NN Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
November 7, 2023

There are 8 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to the NN Inc. Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. All participants will be in a listen only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please also note this event is being recorded.

Operator

I would now like to turn the conference over to Alex Steinberg. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Chad. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us. I'm Alex Steinberg, Investor Relations contact for NN Inc. I'd like to thank you for attending today's business update.

Speaker 1

Last evening, we issued a press release announcing our financial results for the Q3 ended September 30, Our presenters on the call this morning will be Harold Bevis, President and Chief Executive Officer and Mike Belcher, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Please turn to Slide 2, where you'll find our forward looking statements and disclosure information. Before we begin, I'd ask that you take note of the cautionary language Regarding forward looking statements contained in today's press release, supplemental presentation and in the Risk Factors section in the company's annual report on Form 10 ks For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and when filed, the company's quarterly report on Form 10 Q for the 3 months ended September 30, 2023. The same language applies to comments made on today's conference call, including the Q and A session as well as the live webcast. Our presentation today will contain forward looking statements regarding sales, margins, inflation, supply chain constraints, foreign exchange rates, Cash flow, tax rates, acquisitions, synergies, cash and cost savings, future operating results, performance of our worldwide markets, The impacts of the coronavirus through COVID-nineteen pandemic and the Russian Ukrainian conflict on the company's financial condition and other topics.

Speaker 1

These statements should be used as caution and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of the company's control. The presentation also includes certain non GAAP measures as defined by SEC rules. A reconciliation of such non GAAP measures is contained in the table in the final section of the press release And the supplemental presentation. Please turn to Slide 3, and I'll turn the call over to our CEO, Harold Bibas.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Alec, and good morning, everyone. I'd like to start off by saying that our enhanced management team made excellent progress Against our transformation strategy that we presented and spoke with you about last quarter and the work is clear and strong in our operating results this period. We also added 2 highly experienced professionals in Tim French, our new COO and David Harrison, our new Chief of Procurement, to further strengthen our leadership team. We are happy to have them on board and I personally had the opportunity to work with both of them in the past As we successfully executed prior business transformations, I'm very confident in their ability to help support NN's transformation efforts, and I firmly believe That we are well aligned strategically to achieve our goals and deliver improved returns for NN shareholders and stakeholders. Our results in the period are highlighted by our expanded profitability and cash flow performance with 23% growth in adjusted EBITDA year over year And strong free cash flow generation of $11,300,000 Sales for the quarter were $124,400,000 Which we translated into $14,500,000 of adjusted EBITDA.

Speaker 2

On the commercial front, we've accelerated our focus on new business And have won $37,000,000 year to date of new awards, which marks solid momentum and a significant step up from where we were just 3 months ago. We're focused on expanding in both legacy businesses and new markets where it makes sense for us to be participating and competing based on our capabilities and And we have a new focused effort to increase quality and quantity of prospecting and generating leads. We're pleased to report $11,300,000 of positive free cash flow in the quarter. We're free cash flow positive Across the trailing 12 month period and we're actually running ahead of our previously stated free cash flow targets, which Mike will discuss later in the call. We're proud of our cash performance in the quarter as this became an immediate focus as we established our transformation plans.

Speaker 2

This focus on cash flows has become an organizational mantra, and we feel we can continue this growth over the long term As we've been particularly proactive with our global procurement led by David Harrison, and we've been more selective and thoughtful with inventory management. Along with these actions, we've been aggressive with other transformational initiatives for the long term, with an emphasis on value improvement. And globally, we refocused our growth strategy and recently announced our reentry into the medical market, which we see as a high profile near term opportunity. We've also implemented a total cost productivity program across our operations with the goal of offsetting the company's expected inflation and achieving net cost reduction. All of our global facilities are participating in the program, including more than 100 individual projects with project tracking and monitoring at the plant level.

Speaker 2

We believe these initiatives will help us win new business globally and will support many of our cost management goals Before turning to the next slide, I would like to briefly touch on the UAW strikes. As you know, we've seen a few positive developments with recent bargaining agreements with all 3 automakers And now the union is moving forward with ratification processes. To stay ahead of this situation, we've taken proactive actions to reduce our risk, But we see this as a small timing issue. We may see a few million of work slip from the Q4 this year into the Q1 of next year. But again, we believe we're prepared for multiple scenarios.

