MYE Myers Industries Inc.
$30.39
Myers Industries Inc. Q3 F2026 Earnings Call Transcript
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Conference Call Operator
Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to the Myers second quarter 2026 earnings results. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow up. I will now hand the conference over to Meghan Beringer, Senior Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Meghan Beringer
Senior Director of Investor Relations
Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Meijer's Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Review. Joining me today are Aaron Schapper, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Samantha Rutty, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. After the prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. Earlier this morning, we issued a press release outlining our third quarter financial results. In addition, a presentation to accompany today's prepared remarks has been posted. Those documents are available on the investor relations section of our website at myersindustries.com. This call is being webcast live on our website and will be archived along with the transcript of the call shortly after this event. Now please turn to slide three of the presentation for our safe harbor disclosures. I would like to remind you that we may make some forward-looking statements during this call. These comments are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Further, information concerning these risks, uncertainties, and other factors are set forth in the company's periodic SEC filings. Also, please be advised that certain non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted gross profit, adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted earnings per share may be discussed on this call. Finally, all results presented and discussed in today's call are from continuing operations. Now, please turn to slide four of our presentation as I turn the call over to Aaron.
Aaron Schapper
President and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Meghan. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. I'll begin today's call with a review of our third quarter results, followed by an update on our focused transformation program. I will then introduce our four key growth platforms with a focus on the opportunity ahead in our signature business. Sam will provide a detailed review of the third quarter financials and our outlook for the year. Starting with slide five, we delivered strong year-over-year revenue growth, up 8.1% in the quarter, supported by strength in infrastructure and food and beverage. Infrastructure revenue improved 38% on continued robust demand for our composite matting. I will come back to our infrastructure business later in the call. Food and beverage was up 12% on strong demand for seed boxes and intermediate bulk containers. In addition to these positive demand trends, we are driving commercial excellence initiatives across the organization as part of our focused transformation. We faced margin pressure in the quarter primarily due to a spike in resin costs. While we anticipated an increase and continue to implement pricing adjustments, there is a lag until full price realization. These actions, combined with a moderation in resin costs, are expected to drive significant margin improvements in the fourth quarter. EPS from continuing operations was 13 cents. On an adjusted basis, Income from continuing operations improved year over year to 32 cents despite gross margin headwinds. During the third quarter, we completed the divestiture of North America Meyers Tire Supply. This was a significant milestone in our focused transformation journey. The sale simplifies our portfolio, enabling us to focus our resources and investments on the remaining business that are closely aligned with our mission of delivering products that protect. I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank our former MTS colleagues for their many contributions and commitment over the years. We wish them continued success moving forward. Please turn to slide six as we briefly revisit the three strategic priorities guiding our focus transformation. First, we are delivering differentiated products that protect by strengthening customer relationships, enhancing commercial excellence, and deepening market insights to better address evolving needs. Second, we are advancing operational excellence and cost leadership, driving greater consistency, productivity and efficiency across our organization and instilling a culture of continuous improvement. And third, we are prioritizing investments in our key growth platforms, focusing resources on businesses where we have a strong competitive advantage and see the greatest opportunities for profitable growth. Our 2026 year-to-date results validate this strategy. We have grown revenue, expanded margins, and generated strong free cash flow while continuing to improve operational excellence across the organization. With sequential margin expansion anticipated in Q4, we are on pace to deliver a strong year in 2026. Turning to slide seven, I'd like to provide an overview of our four key growth platforms where we are focusing our investments and see meaningful opportunities to create long-term value. One of our greatest assets is the strength of our portfolio and the range of products we offer that serve a diverse set of customers in specialized end markets, addressing essential needs where safety, performance, durability, and reliability are critical. Across these markets, we are leveraging our expertise in engineering and material sciences to develop highly customized polymer solutions that replace traditional materials such as wood and metal. Surface Protection, led by Signature Systems, provides composite matting and portable flooring solutions supporting infrastructure development, construction, and large-scale events. Dangerous Goods Storage and Transportation through SEPTR delivers specialized containers for fuel, chemicals, water, and ammunition Serving