H B Fuller : Transcript

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FUL.N - Q2 2021 HB Fuller Co Earnings Call

EVENT DATE/TIME: JUNE 24, 2021 / 2:30PM GMT

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JUNE 24, 2021 / 2:30PM, FUL.N - Q2 2021 HB Fuller Co Earnings Call

C O R P O R A T E P A R T I C I P A N T S

Barbara J. Doyle H.B. Fuller Company - VP of IR

James J. Owens H.B. Fuller Company - President, CEO & Director

John J. Corkrean H.B. Fuller Company - Executive VP & CFO

C O N F E R E N C E C A L L P A R T I C I P A N T S

David L. Begleiter Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division - MD and Senior Research Analyst

Eric B Petrie Citigroup Inc. Exchange Research - Research Analyst

Ghansham Panjabi Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division - Senior Research Analyst

Jeffrey John Zekauskas JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division - Senior Analyst

Michael Joseph Harrison Seaport Research Partners - MD & Senior Chemicals Analyst

Paretosh Misra Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, Research Division - Analyst

Rosemarie Jeanne Morbelli G. Research, LLC - Research Analyst

Vincent Alwardt Anderson Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Research Division - Associate

P R E S E N T A T I O N

Operator

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the H.B. Fuller Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

I will now turn the call over to Barbara Doyle, Vice President, Investor Relations, to begin.

Barbara J. Doyle - H.B. Fuller Company - VP of IR

Thank you, operator. Welcome to H.B. Fuller's second quarter 2021 earnings call for the fiscal quarter ended May 29, 2021. Our speakers are Jim Owens, H.B. Fuller President and Chief Executive Officer; and John Corkrean, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. After our prepared remarks, we will take questions.

Please let me cover a few items before I turn the call over to Jim. First, a reminder that our comments today will include references to organic revenue, which excludes the impact of foreign currency translation on our revenues and the impact of acquisitions or divestitures. We will also refer to adjusted non-GAAP financial measures during this call. These measures are in addition to the U.S. GAAP results that are reported in our earnings release and in our Forms 10-Q and 10-K. We believe that discussion of these measures is useful to investors to assist their understanding of our operating performance and how our results compare with other companies. Reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the nearest U.S. GAAP measure is included in our earnings release. Unless otherwise specified, discussion of sales and revenue refers to organic revenue; and discussion of EPS, margins or EBITDA refers to adjusted non-GAAP measures.

We will also be making forward-looking statements during this call. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many of these risks and uncertainties are, and will be, exacerbated by COVID-19 and the resulting impact on the global business and economic environment. Actual results could differ materially from these expectations due to factors discussed in our earnings release, comments made during this call or risk factors in our Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the SEC and available on our website at investors.hbfuller.com.

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JUNE 24, 2021 / 2:30PM, FUL.N - Q2 2021 HB Fuller Co Earnings Call

Now I will turn the call over to Jim Owens.

James J. Owens - H.B. Fuller Company - President, CEO & Director

Thanks, Barbara, and welcome to everyone on the call. Last evening, we reported another quarter of strong revenue and earnings growth. Organic revenues in the second quarter were up 19% year-over-year, adjusted EBITDA was up 21% and adjusted EPS of $0.94 increased 38% versus last year. We overcame significant supply chain disruptions and moved quickly to raise prices in the quarter. We achieved an all-time record quarter in revenue as we met increasing customer demand and gained market share. Throughout the quarter, H.B. Fuller experienced raw material and container shortages, but because of strong support and global collaboration with key suppliers and the ingenuity of our technical and supply chain teams, we made certain to keep our customers supplied.

H.B. Fuller's ability to assure supply of critical adhesives and provide innovative solutions that customers need remains a competitive differentiator for our company, which is evident in our top line growth. H.B. Fuller's revenue growth was broad-based across segments and geographies. Organic revenues increased in each segment versus the second quarter of 2020, including strong double-digit growth in both Engineering and Construction Adhesives segments and very solid growth in Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives against a very strong second quarter of 2020.

Revenues also grew in each geography, including organic growth of 19% in the Americas, 27% in the EMEA and 9% in the Asia-Pacific region. Importantly, our revenues are also up from pre-COVID levels. Total organic revenues increased by 9.5% versus the second quarter of 2019, which had no COVID-19-related impacts, with double-digit growth in HHC and Engineering Adhesives and mid-single-digit growth in Construction Adhesives. Strong volume leverage in the quarter, coupled with pricing benefits and operational efficiencies we're driving in the business, offset significantly higher raw material costs and drove a 21% increase in EBITDA dollars year-over-year.

