MILLER INDUSTRIES REPORTS 2024 THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

Rhea-AI Summary

Miller Industries (NYSE: MLR) reported Q3 2024 financial results with net sales of $314.3 million, up 14.5% year-over-year. Gross profit was $42.0 million (13.4% margin), down from $42.9 million (15.6% margin) in Q3 2023. Net income decreased 11.7% to $15.4 million, or $1.33 per diluted share. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share and repurchased 45,000 shares worth $2.9 million. Revenue growth was driven by normalized OEM chassis deliveries, though partially offset by Hurricane Helene impacts. Management expects low double-digit topline growth and improved profitability for full year 2024.

Positive

• Net sales increased 14.5% YoY to $314.3 million
• Normalized OEM chassis deliveries improving supply chain conditions
• Continued share repurchase program with $2.9 million executed
• Maintained quarterly dividend payment for 56th consecutive quarter
• Management projects low double-digit revenue growth for FY2024

Negative

• Net income decreased 11.7% YoY to $15.4 million
• Gross margin declined to 13.4% from 15.6% YoY
• Increased SG&A expenses to $22.3 million
• Decreased order entry in Q3
• Hurricane Helene impacted operations and deliveries

Insights

Financial Analyst

Miller Industries delivered a mixed Q3 2024 performance with net sales up 14.5% to $314.3 million, but profitability metrics declined. The gross margin contracted to 13.4% from 15.6%, while net income decreased 11.7% to $15.4 million.

Key highlights include normalized chassis shipments driving revenue growth, though this contributed to margin compression. The company maintained its quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share and continued share repurchases. While order entry decreased, management remains confident about achieving low double-digit topline growth for 2024.

The temporary impact from Hurricane Helene appears manageable, with revenue expected to be recovered in Q4. However, investors should monitor the declining order entry trend and its potential implications for future growth, despite management's optimistic outlook on fundamental demand drivers.

Market Research Analyst

The towing equipment market dynamics reveal interesting trends. While distributor retail deliveries remain stable year-over-year, the decrease in order entry warrants attention. Management attributes this to temporary factors including OEM chassis delivery timing, distributor capacity constraints and political uncertainty rather than weakening demand.

The company's strategy to maintain near-record production levels while working down backlog to pre-pandemic levels is notable. This approach could provide flexibility to distributors but also carries inventory risk if demand softens. The focus on operational efficiencies and supply chain stability positions the company well for market share gains, though margin pressure from normalized chassis mix may persist.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE: MLR) (the "Company") today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

For the third quarter of 2024, net sales were $314.3 million, an increase of 14.5%, compared to $274.6 million for the third quarter of 2023. The year over year improvement was predominantly due to increases in original equipment manufacturer ("OEM") chassis deliveries after a normalization of the chassis market, compared to the prior year period. The increase was partially offset by delays in delivery of finished goods related to Hurricane Helene, which had an immaterial impact on our quarterly revenues in the low single-digit millions.

Gross profit for the third quarter of 2024 was $42.0 million, or 13.4% of net sales, compared to $42.9 million, or 15.6% of net sales, for the third quarter of 2023. The decrease in gross margin was driven by increased chassis shipments, compared to the third quarter of last year, when chassis shipments were significantly depressed.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $22.3 million, or 7.1% of net sales, compared to $19.3 million, or 7.0% of net sales, in the prior year period. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily due to additional executive compensation expense and incentives for all employees, including training and more competitive compensation to improve employee retention.

Net income in the third quarter of 2024 was $15.4 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, compared to net income of $17.5 million, or $1.52 per diluted share, in the prior year period, a decrease of 11.7% and 12.3%, respectively.

The Company also announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share, payable December 9, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 2, 2024, the fifty-sixth consecutive quarter that the Company has paid a dividend. In addition, during the first three quarters of 2024, the Company has repurchased 45,000 shares of its common stock, representing $2.9 million of the $25.0 million repurchase program authorized by the Board of Directors in April 2024.

"I want to extend my sympathies to those impacted by the recent hurricanes in the Southeast and the extreme loss of life and property," said William G. Miller, II, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "We are not immune to these extreme weather events, and Hurricane Helene, in particular, had an impact on our operations. While the financial impact was thankfully marginal, our focus was on ensuring that our employees were safe, secure, and able to perform their jobs to the best of their ability. We are still assessing the hurricane's impact on our production but expect its effect on fourth-quarter results to be minimal and expect that the marginal impact to revenue in the third quarter will be largely offset by a catch-up in invoicing in the fourth quarter."

"Now moving to our quarterly results, we continue to see strong year-over-year revenue increases due to demand for our products across all regions. Our chassis shipments have normalized compared to the prior year and our production volumes were boosted by our operational efficiencies. While distributor retail deliveries remain consistent with 2023 levels, we have seen a decrease in order entry this quarter, though we believe that is largely due to timing of OEM chassis deliveries, distributor throughput capacity, and political uncertainty rather than a slowdown in retail demand. Fundamental demand drivers for our products remain strong, and we plan to continue manufacturing product at near record levels until our backlog returns to pre-pandemic and supply chain crisis levels. We will continue to analyze order intake and retail activity levels over the next few quarters as we reduce backlog closer to historical levels, to ensure that we provide our distribution network with maximum flexibility as we continue to focus on meeting the needs of our customers. Nevertheless, we feel confident that the stability of our supply chain and productivity improvements leave us well-positioned to continue driving improved results in the long term. We remain confident in our ability to achieve low double-digit topline growth along with significant improvement in profitability and free cash flow for full year 2024," said Mr. Miller, II.