consumer, industrial, and vehicle end markets, including military applications. Specialized Storage, through Buckhorn, provides engineered reusable packaging and material handling solutions serving industrial food and beverage and vehicle. Storage Solutions, through Aquamills, offers storage and organization products that improve productivity across industrial and commercial markets. These growth platforms are where we believe our technology, customer relationships, and exposure across multiple markets provide competitive advantages and a strong foundation for continued growth. In addition, our rotational molding operations provide specialized manufacturing flexibility and engineering expertise that supports these growth platforms. As we continue to execute on our strategy, we believe the resilience of our products that protect portfolio will enable us to pursue market opportunities and deepen customer relationships. Last quarter, we highlighted this opportunity through a deep dive into SEPTOR. This quarter, we provide additional insights into Signature, a particularly compelling example with a strong market position and a significant runway for future growth. Turning to slide eight. Signature is a leading provider of highly engineered composite matting and portable flooring solutions, serving two primary sectors for this end market, infrastructure, which represents approximately 80% of sales, and stadium, which accounts for the remaining 20%. Within infrastructure, our products provide temporary access ways and work platforms for transition and distribution, oil and gas, and large-scale construction. Stadium, our portable flooring solutions protect turf and other surfaces at athletic venues and major events. What makes Signature particularly attractive is its proprietary material science capabilities, engineering expertise, and continued product innovation. These strengths enable us to develop differentiated solutions that enhance performance. Most recently, we launched IceShield R10. which was developed by combining customer feedback with our signature product innovation. The ice shield solution incorporates an insulating layer to maintain freezing temperatures, save energy costs, and prevent damage to the ice sheet below. Built to handle heavy pedestrian traffic, staging and equipment loads of up to 20,000 pounds, our stadium product offerings now expand into the ice arena market enabling facilities to protect the playing surface and generate additional revenue by hosting concerts and other special events. Turning to slide nine, we estimate Signature's total addressable market at approximately $4 billion, with composite matting representing roughly 19% of the market today. This relatively low penetration presents a significant opportunity for continued conversion from traditional wood to composite matting. providing a compelling runway for long-term growth. Compared to traditional wood solutions, our composite solutions offer significant performance and economic advantages. Our mats can be up to 40% lighter and last up to five times longer, reducing transportation and replacement costs. They also provide improved traction and more stable working surfaces, enhancing site safety while reducing environmental impact through closed-loop recycling programs. Together, these benefits deliver a lower total cost of ownership and support continued conversion to our composite solutions. Turning to slide 10. Signature serves at several attractive market subsegments. Transmission and distribution, which represents approximately 23% of our addressable market, supported by increasing electricity demand and ongoing grid modernization. Energy. representing approximately 27% of our addressable market includes applications where durability and reliability are critical, primarily for oil and gas markets. Data centers, construction, and civil projects represent approximately 28% of our addressable market, benefiting from continued investment and construction activity. Finally, stadiums and events representing approximately 17% of our addressable market utilize our solutions to protect playing surfaces and provide access for sporting and entertainment events. Across these markets, Signature is positioned to capitalize on favorable secular demand trends and continued composite adoption, providing multiple avenues for sustainable growth. Turning to slide 11. Since acquiring Signature in 2024, we've continued to build on a strong market position with revenue expected to grow at a compound annual rate of approximately 13% through 2026. Looking ahead, we expect to build on this momentum with annual revenue growth percentages of mid to high teens through 2029, supported by three primary drivers. First, we expect the current surface protection market to grow supported by the favorable long-term demand trends we just discussed. Second, we expect continued conversion from traditional wood matting to composite solutions to contribute additional growth as customers increasingly recognize the performance and economic advantages of composite solutions. And third, we expect new customers and products to contribute additional growth. We're focused on deepening relationships with existing customers, broadening our customer base, and commercializing new products that expand the applications we can serve. Importantly, we're also investing in the capacity needed to support this growth. With planned expansions of 30% in 2027 and additional 30% in 2029, we expect our innovation pipeline averaging one product launch per year to generate more than $60 million in incremental revenue through 2029. Together, these drivers give us confidence in Signature's ability to sustain attractive growth, maintain a leading market position, and become an increasingly meaningful contributor to Meijer's profitable growth. Signature's breadth of surface protection products uniquely positions us to serve a diverse set of customers across a wide range of applications, further differentiating us in the marketplace. With that, I'll turn the call over to Sam for a review of our third quarter financial results.
