NASDAQ:MPAA Motorcar Parts of America Q4 2024 Earnings Report $9.30 +0.22 (+2.42%) As of 02:38 PM Eastern This is a fair market value price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Earnings HistoryForecast Motorcar Parts of America EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.04Consensus EPS $0.11Beat/MissMissed by -$0.07One Year Ago EPSN/AMotorcar Parts of America Revenue ResultsActual Revenue$189.48 millionExpected Revenue$198.60 millionBeat/MissMissed by -$9.12 millionYoY Revenue GrowthN/AMotorcar Parts of America Announcement DetailsQuarterQ4 2024Date6/11/2024TimeN/AConference Call DateTuesday, June 11, 2024Conference Call Time1:00PM ETUpcoming EarningsMotorcar Parts of America's Q4 2025 earnings is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10, 2025, with a conference call scheduled on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at 7:00 AM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Conference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptPress Release (8-K)Annual Report (10-K)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfilePowered by Motorcar Parts of America Q4 2024 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrJune 11, 2024 ShareLink copied to clipboard.There are 7 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Thank you for standing by. My name is Ellie, and I will be your conference operator for today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Motorcars Parts of America Incorporated Fiscal 2024 Year End Conference Call and Webcast. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Operator00:00:34Thank you. I'd now like to hand over the conference to Gary Meyer, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations. You may now begin. Speaker 100:00:44Thank you, Ali, and thanks everyone for joining us this morning. Before I turn the call over to Selwyn Joffe, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and David Lee, the company's Chief Financial Officer, I'd like to remind everyone of the Safe Harbor statement included in today's press release. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a Safe Harbor for certain forward looking statements, including statements made during today's conference call. Such forward looking statements are based on the company's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the company will be those anticipated by Motorcar Parts of America. Speaker 100:01:29Actual results may differ from those projected in these forward looking statements. These forward looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond the control of the company and are subject to change based upon various factors, in particular expectations about anticipated future growth and opportunities with customers may not be achieved. The company undertakes no obligation to public update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For a more detailed discussion of some of the ongoing risks and uncertainties of the company's business, I refer you to the various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With that said, I'd like to turn the call over to Selwyn Joffe. Speaker 200:02:16Thank you, Gary. I appreciate everyone joining us today. We are encouraged by our operating results for the fiscal year, including strong sales performance, increased gross margin, increased EBITDA and significant positive cash flow. For the 12 months, we generated $39,200,000 in positive cash from operating activities and paid down net debt by $32,500,000 to $114,000,000 I might add that these results were particularly satisfying considering the industry softness for 2 months in the 3rd fiscal quarter and in the 4th quarter. I also might add that for the quarter, we are comping against a record Q4 in the prior year. Speaker 200:02:58Also, it should be noted that sales were up in all product categories other than wheel hubs. We have had a realignment of our wheel hub business at one of our customers and expect to regain momentum starting this month. Let me take a moment to highlight a few key near term strategic initiatives. 1st, generating cash both from increased profitability and working capital. With respect to increased profitability, we expect to benefit from volume increases in our break program that will help absorb overhead, which will in turn result in accretion to overall margins. Speaker 200:03:33We expect accelerating brake related product sales will lead to more opportunities to take advantage of efficiencies from both purchasing and production. I should emphasize that we started our brake caliper business as a greenfield operation in August of 2019. And today, we are in the top three suppliers in this category. As our newer brake product lines gain traction, we expect more efficient inventory turns to further support initiatives to neutralize working capital. 2nd, with respect to generating cash from working capital, we are focused on 2 major areas to reduce working capital, which include inventory and accounts payable. Speaker 200:04:14We have implemented processes to extend days outstanding on accounts payable and to enhance inventory efficiencies. These processes are still in their early stages. However, we expect to recognize meaningful benefits over time. We continue to evaluate allocation of capital to maximize shareholder value. Let me provide a few metrics about our accomplishments to date. Speaker 200:04:39As I previously mentioned, we are focused on neutralizing working capital. As of today, we have commitments that will extend our days outstanding on payables by 30 days on an annualized basis, which should reduce working capital by $20,000,000 at the end of the full year cycle. We continue to aggressively implement this program. 3rd, we are accelerating new part number introductions, targeting at least 800 per year. These new part introductions help us to maintain our leadership position in the categories we supply and adds to our sales base. Speaker 200:05:15Finally, we expect growth and profitability from our other segment, which includes DMV and Dixie, beginning in this current fiscal year. We expect to sell more than $100,000,000 of diagnostic equipment within the next 3 years with additional opportunities pending. Additional service revenue should be realized as more testers are deployed. We are gratified that the diagnostic testing business achieved profitability in fiscal 2024 and our heavy duty business is expected to achieve profitability in the current fiscal year. Despite some softness for the industry in the second half of the fiscal year, which is rebounding, gross profit improved nicely on a year over year basis among other positive metrics that David will highlight shortly. Speaker 200:06:03To reiterate, we remain focused on sales, profitability and neutralizing working capital. We are confident that our sales and profitability will grow organically and through market share gains. Increased profitability along with our working capital initiatives will further enhance cash flow generation. The rollout of our vendor finance program offered to our suppliers is progressing nicely. This program enables us to extend our payment terms, while facilitating a program for our suppliers to have early access to capital. Speaker 200:06:35As I just mentioned, we already have commitments to extend the number of days outstanding for accounts payable by 30 days, which will result in reducing working capital. From a strategic standpoint, we are continuing to leverage our strengths, including great products manufactured at state of the art facilities, solid customer relationships, industry leading SKU coverage, not to mention our value added merchandising and marketing support. I might add that we recently received an award for what it takes to do the job right from AutoZone, identifying us in their top echelon of suppliers. I should mention that we opened a new facility in 2024 in Malaysia to support manufacturing of wheel hub products for direct shipment to our customers, which is expected to further enhance our competitive position. Our hard part sales in Mexico continues to gain momentum and we are focused on additional opportunities with multiple product lines as our customers experience increased demand for our aftermarket parts. Speaker 200:07:38The rate of growth in this market is exciting we are well positioned to utilize our footprint to meet the growing demand for our non discretionary aftermarket parts. Favorable long term industry dynamics continue to bode well for the company and we are extremely well positioned for sustainable top and bottom line growth in our hard parts business, as well as testing solutions. We expect growth in all of our product lines, including our quality built brand that continues to gain significant market share within the professional market. This includes our most recent additions to our portfolio of brake calipers, brake pads, shoes and rotors. I reiterate, as we grow these product lines, we expect overall gross margin accretion. Speaker 200:08:24In short, we have in place the capacity and capabilities to support our customers' increasing demand across multiple lines. Our strong cash generation will enable