Badger Meter (BMI) Q4 2023 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Record FY23 sales of $703.6M, up 24.4% YoY; Q4 sales rose 23.8% to $182.4M.

• FY23 operating margin improved 140 bps to 16.8%, diluted EPS rose 39% to a record $3.14, and operating cash flow reached a record $110.1M.

Financial highlights

• Q4 operating earnings were $32.1M vs. $22.5M, net earnings $24.7M vs. $17.5M, and diluted EPS $0.84 vs. $0.60.

• FY operating earnings were $118.0M vs. $87.3M; net earnings were $92.6M vs. $66.5M.

• Q4 cash from operations was $37.9M, up 28% YoY; FY free cash flow was a record $98.1M vs. $76.6M, equal to 106% of GAAP earnings.

• FY software sales exceeded $42M, up 27% YoY.

Outlook and guidance

• 2024 and beyond: resilient order pace, robust bid funnel, and backlog support confidence in year-over-year sales and earnings growth.

• Focus on customer needs, differentiated technologies, hardware and software innovation, manufacturing capacity, and operational excellence; no specific numeric guidance stated.