Quanex Building Products Corporation

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the Q1 2021 Quonex Building Products Corporation First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. At this time, our participant lines are in a listen-only mode. After this week's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1 on your telephone. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. If you require any further assistance, please press star 0. I will now hand today's conference over to your speaker, Scott Zilke, SVP, CFO, and Treasurer. Thank you. 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 QuantX 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 most directly comparable GAAP measures, please see our earnings release issued yesterday and posted to our website. I'll now discuss the financial results. We reported revenue of $230.1 million during the first quarter of 2021, which represents an increase of 17.1 percent compared to $196.6 million during the first quarter of 2020. The increase was primarily the result of increased demand for our products across all product lines and operating segments. We reported net income of $7.9 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, for the three months into January 31st, 2021, compared to $10,000 or zero cents per diluted share during the three months into January 31, 2020. The increase in net income was somewhat offset by a $6.7 million increase in SG&A during the quarter, $4.6 million of which was related to the valuation of our stock-based comp awards, mainly due to an increase in our stock price, and $1.6 million of which was due to higher medical claims. On an adjusted basis, net income increase to $9 million or 27 cents per diluted share during the first quarter of 2021 compared to 1.2 million or 4 cents per diluted share during the first quarter of 2020. The adjustments being made to EPS are for restructuring charges, certain executive severance charges, loss on the sale of a plant, accelerated DNA, foreign currency transaction impact, and transaction and advisory fees. On an adjusted basis, EBITDA for the quarter increased by 55.4 percent to 24.3 million, compared to 15.7 million during the same period of last year. The increase is largely due to operating leverage from higher volumes. From a margin standpoint, this increase represents adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of approximately 260 basis points. Moving on to cash flow in the balance sheet, Cash used for operating activities was $3.4 million during the three months ended January 31, 2021, compared to $3.7 million for the three months ended January 31, 2020. While our free cash flow was negative, this is typical for the first quarter of each year, and we did show improvement compared to last year. In fact, we did not need to borrow on our revolver during the quarter and still managed to both repay $5 million in bank debt and repurchase approximately $1.9 million of our stocks. Our balance sheet is strong, our liquidity position is solid, and our leverage ratio of net debt to last 12 months adjusted EBITDA is unchanged at 0.6 times as of January 31st, 2021. We will remain focused on managing working capital and generating cash as the year progresses. We will also continue to be opportunistic with respect to repurchasing our stock. As stated in our earnings release, we remain optimistic about the economic recovery. Based on our strong first quarter results and ongoing conversations with our customers, we are raising our expectations for the year and now expect approximately 12% sales growth in our North American fenestration segment, approximately 5% sales growth in our North American cabinet component segment, and approximately 22% sales growth in our European fenestration segment. We're now comfortable providing the following full year 2021 guidance. net sales of 945 to 965 million, adjusted EBITDA of 112 to 122 million, depreciation of approximately 33 million, amortization of approximately 14 million, SG&A of approximately 105 million. Note that this is higher than previously expected due to an increase in stock-based comp expense and more normalized medical costs. interest expense of 3 to 4 million, a tax rate of 26 to 27 percent, capex of about 30 million, and then free cash flow of approximately 60 million. If you adjust for the expected increase in SG&A, the implied incremental adjusted EBITDA margin is in the mid-20 percent range. As mentioned in our earnings release, we expect the typical seasonality in our business to be less pronounced this year. So we feel it would be necessary to provide some direction on a quarterly basis. From a cadence perspective for Q2, on a consolidated basis, we expect net sales to be up approximately 25% year over year. We believe the strongest revenue growth and margin expansion in Q2 will likely come from our European fenestration segment since our plants in the UK were shut down in March of last year and didn't come back online completely until May. Looking ahead on a consolidated basis, we currently expect net sales growth of approximately 12% year-over-year in Q3, and due to the tough comp, we may not see any growth in Q4. In addition, again on a consolidated basis, it could prove challenging to realize margin expansion in the second half due to inflationary pressures, increased stock-based comp expense, and a normalization of medical expenses. To summarize, On a consolidated basis for the full year, we currently expect to generate net sales growth of approximately 12% year-over-year to the midpoint of guidance, while maintaining adjusted EBITDA margin in the low 12% range. I'll now turn the call over to George for his prepared remarks.

Thanks, Scott. Demand for our products during the first quarter of 2021 proved to be even stronger than our expectations. and I'm very pleased with the results in what is traditionally our weakest quarter. We remain steadfast in our pursuit of operational excellence, cash flow optimization, and improving return on invested capital throughout all segments of our business. Continued success on all these efforts will create further value for our shareholders and should position the company well for any opportunities that may arise in the future. Prior to discussing the segment detail, I'd like to provide some color on the macroeconomic conditions of the markets we serve. Overall, we are still experiencing high demand across all of our product lines. In North America, the new construction market remains strong and sales of existing homes, which is a key indicator for repair and remodel, also remains healthy. Specific to cabinet components, the semi-custom segment, which is the main segment we serve, is starting to show growth above that of the stock segment. As a matter of reference, there was a significant shift in market share away from the semi-custom segment to the stock segment over the past few years. So the recent KCMA data is encouraging in that it shows the semi-custom segment gaining ground over stock. Demand for the products we manufacture in the UK and Germany remains robust, despite the strict and ongoing COVID-related measures. We believe the demand is strong because many international markets remain underbuilt with an infrastructure that is aging, and regulatory requirements on energy efficiency align very well with our product offering. We also believe demand in Europe and the U.K. is being favorably impacted by the continued shift of the discretionary income away from travel and leisure activities into home improvement projects. Although we remain optimistic on macroeconomic conditions in all the markets we serve, We also see some challenging headwinds. We are seeing increased inflationary pressures on most of our major raw material input costs, as well as some large dollar expense items such as freight. These pressures were recently exasperated due to the severe winter weather in Texas and along the Gulf Coast, which caused delays and shortages of key chemicals, feedstocks, and energy supply. As a reminder, For the most part, we have contractual pass-throughs for the major raw materials we use in North America, but there is often a lag depending on the contract, anywhere from 30 to 90 days. We do not have these contractual pass-throughs in Europe and the U.K., so our ability to pass on any increases through price becomes more important. And for the most part, we've been very successful in doing just that. Another current headwind is the availability of labor. Company-wide, we have approximately 400 open positions, which equates to roughly 10% of our global workforce. This is an issue that is not unique to Quantix, and it's impacting manufacturing operations in many different markets and industries. In some of our plants, this issue has resulted in high levels of overtime, extended lead times, and even customer allocations in some limited circumstances. I will now provide my comments on performance by segment for our fiscal first quarter. And as a general statement, results were outstanding in each of these operating segments. Our North American fenestration segment generated revenue of $128.1 million in Q1, which was $17.7 million, or approximately 16% higher than prior year Q1. Strong demand across all product lines, share gains in our screens business, and increased capacity utilization on our vinyl extrusion assets all contributed to the above-market performance. Adjusted EBITDA of $16.4 million in this segment was $7.7 million, or approximately 88 percent higher than prior year Q1. Volume-related operating leverage, the implementation of annual pricing adjustments, operational improvements, and lower SG&A all contributed to the improved performance year over year. Our European fenestration segment generated revenue of $49.1 million in the first quarter, which is $12.3 million, or approximately 34% higher than prior year. Excluding foreign exchange impact, this would equate to an increase of approximately 28%. Strong demand for our products continues in both vinyl extrusions and spacers, as the repair and remodel markets in the UK and continental Europe remain strong. Adjusted EBITDA of 10.7 million resulted in margin expansion of approximately 660 basis points year-over-year. Volume-related impacts, timing of pricing actions, and operational improvements more than offset inflationary pressure towards the end of the quarter. Our North American Cabinet components segment reported net sales of 54 million in Q1, which was 4 million, or approximately 8% better than prior year. Demand for our cabinet components products was solid throughout the quarter, as the market continued to see strength in new construction and R&R. Adjusted EBITDA was 3.3 million in this segment, which represents margin expansion of approximately 330 basis points compared to prior year. Increased volume, and benefits realized from new assets put into service last year were the primary drivers of improvements in the quarter. Unallocated corporate and other costs were $6 million for the quarter, which is $5.4 million higher than prior year. As Scott mentioned, the primary drivers of this increase were stock-based compensation expense related to share price appreciation, along with higher medical expenses, as our employees have started to feel more comfortable going back to their doctors. It is also worth noting that we realized the benefit for medical costs in Q1 of last year. As I mentioned earlier, we remain focused on operational excellence, cash flow optimization, and improving return on invested capital throughout all segments of our business. Our continued progress on these fronts is driving results and has allowed us to continue to strengthen our balance sheet by paying down debt further during a quarter where we have historically been a net borrower. In summary, macro data points for our business are positive. We are executing on our plan and performing well from an operational standpoint, and our orders remain strong. As such, on a consolidated basis, we are confident in our ability to deliver low double-digit revenue growth this year while maintaining adjusted EBITDA margins in the low 12 percent range, despite the increasing inflationary pressures. And with that, operator, we are now ready to take questions.

Thank you. As a reminder, in order to ask an audio question, please press star followed by the number one. And your first question is from the line of Daniel Moore with CJS Securities.

Hey, George, Scott, good morning. Thanks for taking the questions.

Yeah, good morning.

Good morning. Start with, and really solid results, obviously, start with the 17% jump in revenue for Q1 2021. Just how much of that was pricing reflecting pass-through of raw materials and kind of similar question for the increase in revenue guide for the year?

I'd say as a general statement, most of the increase in revenue was really related to increased demand and volume. Pricing started to play a role towards the end of the quarter and will likely play a role along with the raw material increases going forward through the year, but In Q1, it was mostly volume.

Got it. That's helpful. Scott, I think you said a number for the increase in medical claims for the quarter. I missed it. If you said it, can you repeat it, and what are the expectations kind of on a full year basis?

Medical first quarter year over year is 1.6 million higher. What we're forecasting is kind of a a return to what we would call somewhat normalized. So if you take 2019 and average that with 2020, obviously 2020 was a lot lower due to the COVID restrictions. We're expecting somewhere in the middle there.

Got it. Okay. And George gave a lot of great color just in terms of EU demand, obviously remarkably strong and continues to be. You know, just if you had to rank order those factors that you described in terms of what's driving the underlying growth, is it COVID restrictions, you know, is it interest rates remaining low, the efficiency, the standards, you know, or is it just, you know, a combination of all those, just any more color on what's driving that strong demand would be helpful. Okay.

I think, Daniel, what we're seeing is really a balance between the two of the main items. One, the infrastructure is old, and the need to replace windows from the R&R side continues to be there, and the fact that across all of Europe there are some very strict regulations as to energy efficiency requirements when you replace anything on the home. and our products fit very well into that application, better than most. That is a significant benefit and is unrelated to COVID. The COVID piece, as it relates to the restriction on travel, I do think that that's playing a significant piece and will in the near term because I don't see the travel opening up. So across the board, you're seeing people with the discretionary income with the inability to travel and go places or putting money back into their their homes, and we absolutely are seeing a benefit from that. Those are the two main factors.

Very helpful. Okay. I will jump back and queue with any follow-ups. Thank you. Thank you.

Your next question is from the line of Julio Romero with Sidoti.

Hey, good morning. Morning. Hey, I just wanted to ask a follow-up to that last question about the demand drivers in Europe. You know, you called out kind of improved demand consumer demand for renovation because there's less kind of less spend on travel and economic recovery, increasing vaccination rates. But just try to help me think about the differences between what's driving demand in Europe and what's driving demand in North America, because all those things fit the North American profile as well. Right. So I don't know if you can help us think about, you know, what's a key difference between both geographies.

