William A. Furman
Analyst · Stephens
Thank you, Mark, and thanks to all of you for joining our call this morning. We had a robust first quarter, considering some noise in the background that Mark described. We had very solid financial performance, led by Manufacturing, and we expect positive momentum that will build throughout the year. We made a strong $39 million in operating profits and significantly outperformed speed estimates after removing $1.5 million after tax or $0.04 a share from unusual charges and other costs in the quarter, which we do not expect to recur, relating to our Wheels, Repair & Parts business on top of a discontinued charge that is disclosed in the statement. Manufacturing led the way, and there is the really bright spot for 2014 and 2015. In fact, all of our operations performed well this quarter, except for Wheels, Repair & Parts, which I'll speak to in a moment. Manufacturing profits during the quarter improved meaningfully, as margins increased to 13.4%, a trend we expect to continue and build on, and also, to contribute significantly to our minimum corporate goal of 13.5% company margins by our fiscal year end, as Mark also alluded to. We achieved a solid full month of production at our GIMSA facility on the tank car line at 16 per day earlier than expected, while seeing margins improve significantly at that facility during the Q. And the other thing disguised in the -- or embedded in the numbers were that, as we ramped some shops or some of the lines at our Bombardier and our facility in the Sahagun, Mexico, Concarril, we were not meeting in the first couple of months the plan. We are on the plan now. So both of these units are going to be very strong contributors to profits in the months and the quarters to come. We began also to develop new fabrication outsourcing capabilities in Mexico, one of the reasons that we were a bit behind plan at that facility for replacement of our plant lease from Bombardier this fall. We expect even better financial performance sequentially in Manufacturing for successive quarters this year, as we improve efficiency and margins of both Mexican facilities with the benefit of fully ramped-up production levels. I'd also remind everybody that this is a very strong quarter, given our historical pattern of weaker first quarter numbers, given the full year and the seasonality in our business. Turning to the Bombardier plant, which I spoke to. The lease with Bombardier for production space located to our nearest and more most modern and efficient plant, a former Komatsu plant in Sahagun, Mexico, Concarril, expires -- this lease expires in November 2014. This is a very positive thing that's going to occur because this facility is our highest cost and lowest margin Mexican manufacturing facility. This will allow us to further refine our footprint, particularly in fabrication and replacing the lines that we'll be losing in the fall. We've made or continue to making plans for replacement of this capacity. We do not expect it to impact fiscal year 2014 or 2015. I'd like to reiterate that we are not expanding capacity but replacing it with more efficient lower-cost production space and a good swap or a good trade for the higher rents we were paying in the leased facility. Turning to our Wheels, Repair & Parts business, while we had some noise in the financial results for this segment, clearly, the results of this segment are not meeting our expectations. However, I want to emphasize we are more than midway through our surgery in this business. That's not always the best time to look at trailing financial while the patient is on the table. We have strong green shoots emerging from these actions. And we expect that now that most of the heavy lifting has been carried out in the first quarter and before that, that margins and ROIC should improve throughout successive quarters in this unit, removing a drag on earnings, as all of this remedial action takes effect. To be specific about it, over the past 2 quarters, we've completed multiple actions with the goal of creating acceptable margins and ROIC in the segment within our fiscal 2014 year, including, we've closed 6 shops in that -- in the Repair & Parts businesses, with the seventh to be closed later this month. We've fixed 4 low-margin shops to improve levels of profitability by facility rationalization, including renegotiating terms with key customers, reducing capital and improving operational efficiency. We've also strengthened our management teams while reducing redundant levels of middle management. We've written off assets that don't fit the ongoing model, and we've reduced fixed costs. We've reduced inventories and other capital employed in our Wheel business by $20 million. So we are making a solid progress. We expect that all of this will show up in the margins and in the numbers in successive quarters. Turning to Leasing. Leasing performed very well during the quarter. We're getting traction by expanding our service offerings, adding important new customers in the energy field and by focusing on downstream car management and repair management opportunities. Many, many shippers, particularly in this new energy arena, require expert management of assets and a number of mechanical services. We are very strong in that space. And we believe that there will continue to be rapid expansion in the shipper demand for services and maintenance, particularly in the tank car area as well, as the substantial fleet of tank cars in North America continues to grow. Leasing does play a pivotal role in our