Raw material input costs increased in the second quarter by about 10% from the end of 2020, with some raw materials increasing more rapidly than we forecasted. We have implemented $150 million of annualized price adjustments to date and will implement an additional $75 million in the third quarter. We're prepared to do more as necessary. These price adjustments will offset the impact of raw material increases in this fiscal year.

Suppliers have made good progress in restoring capacity for the commodity and specialty chemicals we purchase. However, the rate of recovery going forward will likely be uneven until inventory levels are rebuilt to fully meet demand. Our planning assumptions anticipate that the current supply volatility will lessen and pricing will begin to stabilize in the fourth quarter. We now expect the year-on-year raw material inflation to be over 10% and expect that our pricing will fully offset raw material increases by the end of the third quarter. We expect gross margin headwinds in the third quarter, which is seasonally slower for volumes, and we will see additional pricing and margin benefit in the fourth quarter, which is typically our strongest volume quarter.

Our global sourcing expertise, our innovative chemistries and our operational agility were more critical than ever this quarter and continue to provide competitive differentiation. And the actions we have taken on price and to drive efficiencies across our business enabled us to seamlessly serve our customers and achieve our profit targets in the quarter, while at the same time, increasing our debt paydown over last year's level, in line with our target for $200 million of debt reduction in 2021.

Now let me move on to discuss performance in each of our segments in the second quarter on Slide 4. Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives' second quarter organic sales increased 3.3% year-over-year, which is an outstanding result considering the comparison to a very strong quarter last year when the business grew 7% organically. Sales increased versus last year across the majority of our HHC markets with strong growth across our packaging applications, beverage labeling, multiwall bags and tape and label. HHC segment EBITDA increased by 11%, significantly more than the top line growth, and EBITDA margin was strong at 14.7%, up 70 basis points versus last year. Margin improved, driven by strong volume leverage, restructuring benefits and good expense management.

Construction Adhesives' organic revenue was up 23% versus last year, with strong growth in both flooring and commercial roofing as share gains and improving demand drove significantly improved top line performance versus 2020. Even compared to a strong non-COVID-impacted second quarter of 2019, organic revenue was up 4%. Contributions from the pricing adjustments we have implemented in this segment were

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JUNE 24, 2021 / 2:30PM, FUL.N - Q2 2021 HB Fuller Co Earnings Call

underrepresented in the second quarter as we fulfilled prior Construction Adhesives orders and backlog following the temporary disruption from the effects of Storm Uri. We have already begun to see increased pricing roll through in the first few weeks of the third quarter and expect additional pricing realization in the P&L over the rest of the year. Construction Adhesives' EBITDA increased 4% versus last year as strong volumes were offset by higher raw material costs, unfavorable mix and some temporary manufacturing costs that were required to return to normal service levels after the extreme weather event in the first quarter.

Engineering Adhesives' results were extremely strong with organic revenue up nearly 40% versus last year, reflecting share gains and improving end-market demand. Sales increased versus last year in all 14 of our Engineering Adhesives end markets with exceptional growth in adhesives for automotive, recreational vehicles, woodworking, electronics and insulating glass. And looking back to the non-COVID-impacted second quarter of 2019, organic revenues were up 11%. We expect continued strength and double-digit full year growth in this segment. Engineering Adhesives' second quarter EBITDA grew 42% year-on-year, driven by exceptional volume performance. We expect EBITDA margins to improve in the coming quarters as pricing actions are fully implemented and offset the impact of raw material cost increases.

Looking ahead at our full year results, our planning assumptions are that economies will continue to open up as vaccines are rolled out around the world. Raw materials will be tight through most of the year, and pricing will remain elevated as supply chains begin to normalize and demand continues to be strong. We anticipate continued strong demand and share gains in each of our business units to drive strong volume growth in 2021 versus 2020. Revenue in most of our end markets will exceed 2019 levels.

Overall, when considering our strategic pricing actions, coupled with the solid volume growth in HHC, continued improving performance in Construction Adhesives and strong demand in Engineering Adhesives, we now expect full year double-digit revenue growth versus 2020.

Now let me turn the call over to John Corkrean to review our second quarter results and our updated outlook for the full year based on these planning assumptions.

