Earnings Labs

MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. (MCFT)

Q4 2020 Earnings Call· Wed, Sep 9, 2020

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to Q4 and Fiscal 2020 MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator instructions] Please be advised, today's conference is being recorded. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to hand the conference over to your speakers, Tim Oxley, CFO. Please go ahead.

Tim Oxley

Analyst

Thank you, operator, and welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us today as we discuss MasterCraft's fourth quarter and full year performance for fiscal 2020. As a reminder, today's call is being webcast live and will also be archived on our website for future listening. Joining me on today's call are Fred Brightbill, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman; and George Steinbarger, our Chief Revenue Officer. To open the call, Fred will provide commentary on our businesses, and I will discuss our fourth quarter and fiscal 2020 results then I'll turn the call back to Fred for closing remarks before we open the call for Q&A. Before we begin, we'd like to remind participants that the information contained in this call is current only as of today, September 9, 2020. The Company assumes no obligation to update any statements, including forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and subject to the safe harbor disclaimer in today's press release. Additionally, on this conference call, we will discuss non-GAAP measures that include or exclude special or items not indicative of our ongoing operations. For each non-GAAP measure, we also provide the most directly comparable GAAP measure in our fiscal 2020 fourth quarter and fiscal 2020 earnings release which includes a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to our GAAP results. We'd also like to remind listeners that there is a slide deck summarizing our financial results in the investors section of our website. With that, I'll turn the call over to Fred.

Fred Brightbill

Analyst

Thank you, Tim, and good morning everyone. As world continues to grapple with the effects of COVID-19 pandemic, it remains my sincerest wish that everyone with us today is remained safe and healthy. As you saw from today's press release, MasterCraft Boat Holdings delivered financial results in the fourth quarter ahead of street expectations, closing out a challenging fiscal 2020 with strong momentum heading into fiscal 2021. For the year, net sales decreased 22% to $363.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 44% to $44.3 million and fully diluted adjusted net income per share declined nearly 52% to a $1.34 per share, principally driven by the disruption to our manufacturing operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the headwind faced throughout the year, our team embraced the challenge and continued to execute on our new customer centric strategy, including improving our quality systems and working closely with our dealer partners to capitalize on the unprecedented consumer interest in boating. In the fourth quarter, after our various facilities were shutdown from six to eight weeks, we delivered positive adjusted EBITDA on a net sales decline of 58%, a testament to our highly variable, low fixed cost business model and operational execution. Moreover, our strong cash management practices enabled us to pay back $25 million on a revolving line of credit at the end of the fourth quarter and an additional $5 million early in our fiscal 2021 first quarter. The near and long-term impact of the pandemic on recreational boating industry has been significant. Specifically, our industry experienced a renaissance as consumers and their families found themselves with additional free time and fewer alternatives due to the cancellation of spring break and summer vacations, travel sports and kids summer camps. Even during the pandemic-induced dealer closures, consumers flock to our brand websites, social…

Tim Oxley

Analyst

Thank you. As Fred noted, these are difficult times for the boating industry and the broader economy. While we started the quarter off on a strong note the spread of COVID-19 across the globe and the corresponding economic and production shut down has had a significant impact on operations and as a result of financial performance. Net sales for the fourth quarter were 51.1 million, a decrease of 71.7 million or 58.4% compared to 122.8 million for the prior year period. The decrease was primarily due to the loss production as a result of the COVID-19 shutdowns and supplier and workforce ramp up. Gross profit decreased 24.1 million or 76.5% to 7.4 million compared to 31.5 million for the prior year period, principally driven by the lower sales volume as for reportable segments. Our gross margins decreased to 14.5% for the fourth quarter compared to 25.6% for the prior year period on lower overhead absorption across each reportable segment. Operating expenses decreased to 33.2 million for the fourth quarter compared to 43 million for the prior year period due to the 31 million of goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges recognized in the prior year period. Excluding these impairment charges, our operating expenses declined 2.2 million resulting from cost management initiatives during the quarter in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Turning to the bottom line, adjusted net loss for the fourth quarter was 1.8 million or a loss of $0.10 per share on a fully diluted weighted average share count of 18.7 million shares computed using the Company's estimated annual effective tax rate of approximately 23%. This compared to adjusted net income of 16.1 million or $0.85 per fully diluted share in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA was 0.9 million for the fourth quarter compared to 23.8 million in…

