnings Reports Latest Articles D-Wave Pushes Back on Short Seller Case With Strong EarningsAppLovin Surges on Earnings: What's Next for This Tech Standout?Can Shopify Stock Make a Comeback After an Earnings Sell-Off?Rocket Lab: Earnings Miss But Neutron Momentum HoldsWhy Nearly 20 Analysts Raised Meta Price Targets Post-EarningsOXY Stock Rebound Begins Following Solid Earnings BeatMonolithic Power Systems: Will Strong Earnings Spark a Recovery? 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There are 6 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Hello, and welcome to the Core Molding Technologies 4th Quarter Fiscal 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. All participants will be in listen only mode. Operator00:00:29As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the call to Sandy Martin, 3 part advisors. Sandy, please go ahead. Speaker 100:00:38Thank you, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for the Core Molding Technologies conference call to review Q4 and full year results for the 2023. Joining me on the call today are the company's President and CEO, Dave DuVall and EVP and CFO, John Zimmer. This call is being webcast and can be accessed through coremt.comviaanaudiolink on the Investor Relations, Events and Presentations page. Today's conference call, including the Q and A session, will be recorded. Speaker 100:01:11Please be advised that any time sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the date of any replay or transcript reading. I would also like to remind you that the statements made in today's discussion that are not historical fact, including statements or expectations or future events or future financial performance are forward looking statements and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements, by their nature, are uncertain and outside of the company's control. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Please refer to the earnings press release issued today for our disclosures on forward looking statements. Speaker 100:01:55These factors and other risks and uncertainties are described in detail in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Core Molding Technology assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements publicly. Management will refer to non GAAP measures, including adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS, debt to trailing 12 months EBITDA ratio, free cash flow and return on capital employed. Reconciliations to the nearest GAAP measures can be found at the end of our earnings release. Finally, a copy of the press release has been submitted to the SEC on Form 8 ks. Speaker 100:02:34And now, I would like to turn the call over to the company's President and CEO, Dave Duvall. Speaker 200:02:40Dave? Thank you, Sandy, and thank you all for joining us to review our 2023 annual and 4th quarter results. 2023 was an exciting successful year for the company with significant achievements both in terms of executing our strategic initiatives and progressing on our long term transformation journey. We're proud of our team's hard work and exceptional accomplishments in 2023. We stated in March of 'twenty three, one of our key strategic goals for 2023 was specifically margin improvement. Speaker 200:03:12This was driven through our must win battles to improve both our operational performance and working through the product line profitability on some of our larger customer programs to achieve what we see as market based pricing. We have done exactly what we said we would do. I believe this is an important statement to make. Within 2023, we have significantly improved our overall business model. The result of this accomplishment is directly reflected in our gross margins for the year, which increased by 4 10 basis points. Speaker 200:03:45This is the result of a summation of many improvements attributable to a high performing organization executing to a defined strategy. What I find most exciting is that we're now in a much better position to focus on growth, which is just our next challenge to overcome. As a quick review, these are some of the 2023 highlights that demonstrate our disciplined approach and commitment to achieving organizational goals. We successfully executed the company's strategic initiatives and operational must win battle projects. We made targeted operational improvements in key plants that significantly improved the product line profitability and created more capacity with the existing infrastructure as originally discussed in March of 'twenty three. Speaker 200:04:32We formalized and implemented our company wide continuous improvement systems, leveraging our expert knowledge across the organization to embed a culture of continuous cost and efficiency improvements. We continue to invest in developing our organizational capabilities by expanding our leadership development, technical training programs, internships and government training grants. This is an ongoing process which is foundational to our organization. Creating a culture and environment where it's easier to succeed is the cornerstone of our current and future success. We issued Core's inaugural sustainability report in 2023 focusing on advancements in corporate citizenship and our environmental stewardship of the company. Speaker 200:05:19The second publication will be in April. We were honored with the Material and Process Innovation Award nomination for our development of the Seadoo Hall for BRP, which underscores our culture of innovation at Core Molding. At the 22nd Annual National Industrial Meeting, our facilities in Matamoros and Monterrey were honored for