Sarah Lauber
Analyst · Craig-Hallum
Thanks, Bob. Near term, we're clearly facing a significant financial impact. However, our financial strength will allow us to continue to invest for the long term and emerge from this situation stronger than we went in. The first quarter was a tough quarter for three main reasons: the headwinds we predicted as we exited a record year in 2019, the conclusion of a very low snow season and then the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to shut our facilities in March created a significant financial impact, but the long-term well-being of employees far outweighs the short-term financial implications. We maintained partial shutdown status through April and into May. At this time, from a financial perspective our focus is balanced. On one end, we're maintaining our strong balance sheet, preserving cash through our income protection plan, which has evolved from the low snowfall playbook to cover all of our businesses. On the other end, we're committed to maintaining our dividend and investing in our long-term growth projects. Now let me walk through the first quarter and our plans related to guidance. For the first quarter of 2020 we generated net sales of $68.2 million and gross profit of $11.7 million. Our gross profit margin for the quarter was 17.1%. Compared to the first quarter of 2019, net sales decreased 27% and gross profit decreased 49%. As we had predicted in February, our sales and margins were impacted by the significantly below average snowfall in Attachments and Class 4 through 6 chassis availability in Solutions. And then, layer on the late-March impact of the temporary shutdown across all facilities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Volumes were negatively impacted in Solutions, as shipments were minimal during this time, and both of the segments' margins were significantly impacted by the shutdown. During the quarter we also received a $1.2 million benefit from the CARES Act. As we paid our employees during the March shutdown, we were eligible for an employee retention credit, which favorably impacted our cost of sales. SG&A expenses were $19.9 million, compared to the $19.4 million recorded during the first quarter of last year. The increase reflects the investments we've been making in talent and resourcing our long-term growth plans. As a result of the aforementioned lower volumes across both segments, plus the additional cost associated with the shutdown, adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was negative $1.7 million, compared to $9 million for the first quarter of last year. This leads us to a GAAP net loss of $10.1 million, or negative $0.44 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2020, compared to a net loss of $300,000, or negative $0.01 per diluted share, in the same period of 2019. On an adjusted basis, net income was negative $7.8 million, or negative $0.34 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $300,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2019. For context, we estimate the impact of the pandemic in the first quarter was approximately $0.15 to $0.20 in adjusted earnings per share for the last 2 weeks of March, including both shutdown costs and related lost volume. Another notable and unusual item in the quarter was that our interest rate swaps became ineffective due to the unprecedented drop in the forward LIBOR curve. Interest expense was $5 million for the quarter, which was slightly higher than the $4.2 million incurred in the same period in the prior year, as it included a $1.4 million mark-to-market noncash expense. This masks the interest savings due to the reduction to the principal balance of our term loan credit agreement based on the $20 million voluntary prepayment we made in January. We have excluded the mark-to-market noncash expense in our adjusted earnings per share. The effective tax benefit was negative 24.4%, compared to negative 60.9% for the first quarter of 2019. The effective tax benefit decreased due to lower excess tax benefits related to stock compensation. Let me briefly comment on each of the segments. For the first quarter, Attachments recorded revenue of $19.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of negative $2.1 million. In the same period last year, the segment's revenue and adjusted EBITDA were $25.8 million and $2.3 million, respectively. The decreases are primarily attributable to lower volumes resulting from significantly below average snowfall during the 2020 snow season and the COVID-19 pandemic. To provide context, this year's snowfall was not only the second consecutive below-average snowfall season; there was particularly low snowfall again in the northeast region, which is an important region for us. In fact, the season snowfall total was approximately 25% below the 10-year average across North America and the lowest snowfall we've seen since 2012, which you may remember was the lowest total in 50 years. Turning to Work Truck Solutions, which reported net sales of $49.