Atkore (ATKR) 10-Q2023 Q2 Quarterly report

The Electrical segment manufactures high quality products used in the construction of electrical power systems including conduit, cable, and installation accessories. This segment serves contractors, in partnership with the electrical wholesale channel.

The Safety & Infrastructure segment designs and manufactures solutions including metal framing, mechanical pipe, perimeter security, and cable management for the protection and reliability of critical infrastructure. These solutions are marketed to contractors, original equipment manufacturers and end users.

    

    

These statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) that the Company considered necessary to present a fair statement of its results of operations, financial position and cash flows. The results reported in these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should not be regarded as necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the entire year.

Atkore has not adopted any accounting standards in the current fiscal year. There are no accounting standards with adoption dates in the next fiscal year that are applicable to the Company.

The Company’s revenue arrangements primarily consist of a single performance obligation to transfer promised goods which is satisfied at a point in time when title, risks and rewards of ownership, and subsequently control have transferred to the customer. This generally occurs when the product is shipped to the customer, with an immaterial amount of transactions in which control transfers upon delivery. The Company primarily offers assurance-type standard warranties that do not represent separate performance obligations.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”), the Company is eligible for tax credits related to the manufacturing and selling of components used in the solar energy industry. These tax credits are transferable under the IRA and are accounted for under a government grant accounting model. The Company has contractual arrangements with some customers who purchase these components to transfer a portion of these tax credits to those customers. Pursuant to such contractual arrangements, the Company identifies two separate performance obligations under these contracts with the first being to transfer the promised goods and the second being to transfer the defined portion of the tax credits earned. The Company allocates the total value of these transactions between the two performance obligations. As a result of this allocation, the Company recognizes a reduction to revenue, similar to a rebate. Separately, the Company recognizes the benefit of the credit generated as a reduction of cost of sales. The solar tax credit receivable is recorded in Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets whereas the liability to transfer the defined portion of the tax credits is recorded in Other Current Liabilities.

For the six months ended March 31, 2023, the Company has recognized a reduction of revenue of $4,349 and a reduction of cost of sales of $6,010. As of March 31, 2023, the Company has a $6,209 liability for credits to be transferred and a solar tax credit receivable of $7,870. As of March 31, 2023, all activity related to the solar tax credits is within the Safety & Infrastructure segment.

The Company has certain arrangements that require it to estimate at the time of sale the amounts of variable consideration that should not be recorded as revenue as certain amounts are not expected to be collected from customers, as well as an estimate of the value of products to be returned. The Company principally relies on historical experience, specific customer agreements, and anticipated future trends to estimate these amounts at the time of sale and to reduce the transaction price. These arrangements include sales discounts and allowances, volume rebates, and returned goods. The Company records its obligations related to these items within the Customer Liabilities line on the balance sheet.

    

The Company records amounts billed to customers for reimbursement of shipping and handling costs within revenue. Shipping and handling costs associated with outbound freight after control over a product has transferred to a customer are accounted for as fulfillment costs and are included in cost of goods sold. Sales taxes and other usage-based taxes are excluded from revenue. The Company does not evaluate whether the selling price includes a financing interest component for contracts that are less than a year. The Company also expenses costs incurred to obtain a contract, primarily sales commissions, as all obligations will be settled in less than one year.

The Company typically receives payment 30 to 60 days from the point it has satisfied the related performance obligation. See Note 16, “Segment Information” for revenue disaggregated by geography and product categories.

From time to time, the Company enters into strategic acquisitions in an effort to better service existing customers and to obtain new customers.

On November 7, 2022, Atkore HDPE, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, acquired the assets of Elite Polymer Solutions (“Elite”), for a purchase price of $90,230, of which $75,981 was paid at closing and an additional purchase price payable of $14,000 was accrued. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2023, an additional $249 working capital true up payment has been made. Elite is a manufacturer of high density polyethylene (HDPE) conduit, primarily serving the telecommunications, utility, and transportation markets. As a result of the acquisition, the Company preliminarily recognized $18,604 of goodwill, $68,480 of identifiable intangible assets, of which $68,200 relates to customer relationships with an estimated useful life of 8 years, and $3,146 of working capital and other net tangible assets. As of March 31, 2023, the purchase price allocation has not been finalized as the Company is finalizing working capital, inventory, intangible assets, deferred tax assets and liabilities and fixed asset fair values.

The acquisition in fiscal 2023 was funded using cash-on-hand. The Company incurred approximately $257 in acquisition-related expenses for this acquisition, which was recorded as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses.

Net sales and net income of the above acquisition are included in the condensed consolidated financial statement of operations for the post-acquisition period. Due to the immaterial nature of this acquisition, the Company did not include the pro forma results of operations for this acquisition for the current period or the previous interim period.