their commitment to high ethical standards, practices and sustainability in our Mexican plants. The result of our disciplined execution resulted in full year record net income and earnings per share, strengthened the balance sheet and generated record cash flows. These accomplishments and the company's inclusion in the Russell 3,000 Index last year were the direct result of Core's dedicated teams, operational performance, winning culture and dedication to driving shareholder value. Speaker 200:06:17Now turning to a review of our top level financial results. As we previously signaled, annual net sales of $358,000,000 were down 5%, primarily due to changing market dynamics and tougher 2022 comparisons. Gross margins for the year increased by 4 10 basis points to 18%. We also generated over $42,000,000 in adjusted EBITDA or 11.8 percent of sales, resulting in meaningful free cash flows of $26,000,000 for the year. Operational performance metrics improved for the full year, exceeded our target of 20% and created the additional capacity we originally stated. Speaker 200:07:01Given tougher prior year comps, we expected softer sales in the Q4 of 2023 and cautioned in the Q3 conference call about industrial and utility customers continuing to work through inventories. Although the Q4 is always challenging due to fewer workdays and customer shutdowns during the holidays, we still improved gross margin and adjusted EBITDA margins for the quarter compared to a year ago. Again, this is the result of our organizational ability to execute and deliver on improved product line profitability in the quarter and for the full year, as we had stated at the beginning of 2023. Lastly, yesterday, we announced that our Board has authorized a new stock repurchase program, authorizing the company to purchase from time to time up to 7,500,000 of the company's common stock at current market prices. This buyback program because it allows us to opportunistically purchase core molding stock, which we believe is the critical component of the company's capital allocation strategy. Speaker 200:08:08With that, I'd like to now turn it over to John to cover the financials in more detail. Speaker 300:08:13Thank you, Dave, and good morning, everyone. As Dave mentioned, we accomplished our 2020 to 2023 full year profitability targets during a changing demand environment that normalized to the more typical seasonality as the year progressed. We also had a backdrop of difficult sales comparisons in 2023 versus 2022. Our 2023 total net sales were $357,700,000 down 5.2% compared to a year ago, and product sales were down 3.2% compared to the prior year. Product sales were pressured by softer demand for building products and the industrial and utility verticals. Speaker 300:08:56During the first half of twenty twenty three, higher customer demand levels finally result in customer inventory levels returning to optimal levels or in certain cases becoming overbuilt. In the second half of the year, customers slowed demand as they worked through the excess inventory levels. We continue to see customers primarily in the industrial and utility markets work through the inventory coming into 2024. As building products and industrial and utility sales rebalanced their demand levels down, product sales were strong for medium and heavy duty trucks throughout the year. Our 2023 sales mix for full year shifted to 52% truck compared to 44% truck sales in 2022. Speaker 300:09:41In the past, the increase in truck sales would have had a significant negative impact on gross margins, but that impact has decreased over the past several years as we have worked with our truck customers to improve the profitability of their business and return it to a healthy position. With the 2023 full year gross margin was $64,500,000 or 18 percent of sales, an improvement from 13.9% in the year ago period. These margin improvements were primarily due to production efficiencies, favorable net customer pricing and raw material cost. Gross margin was negatively impacted by lower fixed cost leverage for the full year as sales decreased and to a lesser extent by unfavorable foreign currency exchange fluctuations. SG and A expenses were $38,000,000 compared to $34,400,000 in the prior year period, primarily driven by higher labor and incentive costs, professional fees and a one time severance expense of $570,000 for the year. Speaker 300:10:49Operating income for the year was $26,500,000 up 47 percent from the 2022 levels. Our full year operating income as a percentage of sales increased to 7.4% compared to 4.8% in 2022. One of our long term financial goals is operating income in the 8% to 10% of sales range. This year was a positive step towards that goal. Net interest expense was $1,000,000 in 2023, down 48% from the year earlier. Speaker 300:11:23The benefit of the company's refinancing of its credit facility in the second half of twenty twenty two and lower debt balances in 2023 are being reflected in the lower overall interest cost. Another favorable 2023 comparison was against the 2022 loss due to extinguishment of debt of $1,600,000 Our 20 23 effective tax rate was 21 percent, comprising the weighted tax costs of the 3 tax jurisdictions where we operate. Our net income totaled $20,300,000 or EPS of $2.31 per diluted share, up over 60% compared to $12,200,000 or diluted EPS of $1.44 in the comparable year period. We also delivered a strong 2023 adjusted EBITDA, a record $42,300,000 or 11.8 percent of sales, an increase of 3.30 basis points from 8.5% in 2022. Now turning to the 4th quarter results. Speaker 300:12:30Net sales were $73,800,000 compared to $86,400,000 a year ago. Product sales were down 12.9% on a difficult comparison to 2022 product sales. We had indicated at the end of the 3rd quarter that we were seeing a return to normal seasonality customer demand reductions due to inventory levels. We anticipate this decrease in the 4th quarter. Gross profit for the 4th quarter was 10.9 dollars 1,000,000 or 14.8 percent of sales, an improvement compared to 13.4% of sales in the prior year. Speaker 300:13:06In Q4, the company reduced its material, labor and overhead costs as demand decreased. The company's ability to react quickly to reduce variable costs, which is approximately 70% to 75% of sales, is critical to maintain our profitability and cash flows. In Q4, the company was able to reduce costs quickly, which provided for higher gross margins than in 2022, even with lower sales. 