Neogen Corp (NEOG) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Good day. And welcome to the Neogen Corporation Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. After today’s presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Bill Waelke, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you for joining us this morning for the discussion of the results of the fourth quarter of our 2023 fiscal year. I’ll briefly cover the non-GAAP and forward-looking language before passing the call over to our CEO, John Adent, who will be followed by our CFO, Dave Naemura. Before the market opened today, we published our fourth quarter results, as well as the presentation with both documents available in the Investor Relations section of our website. On our call this morning, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe are useful in evaluating our performance. Reconciliations of historical non-GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release and the presentation. Slide two of which provides a reminder that our remarks will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks that could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks include, among others, matters that we have described in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and in other filings we make with the SEC. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. With that, I’ll turn things over to John.

Thanks, Bill. Good morning, everyone. And welcome to our earnings call covering the fourth quarter of our 2023 fiscal year. We’re pleased to be with you today to provide an update on our performance and our initial thoughts on the 2024 fiscal year. We delivered a solid performance in the quarter with core growth in both of our segments despite the softening market conditions. In Food Safety, many large food producers have continued to experience lower unit volumes on a year-over-year basis, which has negatively affected the volume of tests they use. While end-user demand remains broadly supportive in our Animal Safety segment, we saw the impact of destocking in the distribution channel, which was the result of some level of macro uncertainty and normal cyclicality in production online markets. Our Animal Safety business also faced a difficult comparison against double-digit core growth in Q4 of the prior year. In the former 3M Food Safety division, we saw a significant improvement in the third quarter with higher future production levels at our transition manufacturing partner, contributing to solid core growth and a reduction in past due orders. We are optimistic that we are settling into a steadier operating rhythm with the elevated reporting structure and our expanded on-site presence paying dividends and providing us with significant inputs in the key decisions. While improving the transition production levels of the flagship Petrifilm product line has certainly been a recent focus, we are also prioritizing continued innovation to further capitalize on its leading market position. An example of our team’s efforts in this area is the Petrifilm Plate Reader Advanced, which enumerates 11 different Petrifilm plates in 6 seconds or less, utilizing AI to improve speed and accuracy. Although this product launched in 2021, I mention it now for two reasons. First, it was just awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award for Product Design last month in one of the world’s largest design competitions. Second, that same team that developed the Plate Reader is now part of Neogen, where we believe we’re placing an even greater emphasis on innovation in this product line. Petrifilm is the clear market leader in indicator testing, yet has significant potential for growth, not only in core Food Safety markets, but also in near-adjacent markets like commercial labs and pharmaceuticals. This development team is actively working on next-generation initiatives that we believe will allow us to capture additional market share and drive growth well into the future. In addition to the transition management agreement, integration activities are progressing well. Of the four main product lines in the former 3M business, we expect that three will be completely integrated into Neogen facilities by the end of our fiscal third quarter. The hygiene monitoring manufacturing operation was conveyed to us at closing and we’ve accelerated the relocation of the sample handling and pathogen product lines. We are also planning to fully exit two of the transition agreements by the end of the third quarter, those covering back office functions and distribution services. Despite the numerous integration work streams we have underway, we are not losing focus on our customers and finding new ways to meet their needs. We are the leader in natural toxin testing with our Reveal assays providing fast results, both qualitative and quantitative to help food producers keep consumers safe. Recently, we have further expanded our Reveal portfolio to include quantitative assays for histamine in fish and dry animal proteins, as well as for DON and Aflatoxin in grains and grain byproducts. In our genomics business, where we are the leading provider of animal testing services, we broadened our Igenity bioinformatic systems to include the high-growth market for beef on dairy cattle. Igenity BeefxDairy is a simple genomic test for calves from dairy animal breeds with beef genetics to identify performance traits and feed efficiencies for producers to use to improve their profitability by efficiently marketing, managing, and feeding their animals. All of our genomic tests improve quality and efficiency for our customers, including the environmental benefits of reducing consumption of water and feed, reduced use of antibiotics, and more efficient use of land. Our comprehensive product portfolio is a differentiating factor in the marketplace and we are planning on continued portfolio expansion to help protect the quality of the food chain in the future. We’re making great progress and remain excited about the future of the fully combined business and our market leadership position. I’m looking forward to the opportunities ahead of us in this new fiscal year. With that, I’m going to turn the call over to Dave for some more insights into our results for the quarter.

