Bel Fuse Inc /Nj Q1 FY2023 Earnings Call

Thank you, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that during today's conference call, we will make statements relating to our business that will be considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws, such as statements regarding the company's expected operating and financial performance for future periods, including guidance for future periods in 2023. These statements are based on the company's current expectations and reflect the company's views only as of today, and should not be considered representative of the company's views as of any subsequent date. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements or outlook. Actual results for future periods may differ materially from those projected by these forward-looking statements due to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors. These material risks are summarized in the press release that we issued after market closed yesterday. Additional information about the material risks and other important factors that could potentially impact our financial performance and cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations as discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and our quarterly reports and other documents that we have filed or may file with the SEC from time to time. We may also discuss non-GAAP results during this call, and reconciliations of our GAAP results to non-GAAP results have been included in our press release. Our press release and our SEC filings are all available at the IR section of our website. Joining me on the call today is Dan Bernstein, President and CEO; Farouq Tuweiq, CFO; and Lynn Hutkin, Vice President of Financial Reporting and Investor Relations. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Dan.

Thank you, Jean, and thank you all for joining us on the call today. We are extremely pleased to have another successful quarter of improved sales and profitability. This was our best first quarter in the history of our company and was a result of the efforts of all Bel associates. Looking at each of our product groups individually, our Power group posted a record high in sales this quarter, representing almost half of Bel's consolidated sales. High demand for our front-end, board-mounted power products were the largest drivers. Sales of our e-mobility products remain strong and help us offset the declines seen in circuit protection sales. Our Connectivity Solutions group had a significant rebound this quarter with record sales and restored margin profile. In 2022, faced with the rapid increase by aerospace customers did result in higher inefficiencies, both in manufacturing and military costs. We are now well positioned to fully support our current and growing needs of our commercial and military customers in this segment. From our Magnetic group, 2023 is a year of transition. As announced last year, two of our major production sites in China are in the process of moving into one combined site. This move impacts approximately a third of our magnetic business. The move is being handled in stages with the final stage scheduled to be completed during the third quarter. The current slowdown in demand from our magnetic customers as I work through inventory on hand is good timing as it allows us to more fully focus on this transition. This segment will be well positioned for production efficiency standpoint once customer demand returns. Also part of our Magnetic group is our Signal Transformer business, which was a financial turnaround story last year. We're happy to report Signal's progress that continues with sales growth of 8% and almost double their gross margin percentage compared to Q1 '22. Overall, we are extremely pleased with our progress to date and are excited about the road ahead. I would like now to turn the call over to Lynn to provide a financial update.

