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| Statement |
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| But we're very confident that we'll be able to remain in that range next year as we look to maximize EBIT dollars |
| Gross profit increased 4.3% and gross margin improved by 310 basis points, primarily driven by higher pricing, improved product mix, lower short-term incentive compensation expense and lower insurance-related expense |
| And the Glass, like you're pointing out, Glass segment had phenomenal results this year |
| We delivered another quarter of strong earnings, margin expansion and cash flow performance |
| This was the second highest quarterly adjusted EPS in Apogee's history and follows the record adjusted EPS we delivered last quarter |
| And it will be somewhat similar to what's happening in Glass, right, as we look at the volume pressure they might get in adjusting pricing, but we still feel good about our long-range target in that segment |
| Year-to-date, operating income dollars have increased 12% and operating margin improved by 150 basis points to 10.6%, which is above our current strategic goal of 10% |
| Once again, our improved results were led by exceptional performance in Architectural Glass |
| The Glass segment has delivered double-digit sales growth every quarter this year and they again achieved operating margins above their 10% to 15% target range |
| These terrific results reflect the strategic transformation of our Glass segment over the past 2 years |
| They have significantly improved their cost structure, delivered meaningful productivity gains and are driving their sales mix toward higher value-added premium products |
| Another highlight in the quarter was backlog growth in our Services segment |
| So we feel really good about not only landing that first project, but as we're looking at projects in the Western part of the United States |
| So we feel we're in a very good position |
| And as we look ahead, we continue to see significant opportunities for long-term profitable growth across our business through both organic and inorganic investment |
| In the 2 years since we introduced our new strategic direction, we have driven sustainable operating improvements across our business, allowing us to exceed the financial targets we set out at our Investor Day in November of 2021 |
| We've made great progress on both fronts, building a solid foundation, and we still have plenty of opportunity ahead of us |
| We are on track to deliver a strong full year results in fiscal '24 and see opportunities for further progress in the year ahead |
| This has helped the glass business to deliver record results and gives us confidence in our ability to sustain profitability levels should volume slow |
| Framing Systems has more than doubled their margins since fiscal '21 |
| To close, this was another strong quarter as we continue to advance our strategic objectives and drive improved profitability and cash flow |
| And with backlog growing again, we see favorable revenue and margin improvement as we move into fiscal '25 |
| Large scale optical has improved its already high margin profile since fiscal '21 |
| We are keeping a growth mindset and see further opportunities to strengthen margins and grow profit dollars |
| Two years in, we are very pleased with the results our team has achieved, and I'm excited for the opportunities that are still ahead of us |
| Fiscal '24 has been an incredible year for our Glass segment, which has benefited from volume, pricing and mix, leading to sales growth of 20% and operating income growth of 157% on a year-to-date basis |
| But I think being able to sustain where we are at this high of a level is also a good outcome from a cash flow |
| On the positive side, we also see institutional and infrastructure projects continuing to benefit from government funding |
| This should also loosen what has been a tight market for M&A, providing more opportunities for us to make strategic, financially accretive acquisitions to strengthen our portfolio and provide a catalyst for growth |
| Margins should benefit from further productivity, AMS initiatives and a favorable project backlog in Services |
| Statement |
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| Segment operating margin for Framing contracted 120 basis points to 12.2%, primarily due to the impact of lower sales volume |
| The lower sales this quarter were primarily driven by lower volume in the shorter cycle parts of the business, reflecting the deceleration in non-residential construction activity that Ty described earlier |
| And we've seen forward indicators like the Architectural Billings Index turned negative |
| And then as you highlighted, we have part of that business while it has been coming down as a percent of our revenues, the larger project supply side of that business, it remains margin challenged |
| In fiscal '25, we expect Glass segment margin rates to moderate compared to what we've achieved this year as market demand will likely have a negative impact on volume and pricing and as we begin to lap mix benefits from our shift to premium strategy |
| The decline was driven primarily by our longer-cycle business, reflecting slower award activity and a continued strategic shift towards projects that allow for more attractive margins |
| As a reminder, fiscal '25 will revert to a normal 52-week year, which will create a headwind for year-over-year comparisons of approximately 2 percentage points on revenue |
| Architectural Services did take a step back in margin since fiscal '21 and saw revenue declines as we integrated the Sotawall business |
| Additionally, we now expect net sales will decline approximately 3% for the fiscal year |
| But we did see all 3 months of the quarter for them to be negative |
| As Ty described, most industry forecasts called for decelerating growth for non-residential construction with low-single-digit growth expected for calendar '24 |
| And with a little bit of the softness that we have been seeing, we also, as we did in calendar '20 and '21 during COVID, it's a little bit of a flight to quality what we're seeing here too |
| We have seen that slowing show up in our short-cycle Framing business this quarter and expect some pressure in parts of that business as we go into fiscal '25 |
| Framing revenue declined 15.4% |
| Higher interest rates, tighter lending standards and increased costs have been putting pressure on commercial construction |
| In the first half of the fiscal year, Services backlog declined as we saw delays in projects moving from bid to award |
| I mean, we've talked about choppiness in order rate, in volumes and we have short -- well, we have low visibility to that short-cycle business as we've talked about |
| Services revenue and segment operating margin declined, primarily due to a less favorable mix of projects, partially offset by lower short-term incentive compensation expense |
| Looking ahead to calendar '24, most industry forecasts call for further deceleration in non-res construction |
| So they were in a negative EBIT, stayed at that point in time |
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