AAON Reports Sales and Earnings and Backlog for 2021


TULSA, Okla., Feb. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AAON, INC. (NASDAQ-AAON), a leader in innovation and production of premium quality, highly energy efficient HVAC products for nonresidential buildings, today announced its results for the fourth quarter of 2021.

AAON reported record fourth quarter revenue of $136.3 million, up 16.8% from the prior-year quarter. Price increases contributed approximately 10.0% to revenue growth in the quarter. However, gross profit declined 21.7% to $26.5 million, or 19.5% of sales. Gross profit was impacted by supply chain issues, which constrained production, led to operational inefficiencies and unabsorbed fixed costs, and exacerbated the adverse effects of inflation by slowing the turnover of our lower priced backlog and delaying the throughput of orders placed after recent price increases. This resulted in net income of $6.2 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.11, down year over year 68.6%, compared to $0.35 in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding one-time items, including acquisition-related transaction fees of $4.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 and $6.4 million of gain on insurance recoveries in the fourth quarter of 2020, non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share was $0.181, down year over year 35.7%, compared to $0.281 in the prior-year quarter.

Financial Highlights:Three Months Ended 
 December 31,
 %   Years Ending  
 December 31,
 %
 2021 2020 Change   2021 2020 Change
 (in thousands, except share and per share data)   (in thousands, except share and per share data)
GAAP Measures             
Net sales$136,282  $116,700  16.8%   $534,517  $514,551  3.9%
Gross profit$26,547   33,923  (21.7)%    137,830   155,849  (11.6)%
Gross profit margin 19.5%  29.1%      25.8%  30.3%  
Operating income$5,443   25,718  (78.8)%    69,253   101,836  (32.0)%
Operating margin 4.0%  22.0%      13.0%  19.8%  
Net income$6,186  $18,892  (67.3)%   $58,758  $79,009  (25.6)%
Earnings per diluted share$0.11  $0.35  (68.6)%   $1.09  $1.49  (26.8)%
Diluted average shares 53,948,763   53,469,759  0.9%    53,728,989   53,061,169  1.3%
              
Non-GAAP Measures             
Non-GAAP adjusted net income1$9,523  $14,771  (35.5)%   $62,095  $74,888  (17.1)%
Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share1$0.18  $0.28  (35.7)%   $1.16  $1.41  (17.7)%
Adjusted EBITDA1$17,208  $26,637  (35.4)%   $103,587  $121,746  (14.9)%
Adjusted EBITDA margin1 12.6%  22.8%      19.4%  23.7%  
1These are non-GAAP measures. See "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for reconciliation to GAAP measures.

The Company finished the fourth quarter of 2021 with a backlog of $260.2 million, up 249.6% from $74.4 million a year ago, and up 43.1% from $181.8 million at the end of the third quarter of 2021. Excluding BasX's backlog, organic backlog was up 200.7% from the prior year quarter.

Backlog          
 December 31, 2021 September 31, 2021 June 30, 2021 March 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
Backlog$260,164  $181,813  $138,131  $96,733  $74,417 
Year over year change 249.6%  114.2%  33.4%  (19.1)%  (47.9)%

On December 10, 2021, AAON completed the acquisition of BasX, LLC (doing business as BasX Solutions, "BasX"), which included an upfront cash payment of $107.8 million, including acquisition-related transaction fees, net of cash acquired. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had liquidity of $61.1 million compared to liquidity of $107.2 million at December 31, 2020. We believe the Company's senior credit facility provides adequate capacity to fund working capital needs and continue our investment in long-term growth.

Rebecca Thompson, CFO, commented, “We are very comfortable with our financial position at the end of 2021. Our balance sheet remains in a very strong position and we will continue to invest in our long-term growth plans. Capital expenditures in 2021 were $55.4 million, compared to $67.8 million in 2020. We anticipate a capital expenditure budget of $100.4 million for 2022.”

Gary Fields, President and CEO, stated, “I am extremely pleased with the growth we have seen in our backlog and new bookings. Backlog is up year over year 249.6% and new bookings have maintained the strong levels we saw in the second and third quarter. Moreover, strong demand trends continued into early 2022. The growth reflects several factors, including solid end-market demand, market share gains, competitive lead times, the strengthening of our independent sales channel and the compelling value proposition AAON equipment offers.”

Mr. Fields continued, "While we are pleased with demand and the market share gains, sales and earnings results were disappointing. The primary factors that contributed to the lower than anticipated profits were supply chain constraints and material inflation. Supply chain constraints escalated for us in October and November, which led to lower production and less cost absorption. Meanwhile, our cost structure has been rising as we have been increasing headcount due to our rising backlog and in anticipation of the robust growth we foresee in 2022. Furthermore, production constraints magnify the price/cost inflation effect. Lower production means we were not churning through the lower priced backlog fast enough, delaying the recovery in gross profit. In addition to all of this, supply chain constraints created many operational inefficiencies. All in, this led to the underwhelming gross profit and earnings.”