us the flexibility to further pay down debt and pursue other related opportunities to enhance shareholder value. In conclusion, non discretionary aftermarket parts for the internal combustion engine market will be here for decades, An outlook supported by recently updated industry data showing that the average age of vehicles is 12.6 years. It's worth highlighting that the population of vehicles operating with internal combustion engines versus electric vehicles represents approximately 98.4 percent of all vehicles on the road. 1 of our key competitive advantage is our ability to offer a broad range of applications for all makes and models. Speaker 200:09:17We remain focused on newer model applications and our ability to meet expected demand as these vehicles enter the replacement market. Finally, before I turn the call over to David, I'd like to comment on yesterday's announcement regarding the Board. The company has been focused on refreshing the Board and working to identify and evaluate director candidates. We are fortunate to have identified Jack Liebauer, who we intend to nominate to stand for election at this year's annual meeting. The Board has received input from major shareholders regarding qualifications that would be most helpful to the company. Speaker 200:09:55We have taken that input seriously and believe that Jack not only meets the highest standards for independence and governance, but also has experience in the aftermarket industry. He has a solid background and is an excellent candidate for the Board at an exciting point in the company's evolution. You can read more about Jack's background in the release we issued yesterday. The process is ongoing and we expect to further report developments in the coming weeks months ahead. I'll now turn the call over to David to review our results in greater detail. Speaker 300:10:29Thank you, Selwyn, and good morning, everyone. I encourage everyone to read the earnings press release issued this morning, as well as a 10 ks that will be filed later today. Let me first reiterate key financial performance metrics for fiscal year 2024 that we highlighted in this morning's news release. Net sales increased 5.1 percent to 717,700,000 gross profit increased 16.3 percent to $132,600,000 gross margin increased 1.8 percentage points to 18.5%. Operating income increased 26.5 percent to 46,100,000 dollars The company generated cash from operations of approximately $39,200,000 Despite industry softness contributing to lower net sales for the fiscal 2024 Q4 of $189,500,000 compared with $194,700,000 in the prior year, Net sales for the full fiscal year 2024 increased 5.1 percent to a record $717,700,000 from $683,100,000 I should mention the 4th quarter sales were primarily impacted by softer wheel hub sales, which we expect to regain momentum in June. Speaker 300:11:52Gross profit for the fiscal 2024 Q4 was $34,800,000 compared with $36,200,000 a year earlier. For the full fiscal year 2024, gross profit increased 16.3% to $132,600,000 from $114,000,000 a year earlier. I should mention that gross profit for the quarter was impacted by non cash items as well as cash items. The non cash items reflect core and finished goods premium amortization and revaluation of cores on customer shelves, which are unique to certain of our products and required by GAAP. A more detailed explanation of core accounting is available in a video posted on the company's website. Speaker 300:12:354th quarter gross margin was 18.4% compared with 18.6% a year earlier impacted by inflationary costs. Additional price increases in effect and operating efficiencies will enhance gross margin. For the full fiscal year 2024, gross margin was 18.5% compared with 16.7% a year earlier. Gross margin for fiscal 2024 was impacted by $16,300,000 or 2.3 percent of non cash items and $7,500,000 or 1% of non recurring cash items as detailed in Exhibit 4 of this morning's earnings press release. Operating expenses were $22,600,000 compared with $12,400,000 in the prior year period. Speaker 300:13:23This included a non cash gain for the foreign exchange impact of lease liabilities and forward contracts of $1,200,000 compared with $6,700,000 a year earlier. In addition, prior year operating expense was favorably impacted by $3,100,000 employee retention credit recorded in March of 2023. The remaining $1,500,000 of operating expense increases for fiscal 2024 Q4 included employee related incentives. Operating income for the Q4 was $12,200,000 compared with $23,700,000 in the prior year, reflecting a non cash $5,600,000 less favorable foreign exchange rate gains associated with lease liabilities and forward contracts and the benefit in the prior year of $5,100,000 employee retention credit. I should point out for the full fiscal year, operating income increased 26.5 percent to $46,100,000 and $36,400,000 in the prior year. Speaker 300:14:25Results for the fiscal Q4 were impacted by $2,800,000 or $0.09 per diluted share of higher interest expenses, primarily due to higher market interest rates and increased collection of receivables utilizing accounts receivable discount programs on higher sales. Interest expense was $14,700,000 compared with $11,900,000 for last year, which is primarily related to accounts receivable discount programs. We are working diligently to address the higher interest environment, particularly areas that we can control. For example, among other initiatives, we're focusing focused on neutralizing working capital to generate positive cash flow to pay down debt as evidenced by our year end results. In addition, we continue to work with our customers to mitigate higher interest rates. Speaker 300:15:15Results for the full year were impacted by $20,500,000 or $0.78 per share of higher interest expenses, primarily due to higher market interest rates and increased collection of receivables utilizing accounts receivable discount programs on higher sales. Interest expense was $60,000,000 compared with $39,600,000 for last year. As I previously noted, we are working diligently to address the higher interest environment, particularly areas that we can control. Net income for the fiscal 2024 Q4 was $1,200,000 compared with $1,500,000 for the prior year. Net income for the fiscal 2024 Q4 was impacted by approximately $800,000 or $0.04 per diluted share of non cash items and $1,200,000 or $0.05 per diluted share of cash items as detailed in Exhibit 1. Speaker 300:16:07For the full fiscal year, due primarily to higher interest expense of $20,500,000 I previously discussed and $50,300,000 of non cash expenses, including a $38,000,000 U. S. Federal and state deferred tax asset valuation allowance under U. S. GAAP, we reported a net loss for fiscal 2024 of $49,200,000 or $2.51 per share compared with a net loss of $4,200,000 or $0.22 per share a year ago. Speaker 300:16:37Once again, this valuation allowance is a non cash accounting item and does not impact any operating metrics. The details of the non cash and cash items impacting results are in Exhibit 2 of this morning's earnings press release. With higher expected sales volume going forward and the full impact of certain price increases already in effect, results are expected to further improve. I should also add that price increases in effect will contribute additional $10,000,000 in annualized sales, gross profit and EBITDA. EBITDA for the fiscal Q4 was $17,700,000 EBITDA was negatively impacted by $300,000 of non cash items and by $1,600,000 in cash items. Speaker 300:17:20EBITDA before the impact of non cash and cash items mentioned above was $19,600,000 for the Q4. EBITDA for the full fiscal year 2024 was $58,600,000 EBITDA was impacted by $16,400,000 of non cash items and $9,300,000 in cash items. EBITDA before the impact of non cash and cash items mentioned above was $84,200,000 for the current period compared with $71,200,000 in the prior year taking into account the non cash and cash items noted in this morning's earnings press release Exhibit 5. We anticipate supply chain disruption expenses will be non recurring. Now we will move on to cash flow and key corporate items. Speaker 300:18:07We generated approximately $39,200,000 of cash from operating activities during fiscal 2024 and reduced net bank debt by $32,500,000 to $114,000,000 from $146,500,000 notwithstanding $9,300,000 cash used in operating activities during the Q4 due to seasonality of the company's business. As you mentioned that in fiscal 2024, we also paid off and retired our $11,250,000 term loan, which further highlights our solid financial position. We expect to generate an increase in operating profit on a year over year basis for fiscal 2025, supported by organic growth from customer demand and operating efficiencies from our now completed footprint expansion and generate positive cash flow for fiscal 25. In addition to our goal of generating increased operating profits, we are diligently focused on opportunities to neutralize working capital, including customer product demand planning, enhanced inventory management and further extend our vendor payment terms. We expect increasing financial performance from our new and existing product lines, including