Dover Corporation

Please stand by. Your program is about to begin. If you need audio assistance during today's conference, please press star zero. Good morning and welcome to Dover's fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings conference call. Speaking today are Richard Tobin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Brad Serapak, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Jack Dickens, Vice President, Investor Relations. Also present today is Chris Winker, Dover's Segment Chief Financial Officer, who will succeed Mr. Serapak upon his retirement at the end of the month. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer period. If you would like to ask a question during this time, press star and then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star 2. As a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, this conference call is being recorded. and your participation implies consent to our recording of this call. If you do not agree with these terms, please disconnect at this time. I think you would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Jack Dickens. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Margo. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our call. An audio version of this call will be available on our website through February 20th, and a replay link of the webcast will be archived for 90 days. Our comments today will include forward-looking statements based on current expectations. Actual results and events could differ from those statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties which are discussed in our SEC filings. We assume no obligation to update our forward-looking statements. With that, I will turn the call over to Rich.

Thanks, Jack. Good morning, everyone. Let's start on page three. Overall, we are encouraged by the fourth quarter. Top-line performance was broad-based with four out of five segments posting positive organic growth on solid underlying demand across the portfolio. Bookings were up 7% organically in the quarter, driven by robust order rates in our secular growth-exposed markets, as well as positive inflection in several end markets that had tough comps during the year. Our booking strength validates our previous demand outlook for 2025. Segment margin performance in the quarter was solid at 22.2%, up 60 basis points over the prior year. We were quite encouraged by the product mix impact and prior period fixed cost restructuring on segment margins during the quarter. We expect this to be a precursor of the strong incremental margin performance that we expect in 2025. Excluding the 25 cents of tax reorganization benefit to our effective tax rate in fourth quarter of the prior year, Q4 adjusted EPS grew 14% in the quarter and was up 8% for the Our operational results were complemented by our ongoing portfolio actions. We recently closed two bolt-on acquisitions within our high-priority pumps and process solution segment, and our acquisition pipeline remains robust. We ended the year with a significant gas position that provides us flexibility as we pursue value-creating capital deployment to further expand our businesses in high-growth, high-margin priority platforms through organic investment and acquisitions. We are optimistic about 2025. Underlying demand strength has continued across the portfolio into January. We have significant runway for margin improvement through organic growth, positive mixed benefits, and numerous cost and performance levers. We have high confidence in Dover's attractive end market exposures, flexible business model, and proven execution playbook. With this backdrop, we are poised to deliver double-digit EPS growth in 2025 through a combination of accretive top-line growth, margin improvement, and value-creating capital allocation. Let's skip to slide five. Engineered products was up 2% organically in the quarter on volume growth and vehicle service and fluid dispensing. Aerospace and defense was lower in the period due to shipment timing, but still posted a record year on growing global demand for signal intelligence and electronic warfare solutions. Clean energy and fueling was up 8% organically in the quarter, led by robust order rates and shipments within cryogenic and clean energy components, as well as solid volume growth in retail fueling equipment. Our North American above-ground fueling business is methodically building back to volumes from peak EMV cycle from several years ago. Importantly, there was notable growth inflection in mix accretive vehicle wash and below-ground retail fueling in the quarter, which had faced tough market conditions over the last two years. Margin was up 200 basis points in the quarter on positive volume leverage, attractive mix, and operational execution. We expect these trends to continue to drive margins higher in 2025. Imaging and identification post another solid quarter with growth in core marketing coding printers, consumable services, and aftermarket parts. Margin performance was robust as management actions on cost to serve and structural cost controls continued to drive incremental margins higher. Pumps and process solutions up 3% organically on robust shipments in single-use biopharma components and thermal connectors. both of which posted year-over-year bookings growth in excess of 100% in the quarter. Precision components and industrial pumps had solid results as well. As forecasted, the long cycle polymer processing equipment was down year-over-year in the period but was flat sequentially. Segment revenue mixed drove 230 basis points of margin improvement on excellent production performance on volume growth in biopharma and thermal. and margin mixed benefits from the F.W. Murphy acquisition. Revenue was down in the quarter in climate sustainability technologies and expected declines in European heat exchanges and beverage can making equipment, which more than offset the record quarterly volume in U.S. CO2 refrigeration systems and growth in heat exchanges in the U.S. and Asia. Our shipments of heat exchanges for heat pumps in Europe did improve sequentially in the quarter, a trend we expect to accelerate in the back half of 2025 as the end market recovers. Organic bookings were up 16% in the quarter, with positive momentum across each operating business with particular strength in CO2 systems. I'll pass it to Brad here.