Steve Griffin
Analyst · RBC
Thanks, John. I will now turn to slides 5 and 6 of the conference call materials to provide an overview of our fourth quarter and full year 2022 performance. The fourth quarter was strong and capped a year of new records for many of our businesses. We recorded $234 million of revenue, an increase of 11% versus the prior year period. Aviation recorded another record quarter driven by organic growth from the execution of new distribution awards, continued recovery of commercial MRO activities and strength in business and general aviation end markets. Fleet segment growth was supported by commercial fleet and e-commerce fulfillment together with modestly higher contributions from the US Postal Service. Federal and Defense revenue was lower, driven by the completion of certain US Army contracts offset partially by growth in US Navy programs, specifically foreign military sales and support of ongoing aftermarket services. We generated $22.9 million and $8.7 million of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income, respectively, an increase of 29% for both measurements. Fourth quarter interest expense was higher than anticipated, driven by the recent Federal Reserve rate hikes and timing of cash flow in the quarter. We anticipate this higher interest expense to continue throughout 2023. For the full year 2022, we recorded $949 million in revenue, up 26% versus 2021, driven by growth in all business segments, but primarily driven by the $160 million of new aviation business. Total adjusted EBITDA for the year was $92 million, an increase of 27% versus 2021, and adjusted net income was $37 million, an increase of 34% versus 2021. Aviation segment adjusted EBITDA drove over $30 million of growth and helped to offset declines in the Federal and Defense segment. Now turning to slide 7, we'll cover the Aviation segment results. Revenue increased 29% versus the prior year period to a record $107 million. Both distribution and MRO businesses grew up 22% and 53%, respectively. Distribution growth was driven by a combination of new business and end market activity. MRO benefited by higher commercial flight activity as it continues to track towards pre-pandemic levels. Our commercial MRO remained 7% behind pre-pandemic levels in line with the overall market trends. Aviation adjusted EBITDA increased by 102% in the quarter, while adjusted EBITDA margins increased by 530 basis points to 14.7%, their highest level since 2019. For the full year 2022, Aviation generated record revenue of $408 million led by organic investments in new distribution programs, contributions from the global parts acquisition and increases in MRO activity. Total adjusted EBITDA of $52 million was up 145%, and for the full year, adjusted EBITDA margins were 12.8%, up 420 basis points versus 2021. Within the Aviation segment, we anticipate revenue to grow between 7% and 15% year-over-year, driven by a balance of commercial end market recovery, new program execution and expected stabilization of business and general aviation markets. We do not anticipate material impacts associated with a recent Precision Fuel Components acquisition announced earlier this year. We anticipate adjusted EBITDA margins between 12% and 14%, driven by the mix of MRO activities and commercial recovery. Now turning to slide 8. Fleet segment revenue increased 7% versus the prior year period, driven by higher commercial sales and e-commerce fulfillment support. Total commercial revenues were $24.9 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 19% versus the prior year period. US Postal Service revenues were up 6% versus the fourth quarter last year, which is included within our other government revenue. Segment adjusted EBITDA of $7.9 million increased 4% versus the fourth quarter of 2021 as Fleet continues to scale offerings and solutions for commercial customers. Adjusted EBITDA margins declined 40 basis points in the quarter, primarily as a result of $600,000 of prelaunch expenses for the new Memphis, Tennessee e-commerce Center of Excellence. For the full year 2022, Fleet generated record revenue of $261 million with over $100 million in commercial revenue for the first time. Commercial now represents 40% of segment revenue, up from 32% in 2021. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year was $33 million, up 9%, and highlights the opportunity to continue to increase total segment profitability while diversifying revenue. Looking to 2023, we anticipate revenue growth of 12% to 20% year-over-year as contributions from the commercial revenues, primarily from the recent Memphis, Tennessee facility launch, offset modestly lower US Postal service revenues. We expect an adjusted EBITDA rate between 11% and 13%. We anticipate margins modestly lower than that stated range for the first quarter as we ramp production in the new facility and expect to see stabilization towards the second half of 2023. Now turning to slide 9. Federal and Defense segment revenue decreased 7% versus the prior year period as growth in US Navy aftermarket services offset declines due to US Army contract completions. Federal and Defense adjusted EBITDA of $800,000 in the third quarter was down 77% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margins declined 400 basis points on a year-over-year basis to 1.3%, driven by the mix of cost plus contracts and the effects of contract completions. In the quarter, we recorded a contract loss of $4.1 million associated with the completion of a specific fixed price, non-DoD contract with a foreign customer that is not considered indicative of ongoing business operations or strategy. There are no continuing obligations associated with this program and we do not anticipate any further impacts. For the full year, Federal and Defense revenue increased 4% to $280 million primarily as a result of our US Navy program, which was up 45% year-over-year as a result of a vessel transfer to the Royal Bahrain Naval Force. Adjusted EBITDA declined 55% to a $10.8 million year-over-year due to the shift to more cost plus contracts, which represent 50% of total segment revenue, up from 35% in 2021. As a result of the nonrepeating 2022 US Navy vessel transfer, we anticipate between a 5% and 10% revenue decline in 2023 for the Federal and Defense business and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 1% to 3% as we continue to invest in new business development resources and capabilities that will drive incremental growth in 2024 and beyond. Turning to slide 10, at the end of the fourth quarter, we had $160 million in cash and unused commitment availability under our $450 million credit facility. We generated $8.5 million of free cash flow in the quarter, primarily driven by revenue growth and the successful execution of recent aviation distribution awards. For the full year 2022, we used $3.2 million of free cash flow, which includes $10 million of fourth quarter inventory investments, to support the previously announced VSE Aviation expansion into the Asia Pacific region for our existing Pratt & Whitney Canada engine accessories program. At the end of the year, we had total net debt outstanding of $286 million and trailing 12 months, adjusted EBITDA of $92 million. Net leverage was 3.1x in the fourth quarter, down from 3.4x at the end of the third quarter, and down from 3.9x as of yearend 2021. We anticipate 2023 net leverage to end modestly higher than yearend 2022. However, we expect that during the second and third quarter, it will increase closer to 4x as we make the remaining investments in working capital to support both the Fleet Memphis facility and Aviation Pratt and Whitney Asia expansion. We still anticipate the total initial investments for these two combined to be $70 million, of which $10 million was spent in the fourth quarter already. We started 2023 strong with a key aviation acquisition and a new fleet facility opening, we are well positioned to execute on our 2023 operating plan. Operator, we are now ready for the question-and-answer portion of our call.