Thank you, Dan. As Dan mentioned, Q1 was very strong with year-over-year growth seen across each of our product groups. Overall, first quarter sales were $172 million, an increase of 26% from the first quarter of 2022. Gross margin for the quarter increased to 31.1% as compared to 25% a year prior. By product group, Power Solutions and Protection sales were $83.2 million, up 41% from last year's first quarter. As Dan mentioned, this was largely driven by higher demand for our front-end, board-mount and e-mobility power products. Gross margin for this group was 35.7% for the first quarter, an 860 basis point improvement from Q1 '22, largely driven by a favorable shift in product mix, the benefits of pricing actions taken over the past year, and some favorable impact from foreign exchange. Our Power Solutions and Protection group had a book-to-bill ratio of 1 during the first quarter of 2023 and a backlog of orders of $322 million. Turning to our Connectivity Solutions Group. Sales were $53.4 million, an increase of 22% from last year's first quarter, primarily due to the continued rebound of the commercial aerospace and military end markets. Gross margin for this group came in at 34.1% for the first quarter of 2023, up from 26.5% in the first quarter of 2022. Efficiency improvements implemented at the factories resulted in our ability to ship a higher volume of product during the first quarter. The margin improvement was further driven by more favorable pricing, which enabled us to realign profitability given our higher input costs and overhead needed to accommodate current demand levels. The Connectivity Solutions group had a book-to-bill ratio of 1.05 during the first quarter of 2023 and a backlog of orders of $116 million at March 31. Lastly, our Magnetic Solutions group had Q1 sales of $35.8 million, up 4.5% from last year's first quarter. Gross margin for this group improved to 22.8% in the first quarter of 2023 from 20.1% a year prior. Margins for this group benefited from the higher sales volume and also a favorable shift in exchange rate of the Chinese renminbi versus the U.S. dollar, which lowered our labor cost in China versus 2022. As customers work through their inventory on hand, bookings within our Magnetics group continued to be low in Q1, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 0.4 during the first quarter of 2023. This group finished Q1 with a backlog of orders of $72 million. At the consolidated level, there were $18 million of orders scheduled to ship in Q1, which did not ship primarily due to component availability. This is down by approximately $10 million from the Q4 level as component availability has started to ease in certain areas. Regarding our overall backlog, it was $510 million as of March 31, down 12% from the 2022 year-end level. It's important to note that this reduction and further reductions in backlog are expected and intentional as component availability eases and lead times begin to normalize. Our selling, general, and administrative expenses were $25.3 million or 14.7% of sales, up from $21 million in the first quarter last year, but down as a percentage of total sales. Within SG&A, the primary increases were related to salaries, fringe benefits, in addition to $1.6 million of litigation plaintiff costs associated with our MTS matter as discussed in our recent 10-K filing. We anticipate these litigation costs to continue through the balance of the year. Restructuring costs amounted to $3.5 million in the first quarter of 2023. These costs largely related to the factory consolidation initiative in China. We expect future restructuring costs of approximately $3 million, primarily in the second quarter of 2023, with the balance to be incurred in the third quarter. Turning to balance sheet and cash flow items. We ended the quarter with a cash balance of $77.8 million, an increase of $7.6 million from December 31st. We generated $16.8 million in cash flow from operating activities during the first quarter. With capital expenditures of $3.8 million, this resulted in free cash flow generation of $13.1 million for the first quarter of 2023, an improvement of $23 million versus the first quarter of '22, when free cash flow was negative. Our inventory level decreased by $7.7 million from year-end, resulting in improved inventory turns of 2.9 times during Q1 versus 2.6 times from year-end. Inventory levels, while down some from year-end, continue to be high. There is a company-wide effort related to improving our turns and bringing the overall level down. Lastly, I wanted to provide an update on our outstanding debt balance. At March 31, we had $100 million outstanding on our revolving credit facility with a blended cost of debt between our variable and fixed portions of 3.8%. Earlier this week, we paid down an additional $12.5 million, bringing our current revolver balance as of today down to $87.5 million. Of this amount, $60 million is at a fixed rate of 2.5% under our swap agreements that are in place, with only $27.5 million remaining of variable rate debt, which is at a rate of 5.8%. I'll now turn the call over to Farouq for additional color and outlook.

Thank you, Lynn. As Dan and Lynn noted previously, the theme here is that Q1 was an expectation-surpassing quarter by the team in the midst of some challenges and a true testament to the diversity of our business, products, markets, and customers. Looking ahead, and as noted in our release, we're expecting another healthy quarter for Q2 with sales in the range of $162 million to $170 million. Given our Q1 actuals and expectations for Q2, we are raising our full year 2023 outlook and are now estimating sales to be on the higher end of the range communicated on our last earnings call. As previously discussed, we see strength and resiliency in certain end markets this year, including commercial air, military, and e-mobility. Our magnetic customers, consumer-facing products, and overall distribution channels will be working through their inventory on hand, which we estimate will take a couple of quarters. It is important to note that not every dollar of sales that Bel generates is equal in terms of profitability. The strong end markets I just highlighted have a greater weight in terms of profitability versus products used in networking or consumer-facing products. We anticipate that this shift in product mix will lead to a higher consolidated margin profile as we progress through 2023. While fluctuations in ordering and consumption patterns may inconvenience our linear financial results, the good news is the end customer demand for our magnetics products remains strong. We know this because they are the same customers who we currently can't sell enough to on the power side for the same end applications. Therefore, we view this as more of a timing item versus an overall demand indicator. The amalgamation of the above has given us the comfort in our strategy and thus raising our 2023 outlook despite some headwinds. In addition to our various operational initiatives, busy sales activities, and efforts to grow and manage the business, we have been active on a number of fronts. For example, as we noted in our annual proxy, we have revamped our approach to executive compensation with clear targets for each business unit, along with Dan and myself. We believe these changes are focused on better motivating the team through clarity of performance requirements while aligning it with industry norms and our shareholders. Another example is we have kicked off our annual strategy process in off-site and building off the work that was done last year. That work last year has led to some great outcomes at the end of the year, and we look forward to this year's process. Overall, we are cautiously optimistic and are encouraged by what we are seeing for the rest of the year. We remain committed to finishing the initiatives that are currently underway and implementing fresh strategies that will expand our business and benefit our shareholders as we chart the course for the next stage of Bel's journey. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Dan.

