Operator
Operator
Good afternoon. My name is Jessie, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Fortune Brands' Second Quarter 2017 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Brian Lantz, Senior Vice President of Communications and Corporate Administration. You may begin your conference call. Brian C. Lantz - Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc.: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Fortune Brands Home & Security quarterly investor conference call and webcast. We're pleased to be here today to provide an update on our progress during the second quarter of 2017. Hopefully, everyone has had a chance to review the news release issued earlier. The news release and the audio replay of the webcast of this call can be found in the Investors section of our FBHS.com website. I want to remind everyone that the forward-looking statements we make on the call today, either in our prepared remarks or in an associated question-and-answer session, are based on current expectations and market outlook and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. These risks are detailed in our various filings with the SEC such as our Annual Report on 10-K. The company does not undertake to update or revise any forward-looking statements, which speak only to the time which they are made. Any references to operating profit, earnings per share or cash flow on today's call will focus on our results on a before charges and gains basis for continuing operations with the exception of cash flow, unless otherwise specified. With me on the call today are Chris Klein, our Chief Executive Officer; and Pat Hallinan, our new Chief Financial Officer. Following our prepared remarks, we've allowed some time to address questions that you may have. I will now turn the call over to Chris. Christopher J. Klein - Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc.: Thank you, Brian, and thanks to everyone for joining us today. Our teams grew total company sales and increased profits across all segments in the second quarter. The home products market continued to grow, with strong demand in new construction and continued growth in R&R. Importantly, our businesses remain focused on driving profitable growth, which has resulted in second quarter and year-to-date margin expansion across all of our businesses. We remain on track for another terrific year. Based on our solid first half performance and our outlook for the remainder of the year, we are raising the bottom end of our full year EPS outlook by $0.04. First, I'd like to spend some time in our view of the U.S. home products market. Next, I will provide my perspectives on our business performance in the second quarter. Pat will then provide more details on our second quarter performance and our 2017 outlook. Starting with our view of the U.S. home products market. In the second quarter, the market for our home products continued to grow about at the pace that we expected. New construction grew high-single digits with strength in single-family, while R&R grew at roughly 5% with solid growth in the core and some softness at the higher end. As expected, new construction continues to grow at a high-single digit rate, with single-family growing faster than multi-family. Single-family entry-level activity continues to be robust as builders are working against strong order books and permits coming out of the winter and spring selling seasons. This demand helped us in the second quarter and given the lag in our categories should set up a good second half as well. Repair and remodel demand also posted solid growth, especially for products at the entry level and mid-price points. Big remodel project activity was a little slower in the quarter versus strong activity in the second quarter of last year, as installation trade labors tightened money markets. The backlog in this project work could push some volume into the second half. Looking forward, our overall assumption remains that the U.S. home products market, which impacts over 70% of our sales, grows at a 6% to 7% rate for the full year. Our basket of near-term indicators for home products continues to point towards strong demand. And builders and contractors are continuing to acquire labor. Now let me provide some perspective on our business performance. In the second quarter, our teams delivered solid sales overall and exceptional profit performance across our operating segments. Sales increased 5% in total and 6% from our home products businesses. Excluding FX, sales were up 6% in total and 7% in home products. Total company operating margin increased 100 basis points to 15.8%. Starting with our Plumbing segment, sales were up 15% for the quarter with growth in all channels. Organic sales growth was above market in the high single-digits. Across all of our channels, we saw strong sell through and our new and refreshed product lines continued to attract consumers who trust our brands. Our Global Plumbing Group delivered as planned in the second quarter, achieving organic growth above the market rate and our recently acquired brands ROHL, Riobel, Perrin & Rowe and Shaws accelerating our growth. We're winning new