Yahoo Finance Hubbell Inc (HUBB) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript Highlights: Key Financial Metrics and ...
Revenue: $1.4 billion, high single-digit growth.
Operating Profit: $275 million, up 3%.
Earnings Per Share (EPS): $3.60, flat compared to last year.
Free Cash Flow: On track for full year outlook of $800 million.
Operating Margin: 19.7%, down 1 point.
Price/Cost Productivity: Positive in both segments.
Acquisitions: Contributed 8.5 points of growth in the quarter.
Investments: Increased capital expenditures by 20% to $40 million.
Debt to EBITDA Ratio: Increased from 1.3x to 1.8x after $1.25 billion in acquisitions.
Release Date: April 30, 2024
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Did distribution actually grow for Hubbell in the quarter? And can you size it? A: William R. Sperry - Hubbell Incorporated - Executive VP & CFO: Distribution did not grow in the quarter. The end customer, the actual utilities, have a decent amount of inventory in addition to what the channel had, which is causing softer order patterns.
Q: What was the sequential impact on Utility Solutions margins from the Telecom weakness? A: Daniel Joseph Innamorato - Hubbell Incorporated - Director of IR: The Telecom weakness continues to be a headwind, though less than the $150 million year-over-year.
Q: Can you give us a little bit of color on the second quarter on EPS, just relative to normal seasonality, and how you expect the utility margins to trend throughout the year? A: William R. Sperry - Hubbell Incorporated - Executive VP & CFO: For the first half of the year, we expect it to be normally seasonal, around 47% contribution. Utility margins are expected to be reasonably flat over the course of the whole year, on a year-over-year basis.
Q: Where are we in terms of the Utility inventory levels? A: Gerben W. Bakker - Hubbell Incorporated - President, CEO & Chairman: In the distribution channel, inventory levels are back to normal, around 90-ish days. It's harder to pinpoint exact levels at end customers, but discussions indicate some are still elevated.
Q: What are your expectations for the Utility Solutions segment for the full year, especially considering the second quarter and second half trends? A: William R. Sperry - Hubbell Incorporated - Executive VP & CFO: We expect T&D compares to get easier and some of the automation compares to get harder. The larger part of the business is the infrastructure piece, where we expect back-end growth.
Q: Could you elaborate on the project activity mentioned in the HES slide? A: William R. Sperry - Hubbell Incorporated - Executive VP & CFO: There are significant industrial projects like chip plants and reshoring of large-scale industrial projects. Our products tend to go in mid- and late-cycle in these constructions, which is a great leading indicator for us.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
