Mandeep Chawla
Analyst · UBS. Your line is now open. Please go ahead
Thank you, Rob. And good morning, everyone. First quarter revenue of $2.65 billion was up 20% above the high-end of our guidance range, driven primarily by strong demand from hyperscaler customers in our CCS segment. Adjusted gross margins for the quarter was 11.0%, up 110 basis points, driven by higher volumes and a favorable mix. First quarter adjusted operating margin was 7.1%, up 120 basis points, driven by higher margin across both our CCS and ATS segments. Our adjusted earnings per share for the first quarter was $1.20, exceeding the high-end of our guidance range and an increase of $0.37 or 45%. Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 20%. Finally, our first quarter adjusted ROIC was 31.5%, a 770 basis points improvement driven by higher operating profit and effective working capital management. Moving on to our segment performance, ATS segment revenue totaled $807 million, up 5%, and above our guidance of being flat year-over-year. The higher revenue this quarter was primarily the result of significant growth in our capital equipment business. Our ATS segment accounted for 30% of total company revenue. Our CCS segment revenue was $1.84 billion, up 28%, driven by very strong growth for networking switches in our communications and market. The CCS segment accounted for 70% of total revenue in the quarter. Our communications end market revenues increased by 87% above our guidance of low-80s percentage growth, driven primarily by strong demand for our HPS networking products. Revenue in our enterprise end market was 39% lower, though better than our guidance of a mid-40s percentage decline. The lower revenues were due to the anticipated technology transition in an AI/ML compute program with one of our hyperscaler customers. HPS revenue grew by 99% in the first quarter to just over $1 billion, accounting for 39% of total company revenue. This exceptional growth is being driven by continuing hyperscaler demand for our 400G networking switches, as well as the ramping of our 800G switch programs. Moving on to segment margins. ACS segment margin for the first quarter was 5.0%, up 80 basis points, primarily driven by strong operating performance in our capital equipment business and, as anticipated, improved profitability in our A&D business. CCS segment margin in the quarter was 8.0%, an improvement of 120 basis points, driven by a higher mix of HPS revenues and strong operational performance. During the quarter, we had three customers that each accounted for at least 10% of total revenue, representing 28%, 13%, and 10% of revenue respectively. Moving on to working capital. At the end of the first quarter, our inventory balance was $1.79 billion, a sequential increase of $28 million, and a year-over-year decrease of $163 million. We continue to effectively manage inventory levels, while supporting significant growth in customer demand. Cash deposits were $472 million at the end of the quarter, down $40 million sequentially, and down $248 million year-over-year. Cash cycle days during the first quarter were 69. Turning our attention to cash flows. Capital expenditures for the first quarter were $37 million, or approximately 1.4% of revenue, compared to 1.8% in the first quarter of 2024. We continue to anticipate capital expenditures to remain within the range of 1.5% to 2.0% of revenues for the full-year. During the quarter, we generated $94 million of free cash flow, $26 million higher than the prior year period. Turning to the balance sheet and capital allocation. At the end of the first quarter, our cash balance was $303 million. Combined with $600 million in borrowing capacity under our revolver, we currently have approximately $900 million in total liquidity, which we believe is sufficient to meet our projected business needs. Our gross debt at the end of the quarter was $887 million, and our net debt position was $584 million. Our gross debt to non-GAAP trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio was 1.1 turns, up 0.1 turns sequentially, and flat versus the prior year period. As of March 31, we were in compliance with all financial covenants under our credit agreement. During the first quarter, we repurchased 75 million of shares for cancellation under our normal course issuer bid. In addition, following the end of the quarter, we repurchased an additional 40 million of shares, bringing our total repurchases under the NCIB to $115 million year-to-date. We intend to continue being opportunistic on share buybacks for the remainder of 2025. Now let's turn to our guidance for the second quarter of 2025. Please note that our guidance figures assume no material changes to tariffs or trade restrictions, compared to what is in effect today. Substantially, all tariffs paid by Celestica are expected to be recovered from our customers and are not expected to impact our non-GAAP-adjusted EBIT or non-GAAP-adjusted net earning dollars. These amounts are not anticipated to be material at this time. Second quarter revenue is projected to be between $2.575 billion and $2.725 billion, representing growth of 11% at the midpoint. Adjusted earnings per share are anticipated to be between $1.17 and $1.27, representing $0.27, representing an increase of $.32 per year at the midpoint or 36%. Assuming the achievement of the midpoint of our revenue and adjusted EPS guidance ranges, our non-GAAP operating margin would be 7.2%, an increase of 90 basis points over the prior year period. We expect our adjusted effective tax rate for the second quarter to be approximately 20%. Finally, let's turn to our end market outlook for the second quarter. In our ATS segment, we anticipate revenue to be approximately flat year-over-year, as demand-strengthening capital equipment and a recovery in industrial volumes are being offset by our previously announced decision not to renew a diluted margin program in our A&D business. In our CCS segment, we project revenue in our communications end market to grow in the high-50s percentage range, fueled by ongoing demand strength for our networking switches, including accelerating ramps in our 800G programs. In our enterprise end market, we expect a low-40% decrease in revenue, driven primarily by a technology transition in an AI/ML compute program. With that, I will now turn the call back over to Rob to discuss our latest financial outlook for 2025 and to provide an update on our business.