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spk00: Good morning and welcome to the Zurn Water Solutions Corporation's first quarter 2022 earnings results conference call with Todd Adams, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Peterson, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Dave Pauly, Vice President of Investor Relations for Zurn Water Solutions. This call is being recorded and will be available for replay for a period of two weeks. The phone numbers for the replay can be found in the earnings release the company filed in the 8K with the SEC yesterday, April 26th. As it's time for opening remarks and introduction, I'll turn the call over to Dave Pauley.
spk03: Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining the call today. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that this call contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to the Safe Harbor language contained in the press release that we issued yesterday afternoon, as well as in our SEC filings. In addition, some comparisons will refer to non-GAAP measures. Our earnings release and FCC filings contain additional information about these non-GAAP measures, why we use them, and why we believe they are helpful to investors, and contain reconciliations to the corresponding GAAP information. Consistent with prior quarters, we will speak to non-GAAP metrics as we feel they provide a better understanding of our operating results. These measures are not a substitute for GAAP, and we encourage you to review the GAAP information in our earnings release and in our SEC filings. With that, I'll turn the call over to Todd Adams, Chairman and CEO of Zern Water Solutions.
spk05: Thanks, Dave, and good morning, everyone. Hopefully everyone had a chance to read through our earnings release last night, and we certainly appreciate everyone taking the time to join the call this morning. I guess it's only been about 70 days since we last updated everyone about the LK transaction. We've made terrific progress towards the close and bringing the two businesses together. All the regulatory things are behind us, really without a hitch. The S4 became effective this week, and we'll have the shareholder vote towards the end of May. I think we're going to target a clean closing right at the end of the second quarter. So as we announce our Q2 earnings in July, we'll be in a position to talk about what a combined second half will look like for the new Zurn LK Water Solutions business. I'll talk more later about some of the joint preparation we've been doing, but it's been really rewarding to see the teams engage with one another and begin to build action plans to execute the opportunities in front of us as we get to the closing. Moving on to the first quarter results, in a nutshell, it feels like a pretty decent start to 2022. Obviously, there's been a lot of moving parts in the world the last 10 to 12 weeks, but the benefit of being a focused pure play water solutions business and the combination of a clear strategic plan around driving share gains in our core business, coupled with discerned business system that underpins our strategic and operational execution, provides us great balance to some of the macro uncertainty out there. As we talked about last quarter, we're not immune from the supply chain, transportation, material challenges that most everyone is facing. But taken as a whole, this quarter, again, feels better than the last. There were, are, and will, of course, be spot challenges. But our teams continue to navigate and retire risk while also having to look forward to continue to support what is really good growth for us. There are a few things in the quarter that didn't go our way. but we had a good plan and executed well, and that's simply what it takes to perform at a high level in the type of environment we're in. As far as the quarter, sales were up 17% year over year, 15% organically, and again, this is against the first quarter last year where we grew 12% and 4% organically. Our segment margins in the quarter were 24.5%, very much in line to slightly ahead of our expectations, and our pro forma leverage was It was 2.1 times exactly what it was at the end of December. Mark will cover some additional details on the financials, but a couple of points that I think are incrementally positive to the quarter are we saw really strong order growth across all categories, considerably above our sales growth rate. And secondly, we're seeing great traction to our Bright Shield offering and seeing the market take to it. and this integrated solution we've developed ahead of what will be a busy new construction season in North America over the next six to seven months, as well as what will be the first traditional school MRO cycle in over two years. I'll move on to slide four. As we've discussed in the past, there are a lot of inherent barriers to entry in our business. It's a complex path to win consistently and at scale. Said another way, building a sustainable competitive advantage is something that's very difficult to, and in our case, across the broadest portfolio in the industry, which is only further enhanced with our transaction