Central Garden & Pet (A) [CENTA] Conference call transcript for 2022 q1
2022-05-08 05:20:24
Fiscal: 2022 q2
Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to Central Garden & Pet's Fiscal 2022 Second Quarter Earnings Call. My name is Chemaly, and I will be your conference operator for today. [Operator Instructions]. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Friederike Edelmann, Vice President Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Friederike Edelmann: Thank you, Chemaly. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us. With me on the call today are Tim Cofer, Chief Executive Officer; Niko Lahanas, Chief Financial Officer; J.D. Walker, President, Garden Consumer Products; and John Hanson, President, Pet Consumer Products. Tim will provide a business update, and Niko will discuss our financial '22 Q2 results in more detail and revisit our outlook for the full year. Following the prepared remarks, J.D. and John will join us for the Q&A. Our press release providing the results for our fiscal '22 second quarter ended March 26, 2022, and related materials are available at ir.central.com, and contain the GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation for the non-GAAP measures discussed on this call. Lastly, unless otherwise stated, all growth comparisons made during this call are against the same period in the prior year. I would like to remind you that statements made during this call, which are not historical facts, including the potential impact of COVID-19 on our business, earnings per share and other guidance for fiscal '22, expectations for new capital investments, product launches and future acquisitions are forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and others are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K filed on November 23, 2021. The Central undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise. Now I will turn the call over to our CEO, Tim Cofer. Tim?
Timothy Cofer: Thanks, Friederike, and good afternoon, everyone. I want to start the call by thanking our team at Central for their continued dedication and passion to serving our consumers and customers across both the pet and garden industries. Our solid financial performance in the second quarter is a direct result of how well they are executing. Thank you, Team Central. Let me share 3 key takeaways from this quarter. First, Central delivered another solid quarter. We grew sales and operating income, and importantly, expanded gross margin in a challenging and highly inflationary environment. Second, although the garden season experienced a slow start, Weather has not been as favorable to date and other risks like heightened inflation, geopolitical impacts and supply chain disruption continue. We remain committed to our full year guidance of $3.10 or better, which represents 6% growth versus prior year non-GAAP EPS or 13% growth on a GAAP basis. And third, the fundamentals of the pet and garden industries are strong, and we expect the purposeful investments we are making now will drive long-term shareholder value. Now turning to our results. In the second quarter, Central delivered net sales growth of 2%, driven by our recent acquisitions. While organic sales declined 3.5%, it is important to note we are comping 23% sales growth in the prior year quarter. Shifting to gross margin. Like most companies, inflation has impacted all areas of our business, from commodities to packaging, labor rates, fuel costs, international ocean freight and more. Thanks to our carefully executed pricing, favorable product mix and productivity improvements, our gross margin expanded 100 basis points versus prior year. Our teams have done a good job controlling what we can control in this high inflation environment. Our operating income improved 2% and even as we continue purposeful investments in strategic areas, including capacity expansion and automation, innovation, brand building, consumer insights and e-commerce to drive long-term growth. And finally, as we indicated in our last earnings call, we expected second quarter EPS to be below prior year. EPS came in at $1.27 or $0.05 below Q2 of '21. Now let me provide you some color on the trends we're seeing across our customers and consumers in our 2 segments, starting with Pet. Today, more than half of all U.S. households own at least 1 pet, and that number has risen significantly during the pandemic years. Since 2019, an incremental 4 million households added pets to their families. Not surprisingly, household penetration in almost all of the pet supply categories also improved as our fury, feathery and scaly friends benefit from the new normal. In addition to penetration gains, annual spend per household in the Pet category continues to increase with significant gains in 2020 versus 2019 and steady growth in 2021. Consumers are buying more often and spending more per trip compared to pre-pandemic levels. In line with these trends, our Pet segment enjoyed sustained consumer demand across most pet supplies categories on top of a record second quarter in the prior year. Notable contributions