Matt Trerotola
Analyst · KeyBanc Capital Markets. Your line is open
Thanks, Kevin, and good morning. I'm pleased to report that we're off to a great start in 2019. First quarter results were a bit better than expected and our first month of DJO was in line with expectations. Fabrication Technology achieved its ninth consecutive quarter of core sales growth. All major markets grew fueled by price that is offsetting steel and other inflation. Air & Gas Handling drove its third consecutive quarter of double-digit order growth with all end markets moving in a positive direction. We increased margins to 160 basis points through productivity, pricing, and strong project execution. The DJO integration is on track with initial focus on operational improvement, growth acceleration, and transitioning to a CBS culture of continuous improvement. Moving to Slide 4, you can see ESAB continued growth trajectory. In Q1, margins improved as planned up 20 basis points year-over-year and up 180 basis points sequentially. Our Fab Tech business margins are improving on the strength of restructuring, productivity, and pricing actions. While we have converted to adjusted EBITDA to simplify reporting, we still have conviction in line of sight to drive to 15% AOP. Our mid-single-digit growth was driven by price as volume flattened in the quarter but we still saw a positive volume growth in our flow business part from market and part from share gains. We continue to make great progress across a range of growth initiatives in both equipment and consumables and customers are excited by our line-up of new products and technologies. A great example is a new automation product called VERSOTRAC the most versatile and user-friendly tractor on the market. The tractor allows the mechanization of certain welding processes to improve productivity and quality. VERSOTRAC is unmatched in terms of portability, uptime, and ease of use. The GCE acquisition is performing well and we're thoughtfully integrating our businesses in the welding market, while driving growth initiatives to expand our position in specialty gases that serve attractive markets like life science research and healthcare. Slide 5 shows continued very strong growth in Air & Gas Handling orders in the first quarter. Our core industrial orders grew 21% on top of 24% in 2017 and 19% in 2018. We're clearly benefiting from the strategic shift in this business over the past few years. Orders in all other key end markets also grew consistent with the long cycle recovery momentum. Oil and gas was up 38% and the profitability of new orders continues to improve. Mining orders grew organically 29% and our mining project funnel and outlook remains in good shape. Our power orders grew 11% and we believe this part of the business has stabilized with improving prospects in Asia. Air & Gas Handling margins improved 11.3% in the first quarter as shown in Slide 6. This improvement resulted primarily from restructuring programs, improvements in executing customer projects, and strategic choices in oil and gas that focus on higher margin projects. This is a very strong start and sets the path for significant expansion in margins for the full-year. Sales in the quarter were lower than the prior year including FX pressures but higher orders of each of the past three quarters have created a healthy backlog that supports our forecast for sales growth in the back half of this year. Slide 7 summarizes results in our new Med Tech segment. The DJO acquisition was completed on February 22, so the first quarter results only include one month of performance. Sales of $124 million and adjusted EBITDA of $26 million in March were both in line with expectations. March and Q1 year-over-year core revenue growth were both positive led by performance in the reconstructive business. DJO launched six new products in the first quarter that will contribute to an improving growth trajectory later this year and in 2020. For example, the DJO Surgical ADAPTABLE Arm launched in March is the first fully sterile surgeon-controlled leg and retractor holder for hip implant surgery. The ADAPTABLE was recognized as one of the 10 products you need to know at the recent 2019 AAOS meeting by the MBO organization. Like the VERSOTRAC and ESAB, this type of mechanization in implant procedures is expected to be an attractive area for differentiation that will support the business and continue to gain market share. On Slide 8, I want to share with you our progress integrating DJO and creating a healthy path for sustained performance improvement. All of DJO key leaders have attended CBS leadership training and were quickly cascading foundational training throughout the business. We're collaborating with the DJO team to strengthen the operating discipline through monthly operating reviews that are supported by aggressive weekly and daily management. Our initial CBS focus areas are the completion of the transformation projects and transition to a continuous improvement culture. We're working closely together to improve delivery and service in the performance and rehab segment. And this will support growth acceleration and lower structural costs. We're also focused on procurement and value engineering to offset inflation and support margin expansion going forward. In addition to these supply chain areas, we've targeted the reimbursement and product innovation processes as key opportunities for CBS to support accelerated growth. On Slide 9, we look ahead. We have made significant improvements in our Air & Gas Handling business that are now reading through with consistent growth in orders and margins and the business is expected to return to top-line growth in the second half. This improved business performance is creating a healthy level of interest from potential acquirers. Our Fab Tech business continues to grow in line with expectations outlined earlier this year supported by our global strength, new products, and pricing. The integration teams at DJO and Colfax are working quickly and effectively to minimize disruption while accelerating business improvements. Everyone's excited by the opportunities ahead. Wrapping up, we're off to a great start to what I expect will be a very successful year for Colfax in 2019. I will now hand over to Chris.