Mr. Fields continued, “On a positive note, we believe the worst of the supply chain constraints are behind us. December was a solid month as far as production and gross profit, and we have seen month-to-month improvement in January and February. Furthermore, the margin profile of our backlog is the highest it has been in about nine months. With less supply chain constraints, higher production capacity, and a large backlog with an improving margin profile, we anticipate production and margins to improve significantly through the first half of 2022."

Mr. Fields concluded, "The challenges we, as well as much of the manufacturing sector, faced in 2021 were truly unprecedented, at least in respect to the last 30 years. In my view, we have navigated the headwinds extremely well and I am very proud of our team. I also believe we are emerging from these challenges as a much stronger Company, which will help us better execute and absorb the robust growth we are anticipating. Despite the recently disappointing results, we remain extremely optimistic on the fundamentals of the business. Our legacy business and the recently acquired BasX both have robust backlogs with paths for significant margin improvement in 2022 and beyond. We continue to believe the Company is best positioned to benefit from an increased focus on decarbonization, electrification, energy efficiency, indoor air quality and cloud-based infrastructure, and we are investing to take advantage of the robust growth we foresee."

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host a conference call and webcast to discuss its financial results and outlook on February 28, 2022 at 5:15 P.M. ET. The conference call will be accessible via a dial-in for those who wish to participate in Q&A as well as a listen-only webcast. To access either mode, register at https://connect.beacon360.com/ses/JmYFFym2dtuULrRqTsWTlg~~. After registering, participants will receive an email with instructions on how to access the dial-in and webcast. On the next business day following the call, a replay of the call will be available on the Company’s website at https://aaon.com/Investors.

About AAON

AAON, Inc. engaged in the engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and sale of premium air conditioning and heating equipment consisting of standard, semi-custom, and custom rooftop units, data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, condensing units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, coils, and controls. Since the founding of AAON in 1988, AAON has maintained a commitment to design, develop, manufacture and deliver heating and cooling products to perform beyond all expectations and demonstrate the value of AAON to our customers. For more information, please visit www.AAON.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “seeks”, “estimates”, “should”, “will”, and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligations to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include (1) the timing and extent of changes in raw material and component prices, (2) the effects of fluctuations in the commercial/industrial new construction market, (3) the timing and extent of changes in interest rates, as well as other competitive factors during the year, and (4) general economic, market or business conditions.

Contact Information
Joseph Mondillo
Director of Investor Relations
Phone: (617) 877-6346
Email: joseph.mondillo@aaon.com 


AAON, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Income
(Unaudited)
 Three Months Ended 
 December 31,
 Years Ending  
 December 31,
 2021 2020 2021 2020
 (in thousands, except share and per share data)
Net sales$136,282  $116,700  $534,517  $514,551 
Cost of sales 109,735   82,777   396,687   358,702 
Gross profit 26,547   33,923   137,830   155,849 
Selling, general and administrative expenses 21,110   14,622   68,598   60,491 
Gain on disposal of assets and insurance recoveries (6)  (6,417)  (21)  (6,478)
Income from operations 5,443   25,718   69,253   101,836 
Interest (expense) income, net (121)  (2)  (132)  88 
Other income, net 24   31   61   51 
Income before taxes 5,346   25,747   69,182   101,975 
Income tax (benefit) provision (840)  6,855   10,424   22,966 
Net income$6,186  $18,892  $58,758  $79,009 
Earnings per share:       
Basic$0.12  $0.36  $1.12  $1.51 
Diluted$0.11  $0.35  $1.09  $1.49 
Cash dividends declared per common share:$0.19  $0.19  $0.38  $0.38 
Weighted average shares outstanding:       
Basic 52,467,696   52,240,829   52,404,199   52,168,679 
Diluted 53,948,763   53,469,759   53,728,989   53,061,169 


 
AAON, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
 December 31, 2021 December 31, 2020
Assets(in thousands, except share and per share data)
Current assets:   
Cash and cash equivalents$2,859 $79,025
Restricted cash 628  3,263
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for credit losses of $549 and $506, respectively 70,780  47,387
Income tax receivable 5,723  4,587
Inventories, net 130,270  82,219
Contract assets 5,749  
Prepaid expenses and other 2,071  3,770
Total current assets 218,080  220,251
Property, plant and equipment:   
Land 5,016  4,072
Buildings 135,861  122,171
Machinery and equipment 318,259  281,266
Furniture and fixtures 23,072  18,956
Total property, plant and equipment 482,208  426,465
Less:  Accumulated depreciation 224,146  203,125
Property, plant and equipment, net 258,062  223,340
Intangible assets, net 70,121  38
Goodwill 85,727  3,229
Right of use assets 16,974  1,571
Other long-term assets 1,216  579
Total assets$650,180 $449,008
    
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity   
Current liabilities:   
Accounts payable 29,020  12,447
Accrued liabilities 50,206  46,586
Contract liabilities 7,542  
Total current liabilities 86,768  59,033
Revolving credit facility, long-term 40,000  
Deferred tax liabilities 31,993  28,324
Other long-term liabilities 18,843  4,423
New market tax credit obligation 6,406  6,363
Commitments and contingencies   
Stockholders' equity:   
Preferred stock, $.001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued   
Common stock, $.004 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 52,527,985 and 52,224,767 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively 210  209
Additional paid-in capital 81,654  5,161
Retained earnings 384,306  345,495
Total stockholders' equity 466,170  350,865
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity$650,180 $449,008


