Columbus McKinnon Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCO), a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of intelligent motion solutions for material handling, today announced financial results for its fiscal year 2024 first quarter, which ended June 30, 2023. Results include the addition of montratec^®, which was acquired on May 31, 2023 (“the acquisition”).

First Quarter Highlights (compared with prior-year period, except where otherwise noted)

• Strong orders in quarter of $257.0 million with book-to-bill ratio of 1.1x
• Record backlog of $355.3 million includes $23.4 million from the acquisition
• Sales of $235.5 million for first quarter fiscal 2024 increased 7%
• Gross margin expanded 90 basis points sequentially to 36.8%
• Paid down $10 million in debt; net debt leverage ratio at 2.9x¹; plan to pay down
  
  $40 million in debt in fiscal 2024
• Expect to surpass $1 billion in revenue in fiscal 2024; on track to achieve fiscal 2027 targets

David J. Wilson, President and CEO, commented, “Our first quarter results further demonstrate the progress we are making with the transformation of Columbus McKinnon into a higher growth, stronger margin business. Sales grew 7%, driven by strength in EMEA and APAC, and strong automation and linear motion sales in the Americas. This growth more than offset year-over-year shifts in e-commerce demand. We are encouraged by our end market activity and the progress we are making as an organization. We are focusing resources on end markets and opportunities with strong secular tailwinds such as life sciences, EVs, and industrial automation. Within this framework, we are driving to increase market share and capitalize on these favorable megatrends. Additionally, our continued efforts to simplify the business, manage costs and drive efficiencies underpin our sequential gross margin improvement.”

He added, “In our first month of ownership, the montratec acquisition contributed $2.7 million in sales. We are excited about the technology and opportunities that montratec adds to our precision conveying portfolio. We expect strong growth out of the business and look to further its potential, especially as we broaden exposure in the U.S. market. It is important to note that we successfully completed the refinancing of our debt related to the acquisition. This effort resulted in lower cost debt and eliminated the need for testing compliance with our financial covenant. Notably, with our debt reduction plans and growth for the year, we expect to reduce our net debt leverage ratio to under 2.5x¹ by the end of the fiscal year.”

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¹ On a financial covenant basis per Amended and Restated Credit Agreement

First Quarter Fiscal 2024 Sales

For the quarter, sales increased $15.2 million, or 6.9%. The acquisition contributed $2.7 million, or 1.2%, in sales. Sales outside the U.S. were driven by increased volume of $13.5 million, or 16.5%, price improvement of $1.4 million, or 1.7%, $2.6 million of sales related to the acquisition, as well as favorable foreign currency translation of $0.3M. In the U.S., price improved $7.1 million, or 5.1%, while volume decreased $9.8 million, or 7.1%.

First Quarter Fiscal 2024 Operating Results

*Adjusted gross profit, adjusted gross margin, adjusted income from operations, adjusted operating margin, adjusted EPS, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP measures. See accompanying discussion and reconciliation tables in this release regarding adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted EPS, and the reconciliation of GAAP net income (loss) to adjusted EBITDA.

Adjusted earnings per diluted share of $0.62 excludes amortization of intangible assets related to acquisitions. The Company believes this better represents its inherent earnings power and cash generation capability.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Outlook

Columbus McKinnon expects second quarter fiscal 2024 sales of approximately $250 million to $260 million at current exchange rates.

Mr. Wilson concluded, “We had a solid start to the year with 5% sequential order growth, 7% year-over-year sales growth and sequential gross margin improvement that supports our objective to expand gross margin by 50 to 100 basis points for the year. Demand for our products and solutions combined with progress we are making to improve our customers’ experience are reflected in the over $500 million of new business we have booked in the last six months. This, along with the addition of montratec, drove record backlog of $355 million, further reinforcing our expectation to exceed $1 billion in revenue in fiscal 2024. Fundamentally, we are gaining more traction with our strategy to be the global leader of intelligent motion solutions for material handling and believe our results demonstrate this progress.”

