Robert Buck
Analyst · Evercore ISI. Please proceed
Thanks John. Turning to Slide 10, our strong performance quarter after quarter, is a testament to our team’s hard work, alignment and cadence by which we run the business, our ongoing operational efficiency initiatives; our commitment to excellent customer service; our strong customer and supplier relationships and our insistence that growth and profit go hand in hand. Starting with TruTeam’s third quarter financial results on Slide 11, sales grew 7.3%, handily beating lagged housing starts which were down 1%. Volume accounted for 3.8% of this growth while selling price increases contributed 3%. TruTeam’s adjusted operating margin improved 80 basis points from a year ago to 14%. Service Partners’ third quarter sales, as shown on Slide 12, were up 3.8%, driven by a 4.4% increase in price, offset by a slight decline in volume. We continue to walk a tightrope between price and volume as we’ve seen excess fiberglass material flow through to the distribution channels, putting pressure on price. Our team has done a great job managing this balancing act, as evidenced by the 150 basis point increase in Service Partners’ adjusted operating margin to 10.6%, the highest adjusted operating margin reported since our spin-off in June 2015. As we look ahead, the acceleration of starts is positive for both of our business segments and is supported by the continued optimism of our builder customers. As starts continue to climb, which we believe they will, we will continue to leverage our operating platform to help drive solid financial results. Moving to Slide 13, we are extremely pleased with the strength of our commercial business which, once again, posted double digit growth. On a same branch basis, commercial revenue grew 18.8% in the third quarter and 21.4% year-to-date. Commercial now accounts for approximately 23% of our total revenue, almost evenly split between heavy and light commercial. As a matter of reference, commercial represented only 16% of our total revenue at the time of the spin. We plan to continue to grow our commercial business through a number of initiatives. We’ve mentioned before that light commercial is very similar to residential and most of our branches have the ability to perform this work. Accordingly, we are providing additional resources and tools for our salespeople and branch managers to help them better identify light commercial opportunities and secure additional work. Acquisitions present another avenue for growth in the commercial space. Over the past few years we have acquired three firms that specialize in heavy commercial insulation, expanding our reach in a number of major cities including Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego. We are also planning to greenfield a handful of new locations specializing in heavy commercial projects. New York is just one of our most recent moves. In these greenfield locations, we are partnering with a general contractor with whom we have a previous relationship. As they start up new projects in new geographies, the work is already there for our company to perform and the expense to set up a new location is minimal for us and leads to quicker profitability. Looking ahead, our commercial backlog remains robust and we are bidding on projects well into 2022. Before turning the call back to Jerry, I want to touch base on a few areas outlined on Slide 14. First is labor, which continues to be tight not only for TopBuild but for all the trades in our industry. We believe we have a leg up on the competition by offering a comprehensive benefits package which helps makes us an employer of choice. In addition, our ability to share labor among our branches is a major differentiator and gives us a competitive advantage. We are also investing in new areas that we will believe will continue to improve labor productivity. Second is spray foam which continues to grow but at a slower pace than a year ago as builders pivot to entry level homes in an effort to provide a more affordable product to meet the demands of first-time buyers. As a reminder, although a great solution for our customers, spray foam is about twice the cost of fiberglass insulation. Finally, moving to Slide 15, our senior leadership team recently undertook an in-depth review of our corporate values and culture. We believe our strong values are a key component of our success and they will continue to guide us as we move forward. They include putting the safety of our people first; delivering results with integrity, respect and accountability; focusing on exceeding the expectations of our customers; continuously improving and encouraging idea sharing; aligning as one team and valuing diversity; making a difference in the communities we serve; and empowering our employees to be their best, individually and as a team. I am extremely proud of our entire TopBuild team for their adherence to these core values and for their focus on working safely to deliver value, quality and service to our customers. I will now turn the call back over to Jerry for closing remarks.