Sean Gadd
Analyst · the SEC as well as today's earnings release. Latham Group, Inc. expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law. In addition, during today's call, the company will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of the directly comparable GAAP measures to these non-GAAP measures can be found in the slide presentation that is available on our Investor Relations website. I will now turn the call over to Sean Gadd
Thank you, Casey, and thank you all for joining us today to review our first quarter results and discuss our business outlook. Our first quarter results represent a good start to 2026. We are especially pleased with our performance given the adverse weather conditions that plagued most of North America. There are several key takeaways from the quarter that are worth noting. First, this was another quarter in which we saw year-on-year sales growth in each of our product lines. Latham Group, Inc.'s category leadership position across our product portfolio and our geographic diversification are key competitive advantages for us. Secondly, we continue to effectively execute our Sand States strategy, showing double-digit sales gains in fiberglass pools in our priority Florida market. We are taking further actions to accelerate our growth in this region. Third, we expanded our margins, benefiting from operating leverage inherent in our business model and from the lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives that continue to yield very positive results. Oliver will provide additional detail on this later on in the call. And lastly, we are pleased to confirm our 2026 guidance, which anticipates significant sales growth and even stronger growth in adjusted EBITDA within a challenging macro environment, where pool starts will be about flat to last year. Our guidance includes a moderate increase in transportation and commodity costs due to today's high oil prices, which we are mitigating with temporary fuel surcharges. We are closely monitoring the dynamic situation in the Middle East and the potential impacts on costs and consumer demand. Taking a closer look at our first quarter results, in-ground pool sales increased 3.5%, and virtually all of that growth can be attributed to the one-month contribution from the Freedom Pools acquisition. Adverse weather was definitely a factor in our organic performance, keeping organic in-ground pool sales steady year on year. However, April sales trends were in line with our expectations, and we are on track for fiberglass pools to approach 80% of our full-year in-ground pool sales in 2026. The Freedom Pools acquisition we completed on February 26 is integrating as expected. As we have noted, the acquisition expands our presence in Australia and New Zealand, markets where fiberglass pool models have a strong foothold, and broadens our reach into new markets in Western Australia, including Perth, which is the fastest-growing city in the country. We recently spent a week in Australia bringing together the Narellan and Freedom teams. In addition to this transaction being immediately accretive to Latham Group, Inc., giving us a market-leading position in the country, we anticipate achieving considerable revenue synergies from this combination over time, as well as gaining firsthand experience from the direct-to-consumer business model. Cover sales advanced 6% in the first quarter, driven by growth in auto cover demand as consumers increasingly recognize the safety and economic benefits of this excellent product. Our industry-leading auto covers are compatible with all in-ground pool types. In many parts of the U.S., they provide the homeowner with an alternative to fencing while delivering additional cost savings from reduced evaporation and chemical usage. Educational marketing campaigns, including our partnership with Olympic Gold Medalist and pool safety advocate, Bode Miller, and his wife, Morgan, to promote pool safety are surging consumer awareness and increased attachment rates of auto covers to new pool installations. First quarter liner sales were up 9% year on year, reflecting increased demand and buying in advance of the pool season. We continue to gain traction with our Sand States strategy in the first quarter and are moving forward with plans to accelerate our growth in this important region. Many of the investors and analysts who I have met since taking on the CEO role in January have asked me where I see the major growth opportunities ahead for Latham Group, Inc. and what our playbook is for capturing that growth. Let me start by saying that the opportunity is substantial. We do not need to wait for the recovery in the U.S. pool markets to drive growth. There are enough pool starts for us to go and attack the Sand States now, given our relatively low penetration in that region. The key here is that fiberglass is a growing category, and we are the number one player in it in the U.S., and so we are best positioned to gain share. Fiberglass pools are an excellent fit for the Sand States for many of the same reasons that the category is growing nationally: fast and easy installation, lasting durability, low maintenance, and we have an exceptional design range of sizes and options to choose from, many of which are smaller, rectangular-shaped pools with attached spas that are perfect for our target community. Latham Group, Inc. has laid a good foundation for growth in the Sand States. There is definitely increased brand awareness among consumers and dealers in Florida, thanks to several high-profile marketing campaigns paired with local activations. In 2026, we plan to build on that foundation to set the stage for accelerated long-term growth. As you know, I have many years of experience successfully selling against the standard in the building products industry. When I apply that experience to Latham Group, Inc.'s current position in the Sand States, I have identified several actions to capture consumer demand and provide additional value for our dealers. First, we are building out our commercial organization, with the key pillars being sales strategy, sales operations, and sales execution, with responsibilities to design and drive sales plans, product leadership, and sales effectiveness. Our goal is to provide a world-class commercial organization that supports our growth not just in Florida, but across all the Sand States and all of North America. Second, we have introduced a new market development framework and approach at Latham Group, Inc. that I believe will make us even more effective in capturing share. The key element of this framework is segmentation, meaning that we will be very selective with our targeted Sand State markets, determining the specific sections and neighborhoods that offer the greatest opportunity for us. In essence, it is all about neighborhoods. We are looking for neighborhoods with a large number of homes with home values, lot sizes, and household incomes that fall within our parameters. These can be in, adjacent to, or outside of master-planned communities. Third, we will be adding sales resources in the field to make sure we stay close to the consumer throughout the pool-buying process. In this way, we will be able to assist our dealers in converting more leads into sales and gain greater understanding of the consumer journey. We know that consumers are looking for designs that fit their lifestyle. We believe that Latham Group, Inc. has the best range of products to meet those needs. In 2026, we are increasing our investment in branding and marketing in a very targeted way to capture greater consumer awareness. Together with our network of trusted dealers, we are able to fulfill the demand we generate. In support of all this, we are revamping our marketing and advertising campaigns to give homeowners a full understanding of the true benefits of fiberglass, and why it is the right solution for their backyard to enable their dreams of creating wonderful memories to come true. With that, I will turn over the call to Oliver Gloe, our CFO, for a financial review.