business with this product portfolio of brands and price points and are in the early stages of realizing all the growth potential that we have identified. As we couple this brand line up with our new high impact marketing team, we see some exciting opportunities in the balance of 2017 and in the years to come. Our operating margin improved in the quarter on strong mix and is tracking to our target of 21% for the year. Overall, the North American Plumbing business picked up momentum throughout the quarter and channel inventory levels are stable to down slightly, which should help us as we enter the second half of the year. Our growth in the balance of the year should continue to benefit from strong new construction demand as well as new products and placements. Some of these include the roll-out of new Propel showerheads and additional magnetic styles, new Hamden bath suite in retail and black matte-finish product line extensions in wholesale and the U by Moen, our Wi-Fi connected smart shower system. China sales increased double-digits in local currency, driven by share gains and strong demand in direct-to-builder, as homes under construction are pushed to completion. The R&R business in China also continues to emerge, as properties built over the last 15 years to 20 years enter remodel cycles. We continue to monitor the China housing market closely as the government modifies its policies. We have flexibility as demand fluctuates and have successfully navigated through a number of cycles in this market over the past decade. Turning to our Cabinets segment, we continue to follow a disciplined strategy focused on profitable growth. Sales grew against a tough prior-year comp and we continued to deliver on margin growth. In the second quarter, our Cabinets sales were up 1% over the prior year or 2% excluding FX as we faced a difficult comp of 17% in last year's second quarter. Operating margin expanded by 70 basis points to 13.6%, despite modest commodity pressure as we achieved targeted share gains in attractive parts of the market. Dealer sales were flat for the prior year where we were up 11%. We continued to see strong demand for our new construction in core semi-custom product lines offset by some softness in our higher end product lines sold into more complex projects. We continue to feel good about our performance in the dealer channel even as we were flat in the second quarter against a tough 11% comp. We are working with the strongest dealers and every MSA across the country and are selling more brands into these dealerships. Our focus on profitable growth is working in this higher margin channel, where our dedication to high levels of service is a sustainable competitive advantage. Sales of our in-stock cabinets and vanities, which are sold through home centers grew high-single digits. New product introductions lifted ASPs and new programs with our retail partners are performing well. This is a clear area of strength in our Cabinets business and growth should continue to be solid going forward as we leverage our product innovation and our logistics expertise. The remaining part of our Cabinets business which includes home centers, semi-custom, builder-direct in targeted markets in Canada was down slightly. Our builder-direct business grew strong double digits and our disciplined approach to growth in targeted markets resulted in share gains and continued margin improvement. Sales growth in this area was offset by Canada, which declined double digits. Canada has now had five quarters of negative growth due to soft new construction market in the central provinces, our exit of some low margin retail product lines and the impact of currency. At the beginning of the year, we began refocusing this business and accelerated the exit from some product lines. This will result in a cleaner, more focused business going forward and we project mid-single digit growth in the second half of 2017 with a stabilizing market backdrop. In summary, our core Cabinets business excluding Canada and premium was up 4%. Given our strong execution and the easier comps in the second half of the year, we expect full year Cabinets sales to be in the mid-single digit range with a significant pick up in the second half. Importantly, we continued to grow our operating margins as planned. We remain on track for the year end guidance. And our focus on profitable growth has us growing share in the most attractive parts of the market and continuing to de-emphasize other areas with less attractive margins. Doors reported sales were up 4.5% for the quarter. Door products again saw sales growth with gains in wholesale and at retail, which both benefited from new product introductions. Therma-Tru wholesale saw strong growth in new construction markets and excitement around our new initiatives such as new Shaker, hybrid and composite edge door styles focused on the heart of the market. And improved finish selections in glass mix as the trend toward clear and privacy glass expands. Additionally, big builder customers remain optimistic regarding the second half and we finished the quarter with good momentum and balanced channel inventory. In retail, we continued to