Terex Corporation

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Randy Wilson, Director of Investor Relations for Terex Corporation. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

Good morning and welcome to the Terex second quarter 2021 earnings conference call. A copy of the press release and presentation slides are posted on our investor relations website at investors.terex.com.

In addition, the replay and slide presentation will be available on our website. I'm joined by John Garrison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and John Duffy Sheehan, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

They're prepared remarks will be followed by Q&A. Please turn to slide two of the presentation, which reflects our safe harbor statement. Today's conference call contains forward-looking statements which are subject to risk that could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied. In addition, we'll be discussing non-GAAP information that we believe is useful in evaluating companies' operating performance. Reconciliations for these non-GAAP measures can be found in the conference call materials. Please turn to slide three, and I'll turn it over to John Garrison. Good morning, and thank you for joining us and for your interest in Terex. I want to take a moment and emphasize once again that Terex actions are always guided by our values. We consistently act with integrity, operate with excellence, and care for our team members, customers, and communities. That is true every quarter, but it has been especially important in the past 18 months as the world has dealt with unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. While risks remain, many of the world's economies are moving forward. I would like to thank our team members around the world for their continued commitment to our zero harm safety culture and Terex Way values. Safety remains the top priority in the company, driven by Think Safe, Work Safe, Home Safe. All Terex team members have contributed to our effort to continue to produce and serve as equipment for our customers while following the protocols and maintaining a safe working environment. I would like to offer my gratitude to our team members and distributors that worked through so many unique circumstances over the last year. We owe our results to the incredible efforts of our operations and parts team members who kept our facilities running. Our sales and service team members, along with our distributors, have also gone above and beyond to meet the needs of our customers. Finally, We are proud to be a values-based company with process leadership in environmental, social, and governance practices. This past quarter, we spent time speaking to some of our investors regarding ESG. If you'd like to learn more about our initiatives, please see our investor relations website. We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you regarding our ESG program. Please turn to slide four. Now let me recap some of our results, which Duffy will describe in greater detail. We continued to deliver positive results as customer demand remained strong during the quarter. While revenues were below our expectations due to supply chain challenges limiting production output, we increased operating margins and bookings in both AWP and MP dramatically year over year. We significantly improved our second quarter earnings per share compared to last year, and we are increasing our earnings and free cash flow outlook for full year 2021. AWP and MP continue to effectively manage supply chain disruptions. As a result of a strong execution in both segments, second quarter 2021 operating margins improved dramatically to 11.8% for the company. with both segments delivering double-digit operating margins. This represents 170 basis point adjusted operating margin improvement on revenues 20% lower than the second quarter of 2019. Our intense focus on networking capital management and improved profitability drove $101 million of positive free cash flow in the quarter. and more than $140 million of free cash flow year-to-date. During the second quarter, our team continued to respond to increased customer demand, effectively managed supply chain and logistics disruptions, tightly managed all costs, and delivered improved margins and outstanding positive free cash flow. Our financial results demonstrate that our strategic priorities are working to improve the company and deliver positive financial results for shareholders. Please turn to slide five. We delivered strong financial results as our strategic operational priorities of execute, innovate, and grow continue to make excellent progress. We continue to improve Carex's global cost competitiveness. We expect our SP&A as a percent of sales to be below our target of 12.5% for the full year 2021. We are maintaining strict cost discipline while recognizing that growth in the business will necessitate investment spending. In the first quarter, we announced the planned move of our Oklahoma City telehandler production to Monterey, Mexico. This action is on track and will reduce the cost of manufacturing our telehandler products for the North American market. The team is addressing continued supply chain disruptions across various supply inputs and product lines. Suppliers and logistics providers are currently working hard to ramp up and meet our production requirements, and we are committed to meeting customer demand. Our team members in both segments have worked hard to adapt and maintain production schedules. Turning to innovation. We continue to listen to our customers, ensuring our products and services have the features and benefits that provide value. We have also invested in our connected assets and digital capabilities to better serve customers. For example, our new Genie MicroScissors increases on-the-job productivity Terrace Utilities recently introduced a new digger derrick for construction and maintenance of the electric grid. And MP continues to develop, implement, and roll out digital solutions such as connected dealer inventory, telematics, and e-commerce. Finally, we are investing in inorganic opportunities for future growth. We recently completed two actions. We acquired a facility in China to localize production to meet increasing demand for our industry-leading mobile crushing and screening products. And we are excited about the growth prospects in China. Second, we completed a bolt-on acquisition, purchasing MDS International, which is a well-established business of heavy-duty aggregate trombones that broadens our product offerings. While this is not a financially significant investment, it demonstrates our progress with inorganic growth via Vulcan acquisitions, as was previously communicated. Terrax is well-positioned for growth in 2021 and beyond because we have strong businesses, strong brands, and strong market positions. We continue to invest, including in new, innovative products, digital capabilities, and manufacturing capacity. Turning to slide six, our AWP and FP segments continue to perform well, allowing us to capture the benefits from the positive market fundamentals that we are seeing. First, in GENIE, the current market dynamics point to a multi-year replacement cycle for access equipment. The average age of fleets globally is increasing, and customers need to replenish their fleets, so the replacement cycle is kicking in. We are beginning to see positive indicators for non-residential investment, as well as continued strong border activity. Before wrapping up my comments regarding Genie, I am pleased that we announced earlier this week that Simon Meester was named president of Genie. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Simon and the Genie team over the past year, Simon is the right leader for the GD business. Turning to our utilities business, demand is strong across its end markets of tree care, rental, and investor-owned utilities. In addition, we are experiencing strong growth in our utilities parts and service business. Next, in materials processing, we expect global demand for crushing and screening equipment to continue to grow. Broad-based economic growth, construction activity, and aggregate consumption are the primary market drivers. We are seeing strong markets for the cement mixture, material handling, and environmental businesses. In addition, global monetary and fiscal stimulus programs have supported stronger demand in our end markets. Overall, we are seeing robust market conditions. around the world for our industry-leading products and solutions.

With that, let me turn it over to John. Thanks, John. Turning to slide seven, let's look at our second quarter results. Overall, revenues of $1 billion were up 50% year over year, with both of our operating segments revenues up significantly. For the quarter, we recorded an operating profit of $123 million compared to only $7 million in the second quarter of last year. We achieved an operating margin of approximately 12% through disciplined cost control and fulfilling as much customer demand as possible given the realities of the global supply chain during the quarter. The second quarter operating profit does include $4 million of benefits from the release of a financing receivable reserve and the recording of that receivable related to prior years offset by a $1 million charge for a business impairment and restructuring. Improved gross margin and lower SG&A as a percent to sales allowed Terax to expand operating margin significantly year over year. Interest and other expense was approximately $22 million higher than Q2 of last year, driven by $26 million of cost in connection with the refinancing of a significant portion of our capital structure. offset by $4 million in interest savings. Our second quarter 2021 global effective tax rate was approximately 17%, driven by a mix of discrete items in the quarter. Our tax rate estimate for the full year remains 19%, consistent with our previous outlook. Finally, Our reported EPS of $1.02 per share includes $23 million of interest charges and other call-outs that I just discussed and amounted to a $0.26 per share reduction in EPS in the quarter. On to slide eight and our AWP segment financial results. AWP sales of $595 million were up 44% compared to last year, driven by a dramatic improvement in all our global markets. The utilities market improved significantly as evidenced by strong customer bookings. AWP delivered double-digit operating margins in the quarter, driven by increased production and aggressively managing oil costs. Second quarter bookings of $747 million were up dramatically compared to Q2 2020, while backlog at quarter end was $1.4 billion, close to three times the prior year. Now turning to slide 9 and material processing's Q2 financial results. MP had another great quarter. Sales of $441 million were up 67% compared to last year, driven by strong customer sentiment across all end markets and geographies. The MP team has been aggressively managing all elements of cost as end markets improve, resulting in an operating margin above 16%. It is a testament to the MP team's operational strength to deliver these robust operating margins. Backlog of $868 million more than tripled from last year and was up 22% sequentially. MP saw its businesses strengthen through the quarter with bookings up approximately 160% year over year. Customer demand in both segments is very positive. Equipment is being ordered, utilized, and serviced as end market demand continues to remain strong. Turning to slide 10, I will now review our updated financial outlook for the full year. This outlook takes into consideration the current end market demand environment as well as the supply chain headwinds that we have discussed today. As for commercial demand, we have seen our end markets remain robust over the course of the second quarter. All other things being equal, we expect continued end market strength in both segments over the remainder of the year and increasing levels of AWP customer fleet replenishment. Our full-year revenue outlook is limited, though, as a result of the availability of components from our supply chain. From a quarterly perspective, we now expect revenues for the full year to be slightly higher in the second half than the first half of the year, with the third quarter being the strongest of the year. We continue to expect both our operating profit and margins to increase each quarter year over year in 2021. However, as a result of commodity cost increases outpacing customer price increases, the absolute amount of operating profit in the second half of 2021 is expected to be lower than the actual operating profit achieved in the first half 2021. We continue to plan for total company incremental margins for the full year 2021, which meet or exceed our 25% target. As a result of positive first half callouts, corporate and other costs are expected to be slightly higher in the second half versus the first half of the year. Including 26 cents per share of costs for refinancing of our capital structure and the other callouts in Q2, our full-year EPS outlook is increased to $2.85 to $3.05 per share, based on sales of approximately $3.9 billion. Quarterly earnings per share are expected to be generally consistent with the development of operating profits during the year. For the full year 2021, we are estimating free cash flow of approximately $200 million, reflecting a strong year of positive cash generation. Full year free cash flow includes approximately $75 million from income and VAT tax refunds, which are not expected to reoccur. During the first half of 2021, we received approximately $35 million of these refunds. We continue to plan for capital expenditures, net of asset dispositions of approximately $90 million. The largest project included in capital expenditures is for the Genie Mexico manufacturing facility. Turning to slide 11, and I'll summarize our updated 2021 EPS outlook. We expect the strong customer sentiment demonstrated in Q2 by our AWP and MP customers to continue throughout 2021. Our 2021 full-year EPS outlook reflects first our outperformance over the first half of the year, Second, the operating profit contribution on additional revenue for Q3 and Q4. And third, net cost pressures from material cost headwinds. Overall, our 2021 outlook represents a significant improvement in operating performance when compared to 2020. We will continue to aggressively manage costs while positioning our businesses for growth. Turning to slide 12, and I'll review our discipline, capital allocation strategy. Our team members remain vigilant and will continue to efficiently manage production and scrutinize every expenditure. The strong, positive free cash flow of $101 million in the quarter demonstrates the focus and discipline our team members continue to demonstrate to tightly manage networking capital. Terex has ample liquidity. We have over $1.1 billion available to us with no near-term debt maturities, so we can manage and grow the business. Our strong liquidity position and cash generation allowed us to prepay $83 million of term loans during Q2, which is in addition to the $196 million of term loans prepaid in early February. In addition, we continue to pay our quarterly dividend. We are committed to strengthen Terex's balance sheet while maintaining flexibility to execute on our organic and inorganic growth plans. And with that, John, I'll turn it back to you. Thanks, Duffy. Turning to slide 13.

To wrap up our remarks, Tarek's team members around the world are focused on the right things. Safety, health, customers, and improved productivity. And markets are strong, and the team is managing supply chain headwinds. We are driving positive free cash flow. We are continuing to invest in innovative products to meet increased customer demand. We are focused on both organic and inorganic growth. As a result of these actions, Terex is well-positioned to deliver strong 2021 results. With that, let me turn it back over to Randy. Thanks, John. As a reminder, during the question and answer session, we ask you to limit your questions to one and a follow-up to ensure we answer as many questions as possible this morning. With that, I'd like to open up for questions. Operator?

Your first question comes from Meg Dobre with Bayard.

Yes, thank you. Thanks for taking the question. Good morning. Good morning, Meg. So I guess where I'd like to start in AWP, very good order intake. You've got about $1.4 billion in backlog, but obviously based on your updated guidance here, sales and the back half expected to be only about $1.1 billion. You talked about the supply chain being challenging, obviously, and having some issues with parts availability. We heard that from one of your competitors as well. I guess I'm wondering how much of this discrepancy backlog versus second half revenue is driven by this element as opposed to just customer deliveries being scheduled into 22 and showing up in a backlog at this point? Yeah, thanks, Meg, for the question. I would say almost all of the deliveries in the AWP group, now specifically GAIN, really are a result of the supply chain disruptions that we're seeing and production schedules sliding as a result of the disruptions that we are seeing. Our team's staying in very close contact, and we can talk more about that on the supply side and with customers. But I would say most of that is a result of the supply chain disruptions and sliding of production schedules as it pertains specifically to the genie business.

Thank you. Okay. And then looking at slide 11, you detail 10 cents of cost pressure there.

You know, by my math, this is what, you know, call it $8, $9 million of pressure. To me, at least, that seems like a relatively low number, given your revenue base and all the things that are happening out there. Can you give us a sense for what's behind this in terms of how you came up with this figure today? And is this sort of a number that we can carry into next year? Or are there things that can mitigate this cost pressure within about 22? Thank you.

I'll start there, Meg. It's Duffy. And we certainly have mounting inflationary material cost pressures happening. over the course of this year. If you go back to Q1 and our updated outlook at the end of Q1, we had included about $0.55 of cost pressure at that time. And that was really mostly steel-related. But we've seen the inflationary cost pressure expand to other products, such as resin-based products, freight. other commodities. And so we're, as a team, we're working hard to mitigate those price increases by suppliers. And so the $0.10 a share that you see outlined on chart 11 represents our best estimate at this point in time of the amount that would be need to be absorbed in order to meet production in the second half of the year. To the second part of your question about, you know, 2022, certainly we talked in Q1, and it certainly continues to be true here at the end of Q2, is that our price cost for 2021 is not level is negative. We didn't reprice the backlog when we increased prices in the first quarter of the year. And so as we go into 2022, it certainly would be our objective to be price-cost neutral. And that's will, of course, depend upon what develops with respect to material costs during the second half of 2021. Thanks, Meg. Operator, next question.

