RPM International : Fiscal 2022 Second-Quarter Conference Call Transcript

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RPM.N - Q2 2022 RPM International Inc Earnings Call

EVENT DATE/TIME: JANUARY 05, 2022 / 3:00PM GMT

OVERVIEW:

Co. reported 2Q22 consolidated sales of $1.64b and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.79. Expects to generate double-digit consolidated sales growth in 3Q22.

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JANUARY 05, 2022 / 3:00PM, RPM.N - Q2 2022 RPM International Inc Earnings Call

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

Frank C. Sullivan RPM International Inc. - Chairman, President & CEO

Michael J. Laroche RPM International Inc. - VP, Controller & CAO

Russell L. Gordon RPM International Inc. - 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

Arun Viswanathan RBC Capital Markets, Research Division - Senior Equity Analyst

Frank Mitsch Fermium Research, LLC - President

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

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

John McNulty BMO Capital Markets Equity Research - Analyst

Joshua Spector UBS Investment Bank, Research Division - Equity Research Associate - Chemicals

Kevin Hocevar Northcoast Research Partners, LLC - Director & Equity Research Analyst

Kevin McCarthy Vertical Research Partners, LLC - Partner

Michael Harrison Seaport Research Partners - MD & Senior Chemicals Analyst

Michael Sison Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division - MD & Senior Equity Analyst

Rosemarie Morbelli G. Research, LLC - Former Research Analyst

Steve Byrne BofA Securities, Research Division - Director of Equity Research

Vincent Andrews Morgan Stanley, Research Division - MD

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

Operator

Welcome to RPM International's conference call for the fiscal 2022 second quarter. Today's call is being recorded. This call is also being webcast and can be accessed live or replayed on the RPM website at www.rpminc.com.

Comments made on this call may include forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to be materially different. For more information on these risks and uncertainties, please review RPM's reports filed with the SEC.

During this call, references may be made to non-GAAP financial measures. To assist you in understanding these non-GAAP terms, RPM has posted reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures on the RPM website. (Operator Instructions)

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to RPM's chairman and CEO, Mr. Frank Sullivan, for opening remarks. Please go ahead, sir.

Frank C. Sullivan - RPM International Inc. - Chairman, President & CEO

Thank you, Dee. Good morning and Happy New Year. Welcome to the RPM International Inc. Investor Call for our fiscal 2022 second quarter. Joining me on the call today is Rusty Gordon, our vice president and chief financial officer; and Mike Laroche, vice president, controller and chief accounting officer.

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JANUARY 05, 2022 / 3:00PM, RPM.N - Q2 2022 RPM International Inc Earnings Call

I'll begin by sharing broad commentary on our consolidated performance for the quarter. Mike will provide details on our segment results, and Rusty will conclude our formal comments with our outlook for the fiscal 2022 third quarter.

Our comments will be on an as-adjusted basis and all comparisons are to the second quarter of fiscal 2021, unless otherwise indicated. Please note that we provided a supplemental slide presentation to support our comments on this call. These can be accessed in the Presentations & Webcasts section of the RPM website at www.rpminc.com. After our formal remarks, we'll be pleased to take your questions.

I'll start with comments related to the third slide in the presentation material. For the fiscal 2022 second quarter, consolidated sales increased 10.3% to $1.64 billion, driven by continued robust demand for paints, coatings, sealants and other building materials. This top-line performance was slightly ahead of the outlook we provided last quarter. Our second-quarter sales growth could have been even stronger if not for continuing supply chain challenges that limited access to certain raw materials and cost us roughly $200 million of loss through deferred sales in the quarter.

Organic sales growth was 8.6%, foreign currency translation provided a tailwind of 0.4%, and acquisitions contributed 1.3%. Adjusted EPS was $0.79, decreasing 26% compared to the strong adjusted diluted EPS growth of nearly 40% in the prior-year period.

Consolidated adjusted EBIT for the quarter was $157.3 million, a decrease of 21%, which was in line with our outlook and was a result of continued material, wage and freight inflation, as well as supply chain disruptions that were exacerbated by Hurricane Ida at the beginning of the second quarter and increased our conversion costs.

Because of this supply disruption, we lost the equivalent of nearly 300 production days across RPM facilities globally during the second quarter, which was similar to our lost production days in the first quarter. We partially offset these challenges with price increases, which averaged in the high-single digits across RPM, and continued operational improvements from our MAP to Growth program, which provided $19 million in incremental cost savings.

It's also worth noting that we faced a difficult comparison to the prior year when consolidated adjusted EBIT increased nearly 30% largely due to higher sales volumes driven by extraordinary demand for our home improvement products in our Consumer Group during the pandemic. To recover lost margin from inflation, we are implementing an additional round of price increases this quarter across our business segments, as appropriate. In many instances, this will be the third round of price increases in a 12-month period.