On August 31, 2022, Atkore International Inc., and Atkore HDPE, LLC, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company, acquired the outstanding stock of two separate, but related, companies doing business as Cascade Poly Pipe & Conduit (“Cascade”) and Northwest Polymers, for a total purchase price of $62,100, of which $52,738 was paid at closing and an additional purchase price payable of $9,362 was accrued. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2023, the Company paid $3,111 of the accrued purchase price. Cascade is a manufacturer specializing in smooth wall HDPE conduit made from recycled materials, primarily serving the telecommunications, utility and datacom markets. Northwest Polymers is a leading recycler of PVC, HDPE and other plastics and a strategic supply partner to Cascade and other manufacturers. The purchase price allocation has not been finalized as the Company is finalizing working capital, inventory, intangible assets, deferred tax assets and liabilities and fixed asset fair values.

On June 22, 2022, Atkore International Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of United Poly Systems, LLC (“United Poly”), for a purchase price of $227,420. United Poly is a manufacturer of high density polyethylene (“HDPE”) pressure pipe and conduit, primarily serving the telecommunications, water infrastructure, renewables and energy markets. The purchase price allocation has not been finalized as the Company is finalizing working capital, inventory, intangible asset, deferred tax asset and liabilities and fixed asset fair values.

On May 19, 2022, Allied Tube and Conduit Corporation, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company acquired the assets of Talon Products, LLC (“Talon”), for a purchase price of $4,193. Included in Talon’s purchase price is a purchase price payable of $402. Talon is a manufacturer of non-metallic, injection molded cable cleats, primarily serving the power distribution markets. The Company finalized the purchase price allocation of Talon in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.

On December 21, 2021, Atkore HDPE, LLC and Allied Tube and Conduit Corporation, wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Company, acquired the assets of Four Star Industries LLC (“Four Star”), for a purchase price of $23,195. Four Star is a manufacturer of high density polyethylene (HDPE) conduit, primarily

serving the telecommunications, utility, infrastructure and datacom markets. The Company finalized the purchase price allocation of Four Star in the third quarter of fiscal 2022.

On December 20, 2021, Columbia-MBF Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of Sasco Tubes & Roll Forming Inc. (“Sasco”), for a purchase price of $16,184, of which $13,320 was paid at closing and additional purchase price payable of $2,864 was accrued. Sasco is a Canadian manufacturer of metal framing and related products serving the electrical, mechanical, construction and solar industries. The Company finalized the purchase price allocation of Sasco in the third quarter of fiscal 2022.

The acquisitions in fiscal 2022 were funded using cash-on-hand. The Company incurred approximately $3,424 in acquisition-related expenses for these acquisitions, which were recorded as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses.

The purchase price was allocated to tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed, based on their fair values. The following table summarizes the Level 3 fair values assigned to the net assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the acquisition date for fiscal 2022:

The Company estimates $31.1 million of the goodwill recognized by the fiscal 2022 acquisitions is deductible for tax purposes, $11.7 million that relates to United Poly and $19.4 million that relates to Cascade and Northwest Polymer. The Company estimates Goodwill recognized from the acquisitions in fiscal 2022 consists largely of the synergies and economies of scale from integrating this company with existing businesses.

The following table summarizes the fair value of intangible assets as of the acquisition date:

Net sales and net income of the acquired companies are included in the consolidated statement of operations for the post-acquisition period. Due to the immaterial nature of the acquisitions acquired in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, the Company did not include the pro forma results of operations for these acquisitions for the current period or the previous interim period.

The Company provides pension benefits through a number of noncontributory and contributory defined benefit retirement plans covering eligible U.S. employees. As of September 30, 2017, all defined pension benefit plans were frozen, whereby participants no longer accrue credited service. The net periodic benefit credit was as follows: 

Other (income) and expense, net consisted of the following:

For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and March 25, 2022, the Company’s effective tax rate attributable to income before income taxes was 23.5% and 25.2%, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2023 and March 25, 2022, the Company’s income tax expense was $53,364 and $78,613 respectively. The decrease in the current period effective tax rate was driven by a decrease in state tax expense and an increase in the excess tax benefit associated with stock compensation.

For the six months ended March 31, 2023 and March 25, 2022, the Company’s effective tax rate attributable to income before income taxes was 22.7% and 23.6%, respectively. For the six months ended March 31, 2023 and March 25, 2022, the Company’s income tax expense was $101,923 and $135,588 respectively. The decrease in the current period effective tax rate was driven by a decrease in state tax expense partially offset by a decrease in the excess tax benefit associated with stock compensation.

