Columbus McKinnon (CMCO) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY24 record net sales reached $1,013.5M, up 8.3%; adjusted EBITDA rose 13% to $166.7M, with adjusted gross margin at 37.3% and adjusted EBITDA margin at a record 16.4%.

• FY25 guidance calls for low-single-digit sales growth, mid-to-high-single-digit adjusted EPS growth and year-end net leverage near 2.0x.

• Q4 orders grew 5% YoY, past-due backlog fell 37% from Q3 and year-end net leverage was 2.4x.

Financial highlights

• FY24 net sales rose 8.3% to $1,013.5M; gross profit increased 9.6% to $374.8M and gross margin was 37.0%.

• FY24 GAAP operating income increased 9.5% to $107.1M; adjusted operating income rose 14% to $120.7M, with adjusted operating margin up 60 bps to 11.9%.

• FY24 net income was $46.6M; diluted EPS was $1.61 GAAP and $2.86 adjusted.

• Q4 sales increased 4.6% to $265.5M; adjusted EBITDA grew 8.2% to $43.0M and margin rose 50 bps to 16.2%.

• FY24 adjusted gross margin expanded 80 bps to 37.3%; adjusted EBITDA margin rose 60 bps to 16.4%.

Outlook and guidance

• FY25 net sales guidance is low-single-digit YoY growth; adjusted EPS guidance is mid-to-high-single-digit growth. Q1 FY25 sales guidance is low-single-digit growth and adjusted EPS is flat to slightly down YoY.

• FY25 assumptions include $33M interest expense, $30M amortization, a 25% effective tax rate and 29.4M diluted average shares; Q1 assumptions include $9M interest, $8M amortization, a 25% tax rate and 29.2M shares.

• FY25 capital expenditures are guided at $20M–$30M; year-end net leverage is targeted near 2.0x, including a planned $10M Q1 debt paydown.

• FY27 targets include ~$1.5B net sales, ~40% adjusted gross margin and ~21% adjusted EBITDA margin; initiatives include organic growth, portfolio expansion, operational excellence and margin-accretive M&A.