The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript
The Toro Company (NYSE:TTC) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript March 7, 2024
The Toro Company isn't one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here).
Operator: Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Toro Company's First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. My name is Carmen, and I will be your coordinator for today. [Operator Instructions]. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded for replay purposes. I would now like to turn the presentation over to your host for today's conference, Julie Kerekes, Treasurer and Senior Manager, Director of Global Tax and Investor Relations. Please proceed, Ms. Kerekes.
Julie Kerekes: Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Our earnings release was issued this morning, and a copy can be found in the Investor Information section of our corporate website, thetorocompany.com. We have also posted a first quarter earnings presentation to supplement our earnings release. On our call today are Rick Olson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Angie Drake, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Jeremy Steffan, Director Investor Relations. During this call, we will make forward-looking statements regarding our plans and projections for the future. Forward-looking statements are based upon our historical performance and current expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements.
Additional information regarding these factors can be found in today's earnings release and in our investor presentation as well as in our SEC reports. During today's call, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe are important in evaluating the company's performance. For more details on these measures, the most comparable GAAP measures and a reconciliation of the two,please refer to this morning's earnings release and our investor presentation. With that, I will now turn the call over to Rick.
Richard Olson: Thanks, Julie, and good morning, everyone. The first quarter of fiscal 2024 played out largely as we expected. Our team continues to operate with dedication, creativity and resilience as we took actions to best capitalize on near-term demand trends. We drove productivity benefits throughout the organization to offset higher material costs and made investments to enhance our market leadership positions and drive long-term growth. For the first quarter, we delivered net sales of just over $1 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.64. These results include exceptional top line growth for our underground and specialty construction and golf and grounds businesses. Our ability to capitalize on continued strong demand in these end markets was the result of actions we've taken to increase output with more stable supply.
The strength in our construction and golf and grounds businesses was offset by lower shipments of zero-turn mowers as expected, given elevated field inventories heading into the fiscal year. This compares to our first quarter a year ago when we benefited from channel replenishment of contractor-grade mowers following a period of constrained supply. The strength was also offset by lower shipments of snow and ice management products due to the low average snowfall. In addition, our results were affected by a few supply chain issues that delayed shipments for select product categories in our professional segment. Based on our first quarter results and our current visibility for the remainder of the year, we are reaffirming our full year fiscal 2024 net sales and adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance.
Angie will walk through those details shortly. Throughout the quarter, we maintained a sharp focus on positioning the company to capitalize on long-term growth opportunities. We are developing new products aligned with market growth trends and prioritizing investments in the key technology areas of alternative power, smart connected and autonomous solutions. We believe that leveraging these investments across our broad portfolio will provide distinct competitive advantages, further strengthen our innovation leadership and drive accelerated profitable growth. Our competitive advantage and leadership was clearly on display at the recent golf course superintendent show in Phoenix, where we showcased our full suite of golf equipment and irrigation products.
Importantly, the overall strength of the golf end market was also evident with the highest attendance since 2008 and representatives from all 50 states in 66 countries. Our boots included several new products, such as an expanded offering of fully electric versions of our proven and popular machines, which offer quiet operation with no compromise on performance. Our autonomous hybrid fairway mower that is designed to increase productivity and consistency and our latest smart connected irrigation control system that provides unmatched ease of use and unsurpassed precision. We are extremely well positioned in the attractive golf market as the only company to offer both equipment and irrigation solutions and as the global market leader in both.
During the quarter, we also advanced our enterprise strategic priority of driving productivity and operational excellence. Our multiyear initiative that we've named AMP for amplifying maximum productivity is off to a great start. Our transformation office is in place and we are on track to deliver at least $100 million of annualized savings by fiscal 2027. As we discussed, we intend to reinvest a portion of the savings to further accelerate innovation and long-term growth. Finally, we maintained our focus on sustainability. This includes partnering with other industry leaders to share knowledge and solutions that promote environmental benefits, such as reduced, exhaust and noise emissions and less water and chemical usage. For example, we extended our 10-year partnership with GEO Foundation for sustainable golf, an organization focused on accelerating sustainability in and through golf worldwide.
We believe our focus on innovation from enhancing our market leadership to driving sustainability benefits, provide significant long-term opportunities for The Toro Company. I'll discuss our outlook further following Angie's detailed review of our financial results and guidance. With that, I will turn the call over to Angie.
Angela Drake: Thank you, Rick, and good morning, everyone. We remain confident in our ability to deliver value to all stakeholders, supported by our strong balance sheet, disciplined approach to capital allocation and innovation leadership. This along with our extensive distribution and support network positions us well to capitalize on growth opportunities in our attractive end markets. As Rick said, our results in the first quarter were aligned with our expectations. Looking closer at the numbers. Consolidated net sales for the quarter were just over $1 billion, a decrease of 12.8% compared to last year. Reported EPS was $0.62 per diluted share, which was down from $1.01 in the first quarter of last year. Adjusted EPS was $0.64 per diluted share, down as expected from $0.98.