our emerging break categories. Speaker 300:19:19Our net debt at the end of the quarter, excluding our convertible note was approximately $114,000,000 while total cash and availability was approximately $114,900,000 Now let me address our outlook. As stated in our news release this morning, our expectation for fiscal 2025 is to achieve sales in the range of $746,000,000 to $766,000,000 representing between 3.9% and 6.7% year over year growth respectively. We expect to see margin accretion from efficiencies related to the higher volume, price increases and cost cutting initiatives. With respect to cash flow, our expectation is to continue improved cash generation. Operating income is expected to be between $62,000,000 67,000,000 dollars before the non cash foreign exchange impact of lease liabilities and forward contracts and the non cash impact of revaluation of cores on customer shelves. Speaker 300:20:18The company estimates other non cash items will be approximately $17,000,000 including core and finished group premium amortization and share based compensation. The company estimates depreciation and amortization will be approximately $11,000,000 In summary, operating income before the impact of the non cash and cash items and before depreciation and amortization is expected to be between $90,000,000 $95,000,000 For further explanation on the reconciliation of items that impacted results and non GAAP financial measures, please refer to Exhibits 1 through 5 in this morning's earnings press release. I would now like to open the line for questions. Operator00:20:59We are now opening the floor for question and answer session. We have our first question from Carolina Jolley from Gabelli. Your line is now open. Speaker 400:21:27Hi, thank you for taking my question. Just quickly, could you discuss some of the trends that are kind of benefiting the April, May numbers that you mentioned in the release? And is that just wheel hubs or is that growth in other areas? Speaker 200:21:46Yes, that's a great question. I appreciate you asking that. Now we had it's hard to define exactly what's contributing, but we certainly are seeing a much more vibrant market. And as the weather gets hotter and hotter, we see increases across the board in all of our product lines. So it's not just the wheel hubs. Speaker 200:22:07Wheel hubs are just beginning to regain the momentum towards the end of the quarter, but in the 1st 2 months of the quarter, it's everything else. And so we're optimistic that we're off to a strong start. I think a lot of it is weather. And if you listen to the retailers reports, tax refunds are helping. So we're encouraged. Speaker 400:22:34Thank you. Operator00:22:38Our next question comes from Bill DeGeelen from Tieton Capital Management. Your line is now open. Speaker 500:22:46Thank you. I had a group questions, please. First of all, do you have any further price increases that are currently lined up with your customers? Speaker 200:22:57Yes. So we have $10,000,000 of additional price increases that we'll start seeing overall that we'll start seeing go into effect now. And we're very focused on the interest rate expenses and hope to get more. Speaker 500:23:16And so Selwyn, when you say going into effect now, that will really affect the 2nd fiscal quarter as opposed to the first? Is that the proper scaling of that? Speaker 300:23:29So price increase that went into effect toward the latter part of fiscal 2024 will see additional benefit in fiscal 2025. Speaker 200:23:37Yes. So starting from the Q1? That's correct. Speaker 500:23:40Okay, great. Thank you very much. And then the brake business, the Speaker 400:23:45new brake business, when do you anticipate that the margins Speaker 500:23:46will meet the company average? Speaker 200:23:55Margins are significant below our legacy product margins right now. I think it's a 2 year process. We'll see significant accretion this year. We've got additional business that's coming on and we expect the brake business to get more vibrant. I mean, we've had certainly in the last 4, 5 months, and I think this is a lot of industry chatter around very difficult tire sales. Speaker 200:24:24And one may ask why do I care about tire sales? Well, the cross sell from tires to brake jobs is very significant. And so when you have a reduction in tire sales, you usually have a big reduction in brake sales. So we haven't seen the acceleration that we had hoped to have seen, although we've got the share acceleration that we had planned on getting. And as this turns and we believe it is turning, we should see an acceleration in the brake business. Speaker 200:24:52And I also think and I'll just go back to sort of the brake caliper operations and opportunities. The brake calipers, we have we've built for a Greenfield state of the art brake caliper remanufacturing facility. And anytime you get into brand new facilities, there's some scalability in getting to the margin point. Our margins on our legacy product just are completely stable. We have not deteriorated at all. Speaker 200:25:31Great California business has taken time to get to the margins. We believe that we'll start seeing that accretion in the next quarters ahead and it's going to take until we get fully ramped up, which we again, we have new business coming in that will start towards the end of this fiscal year. We'll get there and there'll be significant contribution from the incremental brake business. So hard to give you an exact, but I think 2 year period is what we should be looking at. And I think the other thing I'm going to point out on the brakes, Bill, even though you're not asking this question is inventory levels. Speaker 200:26:09I mean, we've made a big commitment to with a proprietary formulation in the brake pad business. We've made a pretty big commitment to getting into that category. It's going slower than we expected because of the tire situation that I talked about in particular. When you talk about tires, the job that's sold relative to the tire job is pads and rotors. And so we're sitting with we believe we've got headwinds in the inventory number there, but that product provides good really good margins. Speaker 200:26:44And as we accelerate growth there, we expect to see margin accretion as well coming from that. And so I think we've got tailwinds on margin. We have tailwinds on cash flow with our new working capital initiatives. We've been conservative on the revenue side now as we see how the market unfolds, but our position is extremely strong. Speaker 500:27:06Great. Thank you. And speaking of brake pads, would you please discuss Dan, and I'm probably not going to pronounce his name correct, but Lechuck, would you discuss his joining MPAA and kind of how you see him fitting into the organization? Is he replacing someone or is this a new position? What are you wanting him to accomplish? Speaker 200:27:35Great. Good questions. On the Lelchuck and apologize to Dan if I made it if I missed it up as well. But Dan is a unique individual. Dan was one of the co founder of Centric Brakes. Speaker 200:27:47Centric did well in excess of over $300,000,000 almost $400,000,000 I believe, I can't remember the exact number, but as a brake business, they were privates, I don't know exactly. But Dan is the Co Founder. We're extremely fortunate to have one of the top great gurus in the industry be part of us. He has incredible relationships with, first of all, all the customers that are out there because Centric had an incredible reputation on their brake program. We were very fortunate and I think we've discussed this where we were able to take the Centric formulation, get the exclusivity to Centric formulations that the Instola really respects. Speaker 200:28:33And Dan was played an integral role in putting that together. We think that you will add significant credibility to our program. It's a new position. He is doing fantastic already. We are positioning the brake line and repositioning the brake line and making sure that we're leading the industry in our coverage and our quality levels and the appropriate pricing. Speaker 200:29:01And the other thing Dan brings to the party is he's got years years of experience in understanding costing from the supply chain. And so while I think we've done a great job on getting the right cost on supply chain, we'll have a continuous effort from him making sure that we ensure that we remain effective on our pricing. So I couldn't be happier to have him and I think the team is embracing him and we should see we expect big things from him. Speaker 500:29:32Great. Thank you. And lastly, I want to circle back to wheel hubs. I don't think that I have clarity or an understanding of why the Wheel Hub business has been soft and particularly why it has lagged the rest of the industry? What insights can you share there? Speaker 200:29:52Yes. So I think I've mentioned that last quarter, we've just opened up our ship direct factory from Malaysia, where we can bring in product directly from Malaysia to the customers. We have an old factory, while a very good factory, but didn't pass the environmental or not even environmental, but didn't pass the audits of