Samantha Rutty
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Thank you, Aaron, and good morning, everyone. Please turn to slide 13. Net sales increased 8.1% year over year. Net sales would have increased 10.4% year over year, excluding the impact of our decision in the fourth quarter of 2025 to exit low-margin products with the idling of two rotational molding facilities. Infrastructure and food and beverage delivered strong growth in the quarter, while vehicle and consumer remained flat. Industrial and market sales were also flat year-over-year as timing-related softness in military demand was offset by strength across other products in our industrial portfolio. Adjusted gross margins decreased 360 basis points to 28.2%, driven by higher resin costs, unfavorable mix, and unplanned maintenance costs, partly offset by higher volume and price inactions. We included a resin cost index in our presentation on slide 14 to show the recent spike. As the chart shows, resin costs increased 76% from March to May. As the costs increased, we were able to take pricing actions, although with a margin impact due to timing and magnitude of the increase. As costs have stabilized and pricing actions are realized, We anticipate significant sequential margin improvement in Q4, in line with trailing 12 months average adjusted EBITDA margin. SG&A was lower as a percent of sales year over year, reflecting actions we have taken as part of our focus transformation. Adjusted operating margin decreased to 10.4% down 210 basis points over last year. Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to 15.5% down 280 basis points over last year. Adjusted EPS was 32 cents up 3.2% year over year on lower interest and tax expense. Please turn to slide 15. We ended the quarter with a cash balance of 53.5 million and total liquidity of 254.7 million providing us with ample flexibility to support our capital allocation priorities. We reduced net debt by $28.5 million during the third quarter, primarily using the proceeds from the MTS sale, resulting in a net leverage ratio of 1.86 times well within our target ratio of 1.5 to 2.5, and down significantly from last year when it was 2.64. We plan to further reduce debt in 2026 as we continue to fortify our balance sheet. Third quarter operating cash flow was 17.4 million and CapEx was 5.9 million, resulting in a free cash flow of 11.5 million. Year-to-date free cash flow is 61.9 million, up 29% from last year. Working capital as a percent of trailing 12 months, sales increased sequentially, primarily due to income tax receivables and the prepayment of our annual insurance renewal. We continue to prioritize working capital management to improve both metrics. Please turn to slide 16. Our capital allocation framework balances investing growth while returning cash to shareholders. CapEx was 5.9 million in Q3, and for the full year we expect CapEx to be 3.5% of sales with investments in organic growth, productivity, and infrastructure projects. Our 2026 projects include a European military production launch, capacity expansion and infrastructure, new automation to drive productivity, and mold and press replacements to sustain our core operations. Turning to slide 17. As we approach year end, we are updating our full year 2026 outlook. As a reminder, Market Outlook excludes the impact from exiting low-margin products and idling two rotational molding facilities in Alliance, Ohio that occurred in Q4 2025. This represented approximately $3 million in revenue in the third quarter, or approximately $13 million year-to-date, primarily industrial and consumer markets with favorable impact to earnings. For industrial, we are reaffirming our expectations of moderate growth. as we continue to see momentum building in capital spending trends from our industrial customers. While we expect timing-related headwinds in our military business to continue into the fourth quarter, we remain confident in our overall industrial outlook. As we've noted previously, military demand can fluctuate from quarter to quarter, but our long-term expectations remain unchanged, and we continue to expect revenue CAGR of 10% to 15% from 2025 through 2028 in this business. In infrastructure, we reaffirm our expectations of strong growth primarily driven by demand for our Megadeck and turf protection products. As Aaron discussed in his prepared remarks, these products continue to support U.S. market expansion fueled by sustained investment in transmission and distribution-related utility projects, data centers, and large-scale construction. Through 2029, we expect a mid- to high-teens percent CAGR for this business. For vehicle, we are lowering our outlook from stable to down. Demand indicators have been mixed for the year. The U.S. RV industry continues to experience meaningful year-over-year decline, driven by higher interest rates and fuel prices, as well as weak consumer confidence amid economic uncertainty. Marine and commercial vehicle demand is improving, while some automotive OEM program launches have been delayed. In consideration of all these factors, we are more cautious in our vehicle market outlook. In consumer, we are increasing our outlook to moderate growth from stable. At the start of 2026, strong winter storms across most of the U.S. created a sharp increase in demand for fuel cans. Table demand continued throughout the year and is expected to extend through year end. Finally, we are raising our expectation for the food and beverage end market to strong growth, for moderate growth, given recent quoting trends, existing backlog, and product conversion to our intermediate bulk container products within the food production industry. Further, we expect seed sales to be slightly positive compared to prior year. We continue to weigh both risks and opportunities for our end markets as we monitor geopolitical conditions, including energy markets, tariffs, or other factors that may influence demand trends. I would now like to turn the call back to Aaron for some closing comments before we take your questions. Aaron?