4th quarter SG and A expenses were $8,400,000 compared to $8,600,000 in the prior year. Q4 operating income was $2,500,000 or 3.4 percent of sales, flat against last year's 3.4%. Speaker 300:13:49Operating income as a percent of sales did not benefit similar to gross margin percentage as we lost leverage on fixed and SG and A costs due to lower sales. As we proceed in 2024, the company will monitor its fixed and SG and A costs and adjust the costs if necessary based on sales levels. The company is focused on long term growth and will retain the infrastructure required to grow the company. Net interest expense decreased by 61 percent compared to the year ago quarter due to debt paydowns from last year. This year's focus on operational improvements generated free cash flows that allowed us to eliminate borrowings and earn interest income on cash reserves. Speaker 300:14:32For Q4, net income was $2,200,000 or $0.25 per diluted share versus last year's diluted EPS of $0.57 Recall that we reported $2,400,000 income tax benefit from reversing cumulative valuation reserves related to NOLs last year. Excluding the 2022 tax benefit, diluted EPS last year would have been $0.29 per share. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $6,500,000 or 8.9 percent of sales, up 190 basis points from the prior year's EBITDA margin of 7%. Based on our actions and strategic initiatives, we are pleased with our year over year improvements in gross margin and adjusted EBITDA. Our GAAP to non GAAP tables are at the end of our press release. Speaker 300:15:22Turning now to the company's financial position, starting with a discussion of cash flow. 2023's focus on operational improvements resulted in higher profitability and significant cash flow generation. The company's cash provided by operating activities was $34,800,000 for 2023, which compared favorably to $19,000,000 in 2022. Capital expenditures for the year were $9,100,000 and free cash flows for 2023 were $25,700,000 compared to $2,400,000 in 2022. We expect capital expenditures in 2024 to be approximately $13,000,000 We ended 2023 with total outstanding liquidity of $74,000,000 which includes cash and cash equivalents of $24,000,000 $50,000,000 available under the revolver and capital credit lines. Speaker 300:16:17The company's term debt balance was $23,000,000 at the end of the year and our debt to trailing 12 months EBITDA ratio was less than 1 times. Our working capital continues to be well managed and netted to $57,000,000 at the end of the year. Finally, our return on capital employed, a pre tax return metric was 16.4% on a trailing 12 month basis, which exceeds our targeted range of 14% to Speaker 400:16:4516%. Today, Speaker 300:16:48we want to share our 2024 outlook for sales. These estimates combine industry projection, customer forecasts and price changes, as well as expected new program launches and a material program end. We expect 2024 annual net sales to decrease by 10% to 15% compared to 2023. Our sales outlook includes a cyclical demand slowdown in truck, stabilizing customer inventories, as well as consumer demand environment that is more consistent with pre pandemic levels. Also beginning in the second half of twenty twenty four and continuing through 2026, Volvo is transitioning from an existing truck model to a new model that Core is not part of. Speaker 300:17:31Notwithstanding this Volvo transition, we are actively being on new Volvo business and believe we are well positioned to secure future programs outside of the current programs. We have a good relationship with Volvo and remain highly on new programs from Volvo and new projects from other customers. We will continue working on profitability initiatives with a focus on additional continuous improvements across all product lines, which we forecast will allow us to maintain full year gross margins in the targeted range of 17% to 19%, with some quarterly gross margin levels outside of this range due to seasonality of one time events. I'll let Dave further discuss our plans and outlook for this year. With that, I'd like to Speaker 200:18:14turn it back to Dave. Dave? Thank you, John. For 2024, we're focused on offsetting certain end market headwinds, truck cyclicality and end of life programs. Industry projections for 2024 in North America Class 8 truck market, which still make up half of our revenue, calls for a cyclical correction in 2024 compared to 2023, with expectations for truck demand to rebound in 20252026. Speaker 200:18:45We have seen a slowdown in demand power, sports and industrial utilities, which are interest rate sensitive and seeing some return to pre pandemic levels. We've aggressively ramped up our lead generation and quote to cash processes to offset slowing demand and to grow our business. Same as with our 2023 