some of the large customers that want to ship direct programs. We've now opened a brand new factory, which I announced last quarter. And we've seen where we've gone. Speaker 200:30:24We've lost some share because of that on a short term basis, but we've now picked it up right back up. And so we expect to start shipping incremental products this month, I mean, perhaps next week even. And we see opportunities for that growing. So we had a short term setback. I think I mentioned that, that may happen in that, but I'm encouraged and happy to be able to say that that's reversing out. Speaker 200:30:54So I don't see any weakness in our product lines right now. It may take another month or so before wheel hubs get back to that vibrancy and accelerate through that. But we look at every one of our product lines. We are seeing a pickup through the register. We are seeing a pickup in market share and we are seeing introduction of new SKU opportunities and new business opportunities. Speaker 200:31:24And while I'm extraordinarily disappointed at the stock price and the response to what we're doing, and hopefully, we will have new directors. And I want to try and get more granular explaining the progress as we go through hopefully in the next quarter release to see where we're going. But the cash the working capital situation is improving the vendor supply chain. The vendor supply chain program has gained tremendous traction. I mean, we weren't planning on announcing exactly what that is yet, but you can see already that we're looking at onetime reductions in working capital of $20,000,000 which assuming why everything else is equal, but working capital moves around with inventory as well. Speaker 200:32:12But I mean, that's $20,000,000 already that we think in cash that we'll generate from that. But and that can be used in multiple ways. I mean, looking at how we allocate capital to enhance value Decided to have our new board member on, we look at we expect them to put others on and we're looking for a very aggressive program to prove to the market that we should be more valuable than we believe we should be. Speaker 500:32:45Great. Thank you for taking all the questions. Speaker 300:32:49Thank you. Thank you. Operator00:32:51Our next question comes from Chris Remsneider from Morgan Stanley. Your line is now open. Speaker 600:32:58Thank you. Good afternoon. A couple of questions. If you look at the shareholder equity year over year, it's down $35,000,000 for a company that has a market cap of $90,000,000 it's quite significant. With that being said, would the Board consider anything such as a buyback? Speaker 600:33:19And 2, with your outlook of a 3.7 percent revenue increase and where you said margins could be with debt at $114,000,000 where does the Board and management want that to be a year from now? Thank you. Speaker 200:33:43Okay. So I'll try and take them in sequence, the same sequence you asked, Chris. Appreciate the question. We do have an authorization for buyback in place, and that's certainly something that we would consider. So we think our liquidity is strong and our capability to execute that would be good. Speaker 200:34:04We're also we do see enhanced liquidity going forward and positive cash generation as we move forward. And so that gives us some flexibility as well in making those decisions. From a debt level perspective, it's probably the elephant in the room is the interest expense. And from a debt level perspective, we're at about $113,000,000 $114,000,000 of debt. And depending how you look at EBITDA, we're not more than 2 times, 2.5 times of leverage on EBITDA. Speaker 200:34:46That's excluding all the interest expense from the supply chain factoring program. And so the debt levels are not a concern to us today. I mean, what is of concern is the amount of interest expense that we're incurring on the supply chain finance program from our customers. I mean, we've seen that double now. That's happened because of two reasons. Speaker 200:35:09The rates out there for those companies have doubled have gone up significantly, not doubled. And our revenue continues to go up with these customers, it's good news and bad news. And so we expect to have further conversations about that. And that needs to be resolved. I don't know if that answered all your questions, but I hope I don't. Speaker 600:35:33So do you expect bank debt to decline next year, the same time next year? Speaker 200:35:38Bank debt could decline as a percentage of EBITDA depending on where we how we allocate capital on buybacks. We could bring back debt down. We have an opportunity to pay down the back debt, I mean, with all the initiatives we have built out, not in the next year, but in the next couple of years. So it just depends on how we there's an allocation of capital question that we'll look at because obviously you've identified, I mean, the market cap of the company is very low. Speaker 100:36:10All right. You're going to be Speaker 600:36:11at Oppenheimer Conference tomorrow. What do you tell prospective investors regarding the recent earnings and the disappointment of your share price? I mean, I know you don't want to comment on share price, but it is a disappointment. I know the shareholders listening here are disappointed. You look at the demographics and they all look positive, miles driven. Speaker 600:36:33We hear that every year, miles driven, average age of car. What can you tell prospective investors tomorrow at Oppenheimer? Speaker 200:36:42I think it's the same thing I've just said. I think we're in a mode of where we'll have margin accretion, both organically and through the growth of the brake business. And we see growth in the products, we see incremental cash flow. And we have the flexibility of allocation of capital with relative to increased gross cash flow. Speaker 600:37:07Okay. Thank you very much. Speaker 200:37:09Thank you. Operator00:37:13As of right now, we don't have any raised hands. I'd now like to hand back over to the management for the final remarks. Speaker 200:37:24In summary, we are gratified by the accomplishments in fiscal 2024 and the things we're discussing, but we are not done, okay. We are laser focused on further reducing our global cost structure and fully benefiting from a not easily duplicated global platform to meet demand for non discretionary products as well as from our diagnostic testing capabilities. We are leveraging our expertise in solid customer and supply partnerships. This includes our recently launched supply chain vendor finance program that benefits our suppliers. Our liquidity is strong and we have the resources, capacity, professional expertise to capitalize on significant market opportunities in all of our product lines, particularly our brake related business, which is gaining solid momentum. Speaker 200:38:10In closing, I must recognize the contributions of all of our team members who are continuously focused on providing the highest level of service. We are all committed to being the industry leader for parts and solutions that move our world today and in the future. I thank you and I look forward to further communications. Speaker 100:38:31Thank you. Operator00:38:33Thank you so much for attending today's call. You may now disconnect. Have a wonderful day.Read morePowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallMotorcar Parts of America Q4 202400:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2x Earnings DocumentsPress Release(8-K)Annual report(10-K) Motorcar Parts of America Earnings HeadlinesWe Like These Underlying Return On Capital Trends At Motorcar Parts of America (NASDAQ:MPAA)March 30, 2025 | finance.yahoo.comMotorcar Parts adopts 10b5-1 share repurchase programMarch 28, 2025 | finance.yahoo.comThink NVDA’s run was epic? You ain’t seen nothin’ yetAsk most investors and they’ll probably tell you Nvidia is the undisputed AI stock of the decade. In 2023, it surged 239%. And in 2024, it soared another 171% on the year… But what if I told you there was a way to target those types of “peak Nvidia” profit opportunities in 24 hours or less?May 7, 2025 | Timothy Sykes (Ad)Motorcar Parts of America Adopts 10b5-1 Share Repurchase PlanMarch 27, 2025 | businesswire.comMotorcar Parts of America (NASDAQ:MPAA shareholders incur further losses as stock declines 10% this week, taking three-year losses to 41%March 6, 2025 | uk.finance.yahoo.comMotorcar Parts of America Expands Its Rotating Electrical And Brake-Related Product CoverageMarch 3, 2025 | finance.yahoo.comSee More Motorcar Parts of America Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Motorcar Parts of America? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Motorcar Parts of America and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Motorcar Parts of AmericaMotorcar Parts of America (NASDAQ:MPAA) manufactures, remanufactures, and distributes heavy-duty truck, industrial, marine, and agricultural application replacement parts in the United States. The company offers rotating electrical products, including alternators and starters; wheel hub assemblies and bearings; and brake-related products comprising brake calipers, brake boosters, brake rotors, brake pads, and brake master cylinders. It also offers turbochargers; test solutions and diagnostic equipment for the pre- and post-production of electric vehicles; combustion engine vehicles; and software emulation of power systems applications for the electrification of forms of transportation. In addition, it offers heavy duty parts, including non-discretionary automotive aftermarket replacement hard parts for heavy-duty truck, industrial, marine, and agricultural applications. It sells its products to automotive retail chain stores and warehouse distributors, as well as various automobile manufacturers for their aftermarket programs and warranty replacement programs in North America. The company was incorporated in 1968 and is based in Torrance, California.View Motorcar Parts of America 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 Archer Stock Eyes Q1 Earnings After UAE UpdatesFord Motor Stock Rises After Earnings, But Momentum May Not Last Broadcom Stock Gets a Lift on Hyperscaler Earnings & CapEx BoostPalantir Stock Drops Despite Stellar Earnings: What's Next?Is Eli Lilly a Buy After Weak Earnings and CVS-Novo Partnership?Is Reddit Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold After Earnings Release?Warning or Opportunity After Super Micro Computer's Earnings Upcoming Earnings Coinbase Global (5/8/2025)Monster Beverage (5/8/2025)Brookfield (5/8/2025)Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (5/8/2025)ConocoPhillips (5/8/2025)Cheniere Energy (5/8/2025)McKesson (5/8/2025)Shopify (5/8/2025)Enbridge (5/9/2025)Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (5/12/2025) Get 30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for Free Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools. Start Your 30-Day Trial MarketBeat All Access Features Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring Get personalized stock ideas. Compare portfolio to indices. Check stock news, ratings, SEC filings, and more. Stock Ideas and Recommendations See daily stock ideas from top analysts. Receive short-term trading ideas from MarketBeat. Identify trending stocks on social media. Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools Use our seven stock screeners to find suitable stocks. Stay informed with MarketBeat's real-time news. Export data to Excel for personal analysis. Sign in to your free account to enjoy these benefits In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies. Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more. Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter. Sign in to your free account to enjoy all that MarketBeat has to offer. Sign In Create Account Your Email Address: Email Address Required Your Password: Password Required Log In or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google Forgot your password? Your Email Address: Please enter your email address. Please enter a valid email address Choose a Password: Please enter your password. Your password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least 1 number, 1 letter, and 1 special character. Create My Account (Free) or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
There are 7 speakers on the call. Operator00:00:00Thank you for standing by. My name is Ellie, and I will be your conference operator for today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Motorcars Parts of America Incorporated Fiscal 2024 Year End Conference Call and Webcast. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Operator00:00:34Thank you. I'd now like to hand over the conference to Gary Meyer, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations. You may now begin. Speaker 100:00:44Thank you, Ali, and thanks everyone for joining us this morning. Before I turn the call over to Selwyn Joffe, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and David Lee, the company's Chief Financial Officer, I'd like to remind everyone of the Safe Harbor statement included in today's press release. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a Safe Harbor for certain forward looking statements, including statements made during today's conference call. Such forward looking statements are based on the company's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the company will be those anticipated by Motorcar Parts of America. Speaker 100:01:29Actual results may differ from those projected in these forward looking statements. These forward looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond the control of the company and are subject to change based upon various factors, in particular expectations about anticipated future growth and opportunities with customers may not be achieved. The company undertakes no obligation to public update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For a more detailed discussion of some of the ongoing risks and uncertainties of the company's business, I refer you to the various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With that said, I'd like to turn the call over to Selwyn Joffe. Speaker 200:02:16Thank you, Gary. I appreciate everyone joining us today. We are encouraged by our operating results for the fiscal year, including strong sales performance, increased gross margin, increased EBITDA and significant positive cash flow. For the 12 months, we generated $39,200,000 in positive cash from operating activities and paid down net debt by $32,500,000 to $114,000,000 I might add that these results were particularly satisfying considering the industry softness for 2 months in the 3rd fiscal quarter and in the 4th quarter. I also might add that for the quarter, we are comping against a record Q4 in the prior year. Speaker 200:02:58Also, it should be noted that sales were up in all product categories other than wheel hubs. We have had a realignment of our wheel hub business at one of our customers and expect to regain momentum starting this month. Let me take a moment to highlight a few key near term strategic initiatives. 1st, generating cash both from increased profitability and working capital. With respect to increased profitability, we expect to benefit from volume increases in our break program that will help absorb overhead, which will in turn result in accretion to overall margins. Speaker 200:03:33We expect accelerating brake related product sales will lead to more opportunities to take advantage of efficiencies from both purchasing and production. I should emphasize that we started our brake caliper business as a greenfield operation in August of 2019. And today, we are in the top three suppliers in this category. As our newer brake product lines gain traction, we expect more efficient inventory turns to further support initiatives to neutralize working capital. 2nd, with respect to generating cash from working capital, we are focused on 2 major areas to reduce working capital, which include inventory and accounts payable. Speaker 200:04:14We have implemented processes to extend days outstanding on accounts payable and to enhance inventory efficiencies. These processes are still in their early stages. However, we expect to recognize meaningful benefits over time. We continue to evaluate allocation of capital to maximize shareholder value. Let me provide a few metrics about our accomplishments to date. Speaker 200:04:39As I previously mentioned, we are focused on neutralizing working capital. As of today, we have commitments that will extend our days outstanding on payables by 30 days on an annualized basis, which should reduce working capital by $20,000,000 at the end of the full year cycle. We continue to aggressively implement this program. 3rd, we are accelerating new part number introductions, targeting at least 800 per year. These new part introductions help us to maintain our leadership position in the categories we supply and adds to our sales base. Speaker 200:05:15Finally, we expect growth and profitability from our other segment, which includes DMV and Dixie, beginning in this current fiscal year. We expect to sell more than $100,000,000 of diagnostic equipment within the next 3 years with additional opportunities pending. Additional service revenue should be realized as more testers are deployed. We are gratified that the diagnostic testing business achieved profitability in fiscal 2024 and our heavy duty business is expected to achieve profitability in the current fiscal year. Despite some softness for the industry in the second half of the fiscal year, which is rebounding, gross profit improved nicely on a year over year basis among other positive metrics that David will highlight shortly. Speaker 200:06:03To reiterate, we remain focused on sales, profitability and neutralizing working capital. We are confident that our sales and profitability will grow organically and through market share gains. Increased profitability along with our working capital initiatives will further enhance cash flow generation. The rollout of our vendor finance program offered to our suppliers is progressing nicely. This program enables us to extend our payment terms, while facilitating a program for our suppliers to have early access to capital. Speaker 200:06:35As I just mentioned, we already have commitments to extend the number of days outstanding for accounts payable by 30 days, which will result in reducing working capital. From a strategic standpoint, we are continuing to leverage our strengths, including great products manufactured at state of the art facilities, solid customer relationships, industry leading SKU coverage, not to mention our value added merchandising and marketing support. I might add that we recently received an award for what it takes to do the job right from AutoZone, identifying us in their top echelon of suppliers. I should mention that we opened a new facility in 2024 in Malaysia to support manufacturing of wheel hub products for direct shipment to our customers, which is expected to further enhance our competitive position. Our hard part sales in Mexico continues to gain momentum and we are focused on additional opportunities with multiple product lines as our customers experience increased demand for our aftermarket parts. Speaker 200:07:38The rate of growth in this market is exciting we are well positioned to utilize our footprint to meet the growing demand for our non discretionary aftermarket parts. Favorable long term industry dynamics continue to bode well for the company and we are extremely well positioned for sustainable top and bottom line growth in our hard parts business, as well as testing solutions. We expect growth in all of our product lines, including our quality built brand that continues to gain significant market share within the professional market. This includes our most recent additions to our portfolio of brake calipers, brake pads, shoes and rotors. I reiterate, as we grow these product lines, we expect overall gross margin accretion. Speaker 200:08:24In short, we have in place the capacity and capabilities to support our customers' increasing demand across multiple lines. Our strong cash generation will enable us the flexibility to further pay down debt and pursue other related opportunities to enhance shareholder value. In conclusion, non discretionary aftermarket parts for the internal combustion engine market will be here for decades, An outlook supported by recently updated industry data showing that the average age of vehicles is 12.6 years. It's worth highlighting that the population of vehicles operating with internal combustion engines versus electric vehicles represents approximately 98.4 percent of all vehicles on the road. 1 of our key competitive advantage is our ability to offer a broad range of applications for all makes and models. Speaker 200:09:17We remain focused on newer model applications and our ability to meet expected demand as these vehicles enter the replacement market. Finally, before I turn the call over to David, I'd like to comment on yesterday's announcement regarding the Board. The company has been focused on refreshing the Board and working to identify and evaluate director candidates. We are fortunate to have identified Jack Liebauer, who we intend to nominate to stand for election at this year's annual meeting. The Board has received input from major shareholders regarding qualifications that would be most helpful to the company. Speaker 200:09:55We have taken that input seriously and believe that Jack not only meets the highest standards for independence and governance, but also has experience in the aftermarket industry. He has a solid background and is an excellent candidate for the Board at an exciting point in the company's evolution. You can read more about Jack's background in the release we issued yesterday. The process is ongoing and we expect to further report developments in the coming weeks months ahead. I'll now turn the call over to David to review our results in greater detail. Speaker 300:10:29Thank you, Selwyn, and good morning, everyone. I encourage everyone to read the earnings press release issued this morning, as well as a 10 ks that will be filed later today. Let me first reiterate key financial performance metrics for fiscal year 2024 that we highlighted in this morning's news release. Net sales increased 5.1 percent to 717,700,000 gross profit increased 16.3 percent to $132,600,000 gross margin increased 1.8 percentage points to 18.5%. Operating income increased 26.5 percent to 46,100,000 dollars The company generated cash from operations of approximately $39,200,000 Despite industry softness contributing to lower net sales for the fiscal 2024 Q4 of $189,500,000 compared with $194,700,000 in the prior year, Net sales for the full fiscal year 2024 increased 5.1 percent to a record $717,700,000 from $683,100,000 I should mention the 4th quarter sales were primarily impacted by softer wheel hub sales, which we expect to regain momentum in June. Speaker 300:11:52Gross profit for the fiscal 2024 Q4 was $34,800,000 compared with $36,200,000 a year earlier. For the full fiscal year 2024, gross profit increased 16.3% to $132,600,000 from $114,000,000 a year earlier. I should mention that gross profit for the quarter was impacted by non cash items as well as cash items. The non cash items reflect core and finished goods premium amortization and revaluation of cores on customer shelves, which are unique to certain of our products and required by GAAP. A more detailed explanation of core accounting is available in a video posted on the company's website. Speaker 300:12:354th quarter gross margin was 18.4% compared with 18.6% a year earlier impacted by inflationary costs. Additional price increases in effect and operating efficiencies will enhance gross margin. For the full fiscal year 2024, gross margin was 18.5% compared with 16.7% a year earlier. Gross margin for fiscal 2024 was impacted by $16,300,000 or 2.3 percent of non cash items and $7,500,000 or 1% of non recurring cash items as detailed in Exhibit 4 of this morning's earnings press release. Operating expenses were $22,600,000 compared with $12,400,000 in the prior year period. Speaker 300:13:23This included a non cash gain for the foreign exchange impact of lease liabilities and forward contracts of $1,200,000 compared with $6,700,000 a year earlier. In addition, prior year operating expense was favorably impacted by $3,100,000 employee retention credit recorded in March of 2023. The remaining $1,500,000 of operating expense increases for fiscal 2024 Q4 included employee related incentives. Operating income for the Q4 was $12,200,000 compared with $23,700,000 in the prior year, reflecting a non cash $5,600,000 less favorable foreign exchange rate gains associated with lease liabilities and forward contracts and the benefit in the prior year of $5,100,000 employee retention credit. I should point out for the full fiscal year, operating income increased 26.5 percent to $46,100,000 and $36,400,000 in the prior year. Speaker 300:14:25Results for the fiscal Q4 were impacted by $2,800,000 or $0.09 per diluted share of higher interest expenses, primarily due to higher market interest rates and increased collection of receivables utilizing accounts receivable discount programs on higher sales. Interest expense was $14,700,000 compared with $11,900,000 for last year, which is primarily related to accounts receivable discount programs. We are working diligently to address the higher interest environment, particularly areas that we can control. For example, among other initiatives, we're focusing focused on neutralizing working capital to generate positive cash flow to pay down debt as evidenced by our year end results. In addition, we continue to work with our customers to mitigate higher interest rates. Speaker 300:15:15Results for the full year were impacted by $20,500,000 or $0.78 per share of higher interest expenses, primarily due to higher market interest rates and increased collection of receivables utilizing accounts receivable discount programs on higher sales. Interest expense was $60,000,000 compared with $39,600,000 for last year. As I previously noted, we are working diligently to address the higher interest environment, particularly areas that we can control. Net income for the fiscal 2024 Q4 was $1,200,000 compared with $1,500,000 for the prior year. Net income for the fiscal 2024 Q4 was impacted by approximately $800,000 or $0.04 per diluted share of non cash items and $1,200,000 or $0.05 per diluted share of cash items as detailed in Exhibit 1. Speaker 300:16:07For the full fiscal year, due primarily to higher interest expense of $20,500,000 I previously discussed and $50,300,000 of non cash expenses, including a $38,000,000 U. S. Federal and state deferred tax asset valuation allowance under U. S. GAAP, we reported a net loss for fiscal 2024 of $49,200,000 or $2.51 per share compared with a net loss of $4,200,000 or $0.22 per share a year ago. Speaker 300:16:37Once again, this valuation allowance is a non cash accounting item and does not impact any operating metrics. The details of the non cash and cash items impacting results are in Exhibit 2 of this morning's earnings press release. With higher expected sales volume going forward and the full impact of certain price increases already in effect, results are expected to further improve. I should also add that price increases in effect will contribute