 
AAON, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
 Years Ending  
 December 31,
 2021 2020
Operating Activities(in thousands)
Net income$58,758  $79,009 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:   
Depreciation and amortization 30,343   25,634 
Amortization of debt issuance cost 43   43 
Amortization of right of use assets 73    
Provision for credit losses on accounts receivable, net of adjustments 43   153 
Provision for excess and obsolete inventories 629   1,108 
Share-based compensation 11,812   11,342 
Gain on disposition of assets and insurance recoveries (21)  (6,478)
Foreign currency transaction gain (1)  (12)
Interest income on note receivable (24)  (24)
Deferred income taxes 3,669   13,027 
Changes in assets and liabilities:   
Accounts receivable (9,737)  19,859 
Income tax receivable (1,136)  (3,815)
Inventories (45,955)  (9,726)
Contract assets 1,886    
Prepaid expenses and other 1,374   (2,364)
Accounts payable 10,899   (2,155)
Contract liabilities (229)   
Deferred revenue 447   1,010 
Accrued liabilities and donations (1,690)  2,203 
Net cash provided by operating activities 61,183   128,814 
Investing Activities   
Capital expenditures (55,362)  (67,802)
Cash paid in business combination, net of cash acquired (103,430)   
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 19   60 
Insurance proceeds    6,417 
Principal payments from note receivable 54   52 
Net cash used in investing activities (158,719)  (61,273)
Financing Activities   
Borrowings under revolving credit facility 40,000    
Stock options exercised 21,148   21,418 
Repurchase of stock (20,876)  (30,060)
Employee taxes paid by withholding shares (1,590)  (1,169)
Dividends paid to stockholders (19,947)  (19,815)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 18,735   (29,626)
Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (78,801)  37,915 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period 82,288   44,373 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period$3,487  $82,288 

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company’s consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), additional non-GAAP financial measures are provided and reconciled in the following tables. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures, when considered together with the GAAP financial measures, provide information that is useful to investors in understanding period-over-period operating results. The Company believes that this non-GAAP financial measure enhances the ability of investors to analyze the Company’s business trends and operating performance as they are used by management to better understand operating performance. Since adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP measures and are susceptible to varying calculations, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin, as presented, may not be directly comparable with other similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Non-GAAP Adjusted Net Income

The Company defines non-GAAP adjusted net income as net income adjusted for any one-time events, such as acquisition related costs or insurance proceeds received, net of profit sharing and tax effect, in the periods presented

The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (GAAP) to non-GAAP adjusted net income for the periods indicated:

  Three Months Ended 
 December 31,
 Years Ending  
 December 31,
  2021 2020 2021 2020
  (in thousands)
Net income, a GAAP disclosure $6,186  $18,892  $58,758  $79,009 
Acquisition-related fees  4,367      4,367    
Insurance recoveries     (6,417)     (6,417)
Profit sharing effect  (437)  642   (437)  642 
Tax effect  (593)  1,654   (593)  1,654 
Non-GAAP adjusted net income $9,523  $14,771  $62,095  $74,888 
Non-GAAP adjusted earnings per diluted share $0.18  $0.28  $1.16  $1.41 

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

EBITDA (as defined below) is presented herein and reconciled from the GAAP measure of net income because of its wide acceptance by the investment community as a financial indicator of a company's ability to internally fund operations. The Company defines EBITDA as net income, plus (1) depreciation and amortization, (2) interest expense (income), net and (3) income tax expense. EBITDA is not a measure of net income or cash flows as determined by GAAP.

The Company’s EBITDA measure provides additional information which may be used to better understand the Company’s operations. EBITDA is one of several metrics that the Company uses as a supplemental financial measurement in the evaluation of its business and should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income, as an indicator of operating performance. Certain items excluded from EBITDA are significant components in understanding and assessing a company's financial performance. EBITDA, as used by the Company, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The Company believes that EBITDA is a widely followed measure of operating performance and is one of many metrics used by the Company’s management team and by other users of the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as EBITDA adjusted by items in non-GAAP adjusted net income, above, except for taxes, as taxes are already excluded from EBITDA.

The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (GAAP) to EBITDA (non-GAAP) and Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) for the periods indicated:

  Three Months Ended 
 December 31,
 Years Ending  
 December 31,
  2021 2020 2021 2020
  (in thousands)
Net income, a GAAP measure $6,186  $18,892  $58,758  $79,009 
Depreciation and amortization  7,811   6,663   30,343   25,634 
Interest expense (income), net  121   2   132   (88)
Income tax expense  (840)  6,855   10,424   22,966 
EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure  13,278   32,412   99,657   127,521 
Acquisition-related fees  4,367      4,367    
Insurance recoveries     (6,417)     (6,417)
Profit sharing effect1  (437)  642   (437)  642 
Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure $17,208  $26,637  $103,587  $121,746 
Adjusted EBITDA margin  12.6%  22.8%  19.4%  23.7%
1Profit sharing effect of acquisition-related fees and insurance recoveries in the respective period.