Your next question comes from the line of Nicole DeBlasi with Deutsche Bank. Yeah, thanks. Good morning, guys.

Good morning, Nicole.

Can we just talk a little bit about, a little more about the supply chain constraints? So what I'm curious about is, has this actually caused production stoppages, whether it's, you know, rolling like days where you have to send people home or, you know, have you guys been able to produce? And maybe similar question, like do you have excess equipment kind of sitting on the line in sort of finished mode waiting for like a few components to come through before it can be shipped?

Thank you, Nicole, and great question. So the supply chain disruption that we're experiencing, and again, we're not unique as a global manufacturer. You know, demand has dramatically increased. You know, a year ago we were staring at it at the best, and now we're, and I hope we get some questions about the market, but the market demand has been quite strong. what has happened as a global integrated supply chain, there's been disruptions rolling in that supply chain as a result of COVID. That, coupled with disruptions in global logistics, both sea lanes, air freight, and ground freight have created delivery challenges for us. So what our teams have to do is they have to decide what parts are going to be available and then make the schedule. In many cases, exactly as you indicated, Nicole, we will build a unit. and put it out what we call into the hospital and then bring the unit back in when the parts arrive. In terms of absolute plant shutdowns, we have not experienced that. The team has done a great job managing this, but we have had to shut value streams down for a couple days awaiting parts. A lot of overtime, as you can imagine, on the rework, and it impacts our productivity. But the team is focused on meeting the needs of the customer, overcoming this disruption, and the supply chain will continue to improve. But as we look forward over the next two quarters, quarter to two, We are seeing this level of disruption on a day-to-day basis that our team is doing a masterful job of overcoming, but it does impact our ability to ship, and it does impact our cost position in terms of our labor productivity. So, yes, we are doing that literally around the globe. The team can figure out what we can build. We build it, and sometimes we build it partially and have to bring it back into the shop, back into the line. put on the parts, and then ship it. And, again, the team did a great job in the second quarter. Over time, we think this is going to improve, but that is the world that we're operating in today from a supplier disruption and a supplier uncertainty standpoint.

Got it. Thanks, John. That was really helpful. And maybe just as a follow-up, on the SG&A guidance, taking it down to 11.75%, I guess, you know, what is the biggest driver of that? Is that anything to do with, you know, like the temporary cost cuts not coming back as quickly or maybe just return to work happening slower? Just trying to get a sense of, you know, if we should be expecting a return to the 12.5% target as we move into 2022.

So thanks, Nicole. And I think there's two factors that go into the SG&A, I'll say, movement. versus our guidance at the beginning of the year. The first is obviously the top-line revenue that is the denominator in the calculation has increased, which brings the percentage down. That said, as we went into the year, the incentive compensation was planned at 100% of achievement, or let's call it targets. And with the increase in our outlook for the year, we are accruing incentive compensation for the team at above target levels, which increases the amount of SG&A. In fact, the absolute increase in SG&A is virtually 100% attributable to increased incentive compensation. And I think that's important to note because we're really treating SG&A for this year as a fixed cost. And irrespective of the revenue increasing, other than the incentive compensation, which we would owe under the plan, we're not, you know, the team is maintaining really strict cost disciplines. Out in future periods, to your point about in the future, in future periods, I do believe that there will be investment that will be required to grow our business and to maintain the customer relationships to invest in systems. But our objective is to continue to be at 12.5% SG&A or lower And I would expect that if we're looking at, you know, a positive commercial environment, demand environment again in 2022, that we would be, you know, on the lower end of our target. Thanks, Nicole. Operator, next question.

Next question comes from one of David Rosso with Evercore SI.

Hi, thank you for taking the time. John, for you to pass the baton on to Simon at AWP, obviously, you know, the second quarter margin is pretty strong. You obviously had gained comfort as time for you to sort of back away from that role and obviously confidence in Simon to move forward. But curious, given how big the backlog is right now, you know, extending into 22 more than we normally would see right now, if you had to frame how you think about what you know from visibility, but also how you left the business, the condition it was in, if we had to think about incremental margins for AWP next year, how should we think about that?