additional $10,000,000 in annualized sales, gross profit and EBITDA. EBITDA for the fiscal Q4 was $17,700,000 EBITDA was negatively impacted by $300,000 of non cash items and by $1,600,000 in cash items. Speaker 300:17:20EBITDA before the impact of non cash and cash items mentioned above was $19,600,000 for the Q4. EBITDA for the full fiscal year 2024 was $58,600,000 EBITDA was impacted by $16,400,000 of non cash items and $9,300,000 in cash items. EBITDA before the impact of non cash and cash items mentioned above was $84,200,000 for the current period compared with $71,200,000 in the prior year taking into account the non cash and cash items noted in this morning's earnings press release Exhibit 5. We anticipate supply chain disruption expenses will be non recurring. Now we will move on to cash flow and key corporate items. Speaker 300:18:07We generated approximately $39,200,000 of cash from operating activities during fiscal 2024 and reduced net bank debt by $32,500,000 to $114,000,000 from $146,500,000 notwithstanding $9,300,000 cash used in operating activities during the Q4 due to seasonality of the company's business. As you mentioned that in fiscal 2024, we also paid off and retired our $11,250,000 term loan, which further highlights our solid financial position. We expect to generate an increase in operating profit on a year over year basis for fiscal 2025, supported by organic growth from customer demand and operating efficiencies from our now completed footprint expansion and generate positive cash flow for fiscal 25. In addition to our goal of generating increased operating profits, we are diligently focused on opportunities to neutralize working capital, including customer product demand planning, enhanced inventory management and further extend our vendor payment terms. We expect increasing financial performance from our new and existing product lines, including our emerging break categories. Speaker 300:19:19Our net debt at the end of the quarter, excluding our convertible note was approximately $114,000,000 while total cash and availability was approximately $114,900,000 Now let me address our outlook. As stated in our news release this morning, our expectation for fiscal 2025 is to achieve sales in the range of $746,000,000 to $766,000,000 representing between 3.9% and 6.7% year over year growth respectively. We expect to see margin accretion from efficiencies related to the higher volume, price increases and cost cutting initiatives. With respect to cash flow, our expectation is to continue improved cash generation. Operating income is expected to be between $62,000,000 67,000,000 dollars before the non cash foreign exchange impact of lease liabilities and forward contracts and the non cash impact of revaluation of cores on customer shelves. Speaker 300:20:18The company estimates other non cash items will be approximately $17,000,000 including core and finished group premium amortization and share based compensation. The company estimates depreciation and amortization will be approximately $11,000,000 In summary, operating income before the impact of the non cash and cash items and before depreciation and amortization is expected to be between $90,000,000 $95,000,000 For further explanation on the reconciliation of items that impacted results and non GAAP financial measures, please refer to Exhibits 1 through 5 in this morning's earnings press release. I would now like to open the line for questions. Operator00:20:59We are now opening the floor for question and answer session. We have our first question from Carolina Jolley from Gabelli. Your line is now open. Speaker 400:21:27Hi, thank you for taking my question. Just quickly, could you discuss some of the trends that are kind of benefiting the April, May numbers that you mentioned in the release? And is that just wheel hubs or is that growth in other areas? Speaker 200:21:46Yes, that's a great question. I appreciate you asking that. Now we had it's hard to define exactly what's contributing, but we certainly are seeing a much more vibrant market. And as the weather gets hotter and hotter, we see increases across the board in all of our product lines. So it's not just the wheel hubs. Speaker 200:22:07Wheel hubs are just beginning to regain the momentum towards the end of the quarter, but in the 1st 2 months of the quarter, it's everything else. And so we're optimistic that we're off to a strong start. I think a lot of it is weather. And if you listen to the retailers reports, tax refunds are helping. So we're encouraged. Speaker 400:22:34Thank you. Operator00:22:38Our next question comes from Bill DeGeelen from Tieton Capital Management. Your line is now open. Speaker 500:22:46Thank you. I had a group questions, please. First of all, do you have any further price increases that are currently lined up with your customers? Speaker 200:22:57Yes. So we have $10,000,000 of additional price increases that we'll start seeing overall that we'll start seeing go into effect now. And we're very focused on the interest rate expenses and hope to get more. Speaker 500:23:16And so Selwyn, when you say going into effect now, that will really affect the 2nd fiscal quarter as opposed to the first? Is that the proper scaling of that? Speaker 300:23:29So price increase that went into effect toward the latter part of fiscal 2024 will see additional benefit in fiscal 2025. Speaker 200:23:37Yes. So starting from the Q1? That's correct. Speaker 500:23:40Okay, great. Thank you very much. And then the brake business, the Speaker 400:23:45new brake business, when do you anticipate that the margins Speaker 500:23:46will meet the company average? Speaker 200:23:55Margins are significant below our legacy product margins right now. I think it's a 2 year process. We'll see significant accretion this year. We've got additional business that's coming on and we expect the brake business to get more vibrant. I mean, we've had certainly in the last 4, 5 months, and I think this is a lot of industry chatter around very difficult tire sales. Speaker 200:24:24And one may ask why do I care about tire sales? Well, the cross sell from tires to brake jobs is very significant. And so when you have a reduction in tire sales, you usually have a big reduction in brake sales. So we haven't seen the acceleration that we had hoped to have seen, although we've got the share acceleration that we had planned on getting. And as this turns and we believe it is turning, we should see an acceleration in the brake business. Speaker 200:24:52And I also think and I'll just go back to sort of the brake caliper operations and opportunities. The brake calipers, we have we've built for a Greenfield state of the art brake caliper remanufacturing facility. And anytime you get into brand new facilities, there's some scalability in getting to the margin point. Our margins on our legacy product just are completely stable. We have not deteriorated at all. Speaker 200:25:31Great California business has taken time to get to the margins. We believe that we'll start seeing that accretion in the next quarters ahead and it's going to take until we get fully ramped up, which we again, we have new business coming in that will start towards the end of this fiscal year. We'll get there and there'll be significant contribution from the incremental brake business. So hard to give you an exact, but I think 2 year period is what we should be looking at. And I think the other thing I'm going to point out on the brakes, Bill, even though you're not asking this question is inventory levels. Speaker 200:26:09I mean, we've made a big commitment to with a proprietary formulation in the brake pad business. We've made a pretty big commitment to getting into that category. It's going slower than we expected because of the tire situation that I talked about in particular. When you talk about tires, the job that's sold relative to the tire job is pads and rotors. And so we're sitting with we believe we've got headwinds in the inventory number there, but that product provides good really good margins. Speaker 200:26:44And as we accelerate growth there, we expect to see margin accretion as well coming from that. And so I think we've got tailwinds on margin. We have tailwinds on cash flow with our new working capital initiatives. We've been conservative on the revenue side now as we see how the market unfolds, but our position is extremely strong. Speaker 500:27:06Great. Thank you. And speaking of brake pads, would you please discuss Dan, and I'm probably not going to pronounce his name correct, but Lechuck, would you discuss his joining MPAA and kind of how you see him fitting into the organization? Is he replacing someone or is this a new position? What are you wanting him to accomplish? Speaker 200:27:35Great. Good questions. On the Lelchuck and apologize to Dan if I made it if I missed it up as well. But Dan is a unique individual. Dan was one of the co founder of Centric Brakes. Speaker 200:27:47Centric did well in excess of over $300,000,000 almost $400,000,000 I believe, I can't remember the exact number, but as a brake business, they were privates, I don't know exactly. But Dan is the Co Founder. We're