CEOInterviews.AIAMETEK Inc ($AME) Q4 2024 Earnings Call

O

Operator0:00

Hello and welcome to the fourth quarter 2024 Ametek earnings conference call. At this time all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker presentation there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session you will need to press star one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising that your hand has been raised. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Vice President Investor Relations and Treasurer Kevin Coleman.

K

Kevin Coleman0:40

Thank you, Nan. Thank you, Andrew. Good morning and welcome to Ametek's fourth quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Joining me today are Dave Zapico, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Dala Puri, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. During the course of today's call, we'll be making forward-looking statements which are subject to change based on various risk factors and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ significantly from expectations. A detailed discussion of the risk and uncertainties that may affect our future results is contained in Ametek's filings with the SEC. Ametek disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Any reference made on this call to 2023 or 2024 results or to 2025 guidance will be on an adjusted basis excluding after-tax acquisition-related intangible amortization and excluding a pre-tax $29.2 million or $0.10 per diluted share charge in the first quarter of 2024 for integration costs related to the Paragon medical acquisition. Reconciliations between GAAP and adjusted measures can be found in our press release and on the investor section of our website. We'll begin today's call with prepared remarks and then we'll open it up for questions. And I'll turn the meeting over to Dave.

D

David Zapico2:05

Thank you, Kevin, and good morning everyone. Ametek delivered strong results in the fourth quarter highlighted by robust margin expansion, outstanding cash flow generation, strong organic orders growth, and double-digit growth in earnings per share. In the quarter, we established records for sales, operating income, EBITDA, and diluted earnings per share, as well as for operating cash flow and free cash flow. We also repurchased $155 million in shares during the quarter and this morning we announced the acquisition of Kern Micro Technique for approximately 105 million euros. Our performance this quarter marks the culmination of a strong year in which we leveraged the proven strength of our operating model to deliver outstanding results despite a challenging economic environment.

Now let me turn to our fourth quarter results. Fourth quarter sales were a record $1.76 billion, up 2% from the same period in 2023. Organic sales were down 3%. Acquisitions added five points in the quarter and foreign currency was flat. Orders were solid in the quarter with organic orders up 4% versus the prior year with positive organic growth across both our EIG and EMG segments. And we ended the quarter with a strong backlog of $3.44 billion. Ametek's operating performance in the fourth quarter was excellent. Operating income in the quarter was a record $469 million, a 5% increase over the fourth quarter of 2023. Operating margins were 26.6% in the quarter, up 90 basis points from the prior year, while core margins, which exclude the dilutive impact from acquisitions, were up a sizable 140 basis points. EBITDA in the quarter was a record $561 million, up 7% versus the prior year with EBITDA margins an impressive 31.9%. This operating performance led to robust cash generation with free cash flow a record $498 million in the quarter, up 4% versus last year's fourth quarter, and free cash flow to net income conversion of 129%. Diluted earnings per share were a record $1.87, up 11% versus the fourth quarter of 2023 and above our guidance range of $1.81 to $1.86 per share.

Now let me provide some additional details at the operating group level. First, the Electronic Instruments Group. EIG delivered outstanding performance in the fourth quarter with impressive margin expansion and operating margin levels that reflect the high quality of our businesses. EIG sales were $1.21 billion, down 2% from the fourth quarter of last year. Organic sales were down 3% and acquisitions added 1 point. Growth was strongest across our aerospace and defense businesses while our advanced optical metrology business Zygo also saw solid growth in the quarter. Similar to last year, our EIG businesses experienced some project delays in the fourth quarter as customers remain cautious at year end. We view these as temporary delays as the new project pipeline remains strong. EIG operating income was a record $386.6 million, up 8% versus the prior year, and operating margins were also a record 31.8%, up a robust 280 basis points from the prior year.

The Electromechanical Group also finished the year with strong operating performance. EMG's fourth quarter sales were $540 million, down 3% from the prior year with organic sales down 4%. Strong performance in our aerospace and defense businesses was offset by weaknesses in our OEM exposed businesses which continued to face headwinds from inventory destocking. EMG's operating income in the fourth quarter was $111.2 million, down 1% compared to the prior year period, while EMG's fourth quarter operating margins were 20.3%.

