Gibraltar Announces First Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Net Sales: GAAP Essentially Flat, Adjusted +1.3%; EPS: GAAP +19.1%, Adjusted +12.7%

Strong Operating Cash Flow Generation of $53.2 Million

Reaffirming 2024 Outlook for 4-9% Revenue, 12-20% EPS Growth

Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROCK), a leading manufacturer and provider of products and services for the renewable energy, residential, agtech and infrastructure markets, today reported its financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024.

“2024 started as we planned for the first quarter, with revenue growth in our Residential, Agtech, and Infrastructure businesses offsetting an anticipated slower start to the year in our Renewables business. Our execution and participation gains continue to leverage solid end market trends, and we continue to expect all four segments to head in the same direction in 2024, with Renewables and Agtech returning to top-line growth and driving sales growth, margin expansion and strong cash flow generation across the business,” stated Chairman and CEO Bill Bosway.

First Quarter 2024 Consolidated Results

Residential, Infrastructure and Agtech collectively generated 4.1% year-over-year net sales growth, offsetting the anticipated slower quarter in Renewables. Agtech orders that were expected to be signed in March were signed in April. As a result of this timing, consolidated first quarter backlog was down 3% versus last year.

GAAP net income increased to $24.9 million, or $0.81 per share. Adjusted net income increased 11.4% to $24.5 million, or $0.80 per share, and adjusted EPS increased 12.7%.

Adjusted measures exclude charges for restructuring initiatives, acquisition-related items, senior leadership transition costs, portfolio management actions, and the results of the Japan renewables business, which was sold on December 1, 2023, as further described in the appended reconciliation of adjusted financial measures.

First Quarter Segment Results

Renewables

As expected during the quarter, adjusted net sales decreased 10.1% due to the rapid customer transition to the new 1P tracker product line, which currently has longer lead times as the supply chain ramps up capacity. Adjusted net sales exclude the results of the sale of the Japan renewables business in 2023. Backlog increased 8% versus last year, on pace with expectations as end market demand remains positive even as customers continue to await final domestic content tax credit guidance and manage project-specific permitting delays.

Adjusted operating margin decreased 80 basis points versus prior year on lower volumes and product line mix associated with the ramp up of the 1P tracker product line.

Residential

Net sales increased 3.1%, with 2.4% organic growth driven by participation gains with new and existing customers and through additional geographic expansion in the Rocky Mountain region.

Adjusted operating margin expanded 200 basis points, driven by solid execution and effective price/cost management.

Agtech

Adjusted net sales increased 2.1% and new bookings accelerated significantly in April with over $40 million signed. The delay of new bookings from March to April caused quarter end backlog to be down 21% versus prior year. The Company has begun executing these new orders and expects additional bookings in the coming months.

Adjusted operating income decreased due to project start date delays and market segment mix across the business.

Infrastructure

Net sales increased 17.1%, driven by strong execution, continued solid end market demand and market participation gains. Backlog decreased 10% as expected due to the continued progress on a large project; demand, project design and quoting remain strong, and management expects order flow to increase progressively over the course of the year.

Operating margin increased 790 basis points driven by volume, price / cost alignment, ongoing strong execution, 80/20 productivity, and improving product mix.

Business Outlook

Mr. Bosway concluded, “Our outlook for 2024 is unchanged. Our first quarter results and momentum to date in the second quarter validate our expectation for strong performance in all four segments, with Renewables and Agtech returning to top-line growth and Residential and Infrastructure positioned to continue executing well. We are focused on leveraging our operating engine for scale and driving revenue growth, continued margin expansion and strong cash flow generation.”

Gibraltar is reaffirming its full year 2024 guidance. Consolidated net sales are expected to range between $1.43 billion and $1.48 billion, compared to $1.37 billion in 2023. GAAP EPS is expected to range between $4.04 and $4.29, compared to $3.59 in 2023, and adjusted EPS is expected to range between $4.57 and $4.82, compared to $4.09 in 2023.