Now to the segment results. Professional segment net sales for the first quarter were $756.5 million, down 14.1% year-over-year. This decrease was primarily driven by lower shipments of zebra-turn mowers and snow and ice management products. This was partially offset by higher shipments of underground and specialty construction products and golf and ground equipment. Professional segment earnings for the first quarter were $112.8 million, down from $144.1 million last year. When expressed as a percentage of net sales, earnings for the segment were 14.9%, compared to 16.4% last year. The change was primarily due to lower net sales volume, partially offset by favorable product mix. Residential segment net sales for the first quarter were $240.1 million, down 9.3% compared to last year.
The decrease was primarily driven by lower shipments of snow products and zero-turn mowers. This was partially offset by higher shipments of walk power mowers and portable power products. Residential segment earnings for the quarter were $23.5 million, compared to $37.8 million last year. When expressed as a percentage of net sales, earnings for the segment were 9.8%, compared to 14.3% last year. The year-over-year decrease was largely driven by product mix. Turning to our operating results. Our reported and adjusted gross margin were both 34.4% for the quarter. This compares to 34.5% for both in the same period last year. The slight decrease was primarily due to unfavorable product mix within the residential segment, mostly offset by favorable product mix within the professional segment.
SG&A expense, as a percentage of net sales for the quarter was 25.6%, compared to 22.6% in the same period last year. This increase was primarily driven by lower net sales volume. Operating earnings as a percentage of net sales for the quarter were 8.8% and on an adjusted basis were 9.2%. These compare to 11.9% on both, a reported and adjusted basis in the same period last year. Interest expense for the quarter was $16.2 million, up $2.1 million from last year. The increase was primarily due to higher average interest rates and higher average outstanding borrowings. The reported effective tax rate for the first quarter was 19%, compared with 18.6% last year. The increase was primarily due to lower tax benefits recorded as excess tax deductions for stock-based compensation in the current year period.
This was partially offset by a more favorable geographic mix of earnings. The adjusted effective tax rate for the first quarter was 20.8%, compared with 21.4% last year. The year-over-year difference was primarily driven by the geographic mix of earnings. Turning to our balance sheet. Accounts receivables were $489.1 million, up 29.6% from a year ago, primarily driven by timing of shipments to our mass channel and payment terms. Inventory was $1.18 billion, up 4% compared to last year. This was driven by higher finished goods balances, primarily zero-turn mowers and snow and ice management products. This was partially offset by improved working process levels enabled by more reliable component availability and productivity improvements. Accounts payable were $421.8 million, down 11.2% compared to a year ago, primarily driven by a reduction in material purchases.
Free cash flow in the quarter was a $111. three million use of cash. This was primarily driven by our actions to align production and inventory levels to demand, additional working capital needs heading into the spring selling season and lower net earnings. As a reminder, the majority of our operating cash flow is typically generated in the second half of our fiscal year. Importantly, our balance sheet remains strong. We continue to target a gross debt-to-EBITDA leverage ratio in the range of 1x to 2x. This, along with our investment-grade credit ratings, provides the financial flexibility to fund investments that drive long-term sustainable growth. Our disciplined approach to capital allocation remains unchanged, with priorities that include making strategic investments in our business to drive long-term profitable growth, both organically and through acquisitions, returning cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases and maintaining our leverage goals.
We are acting on these priorities in fiscal 2024, through our plan to fund $125 million in capital expenditures to support new product investments, advanced manufacturing technologies and capacity for growth, as well as our regular dividend payout increase of 6% over fiscal 2023. This is a reflection of the confidence that we have in our future financial performance and cash flows. As we look ahead to the remainder of the fiscal year, in our residential segment, we expect benefits from our expanded mass channel. In our professional segment, we expect benefits from the continued strength in demand and substantial order backlogs for our underground and specialty construction products and golf and grounds equipment. For these businesses, we made slight progress in reducing order backlog during the quarter, driven by the actions we've taken to drive increased output.
On a total company basis, our open orders increased slightly sequentially from the $1.97 billion balance at fiscal 202 three year-end, driven by seasonal order patterns. Our order backlog is lower on a year-over-year basis. Our long care products, we are assuming more normal seasonal weather patterns, with spring being our first appreciable opportunity to see a meaningful reduction in field inventory levels. For snow and ice management products, we anticipate channel inventory will remain elevated heading into next season given the lack of snowfall activity this winter. With this backdrop and based on our first quarter performance and current visibility, we are reaffirming the full year net sales and adjusted diluted EPS guidance, we shared on our last earnings call.
We continue to expect low single-digit total company net sales growth with Q2 and Q three being our larger quarters. For the professional segment, we expect net sales to grow at a rate lower than the total company average. For the residential segment, we expect net sales to grow at a rate higher than the total company average. Looking at profitability. For adjusted gross margin, we continue to expect a slight year-over-year improvement, driven by productivity initiatives. We expect this will be partially offset by manufacturing inefficiencies, as we continue to rebalance residential and contractor grade long care equipment inventory levels. Turning to adjusted operating earnings, as a percentage of net sales. For the full year, we continue to expect a slight improvement over last year.