benefit from our enhanced merchandising and new product launches including new Shaker, (10:52) and two-panel designs. We continue to expect mid to high-single digit full-year growth for the Door business with strong operating margin improvement. In the Security segment, sales decreased 2% from the prior-year quarter and were primarily impacted by timing as the first quarter saw an unusually high 7% growth rate and some shipments and programs were pushed from the second quarter into the second half. We expect to grow full-year sales around 4%. New product introductions and marketing initiatives will help drive second half growth as we load new stainless steel products into retail and pursue new initiatives in safety products. Importantly, margin continues to expand in this business. We are well on track to achieve our margin target for the year of 15% or better. The integration of SentrySafe into Master Lock continues to enhance our margin and our continuous improvement activities offset a modest increase in the price of steel. So to recap the quarter, the markets for our products remained strong with a new construction market that continues to build momentum and an R&R market that is characterized by healthy demand, but a bit of a backup on more complex projects due to some trade labor constraints. Our businesses continue to execute against our disciplined growth strategies. Across the company, we're on track to deliver against our sales growth and margin targets. Before I wrap up, let me comment on our efforts to drive long-term growth. We continue to believe that we can create meaningful incremental shareholder value by using our strong cash flow and balance sheet to make strategic acquisitions, repurchase our shares and increase our dividend. Right now, we're very busy working on a number of acquisition opportunities across all segments of our business. While we cannot guarantee success in any one situation, our pipeline is robust and I would expect that we can close on some of these tuck-in acquisitions over the next 12 months given the overall level of activity. As a reminder, over the next three years, we're continuing to believe that we have the potential to deploy more than $2 billion to drive incremental growth in shareholder value. While acquisitions are our priority, we will also selectively buy-back shares and are committed to a consistent dividend policy. Being efficient with our capital in shareholder-friendly ways has been a hallmark of our nearly six years as a public company. So to sum up, the demand for our home products remained strong, particularly in new construction. We're continuing to take share and grow faster than the market in the parts of the market that we target. Importantly, our strong brands, management teams and capital structure provide flexibility to both focus on profitable organic growth and drive incremental shareholder value with our balance sheet and strong free cash flow. Now, I would like to turn the call over to Pat who will review our financial performance and provide detail on our outlook for the second half of 2017. Patrick Hallinan - Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc.: Thanks, Chris. As Brian mentioned, to best reflect the ongoing business performance, the majority of my comments will focus on income before charges and gains from continuing operations. Starting with our second quarter results, sales were $1.4 billion, up 5% from a year ago, 6% excluding foreign currency. Organic growth was 3%, 4% excluding foreign currency. Consolidated operating income for the quarter was $216 million, up 12% or $24 million compared to the same period a year ago. EPS were $0.92 for the quarter versus $0.82 the same quarter last year, increasing 12% or $0.10 driven by sales growth and margin improvement. Now, let me provide more color on segment results. Plumbing sales during the second quarter were $435 million, up $57 million or 15% with growth in all channel. Excluding the negative impact of foreign currency, sales increased 16% with Canadian sales increasing 3% and China sales increasing 21%. Operating income increased $16 million to $103 million, up 18%. Operating margin for this segment was 23.8%, an increase of 60 basis points. For the full year, operating margin is expected to be 21% with full-year sales expected to increase low-double digits. Turning to Cabinets, sales were $653 million, up $8 million or 1% versus the prior-year quarter. Dealer sales were $326 million and were flat against the strong 11% comp Chris mentioned. Excluding premium, dealer sales grew low-single digits. Sales of in-stock cabinets and vanities were $140 million, up 9%. Remaining sales to our home center semi-custom, builder-direct and Canada decreased 1%. Builder-direct was up mid-teens offset by Canada, which was down mid-teens. We expect full-year Cabinets sales to increase mid-single digits in 2017. Additionally, our second half comps are much easier. Second half comps are roughly flat versus the first half comp of 24%. Operating income for the Cabinets segment increased $5 million over the prior-year quarter. Operating margin for the quarter was strong, increasing 70 basis points to 