Now over the full year, overall performance was strong in 2024 as we established annual records for essentially all key financial metrics. Overall sales for the year were $6.94 billion, up 5% from 2023. Operating income for 2024 was $1.81 billion, up 6%. And operating margins were 26.1% for the full year, up 20 basis points from the prior year with core margins up 120 basis points. EBITDA for the year was $2.18 billion, up 8% with EBITDA margins of very strong 31.4%. Full year 2024 earnings were $6.83 per share, up 7% versus the prior year. We also delivered exceptional cash flows in 2024 with free cash flow up 6% versus the prior year and free cash flow to net income conversion a very strong 124%. Ametek's performance in 2024 underscores the quality of our businesses, the flexibility of our operating model, and the outstanding contributions from all Ametek colleagues. Our teams navigated a complex macroeconomic environment and delivered strong results while also ensuring Ametek is well positioned for long-term success.

Now turning to capital deployment and acquisitions. As noted in the fourth quarter, we repurchased approximately $155 million in shares, bringing our total share repurchases for the year to approximately $220 million. While our top priority for capital deployment remains acquisitions, our strong cash flows provide us with the flexibility to also opportunistically repurchase shares. Subsequent to the end of the first quarter, we acquired Kern Micro Technique, which we announced this morning. Kern is a leading manufacturer of high precision machining and optical inspection solutions that achieve industry-leading accuracy and surface finish. Kern's highly engineered solutions help customers produce highly complex and precise components used in semiconductor, medtech, space, and other high-tech industries. Kern is a strong strategic fit with our Ultra Precision Technologies business, expanding our existing capabilities in ultra high precision manufacturing and opening up new opportunities to serve customers with growing demands for miniaturization and accuracy. Headquartered near Munich, Germany, Kern has annual sales of approximately 50 million euros. I'm excited to welcome all Kern colleagues to the Ametek family.

Looking ahead to 2025, we are managing a strong pipeline of high quality acquisition candidates. We have a healthy and flexible balance sheet providing us the opportunity to deploy meaningful capital in strategic acquisitions. With our robust balance sheet, significant financial capacity, and disciplined approach to capital deployment, Ametek is well positioned to continue driving long-term value through our acquisition strategy. In addition to acquisitions, we continue to invest in our businesses to best position them for long-term growth. In 2024, we invested approximately $90 million in incremental growth investments largely across research, development, and engineering and sales and marketing functions to support their organic growth initiatives. We expect to invest approximately $85 million in incremental growth investments in 2025. These investments and initiatives have strengthened our leadership positions within our niche markets, helped open up new growth opportunities in attractive adjacent markets, and accelerated our new product development and technology innovation.

One such example of our technology innovation successes can be found in our latest innovation award winner at CAMECA. CAMECA's LEAP series of atom probe microscopes provide 3D imaging and chemical composition characterization of materials at the nanoscale. Historically, the LEAP product line focused on material science and geology applications targeted at highly knowledgeable academic customers at PhD level. CAMECA determined that an enhanced productivity system with high sensitivity and improved yield would broaden the market and support both academic and industrial customers who put a premium on throughput, automation, and analytical capabilities. This led to the development of the new LEAP 6000 XR which provides enhanced ease of use, new automation features for data collection, and improved analytical capabilities. With this new technology, atom probe tomography is now used to study nearly all classes of solid materials from the oldest minerals on Earth to the most advanced aerospace alloys. As a result, new applications are emerging due to CAMECA's customer-centric approach to innovation.

Now shifting to our outlook for the year ahead, we remain cautious as we start the year given the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties. However, we are encouraged by the strength in orders we experienced in the second half of the year, our strong backlog, our leading positions across a diverse set of markets which are poised for improved growth, and our significant capital available to deploy on strategic acquisitions. For 2025, we expect both overall and organic sales to increase low single digits on a percentage basis compared to 2024. Diluted earnings per share for the year are expected to be in the range of $7.12 to $7.18, up 3 to 5% compared to last year's results. For the first quarter, we anticipate overall sales to be roughly flat versus the prior year first quarter with adjusted earnings of $1.67 to $1.69 per share, up 2 to 3% versus the prior year. Just to summarize, Ametek delivered a strong finish to the year with solid performance in the fourth quarter, reflecting the strength of our portfolio and our ability to execute our growth strategy in a sluggish macro environment. Our differentiated technologies and deep industry expertise continue to position us well in attractive niche markets, providing a solid foundation for future growth. With a focus on innovation, operational excellence, and disciplined capital allocation, we are confident in our ability to drive continued growth and create long-term value for our shareholders in 2025 and beyond. I will now turn it over to Dala. He'll cover some of the financial details of the quarter, then we'll be glad to take your questions. Dala.