John J. Corkrean - H.B. Fuller Company - Executive VP & CFO

Thanks, Jim. I'll begin on Slide 5 with some additional financial details on the second quarter. Net revenue was up 22.7% versus the same period last year. Currency had a positive impact of 3.9%. Adjusting for currency, organic revenue was up 18.8% with volume up 17.4% and pricing up 1.4%, with most of that pricing realized in the second half of the quarter. All 3 GBUs had strong growth versus 2020 as well as compared to the non-COVID-impacted second quarter of 2019, which we believe validates the strength of our top line performance. When compared to Q2 2019, organic revenue increased 9.5% for the total company with strong organic growth for all 3 GBUs.

Adjusted gross profit was up 17.4% year-on-year and gross profit margin was down 120 basis points as volume growth and pricing gains were offset by higher raw material costs. Adjusted selling, general and administrative expense was down 130 basis points as a percentage of revenue, reflecting volume leverage, savings associated with our business reorganization and general cost controls, offset by higher variable compensation than last year. In total, adjusted operating income margin improved by 20 basis points year-over-year.

Net interest expense declined by $1.3 million, reflecting lower debt balances. The adjusted effective income tax rate in the quarter was 26.8% compared to 27.6% in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter of $122 million was up 21% versus the same period last year, driven by strong volume growth, pricing gains and restructuring savings, partially offset by higher raw material costs and higher variable compensation. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.94, up 38% versus the second quarter of last year, reflecting strong income growth and lower interest expense associated with our debt reduction.

Cash flow from operations in the first half of the year of $80 million compares to $108 million in the same period last year, reflecting working capital requirements to support strong top line performance as well as higher raw material costs. We continue to reduce debt, paying down $62 million in the first half of 2021 compared to $51 million during the same period last year and keeping us on track for our full year debt paydown plan of $200 million.

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JUNE 24, 2021 / 2:30PM, FUL.N - Q2 2021 HB Fuller Co Earnings Call

Regarding our outlook, based on what we know today, we now expect full year revenue growth to be in the low double digits. As you will recall, we increased our adjusted EBITDA guidance range last quarter to $455 million to $475 million, and this guidance remains unchanged, given our expectations for the continued strong volume growth and accelerating pricing, offsetting raw material cost increases that we now expect to exceed 10% for the fiscal year.

Based on the seasonality of our business and the timing of raw material and price increases, we expect revenues in the third quarter be up about 15% versus the third quarter of 2020 as we continue to deliver strong top line growth. EBITDA margin in the third quarter is expected to be about 100 basis points lower than the second quarter on a sequential basis. As pricing actions are fully implemented, margins will improve in the fourth quarter, which is also our strongest quarter from a volume standpoint. We expect cash flow to be strong for the rest of the year, allowing us to maintain our target to pay down approximately $200 million of debt during 2021.

With that, I will turn the call back to Jim Owens for some closing comments.

James J. Owens - H.B. Fuller Company - President, CEO & Director

Thank you, John. During our last conference call, I outlined the 3 critical priorities we set for 2021 in the current supply-constrained inflationary COVID recovery environment. These 3 priorities are volume growth, price and greater productivity, and we executed well against each of these key imperatives in the second quarter.

Our first priority is to drive volume growth by supporting our customers in the current high demand and supply-constrained environment. Volume growth and share gains are our foundation for creating durable shareholder value. Our 19% second quarter organic revenue growth is even more significant than it appears, considering our HHC business had a very strong quarter of 7% organic growth in the second quarter last year. And our business overall grew 9.5% compared to pre-COVID levels in the second quarter of 2019.

Our second imperative is to strategically manage pricing aligned to the value we deliver in this inflationary environment. We implemented $150 million in price increases effective -- from March 1 through July 15, and we're planning an additional $75 million in price increases later in Q3.

We are also delivering on our third priority to release greater productivity and capacity through our operational excellence programs. In the second quarter, we outdelivered competitors in supporting customers, and our factory labor and overhead as a percentage of revenue in the second quarter decreased versus the second quarter last year.

COVID-19 has changed how businesses operate, and supply constraints and pricing volatility are challenges that are impacting our industry today. In this environment, H.B. Fuller's strategic clarity, the benefits of our robust global operation and supply chain, our culture of collaboration and market-based innovation and the speed and agility we have developed across our company is delivering results for our customers and for our shareholders. We will continue to navigate the challenges of a constrained supply environment, grow our business and build on our rising leadership position in the global adhesive industry. And we will continue to deliver strong results for our customers and for our shareholders.

This concludes our prepared remarks today. Operator, please open up the call so we can take some questions.

Q U E S T I O N S A N D A N S W E R S

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Vincent Anderson of Stifel.

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