Aaron Schapper
President and Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Sam. Our strong year-to-date performance. including revenue growth, margin expansion, and improved cash flow, combined with anticipated significant sequential margin expansion in Q4, positions us to deliver great results in 2026. I'm encouraged by the progress we continue to make on our focused transformation. Our teams are driving commercial excellence, improving operational productivity, and maintaining disciplined cost management across the organization to improve margins. With the completion of the Meyers Tire Supply Divestiture, We have further simplified our portfolio and sharpened our focus on our key growth platforms. As we highlighted today with Signature, we see meaningful opportunities to capitalize on attractive market trends, drive innovation, and invest in the capacity and capabilities needed to support sustained profitable growth. I want to thank our employees for their continued dedication and execution. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to the operator for questions. Operator?
Operator
Conference Call Operator
Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star 1 again. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from Bill DeZellum with Teton Capital Market. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Bill Dezellem
Teton Capital Markets
Thank you. Would you please talk in more detail about increasing your view of the food and beverage market beyond what you did in your opening remarks, please?
Samantha Rutty
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yeah, we've just – hi, Bill. We've just seen really strong, you know, Quotation volume coming in and have a strong backlog going into the end of the year and continue to develop our pipeline. We've had a lot of focus with Gustavo joining the team on commercial excellence and just really strong pipeline growth going into the quarter.
Aaron Schapper
President and Chief Executive Officer
Bill, as we look at food and beverage, you know, there is obviously a lot of pressure on trying to make sure that food and beverage prices, food in particular, stays low. Labor is an issue. A lot of our customers are looking a lot more at automation and looking at the way they do things. And part of that automation is making sure that our product is a part of that mix. And so we've seen some pretty good demand along the food and beverage side. Also, as we go through the year and then into Q4, we're looking at a another year of seed and our seed box offering into the food and beverage market. So between those two things, that's our strength through the year so far. And then looking into Q4, we feel good where we are on the food and beverage side.
Bill Dezellem
Teton Capital Markets
And do you all feel this is a function of overall market activity accelerating? Or is this an indication of what the and many more. Bill, I'd say it's both.
Aaron Schapper
President and Chief Executive Officer
Our customers have been pulling demand, which is a nice thing. And then also really looking at Buckhorn, I think I've said before that You know, we believe in Buckhorn. We believe in what Buckhorn can do as a business. And, you know, once again, having Gustavo adding focus on product development, we've added people on that side of the business to really continue to drive new products into the market because this is what our customers are asking us to do. Buckhorn is a strong brand. and it's a strong brand in that industry and I think that we can do a lot. So I think it's a mixture of both things, both the focus transformation and pull from our customers.
Bill Dezellem
Teton Capital Markets
Great, thank you. And then I have one additional question, please. That on the balance sheet, you have 7.3 million of assets held for sale. And given that the tire supply business closed on August 31, that doesn't quite match with what I would have expected. Would you please discuss kind of what those assets are that are held for sale, please?
Samantha Rutty
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Yeah, as you know, as we mentioned in our remarks, the sale of the North America MTS supply business has occurred, but we are still working through the sale of the Central America business. That's a separate transaction.
Bill Dezellem
Teton Capital Markets
Thank you.
Operator
Conference Call Operator
Just a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 to raise your hand. There are no further questions at this time. I will now pass the call back to Meghan Beringer for closing remarks.
Meghan Beringer
Senior Director of Investor Relations
Thank you for joining us today. If you would like to continue the conversation, my contact information can be found on the final slide of this presentation. We look forward to staying in touch. With that we'll conclude the call. Have a great day.
Operator
Conference Call Operator
Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.