Fred Brightbill

Analyst

Thanks, Tim. While COVID-19 presented many challenges for MasterCraft in the fourth quarter and fiscal 2020, we implemented a plan to manage through the near-term headwinds and position the Company for success over the long-term. Our number one priority is the health and safety of our employees. As we continue to ramp up production across all our facilities, we are committed to maintaining rigorous health and safety standards. We're following the best practices including health screening certification, temperature scans, use of masks, physical distancing, enhanced personal hygiene, heightened cleaning protocols, and contact tracing at all our locations. We will continue to monitor the sites closely and consider local and federal government guidelines throughout this transition period. Our outlook is much improved from a quarter ago. Depleted dealer inventories and strengthened retail demand provide an attractive backdrop for the boating industry, and in particular, our leading brands. I'm confident in our strong foundation committed employees and dealers, resilient business model and long-term plan to grow our market share and drive shareholder value. With that, we'll go ahead and open the line for questions. Operator?

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] And our first question comes from Eric Wold with B. Riley. Your line is open.

Eric Wold

Analyst

I've two questions. I guess one, the 40% to 50% -- the inventory being 43% below on average at year-end, June, obviously lowers since then in August. I am assuming that's kind of an average across the three brands. Any major variations from that range between three brands and all kind of within there?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst

That actually isn't the average, that's the range across the brands. So, they were all between 40% and 50%. And, as you alluded, it's much, much lower than that now.

Eric Wold

Analyst

And then follow-up on that. Obviously, Crest gone off to a little bit slower start, following the acquisition, one of the reasons being, the level of inventory out there with competitors in the pontoon segments. Maybe given what we've seen recently, give us an update on how you frame that environment for crafts and the opportunity potentially take share?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst

Chris has been doing very well. There year-over-year retail has been among the highest we've seen amongst our brands. So that segments bounce back and they bounced back very strongly. Their inventory is in great shape again. It's a fraction of what it was previously and they positioned themselves for a great year and are in the process of putting their pedal to the floor and accelerating their production ramp up.

Tim Oxley

Analyst

I would add that the pontoon segment is also benefiting from the first time boaters because of the ease of use and the relative value of the pontoon boats. So, we're very happy to participate in that segment. So more first time boaters, I think, in the pontoon segment and in some of the other brand.

Eric Wold

Analyst

Thanks Tim. And lastly, on Aviara, I know you gave the commentary, you talked about your digital $50 million plus in sales next three years. Any chance you can get some idea kind of where you ended up last year and how that could change this year? And then on the new facility, the Aviara facility acquired. One, what will need to be spent there ahead of production start? And two, what do you ultimately think full production capacity could be at that facility over the next few years?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst

Well, we certainly think it's going to be worth 50 million as far as capacity goes, that's been a successful both plant in the past. Our ramp up costs will certainly impact us and starting in Q2, but we're going to get back up to profitability in fiscal 2022.

Tim Oxley

Analyst

And Eric, from a revenue standpoint for Aviara this past year, you will recall, we guided to 10 million to 15 million at the start of the year, due to the COVID we were impacted in that, but still hit the low end of that range. So call it around $10 million of revenue for Aviara this year.

Eric Wold

Analyst

I hope the ram up costs just thinking CapEx cost at new facility not operating cost to get it going?

Tim Oxley

Analyst

Yes, the purchase of the property is $14 million, and we estimate another $4 million to $6 million to get that facility back up and running to where we need it to run high production levels like we intend there. And that would be on top of our kind of normal CapEx across MasterCraft and NauticStar and Crest. So for the full year, we're probably looking somewhere in the low to mid $20 million CapEx range, all in.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. And our next question comes from Mike Swartz with Swartz Securities. Your line is open.