commitments, this is another opportunity that we will drive to success. We've already won $17,000,000 of new business that will launch at the end of 2024 through 2025. These wins are in addition to wins for new business that replaces existing business as programs come to end of life. Speaker 200:19:24We also have a new business opportunity pipeline of over 150,000,000 dollars which we're actively pursuing. Our sales strategy remains intact with the primary driver being to continue to diversify our customer base through technical solution sales that provide our customers with unique solutions to their challenges. Our process offering capabilities provide lightweight, durable, low cost recyclable solutions that strategically position us to benefit from current market conditions such as infrastructure spending, manufacturing and reshoring and overall growth in the industries we serve. We continue adjusting our cost structure to match current sales projections while sustaining operational improvements. The operational and product line profitability improvements we made in 2020 3 and cost structure changes in 2024 put us in a better position in 2024 to maintain solid gross margin levels even with lower customer demand. Speaker 200:20:25Our operational improvements to date and in the future make our asset utilization more efficient, resulting in additional capacity. We believe we now have capacity in place that can generate between $425,000,000 to $475,000,000 of annual product revenue, which will allow us to continue growing the company. Continue to manage our capital allocation strategy, which includes evaluating M and A opportunities. We have prioritized revenue and customer diversification as part of our acquisition strategy. This includes adding capacity and process offerings and expanding our footprint in North America to new areas where we see good opportunities for future growth. Speaker 200:21:10The size and price of an acquisition matters. We do not plan to over lever the company or overpay for an opportunity, especially in a choppy demand environment. We will plan to deploy capital carefully and prudently. Our 2023 must win battle successes helped us operational excellence systems across the organization and we've created an organization that can execute well. The foundation and technical resource capacity is prepared for growth as we look to invest capital to support our long term growth plans. Speaker 200:21:51We will continue to manage the business with discipline and purpose as we navigate internal and external factors impacting our business. Although 2024 will reflect some choppiness at the top line, we believe we built a resilient organization that is well positioned for growth and long term shareholder value creation. We appreciate the continued support from our customers, employees, shareholders and Board members. So with that, I'd like to open the line for questions. Operator? Operator00:22:51Today's first question comes from Tim Moore with E. F. Hutton. Please go ahead. Speaker 400:22:57Thanks. John and Dave, nice work on the strong free cash flow for the year. That was impressive even considering the decrease in the CapEx. I like the gross margin expansion. But regarding your 2024 sales decline guidance, how much maybe annual sales is that Volvo new model that you won't participate in, the one that you currently do that will be rolling off? Speaker 200:23:24Yes. So Volvo will be a phase out. It's actually several different programs that are part of different product families. It will only be about maybe $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 for this year and then the remaining would phase out over $25,000,000 and $26,000,000 The total sales in 2023 for Volvo was about just over $50,000,000 Speaker 400:23:47No, that's good. So when you kind of talk about the following 2 years, 2025 and 2026, if it's $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 this year, how much do you think it will be combined in the following 2? Speaker 200:23:58It'll be about $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 this year and then probably the 70% of that in $25,000,000 and then the remainder in $26,000,000 Speaker 400:24:07Okay. That makes sense. Speaker 300:24:09Tim, we'll still have some business with them at the end. We still do some programs that are not on their on the major model that's changing out. And so we will still retain probably somewhere around $10,000,000 of business. Right. Speaker 400:24:23I figured that in. Yes, because they had the Mack truck strike, right? There was a little bit of an impact in the Q4? Speaker 200:24:30Yes. And also the Bronco strike on the Q1 effect of the total. Speaker 300:24:35That's Speaker 400:24:38helpful. I want to just kind of touch a little bit more. I mean, I think you just explained mostly the difference maybe before what it was expecting for this year versus the Volvo impact. But are there any other end of life phase outs this year that are impacting you that are notable? Speaker 300:24:57No, not really. I think the bigger thing with this year is we're seeing the 1st two quarters of last year were really high quarters. Customers, especially personal watercraft, ATV, utilities, they were still building that inventory. And this year, I think we're going to see those levels come back to normal levels. And so some of our guidance is more about those industries probably for the first half of the year, coming back to a little bit more normal levels and burning through some of that inventory that they build up over time. Speaker 300:25:29And then the second half of the year is probably for us a little