Thank you, Farouq. Can we open up the call now for questions, please?

Yes, of course. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now begin the question-and-answer session. Our first question is from Jim Ricchiuti of Needham & Co. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning. This is Chris Grenga on for Jim. You mentioned e-mobility as a factor contributing to power growth. But I was wondering if you could talk about some of the other contributors to the growth that you're seeing in the Power Solutions Group?

Yeah. So the e-mobility, obviously, was a big one for us, and it was also some of the datacom networking demand on the front-end side that was kind of a good one for us. Additionally, it was some of the easing of the component business that has allowed us to ship out a little bit more products this quarter, which was nice to see. But those are kind of the main drivers on the power side.

Got it. And with respect to gross margin, just hoping to bridge from last year. Is this a structural change in the typical seasonality as a result of the strategic initiatives you've been discussing? Any color you could provide on that would be great.

Yes, we have several key points to discuss. First, our Connectivity group has made significant progress, thanks to the efforts Dan and Lynn highlighted. Starting January 1 of this year, we've experienced benefits including margin improvement alongside increased volume. The strong performance from Connectivity is noteworthy, particularly since it hasn’t been affected by the Chinese New Year, unlike our other sectors. Additionally, while our traditional Power and Magnetic businesses also didn't face the Chinese New Year this year, we managed to reduce some of its typical impact. It's also important to note that many of our initiatives began showing results around March of last year. As we enter this first quarter, our strategies and operational playbook are in place, contrasting this year’s Q1 with last year’s. We saw improvements in the second, third, and fourth quarters last year, and this quarter we're experiencing similar enhancements, with the typical Chinese New Year effects mitigated due to the solid performance in Connectivity and Power.

Great. Thank you very much. And maybe one just one more for me. On Magnetics, for the 1,000 new products, what does that represent as a percentage of your existing products? And is that incremental to existing products? Or is that going to be shifting the mix, using foundational technology to address perhaps other segments that have favorable growth or pricing dynamics?

I think it's a little bit of a wide potential outcomes here in terms of what's being addressed. If we look at the back, call it, two to three years, again, painting with a broad brush here, a lot of focus was on fulfillment, getting product out the door, and addressing COVID supply chain challenges. So we are seeing more new product iterations and developments in general. So really, the 1,000 new products is kind of our commitment to rebuild and double down to better align ourselves with our key customers. Also, I should note that we are looking at kind of the private label side of that as well.

Maybe I'll try to jump in, Farouq. But I think one of the acquisitions we had over the past three years is a company called CUI. And they were a power supply company. People thought we were buying a power supply company. But for us, they were really a digital marketing company and they've done a tremendous job of not building anything in private labeling products. We feel that today, e-commerce distributors like DigiKey and Mouser are where most engineers now get their parts from. We work very closely with DigiKey and Mouser. CUI was the number one supplier to DigiKey. So they've done a lot, doing about 1,000 parts of the year working with 10 or 12 suppliers. We thought that was a good model based on our distribution channels that we should piggyback that type of model. So Signal was our first case work where we're working very closely between Signal and CUI to see how we can develop that model. And if you look two years ago, probably 80% of what Signal sells they manufacture themselves. Our goal is to get that down to 50% by using more private label and employing our brands, using our distribution channels. This is a combination of that effort that we have been undertaking since acquiring CUI and using their marketing techniques and strategies.

Great. Appreciate the color. I'll leave it there. Thank you very much.

Thank you. The next question is from Theodore O'Neill of Litchfield Hills. Please go ahead. Your line is open. Would you like to take that? You're not muted. We have a technical issue on that line. We're moving on to the next question from Robert of Venator Capital Management. Please go ahead.

Hi guys. So great quarter, first of all. And I guess I just have a couple of quick questions and maybe the first one, Farouq, it's for you. How much more repricing is there to do for the complete product portfolio? I think I remember you mentioning a good bit was now coming January 1st of this year, but I just want to know how much more is left or if follow what was done.

Yeah. So we already saw the benefit of some of that action. I would say we still got a couple of laggards, but it's not to the extent or extreme in terms of kind of what we're seeing. So I would say that there's just leftover cleanup work. So we're not 100% done, but it's minimal at this work. Now it becomes more of a maintenance job as we go on. But in terms of big initiatives, we’re there with a few laggards.

But a significant improvement since Farouq joined is our enhanced ability to monitor our backlog on a weekly basis. This allows us to identify issues much quicker. If we notice projects with low margins, we are able to respond much more effectively than we ever could in the past.