Mike Swartz

Analyst · Swartz Securities. Your line is open.

Maybe just starting with the fiscal '21 guidance, thanks for providing that. I think it would imply that revenue get back to fiscal year '19 levels, but if I do the math, it says that EBITDA would be between 15 million and 20 million below fiscal year '19. And I know there's obviously the start-up costs and some of the inefficiencies with Aviara. Can you maybe walk us through why profitability would be lower than what we saw in '19?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst · Swartz Securities. Your line is open.

Well, let me first start it with the top line, you commented on. If you remember, '19 came in very heavy with regards -- inventory was very heavy at the end of that year. And so, there was a big carry over. That's not a normal situation or one that you know is a good benchmark. So, unfortunately that's the comp that you're looking at from the revenue standpoint. With regard to the costs, they're all included in our margin, but I would say also a full year worth of Crest in our numbers is one of the diluting factors on the overall margin.

Tim Oxley

Analyst · Swartz Securities. Your line is open.

Yes, because we're comparing nine months worth of Crest, diluted margins in fiscal 19. So as you mentioned, we have the start-up cost at the new facility. In addition, since we're ramping up really on a measured pace throughout the year at MasterCraft, you've got costs associated with getting new employees up to speed and trains and so forth.

Mike Swartz

Analyst · Swartz Securities. Your line is open.

And then I just want to make sure, I heard the number right I think you said, maybe it was Fred, but you believe you're around 2,000 units under inventory right now. I guess what is that based on? And what would that assume? Or what's your -- when you state that number, what is your kind of outlook for retail demand going forward?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst · Swartz Securities. Your line is open.

I would just say two things to consider in that. I think that's a conservative estimate because we use much higher inventory turns then historically have been the average in our segment or for us. So, we increase our expectation with regard to how fast we're going to be able to turn dealer inventory and in addition use very conservative retail assumptions.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from Brett Andress with KeyBanc. Your line is open.

Brett Andress

Analyst · KeyBanc. Your line is open.

If you could just help us a little more with the 1Q sales expectations, I mean, how should we think about that low-to mid-teens decline by brand? And I guess, are there any specific factors holding you back from growing shipments in 1Q?

Tim Oxley

Analyst · KeyBanc. Your line is open.

Well, as we mentioned, we're in ramp up mode throughout the first quarter. And so, that's holding us back a bit. The cadence is going to be a little more backend loaded for the year since we are, I could say, in ramp up mode. As far as holding us back, we're going to maintain our quality standards and suppliers have to come up to speed at the same time. So, those are kind of the gating items for Q1.

Brett Andress

Analyst · KeyBanc. Your line is open.

And then, it sounds like inventory got lighter since the end of the quarter. So just any color on the level of retail demand for your brand here in August and September?

George Steinbarger

Analyst · KeyBanc. Your line is open.

Yes, Brett, this is George. So for July and August, we continue to see strong retail momentum across all the brands. What we tell you is that the range was anywhere from up 25% to up 75% across the three brands from a July-August retail. So, the momentum certainly continued and we were very pleased by that and so certainly well positioned for the rest of the year to restock dealers and get positioned to take additional retail and market share in next summer selling season, which as you know accounts for about 70% to 75% of retail that April through September period next summer.

Tim Oxley

Analyst · KeyBanc. Your line is open.

Keep in mind in particular for MasterCraft, we have challenging comps last year in the first fiscal quarter. So, that's even more remarkable than we're up from those comps.

Brett Andress

Analyst · KeyBanc. Your line is open.

And then, I guess I can do the math on my last question. But if we exclude, Aviara in the start-up cost and the headwinds there, as you ramp that facility. I guess, what would your EBITDA margin expectation be for 2021, excluding Aviara?

George Steinbarger

Analyst · KeyBanc. Your line is open.

