Avnet Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2023 Financial Results

Fiscal year 2023 sales of $26.5 billion and record diluted EPS of $8.26

Fourth quarter sales of $6.6 billion exceeded guidance

Electronic components fourth quarter operating income margin of 5.1%

Avnet, Inc. (Nasdaq: AVT) today announced results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended July 1, 2023.

Commenting on the Company’s financial results, Avnet Chief Executive Officer Phil Gallagher stated, “Our strong financial results in fiscal 2023 demonstrate the dedication and commitment of our employees in driving profitable growth. With the breadth of our supplier line card, our diversified customer base and the strength of the end markets they serve, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the industry growth expected over the next several years. Although we can’t control near-term market conditions, our team will continue to focus on executing well in the market.”

Fiscal Fourth Quarter Key Financial Highlights:

• Sales of $6.6 billion up 2.9% year over year from $6.4 billion.
  • On a constant currency basis, sales increased 2.9% year over year.
• Diluted earnings per share of $1.68, compared with $2.51 in the prior year quarter.
  • Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.06, compared with $2.07 in the prior year quarter.
  • Higher interest expense negatively impacted year-over-year adjusted diluted earnings per share by $0.39.
• Operating income margin of 4.3%, decreased 14 basis points year over year.
  • Adjusted operating income margin of 4.8%, increased 26 basis points year over year.
  • Year-over-year adjusted operating income grew three times greater than sales.
• Electronic Components operating income margin of 5.1%, increased 77 basis points year over year.
• Farnell operating income margin of 8.1% decreased 90 basis points sequentially.
• Generated $234.5 million of cash flow from operations during the quarter.
• Returned $26.5 million to shareholders in dividends during the quarter.

Fiscal 2023 Key Financial Highlights:

• Sales of $26.5 billion up 9.2% year over year from $24.3 billion.
  • On a constant currency basis, sales increased 13.4% year over year.
• Diluted earnings per share of $8.26, compared with $6.94 in the prior year.
  • Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $8.06, compared with $6.93 in the prior year.
  • Higher interest expense negatively impacted year over year adjusted diluted earnings per share by $1.24.
• Operating income margin of 4.5%, increased 61 basis points year over year.
  • Adjusted operating income margin of 4.6%, increased 55 basis points year over year.
  • Year-over-year adjusted operating income grew more than 2.5 times greater than sales.
• Electronic Components operating income margin of 4.8%, increased 89 basis points year over year.
• Farnell operating income margin of 9.5% decreased 388 basis points year over year.
• Returned $106 million to shareholders in dividends during the fiscal year.
• Returned $213 million to shareholders in the fiscal year from share repurchases, representing 5.3% of outstanding shares.

Key Financial Metrics

($ in millions, except per share data)

Outlook for the First Quarter of Fiscal 2024 Ending on September 30, 2023

The above guidance is based upon current market conditions and implies a sequential growth rate range of down 2% to down 6% and assumes a mix shift in sales to Asia from the Western regions.

The above guidance also excludes restructuring, integration and other expenses, amortization of intangibles, gains on legal settlements and certain income tax adjustments. The above guidance assumes similar interest expense to the fourth quarter and an effective tax rate of between 22% and 26%. The above guidance assumes 93 million average diluted shares outstanding and average currency exchange rates as shown in the table below:

Today’s Conference Call and Webcast Details

Avnet will host a conference call and webcast today at 1:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss its financial results, provide a business update and answer questions.

• Live conference call: 877-407-8112 (domestic) or 201-689-8840 (international)
• Conference call replay available through August 23, 2023: 877-660-6853 or 201-612-7415 and using Conference ID: 13740210
• Live and archived webcast can be accessed via Avnet’s Investor Relations web page at: https://ir.avnet.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, and business of the Company. You can find many of these statements by looking for words like “believes,” “projected,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “should,” “will,” “may,” “estimates,” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. The following important factors, in addition to those discussed elsewhere in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 2, 2022 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, could affect the Company’s future results of operations, and could cause those results or other outcomes to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements: geopolitical events and military conflicts; pandemics and other health-related crises; competitive pressures among distributors of electronic components; an industry down-cycle in semiconductors, including supply shortages; relationships with key suppliers and allocations of products by suppliers, including increased non-cancellable/non-returnable orders; accounts receivable defaults; risks relating to the Company’s international sales and operations, including risks relating to repatriating cash, foreign currency fluctuations, inflation, duties and taxes, sanctions and trade restrictions, and compliance with international and U.S. laws; risks relating to acquisitions, divestitures, and investments; adverse effects on the Company’s supply chain, operations of its distribution centers, shipping costs, third-party service providers, customers, and suppliers, including as a result of issues caused by military conflicts, terrorist attacks, natural and weather-related disasters, pandemics and health-related crises, warehouse modernization, and relocation efforts; risks related to cyber security attacks, other privacy and security incidents, and information systems failures, including related to current or future implementations, integrations, and upgrades; general economic and business conditions (domestic, foreign, and global) affecting the Company’s operations and financial performance and, indirectly, the Company’s credit ratings, debt covenant compliance, liquidity, and access to financing; constraints on employee retention and hiring; and legislative or regulatory changes.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which that statement is made. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which the statement is made.