with LK. Many of you already know this, but as a refresher, building codes, regulatory approvals, reliability, quality, service level, and innovation really, really matter. And only with great innovation can you drive high levels of specification share. And then there are the countless relationships at the owner, engineer, architect, general mechanical contractor level that need to be cultivated, both nationally, and in the local trade areas. The final mile is having the best, strongest local representation, as well as strong, strategically aligned relationships with leading wholesalers. If you've got that, you're in the game. In our case, there's no one that comes close to delivering the content per square foot we can deliver to an opportunity, which makes us the default lowest total cost of ownership. Some of the newer realities in our business are sustainability, labor shortages, value-engineered solutions, pod construction, connected products, and things like the WELL 2.0 building standard. Providing safe public and private spaces to students, patients, and patrons will only be a bigger differentiator moving forward. These have been the thrust of our strategic plan the last several years, essentially leveraging our competitive advantage today while skating to where the puck is going. Here's just a simple example of leveraging innovation into a competitive advantage today and one that will absolutely be lasting going forward. PRVs, pressure relief valves. This is a market that we'd size around $120 million. These valves are integral to regulating water pressure inside a building for both potable and fire protection systems. Depending on the size and the location of the building, you could have dozens of these. Our new product in the category, really across all six typical sizes, is a new patented solution. It's built with a Venturi valve design that handles high pressure rates while providing industry-best flow performance. It allows for both horizontal and vertical installation options, making it quicker and easier. The shortest lay length in the industry means to every opening in the market we can provide a valve. Some competitors' products simply aren't ergonomic. And the combination of a stainless steel interior and composite cartridges extend the life of the valve, and it uses 60% less material than competitive PRVs. And finally, it seamlessly integrates into Zurn's remote pressure monitoring system to easily monitor building water pressure. I share this example not because I'm trying to sell you one, although we'd be happy to, but highlight how we segment, target, and go after opportunities embedded in our strategic plan, And this replicates itself dozens, even hundreds of times across categories and compounds over years. In this case, our new innovation gives us a chance to top-grade specs, change codes, while opening up a new category that will turn into meaningful organic growth for us. And this is against the competitor with an inferior design with a bunch of attributes not suited to how future buildings are going to be built. Next on page five. When we shared the news of the LK transaction, we expect the people in industry to be excited. The feedback from the marketplace and our customers has exceeded all of our expectations and the unique nature of the transaction and true partnership has created a great dynamic and foundation for all of the integration planning. While we continue to operate and make decisions as independent companies, we found plenty of opportunity to introduce our teams, hold joint meetings, and do some planning sessions. Just this week, We're doing all of the diagnostic work for our 80-20 implementation with a broad team of both Zurn and LK associates, while also holding our initial Zurn business system leadership training session. Ten weeks post the announcement and about ten weeks until we close, the resounding view is that the strategic logic is probably even more sound than we thought when we announced it. The sociology between the two organizations has been really, really good. And finally, our confidence in delivering the financial synergies is exactly where we had hoped it to be. Just one more thing from me on page six before I turn it over to Mark. With having published our sustainability report a few weeks ago, hopefully many of you have had a chance to check it out. We've made ESG leadership a priority, and that's only enhanced with LK, the clear leader in drinking water for public and private spaces in North America. What's also gratifying is all the progress around ESG is manifesting itself in some recognition. And while we're not big on talking about it or advertising it, it's great to see. and we're actually seeing some strategic advantage from our ESG leadership. Attracting and retaining talent, being sought after as a thought leader on sustainable buildings are all things that help reinforce that by integrating ESG into our strategic priorities. It's helping us grow and building on to the competitive advantage that we've already built. So with that, I'll turn it over to Mark to walk you through some additional details on our performance and provide some color on our Q2 outlook.