We expect both the professional and residential segment earnings margins to also be higher than last year. We expect the other activities category to reflect higher expense, compared to fiscal 202 three as a result of our expectations for a return to more normal incentive compensation. With that, we continue to expect full year adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $4.25 to $4.35. Additionally for the full year, we continue to expect depreciation and amortization of about $120 million to $130 million, interest expense of about $59 million and an adjusted effective tax rate of about 21%. Moving to the second quarter of fiscal 2024. We anticipate total company net sales to be similar to slightly higher year-over-year. As a reminder, in the second quarter of fiscal 2023, we benefited from dealer and distributor inventory replenishment of contractor-grade zero-turn mowers, following a period of constrained supply.
The same dynamic is not present this year. We anticipate this will be more than offset by expected incremental benefits from our expanded mass retail channel and our focus on driving increased output for our businesses with elevated order backlog. Given these considerations, we expect professional segment net sales for the second quarter to be down mid-single digits, on top of last year's strong comparison of 15.4% growth. We expect residential segment net sales growth for the second quarter to be up low to mid-20s, compared to the same period last year. Looking at profitability. For the second quarter, we anticipate total company adjusted operating margin to be lower than the same period last year. This reflects our expectations for segment mix and some continued inefficiencies as we align production to demand trends.
We expect the professional segment earnings margin to be lower on a year-over-year basis. And the residential segment earnings margin to be higher year-over-year. Overall, we expect our second quarter fiscal 2024 adjusted diluted EPS to be meaningfully lower than last year's record results and more in line with fiscal 2021 and 2022 results. We continue to build our business for long-term profitable growth. We are deploying capital with discipline including prioritized investments in new products and technologies that address key market trends and that we believe will help our customers be successful. We are also confident in our ability to unlock significant benefits and opportunities with AMP, our multiyear productivity initiatives. It's an exciting time to be a part of The Toro Company.
With that, I'll turn the call back to Rick.
Richard Olson: Thank you, Angie. Our business fundamentals and market leadership remain strong. Our team continues to operate with agility, as we flex production for market conditions, enabled by more reliable component supply. We continue to drive increased output and improved lead times for our businesses with elevated open orders to better serve our customers. From a macro perspective, we are closely watching business and consumer confidence and spending patterns, as well as monetary policy actions, inflation, numerous upcoming elections and the current geopolitical environment. Turning to our end markets. I'll comment on the factors that could impact future results. For underground and specialty construction, we expect end-user demand to remain strong.
This is supported by private and public spending to address global issues, such as aging infrastructure, broadband access and alternative energy build-outs. These funds are increasingly making their way to project starts. We're focused on helping our customers address these needs with our trusted channel and the most comprehensive equipment lineup in the industry. For golf, we expect continued strength in demand, driven by sustained momentum in new golfers and rounds played. For 2023, U.S. rounds played were the highest ever, marking the fourth straight year with more than 500 million rounds in total. We are focused on continuing to enhance our global leadership position in this attractive market with our complete suite of solutions, deep relationships and best-in-class service and support network.
For municipalities and grounds, we expect continued healthy budgets and the prioritization of public green spaces. To capitalize on these trends, we're developing innovative products that drive productivity, including zero exhaust emission alternatives with no compromise on performance. For example, our new Groundsmaster E3200 battery-powered outfront rotary mower, builds on 50 years of innovation by The Toro Company, in this product category. This all electric model leverages our proprietary hyper cell, smart battery system to provide all day run time and quiet operation. For snow and ice management, we expect end market demand to be driven by replacement needs, following two consecutive seasons of below average snowfall. We will be watching late season storm activity and how that affects channel inventory levels.
For residential and commercial irrigation and lighting, we expect uneven demand from contractors as a result of steady commercial demand but also continued caution around homeowner projects. For agricultural micro irrigation, we expect stable demand from growers, with the focus on maximizing crop yield, while minimizing water usage. We continue to develop automated solutions that address this need including our Toro Transpira direct plant sensing technology. This innovative solution was named 202 three New Product of the Year, by the Irrigation Association. For landscape contractors, we expect steady retail demand with some price sensitivity. We continue to expect interest in our high productivity, high capacity solutions that allow more work to be done with less labor resources.
For homeowners, we expect retail demand to begin stabilizing the spring. For both landscape contractors and homeowners, we're watching weather patterns. In early spring as well as a return to more normal average temperatures and precipitation levels would be favorable. While market dynamics continue to have a near-term effect, we believe our well-established market leadership positions us to drive positive long-term results. This leadership is underpinned by our innovative products, trusted brand and extensive distribution and support networks. We also expect continued benefits from the essential nature and regular replacement cycle of our products. Our commitment to delivering superior innovation and customer care continues to drive our success.
And this enduring commitment is bolstered by our strong balance sheet, disciplined capital allocation, an outstanding team of employees and channel partners. As a result, we have high confidence in our ability to drive sustained value for all stakeholders. On that note, I would like to thank our employees and channel partners for their dedication to serving our customers. I would also like to thank our customers and shareholders for your continued support. With that, we will open up the call for questions.
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