About Avnet

As a leading global technology distributor and solutions provider, Avnet has served customers’ evolving needs for more than a century. Decade after decade, Avnet helps its customers and suppliers around the world realize the transformative possibilities of technology. Learn more about Avnet at www.avnet.com. (AVT_IR)

Non-GAAP Financial Information

In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), the Company also discloses certain non-GAAP financial information including (i) adjusted operating income, (ii) adjusted operating expenses, (iii) adjusted other income (expense), (iv) adjusted income before income taxes, (v) adjusted income tax expense (benefit), and (vi) adjusted diluted earnings per share.

There are also references to the impact of foreign currency in the discussion of the Company’s results of operations. When the U.S. Dollar strengthens and the stronger exchange rates of the current year are used to translate the results of operations of Avnet’s subsidiaries denominated in foreign currencies, the resulting impact is a decrease in U.S. Dollars of reported results. Conversely, when the U.S. Dollar weakens and the weaker exchange rates of the current year are used to translate the results of operations of Avnet’s subsidiaries denominated in foreign currencies, the resulting impact is an increase in U.S. Dollars of reported results. In the discussion of the Company’s results of operations, results excluding this impact are referred to as “constant currency.” Management believes sales in constant currency is a useful measure for evaluating current period performance as compared with prior periods and for understanding underlying trends. In order to determine the translation impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates on sales, income or expense items for subsidiaries reporting in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar, the Company adjusts the average exchange rates used in current periods to be consistent with the average exchange rates in effect during the comparative period.

Management believes that operating income and operating expenses adjusted for restructuring, integration and other expenses, Russian-Ukraine conflict related expenses and amortization of acquired intangible assets and other, are useful measures to help investors better assess and understand the Company’s operating performance. This is especially the case when comparing results with previous periods or forecasting performance for future periods, primarily because management views the excluded items to be outside of Avnet’s normal operating results or non-cash in nature. Management analyzes operating income and operating expenses without the impact of these items as an indicator of ongoing margin performance and underlying trends in the business. Management also uses these non-GAAP measures to establish operational goals and, in most cases, for measuring performance for compensation purposes. Management measures operating income for its reportable segments excluding restructuring, integration and other expenses, Russian-Ukraine conflict related expenses and amortization of acquired intangible assets and other.

Additional non-GAAP metrics management uses is adjusted operating income margin, which is defined as adjusted operating income (as defined above) divided by sales.

Management also believes income tax expense (benefit), net income and diluted earnings per share adjusted for the impact of the items described above, gain on legal settlements and other, and certain items impacting other income (expense) and income tax expense (benefit) are useful to investors because they provide a measure of the Company’s net profitability on a more comparable basis to historical periods and provide a more meaningful basis for forecasting future performance. Adjustments to income tax expense (benefit) and the effective income tax rate include the effect of changes in tax laws, certain changes in valuation allowances and unrecognized tax benefits, income tax audit settlements and adjustments to the adjusted interim effective tax rate based upon the expected annual adjusted effective tax rate. Additionally, because of management’s focus on generating shareholder value, of which net profitability is a primary driver, management believes net income and diluted earnings per share excluding the impact of these items provides an important measure of the Company’s net profitability for the investing public.

Any analysis of results and outlook on a non-GAAP basis should be used as a complement to, and in conjunction with, results presented in accordance with GAAP.

Sales in Constant Currency

The following table presents reported sales growth rates and sales growth rates in constant currency for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2023 compared to the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2022.

Historical Segment Financial Information