Sentiment Analysis of the earnings transcript to help figure out if there are any bullish or bearish sentiments that could be gathered from it. We're doing ML and AI based analysis on the earnings call to get some more insights.
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| Statement |
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| As we look forward, we believe our competitive moat and long-standing relationships with customers will allow us to continue to win and to perform at or above our historic growth rate over the long term |
| But I would say we're in at least as good a spot as we've been the last couple of years and we've been able to hit those numbers each year, as we think about -- even as we speak our guys in the field are out working on new business and we are confident we'll pick up more |
| And -- but when you look at our other major key companies and customers like the Aces of the world and Depot and Lowe's, we had a good year |
| And it's the first time and the price points up there pretty high, but the quality is fantastic |
| Our customers are encouraging us to get into certain product categories because of our long track record and the value-added services we provide each and every day |
| These two differentiators have allowed Hillman to become one of the largest value-added partners for hardware and home improvement retailers throughout North America |
| It also enabled Hillman to grow its sales every year but one over the last 60 years |
| So we feel really good about our go forward in that category we can continue to grow |
| We feel good about where the business is positioned in 2024 and we're excited about that team's got on their plate are the new growth opportunities that Doug referenced earlier |
| With that inventory out of our network, we've benefited from a meaningful working capital tailwind during the year, generated $172 million of free cash flow, which we used to pay down debt |
| We're confident about 2024 because of the resilient end markets we serve, our diverse business, with 114,000 SKUs shipping to 46,000 locations across North America and 60 years of believing that nothing happens until you sell something at Hillman |
| This is why our long-standing relationship with our customers is so strong from the Board level to each store level |
| And that led to a really good back half of the year |
| We've got great vendor partners and importantly -- most importantly this team at Hillman continues to do things for us each and every day, particularly, in the store for our customers that that allows us to grow and allows us to continue to be find ways to do more |
| And importantly, we grew our adjusted EBITDA in our hardware and protective solutions segments by 13.4% over 2022 |
| It's a great Midwest company, but when you take that was service and the relationships we have Dave, I don't know how big it will be, but we're going to see some really nice growth here |
| And as Doug mentioned it's just a huge opportunity so we really feel good about that really accelerating our growth in '24 and beyond |
| This type of partnership is unparalleled, particularly in the traditional hardware channel, where we continue to convert stores to the Hillman platform and pick up new shelf space with existing customers |
| Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter increased 20.8% to $54.4 million, exceeding the comparable year-ago quarter for the second quarter in a row |
| Driven by a meaningful and accelerated working capital benefit, free cash flow exceeded the high end of our guidance and surpassed our initial internal expectations |
| As lower cost product flowed out of our inventory and through our income statement during 2023, we experienced sequential improvement in gross margin |
| Obviously a little bit above it in the fourth quarter, but as we think about 2024, what we're really excited about as we think not only are we at, but we maintained that historic gross margin throughout the year |
| Combining that with our ability to do accretive acquisitions that leverage our moat gives us great confidence that we will continue to win with our partners |
| We believe that our runway for growth is meaningful |
| During the year, we maintained healthy fill rates of over 94% while reducing inventory by over $100 million across our business |
| We're pretty proud of the fact that we've been able to expand gross margin like we have |
| Rocky Kraft The only thing I would add Brian, this is Rocky is, when you think about costs, we've seen a nice benefit on containers and we've talked about that |
| Sequentially, these margins improved by 400 basis points compared to the third quarter of 2023 |
| Our Canadian retail business, which makes up about 70% of their sales has roughly 60% market share and continues to provide strong service for the major retailers like they have in Canada for now well over 100 years |
| So they had a good year |
| Statement |
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| We've guided to $110 million this year and obviously we would be disappointed if we don't do better than that as we go through the year |
| This is a pain in the ass [ph] product category and Koch didn't have service |
| We're anticipating just given what we've seen in the economy, we continue to see some of the pet retailers struggle a bit |
| It's no secret that since mid-2023, the Canadian economy has been sluggish, which has been a drag on our business |
| Lastly, our Canadian segment, which makes up about 11% of our revenue, saw a 9% top-line decrease versus 2022 |
| Net sales in the fourth quarter of 2023 decreased 0.8% to $347.8 million versus the prior year quarter |
| And then when you start to think about some of the price giveback that we anticipate is going to happen et cetera, you would expect that margin to come down a bit, but still again remain at or above historic levels |
| I think the one thing about RDS and we're frustrated with the performance, so let me say that upfront, I wish it was growing quicker but when you take -- it makes total sense on engraving and accessories |
| And then, so your customer is having real foot traffic issues |
| Additionally, there is uncertainty in the cost of ocean containers as we have seen disruption in the Red Sea at the Suez Canal as well as at the Panama Canal |
| existing home sales totaled just $4.09 million in 2023, which was nearly a 19% decrease from 2022 and a 33% decrease from 2021 |
| So, we had a tough year with Walmart in lots of machines in and out and around |
| For the year, protective revenues decreased 10.7% |
| However, excluding COVID-related PPE sales and 2022-53rdweek, Protective revenue decreased just 2.5% |
| Net sales for 2023 totaled $1.476 billion, which was just shy of our full year 2022 results that included a 53rd week of sales |
| The one challenge that we will have as we think about the future a bit is around taxes because we're not a full cash taxpayer in the US today we will be eventually |
| And then my second question the market down 1% |
| I think you mentioned price down 1% |
| And that number being $4 million versus $5 million and $6 million is really probably the biggest drag on Depot and Lowe's and hardware stores in our business |
| And I think Depot and Lowe's are both certainly hoping that with the spring and kind of midyear that turns around but it's been tough for three years |
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