spk04: Great. Thanks, Todd. Let's turn to slide number seven. So on a year-over-year basis, our first quarter sales increased 17% to $240 million. The November 2021 wave drains acquisition accounted for 2% of the year-over-year growth, and the core business drove 15% of growth, with solid core sales across our water safety and control, hygienic and environmental, and flow control product categories. With respect to profitability, our adjusted EBITDA, excluding corporate costs, We pulled $59 million in the quarter, and our adjusted EBITDA margin was at the high end of our expectations at 24.5%, and improved 50 basis points sequentially from our fourth quarter of 2021, as the incremental margin on the sequential sales was just over 40%. On a year-over-year basis, the benefits of the sales growth, inclusive of price realization and our productivity actions, was partially offset by the increase in material and transportation costs, as well as our investments and our growth in supply chain initiatives. With respect to our corporate costs, we communicated over the past several quarters that with our transition to a standalone Zerm business, we are anticipating annual corporate expenses to be approximately $20 million in terms of adjusted EBITDA on an annual run rate and $22 million in calendar year 2022. With the February announcement of the merger with LK, which we expect to close in the early part of the third quarter of 2022, as Todd mentioned earlier, we now anticipate our corporate-related expenses to be approximately $27 million in calendar year 2022. Please turn to slide eight, and I'll touch on some balance sheet and leverage highlights. With respect to our net debt leverage, we ended the quarter in line with our expectations at 2.1 times pro forma for the adjusted annual corporate expense run rate I just discussed. Over the balance of the year, our net debt leverage will decline as our free cash flow generation accelerates and our adjusted trailing 12-month EBITDA continues to increase. Please turn to slide nine, and I'll make a few comments on our outlook for the second quarter of 2022. For the second quarter of 2022, we are projecting total sales to increase year-over-year by a low to mid-teens percentage. We expect our adjusted EBITDA margin, excluding corporate costs, to be between 24.5% and 25% in the quarter, and we anticipate corporate costs, in terms of adjusted EBITDA, to be approximately $7 million in the quarter. Looking at fiscal year 2022, as we mentioned earlier, and anticipating the transaction with LK closing in the early part of the third quarter, we will be reporting combined results in the second half of 2022. We'll provide an outlook for the balance of the year in early August. That said, we remain confident in Zern delivering solid double-digit reported and core growth in 2022 with sequential improvement in the adjusted EBITDA margin in the second half of the year versus the first half of the year and strong free cash flow over the balance of this fiscal year. Before we open the call-out for questions, a few comments on our interest expense, stock comp expense, depreciation and amortization, tax rate, and diluted shares outstanding for the June quarter. We anticipate interest expense to be approximately $5 million. Our non-cash stock comp expense should be about $4 million in the quarter. Depreciation and amortization will come in around $5 million. Our tax rate and our adjusted pre-tax earnings will be between 26.5% and 27.5% in the quarter. And Duluth shares outstanding will be approximately $129 million in the quarter. With that, we'll open the call up for questions.
spk00: And as a reminder, that is star one to ask a question. We will pause for a moment to compile the Q&A roster. And our first question will come from Jeff Hammond with Key Bay Capital. Please go ahead.
spk01: Hey, good morning, guys. Hey, Jeff. Good morning, Jeff. I'll take two of those PRV valves. We can do the order offline. Sounds good. I guess one on just supply chain. I think you said maybe a little bit better, but what's getting better? What's getting worse? What kind of informs the margin change, 1Q to 2Q, and the confidence that margins tick up in the back half?