The Company will host a conference call, which will be simultaneously broadcast live over the Internet. The call is scheduled for tomorrow, November 13, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET. Listeners can access the conference call live and archived over the Internet through the following link:

https://app.webinar.net/XBb45Go5Oy7

Please allow 15 minutes prior to the call to visit the site, download, and install any necessary audio software. A replay of this call will be available approximately one hour after the live call ends through November 20, 2024. The replay number is 1-844-512-2921, Passcode 13749822.

About Miller Industries

Miller Industries is The World's Largest Manufacturer of Towing and Recovery Equipment®, and markets its towing and recovery equipment under a number of well-recognized brands, including Century®, Vulcan®, Chevron™, Holmes®, Challenger®, Champion®, Jige™, Boniface™, Titan® and Eagle®.

Certain statements in this news release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "should", "could", "continue", "future", "potential", "believe", "project", "plan", "intend", "seek", "estimate", "predict", "expect", "anticipate" and similar expressions, or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology and include without limitation any statements relating to the Company's 2024 revenues, profitability, backlog, customer demand, and capital allocation plans, as well as expectations relating to the impacts of weather conditions or natural disasters, including hurricanes. Forward-looking statements also include the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on our management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. Our actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to, among other things the risks discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors"  in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 as supplemented  in Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which discussion is incorporated herein by this reference. Such factors are not exclusive. Except as required by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

 

MILLER INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
		Three Months Ended								Nine Months Ended
		September 30,								September 30,
							%								%
		2024			2023		Change			2024			2023		Change
NET SALES	$	314,271		$	274,568		14.5 %		$	1,035,593		$	857,108		20.8 %
COSTS OF OPERATIONS		272,245			231,700		17.5 %			898,246			743,894		20.7 %
GROSS PROFIT		42,026			42,868		-2.0 %			137,347			113,214		21.3 %
OPERATING EXPENSES:
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses		22,326			19,318		15.6 %			66,642			56,721		17.5 %
NON-OPERATING (INCOME) EXPENSES:
Interest Expense, Net		251			1,813		-86.2 %			3,544			4,525		-21.7 %
Other (Income) Expense, Net		(321)			(294)		9.2 %			(341)			(842)		-59.5 %
Total Expense, Net		22,256			20,837		6.8 %			69,845			60,404		15.6 %
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES		19,770			22,031		-10.3 %			67,502			52,810		27.8 %
INCOME TAX PROVISION		4,345			4,572		-5.0 %			14,540			11,214		29.7 %
NET INCOME	$	15,425		$	17,459		-11.7 %		$	52,962		$	41,596		27.3 %
BASIC INCOME PER SHARE OF COMMON STOCK	$	1.35		$	1.53		-11.7 %		$	4.62		$	3.64		27.1 %
DILUTED INCOME PER SHARE OF COMMON STOCK	$	1.33		$	1.52		-12.3 %		$	4.57		$	3.62		26.3 %
CASH DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER SHARE OF COMMON STOCK	$	0.19		$	0.18		5.6 %		$	0.57		$	0.54		5.6 %
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING:
Basic		11,447			11,446		0.0 %			11,453			11,437		0.1 %
Diluted		11,596			11,515		0.7 %			11,593			11,495		0.9 %

 

MILLER INDUSTRIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
		September 30,
		2024			December 31,
		(Unaudited)			2023
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and temporary investments		$	40,600		$	29,909
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses of $1,691 and $1,527 at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively			374,029			286,138
Inventories, net			190,345			189,807
Prepaid expenses			10,485			4,617
Total current assets			615,459			510,471
NON-CURRENT ASSETS:
Property, plant and equipment, net			118,569			115,072
Right-of-use assets – operating leases			595			826
Goodwill			19,998			20,022
Other assets			725			819
TOTAL ASSETS		$	755,346		$	647,210
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable		$	234,216		$	191,782
Accrued liabilities			54,801			40,793
Income taxes payable			1,462			1,819
Current portion of operating lease obligation			309			320
Total current liabilities			290,788			234,714
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Long-term obligations			65,000			60,000
Non-current portion of operating lease obligation			286			506
Deferred income tax liabilities			4,082			4,070
TOTAL LIABILITIES			360,156			299,290
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share:
Authorized – 5,000,000 shares, Issued – none			—			—
Common stock, $0.01 par value per share:
Authorized – 100,000,000 shares, Issued – 11,439,292 and 11,445,640 shares at September              30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively			114			114
Additional paid-in capital			152,933			153,574
Retained earnings			246,578			200,165
Accumulated other comprehensive loss			(4,435)			(5,933)
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY			395,190			347,920
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY		$	755,346		$	647,210

 

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SOURCE Miller Industries, Inc.

FAQ

What was Miller Industries (MLR) revenue in Q3 2024?

Miller Industries reported Q3 2024 net sales of $314.3 million, representing a 14.5% increase from $274.6 million in Q3 2023.

How much was Miller Industries (MLR) earnings per share in Q3 2024?

Miller Industries reported earnings of $1.33 per diluted share in Q3 2024, compared to $1.52 per diluted share in Q3 2023.

What dividend did Miller Industries (MLR) declare for Q3 2024?

Miller Industries declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share, payable December 9, 2024, to shareholders of record as of December 2, 2024.

How did Hurricane Helene affect Miller Industries (MLR) Q3 2024 results?

Hurricane Helene caused delays in finished goods delivery, resulting in a low single-digit millions impact on quarterly revenues, with expected recovery in Q4 2024.