D

Dala Puri13:28

Thank you, Dave, and good morning everyone. As Dave noted, Ametek had a strong finish to 2024, establishing records for sales, operating income, earnings per share, and cash flow in the quarter. Now, let me provide some additional financial highlights for the fourth quarter and the full year, as well as some additional guidance for 2025. Starting with general and administrative expenses, fourth quarter G&A expenses were $28.9 million, up $2.5 million from the prior year. For the full year, general and administrative expenses were up approximately $5 million. As a percentage of sales, G&A expense was 1.5%, in line with 2023 levels. For 2025, general and administrative expenses are expected to be approximately 1.5% of sales. Fourth quarter other operating expenses were down $1 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 due to lower due diligence costs. For 2025, we expect other operating expenses to be largely in line with 2024 levels. The effective tax rate in the quarter was 12.8%, down from 17.8% in the fourth quarter of 2023 due to statute expirations. For the full year, the effective tax rate was 17.3%, which was in line with our guidance range of 17 to 17.5%. For 2025, we anticipate our effective tax rate to be between 19 and 20%. As we have stated in the past, actual quarterly tax rates can differ dramatically, either positively or negatively, from this full-year estimated rate. Capital expenditures were $52 million in the fourth quarter and $127 million for the full year. Capital expenditures in 2025 are expected to be approximately $155 million or about 2% of sales. Depreciation and amortization expense in the quarter was $96 million and for the full year was $383 million. In 2025, we expect depreciation and amortization to be approximately $400 million, including after-tax acquisition-related intangible amortization of approximately $194 million or $0.83 per diluted share. For the quarter, operating working capital was 16.8% of sales. Operating cash flow in the fourth quarter was a record at $550 million, up 2% versus the fourth quarter of 2023. Free cash flow was also a record in the quarter, up 4% to $498 million with excellent free cash flow conversion of 129% for the quarter. Free cash flow for 2024 was a record $1.7 billion, up 6% versus the prior year with full-year free cash flow conversion also very strong at 124% of net income. For 2025, we expect free cash flow conversion to be approximately 115%. Total debt at year end was $2.1 billion, down $1.2 billion from the end of 2023. Offsetting this debt is cash and cash equivalents of $374 million. As Dave noted, we spent approximately $155 million on share repurchases in the fourth quarter, bringing our total share repurchases for the year to approximately $220 million. Additionally, subsequent to the end of the fourth quarter, we deployed approximately 105 million euros on the acquisition of Kern Micro Technique. At the end of 2024, our gross debt to EBITDA ratio was 0.9 times and our net debt to EBITDA ratio was 0.8 times. We continue to have excellent financial capacity with approximately $2.5 billion of cash and existing credit facilities to support our acquisition strategy and growth initiatives. In summary, we delivered strong fourth quarter and full year 2024 operating results highlighted by record earnings, robust margins, and excellent cash flow generation. With a proven strategy, significant capital deployment capacity, and a strong track record of execution, we are well positioned to navigate current trade uncertainties and to drive growth and value creation in 2025. Kevin.

K

Kevin Coleman18:17

Thanks. Andrew, can we please open the lines for questions?

O

Operator18:23

Certainly. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star 1-1 on your telephone. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster.

And our first question comes from the line of Matt Somerville with D.A. Davidson.

M

Matt Somerville18:43

Thanks. Morning, David. Maybe could you talk a little bit about the nature of delays you saw within EIG and have you started to see some of that break now that we're into February? And then maybe if you could also comment on your views regarding the remaining duration of the OEM destocking you're continuing to see in EMG? And then I have a follow-up.

D

David Zapico19:11

Sure, Matt, good morning. The project delays in EIG were pretty much what we've been seeing. It was across the board, not really notable, but we got some delays on the shipments, but the orders were good. And similar, the destocking headwinds largely impacted our OEM exposed businesses in EMG which include our automation and engineering solution subsegment. But we're starting to see improved order patterns from some OEM customers while others are taking a little time to destock. We were encouraged by the sequential orders growth in Paragon. They had substantial double-digit orders growth. We're also encouraged by the orders in EIG. So both groups were up organically in orders, very positive from that viewpoint, and the order strength continued into January. So we're not through the destocking. Some customers are through it, some are not, but you can see it definitely easing a bit as we go forward.

M

Matt Somerville20:22

A follow-up, David. Can you talk about where you were with price cost in '24, what your views on that are for '25, and what you see as Ametek's ultimate level of price capture this year? Thanks.

D

David Zapico20:36

Sure. I think in 2024, the last quarter, we ended up pretty much in line with what we were performing throughout the year. We captured a bit more than three and our inflation was a little bit more than two. And going into 2025, we've been pretty conservative in budgeting that we're saying that we'll offset increased price with inflation by a little bit. So we think the environment for inflation, at least what we're seeing, is mitigated to a great degree. And I think you're in that one and a half to 2% number for the pricing.