came from our dog and cat, outdoor cushions, professional and distribution businesses, offsetting softness in pet beds. Our point of sale or POS was down slightly as we are lapping 30% POS growth in the prior year quarter. We've made progress improving fill rates in every pet business and as new capacity expansion projects are commissioned across our key businesses, we are working towards our goal of getting back to pre-pandemic service levels by year-end. We gained market share in several categories, including health & wellness, dog toys and treats as well as equine. And last but not least, our investments in digital capabilities are beginning to pay off. E-commerce grew almost 10% and now represents approximately 22% of our Pet branded sales. Shifting to Garden. In 2021, Garden household penetration grew slightly with about 1 million households entering the Garden category on top of the even larger increase seen in 2020. The segments with the largest gains were live plants and wild bird as consumers continue to beautify their outdoor spaces and enjoy their new or renewed passion for gardening and caring for wild birds. Net sales growth in the Garden segment was driven by our recent acquisitions, all of which continue to perform well. Garden organic sales were below the prior year quarter. Three factors drove the organic sales decline. First, the garden season is off to a slower start and foot traffic across our key retailers has been down versus prior year. March saw cold temperatures and snow in many states and inflation, including rising gas prices, has led consumers to consolidate their trips to stores. Second, as we mentioned in our last earnings call, we experienced a bit of a pull forward of sales into Q1. And finally, it is important to remember that we are lapping a robust 23% organic growth rate in the prior year quarter. As a result, strength in Wild Bird was more than offset by softness in chemicals and fertilizer distribution, branded controls and grass seed for both organic sales and POS. While brick-and-mortar still dominate the Garden channel landscape, e-commerce continues to become more relevant to consumers and our business. In Q2, our Garden e-commerce business grew by more than 20%, representing low single digits of total Garden sales. Service levels in our Garden businesses have improved over prior year, and our teams are working hard to get fill rates back to historic levels by year-end. Now I'd like to take a few minutes to provide an update on our progress against our Central to Home strategy. Starting with the consumer pillar, where we seek to build and grow distinctive brands consumers love. We continue to elevate our capabilities, including significant new hires, new external partnerships and a fresh focus on consumer insights to build our brands to new heights and create disruptive innovation platforms. This is inspiring new thinking and reinforcing a growth mindset. A critical goal for us is to step up product innovation to drive incremental growth, expand margins and enhance the distinctiveness of our brands. Here are some recent examples. While dogs and cats continue to reign supreme, the growth of the other pet space cannot be denied. In fact, pets other than dog and cat, although fewer in number, recently experienced the greatest surge in ownership with the number of households increasing 12% versus prior year. Kaytee, our leading brand for small animals is well positioned to take advantage of this growth trend, providing premium products, including food and treats, hay, betting, accessories and enclosures for pet birds, rabbits, guinea pigs and more. Kaytee recently launched its NutriSoft line, which provides optimal nutrition for picky feathered eaters, Unlike almost all other bird food, which is hard, Kaytee NutriSoft pairs a distinctive soft texture with naturally sweet flavors and no artificial colors to mimic the fresh fruits and vegetables found in a pet birds native habitat. We're excited about this disruptive food form and our strong marketing support behind it. To build and grow brands consumers love, we remain committed to invest in demand creation to accelerate organic growth. One example of our work is the recent #FlipTheTurf campaign. So in February, just in time for Super Bowl, our Pennington brand launched a bold campaign, rallying together, players, fans, athlete advocates and those fighting for a greener future to call upon the NFL to make a change for the better. While we've been keenly aware of the benefits of natural grass over turf when it comes to sustainability, Pennington also realized the safety issues turf presents to athletes. Thanks to our efforts, thousands of consumers signed our change.org petition, and the movement caught fire. Half of the NFL teams currently play on artificial turf. And we made a pledge that if they put safety and sustainability first and flip the turf to grass, we will provide our winning Pennington grass seed. The results of this campaign were impressive. Pennington had the highest social media engagement rate across every category of any brand that did not run a Super