So it's that maintenance work, I think Dan was talking about. So that's always an ongoing issue, right?

I understand. Thank you. My next questions are about revenue and margin trends. We know that Q1 is typically the weakest quarter seasonally. While I don't expect detailed guidance, should we anticipate sequential improvements in margins even if revenues remain flat? Would that be a correct assumption?

So we guided this go-around to $162 million to $174 million, I think, sequentially to Q2 as we have talked about. On the gross margins, we will see improvement. But one of the things we're working through a little bit is we are building out our new China facility, as Dan talked about. So we'll have a little bit of a double cost structure in that business, but there's also some offsetting. So there are a lot of moving pieces to it, but we do expect maybe a little bit flat to maybe a little bit down. But I could also see it going the other way. That's kind of our best guess right now.

So just to clarify, was that relating to revenues or margins?

The gross margin. On the revenue side, we got to the $170 side. But also remember, we had roughly $8 million of PPVs in the Q1 numbers as well, right?

Right, right. Okay. Got it.

Which we don't forecast. So they may occur in Q2, but we can't really forecast that one.

I have one last question about the structural changes in the business and how much the margin profile has improved compared to last year. There are certainly some shifts in the mix, such as connectivity and various EV initiatives that are enhancing the margin profile. Assuming revenues remain flat year-over-year, how much higher are the margins in the business, particularly on an EBITDA basis?

I think we are pleased with the results and happy. We didn’t say that we’re closing the gap, but we’re not exactly where we want to be in our internal discussions. Remember, we have many initiatives this year to optimize our operations for cost reduction, which should lead to improved margins. But we’re not done yet.

Another important thing to note is our margin profile in general. Two years ago, the range of margins across our SKU base was very large, including negative margin SKUs and very high profit margin SKUs. The consolidated gross margin result depended on what shipped out that quarter. All the work we have done, particularly this past year, was aimed at bringing everything up so that even with shifts in product mix, we don't experience huge fluctuations in our margin now. It's a much more stabilized gross margin base.

Okay. Got it. Thanks, everyone.

Thank you. The next question is from John Hudson, who is a Private Investor. Please go ahead.

Hi, thanks for taking my question. And first, about the quarter, all I can say is wow. Great job, everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you for taking my question. I just want to commend you on the excellent stockholder relationship information you provide. As an individual investor with shares in several companies, I find that Bel Fuse stands out, even compared to larger companies, in how well you communicate with stockholders. I truly appreciate the information and statements you share.

Thank you very much.

For sure. And about my question. The question is about what I call the elephant in the room, the relationship between the company and China. And my question is short and quick, but I'd like to take about a minute just to explain where I'm coming from. I see the relationship as being very good. It's a relationship that the team has nurtured for many, many years, is a mutually beneficial relationship. And today, the benefits to China and the company are bigger than they have ever been, and the benefits are about equal for both China and the company. We are all nervous about worldwide economic and political issues and how they might affect this relationship. I am optimistic because of the mutually beneficial nature of the relationship and the fact that the relationship has endured for so many years. You and the team have done a great job discussing the potential risks in the annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. So I'm not asking about that. My short question is, do you see anything else beyond where we are all probably of a common state of mind on the situation today that would make you either significantly more optimistic or significantly more nervous about the relationship with China and the company?

I agree with that perspective. If you were to ask me what keeps me up at night, it would be the relationship between the U.S. and China. I feel slightly more optimistic today, thanks mainly to the situation between Russia and Ukraine. I was very worried that if Russia quickly took control of Ukraine, it would encourage China to consider Taiwan more seriously. However, the global perception of Russia and the challenges they’re facing have had a significant impact on China, possibly reversing their intentions to some degree. This context also informs our acquisition strategy. For instance, we approached EOS seeing it as a marketing company rather than just a power company. While some believed we were just acquiring a power company, we managed to secure a manufacturing site in India as a low-cost alternative for quick relocation if necessary. Our management team specializes in power supplies, which now represent almost half of our sales. Our customers are increasingly asking if we can support them globally, and we are doing well in that regard. However, despite their discussions about relocating out of China, price remains a critical factor. They express a desire to relocate, but are often hesitant to commit or pay for that transition. As we assess our factory consolidation, I visited facilities in Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines. After my evaluations, we still concluded that China remains the most advantageous location for this type of product, particularly for magnetics, which require skilled labor. This is a major concern for us, and we continually explore options to potentially reduce our footprint in China without incurring additional costs or losing customers.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Thank you. Our next question is from Hendi Susanto of Gabelli Funds. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning, Dan, Farouq, and Lynn.