M

Matt Somerville21:15

Got it. Thank you.

D

David Zapico21:18

Thank you.

O

Operator21:20

And our next question comes from the line of Jeffrey Sprag with Vertical Research.

J

Jeffrey Sprag21:27

Thank you. Good morning everyone. Hey David, can you give us a little bit more of an update on Paragon? You mentioned orders were firming up here as we exited the year. Can you just level set us on where we're at revenue base for that business and what you are expecting in 2025?

D

David Zapico21:49

Yeah, to remind everyone, we acquired a business. It's in the medtech space. It uses single-use and consumable surgical instruments and implantable components in markets with good growth rates, long-term growing markets, excellent engineering capability, a leading additive manufacturing capability, and a lot of new program wins which we continue to execute through 2024. In 2024, they're going through a destocking of their customers. But as I said, some of their customers are destocked and have started to order aggressively, but some of the other customers are not through the destocking. The net effect of that is sequentially we saw a significant double-digit increase in order input. Now we remain excited about the business. The end demand in procedures within their surgical and orthopedic markets remain strong. So we know it's truly a destock; the end procedures are continuing and the inventory is being consumed and we're gaining share with these new programs. So we're investing in the long-term growth that they continue to win new programs. We also have a combined management team leading Paragon, a combination of Ametek and legacy Paragon management team, functioning well. As I said, the inventory normalization continues to impact the business, but we're working through it. So we're encouraged by that sequential orders growth.

J

Jeffrey Sprag23:30

Dave, just to put a finer point on that. So did we end the year then somewhere around $420 million of revenues in Paragon?

D

David Zapico23:42

Exactly, Jeff. We're in that ballpark. I'm not going to give the exact number, but you're right on the pin there. And we expect that business to grow higher than Ametek as we move throughout the year, especially in the second half.

J

Jeffrey Sprag23:59

And not to overly drill on Paragon, but also just given the restructuring and everything you did last year in the business, can you give us an idea of maybe order of magnitude of margin improvement you're looking for there?

D

David Zapico24:15

Yeah, I think from where they're at now, we should see substantial improvement in the next 12 months and that'll be biased toward the second half, but it'll definitely happen and it'll be well in excess of the 20 or 30 basis points of margin improvement we're looking at for the whole company. Well in excess of that.

J

Jeffrey Sprag24:42

Great. I'll pass the baton. Thanks a lot, guys.

D

David Zapico24:46

Thank you.

O

Operator24:47

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Jamie Cook with Deutsche Securities.

J

Jamie Cook24:54

Hi, good morning. Congrats on a nice quarter. I guess my first question, understanding the orders have continued to improve, there's some concern out there from investors that the improvement we're seeing in the industrial economy was more of a pre-buy based on concerns post-election. It doesn't sound like you're seeing any of that, but if you could just comment on the cadence of orders, whether there was anything unusual. And then my second question, understanding you're guiding to low single-digit growth, it sounds like we're flat in the first quarter, just trying to understand the cadence of growth that you're expecting again given some of the uncertainty on the macro. Thank you.

D

David Zapico25:40

Sure. In terms of the cadence for orders, we had a pretty typical quarter where the orders increased every month of the quarter, but December was the strongest month for orders, but that's typical cadence. Also for the whole year, December was the strongest month, so that was a good order month. And then in January, that same positive orders continued. So really since the middle of last year when we started seeing improvement in orders, it's definitely continuing. And our customers aren't telling us it's a pre-buy to get ahead of tariffs or anything, but it could be. You don't know, but it feels pretty strong from our viewpoint. And as those orders make their way into our backlog, those will make their way into sales as we go forward. We're starting out the year flat as you mentioned. As we move throughout the year, that destock will mitigate and we have good pipelines. So it's a conservative but prudent start to the year, the way we're looking at it.

J

Jamie Cook26:57

Thank you.

D

David Zapico26:59

Thank you, Jamie.

O

Operator27:03

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Andrew Busaglia with BNP Paribas.

A

Andrew Busaglia27:24

Yep. Can you hear me?

O

Operator27:29

We're hearing about every... No, you're breaking up.

K

Kevin Coleman27:34

Andrew, why don't we put him on hold and we'll go to the next caller next.

O

Operator27:38

Certainly. One moment, please.

And our next question comes from the line of Brett Lindsay with Mizuho.