bit more reasonable on a comp standpoint because it seemed like most people had figured out what they were doing with their inventories by about June 30th last year or sometime in Q3. So really most of that's going to be the first half of the year, real tough comps and then I think it kind of evens out as the year goes on. Speaker 200:25:52Yes, at the beginning of 'twenty three, it was really building and deliver at all costs on a lot of the especially on truck, personal watercrafts as they're filling the pipeline and industrial. Speaker 400:26:05That makes sense. The commercial vehicle, I cover Mabel Engineering and I know they're guiding for the commercial vehicle truck area to be down just on restocking and normalization. But I like when you mentioned the 70% to 75% cost structure. So it seems like you gave the 17% to 19% gross margin guidance. Would I be off base by thinking you're facing easier comparables in the second half of the year, maybe the sales won't be down as much in the second half as in the first half depending when that Volvo starts rolling off. Speaker 400:26:38But with your cost structure being so variable, should we forecast or model second half gross margin better than the first half? Speaker 300:26:49I think you hit the model right on the head is that our job and it's always been this company's job is that with variable cost somewhere between 70%, 75%, it's how fast we react and get rid of the cost. And so I do think yes, I would say the second half of the year will be a little bit better than the first half. I think even Q2 would probably be maybe even better than Q1, just because we've already reacted very quickly to a lot of that. Some of the severance costs you saw that we mentioned in Q4 was us changing ship structures at our plants, plants that were running 20 fourseven, now back to a 24.5, those types of things. So we've been moving quick. Speaker 300:27:28But yes, I would kind of think that way is that the Q1 might be the softest and then second goes up and then 3rd and 4th other than 4th being normal seasonality with shutdowns and everything else. But the middle of the year probably being a little bit better than the first half of the year, first quarter of the year. Speaker 400:27:45That makes sense. That's really good color. Dave mentioned, I think you said $150,000,000 customer pipeline. Are there any new OEMs qualifying this year? And if not, there are any big ones looking to do a big line with you? Speaker 200:28:02We have several new customers. We've got a new customer in the truck area that we just won this year. We also have really 2 big programs that we're looking at and quoting on right now on the pipeline for industrial for either the lids or the vaults that get buried in the ground for the data transmission or the energy transmission. Speaker 400:28:29That's great. That could probably be pretty big. And then my last question, not to hog the limelight here. I believe you mentioned there's $425,000,000 to $475,000,000 sales capacity in place. But just regarding acquisitions, are presses still the top priority or is there anything else you're looking at in the funnel when you rank it? Speaker 200:28:48Yes, I don't think I really I think the work that we've done to as far as getting the capacity out of what we have plus the capacity that we installed in 2023. I think we're where we need to be with capacity for at least for most of our parts. Really for the M and A strategy, we're really looking at industries with growing our current sales channels to be able to build that with all the other processes that we have, getting into more industrials water treatment and construction projects, those sales channels to strengthen those so that we can then grow the wallet share with that sales channel with our other processes. Speaker 300:29:27Yes, Tim, one of the things that we keep running up against is the Build America, Buy America challenge. With the infrastructure bill, there's a requirement that stuff is built in America, United States. We do have one of our process that we do not currently do in the United States. So we are actively looking about how do we get that process in the United States. Would it be better to acquire into it or to try to buy some presses and get them up and running. Speaker 300:29:55So we're definitely looking at how do we take advantage of the Build America, Buy America. All our other processes we do in the United States for the most part, so we're good there. And then I think we'll also look at a little bit of our footprint. We still are a company that make large parts, so where you're located is very important. And so some of our strategy might be to continue to build up a little bit Southwest and see how we can maybe get across the United States a little bit more with all different processes and have additional locations maybe more in the Southwest. Speaker 400:30:29Great. That's really helpful granularity and color. Yes, I wish you luck with the year. I actually think like the other company I cover, hopefully you're being conservative on sales guidance and you get to the 4th quarter lapping things, the destocking could be done and maybe some normalization, so you could have a maybe a decent second half of the year on the top line at least. So thanks a lot. Speaker 400:30:52Appreciate it. Thanks, Tim. Thanks, Joe. Operator00:30:57Thank you very much. The next question comes from Bill Dezellem with Tieton Capital. Please go ahead. Speaker 500:31:09Thank you. Would you please discuss the building products revenue decline from $5,000,000 last year Q4 down to $2,000,000 or so this year? Speaker 200:31:24Yes, it was