Thanks, David. Well, first, you know, the entire, you know, G&E team has done an incredible, actually across Terex, the team's done an incredible job dealing with the uncertainty and the challenges associated with the with the pandemic. And so Simon is the right leader, as I said in our prepared comments, got a great team at Genie, and they've got a strategy in place to drive improved operating performance in our Genie business. You know, at the macro level, you know the secular trends david as you know in the rental industry are positive and we can talk about you know the positive nature of the replacement cycle uh that's forthcoming so we think there's a strong market environment coming forward with the awp team simon and the team are implementing a strategy to continue to drive improvement so that we're globally cost competitive uh as as we compete in a global marketplace for the aerial business And we're going to continue to drive margin improvement in our operations, in our sales and marketing, in our product development offerings, all driving towards, David, we're not going to back away from at least a 25% incremental margin improvement in the business. And it's a business that can continue to drive improvement. over time can continue to drive margin improvement so that we consistently deliver double-digit operating margins in the business. We're not there right now as you look through the quarter. The seasonality is not going to change, but over time, that's what we're focused on as a team is to drive the margin of that business consistently to the double-digit range.

And regarding the increased visibility on 22%, Just trying to quantify it a bit and, of course, if you can give us any insights on the mix geographically, you know, pricing on the new equipment, the product type, and just because the backlog is huge. I mean, normally this time of year the backlog for AWP is, you know, anywhere from 40% to, say, 60% of the second half AWP revs. Right now it's 130% of what you're guiding. So obviously that's a huge incremental visibility. for the following year. So, again, open to you any color you can give us on that extra visibility, what it looks like.

Thanks, David. And you're right. I mean, we're absolutely encouraged by the strength that we're seeing, you know, across our business utilities, for that matter, as well, David. But if you look at North America, you know, you asked about customer mix. We're seeing strength across our independents and the national accounts. Product mix, we're not seeing any fundamental change in the product mix and growth that we're seeing in terms of our backlog and orders in North America. Likewise, David, in Western Europe, we're seeing a nice, strong recovery there from an order standpoint. Again, nothing substantially different in terms of customer or product mix. We've seen growth in China. China didn't dip like the western part of the world did, and so we'll continue to experience growth in China. In China, for us, it's primarily a boom market, so that's what we're seeing there. And in terms of the visibility, David, yes, the backlog is great. As we go into 2022 and we're having those conversations now, I think customers are buoyant. They're seeing strong utilization. They're seeing improving rates. They're seeing strong used equipment values. And we're engaging in the conversations for 2022, and, you know, we're starting to have the pricing conversations because, as Stephanie indicated earlier, our price-cost ratio this year hasn't been what we would like to have, and we're going to need to get an improved price-cost ratio given the material increases that we're seeing as we move forward into 2022. Now, David, the backlog that slips because we couldn't produce You know, that will be at 21 pricing. The commitment to deliver 2022 products will be at 2022 pricing, and that work is underway. Operator, next question.

Our next question comes from the line of Stephen Volkman with Jefferies.

Hi. Can you hear me okay? Yeah, we can hear you fine. Okay. Sorry. It must be on my end. So question on MP, actually. Can you just provide a little more color on sort of specifically which of your MP product lines are kind of the strongest and, you know, where the demand is most robust there? And then I have a quick follow-up on margin.

Okay. Sure. I'll take the demand and Duffy, you can comment on the margin side as you go. But Stephen, the good news is we're seeing strong global momentum really across our businesses or product lines within the MP business and really across the globe. On the core crushing and screening business, we saw significant growth in orders. Dealers are, you know, inventory levels are low. They're in high utilization on their rental fleets, and they're ordering back. And, again, across our product portfolio and aggregates, and, again, across the globe, we're seeing strong orders. In our concrete business, which is our Terrax Advanced Concrete Trucks, Very strong growth in that segment associated with the residential construction that we're seeing in the U.S. So that business has rebounded quite strongly. Our materials handling business, our Fuchs business, one of the only positives of high steel prices is that we're seeing high scrap steel prices. A big part of that business is services that market, and we've seen that globally recover in terms of orders and backlog. We're also investing in new products and capacity expansion to branch out into other segments. But again, the foods business is recovered quite nicely. Our environmental business within MP, that's a newer business for us. And again, we're seeing really strong growth there. Again, Western Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, we're seeing growth across that business. our pick and carry business down in uh in australia in australia really weathered the pandemic pretty well uh and and we've seen strong order activity and consistent order activity through the pandemic uh in our pick and carry business and last but not least the rts and tower business we you know especially in the european area we saw some some good recovery and strength uh with uh with orders and last but not least uh despite the significant coded challenges in india We're seeing strong orders and strong bookings in India as they come out of the depths of the pandemic. So, you know, as we look at the MP business, Steven, we see strong growth across the product portfolio and literally across the globe. So, you know, we're... We're pleased at what we're seeing on the demand side for the MP. Jeff, you had a question about that margin? Yeah, go ahead.