Thank you, John, and welcome to everyone listening this morning. Jumping into the results. Our fourth quarter revenues were $242 million, an increase of 73% compared to the same quarter a year ago. Core growth, which excludes the impact of both foreign currency and acquisitions, was 2% for the quarter. Acquisitions added 72%, while foreign currency was a 1% headwind compared to the prior year. At the segment level, revenues in our Food Safety segment were $169 million in the quarter, an increase of 151% compared to the prior year, including core growth of 3.9%. Sales in our Culture Media & Other category grew high single digits on a core basis with strong growth in food quality and nutritional analysis products in our Megazyme business. Within Bacterial & General Sanitation, solid growth in our Soleris microbiological testing products was partially offset by lower sales of general sanitation and pathogen testing products, some of which transitioned to product lines of the former 3M business. Rounding out our larger Food Safety product categories, Natural Toxins and Allergens had a slight core revenue decline due to the discontinuation of our product line of drug testing kits for international dairy markets. Quarterly revenues in the Animal Safety segment were $73 million, up modestly over last year’s fourth quarter on a core basis. Sales of our vet instruments and disposables had the strongest core growth, led by a new line of business at a large retail customer. This growth was partially offset by lower volumes of small animal supplements and vitamin injectables in the Animal Care & Other product category. Within our biosecurity portfolio, solid growth in cleaners and disinfectants and rodenticides was offset by lower insecticide volumes due mainly to the timing of orders versus the prior year. Worldwide genomics revenue was up mid-single digits on a core basis, led by solid growth in international beef markets, as well as in companion animal testing. The performance of the former 3M Food Safety division improved significantly with core revenue growth of almost 8% on a pro forma basis. The growth was led by Petrifilm, which grew low double digits and included a reduction in backlog of past due orders. We’ve made good progress with our transition manufacturing arrangement for Petrifilm and believe we are on a path to sustainable levels of higher production. Including the former 3M business, core growth for Neogen as a whole was mid-single digits on a pro forma basis. Gross margin in the fourth quarter was 50.9%, representing an increase of 450 basis points from 46.4% in the same quarter a year ago, with the increase primarily driven by the addition of higher margin business in the 3M Food Safety transaction, as well as a positive price-cost position. Adjusted EBITDA was $63 million, representing growth of 97% from the prior year quarter, driven by the merger with the former 3M Food Safety division. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 26.1%, a year-over-year increase of 320 basis points. The increase was driven by gross margin expansion, which more than offset costs added in the quarter to accommodate the larger scale of the combined business. Adjusted net income was $30 million for the quarter, with adjusted earnings per share of $0.14, compared to $22 million and $0.21, respectively, in the prior year period. The increase in adjusted net income was driven by higher adjusted EBITDA, which more than offset the increase in interest expense, while adjusted earnings per share was impacted by the increase in weighted average shares outstanding from the Food Safety transaction. We ended the fourth quarter with gross debt of $900 million, 67% of which is at a fixed rate and a total cash position of $246 million, driven in part by working capital improvements in the quarter for a net leverage ratio of 2.8 times on a pro forma basis. As we look to fiscal 2024, we expect full-year revenue between $955 million and $985 million. This outlook compares to $920 million fiscal 2023 revenue on a pro forma basis and reflects challenging end market conditions continuing through the first half of the fiscal year. With respect to adjusted EBITDA, we expect a full-year range of $235 million to $255 million, which compares to $230 million in fiscal 2023 on a pro forma basis. This expected range takes into account incremental operating expenses that enable the exit of the back office and distribution transition services arrangements planned for the end of the third quarter, as well as some commercial investment in go-to-market initiatives to drive future growth. As it relates to the first quarter specifically, we anticipate seeing the lowest core revenue growth of the year and also the lowest adjusted EBITDA margin of the year, which still would represent over 100 basis points of expansion compared to the prior year 22.8% margin on a pro forma basis. We expect our typical seasonal shape of the year to apply to revenue dollars, with the first quarter being the lowest, followed by the third quarter, then the second quarter and the fourth quarter being the highest. The largest year of capital spending for the Food Safety integration is expected to be fiscal 2024, which we anticipate will have a total of approximately $130 million of CapEx. Of this total amount, approximately $30 million would be normal maintenance and growth CapEx related to the ongoing business. Additionally, as we prepare to exit the transition agreement for distribution services, we expect a one-time investment in inventory of approximately $40 million to bring the 3M finished goods inventory onto our balance sheet. These are significant outflows for the year, but we also anticipate that EBITDA growth and improved working capital performance, particularly on the legacy side of the business should allow these investments to be mostly, if not fully funded in the year by cash from operations. With respect to adjusted net income, we anticipate an effective tax rate of around 21% and quarterly interest expense of approximately $18 million.