integrated business model, as well as providing stability and visibility to our earnings. In 2014, we'll continue to emphasize a different type of growth in our leasing model with a capital-light footprint and tax efficiency, which should produce cash on a base of cars, both managed and owned. Turning for a moment to the tank car regulatory environment. I'd like to address a topic that has quite properly captured public attention, and that is the recent developments involving tank cars. Our industry's foremost concern and Greenbrier's foremost concern is safety, safety and the protection of human health and human lives. On this issue, Greenbrier is and intends to be an industry leader in advocating for rail safety. And more importantly, we are committed to building the safest tank car available, as well as implementing safe and immediate retrofitting of cars that can apply the principle of Pareto optimal and doing something about the issues that are validly involved with tank cars sooner rather than later. The concern for public safety here is delay, delay through inability to act on the regulatory front, while the public would like to see something done sooner. Crude by rail is here to stay, provided that the public remains confident in the safety of rail transportation. And Greenbrier will do everything in its power to uphold and, where necessary, restore public confidence in freight transportation by rail. Since more than 99.9% of all freight traffic that travels by rail reaches its destination safely, public perception should favor rail transportation. Yet, it is clear that there should be and will be some form of regulatory response to the recent accidents. And yet, the record is cleared by much muddy and unscientific thinking. The images of these accidents are startling. But we must do all we can to mitigate identifiable risks by being practical and scientific about it and not hysterical. We believe that it is likely that older DOT-111 cars used in hazardous service will have to be replaced or modified with an appropriate retrofit. We have recommended a retrofit proposal to regulators of more modest but meaningful tank car improvements that can be implemented immediately and reduce the major risks, perhaps as much as 80% of the risks of hazardous material release in the case of a derailment. We believe a retrofit proposal, if adopted, can be completed in a reasonably expedited time frame and do not accept that there is not adequate capacity in the industry to do so. Ultimately, the regulatory authorities will determine the outcome of this issue, and we will maintain an active dialogue with policymakers and our associates in the railroad industry throughout the process. Regardless, Greenbrier is well positioned to respond whether the result is significant retrofit or newly constructed tank cars or both. There's approximately 80,000 cars out there that are in question. And we believe that for the future, our diversified product offerings really aid us in this environment since less than 50% of our current backlog is in tank cars, unlike others, and we are participating in other robust markets. So while our eggs aren't all in one basket, we are actively engaged in the policymaking process and will be ready for whatever outcome emerges from these very unfortunate accidents that have taken place. There was another one just yesterday or this morning on a Canadian national. An unfortunate event, no casualties, but again, lots of pictures of flames and so on. Relating to the economy, railroading and the rail supply space in general, we feel confident the present state of demand in this space as energy trends transform. Yet, along with other industries, we believe all of this is very positive. We're more mildly bullish on the economy sequentially, quarter-after-quarter. And whereas we experienced a number of headwinds last year, as far as Greenbrier is concerned, we see tailwinds going forward. The energy revolution in North America is still an unappreciated story. It is great for the economy. U.S. Congress is openly discussing lifting the 39-year ban on exporting domestically originated crude. This will be development to many of us who experienced the oil embargoes in 1970s, perhaps none of you on this call never thought we would see again in our lifetimes. Housing demand is on the rise. Automotive has had its stronger year ever in 2013 and remains strong with record deliveries. The U.S. auto fleet remains as old as it has ever been, so the replacement cycle continues in full force. Over 70% of automobiles reached their destination of sale by rail transportation, and our product mix is robust. They are just -- these are just a few examples where Greenbrier has products to address these markets. In fact, because of our continued focus on innovation, just a few years ago, Greenbrier was not participating in the railcar markets for energy-related products, tank cars and sand-covered hoppers, nor were we robustly participating in the auto market on a broad base. Today, we're generating almost 80% of our revenue and margins from markets we were not really in a few years ago, 5 years ago. However, we remain very strong in intermodal and enforced products. And as those markets come back, we expect very strong tailwinds there. So in conclusion, I believe that the best has come -- is yet to come for Greenbrier. We've worked tirelessly over the last few years. Greenbrier is well positioned to benefit from the strength of the current markets and in the future. So I turn it back to you, Mark and to Lorie. Thank you.