Yeah, so obviously very big margin in the second quarter, but then it seems to step down, I guess, in the second half. Just what's the right way longer term? Is this a mid-double-digit kind of margin business going forward, or was there something special in the second quarter?

No, I think that if you look back over the last four quarters for our materials processing segment, they demonstrated maybe not full mid-teens margins, but certainly let's call it in the 13% to 15% range. As you noted, the second half of the year does reflect the uncertainty surrounding supply chain disruption and material costs that is bringing it slightly down below the 13 number I just referenced. But still, they're a consistent double-digit margin, consistent in the team's performer and we would expect that to continue in 2022 and beyond.

All right. Thank you.

Thanks, Steve. Thanks, Steve. Operator, next question.

Your next question comes from the line of Jerry Remich with Goldman Sachs.

Yes, hi, good morning, everyone. Good afternoon. John, and now that the turnaround of AWP is complete, can you just talk about your strategic priorities from here and, you know, if the answer is capital deployment towards M&A, maybe just give us a bit more on the parameters that you're looking at and the pipeline, if that's the biggest focus from here.

Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, Jerry. Well, again, the team, we have work to be done at our G&E business, and I'm confident in our G&E team to continue to execute the strategy that we have going forward. But your broader question is a really good one. As we look at our discipline capital allocation, that we've been focused on the last several years. One was to improve the cash flow capabilities of the business, and we've done that. Second was to improve our balance sheet. We further paid down debt this quarter after paying down debt in the first quarter as well. So our balance sheet is in really good shape, good cash flow generation. So now we're looking at how do we grow the business via inorganic activities. We do believe that there will be opportunity in that area to deploy capital to grow. Specifically, we're looking in and around our MP businesses. Jerry, if you look at the market verticals that we compete in, there's still a pretty high degree of fragmentation in those specialized equipment and specialized markets around the MP segment. So we're building a pipeline there. We believe in the utility area, given what's needed around the world for electrification. that there's uh opportunities uh in the utility space and then also on life cycle solutions so um we we are building a pipeline uh as again we we did two you know transactions here in the in in the uh in the second quarter uh so we're we're spinning up the the pipeline uh to deploy capital uh for inorganic growth uh we think the business is positioned now uh for us to be able to do that And we're actively pursuing things in those three areas that I just spoke. And I will say we're going to be very disappointed about it, but we absolutely believe there's going to be opportunities for growth in organic.

Okay. And separately, you know, in the last steel inflation cycle, once steel inflation slowed, you folks essentially wound up getting pricing that made you whole on the cycle. Can you talk about the plan? So as we think about what 22 pricing actions will look like, will you look to fully recap the price-cost headwinds from this year in your initial 22 pricing or anything that's changed in the industry structure? Otherwise, that would prevent you from doing what you did in the last cycle.

Across all the businesses, we're being transparent with our customers and our distributors about the input costs we're seeing. We did, as Duffy said, take some pricing action, continue to take pricing action. We will look to offset the material cost increases that we're seeing to include steel in our 2022 pricing and at least seek price cost neutrality, whereas this year, as Duffy said, we're a bit upside down on price costs. So as we go forward, we will look to offset those cost increases with pricing actions. And again, it will vary, Jerry, by business, by region around the world, but the strategy is we provide value-added products that provide significant value over a duration of a lifetime for our customers, and we do have to pass on the cost that we cannot absorb, and that's what we're going to be working on. Very difficult conversations, I know that. But that's what we need to do going forward because we're having those same difficult conversations with our suppliers, and we're pushing back hard on their cost increases that they're trying to pass on to us. Some of them that we're going to have to accept, and we're going to have to pass that through to our customers, and they're going to have to pass it through to their customers. That's just the nature of the cycle, I think, that we're in right now. And it's not going to be easy, but that's what we need to do. Thanks, Jerry. Operator, next question.

Your next question comes from Stephen Fisher with UBS.

Great. Thanks. Good afternoon. Just on the supply chain, hey, guys, I know there's a real high degree of uncertainty here on the supply chain, but, John, do you have any thoughts on when is really the kind of peak pain point for this and when we could start to see some improvements there? I couldn't tell from your earlier comments, if you're already seeing signs that it's getting better or if it's just an expectation that at some point it will get better.