Teleconference/webcast

Columbus McKinnon will host a conference call and live webcast today at 10:00 AM Eastern Time, at which management will review the Company’s financial results and strategy. The review will be accompanied by a slide presentation, which will be available on Columbus McKinnon’s website at investors.cmco.com/. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal discussion.

The conference call can be accessed by dialing 412-317-6026. The listen-only audio webcast can be monitored at investors.cmco.com/. The telephonic replay will be available from 1:00 PM Eastern Time on the day of the call through Wednesday, August 9, 2023. To listen to the archived call, dial 412-317-6671 and enter the conference ID number 10180167. Alternatively, an archived webcast of the call can be found on the Company’s website and a transcript of the call will be posted there once available.

About Columbus McKinnon

Columbus McKinnon is a leading worldwide designer, manufacturer and marketer of intelligent motion solutions that move the world forward and improve lives by efficiently and ergonomically moving, lifting, positioning, and securing materials. Key products include hoists, crane components, precision conveyor systems, rigging tools, light rail workstations, and digital power and motion control systems. The Company is focused on commercial and industrial applications that require the safety and quality provided by its superior design and engineering know-how. Comprehensive information on Columbus McKinnon is available at www.cmco.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning expected growth, future sales and EBITDA margins, and future potential to deliver results; the execution of its strategy and further transformation of the Company with stronger growth, less cyclicality and higher margins, and achievement of certain goals. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such statements, including the impact of supply chain challenges and inflation, the ability of the Company to scale the organization, achieve its financial targets including revenue and adjusted EBITDA margin, and to execute CMBS and the Core Growth Framework; global economic and business conditions affecting the industries served by the Company and its subsidiaries including COVID-19; the Company's customers and suppliers, competitor responses to the Company's products and services, the overall market acceptance of such products and services, the ability to expand into new markets and geographic regions, and other factors disclosed in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Consequently, such forward-looking statements should be regarded as current plans, estimates and beliefs. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this release.

Financial tables follow.

Adjusted gross profit is defined as gross profit as reported, adjusted for certain items. Adjusted gross profit is not a measure determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, commonly known as GAAP, and may not be comparable with the measures as used by other companies. Nevertheless, Columbus McKinnon believes that providing non-GAAP information, such as adjusted gross profit, is important for investors and other readers of the Company’s financial statements and assists in understanding the comparison of the current quarter’s and current year's gross profit to the historical periods' gross profit, as well as facilitates a more meaningful comparison of the Company’s gross profit to that of other companies.

Adjusted income from operations is defined as income from operations as reported, adjusted for certain items. Adjusted income from operations is not a measure determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, commonly known as GAAP, and may not be comparable with the measures as used by other companies. Nevertheless, Columbus McKinnon believes that providing non-GAAP information, such as adjusted income from operations, is important for investors and other readers of the Company’s financial statements and assists in understanding the comparison of the current quarter’s and current year's income from operations to the historical periods' income from operations, as well as facilitates a more meaningful comparison of the Company’s income from operations to that of other companies.

Adjusted net income and diluted EPS are defined as net income and diluted EPS as reported, adjusted for certain items, including amortization of intangible assets, and also adjusted for a normalized tax rate. Adjusted net income and diluted EPS are not measures determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, commonly known as GAAP, and may not be comparable with the measures used by other companies. Nevertheless, Columbus McKinnon believes that providing non-GAAP information, such as adjusted net income and diluted EPS, is important for investors and other readers of the Company’s financial statements and assists in understanding the comparison of the current quarter’s and current year's net income and diluted EPS to the historical periods' net income and diluted EPS, as well as facilitates a more meaningful comparison of the Company’s net income and diluted EPS to that of other companies. The Company believes that representing adjusted EPS provides a better understanding of its earnings power inclusive of adjusting for the non-cash amortization of intangible assets, reflecting the Company’s strategy to grow through acquisitions as well as organically.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, and other adjustments. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, commonly known as GAAP, and may not be comparable with the measures as used by other companies. Nevertheless, Columbus McKinnon believes that providing non-GAAP information, such as adjusted EBITDA, is important for investors and other readers of the Company’s financial statements.

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