extremely fortunate to have one of the top great gurus in the industry be part of us. He has incredible relationships with, first of all, all the customers that are out there because Centric had an incredible reputation on their brake program. We were very fortunate and I think we've discussed this where we were able to take the Centric formulation, get the exclusivity to Centric formulations that the Instola really respects. Speaker 200:28:33And Dan was played an integral role in putting that together. We think that you will add significant credibility to our program. It's a new position. He is doing fantastic already. We are positioning the brake line and repositioning the brake line and making sure that we're leading the industry in our coverage and our quality levels and the appropriate pricing. Speaker 200:29:01And the other thing Dan brings to the party is he's got years years of experience in understanding costing from the supply chain. And so while I think we've done a great job on getting the right cost on supply chain, we'll have a continuous effort from him making sure that we ensure that we remain effective on our pricing. So I couldn't be happier to have him and I think the team is embracing him and we should see we expect big things from him. Speaker 500:29:32Great. Thank you. And lastly, I want to circle back to wheel hubs. I don't think that I have clarity or an understanding of why the Wheel Hub business has been soft and particularly why it has lagged the rest of the industry? What insights can you share there? Speaker 200:29:52Yes. So I think I've mentioned that last quarter, we've just opened up our ship direct factory from Malaysia, where we can bring in product directly from Malaysia to the customers. We have an old factory, while a very good factory, but didn't pass the environmental or not even environmental, but didn't pass the audits of some of the large customers that want to ship direct programs. We've now opened a brand new factory, which I announced last quarter. And we've seen where we've gone. Speaker 200:30:24We've lost some share because of that on a short term basis, but we've now picked it up right back up. And so we expect to start shipping incremental products this month, I mean, perhaps next week even. And we see opportunities for that growing. So we had a short term setback. I think I mentioned that, that may happen in that, but I'm encouraged and happy to be able to say that that's reversing out. Speaker 200:30:54So I don't see any weakness in our product lines right now. It may take another month or so before wheel hubs get back to that vibrancy and accelerate through that. But we look at every one of our product lines. We are seeing a pickup through the register. We are seeing a pickup in market share and we are seeing introduction of new SKU opportunities and new business opportunities. Speaker 200:31:24And while I'm extraordinarily disappointed at the stock price and the response to what we're doing, and hopefully, we will have new directors. And I want to try and get more granular explaining the progress as we go through hopefully in the next quarter release to see where we're going. But the cash the working capital situation is improving the vendor supply chain. The vendor supply chain program has gained tremendous traction. I mean, we weren't planning on announcing exactly what that is yet, but you can see already that we're looking at onetime reductions in working capital of $20,000,000 which assuming why everything else is equal, but working capital moves around with inventory as well. Speaker 200:32:12But I mean, that's $20,000,000 already that we think in cash that we'll generate from that. But and that can be used in multiple ways. I mean, looking at how we allocate capital to enhance value Decided to have our new board member on, we look at we expect them to put others on and we're looking for a very aggressive program to prove to the market that we should be more valuable than we believe we should be. Speaker 500:32:45Great. Thank you for taking all the questions. Speaker 300:32:49Thank you. Thank you. Operator00:32:51Our next question comes from Chris Remsneider from Morgan Stanley. Your line is now open. Speaker 600:32:58Thank you. Good afternoon. A couple of questions. If you look at the shareholder equity year over year, it's down $35,000,000 for a company that has a market cap of $90,000,000 it's quite significant. With that being said, would the Board consider anything such as a buyback? Speaker 600:33:19And 2, with your outlook of a 3.7 percent revenue increase and where you said margins could be with debt at $114,000,000 where does the Board and management want that to be a year from now? Thank you. Speaker 200:33:43Okay. So I'll try and take them in sequence, the same sequence you asked, Chris. Appreciate the question. We do have an authorization for buyback in place, and that's certainly something that we would consider. So we think our liquidity is strong and our capability to execute that would be good. Speaker 200:34:04We're also we do see enhanced liquidity going forward and positive cash generation as we move forward. And so that gives us some flexibility as well in making those decisions. From a debt level perspective, it's probably the elephant in the room is the interest expense. And from a debt level perspective, we're at about $113,000,000 $114,000,000 of debt. And depending how you look at EBITDA, we're not more than 2 times, 2.5 times of leverage on EBITDA. Speaker 200:34:46That's excluding all the interest expense from the supply chain factoring program. And so the debt levels are not a concern to us today. I mean, what is of concern is the amount of interest expense that we're incurring on the supply chain finance program from our customers. I mean, we've seen that double now. That's happened because of two reasons. Speaker 200:35:09The rates out there for those companies have doubled have gone up significantly, not doubled. And our revenue continues to go up with these customers, it's good news and bad news. And so we expect to have further conversations about that. And that needs to be resolved. I don't know if that answered all your questions, but I hope I don't. Speaker 600:35:33So do you expect bank debt to decline next year, the same time next year? Speaker 200:35:38Bank debt could decline as a percentage of EBITDA depending on where we how we allocate capital on buybacks. We could bring back debt down. We have an opportunity to pay down the back debt, I mean, with all the initiatives we have built out, not in the next year, but in the next couple of years. So it just depends on how we there's an allocation of capital question that we'll look at because obviously you've identified, I mean, the market cap of the company is very low. Speaker 100:36:10All right. You're going to be Speaker 600:36:11at Oppenheimer Conference tomorrow. What do you tell prospective investors regarding the recent earnings and the disappointment of your share price? I mean, I know you don't want to comment on share price, but it is a disappointment. I know the shareholders listening here are disappointed. You look at the demographics and they all look positive, miles driven. Speaker 600:36:33We hear that every year, miles driven, average age of car. What can you tell prospective investors tomorrow at Oppenheimer? Speaker 200:36:42I think it's the same thing I've just said. I think we're in a mode of where we'll have margin accretion, both organically and through the growth of the brake business. And we see growth in the products, we see incremental cash flow. And we have the flexibility of allocation of capital with relative to increased gross cash flow. Speaker 600:37:07Okay. Thank you very much. Speaker 200:37:09Thank you. Operator00:37:13As of right now, we don't have any raised hands. I'd now like to hand back over to the management for the final remarks. Speaker 200:37:24In summary, we are gratified by the accomplishments in fiscal 2024 and the things we're discussing, but we are not done, okay. We are laser focused on further reducing our global cost structure and fully benefiting from a not easily duplicated global platform to meet demand for non discretionary products as well as from our diagnostic testing capabilities. We are leveraging our expertise in solid customer and supply partnerships. This includes our recently launched supply chain vendor finance program that benefits our suppliers. Our liquidity is strong and we have the resources, capacity, professional expertise to capitalize on significant market opportunities in all of our product lines, particularly our brake related business, which is gaining solid momentum. Speaker 200:38:10In closing, I must recognize the contributions of all of our team members who are continuously focused on providing the highest level of service. We are all committed to being the industry leader for parts and solutions that move our world today and in the future. I thank you and I look forward to further communications. Speaker 100:38:31Thank you. Operator00:38:33Thank you so much for attending today's call. You may now disconnect. Have a wonderful day.Read morePowered by