spk05: Yeah, I'll take the supply chain piece, and Mark can take you through the margin progression. But, you know, I would say in general, you know, we felt like September, October last year was sort of the peak of the logistics knot, and it's gotten a little bit better each quarter, every month from there. On the material side, you know, we've been, I think, pretty forward-leaning on what our expected demand was. So obviously by getting our supply chain ramped up to deliver at higher volumes towards the end of last year, that certainly helped us deliver and avoid maybe some of those more recent spot challenges. But, you know, look, as I said in my comments, there are a million and one things that are happening, and certainly one of those or two of those is going wrong each and every day. It's really how do you How do you think ahead? How do you plan accordingly and try to stay in front of it? Well, I wouldn't really point to anything specific other than, you know, it's certainly an interesting dynamic that we're all living through. But in our case, you know, doing a lot of forward planning, diversifying our supply base, and, you know, has really been a good move that our team's really looked at towards the end of last year, and we made some calls, and it's sort of,
spk04: sort of helped us here as we enter the busy part of our year yeah on the margin question jeff i think it's very similar what we've talked about last quarter excuse me it kind of falls into the three main buckets as the year's progressing clearly in q2 versus q1 you know we have incremental sales volume as we hit the construction season so just getting the leverage you'd expect on that incremental sales growth when you look at the second half of the year versus the first half of the year you know, sequentially H1, H2, we're going to see a larger step up in sales dollars in the back half versus the first half than what we would have seen, say, last year, for example, just given the demand backdrop that Todd highlighted. And the other piece of the puzzle is just price realization. So, you know, we've been putting price in place. We just had another recent increase that's been announced. So as that feathers in over the course of the year and we get more realization in the back half versus the first half, that sort of price and inflation cost equation improves and benefits the margin as the year progresses. I think the last thing then is just overall, you know, our costs on productivity initiatives. You know, and Todd mentioned earlier the issue around forward planning and getting more inventory in place sooner rather than later. You know, one thing we were fighting for a while is as the demand was ramping up, you know, for example, a customer may need a certain valve and we only have it in a warehouse in the East Coast and the customers in the West Coast. You're not efficient in your shipping. So as we've improved our SIOP process and just got a little more aggressive on the demand environment that we're seeing and bringing more inventory in, that's improving our availability regionally, which is allowing us to be more efficient and reduce our overall costs as we're moving products around North America. So it really falls into those, I'd say those three big buckets are the things that are benefiting the margin in this quarter and then more so in the back half.
spk01: Okay, great color there, guys. You mentioned, Todd, the education market kind of not seeing an MR cycle for a couple years. Can you just talk about, you know, one, that opportunity, and two, you know, if any of those COVID, you know, kind of dollars that went to the schools would be flowing, you know, around safety, hygienics?
spk05: Yeah. You know, with the onset of the pandemic, you know, we lost 20. There wasn't a lot happening in 21 as schools started to, the ramp up this year. And so there's a lot of routine maintenance and upgrades that goes on over the summer when kids aren't there. So we're sort of two years behind some of that maintenance. There's obviously a continued retrofit opportunity towards a more hygienic solution in the restroom and other parts of the school. And certainly the ESSER funding that's now flowing to the states and ultimately school districts You know, they have a wide swath of what they can do with it, and certainly hygienic and environmental is part of that. And so it's really a school district by school district and really targeting those top 4,000 school districts, driving, you know, awareness, being there, and helping them, you know, create a safer environment for their students. So it's, you know, everyone wants to talk about how much it is and where it is. It really is a school by school environment. you know, decision. And some schools have greater needs in the eyes of technology or things like that. But, you know, we're getting our fair share. But I think it's certainly, you know, a positive market backdrop as it relates to schools.
spk01: Okay. Appreciate it, Cass.
spk00: Our next question will come from Brian Blair with Oppenheimer. Please go ahead.
spk06: Thank you. Good morning, guys. Good morning, Brian. You sound quite confident in the double-digit core growth outlook for the year, I guess incrementally so. And, you know, you have posted one solid quarter in that front, so there's clear momentum. Todd, that last quarter you had framed kind of low to mid-single-digit underlying market growth, you know, two points or so of outgrowth, and then low to mid-single, seemingly leaning toward mid-single digit price contribution? How should we think of those buckets at this point?
spk05: You know, I think, as Mark highlighted, I think with the pricing actions that we've taken, there's probably incremental price from where we were a quarter ago, so call it seven, plus or minus. I think the market, you know, may be incrementally better by a point or so, And so, you know, you take it as a whole, I think we've gotten, I think, even more confident in the double-digit growth that we'll see. We had a – I think as I highlighted, we had terrific orders. You know, when you think about the next six to seven months, that's the peak of the construction season in North America. And so we saw, you know, very strong orders across all categories above our growth rates. And so we think we're pretty well-positioned. heading into Q2 and Q3 to drive really strong growth. Our supply chain is sort of set to deliver against that. And, you know, I think we'll have, I think as Mark said, you know, if we deliver our guidance, which we fully expect to do, you know, we'll have six months in the jar at meaningfully above 10%. And then it's just a function of, you know, what can it be as we look at the second half.