So that's a great question. I'm chuckling. Peak pain. It just depends on what day and what product and what supplier. But, no, it is going to get better. I mean, as the system gets back in sync, the logistics system is creating a big disruption right now, and that's going to work itself out. We ended up with containers in the wrong place, ships in the wrong place, no ability to air freight. That's starting to improve. So the logistics side is going to take some time to get everything back in balance. So, you know, that is going to improve. Every supplier in the chain is doing the same thing we're trying to do, which is they're highly motivated to meet our needs so that we can meet our customer needs. I've been personally engaged with CEOs in the supply chain, tier one down to tier four. We're all working on the same thing. Our teams are working hard to mitigate the disruption. to produce what we can produce and get back to what I would call normal operations. In terms of when that exactly happens, I think we're going to be in this challenging period of time for the next couple of quarters because the other thing is we're a manufacturer. We need 100%. One part missing. We can't ship. And so even though if I improve to 99, I need that final part before I can ship. And that's what we're focused on as a team. So it is going to get better. Everybody in the system is highly motivated to continue to drive the improvement. It's just going to take time. As this global integrated supply chain, it was like a Swiss watch. It got stopped, and now it's starting back up. And we're experiencing disruptions. Our suppliers are working hard. Our teams are doing incredible work to build what we can build as efficiently as we can build it. And it is going to get better. When exactly, I don't know, but I'm absolutely confident that we'll get better over the next couple quarters.

Steve, if I was to just give you a couple of data points – you know, the supply chain is getting better. And if you just measure it in terms of the production, for example, at our genie business, the production in Q2 of this year was more than double Q2 of last year and increased every quarter between Q2 of last year and Q2 of 21. But When you look at the production we had in the second quarter, it was still only, say, 60% of the production we had in the mid-quarters of Q2, Q3 of 2018. And our backlog is higher than we had in 2018. So demand increased dramatically. you know, exponentially overnight and our ability to ramp up production, you know, from components from suppliers to be able to ramp up our production to meet that overnight demand has been what the challenge is.

Very helpful. And then just a follow-up in terms of the size of acquisitions. You guys have done a You did a great job with cash flow and the balance sheet, and you'll have flexibility on doing some bigger deals if you wanted to. So can you maybe just give us any color on the range of sizes of deals you consider, or are the things available in your sites more just smaller bolt-ons?

Yeah, so thanks for the question. And, you know, given our improved balance sheet and our low leverage, especially as we continue to drive, you know, free cash flow and debt down, you know, we will look at transactions and really look at our – end up and, you know, we haven't changed, we're consistent, you know, that two and a half times net debt divot, you know, kind of through the cycle. So that would be the gauge that could give an indication of what we would be willing to or comfortable taking on more debt for the Cypress transaction. So, you know, it does give us some flexibility. in terms of size, and we will, again, we're going to be very disciplined, but I feel good about our capabilities, our balance sheet capabilities, cash flow capabilities, to do things larger than the two small transactions that we've done. But think about the two and a half times net debt through EBITDA through the cycle, and that will give you a range to think about. That's how we're thinking about it. Thanks, Steve. Operator, next question.

Your next question comes from Jamie Cook with Credit Suisse.

Hi, good morning. Most of my questions have been answered. Just one, can you just talk to within the aerial work platform side, just with all the material costs and pricing that we're trying to get through, can you talk to the competitive environment and whether you're seeing everyone sort of act rationally or are we trying to go for potentially market share? And then Just one quick follow-up on the backlog for AWP. What is the dollar amount associated with backlog going into 2022? Thanks.

Yeah, thanks, Jamie. So, you know, the pricing dynamics in the industry, especially in the western part, North America and Europe, the pricing dynamics, I believe, are rational in that we are all experiencing – material cost inflations, and we're all having those challenging conversations with customers about the need to seek pricing. The only potential exception to that, Jamie, is I will say the pricing dynamics inside of China are quite aggressive, and sometimes there's some pricing dynamics there that, frankly, we just won't participate in. And so I would say rational, reasonable competition is what we're experiencing in the western part of the world, North America and Europe, Asia as well. Within the confines of China, we're seeing some pricing at times that you would have to say that's not rational. And so that's the pricing dynamics as of now. Doug?

In terms of AWP backlog at the end of Q2, the total segment backlog was about $1.4 billion. I would say that $200 million to $300 million of that represents amounts that would be for delivery based upon the second half outlook that we provided with the deliveries in 2022. And I would say most of that represents carryover from 2021. We will certainly be seeking to increase our production throughout the second half of this year and accelerate the delivery to customers into 2021 if at all possible.

The only other thing I'd add on that, Jamie, is that does include our utilities business. And some of the utilities business is actually quartered out in 2022, but that would be at 2022 pricing. That's not unnatural for the utilities business. There are some longer lead vehicles in that segment within AWP.