A valuation allowance has been recorded against certain net operating losses in certain foreign jurisdictions. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is determined to be more likely than not that these assets will not be fully realized in the foreseeable future. The realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon whether the Company can generate future taxable income in the appropriate character and jurisdiction to utilize the assets. The amount of the deferred tax assets considered realizable is subject to adjustment in future periods.

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) was enacted into law. The IRA contains significant tax law changes, including a corporate alternative minimum tax of 15% on adjusted financial statement income, which if applicable for the Company would be effective beginning October 1, 2023, a 1% excise tax on stock repurchases and various tax incentives which include, but are not limited to, credits related to the manufacturing of solar powered energy, both of which have taken effect as of January 1, 2023.

Basic earnings per common share excludes dilution and is calculated by dividing the net earnings allocated to common stock by the weighted-average number of common stock outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per common share is calculated by dividing net earnings allocated to common stock by the weighted-average number of shares outstanding for the period, as adjusted for the potential dilutive effect of non-participating share-based awards.

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share:

Total inventories would be $20,883 higher and $64,550 higher than reported as of March 31, 2023 and September 30, 2022, respectively, if the first-in, first-out method was used for all inventories. As of March 31, 2023, and September 30, 2022, the excess and obsolete inventory reserve was $21,070 and $18,996, respectively.

As of March 31, 2023, and September 30, 2022, property, plant and equipment and accumulated depreciation were as follows:

Depreciation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and March 25, 2022 totaled $13,808 and $11,293 respectively. Depreciation expense for the six months ended March 31, 2023 and March 25, 2022 totaled $26,980 and $23,110 respectively.

    

Goodwill balances as of March 31, 2023 included $5,695 and $43,000 of accumulated impairment losses within the Electrical and Safety & Infrastructure segments, respectively. As described in Note 5, “Other (Income) and Expense, net”, the Company is finalizing plans to exit operations in Russia and expects to sell the related business at a loss. The Company recognized an impairment of $3,658, which includes $1,771 of impaired goodwill that was allocated from the reporting unit on a relative fair value basis.

Other intangible assets consist of definite-lived trade names, technology, non-compete agreements and backlogs. Amortization expense for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and March 25, 2022 was $14,790 and $8,701, respectively. Amortization expense for the six months ended March 31, 2023 and March 25, 2022 was $27,586 and $16,930, respectively. Expected amortization expense for intangible assets for the remainder of fiscal 2023 and over the next five years and thereafter is as follows:

Actual amounts of amortization may differ from estimated amounts due to additional intangible asset acquisitions, impairment of intangible assets and other events.

Debt as of March 31, 2023 and September 30, 2022 was as follows:

New Senior Secured Term Loan Facility - On May 26, 2021, the Company entered into a new $400.0 million senior secured term loan facility (the “New Senior Secured Term Loan Facility”). The New Senior Secured Term Loan Facility will mature on May 26, 2028 and borrowings thereunder initially bearing interest at the rate of either (x) the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) (with a floor of 0.50%) plus 2.00%, or (y) an alternate base rate (with a floor of 1.50%) plus 1.00%. The New Senior Secured Term Loan Facility has an annual amortization rate of 1.00%.

On March 15, 2023, the Company entered into an amendment to the New Senior Secured Term Loan Facility to implement a forward-looking interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) in lieu of LIBOR, consisting of an applicable margin of 2.00% and a credit spread adjustment of (i) 0.11448% for a one-month interest period, (ii) 0.26161% for a three-month interest period and (iii) 0.42826% for a six-month interest period.

ABL Credit Facility — On August 28 2020, AII amended the ABL Credit Facility (the “Amended ABL Credit Facility”). The amendment, among other things, extended the maturity of the facility to August 28, 2023, and increased the interest rate margins applicable to loans under the facility to (i) in the case of United States dollar-denominated loans, either (x) LIBOR plus an applicable margin ranging from 1.75% to 2.25%, or (y) an alternate base rate plus an applicable margin ranging from 0.75% to 1.25%, each based on available loan commitments or (ii) in the case of Canadian dollar-denominated loans, either (x) the BA rate plus an applicable margin ranging from 1.75% to 2.25% or (y) a Canadian prime rate plus an applicable margin ranging from 0.75% to 1.25%, each based on available loan commitments. The Amended ABL Credit Facility bears a commitment fee, payable quarterly in arrears, of 0.375% per annum. The Amended ABL Credit Facility also bears customary letter of credit fees. The revisions to the ABL Credit Facility were accounted for as a debt extinguishment, resulting in immediate expensing of unamortized financing costs of $273 for the year ended September 30, 2020.