I don't know that we have the math right here in front of you, Brett. But I would -- just to give you a little more guidance, I would kind of pencil in a negative $2 million to negative $3 million EBITDA loss at Aviara for the year, when we said a moderate loss, that's kind of the range of what we were looking at that bakes in all of those costs. So, I think with that information, you can do the math, but I don't have it in front of me.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from Craig Kennison with Baird. Your line is open.

Craig Kennison

Analyst · Baird. Your line is open.

Great. Thanks and good morning. I have a question on your revenue guidance and the comment you made on 2,100 units of inventory. Just can't fully reconcile that, if you shipped 5,300 boats, roughly in fiscal 2020, and you replenished 2,100 units of inventory in a flattish retail environment, you'd be shipping almost, I don't know, 400 boats, that's 40% growth. So no ASP impact much better than I guess that 25%-ish revenue growth you're calling for. So, what am I missing there? Is that a function of less restocking or more pessimistic retail? Can't quite reconcile that?

George Steinbarger

Analyst · Baird. Your line is open.

No, Craig, I mean, I think, we certainly believe that 2,100 shortfall in inventory is going to take longer than just fiscal 21 to fill the channel. So, we're obviously -- we're comfortable putting out guidance with the visibility we see. And so, we're confident in our number, but we're not going to just stuff the channel. We're going to guide to height where, we're going to manage this business with higher terms than we have historically keep dealers healthy, continue to watch the retail environment and make sure that and that stays on track. So, we certainly view the 2,100 as a significant opportunity for growth and set us up for long-term growth beyond 2021. And we'll make sure that we're filling the pipeline in a very measured controlled way. And so, that's really kind of what I would answer there.

Tim Oxley

Analyst · Baird. Your line is open.

Sure, and I think, if you think of normalizing the pipeline sometime in fiscal 2022, and we also intend to operate the Company at hired dealer inventory terms, and we've historically seen, we think that's a good for the dealers and good for us as well.

Craig Kennison

Analyst · Baird. Your line is open.

Thanks for that. And just maybe looking at it from a capacity standpoint, do you even have sufficient capacity to fully catch up to that? Or is there a limit to what you could produce in fiscal 2021?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst · Baird. Your line is open.

Well, other than the ramp up, we do not have a constraint with regard to terminal capacity. Because once again, moving Aviara freeze up MasterCraft capacity, a substantial additional amount of master capacity. And we don't foresee consuming that for many years.

Craig Kennison

Analyst · Baird. Your line is open.

Thank you. And then looking at ASP in the fourth quarter, very strong results across the board relative to our expectations, what's the ASP growth expectation embedded in your revenue guidance?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst · Baird. Your line is open.

We're expecting low growth of ASPs in fiscal 2021, and keep in mind what drove it in our fiscal four quarter was the disproportionate number of retail sold boats that we were producing and they traditionally have a larger load of options selected.

Craig Kennison

Analyst · Baird. Your line is open.

And finally, I think Fred, you've mentioned first time buyers or people who are new to boating. Could you share those metrics again? I may have missed the actual percentage there.

Fred Brightbill

Analyst · Baird. Your line is open.

Well, we just say, we said 80% are boaters and the other 20% roughly are what we've seen in terms of either returning to boating or new to boating. And I would just say those are kind of the historical ranges. Currently, we've seen essentially a doubling in the new voting people. So, we're getting those entrants and it's our focus on making sure that we deliver the experience they're looking for and continue to keep them loyal to our brand. So, it's a wonderful opportunity to expand the market and we think it's not a one-time phenomenon. We think it's a situation that is going to last for years.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Joe Altobello with Raymond James. Your line is open.

Joe Altobello

Analyst · Raymond James. Your line is open.

Just want to go back to your comment regarding ASPs and the impact from retail sold boats. Curious what you're seeing from first time boat buyers? Are they bringing up the average as well with a lot of bells and whistles on the boats that they're buying?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst · Raymond James. Your line is open.

