NPK Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results

Business Wire 26-Feb-2025 4:15 PM

NPK International Inc. (NYSE:NPKI) ("NPK" or the "Company") today announced results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024.

FOURTH QUARTER 2024 RESULTS (all comparisons versus the prior year period unless otherwise noted)

• Revenues of $57.5 million, +24%
• Operating income from continuing operations of $11.6 million
• Operating margin from continuing operations of 20.2%
• Income from continuing operations of $8.0 million, or $0.09 per diluted share; Adjusted Income from Continuing Operations of $7.1 million, or $0.08 per diluted share
• Adjusted EBITDA from Continuing Operations of $17.1 million, +35%
• Adjusted EBITDA margin from Continuing Operations of 29.7%
• Total cash of $18 million and total debt of $8 million as of December 31, 2024

FULL YEAR 2024 RESULTS (all comparisons versus the prior year period unless otherwise noted)

• Revenues of $217.5 million, +5%
• Operating income from continuing operations of $32.4 million
• Operating margin from continuing operations of 14.9%
• Income from continuing operations of $35.6 million, or $0.41 per diluted share; Adjusted Income from Continuing Operations of $20.3 million, or $0.23 per diluted share
• Adjusted EBITDA from Continuing Operations of $54.9 million, +12%
• Adjusted EBITDA margin from Continuing Operations of 25.2%

MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY

"We delivered a strong finish to a historic year for NPK," stated Matthew Lanigan, President and CEO of NPK International. "Through our third quarter 2024 divestiture, we streamlined our business model to focus exclusively on site-access and specialty rental solutions. We have also sharpened our commercial strategy and completed the expansion of our commercial sales team, to accelerate the penetration of higher-value growth opportunities. This transformative shift positions us to further optimize our return on invested capital through continued investments in organic expansion, targeted investments in inorganic growth and our $50 million share repurchase authorization.

"Our nationwide sales coverage model and targeted focus on key growth accounts has positioned us to prioritize higher-growth, higher-value opportunities, consistent with our strategic focus. Our team demonstrated strong execution on our commercial growth and operational excellence initiatives throughout the year, a performance that culminated in 12% year-over-year organic growth in Adjusted EBITDA," continued Lanigan. "Revenue growth and continued cost discipline contributed to improved operating leverage, resulting in 160 bps of Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion, when compared to the prior year.

"We delivered an outstanding fourth quarter performance," continued Lanigan. "Fourth quarter revenue and Adjusted EBITDA increased by 24% and 35%, respectively, as rental revenue reached a new single-quarter record. Gross margin increased by nearly 500 bps to a two-year high, supported by a more favorable sales mix, while Adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 240 bps to 29.7%, when compared to the prior year.

"During the fourth quarter, we launched our new brand identity, NPK International, a leading worksite access solutions company committed to providing best-in-class products and services to support our customers critical infrastructure projects," continued Lanigan. "We continue to make progress with our industry reclassification process and currently expect our new industry classification to be finalized before our first quarter 2025 results conference call.

"Today, we are introducing financial guidance for the full-year 2025," continued Lanigan. "We remain constructive on the long-term outlook for utility and critical infrastructure spending, together with our proven ability to deliver profitable growth through the cycle. To that end, at the midpoint of our 2025 financial guidance, we anticipate revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth of 10% and 18%, respectively, when compared to the full-year 2024. Our guidance also assumes 2025 net capital expenditures of between $35 million to $40 million, approximately 80% of which is expected to be allocated toward the continued expansion of our rental fleet.

"Entering 2025, NPK is uniquely positioned to capitalize on both favorable demand conditions within our utilities transmission and critical infrastructure markets, along with increased adoption of our next-generation composite matting technology," continued Lanigan. "We remain focused on accelerating our pace of organic growth through geographic expansion, market share gains, and capabilities expansion within our worksite access markets, while continuing to drive efficiency improvements and cost optimization across the organization, consistent with our long-term focus on sustained value creation."

BUSINESS UPDATE

NPK is engaged in a multi-year business transformation plan designed to drive organic commercial growth within targeted, higher-margin product and rental markets; improve asset optimization and organizational efficiency; and pursue a capital allocation strategy that prioritizes investments in opportunities with superior return profiles, together with a programmatic return of capital program.

Fourth quarter 2024 highlights include:

• Strong customer demand for matting rental and related services. Revenues from specialty rental and related services increased to a record $42 million in the fourth quarter, driven by elevated demand from key customer accounts in support of scheduled transmission projects. Revenues from product sales also increased to $16 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, reflecting typical quarterly fluctuations in order and delivery timing.
• Improved operating efficiency. NPK remains focused on efficiency improvements and operating cost optimization across every aspect of its business. The Company continues to evaluate and execute actions intended to streamline the organization and its cost structure, while targeting SG&A as percentage of revenue in the mid-teens percent range by early 2026. In the fourth quarter of 2024, NPK's SG&A as percentage of revenue was 18.6%, a decline of nearly 350 bps versus the prior year period.
• Robust return of capital program. In February 2024, the Board of Directors increased the authorization for repurchases of common stock up to $50.0 million. No share repurchases were made in 2024 due to trading blackout restrictions associated with the Fluids Systems sale process that was completed in September 2024, along with other events.
• New brand identity. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company announced a name change from Newpark Resources (NYSE:NR) to NPK International (NYSE:NPKI). On December 19, 2024, the Company's common stock began trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol ‘NPKI'.