quite an abrupt change for us. We were actually had several programs that we're getting ready to launch and we were already supplying product. And a lot of the customers were basically saying we'll take everything that you can build. And when we did that, I think they have a lot of areas to store inventories, whether that's in their warehouses or at job sites. So you'll see a lot of the storm barge, stormwater drains, vaults, lids, things like that that are already outside. Speaker 200:31:54They store them outside and I think when they started seeing some of the volume decline, they looked at their inventories and reevaluated their inventories and really put a slowdown on consuming that inventory near year end and into the beginning of this year. We've talked with really every customer as far as when they expected demand to come back. Right now, they're telling us sometime near the end of Q1. Speaker 300:32:19And Bill, I think maybe you mentioned building products kind of in that concept. So our building products is primarily one customer that we Yes, I Speaker 200:32:28was talking industrial and utilities. Speaker 300:32:30Yes. And so I think you guys said building products, which kind of Dave did a good explanation on that one. On building products, we deal with one customer that does big box retail. And so we're a little bit subject to the programs they have at the big box retailers. And again, we produce their lattice, so we have all their lattice. Speaker 300:32:50And it really is their structure, their sales throughput with the big box retailers and how many stores they have and those types of things. And so at this point, I think there's been a little bit of a slowdown in that area. And I not totally clear, but I'm sure our the person we sell to has different situations going on with the building or with the big box and what they're selling and those types of things. But we're still selling Lattice to that customer, to Universal Forest Products and so have a real good relationship with them. And so we really count on them to drive the sales. Speaker 300:33:25They drive the sales into the big box. We produce the parts for them. Speaker 500:33:29Okay. Just to be clear, then your utility business that saw the slowdown really that abrupt decline as they reviewed their inventory and then Universal Forest Products was the one that had the slowdown basically as a result of the Home Depot Lowe's seeing their sales slow. Is that did I interpret kind of those pieces correctly? Speaker 300:34:00Yes, that's correct. Yes. Speaker 500:34:02Okay, excellent. And that just to be clear, that would be under the industrial and utilities category, the first answer, not in the all other category, which saw a pretty big decline from Q3. Is that correct? Speaker 200:34:21Yes. The specific inventory adjustment was industrial and utilities. Speaker 500:34:26Okay, excellent. That's helpful. And then I am going to just jump back to the all other category where revenues declined from Q3 at $12,500,000 or so and then went to Q4 more like $5,000,000 $6,000,000 that was also a pretty abrupt decline. Would you walk through that phenomenon also for us Speaker 300:34:50please? Yes. I mean, really what we see usually in the Q4 time period is the all other will be from seasonality standpoint, we look at Q3 to Q4, we'll usually have a normal slowdown. A lot of those will be where we're doing programs for customers that were overflow business on those types of things. And as they slow down in that quarter, they'll pull back from us. Speaker 300:35:16From that standpoint, we see those types of sales coming back slowly over time because we are in the all other in certain situations overflow Mulder. And so as they start to ramp back up in the Q1, Q time period, we'll start to pick up from that standpoint and pick up some of their business back Speaker 500:35:34up. That's really helpful, John. And what are the products that see that seasonality? Speaker 300:35:44So some customers like a customer with what we disclosed is Orbis, they'll do packaging for the auto industry and during that time period and when I say packaging, returnable packaging, big crates that are returnable packaging and used in the industrial market, those types of things. Those will be where they mold some themselves, but they also outsource to us some of their molding. And again, during Q4 is usually a very slow time period for them anyways. And so, at any given time, we'll have tools going back and forth between us and them and they'll send us over tools and ramp up for a quarter or 2 and then kind of take a tool back and then give us some additional tools. And so stuff like that, where Q4 by nature in those industries are just slow. Speaker 300:36:28We don't see a lot of tools moving back and forth. We kind of just kind of at that point are doing what's left. And then like I said, they start bringing those tools back to us Q2 Q1, Q2 as the year goes along, those types of things. Speaker 500:36:44Great. Thank you both for the time. Speaker 400:36:47Yes. Thank you. Operator00:36:50Thank you. This concludes our question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Duvall for any closing remarks. Speaker 200:36:59Thank you for your continued interest in our company. We'll be participating in the upcoming ROTH Conference in March. If you're interested in a meeting, please contact your ROTH representative. We look forward to providing an update on our progress when we report our Q1 results in May. So have a great day. Speaker 200:37:16Thank you. Operator00:37:18The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.Read morePowered by