I think in my opinion, it's the range. We've seen first time, because you think of our different brands first time buyers at Crest at those price points. They're totally different than what we've seen, and across the MasterCraft range, we've seen first time buyers all the way from the entry level all the way up to the high end. So, it's -- in my opinion, it's been spreads.

Joe Altobello

Analyst · Raymond James. Your line is open.

And then, in terms of retail you mentioned, it was still very strong in July and August. I'm curious, what you saw in Labor Day. Typically, the time of year when retail does start to normalize and I'm just curious if you did -- if you did see trends start to slow or to quote unquote, normalize as we approach the holiday?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst · Raymond James. Your line is open.

I think that's a correct characterization that it's starting to quote normalize. But remember also in the previous year, there was a heavy carryover of inventory. And so, there was a lot of promotion that took place that around the Labor Day holiday to move some of those votes. And certainly throughout that first quarter, it was a very active promotional time for ourselves and our competitors. So on a comp basis, your normal is not necessarily what last year's results were.

Joe Altobello

Analyst · Raymond James. Your line is open.

Yes, I meant normalizing in terms of year-over growth versus growth in the last couple months?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst · Raymond James. Your line is open.

Well, we're coming off the selling season, it's finally winding down.

Joe Altobello

Analyst · Raymond James. Your line is open.

And just one last, it goes back to, I guess with your questions that Greg asked about the 2,100 pros that you're under inventory to the channel. How much of those do you think you can address this year? And how much of those are more of a 2020 event?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst · Raymond James. Your line is open.

I think we're going to be in very good shape, but we probably are still going to be lean on inventory exiting this year, and we just feel that that really provides us a cushion. Should there be any negative impacts in the environment? And that's why we felt comfortable being able to give guidance.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. And our last question comes from Barry Haimes with Sage Asset Management. Your line is open.

Barry Haimes

Analyst

So, I had a couple. One is the Merritt Island edition, just on a square footage basis, how much does that increase your capacity?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst

That facility is a 140,000 square feet that will be dedicated to Aviara. That is more than quadruple the amount of square footage that we've got allocated to Aviara here today. So, as we've stated, there's ample capacity there to grow that brand, hopefully, at or above $50 million within three years.

Tim Oxley

Analyst

Equally important, it allows us to expand our capacity for the MasterCraft, so both those are very positive.

Barry Haimes

Analyst

That was going to be my second question is, what percent capacity increase will MasterCraft get once Aviara vacates that facility?

Fred Brightbill

Analyst

I think on the order of 35% to 40%.

Barry Haimes

Analyst

Okay, great and then next question I had, in answer to an earlier question, you talked, I think about 4 million to 6 million, costs in addition to the plant cost to get everything moves in up and running. And, I missed this, if that was the capital costs or expense items as well. So could you just give us a little help around, what's capital and what's expense in terms of going through that change process?

Tim Oxley

Analyst

The number that was referenced on the call was a capital number, and we've not itemized -- we won't be shared, but as, as we guided to, we expected $2 million to $3 million EBITDA loss, which includes all of the start-up costs and ramp up of getting that facility operational in addition to the CapEx number.

Barry Haimes

Analyst

Okay. And then my final question is, if, so again, you're doing this transition in the first half of your fiscal year. When we look to the second half of the year, should we expect the quarterly results to be more in line with the sort of fiscal '18, fiscal '19 years where you were kind of doing a $2 to $3 a share run rate? Is there any reason you wouldn't get back to that kind of level in the second half of the fiscal year? Thanks.

George Steinbarger

Analyst

Yes, I don't have -- we're not going to give second half guidance. I think you can look at the implied kind of second half with what we've given on Q1 and for full year, and kind of compare that to historical years, but that's as comfortable as we feel at this point.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. And I'm not showing any further questions at this time. And I'd now like to turn the call back to your speakers.

Fred Brightbill

Analyst

I want to thank everybody for joining us today. We appreciate your interest and your support of MasterCraft and hope you all stay safe. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.