David Johnson
Analyst · Steven Winoker with UBS. Please proceed with your question
Thanks, Bill, and good morning to everyone. Moving to our consolidated fourth quarter results on the Slide 4, net sales were $478 million, up 16% organically after normalizing for acquisitions and foreign exchange. In the quarter this increase is driven by higher average selling prices as well as favorable mix. Net volume excluding acquisitions was flat reflecting the continued strength in the industrial environment for the MP&S segment and softening in our Electrical Raceways segment in the closing months of the year. Volume for MP&S was up 8% in the quarter and 11% for the year. Electrical Raceway organic volume was up 3% in the quarter and was up 1% for the year. The software Q4 appears to be timing and distributor stocking. To total Atkore, acquisition added 6% for the top line in the quarter and 7% year-to-date. During the quarter, we incurred input cost increases of $46 million year-over-year, through pricing and mix initiatives we successfully increased our average selling price at $63 million. We've broken up these items on the adjusted EBITDA bridge on Slide 5. As we've mentioned previously, when we pass these cost through to our customers in price, net sales and cost of goods sold increase in equal amounts, unfavorably impacting and resulting margin percentages. On a constant input cost basis, our adjusted EBITDA percent would have been up 150 basis points versus Q4 2017. Gross profit was $112 million for the fourth quarter, up 25% or $22 million compared to the same period in 2017, driven primarily by price and mix versus costs. Adjusted EBITDA was $71 million, up $11 million or 19% versus last year. Our net M&A activity accounted for $5 million of the increase to adjusted EBITDA in the quarter. These increases were partially offset by a small decline in volume, growth investments we've made in the business in variable compensation. Our net income on a GAAP basis was $33 million, up $12 million versus the fourth quarter of 2017. Adjusted EPS was $0.79, up 98% from the fourth quarter 2017. Moving to our Electrical Raceway segment on Slide 6, net sales increased by $62 million or 21% to $355 million. Our recent acquisitions, all of which are reported in the Electrical Raceway increased segment net sales in the quarter by $26 million or 9%. Organic volumes were down approximately $10 million or 3% in the quarter. When combined with our strong first half, full year volumes were up approximately 1%. The fourth quarter ended lighter due to what looks like inventory adjustments in the quarter - or in the channel, sorry. Higher average selling prices and the mix of products had a favorable impact to revenue of about $47 million or 16%. Adjusted EBITDA was $68 million, up $17 million or 34% compared to last year. The acquisitions account for $6 million of the adjusted EBITDA increase. Adjusted margin increased by 180 basis points with pricing execution, accretive acquisition margins, and favorable mix driving the improvement. Moving on to our Mechanical Products & Solutions segment on Slide 7. Net sales in the quarter were up $20 million or 20% to $123 million. Volumes increased by 8% as industrial markets continue to show strength. Price increase has accelerated in the quarter and added almost 16% to revenue. And the divestiture to flexible sprinkler business reduced net sales by 4%. Adjusted EBITDA of $12 million decreased by $3 million compared to last year. The reduction was primarily due to the divestiture of the flexible sprinkler business, cost headwinds versus our pricing traction, partially offset by stronger volume. Adjusted EBITDA margin is below the fourth quarter 2017 by 500 basis points impacted by the price versus cost headwinds which is in part due to timing of passing through the latest combined increases to our OEM customers. However, we did see continued acceleration in our pricing traction in the quarter with more than 70% of our 2018 price increases being delivered in the fourth quarter. We expect our pricing actions to catch up to the cost curve in early 2019. Turning to our balance sheet and cash flow on Slide 8. The balance of cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter was $127 million. Net cash flow from operating activities for the year was $146 million. Please keep in mind our working capital increased by about $45 million most of that driven by higher commodity costs. A conversion will be higher when commodities flatten out or decline. Finally, our net debt of $778 million and leverage ratio which we define as net debt to the trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA was 2.9x. As we've communicated in the past, our long-term goal is to move this metric back to the low 2x range and we’re moving in that direction. Now, I'll turn the call to Bill for our guidance update.