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

In the fourth quarter of 2024, NPK generated income from continuing operations of $8.0 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, on total revenue of $57.5 million, compared to income from continuing operations of $5.2 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, on total revenue of $46.5 million, in the prior year period. Income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2024 includes an income tax benefit of $1.3 million primarily reflecting the release of valuation allowances on U.S. state net operating losses following the sale of the Fluids Systems business. Gross margin was 39.2% in the fourth quarter 2024, compared to 34.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Company reported Adjusted EBITDA from Continuing Operations of $17.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, or 29.7% of total revenue, compared to $12.7 million, or 27.3% of total revenue, in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $10.7 million (18.6% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $10.2 million (22.1% of revenues) in the prior year period. For the full year 2024, selling, general and administrative expenses were $46.0 million (21.2% of revenues), compared to $51.1 million (24.6%) in the prior year.

BALANCE SHEET AND LIQUIDITY

As of December 31, 2024, NPK had total cash of $18 million, total debt of $8 million, and available liquidity under its U.S. ABL credit facility of $66 million. Additionally, the Company had $18 million of receivables and net deferred consideration from the Fluids Systems sale as of December 31, 2024.

Operating cash flow used $4 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, which included $20 million usage in net working capital driven by the elevated business activity. Capital investments used $12 million, net, primarily funding the expansion of the mat rental fleet to support increased fourth quarter customer demand. The Company reduced debt outstanding by $6 million in the fourth quarter and remained in a net cash positive position as of December 31, 2024.

FINANCIAL GUIDANCE

The following forward-looking guidance reflects the Company's current expectations and beliefs as of February 26, 2025 and is subject to change. The following statements apply only as of the date of this disclosure and are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included elsewhere in this document.

For the full year 2025, NPK currently anticipates the following:

• Revenues in a range of $230 million to $250 million
• Adjusted EBITDA in a range of $60 million to $70 million
• Capital expenditures in a range of $35 million to $40 million

FOURTH QUARTER 2024 RESULTS CONFERENCE CALL

A conference call will be held Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. ET to review the Company's financial results and conduct a question-and-answer session.

A webcast of the conference call will be available in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.npki.com. Individuals can also participate by teleconference dial-in. To listen to a live broadcast, go to the site at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time in order to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

To participate in the live teleconference:

To listen to a replay of the teleconference, which subsequently will be available through March 6, 2025:

ABOUT NPK INTERNATIONAL

NPK International Inc. is a temporary worksite access solutions company that manufactures, sells, and rents recyclable composite matting products, along with a full suite of services, including planning, logistics, and site restoration. As a geographically diversified company, the Company delivers superior quality and reliability across critical infrastructure markets, including electrical transmission and distribution, oil and gas exploration, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries. For more information, visit our website at www.npki.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. Words such as "will," "may," "could," "would," "should," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "plans," "intends," "guidance," and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying them. These statements are not guarantees that our expectations will prove to be correct and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by NPK, particularly its Annual Report on Form 10-K, and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause actual plans or results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these statements. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, risks related to our recently completed sale of the Fluids Systems business; our ability to generate organic growth; economic and market conditions that may impact our customers' future spending; the effective management of our fleet, including our ability to properly manufacture, safeguard, and maintain our fleet; international operations; operating hazards present in our and our customers' industries and substantial liability claims; our contracts that can be terminated or downsized by our customers without penalty; our product offering and market expansion; our ability to attract, retain, and develop qualified leaders, key employees, and skilled personnel; expanding our services in the utilities sector, which may require unionized labor; the price and availability of raw materials; inflation; capital investments and business acquisitions; market competition; technological developments and intellectual property; severe weather, natural disasters, and seasonality; public health crises, epidemics, and pandemics; our cost and continued availability of borrowed funds, including noncompliance with debt covenants; environmental laws and regulations; legal compliance; the inherent limitations of insurance coverage; income taxes; cybersecurity incidents or business system disruptions; activist stockholders that may attempt to effect changes at our Company or acquire control over our Company; share repurchases; and our amended and restated bylaws, which could limit our stockholders' ability to obtain what such stockholders believe to be a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by securities laws. NPK's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission can be obtained at no charge at www.sec.gov, as well as through our website at www.npki.com.

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INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT Noel Ryan or Paul Bartolai Investors@npki.com