Quanex Building Products Corporation

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the fourth quarter and full year 2020 Quantex Building Products Corporation's earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you'll need to press star 1 on your telephone. As a reminder, today's program is being recorded. And now I'd like to introduce your host for today's program, Scott Zulke, Senior Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer. Please go ahead, sir.

Thanks for joining the call this morning. On the call with me today is George Wilson, our President and CEO. This conference call will contain forward-looking statements and some discussion of non-GAAP measures. Forward-looking statements and guidance discussed on this call and in our earnings release are based on current expectations. Actual results or events may differ materially from such statements and guidance. and Quantix undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect new information or events. For a more detailed description of our forward-looking statement disclaimer and a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, please see our earnings release issued yesterday and posted to our website. I'll now discuss the financial results. Net sales increased by 6.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2020, mainly due to increased demand for our products across all of our operating segments. Conversely, net sales decreased to 851.6 million for the full year 2020, compared to 893.9 million in 2019. The decrease was largely due to lower volume related to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2Q and 3Q. More specifically, in addition to softer demand in North America and continental Europe during the early stages of the pandemic, Our two manufacturing facilities in the U.K. were closed in compliance with government orders in late March, and manufacturing operations at those plants did not restart until mid to late May. However, volume increased significantly in June across all product lines, and net sales in July through October exceeded prior year on a consolidated basis. We reported net income of $22.2 million, or 68 cents per diluted share, for the three months ended October 31st, 2020, compared to a net loss of $30.9 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, during the three months ended October 31st, 2019. For fiscal 2020, we reported net income of $38.5 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $46.7 million, or $1.42 per diluted share for fiscal 2019. The reported net losses in 2019 primarily attributable to a $44.6 million non-cash goodwill impairment in the fourth quarter of last year and a $30 million non-cash goodwill impairment in the second quarter of last year, both in the North American cabinet component segment, mainly due to lower volume expectations related to the shift in the market from semi-custom to stock cabinets and customer-specific strategy changes. On an adjusted basis, Net income was $22 million or $0.67 per diluted share during the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to $14 million or $0.42 per diluted share during the fourth quarter of 2019. Adjusted net income was $40.7 million or $1.24 per diluted share for fiscal 2020, compared to $31.4 million or $0.95 per diluted share for fiscal 2019. The adjustments being made to EPS are for restructuring charges, certain executive severance charges, non-cash asset impairment charges, accelerated DNA, foreign currency and transaction impacts, and transaction and advisory fees. On an adjusted basis, EBITDA increased by 14.3 percent to 39.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared to 34.4 million in the fourth quarter of last year. For the full year 2020, adjusted EBITDA increased by almost 2 percent to 104.5 million, compared to 102.7 million in 2019. The increase in earnings for the three months ended October 31st, 2020 were mainly due to higher volumes, improved operating leverage, and lower raw material costs. The increases in earnings for the 12 months ended October 31st, 2020 were primarily driven by a decrease in SG&A expenses, mainly due to lower medical costs. I'll now move on to cash flow and the balance sheet. Cash provided by operating activities was $100.8 million for the 12 months ended October 31, 2020, which represents an increase of 4.6% when compared to $96.4 million for the 12 months ended October 31, 2019. We generated free cash flow of $75.1 million in 2020 compared to $71.5 million in 2019. As a result of our strong free cash flow profile, we repurchased $7.2 million in stock and repaid $39.5 million of bank debt during fiscal 2020, $35 million of which was repaid in the fourth quarter alone. Our balance sheet is healthy, our liquidity position is strong and getting stronger, and our leverage ratio of net debt to last 12 months adjusted EBITDA improved to 0.6 times as of October 31, 2020. which is 50 percent lower than where we exited fiscal 2019. In fact, the interest rate on our revolver will drop by another 25 basis points to the lowest tier, which is LIBOR plus 125 basis points. As for 2021 guidance, and as noted in the outlook section of our earnings release, based on conversations with our customers and the latest macro data and current trends, we expect mid to high single-digit sales growth in our North American fenestration segment, low single-digit sales growth in our North American cabinet component segment, and mid single-digit sales growth in our European fenestration segment. Overall, on a consolidated basis, this should equate to net sales of approximately 900 to 920 million, and we expect to generate between 108 and 118 million in adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2021. This guidance assumes no adverse impact from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We intend to concentrate on executing our 2021 plan with a continued focus on creating shareholder value. For modeling purposes, it's appropriate to make the following assumptions for 2021. Depreciation of approximately 33 million, amortization of approximately 14 million, SG&A of 95 to 100 million, interest expense of $3.5 to $4.5 million, and a tax rate of approximately 26%. From a CapEx standpoint, we expect to spend about $30 million in 2021. We've been very good at managing working capital and have implemented a number of successful systemic changes over the past two to three years. However, now that all of these fundamental systemic changes are in place, it will be more difficult to realize a benefit from working capital moving forward. Our goal is to generate free cash flow of approximately $60 million in fiscal 2021. I'll now turn the call over to George for his prepared remarks.