I think they do. I think the big difference between Europe and North America is that in North America, the new construction activity competes with R&R in terms of installation labor, whereas in the U.K. and Europe, it's much more focused on R&R. So, you know, the European growth model is building into that fact. We tend to be heavier weighted to R&R, so in North America, Any resources that go to new construction, I guess comparatively, that's where you'll see the difference.

Okay. I guess on your cabinet segment, you saw some good margin improvement there, I think 330 basis points. Can you maybe try to quantify the benefits of the new assets, how much that benefited the margin versus volume leverage? And also, when do you anniversary those new assets?

In terms of the asset, you know, it's hard to break it down because plant by plant it gets rolled into general operational improvements. There are three or four assets that we put into our rough mills that are showing yield improvements. So, we haven't split that kind of detail out. So I think it would be inappropriate, and I don't have the proper numbers in front of me to give you that information, Julio. Could you repeat the second part of your question? I apologize.

Sure. If you benefited from not just volume leverage in this quarter, but also improvement on your manufacturing capabilities, when did you put that in place last year? I'm just trying to think about when you anniversary that.

That was those assets were, were more back half. So we'll, we'll see a full year of benefit probably end of third into our fourth quarter. They were, they were end of year asset installations.

Okay. And I guess just my last one's a little more broad, just, you know, you called out some, some labor constraints in terms of your company, but yeah, I've always thought about labor constraints is also helping your company right on the, from your customer base because I would think increased labor tightness drives additional demand for your type of product. So if you could speak to that and maybe what you're seeing there.

No, you're absolutely correct. The labor constraints are also a driver of increased share and demand for us. So it's a balance that we're trying to fight and create. As I said, it's not a problem unique to Quantix. So it is creating opportunities. But at the same time, we're fighting availability of labor. As they continue to approve extended unemployment benefits, it is difficult to get labor in almost every market that we're in. And it's the same thing. a simple problem to solve, but you are correctly stating that it is an opportunity for us as well. And we're trying to capitalize on that. We're working hard with our human resources department to put in different programs to be more forward-thinking in terms of attracting labor.

Okay. That's it for me. Thanks very much. Thank you.

Your next question is from the line of Stephen Ramsey of Thompson Research.

Hey, good morning. Morning. Good morning. I guess I wanted to continue on the labor constraints and maybe more how it impacts you guys. How much did labor constraints maybe, did it reduce sales even though demand was higher for you guys in Q1? And if that was the case, what segments or products are the labor constraints impacting you the most?

So I think where you would see the biggest impact for us is really on our labor costs and significant increases in overtime usage. I don't think, in very rare circumstances, has it impacted a reduction in shipments. The area that... currently is most impacted would probably be our cabinet components plants, primarily up in the Minnesota, Wisconsin area is the toughest market right now.

Okay, great. And then maybe I missed this in the prepared remarks, but how much then is our automation investments a focus right now for CapEx? Maybe it, If there are automation investments being stepped up, is that in North America cabinets or other segments? And then maybe if this is a meaningful portion of the CapEx guide.

CapEx... Automation has been a focus for us for multiple years and it will continue to be so. We have active projects in place to try to reduce labor and ease that burden of our labor demand. The problem that we have and everyone will have in CapEx is that most of the equipment suppliers for automation have long lead times because their demand has increased and they're having the same issues. So we're actively working to implement processes that improve our existing process. But I will tell you that all CAPEX projects are being extended in terms of their timing based on lack of supply and equipment across the globe.

Gotcha. That does it for me. Thanks.

Thank you.

Your next question is from the line of Ruben Gardner of the Benchmark Company.

Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Maybe if we could talk about the, so we've heard ocean freight and just transportation in general, I guess globally has become increasingly an issue. Are you guys finding that, you know, I know this last year you got some benefit from, from some of the cabinet manufacturers looking to do, you know, in source, production, are you guys finding that to be increasingly a trend in this environment, or is there some other offset that might negate that factor?