spk06: That's great to hear. And on... On the margin front, we have your Q2 guide. Incrementals are implied to step down a bit versus the Q1 level. I guess on a sequential basis, the math is a little cleaner in that regard if we look strictly at Q2 versus Q1 in terms of the step up. But nonetheless, looking to the back half, given the moving parts that you've walked through, should we expect third quarter margin, core margin that is, to be slashed up year on year? or has the progression, just given the headwind that everyone is facing, been pushed back a bit more in that sense?
spk04: The margin year over year, I mean, our models all along have always had the margins still stepping down a bit in the third quarter, but that gap compressing quite a bit. So, as you can appreciate, you know, through the first, call it two to three quarters, so that price-inflation-cost equation is the toughest force. It gets better as the year progresses, but then as you get into the the latter part of the third quarter, clearly into the fourth quarter, just the comps just get easier. The other thing, too, is we've talked about, you know, we've had some investment that we had started, you know, call it midway through the third quarter, clearly into the fourth quarter, around some of the growth initiatives we've been driving, as well as some things we've been doing around the supply chain and, you know, working more aggressively on nearshoring supply chain than we have in the past. And, you know, We laugh against that. So you get an easier comp from that standpoint, too. So it's really a function of those two things, just as the year progresses, the comps are just getting a bit easier right at the end of the year.
spk02: Six to nine months. Okay. Completely understand.
spk06: Zern has navigated a lot of market turbulence over the last 10 to 15 years, and you've had pretty consistent performance. If we see fears of 2023 recession come to pass, how should we think about the puts and takes of combined discern LK resilience relative to your core operation?
spk05: Well, you're correct in your, I guess, history. I don't want to answer a hypothetical question around 23 other than, you know, With the combination with LK, over half of our business, or nearly half of our business, will be MRO retrofit replaced. If you look at the model that we have around, you know, a design, procure, assemble, test supply chain, we've got a very flexible model there, so we won't absorb fixed costs should things slow. The vast majority of our selling effort is third-party reps, which is also all variable. So I think our Our business model and the resilience of that has only improved really over the last several years with more MRO if you're worried about new construction. The variable model on the supply chain and the variable model in the selling, the reality is we're going to be in great shape because right now the pro forma balance sheet will have essentially no debt. We've mitigated and iterated our business model to be ready for an environment that is is maybe not robust.
spk02: That being said, you know, when you look at and through a business cycle, non-res construction is sort of like, you know, I think we've got what we've talked about is a very good 22. We think 23 can still be around the country. Maybe a less favorable environment. I think we're fully, fully ready and willing go through that and will perform extraordinarily well. Yeah. Thank you. Yep.
spk00: And as a reminder, that is star one if you would like to ask a question. And our next question will come from Joe Ritchie.
spk02: Hi, Joe. Hey, just a comment on the market.
spk07: We're modeling it the same way, you know, down year-over-year through 3Q. I'm just curious, are you guys still looking to hold margins ex-corporate, you know, flattish year-over-year, or has some of the kind of the inflationary pressures impacted, at least at a margin rate level for the year?
spk04: Yeah, Joe, look, I think we've said going into this year that our goal was to try to hold margins generally in line with the prior year. Does that mean it's exactly what did we do last year, 25.8? Could be. Could it be 25.5? Could be. We're not looking at a scenario where we think margins are going to fall off to 24 or 24.5, right? All the things that we have line of sight to in the actions that we're taking, I think it keeps us in that ballpark where we're going to be generally – segment margin standpoint within CERN. Obviously, when you bring the LK business in, a lower margin profile, so that will market the waters. But talking just about CERN, that's what we've been working towards all year.
spk05: I mean, Joe, the bias, obviously, through, let's just say through April, is, you know, the double-digit growth, you know, will creep past the 10. And as that migrates up, we've got, I think, a better chance of getting to where those margins are. And I think Mark talked through the comparable issue relative to the prior year.