Thanks, Scott. We are extremely pleased with our fourth quarter and full year 2020 results, especially considering the uncertainty that has existed since the beginning of the pandemic. The full year 2020 results were like a roller coaster ride. The year started very strong before COVID began to impact operations during our second quarter. The pandemic caused uncertainty at all levels of our business, slowdowns across all of our product lines, and temporary plant closures in the UK. Then, volumes rebounded swiftly midway through the third quarter, which has continued through year end. We ended 2020 with record order and sales levels in October. As Scott mentioned, we generated net sales of 851.6 million in 2020, which was 4.7% lower than 2019. However, even with the lower volume in sales in 2020, we were able to increase adjusted EBITDA on a consolidated basis. The increase was driven by our continued focus on operational improvements along with SG&A reductions. Also, in a renewed effort to improve our return on invested capital metric over time, we have implemented various processes designed to improve capital efficiency, reduce costs, and really scrub the expected returns on our capital projects. In fact, over the course of the last three years, we have significantly improved ROIC, and we plan to stay the course and expect further improvement in this metric in the coming years. Before I move on to discuss market and segment performance, I really would like to take a moment to thank the entire Quantix team for their continued commitment and dedication to keeping each other safe, maintaining a high level of supply and quality performance for our customers, and for giving their time and resources to help the communities in which they live. It has been a challenging year for everybody, and I am very proud of what the Quantix team has accomplished. From a macro perspective, The markets we operate in are all showing robust activity, despite the ongoing challenges presented by COVID. Pre-pandemic, we strongly believe that the U.S. housing market was underbuilt. Fast forward to today, and you can see a growing migration from urban to suburban living, low existing housing inventory, low mortgage rates, and what appears to be a pickup in millennial household purchases. Given all these factors, we believe the stage is set for what should translate into continued high demand for building products for the foreseeable future. In addition, travel restrictions and quarantine requirements have impacted discretionary spending choices and funds that historically might have been used for travel and leisure appear to now be getting diverted into the repair and remodel of existing home spaces. In the cabinet markets, we continue to see growth in total cabinet demand as well as stabilization in the shift from semi-custom to stock segments. According to KCMA data, the semi-custom cabinet market grew by 5.7% in the quarter, which compares favorably to the 5.9% growth we reported in our North American cabinet component segment. If you adjust for the customer that exited the cabinet business in late 2019, this operating segment grew by over 9% in 4Q. Year-to-date through October, the semi-custom market is down 3.9% versus the same period of 2019, primarily due to the negative demand impact the pandemic had in 2Q and 3Q. Revenue in our North American cabinet component segment decreased by 8.5% year-over-year, but if you adjust for the customer that exited the business, we were well in line with the market for the full year. Despite a recent uptick in pandemic-related restrictions, our UK and continental Europe markets remain at record levels. The repair and replacement market in Europe is being fueled by dynamics that are similar to the U.S., both in terms of being underbuilt and in terms of benefiting from ongoing travel restrictions and diversion of discretionary spending. The repair and replacement market is a clear beneficiary of these dynamics, and that is the market we primarily serve. In addition, our products fulfill the governmental energy efficiency mandates that exist in these markets, so windows and doors that are replaced, our products meet all specifications and requirements. Despite Brexit and COVID-related concerns, we still anticipate mid-single-digit growth in our European fenestration segment in 2021. I will now discuss quarterly segment results. which are highlighted by the fact that we saw margin expansion in each of our three operating segments. Our North American fenestration segment reported revenue of $142 million in Q4, which was down only slightly from prior year fourth quarter. Solid demand across all product lines was offset by the loss of one vinyl profile customer that occurred on January 1st of 2020. Absent this loss, The segment grew at 3.9 percent year-over-year in Q4, which compares favorably to industry shipments. Adjusted EBITDA of 23.8 million in this segment was 1.1 million, or 4.8 percent better than prior year fourth quarter. Volume-related impacts, favorable material costs, and lower SG&A more than offset the higher levels of overtime and startup costs associated with our new screens plant in Pennsylvania. We generated revenue of 56.8 million in our European fenestration segment in Q4, which was 13 million, or 29.6% higher than prior year, or up 36.6% after excluding the foreign exchange impact. As mentioned in our third quarter call, sales rebounded quickly in June and July after the COVID-related shutdowns expired. The uptick in volumes continued throughout Q4 and resulted in record quarterly revenue levels for the segment. Adjusted EBITDA of $13.4 million in Q4 was also a record quarter and represents margin improvement of approximately 460 basis points over prior year. This margin expansion was driven by higher volumes in the related operating leverage plus favorable material pricing. Our North American Cabinet Components segment reported net sales of $57.5 million in Q4, which was 5.9% better than prior year. Strong demand combined with opportunities created by supply chain disruptions in the cabinet component import markets continued into the quarter, and we have been successful in capitalizing on some of those opportunities. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was $4.6 million, which represents an increase of 53.8% compared to prior year fourth quarter. Volume benefits combined with favorable raw material pricing, better wood yields, and lower than anticipated medical expenses all contributed to favorable performance during the period. Finally, unallocated corporate and SG&A costs were $2.9 million higher than prior year fourth quarter. The primary drivers of the higher expenses were higher incentive true-ups combined with the decision to make a discretionary bonus payment to all of our employees that do not participate in a formal incentive plan. As we look ahead to 2021, we remain very optimistic on our view of market dynamics and macro fundamentals. Like everyone else, we know we will need to continue navigating pandemic-related challenges in the near term, but we are encouraged by the recent vaccine news and excited to finally begin seeing some light at the end of this tunnel. As Scott stated earlier, we expect to deliver net sales of $900 to $920 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $108 to $118 million in 2021. We will continue to invest in the business while still expecting to generate approximately $60 million of free cash flow. We've worked very hard to position Quantix to succeed, and with our strong balance sheet and cash flow profile, our focus will remain on improving returns on invested capital and generating free cash flow. We will also have a renewed focus on revenue growth since we now have a more stable base and tailwinds in the markets that we serve. In summary, we have continued to execute successfully on our strategy, which has put us in a strong financial position to capitalize on potential future opportunities, even in this uncertain pandemic environment. We feel the macroeconomic indicators should provide us with tailwinds that, when combined with our expected operational execution, will make for another solid year in 2021. We look forward to another year of strong performance as we continue to focus on ways to create further shareholder value. And with that, operator, we are now ready to take some questions.