Selwyn Joffe
Analyst · Craig Hallum. Your line is now open
All right, thank you, Gary. I appreciate everyone joining us today. Let me begin by briefly addressing the issues that required us to file the Form 12b-25 on June 14th, which provided a 15-day extension for filing our fiscal 2019 results. This extension was due in part to internal control issues related to our review of certain accounting policies and to our growth and recent acquisitions.Ultimately, we determined that our controls and procedures were not as effective as they need to be. It was determined that the combined efficiencies in the aggregate was a material weakness. However, I should note that the acquisition in scope only represented approximately 2% of our revenues in fiscal 2019. We take these deficiencies seriously and have a remediation plan that has begun. Additional details will be available in our Form-10-K filed later today.Okay. So, I'm going to move on to, our record sales for the fiscal fourth quarter and improved adjusting operating margins are indicative of the opportunities for us, as we complete our transition into our new footprint. We have expectations for continued growth, enhanced profitability and improved cash flow. I should mention that the fourth quarter results were impacted by a number of items, predominantly non-cash, which David will discuss in more detail later in this call.We are at an exciting inflection point. Our business has grown, our product lines are expanding and our global footprint is rapidly evolving to support the strategic growth. We have evolved to become a major multi-product supplier to the North American aftermarket, from a Company with a single focus on rotating electrical just several years ago.We have made the investments in infrastructure and related initiatives to support our strategic plan. In short, our vision to be the global leader for parts and solutions that move our world today and tomorrow is becoming more-and-more meaningful on a daily basis.Our expansion from being a Company with a single focus on rotating electrical, started with the introduction of wheel hubs. From this space, we have continued our expansion with master cylinders, brake boosters and turbochargers and have made investments to support additional significant growth.Our economic metrics are improving for our evolving product lines, as they gain traction in the marketplace and we complete the transition into our new footprint. The move into our new facilities will be substantially complete by the end of this fiscal year. Despite the short term expansion challenges of transforming our footprint, ramping up production for our growing business while we move between facilities and building inventory levels to support our excellent fill rates during the transition, significant improvement in operating metrics will result.Inventory levels for existing product lines were reduced throughout the latter part of this fiscal year. This combined with the substantial reduction of payments for core buybacks from our existing business and increased profitability will significantly improve operating cash flow.In addition, during the second half of this year, we will have a significant new business which will also contribute to operating cash flow and profitability. In short, we're excited by our emerging growth and the economic metrics and the opportunities to further leverage our expanded footprint and our well-deserved reputation as a premier supplier to the aftermarket.Our new 400,000 square foot distribution center in Mexico was designed with the capacity to ship multiple product lines from a single point of origin and we are adding to our production capacity with two other adjacent facilities. Upon completion of these new facilities, our footprint in Mexico will expand to more than 1 million square feet.In short, this will enable us to support our existing business, as well as new business commitments that have commenced already or are in the process of being launched throughout this fiscal year.Let me take a moment to discuss the heavy duty business, which we acquired late in the fiscal year. To start, I emphasize that as part of our expansion of Dixie, we have already added or are in the process of adding infrastructure, which will complement our internal control remediation plans. Dixie Electric has a solid and growing customer base, innovative products and enhanced heavy duty expertise and a dedicated team of professionals.We anticipate continued success as it benefits from investments in the sales team and sales team expansion, and enhancements to manufacturing, marketing and merchandising and other synergistic opportunities since we acquired them. We are already seeing positive sales momentum for our heavy duty products.The D&V diagnostic business is gaining momentum in both the internal combustion engine and electric vehicle market. As part of our growth strategy, we have added sales infrastructure in key OE electrical markets around the world. In addition, due to the expected growth of D&V, we are adding infrastructure which will support our financial remediation plan. As sales for D&V combustion engine diagnostic equipment, including bench top testers are progressing well, and service and software solutions will also provide additional opportunities as our installed base grows.The emerging electrical vehicle and aerospace markets are gaining traction for pre and post-production testing equipment and we continue to be excited by emulation testing capabilities within the automotive and aerospace industry. We look forward to sharing news about our milestones and wins throughout the fiscal year.Let me now discuss fiscal 2020 guidance. We expect adjusted net sales for fiscal year 2020, ending March 31st, to be between $552 million and $562 million, representing between 16% and 18% organic growth year-over-year, significantly ramping up in the second half of the year. This reflects our expectation to grow our annualized adjusted sales run rate by approximately $100 million by fiscal year end.Adjusted gross margin for fiscal year 2020 is expected to be approximately 27%, impacted by our product mix and the launch of our new product line. As we discussed, profitability and cash flow are expected to improve on a year-over-year basis. I should mention that the Company has instituted much deserved price increases across all existing product lines beginning in the latter part of this year.To highlight our overall positive outlook, I refer you to our investor presentation on our website, which shows the macro industry charts, including a chart related to the expansion of the car park, sweet spot for repairs. We are now seeing the back end of lower new car sales from recession years in the prime parts replacement time frame. Essentially, the number of prime replacement aged vehicles is growing. These statistics further support our Company's and the industry's optimism for growth over the next several years.I'll now turn the call over to David to review the results for the fourth quarter and year end.