Apogee Enterprises Reports Fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Results

Business Wire 4-Oct-2024 6:30 AM

• Net sales decrease 3.2% to $342 million
• Operating margin improves to 12.3%; adjusted operating margin improves by 110 bps to 12.6%
• Diluted EPS of $1.40; adjusted diluted EPS increases 6% to $1.44
• Year-to-date cash flow from operations improves to $64 million
• Raising full-year EPS outlook

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOG) today reported its results for the second quarter of fiscal 2025. The Company reported the following selected financial results:

Ty R. Silberhorn, Chief Executive Officer stated, "Our team achieved another strong quarter of profitability, delivering improved operating margins, adjusted EPS growth, and increased operating cash flow, despite volume pressure. This quarter's results continue to demonstrate the sustainable improvements we've driven through executing our strategy. Our stronger operating foundation, improved cost structure, and increased mix of differentiated offerings are all contributing to our results."

Mr. Silberhorn continued, "The momentum we've established in the business, combined with the recently announced acquisition of UW Solutions, position us for continued success as we move forward. We are excited to welcome their employees to our team and look forward to working with them to build a powerful new growth engine for our Company. We expect meaningful opportunities to utilize the capabilities of the combined business to help drive our long-term growth."

Consolidated Results (Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 compared to Second Quarter Fiscal 2024)

• Net sales decreased 3.2% to $342.4 million, primarily driven by lower volume, partially offset by improved pricing and mix.

• Gross margin improved 140 basis points to 28.4%, primarily driven by improved pricing, a more favorable mix of projects in Architectural Services, favorable material costs, and lower insurance-related costs, partially offset by the unfavorable sales leverage impact of lower volume, higher compensation and benefit expense, and $0.9 million of restructuring costs associated with Project Fortify.

• Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percent of net sales increased 70 basis points to 16.2%, primarily due to higher incentive compensation expense and the unfavorable sales leverage impact of lower volume.

• Operating income increased to $42.0 million, and operating margin was 12.3%. Adjusted operating income grew 6.4% to $43.1 million and adjusted operating margin improved by 110 basis points to 12.6%. The higher adjusted operating margin was primarily driven by improved pricing, a more favorable mix of projects in Architectural Services, favorable material costs, and lower insurance-related costs, partially offset by the impact of higher incentive compensation expense and the unfavorable sales leverage impact of lower volume.

• Interest expense was $1.1 million, compared to $2.2 million, primarily driven by lower average debt levels, partially offset by the impact of the write-off of unamortized financing fees related to the previous credit facility.

• Diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $1.40, compared to $1.52. Adjusted diluted EPS grew 5.9% to $1.44, primarily driven by higher adjusted operating income and lower interest expense.

Segment Results (Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 Compared to Second Quarter Fiscal 2024)

Architectural Framing Systems

Architectural Framing Systems net sales were $141.4 million, compared to $158.8 million, primarily reflecting reduced volume due to exiting certain lower-margin product lines as part of Project Fortify, and lower end-market demand. Operating income was $17.1 million, which included $0.9 million of restructuring charges related to Project Fortify. Adjusted operating income was $18.1 million, or 12.8% of net sales, compared to $21.1 million, or 13.3% of net sales. The lower adjusted operating margin was primarily driven by the unfavorable sales leverage impact of lower volume and a less favorable mix, partially offset by favorable material costs.

Architectural Glass

Architectural Glass net sales were $90.1 million, compared to $94.1 million, reflecting reduced volume due to lower end-market demand, partially offset by improved pricing and product mix. Operating income increased to $21.1 million, or 23.4% of net sales, compared to $17.4 million, or 18.5% of net sales. The 490 basis point improvement in operating margin was primarily driven by improved pricing and product mix, and lower operating costs, partially offset by the unfavorable sales leverage impact of lower volume.

Architectural Services

Architectural Services net sales grew 11.3% to $98.0 million, primarily due to a more favorable mix of projects and increased volume. Operating income improved to $6.1 million, or 6.3% of net sales, which included $0.3 million of restructuring charges related to Project Fortify. Adjusted operating income increased to $6.4 million, or 6.5% of net sales, compared to $3.5 million, or 4.0% of net sales. The 250 basis point improvement in adjusted operating margin was primarily driven by a more favorable mix of projects, partially offset by higher compensation-related expenses and higher lease expense. Segment backlog² at the end of the quarter was $792.1 million, compared to $866.9 million at the end of the first quarter.