Okay, thank you.

Thanks, operator. Next question.

Your next question comes in the line of Ross Gilardi with Bank of America.

Hey, good morning, guys. Good afternoon. Look, you guys have done a great job of turning around the free cash flow. I mean, it looks like your conversion this year from EBITDA that your midpoint of the guy is going to be a little bit above 50%. Do you think that's a reasonable way to look at it going forward, or is there another sort of conversion metric that you think might be appropriate, more appropriate?

Yeah, so thanks for recognizing our free cash flow generation. Ross and you in particular have been a proponent for us – getting better in that area and quite honestly making me better. You know, I think it's important when you, in the comments I provided, prepared remarks I provided, right, of the $200 million, there is a free cash flow outlook for the year. There is $75 million that represents our recovery of amounts, tax amounts from prior years. that amount that we had from Europe that had been outstanding for some time, as well as income tax refunds, carrybacks in the United States as a result of tax losses in the U.S. last year that we were able to carry back. Those two combined are about $75 million of the $200. We're going to continue to maximize free cash flow every single year. And so ostensibly, our free cash flow target for the business over the cycle is 100% of net income. And in some years, we've done better than that, like last year, for example. But we are absolutely, I assure you, focused on free cash flow generation which allows us then to use that free cash flow to grow the business organically and inorganically.

Okay, thanks. That was helpful. And then can you talk a little bit more about this utilities business and the drivers there and what you've been in that business for a while and it's it's done well by you but but give us a sense of how big it is within within awp and um just how sustainable those growth drivers are and you talk about ev infrastructure and so forth but just really really more like the you know the everyday drivers of the business more like utility maintenance type activity or

So thanks. Utilities is about $400 million, and we think it's a business that can grow. Part of the reason we made a substantial investment in Watertown was to have the capacity to grow the underlying fundamentals and dynamics, especially in North America, but it really expands beyond that. North America or the utility sector are strong. The reality of it is there needs to be investment in the electric grid to accomplish any of the electrification that we're talking about. And that electric grid is distribution to the house as well as transmission. And so there is substantial investment required in, one, maintaining the electric grid, and two, building out the electric grid. The other thing that's helped with the unfortunate situation out in California is what we call the maintenance side, tree care, vegetation management. That has really caused utilities and rate regulators to ensure that they're making the appropriate investment in vegetation management and the appropriate investment in the grid so that you don't end up with a situation like they've had at PG&E. And so the underlying fundamentals of the utility business we think are quite strong and are going to be quite strong for some period of time. That also, coupled with the 5G investment level, if you put a 5G repeating tower, and especially in rural America, that's going to have to go most likely on top of electrical poles. If it has to go on top of an electric pole, it has to be an insulated system. That's what we specialize in at Terrace Utilities. So we think that gives us an opportunity for growth. And then we also are – we've been in China. We've had some success with China Grid. We're localizing some of our production for the China market. So the utilities area we think is a strong area that we can grow organically, but we also think there's going to be some opportunities, especially as we look globally around the world, because it's not dissimilar in other parts of the world as it is in North America, that this is a segment that we want to be in that can provide excellent growth and excellent returns going forward. So, again, we've made a sizable investment in our utilities business. And, you know, the team's working hard to ensure we get a return, get the capacity out that we need going forward in that business. So it's a business we like. It's a business we've invested in. And if opportunity presents itself, it will be a business that we continue to invest in. Thanks, Ross. Operator, last question.

We'll be from Steve Barger with KeyBank Capital Markets.

Hey, thanks, guys, for squeezing me in. With 3Q being the strongest revenue quarter, should we think that both segments will see sequential increases from 2Q, or will regional shutdowns or anything else cause that not to happen for one segment?

Sequential increases in revenue, right?

Right.

Yes, yes. The answer to that question is generally yes, probably more so in the AWP segment than the MP segment.

Got it. And the outlook suggests the margin steps down in both segments in the back half. Are the supply chain impacts or parts availability issues evenly distributed across the two segments, or is one more effective than the other?

I would say, you know, more evenly, the Genie business is a faster cycle time business, higher volume, and so if we do have a disruption there, it does impact it. But across the globe in our MP business, they are experiencing disruption as well, and, again, doing a great job overcoming it. But a little bit slower tack time on those, so they have the opportunity to make it up a little bit better than Genie, just given the tack time of the two assembly operations.

Got it. Thanks for the time. Absolutely.

Thanks, Steve. Thank you. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Randy. Thank you for your interest in Terex. And as I sign off with all my team members, you know, be safe and stay healthy. Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.