Mandeep Chawla
Analyst · BNP Paribas
Thank you, Rob, and good morning, everyone. Second quarter revenue of $2.89 billion was up 21% and above the high end of our guidance range, driven primarily by a very strong demand in our communications end market from hyperscaler customers. Adjusted gross margin for the second quarter was 11.7%, up 110 basis points, driven by higher volumes and improving mix in both segments. Our second quarter adjusted operating margin was 7.4%, up 110 basis points, driven by higher margin across both our CCS and ATS segments. Our adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter was $1.39, exceeding the high end of our guidance range and an increase of $0.49 or 54%. Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 20%. And finally, our second quarter adjusted ROIC was 35.5% compared to 26.6% a year ago, driven by higher operating profit and strong working capital management. Moving on to our segment performance. ATS segment revenue totaled $819 million, up 7% and above our guidance of being flat year- over-year. The higher revenue was primarily driven by strong demand in our capital equipment business and returning growth in our industrial business. Our ATS segment accounted for 28% of total company revenue in the second quarter. Revenue in our CCS segment was $2.07 billion, up 28%, driven once again by a very strong growth in our communications end market. The CCS segment accounted for 72% of total company revenue in the quarter. Our communications end market revenues increased by 75%, above our guidance of high 50s percentage growth, driven primarily by strong demand and ramping programs in our HPS networking business, complemented by strengthening demand in our optical programs. Revenue in our enterprise end market was 37% lower, which was better than our guidance of a low 40s percentage decline. The lower revenues were a result of an anticipated technology transition in an AI/ML compute program with one of our hyperscaler customers. HPS revenues of $1.2 billion in the second quarter were higher by 82% and accounted for 43% of total company revenue. This exceptional growth is being driven by the ramping of several 800G networking switch programs, complementing strong hyperscaler demand for our 400G switches. Moving on to segment margins. ATS segment margin in the second quarter rose to 5.3%, up 70 basis points, primarily driven by improved profitability in our A&D business. CCS segment margin in the second quarter was 8.3%, an improvement of 130 basis points driven by a higher mix of HPS revenues and strong productivity. During the quarter, we had 2 customers that each accounted for at least 10% of total revenue, representing 31% and 13% of revenue, respectively. Moving on to working capital. At the end of the second quarter, our inventory balance was $1.92 billion, a sequential increase of $130 million and a year-over-year increase of $74 million. Cash deposits were $397 million at the end of the second quarter, down $75 million sequentially and down $179 million year-over-year. Cash cycle days during the second quarter were 66. Turning to cash flows. Capital expenditures for the second quarter were $33 million or approximately 1.1% of revenue compared to 1.5% in the second quarter of 2024. Year-to-date, our capital expenditures have been below our anticipated range of 1.5% to 2.0% of revenue due to stronger-than-expected revenue growth and timing of expenditures. However, we anticipate capital expenditures in the second half of the year to increase relative to the first half, and for total annual spend to be within our annual range of 1.5% to 2.0% of revenues. During the second quarter, we generated $120 million of free cash flow, $54 million higher than the prior year period. Our free cash flow year-to-date as of the end of the quarter totaled $214 million. Turning to our balance sheet and capital allocation. At the end of the second quarter, our cash balance was $314 million, combined with $660 million of borrowing capacity under our revolver, we currently have approximately $1 billion in total liquidity, which we believe is sufficient to meet our projected business needs. Our gross debt at the end of the quarter was $823 million, and our net debt position was $509 million. Our gross debt, the non-GAAP trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio was 0.9 turns, an improvement of 0.2 turns sequentially and 0.3 turns versus the prior year period. As of June 30, we were in compliance with all financial covenants under our credit agreement. During the second quarter, we repurchased approximately 600,000 shares for cancellation at a cost of $40 million under our normal course issuer bid, bringing our total purchases under the NCIB to $115 million year-to-date. We intend to remain opportunistic on share buybacks for the second half of 2025. Now let's turn to our guidance for the third quarter of 2025. Similar to last quarter, we highlight that our guidance figures assume no material changes to tariffs or trade restrictions compared to what is in effect as of July 28, as any changes to these policies and their potential impact on our results cannot be reliably predicted at this time. We also note that substantially all tariffs paid by Celestica are expected to be recovered from our customers and are not expected to materially impact our non-GAAP adjusted operating earnings or our non-GAAP adjusted net earnings. Third quarter revenue is projected to be between $2.875 billion and $3.125 billion, representing growth of 20% at the midpoint. Adjusted earnings per share are anticipated to be between $1.37 and $1.53, representing an increase of $0.41 at the midpoint or 39%. Assuming the achievement of the midpoint of our revenue and adjusted EPS guidance ranges, our non-GAAP operating margin would be 7.4%, an increase of 60 basis points over the prior year period. We expect our adjusted effective tax rate for the third quarter to be approximately 19%. Finally, let's review our end market outlook for the third quarter. In our ATS segment, we anticipate revenue to be down in the low single-digit percentage rate, as growth in our industrial business is being offset by lower volumes in our A&D business, due to our previously announced decision not to renew a margin-dilutive program. In our CCS segment, we project revenue in our communications end market to grow in the low 60s percentage range, supported by continued demand strength for our networking switches, including ongoing brands in multiple 800G programs. In our enterprise end market, we expect a mid-20s percentage decrease in revenue, driven primarily by a technology transition in an AI/ML compute program with the latest generation program beginning to ramp in the third quarter. With that, I will now turn the call back over to Rob for an update on our latest financial outlook for 2025 and to provide additional color on our business.