spk02: And once we lap that by Q3, I don't think there's any question that the momentum in Q4 and into 23 with a combined Zern-LK and then
spk05: On top of that, the synergy realization in year one puts us in a great place. So, I mean, you know, growing at the rates we're going, at the margins we're growing than that, despite some of the comparable headwinds. I think by the time we get to September, October, with what's in front of us with LK, I think it's going to be a great dynamic and a powerful, powerful earnings story.
spk07: Yeah, that makes sense. Since we're talking about LK, I appreciate you guys snapping the line at the end of the quarter. It makes things easier for us as well. I'm curious, as you think about the synergies, I think you guys call that $50 million. Can you start to realize some of those synergies, or do you expect to realize some of those synergies in this calendar year if, in fact, you do close by the end of QQ?
spk05: Yeah, look, I think that there may be some, but probably offset with some investment. So consistent with what we said, you know, 10 weeks ago, the synergies that we're going to sort of sign up for really begin in 23. Well, there'll be some, of course, but I wouldn't pencil it in as anything meaningful. I mean, look, we're going to close – We're going to go through a strategic plan. We're going to get the org rolling and aligned around a long-term strategic plan. We're going to make some investment in certain areas. Will we get after some of the low-hanging fruit early? You bet. But, you know, I think very much consistent with what we said at 23. 23 is the year to start thinking about accruing those to the bottom line.
spk07: Okay. Got it. That makes sense as well. One last one for you guys. Clearly, the China situation is evolving, shutdowns are continuing. Can you just give us an update on any supply chain issues, particularly out of China, that you're seeing with any of your suppliers?
spk05: Well, Joe, how much time do you have? I mean, you know, the reality is – I'll take as much color as you give me. We have a global supply chain with, you know, hundreds of critical suppliers. I think we prioritize the ones that are in zones where you're seeing things like shutdowns and things of the like. And we've got plans in place to, you know, move supply where necessary. We've got some, you know, in transit. We've got some consigned here. And so it really is, you know, a pretty complex view that, you know, on any given day there's something that is new news and different than maybe what we thought. So you've got a plan around a variety of contingencies. I think our teams have done a terrific job with that. Um, I don't know that it's going to go away, uh, anytime soon. So we've just got to keep, you know, thinking ahead, managing forward. And are there things that, um, didn't go our way in the quarter? You bet. Uh, there was small components that, you know, had they arrived, uh, shipments could have been greater. Uh, they did, but you know, we still delivered a really strong quarter. We've got a great, uh, a great backlog heading into what's a very busy season for us. We've got to stay in front of it. And, um, You know, I think that's just the reality of the world right now. But, you know, there's nothing that, you know, I can point to that is sort of a below-the-waterline issue from what we can see.
spk07: Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. Thank you both.
spk05: You bet. Thanks, Joe.
spk00: And our final question will come from Brett Lindsey with Mizzouho. Please go ahead.
spk05: Hi. Good morning, guys. Morning, Brad. Morning. Hey, so it sounds like a very solid demand pulse across most of your markets. I was hoping you could maybe put a finer point on the magnitude of the order increase or book to bill or some measure to help frame the momentum here. Yeah, we try to generally stay away from backlog, but, you know, if you think about a 15% core number, you know, it was four, five, six points of that from an order rate perspective. year over year. With a bill above one.
spk08: Yeah.