Thanks, Dave. Neogen is a leading solutions provider in both Food Safety and Animal Safety. Two segments that we believe serve great end markets. Despite the current conditions being soft, we fully expect the historical trend of resilience to continue. Beyond the end markets, I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve made on the integration while maintaining focus on growing our business. Fiscal 2024 will be an exciting year for Neogen. By the end of this fiscal year, we expect to have all former 3M product lines, excluding Petrifilm, fully integrated into Neogen facilities, where we’ll be focused on driving efficiencies in production. We also expect to be fully independent with respect to back office functions and distribution and similarly focused on driving efficiencies. Construction of the new production facility in Lansing is coming along well, and in the interim, we believe the positive developments in our transition manufacturing arrangements are sustainable. We are continuing to prioritize product development as a means of differentiating ourselves in the market. On this front, we plan to fully leverage the different skills and expertise of our new and existing team members to drive innovation and ultimately revenue growth. And lastly, I want to thank our team members around the world for their hard work and dedication throughout the past fiscal year, and their enthusiasm and excitement as we move into the 2024 fiscal year. The success we have had and the progress we have made have not come easily, and have required extraordinary efforts from everyone involved. This team has fully embraced the One Neogen mindset and we are all working together to achieve one common goal to be the global leader in food security. Now I’ll turn things over to the Operator and we will begin the Q&A.

Thank you. Our first question today will come from Tim Daley of Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.

Great. Thanks for the time, everybody, and congrats on a great quarter and I appreciate the color on the year. So I guess just first one here on the Petri business. So strong sequential uptick in revenues, really good to hear that you’re chipping away at that backlog here. But I don’t know, maybe, Dave, if you’ve got the numbers, could you help us understand how much of that lift sequentially was the backlog work down versus maybe changes in the transaction manufacturing arrangements versus core growth, just kind of those three buckets, I guess, is there any directional color at least?

Yeah. Tim, I think, some directional color here. I think what you saw the sequential improvement was comparing a period of backlog build to a period of backlog reduction. And if we look through it, I think our kind of Food Safety mid-single-digit growth or even seeing some headwind as the year progressed is the better trajectory of what we see in the marketplace. We had talked obviously that we saw better improvement to the performance under the agreement in March when we came out with Q3 and we saw that continue into Q4. Having said that, I think although we’ve gotten through what I think will be the big sustaining issues, there’s two things. One, this relationship continues and we have to continue to kind of manage things. It won’t be perfect. I think a few folks have asked as well, is it fixed and I think the answer is we’re going to continue to work as partners here going forward and it will ebb and flow a little bit, but generally, we think we’ve gotten through some of the bigger issues. And then we have to go earn back some demand here that we had constrained and we need to bring that back. But, overall, we think it’s a very good directional side.

Great. Appreciate that. And a second question here. John, call you guys called out companion animal as being a nice support of growth in genomics and just wanted to get an update here on the macro environments, headwinds there and how we should kind of think about how animal plays next year into the numbers that were provided today on a full year basis?

Thanks, Tim. Welcome to the call, we’re glad to have you here. If we look at this from two perspectives, first regarding livestock, we’ve discussed the cyclical nature of this business and we're currently in an upward trend. It seems we are nearing the peak in several markets. Although I struggled with predicting the bottom, I’ll refrain from predicting the top for the same reason. We've observed some issues, particularly in the dairy sector where producers are discarding milk due to insufficient processing capabilities and low prices. Conversely, beef prices are historically high because of fewer calves, although calf on feed numbers remain decent. The swine sector is holding up, yet conditions aren’t ideal. On the protein side, dairy appears to be faltering first, and I anticipate the market will become more challenging moving forward. As for the companion animal segment, it’s difficult to compare given the surge in pet adoptions during COVID alongside the cash influx, but the long-term growth potential remains strong. This is why we invested in this area previously to enhance our service and product offerings for companion pets, and we view it as a key focus for the future. It’s a promising market, and we have genomics tests available that set us apart from competitors. We recently introduced our new calf test, which adds to our innovative offerings and reinforces our leadership position.

Great. Thanks for the time. Appreciate it.

Thank you.

Our next question will come from Brandon Vazquez of William Blair. Please go ahead.

Hi, everyone. Thank you for the question, and congratulations on a strong end to the year. I'm looking forward to the upcoming year as well. My first question is about guidance regarding the topline. Could you provide some insights on your expectations for growth in Animal Health compared to Food Safety? We've noted that Animal Health is still experiencing some macro headwinds, as you mentioned earlier, John, including potential distributor destocking. Do you anticipate that segment will return to mid-single-digit growth next year, or is that not factored into the guidance?

Yeah. Brandon, it’s Dave. I think we see both segments in the mid-single-digit range with Food higher than Animal. That’s kind of how it shapes the year. Obviously, the guide is kind of a mid-single-digit guide, but higher on the Food Safety side.

Okay. It sounds like things are improving with Petrifilm supply and becoming more reliable. Are you currently able to actively pursue new accounts, or is that something that will happen in the upcoming quarters?

No. I think we are. I mean, it’s really nice. I mean, we just held our National Sales Meeting this week. We’re finishing up actually today inventory for USAC and the teams are super excited. It’s like a weight lifted off of everybody’s shoulders, right? The first conversation they have with customers now is not about when they’re going to get their product. The first conversation now is what can we do to help you, make sure that you’re protecting your consumers, and I think that’s been really positive. I was in Asia last month, the same thing. So I think you’re going to see we’ve got some real nice tailwinds going into this next fiscal year with the teams on their front foot. Now we got to repair some damage, right? I mean we heard some relationships over the last couple of years with not having product available, and I don’t blame those customers to say, yeah, great, nice job for the last couple of months, let’s make sure you can keep it going. And so that will take a little time to repair the trust, but sales teams are on their front foot now, which I’m really excited about.

Okay, great. I have one last question, possibly for Dave. If my calculations are correct, the fiscal 2024 guidance suggests a mid-20s EBITDA margin, roughly at the midpoint of your forecast. You're currently at 26% this quarter and it seems like mid-20s for the full year next year. What factors should we consider for keeping you flat, and what would it take to achieve an additional 5 points to reach a 30% EBITDA margin for the fiscal 2025 guidance? Thanks, everyone.

Thank you for the question, Brandon. You're correct that we're anticipating gross margin expansion in the mid-20s next year, although this will be partially offset by increased operating expenses. This increase in expenses has two components. First, we have invested this year in our commercial operations and back office to conclude some existing agreements, and we expect to see a full year's impact from that. Additionally, we will be adding resources in the back office to exit our arrangements with 3M, while also looking to capitalize on new business opportunities at a larger scale. As we look ahead, I won't specify a percentage, but I can share that we aim for about $300 million in growth. If you analyze the situation, it shows that we need to continue expanding gross margins, which we've discussed previously. It's important to note that while 2024 will be a year of investment in operating expenses, 2025 will not follow the same pattern. Therefore, when you combine this with the historically proven mid-single-digit growth rate for 2025, it aligns with the targets we've mentioned.

Yeah. And if I can jump in on that, Brandon, too. I fully agree with Dave. We’re investing this year in OpEx for growth. If you look at what we’re doing, there’s really two areas that we’re really driving and it’s investing in the sales teams around the world, right? And that includes in the U.S. I mean, we’re putting headcount because when you look at the opportunity we have with our share, we can grow our market share just because we need more representation and we need more feet on the street. So we see that, and there’s huge opportunities for us, not only in international, but also in the U.S., because we’ve got open areas, and we’re seeing that with some of the talent that we’re acquiring to approach those customers and close those gaps. Same thing internationally, like Asia is a huge opportunity. We’re doubling some of the size of the teams we have in Asia. So that’s we’re investing. And then lastly, we’re investing in analytics. We’ve doubled the number of sites from last year to this year. My expectation is we’re going to double it again next year. I mean, we’re really pushing that, because we think we have a very strong competitive advantage versus everybody else in the marketplace, and so we are making the decision to invest this year rather than harvest on these two areas.