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of $400,000 for the first quarter. In the same period last year, the segment's net sales and adjusted EBITDA were $67.4 million and $6.7 million, respectively. Both net sales and adjusted EBITDA in Work Truck Solutions were negatively impacted by increased chassis supply constraint for Class 4 to 6 work trucks, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic and the related shutdown of our facilities. Next, let's discuss the balance sheet and liquidity figures. We exited 2019 with strong free cash flow, allowing us to pay down more debt in the first quarter, and our leverage of 2.5x is well within our targeted range. I say all that, as in times like these cash is king. We recognize that and we are comfortable that we have a clear path to manage through these unusual circumstances that will also impact our balance sheet, leverage and liquidity. In the first quarter, cash used in operations increased $3.5 million, negatively impacted by operating results of $9.9 million, driven by the lower volumes from COVID-19, snowfall and chassis supply, but was somewhat offset by favorable changes in working capital of $6.5 million. The favorable change in working capital was higher collection on accounts receivable, of $12.9 million, offset by growing inventory, of $5.2 million. As a result of this, plus an increase in capital expenditures of $1.5 million, free cash flow for the first 3 months of 2020 declined $5.1 million, to negative $11.4 million, versus last year. Total liquidity of $86.3 million at the end of the first quarter compares to liquidity of $54.9 million at the end of the first quarter of last year. Liquidity increased due to our strong free cash flow from 2019, a lower voluntary payment on our debt plus higher collection of accounts receivable. Capital expenditures for the first quarter of 2020 totaled $2.3 million, higher when compared to $800,000 during the first quarter of 2019. The increase relates to the ongoing investments in the business. We are finding the right balance between methodically determining which expenditures are essential in the near term while still remaining committed to our long-term projects. Following the additional $20 million payment that we made on our debt during the first quarter, we ended the quarter with net debt of $255.3 million. As it stands today, we maintain net debt leverage ratio of 2.5x and believe we are in a much better position than most companies to manage through a recession. It's also worth mentioning that our term loan is covenant-light and we're not at risk of violating any of the terms of our obligations in the foreseeable future. Our revolving borrowings are due to mature on June 30, 2021, while our term loan credit agreement is set to mature on December 31, 2021. Now I'd like to outline our thoughts regarding guidance. Like many companies at the moment, we are withdrawing our 2020 financial outlook because of the pandemic. Internally, we have adjusted our budgets and created various scenarios and contingency plans using our income protection plan playbook across the company. While we are used to creating budgets for recession-like conditions on a regular basis for our Attachments business, until we have a better idea of how the overall economy is reacting to this unprecedented situation there are too many unknown variables for us to provide projections with any amount of confidence. In addition, it is good news that 95% of our customer base qualifies as an essential service and can operate today. But many are also located in densely populated areas heavily impacted by the pandemic, which may mean that they're not able to operate effectively in the near term. For Attachments, demand is being impacted by low snowfall and the pandemic. But on a positive note, our end user landscapers are still able to work in most states. We delayed the start of preseason by 2 weeks and as dealers are likely cash constrained at the moment, we expect the fourth quarter to be much more important this year. At this stage, while the supply chain for Attachments will be impacted by the pandemic, it's important to remember we have a lean, well-established supply chain with longstanding partnerships, which means Douglas will be at the front of the line. For Solutions, demand is obviously being impacted by the pandemic, especially as many of our locations are in the hard-hit East Coast region. Our municipal-focused business should see less of an impact, given we have long-term contracts at Henderson. Between the chassis OEMs and the hundreds of component suppliers we rely on for upfits, the supply side of the equation in Solutions is probably the biggest unknown at this point. For now what we can say is we expect to be in varying states of shutdown for 6 to 8 weeks during April and May, which will have a very significant impact on our second quarter earnings. Finally, I want to close with this. As Bob stated, we remain committed to funding the dividend. As we sit here today, we do expect to generate the earnings and free cash flow in 2020 to fully fund our dividend. Now we'd like to open the call for Q&A.