The next slide provides high-level results by segment. Much like last quarter, our performance reflects the benefits of our balanced business portfolio, where softness in one segment is generally offset by strength in others. During the second quarter of fiscal 2022, three of our four operating segments - Construction Products Group, Performance Coatings Group and Specialty Products Group - generated strong, double-digit sales growth. Combined sales in these three segments increased more than 18% with roughly 10% being unit volume growth year-over-year.

While our Construction Products and Performance Coatings Group generated strong adjusted EBIT growth, the Specialty Products and Consumer Group faced extreme supply chain constraints that put pressure on their earnings. In particular, the Specialty Products Group restoration equipment business was affected by worldwide semiconductor chip shortages that delayed sales to a growing backlog and unfavorably drove product mix.

The Consumer Group continued to experience inflationary pressures, as well as shortages of key raw materials, driven largely by last year's production outage at a key resin supplier that negatively impacted conversion costs. In addition, the Consumer Group faced a difficult comparison to the prior-year period when sales increased more than 21% and adjusted EBIT was up 66%. These growth rates in the prior-year period were largely due to the extraordinary DIY demand during the pandemic. All indicators suggest that the underlying demand for our consumer products remains strong, and that is continuing to grow in our third quarter.

Before we move to the details on our segment results, I'd like to touch on two larger trends that RPM is well positioned to capitalize on. First, as you know, the U.S. government has passed a number of bills over the last two years that will direct billions and potentially trillions of dollars towards construction and infrastructure end markets. Based on our strong position with these markets with well-recognized, highly regarded brands - such as Tremco roofing systems and commercial sealants, Carboline corrosion control coatings, Euclid concrete admixtures, and Nudura insulated

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JANUARY 05, 2022 / 3:00PM, RPM.N - Q2 2022 RPM International Inc Earnings Call

concrete forms, all of which have been gaining market share in this fiscal year - we are well positioned for continuing meaningful growth in North America and globally.

Two years ago, we introduced the tag line "Building a Better World" in a number of our communications. It certainly represents our products and services, which literally contribute to making structures better through beautification, protection, restoration and sustainability. But it's also meant to be aspirational as we strive to make the world a better place for those we serve, including our customers, entrepreneurs, associates, shareholders and the communities in which we operate.

As we all continue to manage through the global pandemic, we remain focused on coming together to make the world a better place for everyone. There are many examples where RPM is doing so. Some of the ways RPM is Building a Better World include the development of sustainable products, such as our AlphaGuard liquid applied roofing products, which are gaining market share and allow roofs to be restored and eliminate the need for tear off, replacement and significant contributions to waste sites. In addition, our Tremco Roofing business has been named a BioPreferred Program Pioneer by the USDA because of our early adoption of sustainable product solutions within our roofing division and the industry.

Talent development, which includes the RISE education and training initiative that is part of our WTI business and was developed in response to the shortage of qualified roofers, includes an element called ELEVATE. This involves the training of incarcerated individuals in roofing so that they have skills and job opportunities upon their release, at which time they are guaranteed a job at our Tremco Roofing business; and sustainability practices across our operations, such as initiatives to reduce water usage that are saving millions of gallons a year at our Day-Glo,Rust-Oleum and other businesses. You can learn more about how RPM is Building a Better World on our website and in our ESG report at www.rpminc.com/ESG. We have a great story to tell, and we will be organized to tell it better in the coming quarters and years.

We remain focused on long-term growth and, despite Covid-related challenges, especially in supply chains, continue to invest in initiatives that will drive our business forward in the coming years. This includes operational improvements, the development of innovative new products, acquisitions, and manufacturing capacity expansions. A case in point is the 178,000-square-foot plant we purchased in September, which is located on 120 acres in Texas. This will serve as a manufacturing center of excellence for multiple RPM businesses. In just two months, it is already improving the resiliency of our supply chain and fill rates.

During the second quarter, we began production of alkyd resins, which are important raw material for a number of our products, particularly in our Consumer Group. In the coming quarters, the plant expansion expands the production of a number of our high-growth product lines.

I'll now turn the call over to Mike to discuss our segment financial results in more detail.

Michael J. Laroche - RPM International Inc. - VP, Controller & CAO

Thanks, Frank, and good morning, everyone.