13.6%. Operating leverage was strong at 63% as CI offset (16:44) inflation and we made strategic margin gains in a number of our channels including builder and Canada. For the full year, we continue to expect Cabinet operating margin to increase 100 basis points versus the 10.8% delivered in 2016. Doors sales were $134 million, up $6 million or 4.5% from the prior-year quarter. Operating income increased 15% with an operating margin of 16.9%, 160 basis points higher than the prior-year quarter. We now believe full-year operating margin for this segment could be in excess of 14%. And our full-year sales outlook in Doors remains unchanged at 6% to 8%. Security sales were $144 million in the second quarter, down 2% to the prior year. Sales timing caused a 4 percentage point swing in this quarter with two points moved into the first quarter where we grew over 7% and two points shifting into the third and fourth quarters. Excluding timing, FX and a non-repeating promo from last year, second quarter sales were up 4%. As a reminder, our Security business should grow at roughly GDP plus an additional point for price, an additional point from innovation, or roughly at 4%. This continues to be what we expect for the full year for Security sales to grow around 4% in 2017. Segment operating income grew 10% to $22 million and operating margin grew 160 basis points to 15%. Full year operating margin has the potential to be a little higher than we initially expected and could be in excess of 15% in 2017. To sum up consolidated second quarter performance: sales increased 5%, 6% excluding foreign currency; EPS were ahead of plan at $0.92; our total company operating margin was 15.8%, up 100 basis points from the prior year with an incremental margin, excluding acquisitions of 50%. We are squarely on track to achieve our 2017 and long-term goal for operating margin. Turning to the balance sheet, our June 30 balance sheet remains solid with cash of $253 million, debt of $1.4 billion and a net debt-to-EBITDA leverage ratio of 1.4 times. By yearend, we expect leverage to be around 1.1 times excluding any additional capital transactions. We currently have $750 million available under our $1.25 billion revolver. As of July 28, we have repurchased approximately 1.2 million shares this year for about $71 million. We have approximately $450 million remaining under our share repurchase authorization, which together with our balance sheet continues to provide ample capacity for acquisitions, additional share repurchases and dividend. Turning last to the details of our outlook for 2017, our market and sales assumptions for 2017 are unchanged. We continue to assume 6% to 7% U.S. home products market growth and total global market growth of 5% to 6%. Accordingly, we continue to expect our full year 2017 sales to increase 6% to 8%. We have raised the bottom end of our full year EPS outlook by $0.04 based on our continued strong operating margin performance. Our outlook for 2017 EPS is now in the range of $3.04 to $3.12 with the midpoint reflecting a 12% increase over the prior year. I want to pause briefly to make an important point regarding 2016 EPS comps and the implications for the third and fourth quarters of 2017. Using the midpoint of our 2017 outlook, we expect to earn approximately $1.63 in the second half of 2017, or about $0.12 improvement over the second half of 2016. We assume no tax benefit related to equity compensation in the third or fourth quarters of 2017. The third quarter presents a unique comp dynamic. In the third quarter of 2016, we had one-time benefits worth roughly $0.10; $0.07 of tax benefit from equity comp and $0.03 of expense timing due primarily to healthcare. These two one-time items will not repeat in the third quarter of 2017. However, we do expect our fourth quarter EPS performance in 2017 to be substantially better than that of 2016. Free cash flow is expected to be around $450 million in 2017 with a conversion rate of over 90%. The annual EPS outlook includes the following assumptions: interest expense of around $50 million; a full year tax rate of approximately 31%; and average fully diluted shares of approximately 157 million. In summary, we are set up for a strong 2017. Second quarter market growth was largely as expected and we delivered sales and strong profit growth. Our focus remains on profitable growth and to grow sales while expanding our operating margin. Due to continuing strong growth in our operating margin, we've raised the midpoint of our EPS outlook for the year and we remain focused on using our balance sheet and cash flow to drive incremental shareholder value through acquisitions and share repurchases. I will now pass the call back to Brian. Brian C. Lantz - Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc.: Thanks, Pat. That concludes our prepared remarks on the second quarter of 2017. We will now begin taking questions. Since there may be a number of you who would like to ask a question, I'll ask that you limit your initial questions to two and then reenter the queue to ask additional questions. I will now turn the call back over to the operator to begin the question-and-answer session. Operator?