Atkore Inc.

Greetings and welcome to the Accord National Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2018 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone today should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to Keith Wisenand, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Rob, and good morning, everyone. With me today are Bill Waltz, President and CEO, David Johnson, Chief Financial Officer, and Jim Malek, Chief Accounting Officer. I'd like to remind everyone that during this call we may make projections or forward-looking statements regarding future events or future financial performance of the company. Such statements involve risk and uncertainties such that actual results may differ materially Please refer to our 10-K and today's press release, which identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements. With that, I'll turn it over to Bill.

Thanks, Keith, and good morning, everyone. Let me start by saying that we're proud to report strong financial performance for the year that delivered double-digit growth in net sales, adjusted EBITDA, and earnings per share. Starting on our full year 2018 results on slide three, ACCOR outperformed on our guidance and delivered net sales of $1.8 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $272 million, and adjusted earnings per share of $2.78, up 22%. 19% and 69% versus last year. These results were due to several key factors. First, our electrical raceway segment delivered net sales of $1.4 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $255 million. This equates to a 25% increase and a 35% increase year-over-year based in part on our increased average product market prices and the pass-through impact of higher freight costs to the market. Second, the mechanical products and solutions segment delivered net sales of $470 million, a 14.5% increase year-over-year, due in part to higher volume of products sold and higher average selling prices. However, Segment adjusted EBITDA declined 19% versus prior year due to an increase in average input costs, which exceeded the average price that we sold through partially offset through higher volume. Third, our portfolio changes over the last two years have provided accretive margins, added $24 million of additional EBITDA versus 2017, and continue to drive synergies across the organization. Fourth, our pricing initiatives and active product mix management increase average selling prices $166 million, which more than offset commodity and freight inflation. Lastly, ACOR's overall strong financial performance also provides the ability to repurchase and subsequently retire approximately 19 million shares. As a result, Accor's ownership under Clayton, Duvalier, and Rice has transformed to a fully independent company with a board of directors that now reflects this new stature. Taken together, Accor delivered strong results for the year. Net sales adjusted EBITDA and EPS were all three up double-digit year-over-year, and exceeded the midpoint of our full-year guidance. We also delivered strong operating cash flow, continued to integrate our acquisitions, and deployed capital to repurchase shares in an efficient and accretive manner. We deployed additional capital shortly after 2018 closed to acquire VirgoCAN, a Belgium-based manufacturer of metal cable support, underfloor, and industrial trunking systems. will add approximately $48 million of net sales and $8 million of adjusted EBITDA for synergies. The team, the culture, and the business system continue to provide the discipline to deliver on our commitments to our customers as well as our shareholders. With that, I'll turn the call over to David, who will walk us through our financials in more detail and provide additional insights into the quarter.