Good morning.

Yeah. My first question is for Dan. Dan, how much visibility or for Farouq, like how much visibility do you have now versus historical visibility?

I think it depends on the product line. Again, if you look at the Power group, we have tremendous visibility because of the long lead times, and it's so much based on the semiconductor industry. In the aerospace business, again, we always had very good visibility because of the forecast that we see from the large aerospace companies. So the only product line that we're not having good visibility in is the Magnetic group, which is more networking and consumer. So overall, I think we do have good visibility that we never had in the past.

Hendi, as you know, historically, and Dan, correct me if I'm wrong, generally visibility is 8 to 12 weeks out. Right now, because we've talked a lot about this, it's definitely not there today. So the longer you go out, we seem to have better visibility today, but above historical norms.

Got it. And then in Magnetic, I think you mentioned about increasing channel inventory levels. Do you have some expectation when excess inventory levels will be somewhat fully consumed? And then channel inventory levels will return to a more normalized level?

So Hendi, you're asking about overall consolidated inventory levels and when we expect to see them come down?

Yes.

Yeah. I think, Dan, you're generally our best guess as of right now is nearly a couple of quarters for that to kind of work through the system. So probably one or two quarters is kind of our best guess today.

Yes.

Yeah. And then, Bel Fuse has been successful in e-mobility. Would you be able to share some metrics? I think on your slide presentation, you mentioned you are selling converters and inverters. But I'm wondering whether we can inquire about more color such as the number of SKUs, the number of customers, and the product roadmap?

I don't have an immediate question about the SKUs. However, it's not as extensive as the broader Bel offering. I'm not sure if Dan would agree with that.

No, I agree.

Our e-mobility, today, it tends to be a pretty fragmented business, as we had talked about previously. We have over 200 kinds of NDAs and agreements and people we speak to. I would also say that our products haven't seen that one customer hit mass scale. Therefore, there's diversity. So we get some good orders from people, including a number of household names and start-ups, so it's kind of the whole gamut. It is a healthy business. It is a little bit restricted today with some of the component issues. If we could procure more components, we could ship more. So it is a business we like. It tends to be one of our higher-margin businesses as well and definitely an area for us that we're doubling down on. Obviously, we closed on and we spoke about electric. It's really kind of a continuation of our commitment there into e-mobility. But specifically, I don't have SKU counts for you.

I think the key point for you to understand is that we're not going to the high-volume business. We're not going after commercial besides Circuit Protection with the main vehicles, cars. We're mostly looking at niche trucks. We see school buses as a great opportunity, heavy-duty trucks, commercial vans. So again, we are looking for niche markets where we feel we can be very highly successful. For power stations that kind of set up, we see limited opportunities that we feel that the big power supply companies are really going to address that market. It's going to be a low-margin, high-volume business that we want to stay away from.

Got it. Yeah. And then it is quite interesting to see that the press release mentioned the plan to launch 1,000 new magnetic products in 2023. Can you give us some idea of how many of those are new products versus upgrades?

No. I think, again, when we say 1,000 products, in a family that could be 100 part numbers, a family of products, all the products that we're introducing are new products and expanding on our product portfolio. So again, using the CUI model, they go with a broad-based customer base. They try to sell as many products as they can to diversified customers. Historically, Signal has been very limited in their product portfolio and the set of customers. Now because of our relationships with these e-commerce distributors, we can introduce these products and reach a lot more broader customer base. Our goal, again, is to have a full basket of magnetic products where we can compete with anybody or any company in the world today.

Thank you. And then last question for me. Dan, are there certain market trends in military sales that are driving higher military sales? I'm wondering whether there are certain trends in some end applications or whether it's somewhat like a macro reason?

No, I think the situation of us supporting Ukraine, any uncertainty in the marketplace gives military budgets more robust. I mean, look, pre-Russia-Ukraine, the perception of the military compared to today throughout the world, the British Armed Services, German Armed Services, and so forth, are also areas that we try to support. But I think the real growth for us is more on the aerospace side, where we see great opportunities with satellites. We see opportunities. So besides military, there's a broader basket of that such product portfolio that we can address.

Thank you.

There are no further questions at this time. And I would like to turn the floor back over to Dan Bernstein for some closing remarks.

We'd like to thank you for joining our call today, and we look forward to continued success throughout the year. Thank you.

Thank you very much. That does conclude today's conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.