nVent Electric plc (NYSE:NVT) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

nVent Electric plc (NYSE:NVT) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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nVent Electric plc (NYSE:NVT) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript February 6, 2024

nVent Electric plc beats earnings expectations. Reported EPS is $1.51, expectations were $0.75. NVT isn't one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here).

Operator: Good day, and welcome to the nVent Electric Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Tony Riter, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

Tony Riter: Thank you, Chuck, and welcome to nVent's fourth quarter 2023 earnings call. On the call with me are Beth Wozniak, our Chair and Chief Executive Officer; and Sara Zawoyski, Chief Financial Officer. They will provide details on our fourth quarter and full-year performance; and our outlook for 2024. Before we begin, let me remind you that any statements made about the Company's anticipated financial results are forward-looking statements subject to future risks and uncertainties, such as the risks outlined in today's press release and nVent's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are made as of today and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Actual results could differ materially from anticipated results. Today's webcast is accompanied by a presentation, which you can find in the Investors section of nVent's website. References to non-GAAP financials are reconciled in the Appendix of the presentation. We will have time for questions after our prepared remarks. With that, please turn to Slide 3, and I will now turn the call over to Beth.

Beth Wozniak: Thank you, Tony, and good morning, everyone. It's great to be with you today to share our fourth quarter and full-year results. 2023 was another outstanding year. Q4 was a record quarter with double-digit sales growth and adjusted EPS exceeding our guidance. This included margin expansion across every segment and robust free cash flow. For the full-year, we had strong growth and execution resulting in record sales, margins, earnings and cash flow. I am proud of our nVent team and everything we've accomplished. I'm very excited for 2024 with the trends of electrification, sustainability, and digitalization. We are well positioned for strong sales and profit growth, driven by our focus on high growth verticals, new products and acquisitions.

Slide 4 summarizes our Q4 and full-year performance. Fourth quarter sales were up 16%. On an organic basis, sales grew 2% on top of 15% a year-ago. Segment income grew an impressive 31% year-over-year with return on sales of 260 basis points. Adjusted EPS grew 18% on top of 32% a year-ago, and we generated $215 million of free cash flow up 19%. Looking at our vertical performance in the quarter, infrastructure led up low-double digits with strength in Data Solutions. Commercial resi grew low-single digits. Industrial declined mid-single digits impacted by channel inventory adjustments. Finally, energy was down low-single digits impacted by our exit from Russia. Turning to organic sales by geography. We saw growth across our key regions. North America grew low-single digits, and Europe was up slightly.