Bowl ad. This was an important step in building our brand purpose and recognition. Now let's turn to the customer pillar, where we focus on strengthening the relationships with our customers and building a leading e-commerce platform. We're proud that Central has been recognized once again as Petco's Companion Animal Vendor of the Year. We're pleased to receive this prestigious award for a continued commitment to championing the health and well-being of companion animals and expanding category sales. In our efforts to build a leading e-commerce platform, we recently completed the implementation of DoMyOwn's pick, pack and ship solution for online fulfillment in our largest Arden cushion plant. This investment will increase Arden's e-commerce fulfillment capacity by 40% and provide a runway for growth for years to come in the fastest-growing channel. So to summarize my remarks, we feel good about the progress in both the second quarter and the first half of our fiscal year, and we're excited about the opportunities ahead of us. Nevertheless, fiscal Q3 is typically the largest quarter for Central, and unfavorable weather has caused a late start to the garden season. We expect continued inflation in commodities, freight and labor and we're monitoring consumer behavior and spending patterns as we execute further pricing actions across our Pet and Garden portfolios. We are also monitoring the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on the global economy, including prices for certain grains and seeds, fertilizer and energy on an already challenged global supply chain. For the remainder of fiscal '22, we remain focused on our top priorities that we laid out last quarter. First, successfully adding capacity and automation to restore customer service to historic levels. Next, managing through this inflationary period with a focus on pricing actions and cost control efforts. Third, making meaningful progress against our long-term strategy, by investing in our capabilities, our brands and our innovation agenda. And finally, continuing to recruit, retain and develop the top talent in our industries. Despite the continued headwinds, I'm confident in our team's ability to navigate in these challenging times. With that, let me turn it over to Niko, who will share more details of our Q2 results and the outlook for the fiscal year. Niko?
Nicholas Lahanas: Thank you, Tim. Good afternoon, everyone. We feel good about the solid performance of our business given the current environment, especially after record net sales growth of 33% and EPS growth of 69% in the prior year quarter. Second quarter net sales reached $954 million, the increase of 2% and was due to the $52 million contribution from our recent acquisitions. Organic net sales declined 3.5%. However, looking at the growth over a 2-year period organic sales grew at a 14% CAGR in the second quarter. Consolidated gross profit increased $14 million to $287 million. Gross margin improved 100 basis points to 30.1%, thanks primarily to our pricing actions to mitigate the significant cost inflation in commodities, freight and labor as well as favorable product mix and productivity improvements. SG&A expense rose 7% to $180 million, driven by our recent acquisitions, higher logistics costs, our purposeful investment spending in capacity expansion and automation as well as in capabilities. SG&A as a percentage of net sales increased 100 basis points to 18.9%. Operating income grew by $2 million to $107 million, and operating margin was 11.2%, in line with prior year despite continued inflation and heightened investment spending. Net interest expense was $15 million compared to $10 million a year ago. The increase was due primarily to higher debt from the $400 million of senior notes we issued last April. Net income was $70 million compared to $73 million a year ago. Diluted GAAP earnings per share was $1.27 or $0.05 lower than in the prior year quarter, and adjusted EBITDA grew $2 million or 2% to $131 million. Our tax rate was 23.4% compared to 22.7% in the prior year quarter due to increased foreign earnings and higher tax rate jurisdictions. Now I'll provide some insights into the segments, starting with Pet. Pet segment sales increased 1% to $498 million, driven by dog and cat, outdoor cushions, professional and distribution, offsetting lower sales in pet beds due to intentional SKU rationalization. Pet is up against strong comparables in the second quarter a year ago. And when looking at the growth over a 2-year period, organic Pet sales increased at a 12% CAGR. Pet segment operating income was $61 million, a decline of 2% compared to prior year, and operating margin declined 40 basis points to 12.2% due to inflationary headwinds in commodities freight and labor as well as purposeful investments in our growth initiatives to drive long-term growth. Pet segment adjusted EBITDA decreased $1 million or 1% to $70 million. Turning now to Garden. Garden segment sales grew 3% or $13 million to $457 million. Excluding the contribution from acquisitions, organic sales decreased 9% as growth in Wild Bird was more