B

Brett Lindsay27:50

Hey, good morning all. Hey, just want to come back to the project comments, the softness at the end of the year. It sounds like the pipeline's building and maybe strong. So front log looks pretty good. Are customers giving you any indication on the timing of when these projects might release? And how are you thinking about A&E engineered solutions backlog conversion as part of the guidance construct?

D

David Zapico28:18

Yeah, I think we have a really good pipeline and it's going to play out in 2025. Expecting to see projects that have been delayed are now moving. In terms of the A&E piece of the business, I think that's where we're suffering from the OEM destock the most. But I think in the automation side of the business, we've bottomed and it's a great place to grow from where we're at right now. And on the medtech side of the business, we've already started to see the destock abate. So that's where we are, and that'll play out in our guidance throughout the year and we expect those two businesses to do better as we progress throughout the year.

B

Brett Lindsay29:14

Okay, great. And maybe just shifting over to aerospace and defense. Could you give us an update on how you're thinking about the outlook on commercial versus defense? I know a lot of moving pieces there. And then anything to think about in terms of profitability as we shift to more OE versus aftermarket and what you're embedding there in the guide for the year. Thanks.

D

David Zapico29:36

Sure. Our A&D business had another strong year. In the fourth quarter it was up mid-single digits, up high single digits for the year, mid-single digits for the quarter. Growth in the fourth quarter was strongest across our commercial businesses, so we already saw the OE component of the sales go up in the fourth quarter. We make a lot of money on OE, a lot of money on aftermarket, so I don't think there's a margin concern there. We think in 2025 it's going to grow at mid-single digits and we're seeing strength in both our commercial and defense markets. So commercial may be a bit stronger than defense but both of those will be healthy growers in 2025.

B

Brett Lindsay30:21

All right. Appreciate the insight.

D

David Zapico30:24

Thank you.

O

Operator30:26

Thank you.

And our next question comes from the line of Rob Wertheimer with Melius Research.

R

Rob Wertheimer30:35

Thank you. Good morning everybody. So margin performance was very strong especially given just the soft core environment. I wonder can you just talk in general about how you approached cost and margin through the quarter? Was this a bit of a batten down the hatches? Is this normal improvement flowing through? Is acquisition improvement flowing through? Maybe just characterize how you see the margin improve in the quarter.

D

David Zapico30:58

Yeah, I think it's Ametek operational excellence. We had an excellent operating quarter. Reported margins were up 90 points and core margins were up 140 basis points. We got good productivity, good positive price cost, good mix. So it was a good quarter for margins. But we've been delivering good margins for year after year for a long time. For the year, our core margins were up 120 basis points and I don't think you see any reason that's going to stop. It's our DNA. We're constantly working on operational excellence programs and executing them, and we have high contribution margin businesses that are contributing to it. So the margin performance was good, very good. We had some records that we set, but it was kind of expected.

R

Rob Wertheimer31:57

Okay, perfect. So nothing dramatic and negative. This one may be a little tricky to answer because there's obviously a lot of back and forth going on in government policy right now, but is there any hiccups or stutters you're seeing in potential future demand or current demand from funding that might flow through to laboratories, test measurements, scientific instruments, and so forth? And I'll stop there. Thank you.

D

David Zapico32:21

Yeah, I don't see any specific thing that's going to hurt the laboratory demand. I will say one thing about the laboratory demand, it's very strong internationally right now, so that's driving it more so than the US. When I think about the overall regulatory environment, I think some of the things with the new administration are positive. We have regulatory relief, we're looking forward to projects moving ahead faster. There's a different approach to antitrust. We have a focus on energy development, that's good for us. There's an increased focus on military spending, that's good for us. There's lower taxes for products manufactured in the US, we do a lot of manufacturing in the US. There's tax breaks planned to boost equipment investment. So I think a lot of those pro-growth policies can be really positive for us. And as a US manufacturer with a lot of capability in the US with a significant US manufacturing footprint, it provides many options and opportunities depending how the situation develops. And we have a flexible asset-light model consistent with our strategy, and we think as we get throughout this year we'll see some opportunities develop.

R

Rob Wertheimer33:42

Thank you.

D

David Zapico33:44

Okay, Rob.

O

Operator33:46

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Andrew Obin with Bank of America.

A

Andrew Obin33:53

Oh, yes. Good morning.

D

David Zapico33:55

Hello, Andrew.

A

Andrew Obin33:57

Just to clarify, what's organic growth rate that's embedded in your first quarter guidance?

D

David Zapico34:06

Let me see. It's a flattish number, Andrew. So both total sales and organic sales were flat.

A

Andrew Obin34:16

Okay. So we are accelerating organically from fourth quarter to the first quarter.

D

David Zapico34:22

Oh yeah, we're going from minus 2, minus 3 to flat. So the organic growth is accelerating from Q4 to Q1 and it's tied to the acceleration in order input through organic orders. So I think that's going to continue throughout the year. So as those organic orders were strong, our sequential quarters the organic growth will be increased versus Q4 and it's just a continuation of a slow acceleration through the year.

A

Andrew Obin34:56

Gotcha. And just sort of combining the two questions, first how did you, you know, all this tariff noise, do we see it in the guidance? And also how does FX impact your '25 outlook because you are a meaningful US exporter. So how should we think about the impact both on the revenue and margin? Thank you.

D

David Zapico35:19

Yeah, they're good questions. The guidance we have takes into account the things that we've heard about over the last few weeks, few days. But we've been making contingency plans since shortly after the elections for tariffs. Our 2017 and 2018 playbook is relevant. That's when we executed a China for China manufacturing strategy and decoupled our supply chains from China. We executed flawlessly and we're ready to do the same thing now if it's required. We manufacture niche highly differentiated products. We plan to pass on the cost impact of the tariffs if the tariffs get enacted to our customers as we have done previously. We have a significant US manufacturing footprint, it's a flexible asset-light model, so we're very agile. I think that we're well positioned to manage through the current environment. Our guidance doesn't assume a broader economic slowdown because of an escalating trade war, to be clear. No demand destruction is assumed in our budget. But everything that we know of and with our past success in decoupling our supply chains from China and with our operational capability, we think we're ready for this and we got it covered. And Andrew, on foreign exchange, obviously we're a global business but we're primarily a US dollar centric business. So our top line is not overly exposed to foreign exchange. And we have a very balanced foreign exchange footprint at the profit and cash flow level through natural offset. So we are not impacted by broad-based US dollar movement. And I think the last few years you've seen a lot of FX volatility and it hasn't impacted our bottom line.

A

Andrew Obin37:23

All right. Thanks so much.

D

David Zapico37:26

Thank you, Andrew.

O

Operator37:28

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Christopher Glenn with Oppenheimer.

C

Christopher Glenn37:35

Thanks, a lot of ground covered. Just curious on Kern, Dave. How you think about the size of the addressable market, what's the competition like, and how long you've been looking at that business.

D

David Zapico37:51

Sure, Chris. It's part of our Ultra Precision Technology division. We bought a business in that part of our company about 15 years ago named Precitech, and they build diamond turning machines that make incredibly precise optical surfaces. The business has done extremely well for Ametek. We look at Kern as kind of a sister company with some different technology. Kern also does submicron level accuracy systems. Their end markets are places that need exceptional levels of precision, including the medical market, the semiconductor market, the research market, the space market. There's a lot of opportunities for us to grow this business and run them as sister companies with our Precitech business. We have capabilities that solve a bigger set of solutions for the customers. It's a typical Ametek acquisition: highly differentiated, high precision, leader in niches. Really works for the miniaturization that's going on in the technology world. We got a fair price, the management team is staying with us, and we think it's going to be a good acquisition. Most of the sales are exported outside of Germany. They're a German company, but over 70% of their sales are outside of Germany. So the world goes to Munich to get the best systems, and it fits well within Ametek's family of businesses.

C

Christopher Glenn39:40

Great. Thanks. And just, kind of a churning part of the cycle to a degree here. Several years ago, you went through some divestitures. As you look at things play out now, realizing you've really shrunk oil and metals for instance, are there any areas of the portfolio that are bubbling up for potential?

D

David Zapico40:08

Yeah, we go through that strategic analysis every year and we went through it this year. There's nothing that's going to impact our guide. There's nothing large or substantial. There may be some smaller plants or things that we continue to act on during the course of the year, but these will be inconsequential. And we like the portfolio that we have right now.

C

Christopher Glenn40:30

Great. Thanks a lot.

D

David Zapico40:33

Thank you, Chris.

O

Operator40:36

Thank you.

And our next question comes from the line of Nigel Coe with Wolfe Research.

N

Nigel Coe40:44

Thanks. Good morning. Lots of information so far, but I'm sorry if I missed this, David. What is the organic, I think low single digit for the full year, but how does that break out between EMG and EIG? And I'm just curious if you're seeing a stronger rebound in EMG just given that Paragon and automation were quite badly impacted by destock. So I'm just wondering if you're factoring in a stronger rebound in those two businesses.