No, we still see it as that is a tailwind for us. Internationally sourced freight is The ability to find containers and the surcharges being applied to containers is a significant cost to those that heavily rely on importing a product. So that is an opportunity for us. Our challenge will be, as you know, is we do a very good job of trying to source and supply locally. So it's the inner freight between our plants and trying to minimize the freight costs between us and our customers that we're focused on right now. We don't have a huge impact on the cost side of us from international freight. So that piece is an opportunity. Okay.

And then in North American fenestration, obviously a big quarter there and the outlook is very strong. I mean, is there any way to gauge? I think you guys have been, you know, doing well on the top line with some of your initiatives recently. like screens, for example, but is there any way to gauge, you know, what the, I guess, the market's growing versus how fast you guys are expecting to grow? And then, you know, also, I guess, you know, Windows is one of the things that we've heard is the most constrained product in the industry. Is that leading to an increased backlog for you guys in the coming course? In other words, maybe you would have even had stronger results in Q1 had the industry been able to keep up with the demand?

Let me take the first part of that on the us versus market in North America fenestration. So as you know, we track a few different sources. And Ducker is one that we track for window shipments. And I think their latest forecast showed an expectation of about 6% growth this year. Obviously, with the revised guidance that we just provided, that would indicate that we're growing meaningfully above market. I think, to your point, screens is definitely one of the main drivers there. I'll turn it over to George for the other comment.

In terms of the backlog with the Windows customers, You know, I think that this, again, Ruben, goes to the pace setter being installation labor versus new build. From what we're hearing from our customers, demand is strong, backlogs are there, and it's really the installation of windows into the opening holes that's the pace setter for the flow through our industry. So I'm not sure... We could have provided any more windows, and I don't think my customers can make any more. It's really being paced on the installer end.

Okay, and then if I could sneak one more in. Any updates or anything new on the energy efficiency front? I know that you guys, your spacers are efficient and would benefit from any kind of new regulation from the administration. Have you heard or have any updates there?

No, I think it's too early into the new administration. I mean, we anticipate over everything that we're seeing that, you know, it'll be at some point have a renewed focus. You know, we tend to be behind the Europeans in that realm, and we anticipate it'll be addressed, but it hasn't at this point, and we haven't heard anything on the near-term horizon. Great. Thank you, guys, and congrats on the good start to the year.

Thanks, Reuben.

Thanks, Reuben.

Your next question is from the line of Ken Zinner of KeyBank.

Good morning, gentlemen. Good morning, Ken.

Oh, what a quarter. Let's see here. I'm just looking at your January presentation, 55%, thereabouts, North American fenestration. Can you just update us? on the mix of your three businesses there. Is it about a third, a third, a third still, would you say, for IGE screens and profiles?

I think really based on some of the comments we made on screens and accessories, that piece is probably growing to a little bit more than a third. Yeah. IGE is doing well, too. And I would say vinyl is probably on the lower end of the three.

Now, I appreciate that, and it's getting to the actual questions about the quarter and the year, but I ask that because it seems like you're obviously, if the industry is up six, and what was, Doug, you're saying FY20 was up for the industry? Scott, if you have that?

For 21, they were expecting 6% growth. Versus what in FY20, please? Okay.

I'm just trying to see, was this share gain, yeah, that's where I'm going.

Yeah, about two, a little over 2% in 20.

Right. So would you say the share gains you're seeing in screens is really a function of, you know, your strategy to help manufacturers improve their businesses? Is that Is that a new function that we're seeing in 21, or was that kind of evident in the back half of 20 or 19? Is this a new event is what I'm getting at? Because it's real success you're having, obviously.

Yeah, I would say the success on the screen side is really working with our customers to show the benefit of outsourcing that process and allowing them to focus on using their labor to manufacture and sell windows. The other thing that it's starting to see, and if you remember, we opened up a new plant at the very end of our fiscal 2020, and so we're gaining some growth on an area that was underserved in prior years. That's the two impacts on the screen side.

