Don Charron
Analyst · Sidoti. Please go ahead. Your line is open
01:54 Thanks, Andy and good morning everyone. Q2 was another hard fought quarter for our company as global supply chain issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic persisted and adversely impacted our results. Component shortages continue to make it extremely challenging to obtain the materials needed to support customer demand. 02:16 While conditions improved modestly in December with sales accelerating, the lost absorption was significant once again this quarter as we remain committed to retaining our highly skilled workforce in anticipation of a strong second half to the fiscal year. 02:33 We continue to be well-positioned with record levels of backlog and we are reiterating our sales guidance for fiscal year 2022, although we expect to finish the year at the lower end of the range. We are revising our operating income margin guidance to reflect the difficult first half and our outlook for the balance of the fiscal year. 02:53 Our manufacturing facilities worldwide have been ramping up production with the expectation of running several lines at maximum capacity in the months and quarters to come. In many instances, we are the single source supplier for our customers so they share our eagerness for conditions to normalize so that we can both deliver on our contractual agreements. 03:17 We believe transparency builds trust and I'm proud to report our teams have faced these unprecedented times head on with customer collaboration at levels even higher than our award winning norm. 03:30 The partnerships we formed through this collaboration often lead to new opportunities. And I'm excited to announce our plans to expand the facility imposed in Poland. This is our third facility expansion in the last 15 months and is representative of our high level of success in winning new business. 03:49 Similar to Thailand and Mexico, the additional capacity is needed for programs with new and existing customers. We expect the expansion in Poznan to add approximately 40% to existing production square footage, and will leverage our team in Poland to support our customers based in Europe when the expansion is complete in early fiscal year 2024. 04:14 We are updating our guidance for capital expenditures in fiscal year 2022, which will include early investments in Poznan and additional capital related to a major win with a longstanding customer whose next generation electronic braking systems will support one of the most popular vehicles in the world. This investment is incremental to the current facility expansion in Reynosa and similar to Poland reflects the success we're experiencing in new business development activities. 04:43 With the expansions in Thailand, Mexico, and Poland, we will expand our square foot each in capabilities to support growth potential in excess of 2 billion of annual revenue. This is critical as we look at the strength of our funnel and newly awarded programs. 05:01 While we are disappointed in the first half, an outcome driven by the material shortages and the resulting lower forecast for operating income in fiscal year 2022, we fully anticipate returning to an annual run rate for operating income levels in a range of 4.5% to 5% of net sales as the supply chain normalizes. 05:24 In fact, we expect our second half to ramp up significantly throughout the period with a very strong finish to the fiscal year and operating income above that range as we work down the backlog of orders. 05:38 Turning back to the results for the second quarter, net sales were down 2% versus Q2 of last year. And while three of four vertical markets reported increases year-over-year, it was not enough to offset automotive, which was down 8% in the quarter when compared to the record sales level of Q2 last year. This represents the first quarterly decline in automotive in over a year, with the shortage of semiconductors largely responsible for the shortfall. 06:08 The impact of the pandemic on this industry has been well publicized with an estimated 7 million vehicles worldwide cut from production in calendar year 2021. While consumer demand exceeded the results they result in limited supply. OEMs are forecasting double-digit growth as the industry looks to recover and consumers are becoming increasingly more accustom to longer lead times and [higher sticker] [ph] prices. 06:39 These new industry dynamics combined with the megatrend to add electronic content to vehicles through advanced technologies and expanded operating systems, represent a meaningful organic growth opportunity for the automotive vertical market in the years to come. 06:55 As a reminder, many of the new applications that we support are largely the same for both electric and internal combustion engines and the stringent production standards in the automotive industry aligned very well with our core manufacturing competencies. 07:11 Sales in the medical vertical market increased 3% in Q2, a welcomed rebound to a business that has experienced ebbs and flows throughout the pandemic. The increase this quarter was driven by the launch and ramp up of new products. 07:25 Longer-term, we remain very positive on the growth opportunities in our medical business with megatrends in the healthcare industry, providing an excellent setup. This includes an aging population, increasing access and affordability to care, decreasing device sizes and connected drug delivery systems. 07:46 Additionally, our focus on medical markets as demonstrated by the launch of Kimball Medical Solutions should continue to drive growth in the medical vertical supporting our goal of 30% of our revenue coming from this space. 08:02 The industrial vertical market also finished the second quarter with sales increasing, up 6% similar to medical, we're glad to see industrial show some early signs of bouncing back from today's challenging operating environment. This is an encouraging step toward returning to growth in this business, which we commonly refer to as green & clean. 08:21 Climate control, smart metering, and new customer additions drove the increase in Q2 and represent the longer-term growth opportunities. As individual awareness of consumption and ultimately conservation of water, gas, and electricity increases in popularity in Europe and eventually the U.S. 08:43 And finally, sales and public safety were 10.8 million, a 3% increase compared to the second quarter of last year. So, in summary, a challenging quarter with very good work from our team in tough conditions. We are seeing signs of improvement as evidenced by the higher level of sales in Q2, compared to Q1, an 8% increase with December being the best month. 09:07 I'll now turn the call over to Jana to discuss Q2 results in more detail. She will also review our updated guidance for fiscal year 2022. Jana?