D

David Zapico41:11

EMG is going to have slightly higher organic growth than EIG. So it's going to be a bit higher. It's going to be low single digit for the year, but EMG is going to be a bit higher.

N

Nigel Coe41:21

A little bit higher. Okay, that's great. And then just the EMG margins in the fourth quarter. I mean, obviously EIG was spectacular, but EMG came in a bit lighter and I know that there's typically some production disabsorption in the fourth quarter. Just wondering, was there any intentional extended production shortfalls in the fourth quarter?

D

David Zapico41:45

No, it's the calendar effect. And we're going through a destocking there. Our automation business is extremely profitable and it's down substantially with it. So we had core margins down over 100 basis points on that part of the business. The good thing is we've leaned out the cost structure and we're really at a good place to grow. So as destocking abates and that business has bottomed, we're looking forward to when it turns, it should be some profitable sales for us.

N

Nigel Coe42:20

And then just a quick follow on to that comment about automation margins. Are you expecting automation to be back to positive organic growth in the first quarter next year or this year?

D

David Zapico42:33

Yeah, the automation business is lagging the medical business a bit. So we'll have to see how that plays out.

N

Nigel Coe42:44

Okay. Thanks, Dave.

D

David Zapico42:48

Thank you.

O

Operator42:53

One moment, please. Our next question comes from the line of Joe Gordano with TD Cowen.

J

Joe Gordano42:59

Hey guys, good morning. I'm not sure. Did you give the actual order number or the book to bill for the quarter? If you did, I'm apologizing.

D

David Zapico43:09

Yeah, let me grab that. Organic orders were 4%. The book to bill was 1.01 if we exclude FX on the backlog. And both groups were positive. EMG was a little bit more positive than EIG, but they were both strong.

J

Joe Gordano43:41

And then can you walk us through just I think you mentioned in the outlook the view for aerospace and defense. So can you kind of do your walk with like the 2024 actual and the view? Yeah. Thank you.

D

David Zapico43:55

Yeah, we forgot that we didn't get to that yet. So on the process side, process declined low single digits in the fourth quarter. We saw strong growth in the quarter within our advanced optical metrology businesses as well as our high-end microscopy business had a good quarter. And similar to last year, we experienced some temporary delays in project spending. Looking forward to 2025, we expect organic sales for our process businesses to be up low single digits for the full year. And I talked about the aerospace and defense business already. We expect ongoing strength in both commercial and defense and it to be up mid-single digits for 2025. So process low, aerospace and defense mid. Then you go to power and industrial. Our sales were flat in the fourth quarter. Our RTDS business which provides advanced power simulation systems to utilities and research institutions saw growth in the quarter. For 2025, we expect organic sales for our power and industrial businesses to remain flat relative to 2024 levels. And finally, the automation and engineered solutions business. Overall sales were up low double digits driven by the contributions from the Paragon acquisition. Organic sales were down high single digits in the quarter consistent with the levels we've seen during the year given the continued normalization of our OEM customer inventories. And for 2025, we expect organic sales to be up mid-single digits for the year with improving growth trends throughout the year.

J

Joe Gordano45:51

Thank you.

D

David Zapico45:53

Okay, Joe.

O

Operator45:55

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Dean Dre with RBC Capital Markets.

S

Sail Mino46:02

Hi, good morning. This is Sail Mino on for Dean Dre. Can you provide any context on the $85 million in growth investments? How's that split between segment and is that adding mostly sales and engineering? And what was the 2024 growth investment?

D

David Zapico46:24

The 2024 was $90 million and the 2025 is $85 million, so they're very close. And again, that's the incremental spend. It's largely research, development, and engineering spend. So I'd say two-thirds of the $85 million is R&D&E and about one-third is additional marketing, channel sales, and marketing work. So about two-thirds, one-third. And it's biased toward EIG largely because of the size of EIG. So it's across the whole company but biased to EIG.

S

Sail Mino47:03

Got it. And then the vitality index reached 28% in the third quarter I believe, which you noted was a strong level within the target range of 20 to 30%. Could you discuss the new product intros that you're most excited about for 2025 and how do you see the vitality index trending?

D

David Zapico47:23

Yeah, we talk about a vitality index being between 20 and 30% is a good number. Actually it was extremely high in Q4 at 30%. So it's one of our highest numbers. So the new product engine is working and that's why we have such a strong pipeline of new orders and I think it's going to pay off next year. We think a number like 20 to 30 is a good number for us. We started tracking this when it was down in the low teens, mid teens many years ago. So we think it's a good number now. It's a way that we can look at the investments we're putting in and making sure we're adding value to our customers. It shows up in pricing also. We can get premium prices by adding features to products and providing new value to our customers that we weren't providing before. So it's a healthy amount. We spend a healthy amount on R&D and given our niche market focus and technology leadership, innovation leadership matches the strategy of the company.