Large-Scale Optical

Large-Scale Optical net sales were $19.8 million, compared to $23.6 million, primarily reflecting lower volume in the retail channel, partially offset by a more favorable mix. Operating income was $3.8 million, or 19.1% of net sales, compared to $4.7 million, or 19.7% of net sales. The 60 basis point decline in operating margin primarily reflects the unfavorable sales leverage impact of lower volume, partially offset by improved mix and cost savings.

Corporate and Other

Corporate and other expense was $6.2 million, compared to $6.1 million. The increase was primarily driven by higher compensation and benefit costs, partially offset by lower insurance-related expenses.

Financial Condition

Net cash provided by operating activities in the second quarter improved to $58.7 million, compared to $41.3 million in the prior-year period. Fiscal year to date, net cash provided by operating activities increased to $64.1 million, compared to $62.6 million last year, primarily driven by higher net earnings. Capital expenditures through the first half of the fiscal year were $15.7 million, compared to $15.1 million last year. Fiscal year to date, the Company has returned $25.9 million of cash to shareholders through share repurchases and dividend payments. Quarter-end long-term debt was $62.0 million, with a Consolidated Leverage Ratio³ (as per the Company's credit agreement) of 0.1x.

Fiscal 2025 Outlook

The Company continues to expect a full-year net sales decline in the range of 4% to 7%. This range includes approximately 2 percentage points of decline related to fiscal 2025 reverting to a 52-week year, and approximately 1 percentage point of decline related to the actions of Project Fortify to eliminate certain lower-margin product and service offerings.

The Company is increasing its outlook for full-year diluted EPS to a range of $4.81 to $5.08 and adjusted diluted EPS to a range of $4.90 to $5.20⁴. The Company continues to expect the impact of the reversion to a 52-week year will reduce adjusted diluted EPS by approximately $0.20 compared to fiscal 2024 and that there will be no material impact to adjusted diluted EPS related to the adverse net sales impact of Project Fortify.

Assuming closing of the UW Solutions acquisition on November 1, 2024, the Company expects incremental net sales of approximately $30 million and an expects a decrease in adjusted diluted EPS of approximately $0.10, primarily due to increased interest and amortization expense related to the acquisition. These impacts are not included in the updated 2025 outlook provided in this earnings release.

The Company continues to expect a total of $15 million to $16 million of pre-tax charges in connection with Project Fortify, leading to updated annualized cost savings of $13 million to $14 million. The Company continues to expect approximately 60% of these savings will be realized in fiscal 2025, and the remainder in fiscal 2026, with approximately 70% of the savings to be realized in Architectural Framing Systems, 20% in Architectural Services, and 10% in Corporate and Other, with the plan to be substantially complete in the third quarter of fiscal 2025.

The Company continues to expect an effective tax rate of approximately 24.5%, and capital expenditures between $40 to $50 million.

Conference Call Information

The Company will host a conference call today at 8:00 a.m. Central Time to discuss this earnings release. This call will be webcast and is available in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website, along with presentation slides, at https://www.apog.com/events-and-presentations. A replay and transcript of the webcast will be available on the Company's website following the conference call.

About Apogee Enterprises

Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:APOG) is a leading provider of architectural products and services for enclosing buildings, and high-performance glass and acrylic products used for preservation, energy conservation, and enhanced viewing. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, our portfolio of industry-leading products and services includes high-performance architectural glass, windows, curtainwall, storefront and entrance systems, integrated project management and installation services, as well as value-added glass and acrylic for custom picture framing and displays. For more information, visit www.apog.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Management uses non-GAAP measures to evaluate the Company's historical and prospective financial performance, measure operational profitability on a consistent basis, as a factor in determining executive compensation, and to provide enhanced transparency to the investment community. Non-GAAP measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the reported financial results of the Company prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate these measures differently, limiting the usefulness of the measures for comparison with other companies. This release and other financial communications may contain the following non-GAAP measures:

• Adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net earnings, adjusted effective tax rate, and adjusted diluted EPS are used by the Company to provide meaningful supplemental information about its operating performance by excluding amounts that are not considered part of core operating results to enhance comparability of results from period to period.
• Adjusted EBITDA represents adjusted net earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. The Company believes adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin metrics provide useful information to investors and analysts about the Company's core operating performance.
• Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities, minus capital expenditures. The Company considers this measure an indication of its financial strength. However, free cash flow does not fully reflect the Company's ability to freely deploy generated cash, as it does not reflect, for example, required payments on indebtedness and other fixed obligations.
• Consolidated Leverage Ratio is a defined term as per the Company's credit agreement and is calculated as Consolidated Funded Indebtedness minus Unrestricted Cash as per the Company's credit agreement at the end of the current period, divided by Consolidated EBITDA per the Company's credit agreement (calculated as EBITDA plus certain non-cash charges and allowed addbacks, less certain non-cash income, plus the pro forma effect of acquisitions and certain pro forma run-rate cost savings for acquisitions and dispositions, as applicable for the trailing twelve months ended as of the current period). The Company is unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of forward-looking expected Consolidated Leverage Ratio to its most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measure because such information is not available, and management cannot reliably predict all the necessary components of such GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort or expense. In addition, the Company believes such reconciliation would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors.
• Backlog is an operating measure used by management to assess future potential sales revenue. Backlog is defined as the dollar amount of signed contracts or firm orders, generally as a result of a competitive bidding process, which is expected to be recognized as revenue. It is most meaningful for the Architectural Services segment due to the longer-term nature of their projects. Backlog is not a term defined under U.S. GAAP and is not a measure of contract profitability. Backlog should not be used as the sole indicator of future revenue because the Company has a substantial number of projects with short lead times that book-and-bill within the same reporting period that are not included in backlog.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "should," "will," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements". These statements reflect Apogee management's expectations or beliefs as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are qualified by factors that may affect the results, performance, financial condition, prospects and opportunities of the Company, including the following: (A) North American and global economic conditions, including the cyclical nature of the North American and Latin American non-residential construction industries and the potential impact of an economic downturn or recession; (B) U.S. and global instability and uncertainty arising from events outside of our control; (C) actions of new and existing competitors; (D) departure of key personnel and ability to source sufficient labor; (E) product performance, reliability and quality issues; (F) project management and installation issues that could affect the profitability of individual contracts; (G) dependence on a relatively small number of customers in one operating segment; (H) financial and operating results that could differ from market expectations; (I) self-insurance risk related to a material product liability or other events for which the Company is liable; (J) maintaining our information technology systems and potential cybersecurity threats; (K) cost of regulatory compliance, including environmental regulations; (L) supply chain disruptions, including fluctuations in the availability and cost of materials used in our products and the impact of trade policies and regulations, including potential future tariffs; (M) integration of acquisitions and management of acquired contracts; (N) impairment of goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets; (O) our ability to successfully manage and implement our enterprise strategy; (P) our ability to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting; (Q) our judgements regarding the accounting for tax positions and the resolution of tax disputes; (R) the impact of cost inflation and interest rates; and (S) the impact of changes in capital and credit markets on our liquidity and cost of capital. The Company cautions investors that actual future results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and that other factors may in the future prove to be important in affecting the Company's results, performance, prospects, or opportunities. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or a combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. More information concerning potential factors that could affect future financial results is included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 2, 2024, and in subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Segment net sales is defined as net sales for a certain segment and includes revenue related to intersegment transactions.
• Net sales intersegment eliminations are reported separately to exclude these sales from our consolidated total.
• Segment operating income is equal to net sales, less cost of goods sold, SG&A, and any asset impairment charges associated with the segment.
• Segment operating income includes operating income related to intersegment sales transactions and excludes certain corporate costs that are not allocated at a segment level. We report these unallocated corporate costs separately in Corporate and Other.
• Operating income does not include any other income or expense, interest expense or a provision for income taxes.

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