spk05: Yeah, clearly. Okay. Great. And then maybe just a finer point on, you know, the individual verticals, be it, you know, healthcare, K through 12, universities, you know, where you're seeing that strength or is it broad-based? Any color would be great. You know, it's broad-based. You know, obviously healthcare and education are our two single largest verticals. We're seeing really good activity there. I think hospitality is improving. Things like municipal buildings, stadiums are all positive. But I think the encouraging part for us was that it was really broad-based across a lot of categories and verticals. So, you know, nothing outsized. You know, it wasn't like a unique one-time thing. It's really just I think the water level is just fundamentally higher across a lot of different things. And I think we're winning more. You know, I think the integrated solution around BrightShield has gotten great traction. We saw significant growth there this quarter in an ionogenic environment. And so, you know, the gestation period of that really coming to market, us getting out and working with building owners, engineers, architects to introduce the solution, we're winning, you know, and we're winning in upgrades and retrofit opportunities, which is great news too. So, It's broad-based, and I sort of gave you the magnitude relative to the sales growth. Yeah, I appreciate you framing that. And then maybe just sticking with BrightShield. Obviously, the virus is episodic, and we're going to be living with it. But, you know, are COVID cases really a gating factor that drives customer urgency on the hygienic retrofit opportunities? Or do you think that customer conversations, you know, are pointing to, you know, sustainability here and really the focus on safer, cleaner washrooms is – You know, it's here to stay. You know, I think it depends on the person. I don't think, you know, COVID cases in a discreet way is driving a decision-making. I think it's around sustainability. I think, you know, I think we've come to acknowledge that hand-washing and keeping yourself clean is a great way to avoid spreading the virus. And so I think those two are sort of universally important. And I don't think that case count is really driving any of the decision-making, at least from my vantage point.
spk04: There's just more general awareness around hygiene in general.
spk05: Yeah. Yeah. No, it makes sense. Then maybe just one follow-up because I'm the last one. You know, on the Q2 supply chain situation, take in various mitigating actions, you know, some nearshoring and so on. But is there more to do there as you try to wean some of the over-reliance on, you know, particular regions, you know, where your supply is coming from?
spk02: And then I'm just curious in terms of, you know, Q2 revenue visibility, you know, how many containers have landed that give you comfort that the –
spk05: The framework you put in place is achievable here, even given the supply chain issues. Well, I would maybe suggest that the over-reliance piece is sort of behind us. I think we've got a geographically dispersed supply chain. I think we're going to continue to work where we believe we still may have some. So that's going to be an ongoing process for us.
spk02: I think we've got good plans.
spk05: And I think there'll be a lot of activity really in the second half of our year and the first half of next year to continue to do that in maybe a more scaled way. But I wouldn't say we're over reliant upon a particular region or supplier at this point. And then in terms of, what was the other question you had? Over reliance and then how many visibility on Q2 revenue. It goes all the way to the last month. Yeah, I mean, you know, we import, you know, hundreds of containers. And so, you know, at this point, everything that we see looks like it's going to arrive on time, you know, based on our SIOP, when we wanted it, when we ordered it, when it's picked up. We're tracking all this, you know, sort of supplier by supplier, container by container level. And so, you know, a month in, we don't have any issues. And I'm not going to project issues. I think our guidance embeds the fact that there will be issues. And so, you know, if we outperform that, well, that's great. If we miss a container or two, I wouldn't suspect us coming back to you and talking about it. So it's just a rolling, you know, series of dance that has to happen. And, you know, so far it's gone, I would say, extraordinarily well given the complexity of it. and some of the challenges in the world. And, you know, it's a testament to, I think, our team in digging in and doing the work and really getting ahead of it several years ago, but in a more acute way, really towards the middle part, end of part of last year, looking ahead into 22 and 23 and making some decisions and communicating and procuring the right material, the subcomponents, and getting in the queue early. And now it's just a function of, you know, delivering against that demand. No, that's great. And then just last one. Any expected change in the adjusted tax rate once LK closes?
spk04: LK is generally, as you can appreciate, a North American company. So I don't think it changes materially from where we sit today from an overall North American tax rate on a pre-adjusted basis. If you think we have kind of got it to the full year to model out the inclusive LK, I think you'll be fine.
spk05: Okay. Great. I appreciate all the color. Thanks a lot.
spk00: And that will conclude today's question and answer session. So I would now like to turn the call back over to Dave Pauley for any additional closing remarks.
spk03: Thanks, everyone, for joining us on the call today. We appreciate your interest in CERN Water Solutions, and we look forward to providing our next update when we announce our June quarter results in August. Have a good day, everyone.
spk00: And that will conclude today's conference. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.
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