Turning to the next slide, our Construction Products Group generated all-time record sales of $614.2 million. Sales grew 22% for the quarter, the highest rate among our four segments - 19.9% was organic, foreign currency translation provided a 0.3% tailwind and acquisitions contributed 1.8%. CPG's market-leadingtop-line growth and positive mix were primarily driven by innovation in its high-performance building solutions, market share gains and strong demand in North America for its construction and maintenance products.

The businesses that generated the highest growth included those providing insulated concrete forms, roofing systems, concrete admixture and repair products, and commercial sealants. Sales of our Nudura ICFs have been particularly robust because they offer an alternative to lumber, which is in short supply and experiencing skyrocketing costs, and because Nudura's ICFs provide structural, installation and labor benefits.

Performance in international markets was mixed, with Europe fairly flat, while emerging markets showed signs of recovery. The segment's adjusted EBIT increased 16.5% to a record level due to volume growth, operational improvements, and selling price increases, which helped to offset material inflation.

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JANUARY 05, 2022 / 3:00PM, RPM.N - Q2 2022 RPM International Inc Earnings Call

Moving to the next slide, positive trends from the first quarter carried over into the second for our Performance Coatings Group. Sales grew 16.9% to a record level, reflecting organic growth of 12.2%, a foreign currency translation tailwind of 0.8%, and a 3.9% contribution from acquisitions. Nearly all of PCG's major business units contributed to the positive growth, largely due to the catch-up of maintenance projects previously deferred by industrial customers, particularly as Covid restrictions relaxed and contractor access to construction sites improved.

Sales growth was facilitated by price increases and improved product mix, driven by new decision support tools that helped improve sales-force efficiencies and product mix. Leading the way were the segment's largest businesses providing polymer flooring systems and corrosion control coatings, serving growing end-markets, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals. Sales also remained strong at its recently acquired Bison raised flooring business and in emerging markets. Adjusted EBIT increased 41.3% to a record level as a result of pricing, volume growth, operational improvements and product mix.

Advancing to the next slide, our Specialty Products Group reported a sales increase of 10% to a record level as its businesses capitalized on the strong demand in the outdoor recreation, furniture and OEM markets they serve. The segment's fluorescent pigments business also generated good top-line growth. Organic sales increased 9%, recent acquisitions added 0.4% and foreign currency translation increased sales by 0.6%.

Adjusted EBIT decreased 29.4% due to higher raw material and conversion costs from supply disruptions, as well as unfavorable product mix - particularly in our disaster restoration equipment business, which has been hindered by the semiconductor chip shortage as Frank had mentioned. In addition, the segment experienced higher expenses resulting from investments in future growth initiatives, plus higher legal expenses. These factors were partially offset by operational improvements.

On the next slide, you'll see that the severe raw material shortages that the Consumer Group experienced during the fiscal 2022 first quarter persisted during the second quarter. The resulting production outages negatively impacted segment sales by approximately $100 million. Segment sales decreased 3.3% - with organic sales down 3.5% and foreign currency translation up 0.2%. Despite raw material shortages, the segment's fiscal 2022 second-quarter sales were still 17.4% above the pre-pandemic levels of the second quarter of fiscal 2020. Demand for its products remained high and inventories in many of its channels are low. We expect to recover these sales when raw material and supply conditions stabilize.

As Frank mentioned in his opening comments, the Consumer Group also faced a challenging comparison to the prior-year period when sales increased 21.4% and adjusted EBIT increased 65.8% due to extraordinarily high demand for its home improvement products during the first phase of the pandemic.

Earnings declined during the fiscal 2022 second quarter from inflation on materials, freight and labor, as well as the unfavorable impact of supply shortages on productivity. These factors were partially offset by price increases and operational improvements. The segment continues to add capacity to meet demand and build resiliency in its supply chain to secure the raw materials it requires. In order to meet customer demand, it is using contract manufacturing at higher cost until it can bring new manufacturing capacity online. It is also qualifying new sources for raw materials, including our new manufacturing plant in Texas.

Now I'll turn the call over to Rusty to discuss our outlook.

Russell L. Gordon - RPM International Inc. - VP & CFO

Thanks, Mike.

Looking ahead to our fiscal 2022 third quarter, we expect that the strong demand for our paints, coatings, sealants, and other building materials will continue. Supply chain challenges and raw material shortages have persisted in December, further compounded by disruptions from the Omicron variant on RPM's operations and those of our supplier base. These factors are expected to put pressure on our top line and productivity.

In spite of these challenges, we expect to generate double-digit consolidated sales growth in the fiscal 2022 third quarter versus last year's record third-quarter sales, which increased 8.1%. We anticipate high-double-digit sales growth, along with margin accretion in our Construction Products Group and Performance Coatings Group. SPG sales are expected to be up low-double digits as compared to last year's third quarter. The Consumer

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