First Quarter 2024 Conference Call Details

Gibraltar will host a conference call today starting at 9:00 a.m. ET to review its results for the first quarter of 2024. Interested parties may access the webcast through the Investors section of the Company’s website at www.gibraltar1.com, where related presentation materials will also be posted prior to the conference call. The call also may be accessed by dialing (877) 407-3088 or (201) 389-0927. For interested individuals unable to join the live conference call, a webcast replay will be available on the Company’s website for one year.

About Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a leading manufacturer and provider of products and services for the renewable energy, residential, agtech, and infrastructure markets. Gibraltar’s mission, to make life better for people and the planet, is fueled by advancing the disciplines of engineering, science, and technology. Gibraltar is innovating to reshape critical markets in comfortable living, sustainable power, and productive growing throughout North America. For more please visit www.gibraltar1.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release, other than historical statements, contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based, in whole or in part, on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about the Company’s business, and management’s beliefs about future operations, results, and financial position. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risk factors, uncertainties, and assumptions. Actual events, performance, or results could differ materially from the anticipated events, performance, or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, the availability and pricing of our principal raw materials and component parts, supply chain challenges causing project delays and field operations inefficiencies and disruptions, the loss of any key customers, adverse effects of inflation, our ability to continue to improve operating margins, our ability to generate order flow and sales and increase backlog; our ability to translate our backlog into net sales, other general economic conditions and conditions in the particular markets in which we operate, changes in spending due to laws and government incentives, such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, changes in customer demand and capital spending, competitive factors and pricing pressures, our ability to develop and launch new products in a cost-effective manner, our ability to realize synergies from newly acquired businesses, disruptions to IT systems, the impact of regulation (including the Department of Commerce’s solar panel anti-circumvention investigation, the Auxin Solar challenge to the Presidential waiver of tariffs and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)), rebates, credits and incentives and variations in government spending and our ability to derive expected benefits from restructuring, productivity initiatives, liquidity enhancing actions, and other cost reduction actions. Before making any investment decisions regarding our company, we strongly advise you to read the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K which can be accessed under the “SEC Filings” link of the “Investor Info” page of our website at www.Gibraltar1.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law or regulation.

Adjusted Financial Measures

To supplement Gibraltar’s consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, Gibraltar also presented certain adjusted financial measures in this news release and its quarterly conference call, including adjusted net sales, adjusted operating income and margin, adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share (EPS), free cash flow and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA), each a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted net sales reflects the removal of net sales associated with our Processing business, which has been liquidated and our Japan renewables business which was sold on December 1, 2023. Adjusted net income, operating income and margin exclude special charges consisting of restructuring costs primarily associated with 80/20 simplification or lean initiatives, senior leadership transition costs, acquisition related costs, and the operating results generated by our processing business which has been liquidated and our Japan renewables business which has been sold. These special charges are excluded since they may not be considered directly related to the Company’s ongoing business operations. The aforementioned exclusions along with other adjustments to other income below operating profit are excluded from adjusted EPS. Adjusted EBITDA further excludes interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and stock compensation expense. In evaluating its business, the Company considers and uses these non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental measures of its operating performance. Free cash flow is operating cash flow less capital expenditures and the related margin is free cash flow divided by net sales. The Company believes that the presentation of adjusted measures and free cash flow provides meaningful supplemental data to investors that are indicative of the Company’s core operating results and facilitates comparison of operating results across reporting periods as well as comparison with other companies. Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are also useful measures of the Company’s ability to service debt and adjusted EBITDA is one of the measures used for determining the Company’s debt covenant compliance.

Adjustments to the most directly comparable financial measures presented on a GAAP basis are quantified in the reconciliation of adjusted financial measures provided in the supplemental financial schedules that accompany this news release. These adjusted measures should not be viewed as a substitute for the Company’s GAAP results and may be different than adjusted measures used by other companies and the Company’s presentation of non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as an inference that the Company’s future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items.

Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures related to full-year 2024 guidance have not been provided due to the unreasonable efforts it would take to provide such reconciliations due to the high variability, complexity and uncertainty with respect to forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliations.