Blue bird reports fiscal 2021 third quarter results focused on margin expansion and ev growth impacted by supply chain disruptions
Macon, ga.--(business wire)--blue bird corporation (“blue bird”) (nasdaq: blbd), the leading independent designer and manufacturer of school buses, announced today its fiscal 2021 third quarter results. gaap net income for the quarter of $4.3 million was $3.0 better than the same fy2020 fiscal period. adjusted ebitda for the quarter was $13.2 million, $0.7 million above last year. supply chain disruptions resulted in approximately 550 fewer bookings than planned in the period. order backlog is strong at more than 4,000 buses, filling all remaining production slots for fy2021 and now filling production slots in fy2022. highlights (in millions except unit sales and eps data) three months ended july 3, 2021 b/(w) 2020 nine months ended july 3, 2021 b/(w) 2020 unit sales 2,024 76 4,768 (1,234) gaap measures: revenue $ 196.7 $ 7.5 $ 491.8 $ (106.0) net income $ 4.3 $ 3.0 $ 2.1 $ 1.9 diluted earnings per share $ 0.16 $ 0.11 $ 0.08 $ 0.07 non-gaap measures1: adjusted ebitda $ 13.2 $ 0.7 $ 26.5 $ (6.3) adjusted net income $ 5.2 $ 0.9 $ 6.6 $ (2.2) adjusted diluted earnings per share $ 0.19 $ 0.03 $ 0.24 $ (0.09) 1 reconciliation to relevant gaap metrics shown below “the third quarter result for blue bird was impacted by numerous supply-chain disruptions," said phil horlock, chief executive officer of blue bird corporation. “despite these temporary disruptions, new order rates were well ahead of where we anticipated as the school bus industry is rebounding strongly, and we have built a substantial order backlog of more than 4,000 buses, comprising of both our traditional internal combustion engine buses and electric buses. the blue bird team managed through the supply issues well and we increased our gross margin by 2.2 pts. compared with last year, with improved performance in both bus and parts. "with the school-bus industry recovery well underway since the beginning of the second half of our fiscal year, i am really encouraged by our progress in improving our underlying business structure, which is key to achieving our near-term ebitda margin target of at least 10%. we realized manufacturing efficiency improvements, despite the supplier disruptions we experienced; we benefited from lower operating expenses as a result of cost control actions that we implemented last year; and we recently increased all vehicle prices by 5% in response to the global escalation in commodity prices. our alternative-powered bus sales mix was a record 56% in the quarter, a full 10 pts. above last year. we expect our full-year alternative power sales mix to exceed 50% of total sales, supported by a very strong order backlog for our new and class-leading 7.3l v8 engine, and we are the clear leader in north american market share in both electric and propane-powered school buses, at around 70%. "the interest in electric buses is unprecedented and our order backlog is now over 380 electric buses. in fact, our total sold units and order backlog since we began production just three years ago, is now more than 750 electric buses, covering type a, c and d configurations. with the growth rate we are seeing, and the breadth of chassis and powertrain choices that we offer, we are increasing our focus and resources in the ev business. we previously announced our intention to offer blue bird chassis with factory-installed electric drivetrains to commercial vehicle manufacturers and are in early discussions with a number of commercial-vehicle customers. with the new administration’s focus on accelerating the adoption of electric-powered school buses in the u.s. over the next 8-10 years, these are exciting times at blue bird! "with our business structure and margin improvements, we are well positioned to take full advantage of market demand when supply of components returns to a more normal level. in fact, had we not been impacted by these unprecedented parts shortages, our third quarter ebitda margin would have been 11%. in view of the impact of these temporary supplier disruptions, we are revising guidance for fy2021 to net revenue of $730 - $780, adj. ebitda between $37 - $43 and adjusted free cash flow of $(30) - $(10).” fiscal 2021 third quarter results net sales net sales were $196.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2021, an increase of $7.5 million, or 4.0%, from prior year period. bus unit sales were 2,024 units for the quarter compared with 1,948 units for the same period last year. gross profit third quarter gross profit of $26.2 million represented an increase of $5.1 million from the third quarter of last year. the increase was primarily driven by higher parts volume and net favorable efficiencies. gross profit margin improved 2.2 points to 13.3%. net income net income was $4.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2021, which was $3.0 better than the same period last year. adjusted net income adjusted net income was $5.2 million, representing an increase of $0.9 million compared with the same period last year. adjusted ebitda adjusted ebitda was $13.2 million, which was an increase of $0.7 million compared with the third quarter last year. supply disruptions resulted in moving 550 bookings out of the third quarter and caused substantial operating cost increases. year-to-date 2021 results net sales net sales were $491.8 million for the nine months ended july 3, 2021, a decrease of $106.0 million, or 17.7%, compared with the prior year. bus unit sales were 4,768 units for the nine months ended july 3, 2021 compared with 6,002 units for the same period last year. gross profit full year gross profit was $59.1 million, a decrease of $7.4 million from the prior year. net income net income was $2.1 million for the nine months ended july 3, 2021, which was $1.9 million above the prior year. adjusted net income year-to-date adjusted net income was $6.6 million, representing a decrease of $2.2 million compared with the prior year. adjusted ebitda adjusted ebitda was $26.5 million for the nine months ended july 3, 2021, a decrease of $6.3 million from the prior year. the decrease was driven by lower volume, partially offset by bus pricing and cost and efficiency improvements. conference call details blue bird will discuss its third quarter and full year 2021 results in a conference call at 4:30 pm et today. participants may listen to the audio portion of the conference call either through a live audio webcast on the company's website or by telephone. the slide presentation and webcast can be accessed via the investor relations portion of blue bird's website at www.blue-bird.com. webcast participants should log on and register at least 15 minutes prior to the start time on the investor relations homepage of blue bird’s website at http://investors.blue-bird.com. click the link in the events box on the investor relations landing page. participants desiring audio only should dial 1-800-945-0427 or 1-312-281-1210 a replay of the webcast will be available approximately two hours after the call concludes via the same link on blue bird’s website. about blue bird corporation blue bird is the leading independent designer and manufacturer of school buses, with more than 570,000 buses sold since its formation in 1927 and approximately 180,000 buses in operation today. blue bird’s longevity and reputation in the school bus industry have made it an iconic american brand. blue bird distinguishes itself from its principal competitors by its singular focus on the design, engineering, manufacture and sale of school buses and related parts. as the only manufacturer of chassis and body production specifically designed for school bus applications, blue bird is recognized as an industry leader for school bus innovation, safety, product quality/reliability/durability, operating costs and drivability. in addition, blue bird is the market leader in alternative fuel applications with its propane-powered and compressed natural gas-powered school buses. blue bird manufactures school buses at two facilities in fort valley, georgia. its micro bird joint venture operates a manufacturing facility in drummondville, quebec, canada. service and after-market parts are distributed from blue bird’s parts distribution center located in delaware, ohio. key non-gaap financial measures we use to evaluate our performance this press release includes the following non-gaap financial measures “adjusted ebitda,” "adjusted ebitda margin," "adjusted net income," "adjusted diluted earnings per share," “free cash flow” and “adjusted free cash flow”. adjusted ebitda and free cash flow are financial metrics that are utilized by management and the board of directors to determine (a) the annual cash bonus payouts, if any, to be made to certain members of management based upon the terms of the company’s management incentive plan, and (b) whether the performance criteria have been met for the vesting of certain equity awards granted annually to certain members of management based upon the terms of the company’s omnibus equity incentive plan. additionally, consolidated ebitda, which is an adjusted ebitda metric defined by our amended credit agreement that could differ from adjusted ebitda discussed above as the adjustments to the calculations are not uniform, is used to determine the company's ongoing compliance with several financial covenant requirements, including being utilized in the denominator of the calculation of the total net leverage ratio. accordingly, management views these non-gaap financial metrics as key for the above purposes and as a useful way to evaluate the performance of our operations as discussed further below. adjusted ebitda is defined as net income prior to interest income; interest expense including the component of operating lease expense (which is presented as a single operating expense in selling, general and administrative expenses in our gaap financial statements) that represents interest expense on lease liabilities; income taxes; and depreciation and amortization including the component of operating lease expense (which is presented as a single operating expense in selling, general and administrative expenses in our gaap financial statements) that represents amortization charges on right-of-use lease assets; as adjusted for certain non-cash charges or credits that we may record on a recurring basis such as stock-compensation expense and unrealized gains or losses on certain derivative financial instruments; net gains or losses on the disposal of assets as well as certain charges such as (i) significant product design changes; (ii) transaction related costs; (iii) discrete expenses related to major cost cutting initiatives; or (iv) costs directly attributed to the covid-19 pandemic. while certain of the charges that are added back in the adjusted ebitda calculation, such as transaction related costs and operational transformation and major product redesign initiatives, represent operating expenses that may be recorded in more than one annual period, the significant project or transaction giving rise to such expenses is not considered to be indicative of the company’s normal operations. accordingly, we believe that these, as well as the other credits and charges that comprise the amounts utilized in the determination of adjusted ebitda described above, should not be used in evaluating the company’s ongoing annual operating performance. we define adjusted ebitda margin as adjusted ebitda as a percentage of net sales. adjusted ebitda and adjusted ebitda margin are not measures of performance defined in accordance with gaap. the measures are used as a supplement to gaap results in evaluating certain aspects of our business, as described below. we believe that adjusted ebitda, adjusted ebitda margin, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted earnings per share are useful to investors in evaluating our performance because the measures consider the performance of our ongoing operations, excluding decisions made with respect to capital investment, financing, and certain other significant initiatives or transactions as outlined in the preceding paragraph. we believe the non-gaap measures offer additional financial metrics that, when coupled with the gaap results and the reconciliation to gaap results, provide a more complete understanding of our results of operations and the factors and trends affecting our business. adjusted ebitda, adjusted ebitda margin, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share should not be considered as alternatives to net income or gaap earnings per share as an indicator of our performance or as alternatives to any other measure prescribed by gaap as there are limitations to using such non-gaap measures. although we believe the non-gaap measures may enhance an evaluation of our operating performance based on recent revenue generation and product/overhead cost control because they exclude the impact of prior decisions made about capital investment, financing, and other expenses, (i) other companies in blue bird’s industry may define adjusted ebitda, adjusted ebitda margin, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted earnings per share differently than we do and, as a result, they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in blue bird’s industry, and (ii) adjusted ebitda, adjusted ebitda margin, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted earnings per share exclude certain financial information that some may consider important in evaluating our performance. we compensate for these limitations by providing disclosure of the differences between adjusted ebitda, adjusted ebitda margin, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted earnings per share and gaap results, including providing a reconciliation to gaap results, to enable investors to perform their own analysis of our operating results. our measures of “free cash flow” and "adjusted free cash flow" are used in addition to and in conjunction with results presented in accordance with gaap and free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow should not be relied upon to the exclusion of gaap financial measures. free cash flow and adjusted free cash flow reflect an additional way of viewing our liquidity that, when viewed with our gaap results, provides a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our cash flows. we strongly encourage investors to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. we define free cash flow as total cash provided by/used in operating activities as adjusted for net cash paid for the acquisition of fixed assets and intangible assets. we use free cash flow, and ratios based on free cash flow, to conduct and evaluate our business because, although it is similar to cash flow from operations, we believe it is a more conservative measure of cash flow since purchases of fixed assets and intangible assets are a necessary component of ongoing operations. forward-looking statements this press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the private securities litigation reform act of 1995. these forward-looking statements relate to expectations for future financial performance, business strategies or expectations for our business. specifically, forward-looking statements include statements in this press release regarding guidance, seasonality, product mix and gross profits and may include statements relating to: inherent limitations of internal controls impacting financial statements growth opportunities future profitability ability to expand market share customer demand for certain products economic conditions (including tariffs) that could affect fuel costs, commodity costs, industry size and financial conditions of our dealers and suppliers labor or other constraints on the company’s ability to maintain a competitive cost structure volatility in the tax base and other funding sources that support the purchase of buses by our end customers lower or higher than anticipated market acceptance for our products other statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “target” or similar expressions these forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties. accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. the factors described above, as well as risk factors described in reports filed with the sec by us (available at www.sec.gov), could cause our actual results to differ materially from estimates or expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements. blue bird corporation and subsidiaries consolidated balance sheets (in thousands except for share data) july 3, 2021 october 3, 2020 assets current assets cash and cash equivalents $ 11,223 $ 44,507 accounts receivable, net 10,451 7,623 inventories 133,540 56,523 other current assets 6,982 8,243 total current assets $ 162,196 $ 116,896 property, plant and equipment, net 106,022 103,372 goodwill 18,825 18,825 intangible assets, net 49,945 51,632 equity investment in affiliate 14,485 14,320 deferred tax assets 4,015 4,365 finance lease right-of-use assets 5,860 6,983 other assets 1,597 1,022 total assets $ 362,945 $ 317,415 liabilities and stockholders' deficit current liabilities accounts payable $ 113,152 $ 57,602 warranty 7,373 8,336 accrued expenses 21,154 15,773 deferred warranty income 7,945 8,540 finance lease obligations 1,315 1,280 other current liabilities 7,656 10,217 current portion of long-term debt 13,613 9,900 total current liabilities $ 172,208 $ 111,648 long-term liabilities long-term debt $ 153,005 $ 164,204 warranty 11,407 13,038 deferred warranty income 12,563 14,048 deferred tax liabilities 589 254 finance lease obligations 4,874 5,879 other liabilities 15,433 14,315 pension 39,677 47,259 total long-term liabilities $ 237,548 $ 258,997 stockholders' deficit preferred stock, $0.0001, 10,000,000 shares authorized, 0 shares outstanding at july 3, 2021 and october 3, 2020 $ — $ — common stock, $0.0001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 27,204,435 and 27,048,404 shares outstanding at july 3, 2021 and october 3, 2020, respectively 3 3 additional paid-in capital 92,169 88,910 accumulated deficit (31,365) (33,464) accumulated other comprehensive loss (57,336) (58,397) treasury stock, at cost, 1,782,568 shares at july 3, 2021 and october 3, 2020 (50,282) (50,282) total stockholders' deficit $ (46,811) $ (53,230) total liabilities and stockholders' deficit $ 362,945 $ 317,415 blue bird corporation and subsidiaries consolidated statements of operations three months ended nine months ended (in thousands except for share data) july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 net sales $ 196,659 $ 189,181 $ 491,791 $ 597,810 cost of goods sold 170,500 168,099 432,671 531,259 gross profit $ 26,159 $ 21,082 $ 59,120 $ 66,551 operating expenses selling, general and administrative expenses 18,073 17,793 50,124 58,146 operating profit $ 8,086 $ 3,289 $ 8,996 $ 8,405 interest expense (2,805) (2,406) (7,069) (9,961) interest income — 27 1 27 other income, net 426 181 1,491 555 loss on debt modification — — (598) 0 income (loss) before income taxes $ 5,707 $ 1,091 $ 2,821 $ (974) income tax (expense) benefit (1,892) (765) (888) 378 equity in net income of non-consolidated affiliate 517 960 166 840 net income $ 4,332 $ 1,286 $ 2,099 $ 244 earnings per share: basic weighted average shares outstanding 27,172,162 27,027,731 27,116,915 26,784,404 diluted weighted average shares outstanding 27,428,877 27,080,015 27,337,360 26,980,480 basic earnings per share $ 0.16 $ 0.05 $ 0.08 $ 0.01 diluted earnings per share $ 0.16 $ 0.05 $ 0.08 $ 0.01 blue bird corporation and subsidiaries consolidated statements of cash flows nine months ended (in thousands of dollars) july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 cash flows from operating activities net income $ 2,099 $ 244 adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: depreciation and amortization 10,145 10,728 non-cash interest expense 2,219 3,560 share-based compensation 1,923 4,105 equity in net income of non-consolidated affiliate (166) (840) gain on disposal of fixed assets (681) (100) deferred taxes 350 32 amortization of deferred actuarial pension losses 1,397 1,289 loss on debt modification 598 — changes in assets and liabilities: accounts receivable (2,828) (3,157) inventories (77,017) (76,887) other assets 1,682 2,480 accounts payable 55,150 (3,115) accrued expenses, pension and other liabilities (9,109) (16,644) total adjustments $ (16,337) $ (78,549) total cash used in operating activities $ (14,238) $ (78,305) cash flows from investing activities cash paid for fixed assets (10,304) (16,724) proceeds from sale of fixed assets 901 150 total cash used in investing activities $ (9,403) $ (16,574) cash flows from financing activities borrowings under the revolving credit facility $ — $ 45,000 repayments under the senior term loan (7,425) (7,425) principal payments on finance leases (1,147) (854) cash paid for debt costs (2,476) (935) net cash received (paid) for stock option exercises and employee taxes on vested restricted shares and stock option exercises 1,405 (3,568) proceeds from exercises of warrants — 4,240 total cash (used in) provided by financing activities $ (9,643) $ 36,458 change in cash and cash equivalents (33,284) (58,421) cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 44,507 70,959 cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 11,223 $ 12,538 reconciliation of net income to adjusted ebitda three months ended nine months ended (in thousands of dollars) july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 net income $ 4,332 $ 1,286 $ 2,099 $ 244 adjustments: interest expense, net (1) 2,887 2,466 7,321 10,213 income tax expense (benefit) 1,892 765 888 (378) depreciation, amortization, and disposals (2) 2,851 3,861 10,118 11,215 operational transformation initiatives 14 339 222 3,218 share-based compensation 328 1,808 1,923 4,105 product redesign initiatives 641 1,071 1,908 3,163 restructuring charges — 364 494 364 costs directly attributed to the covid-19 pandemic (3) 216 521 913 628 loss on debt modification — — 598 — other — — — 6 adjusted ebitda $ 13,161 $ 12,481 $ 26,484 $ 32,778 adjusted ebitda margin (percentage of net sales) 6.7 % 6.6 % 5.4 % 5.5 % (1) includes $0.1 million for both three month fiscal periods and $0.3 million for both nine month fiscal periods, representing interest expense on lease liabilities, which are a component of lease expense and presented as a single operating expense in selling, general and administrative expenses on our condensed consolidated statements of operations. (2) includes $0.2 million for both three month fiscal periods and $0.6 million and $0.5 million for the nine month fiscal periods ended july 3, 2021 and july 4, 2020, respectively. the amounts represent amortization charges on right-to-use lease assets, which are a component of lease expense and presented as a single operating expense in selling, general and administrative expenses on our condensed consolidated statements of operations. (3) primarily costs incurred for third party cleaning services and personal protective equipment for our employees in response to the covid-19 pandemic. reconciliation of free cash flow to adjusted free cash flow three months ended nine months ended (in thousands of dollars) july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 net cash provided by operating activities $ (3,040) $ (30,096) $ (14,238) $ (78,305) cash paid for fixed assets (3,297) (2,473) (10,304) (16,724) free cash flow $ (6,337) $ (32,569) $ (24,542) $ (95,029) cash paid for product redesign initiatives 641 1,071 1,908 8,648 cash paid for operational transformation initiatives / other (887) 339 (679) 3,218 cash paid for restructuring charges — 364 494 364 cash paid for costs directly attributed to covid-19 216 521 913 628 adjusted free cash flow (6,367) (30,274) (21,906) (82,171) reconciliation of net income to adjusted net income three months ended nine months ended (in thousands of dollars) july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 net income $ 4,332 $ 1,286 $ 2,099 $ 244 adjustments, net of tax benefit or expense (1) operational transformation initiatives 11 254 167 2,414 product redesign initiatives 481 803 1,431 2,372 share-based compensation 246 1,356 1,442 3,079 restructuring charges — 273 371 273 costs directly attributed to the covid-19 pandemic (2) 162 391 685 471 loss on debt modification — — 449 — other — — — 5 adjusted net income, non-gaap $ 5,231 $ 4,363 6,643 8,857 (1) amounts are net of estimated statutory tax rates of 25%. (2) primarily costs incurred for third party cleaning services and personal protective equipment for our employees in response to the covid-19 pandemic. reconciliation of diluted eps to adjusted diluted eps three months ended nine months ended july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 july 3, 2021 july 4, 2020 diluted earnings per share $ 0.16 $ 0.05 $ 0.08 $ 0.01 one-time charge adjustments, net of tax benefit or expense 0.03 0.11 0.16 0.32 adjusted diluted earnings per share, non-gaap $ 0.19 $ 0.16 $ 0.24 $ 0.33 weighted average dilutive shares outstanding 27,428,877 27,080,015 27,337,360 26,980,480