Our next question will come from David Westenberg of Piper Sandler. Please go ahead.

Hi. Good morning, guys, and congrats on a real strong finish to the year.

Thanks, Dave.

I wanted to ask, as we move into 2024, what percentage of products will be under your control compared to 3M’s control? And looking ahead to 2025, how will that percentage change? It might be as simple as calculating the percentage of revenue that Petrifilm represents. If there’s another way to look at it, please let us know, especially since you mentioned that back office functions will likely be under your control by Q3. Any way to quantify this would be really helpful.

We will have everything in our shop by the end of the third quarter, except for Petrifilm. If we exclude Petrifilm, everything else will be managed by the agent from a manufacturing perspective. At the same time, we will be ending the TSA, which includes all order to cash back office operations and distribution. Thus, distribution will also be under our control during that period. Just ignore Petrifilm, and everything else will be managed by us, and we are really excited about this transition. As we mentioned last quarter, we have expedited the integration for the two other lines, the pathogen line and the sample handling line, and we are making progress with those. The sample handling line is advancing a bit quicker, and we expect to begin implementation almost next week for some of the lines. We will have everything fully integrated by the end of the third quarter.

Thank you very much. Can you discuss any new product launches that are anticipated in the 2024 guidance and what market segments they will target?

I'm not going to go into too much detail, but as you noticed this year, we had nearly 10 product launches. We introduced a new histamine test for allergens and a quantitative test for DON and Afla related to toxins. I'm particularly excited about the new Petrifilm Reader; we're seeing significant interest as it allows us to conduct 11 tests in under 6 seconds. We're continuing to innovate with next-generation products. Looking ahead, expect equipment upgrades and ongoing expansion of our core product lines, similar to this year. We focused on toxins, allergens, and pathogens, and we aim to enhance these offerings annually.

I have a quick question regarding labor, as it seems to be a common topic across the companies we’re working with. When examining your customers, how are they balancing labor spending with their openness to trying new products and integrating food safety measures against the need to control labor costs? Additionally, how should we consider labor markets in this challenging environment regarding your management of SG&A expenses? Thank you.

When the tight labor market affects us, it benefits our operations because our systems enable greater efficiency compared to traditional methods used by competitors. This efficiency allows us to help our customers save time and manpower. Our customers were frustrated with the back orders on Petrifilm because it required them to allocate more personnel for testing. Therefore, a tight labor market is advantageous for us. Additionally, it boosts both efficiency and effectiveness; training new employees often leads to mistakes, which makes it important to get them trained properly. Once our equipment is set up, it can operate with minimal supervision, and we can trust the accuracy of the results. This aspect is a significant selling point for us, and we emphasize it to our customers, who respond positively. Like many other companies, we try to avoid restructuring and large layoffs, which helps us maintain a good reputation in our markets. People know that at Neogen, if they perform well and put in hard work, opportunities for growth will arise. Recently, we had 47 internal promotions in the last quarter, showcasing our commitment to promoting from within, which also aids in recruitment. Although we operate in smaller markets, the relocation of our new centralized warehouse to Kentucky positions us well for growth, as we have access to strong labor pools. Currently, we are experiencing the lowest turnover rates we've seen in nearly five years, thanks to various efforts, and I believe we are progressing in the right direction.

Thanks, John, and congrats again on the great finish to the year.

All right. Well, thanks, David. Appreciate it.

And at this time, we will conclude our question-and-answer session. I’d like to turn the conference back over to John Adent for any closing remarks.

Thank you, Allison. We really appreciate your support, and once again, I want to thank the Neogen team. It has been a challenging 2023 and the team did a fantastic job to deliver outstanding results. We’re really excited about 2024. There’s a lot of change going on, but we really are excited about what we see coming ahead and we look forward to talking to you about first quarter results in the fall.

The conference has now concluded. We thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.