On May 26, 2021, the Company entered into an amendment to the Amended ABL Credit Facility. The amendment (i) extends the maturity of the facility to the earlier of five years from entering into the amendment or 91 days prior to the maturity date of the New Senior Secured Term Loan Facility if at least $100.0 million of obligations remain outstanding under the New Senior Secured Term Loan Facility on such date (ii) decreases the interest rate margins applicable to loans under the facility to (a) in the case of United States dollar-denominated loans, either (x) LIBOR plus an applicable margin ranging from 1.25% to 1.75%, or (y) an alternate base rate plus an applicable margin ranging from 0.25% to 0.75% or (b) in the case of Canadian dollar-denominated loans, either (x) the bankers acceptance rate plus an applicable margin ranging from 1.25% to 1.75% or (y) a Canadian prime rate plus an applicable margin ranging from 0.25% to 0.75%. (iii) decreases the fee payable with respect to unutilized availability under the facility from 0.375% to 0.30%, and depending on the remaining availability under the Amended ABL Credit Facility the rate may decrease to 0.25% and (iv) made certain other changes agreed upon by the lenders under the Amended ABL Credit Facility.

Further, on March 24, 2023, the Company entered into an amendment to the Amended ABL Credit Facility to implement a forward-looking interest rate based on SOFR in lieu of LIBOR, consisting of an applicable margin ranging from 1.25% to 1.75% and a credit spread adjustment of 0.10%.

Certain assets and liabilities are required to be recorded at fair value on a recurring basis.

The Company periodically uses forward currency contracts to hedge the effects of foreign exchange relating to intercompany balances denominated in a foreign currency. These derivative instruments are not formally designated as a hedge by the Company. Short-term forward currency contracts are recorded in either other current assets or other current liabilities and long-term forward currency contracts are recorded in either other long-term assets or other long-term liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheet. The fair value gains and losses are included in other (income) and expense, net within the condensed consolidated statements of operations. See Note 5, “Other (Income) and Expense, net” for further detail.

Cash flows associated with derivative financial instruments are recognized in the operating section of the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. The fair value of forward currency contracts is calculated by reference to current forward exchange rates for contracts with similar maturity profiles.

The Company had no active forward currency contracts or other derivative instruments as of March 31, 2023 or September 30, 2022, with the last such contract having expired in the third quarter of fiscal 2022.

The estimated fair value of financial instruments not carried at fair value in the condensed consolidated balance sheets were as follows:

In determining the approximate fair value of its long-term debt, the Company used the trading values among financial institutions, and these values fall within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. The carrying value of the ABL Credit Facility approximates fair value due to it being a market-linked variable rate debt.

The Company has obligations related to commitments to purchase certain goods. As of March 31, 2023, such obligations were $243,801 for the rest of fiscal year 2023 and $10,463 for fiscal year 2024 and beyond. These amounts represent open purchase orders for materials used in production.

As of the date of this filing, no Special Product Claims are currently pending against the Company as JCI has resolved all claims at their sole cost and expense. Accordingly, at this time, the Company does not expect the outcome of the Special Products Claims proceedings, either individually or in the aggregate, to have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, and the Company believes that its reserves are adequate for all remaining contingencies for Special Products Claims and other product liabilities.

In disposing of assets or businesses, the Company often provides representations, warranties and indemnities to cover various risks including unknown damage to the assets, environmental risks involved in the sale of real estate, liability to investigate and remediate environmental contamination at waste disposal sites and manufacturing facilities, and unidentified tax liabilities and legal fees related to periods prior to disposition. The Company does not have the ability to estimate the potential liability from such indemnities because they relate to unknown conditions. However, the Company has no

The Electrical segment manufactures high quality products used in the construction of electrical power systems including conduit, cable and installation accessories. This segment serves contractors in partnership with the electrical wholesale channel.

The Safety & Infrastructure segment designs and manufactures solutions including metal framing, mechanical pipe, perimeter security and cable management for the protection and reliability of critical infrastructure. These solutions are marketed to contractors, original equipment manufacturers and end users.

Both segments use Adjusted EBITDA as the primary measure of profit and loss. Segment Adjusted EBITDA is income (loss) before income taxes, adjusted to exclude unallocated expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest expense, net, stock-based compensation, loss on extinguishment of debt, certain legal matters, and other items, such as inventory reserves and adjustments, (gain) loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment, insurance recovery related to damages of property, plant and equipment, release of indemnified uncertain tax positions, realized or unrealized gain (loss) on foreign currency impacts of intercompany loans and related forward currency derivatives, gain on purchase of business, loss on assets held for sale, restructuring costs and transaction costs.