than offset by declines in chemicals and fertilizer distribution, branded controls and grass seed. As Tim mentioned, the decline was driven by 3 factors: first, unfavorable weather across the country, causing a late start to the garden season, more than offsetting pricing action taken to cover inflation; second, some pull forward into Q1; third, our Garden segment is comping extraordinary growth in the prior year, and when looking at the growth over a 2-year period, organic garden sales increased at a 17% CAGR. Garden segment operating income grew 7% to $71 million. Garden segment operating margin increased 50 basis points to 15.4%, primarily driven by the benefits of our pricing actions and the contribution from acquisitions, exceeding inflationary headwinds and our heightened investment spending. Garden segment adjusted EBITDA increased $3 million or 5% to $78 million. Now moving to the balance sheet and cash flows. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the second quarter were $54 million compared to $40 million a year ago. Given our liquidity position, we remain on the lookout for high-growth companies with accretive margins in both Pet and Garden to build scale in our core categories and our adjacent categories and add capabilities around e-commerce. Net cash used by operations was $180 million in the second quarter compared to $84 million a year ago. The increase was mainly driven by working capital requirements, in particular, an increase in inventory, resulting from an intentional buildup in inventory due to the increased demand for our products amid the continued global supply chain issues as well as higher input costs. CapEx was $51 million as we continue to lean in on capacity expansion and automation. Some examples of investments made in the quarter are new lines of production in dog and cat, relocating DoMyOwn to a larger, more efficient state-of-the-art facility and enhancing our manufacturing footprint and capabilities for branded controls in Missouri. Total debt was $1.2 billion, up from $1 billion at the same time last year. Our leverage ratio of 2.9x at the end of the quarter compared to 2.5x a year ago, well within our target range. We had no borrowings under our credit facility at the end of the second quarter. Depreciation and amortization for the quarter was $18 million compared to $19 million in the prior year quarter. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately 227,000 shares or $9.4 million of our stock. There remains $100 million under the Board's previously authorized share repurchase program as well as additional shares under the Board's equity dilution authorization. And finally, turning to our fiscal '22 outlook. We are certainly pleased with our solid results in the second quarter in the first half of fiscal '22. We are now lapping 2 years of extraordinary growth and while improving our supply chain remains stressed with outstrip capacity. We continue to experience labor shortages across many of our businesses and driven by the current geopolitical factors, we expect costs for raw materials and freight to increase further. While we have taken and plan to seek additional pricing where necessary, we may not be able to offset all the impact this fiscal year through pricing. We continue to pursue our productivity, cost agenda and drive favorable mix to mitigate the gap. We are monitoring customer dynamics and consumer spending as they adapt to this inflationary environment. Despite all of this, we are executing against our long-term strategy and continue to lean in with purposeful investment spending to drive profitable sustainable growth. Considering all of the above, we are maintaining our guidance of fiscal '22 GAAP EPS of $3.10 or better. Please keep in mind that this outlook excludes any impact from potential acquisitions that may be undertaken during the year. And with that, we would like to open the line for questions.
Operator: [Operator Instructions]. And our first question comes from the line of Bill Chappell with Truist Securities.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Brad Thomas with KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Jim Chartier with Monness, Crespi & Hardt.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of William Reuter with Bank of America.
Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Hale Holden with Barclays.
Operator: And our next question comes from the line of Carla Casella with JPMorgan.
Operator: [Operator Instructions]. Next question comes from the line of Karru Martinson with Jefferies.
Operator: And we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. And I'll now turn the call back over to Tim Cofer for closing remarks.
Timothy Cofer: Thank you. Thanks, everyone, for joining our call today and your continued interest in Central Garden & Pet. If you have further questions, please follow up with Friederike, and our Investor Relations team, and we'll look forward to speaking with you again next quarter, if not before. Have a good day.
Operator: And this concludes today's conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.