Okay, so when you're saying underserved, just to explore this, because I think about these businesses all different. Underserved, I mean, so you opened up a new plant, and I could Google this, I guess, but you're opening up a plant next to – an existing customer or new customer, basically. So it's actually a greater share of that person's screen business is what I'm assuming you're saying to me.

As we said in the past, the screen product line, and if you look on our investor presentation and see our footprint, the screens are, in terms of weight, very light and they can be easily damaged. So The location of a plant is really based upon a freight radius. We know our optimal radius to be able to ship a screen. So when we locate a new plant, it tends to be around a cluster of customers that we think we have an opportunity to get new business on. And that's why we chose Allentown, PA.

Excellent. Really appreciate that. So going back to the other piece, if you guys don't mind this question because it Penetration is a fascinating industry. Your profiles, would you say your profile shipments have been in line with the industry growth rate or, you know, or the kind of share gains that we're seeing in your guidance? And related to that, you know, obviously the price pass-through, you know, or are you seeing any disruption there relative to your ability to capture price on the underlying market? Because all that stuff is under contract, right? I mean, it's not a lot of spot. Is it on the accruing side for price?

Yeah, that is correct. I would say in general our growth has been in line with what we're seeing in terms of the market. As we've said in the past, we've been very focused on understanding what we do and do well. So as we've quoted and gone after and retained specific pieces of the business, it's based on SKUs that we feel that we can run effectively. And the other piece that we're doing is we're looking at areas in non-fenestration and it's just starting, but being able to look at other things that use extruded vinyl profiles and utilizing the assets. So we're really, our focus right now is on OEE, keeping the equipment up and running and optimize all runs. to be able to effectively improve profitability. And so that's what we're working on in that area.

And where would you say your capacity is pre having that big shutdown, you know, two or three years ago? Are you running at about 60% of the capacity you did at the peak, you know, three or four years ago?

I would say roughly that's correct.

Excellent. And then last question, sorry, but The comments from you, consistent with KCMA data, showing cabinet sales up 10% in January, but, you know, semi-custom up 17%, and that's one month, and I'd have to look at the comps and such. But, wow, what a turn. Can you comment as to the 5% growth, if you think that's reasonable enough? Obviously, I think it's reasonable as your guidance, but I mean, do you think there's upside there, or do you have installation constraints like you do in windows, or do you think there could be something bigger there? Because semi-custom homeowners' equity is at a record level. You know, do you think there's – that's a really favorable term for you. That's my last question. Thank you very much, gentlemen.

Thanks, Ken. To answer that question, I think really the biggest pacesetter for us is labor availability, which I talked about. If there is any upside, it will be on any loosening of available labor in the areas where we have our door and our components plants.

Thank you. Your next question is from the line of Daniel Moore with CJS Securities.

Yes, thanks again. Most of my follow-ups are covered, but just a quick one. Maybe comment on your proclivity to be more aggressive in terms of buybacks with the remaining 9 million authorizations just given rising EBITDA and strong expected free cash flow and obviously all the gains that you've made on the balance sheet?

Yeah, good question. I think that, to your point, we are operating well. We're putting up good numbers. We did repurchase about $1.9 million in the first quarter. I think the average price was right around $25 or so, which sends a message that we still continue to believe our stock is undervalued even at these levels. So we will be opportunistic with repurchasing stock going forward.

That is helpful. Thanks again.

Yep. Thank you.

Thank you. And at this time, we have no further questions. I will turn it back over to our CEO, George Wilson, for any closing remarks.

Thank you. Before we sign off, I'd just like to take a brief moment and thank Bob Buck for his service on our board and to Quantix. Bob's contributions over the years were invaluable, and his guidance will be missed as he enters his retirement. I'd like to thank you all for joining the call, and we look forward to providing an update on our next earnings call in June. Thank you.

Thank you. This does conclude today's conference call. You may now disconnect.