S

Sail Mino48:24

Awesome. Thank you.

D

David Zapico48:27

Thank you.

O

Operator48:28

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Robert Mason with Baird.

R

Robert Mason48:35

Yes. Good morning, Dave. You had mentioned earlier that your labs business you were seeing strength more just call it rest of world versus the US right now. Can you drill into that a little bit? Is that your own overlay or footprint where you're exposed or differences in government priorities or just what's maybe driving that difference?

D

David Zapico49:03

It could be government priorities, it could be channel investments we made, but the place that we're seeing a lot of lab expansion work is in Asia. So Asia is the market. It's healthy everywhere but Asia is particularly healthy.

R

Robert Mason49:22

Maybe just to continue the thought there, could you relative to your 2025 guidance provide kind of a geographic overlay to that, just how you're thinking about the regions for 2025?

D

David Zapico49:37

Yeah, I'll talk about 2024 where we ended up. We had essentially strong growth in Europe and Asia offset by some declines in the US. So for the full year, we had about plus 2 internationally and down mid-single digits in the US, and that was largely our automation business that was down in the US. In places like Asia, we were up and China was roughly flat. So that's kind of hanging in there for us. When we think about 2025, we're looking for all regions to grow. We actually see some strength in Europe. Like I said, we were plus 2 in Europe. We think some of the strength in Asia is going to continue, maybe more strength outside of China than in China. We have good channels there. And we think the US is going to return to growth for us. So it'll be balanced growth across all geographies.

R

Robert Mason50:45

If when you said China was flat, was that a Q4 number or a full year?

D

David Zapico50:52

I think it was a full year number.

R

Robert Mason50:55

Okay, very good. Thank you.

D

David Zapico50:59

Thank you, Rob.

O

Operator51:01

Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of Andrew Busaglia with BNP Paribas.

A

Andrew Busaglia51:12

Hey, good morning, guys. Yeah, good morning. Good. So yeah, I wanted to touch on your orders you're saying are up 4%. And you had some good commentary just about your subsegments for sales, but what about order momentum in each subsegment? Where's that coming from?

D

David Zapico51:45

Yeah, I think that what you really have is in the subsegments, the big thing in the automation and engineered solutions is that the destock is abating and we're starting to see some of the customers place orders now, specifically in the medtech area. So that's positive. And on the automation part of the business, we think it's bottomed and we've leaned out cost structure, so we're optimistic about what that's going to do when it increases. The process and the power businesses, we think we're well positioned and those are the project businesses. We saw some delays. We're hoping that those are going to abate a bit. Quoting a lot of activity, good pipelines there. And then in aerospace and defense, it's pretty much steady. We think both our military and our commercial aftermarket is going to do well, ongoing strength in both sides of it.

A

Andrew Busaglia52:49

Yeah, okay. And you are generating a ton of cash, great cash flow in the quarter this year. Are we going to see a series of sort of like Kern deals or you expect another Paragon-ish size deal in 2025?

D

David Zapico53:07

That's a great question. Right now, we have bigger deals in our pipeline and we also have smaller technology deals like Kern in our pipeline. We could probably spend $5 billion in 2025 on deals and we still only have a debt to EBITDA of about two and a half the way we calculated. So we're very aggressive in that area. There are properties that people were holding back on. It seems like the market is picking up a bit. So we think with our strong balance sheet, we're going to be able to get deals done. We're going to be able to be opportunistic with share buybacks and we're going to reward our long-term shareholders with an ever-increasing dividend. Small dividend, but ever increasing. So we have a balance sheet where we can do it all and we're going to do it all. But I think the most optimism is in the M&A area right now.

A

Andrew Busaglia54:10

Yeah. Okay. Thank you.

D

David Zapico54:14

Thank you.

O

Operator54:15

Thank you. I'll now hand the call back over to Vice President Investor Relations and Treasurer Kevin Coleman for any closing remarks.

K

Kevin Coleman54:25

Thank you, Andrew, and thanks everyone for joining our call today. And as a reminder, a replay of the webcast can be accessed in the investor section of ametek.com. Have a great day.

O

Operator54:36

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating and you may now disconnect.

AMETEK Inc ($AME) Q4 2024 Earnings Call

About David Zapico