Speaker 2

Most importantly, we don't see this we don't see a situation today where any work is lost. Please turn to Slide 4. On the last call, we highlighted our transformation plan with a I'm proud to say we've already made early but meaningful progress on all three of our commitments and have been steadily progressing Along with our five goals. First, the team. We are committed to strengthening our team and have done so with the additions of Tim and David, as I mentioned previously.

Speaker 2

We have the right people in place within our respective divisions to lead our transformation efforts. We're committed to winning short term and long term and we'll modify our team as We go along and assess our performance. 2nd, our second priority is focused on exiting unprofitable work, specifically A few legacy contracts that deliver negative value. This process is underway and we'll continue to see incremental We also have pinpointed 7 manufacturing facilities that need improving. Let me be clear that this is about improving performance and improving the quality of the work we take on, and we're taking aggressive actions to improve performance.

Speaker 2

As previously stated, we see a path to improving our profitability by greater than $10,000,000 on an annual basis following our work, But we have only just begun. Number 3, our 3rd goal is focused on bringing more organizational rigor to cost. Cost reduction and optimization have been a priority for us from the beginning, and we have already seen some early successes with our initiatives, Specifically in procurement, we've eliminated numerous other non value added costs across the organization, streamlined where appropriate, and as I noted earlier, We recently launched a new total cost productivity program, which we're rolling out across our global footprint. We have a lot more work to do here and a culture we need to Number 4, our cost cutting efforts Are also in line with our 4th goal of generating positive free cash flow. We're currently cash flow positive on the trailing 12 months, And we have a global culture that's now more intently focused on driving a more profitable business for the future.

Speaker 2

And number 5, and most importantly, our 5th goal is focused on accelerating our new business wins. We've been working with our sales team to get more aggressive in their pursuits, and we've managed to create more wins by leveraging our existing capabilities, Almost doubling our new business wins sequentially. We feel there's significant room for improvement as we enter new markets, But we've also we're also focused on utilizing our open capacity in existing markets to expand in areas where we already have a presence And the market understands the value we bring. So to summarize, we have only had a few months to both develop and start to execute Our transformation strategy and as you can see, we've made very solid progress against each objective in the quarter With significant opportunity to continue enhancing the business incrementally as we move forward. As depicted in the graph, we feel we're only partially done with the transformation And we're looking forward to progressing further along all these initiatives before we talk again in early 2024.

Speaker 2

For the rest of my prepared remarks, I'd like to focus in on our commercial programs and the work we're doing there to support both near term and long term growth. Growth is the lifeblood of any small business like ours and many of our lead times can be protracted. So this is a critical area for us. Please turn to Slide 5, where we have provided a brief snapshot of our new business wins. We have built Upon the initial momentum from the previous quarter and drove strong results with year to date new business wins of 37,000,000 Meaningfully from the $19,000,000 in new business wins we achieved through the first half of the year.

Speaker 2

We have now won over 60 new programs across multiple industries And have a new pipeline with a focus on existing utilizing existing capacity in places where we have know how in targeted markets, And it's representative of our commitment to move and grow faster. This will help drive immediate wins in new and existing opportunities. We've also expanded the sales team to better leverage our expertise into new targeted markets. The areas where we are pursuing Include connector, EMI and EMF shielding, electric power steering system components and braking system components. As announced previously, we're also reentering the medical market as we feel we can immediately utilize our current operations and capabilities And translate those into quick profitable wins.

Speaker 2

While new business wins are a solid indicator of our early progress, the best parameter Our successful commercial efforts is reflected in the quotes for new business, which have materially increased in overall quantity while also increasing in size. Our expanded pipeline of quotes supported by a realigned sales team is going to help support the trajectory of our new business wins And converting into consistent top line growth. Overall, our team is aligned and we're prioritizing and moving faster. We are seeing early signs of success with our strategy and we look forward to making more progress with new business. We're also looking hard at our existing open quotes and we're calling some of the pipeline as I've mentioned in the chart here.

Speaker 2

And our goal is to have a more focused set that has a higher probability of winning. To showcase our early successes with new business, I want to highlight one recent We have a very strong expertise in complicated multi station progressive die stamping that's generally hard for This often provides us with a distinct competitive advantage in certain key markets. And recently, we've leveraged our know how with this differentiation to develop a set of new products and produce 6 unique connector shields And other related components used to prevent electromagnetic interference from high voltage currents onto sensitive vehicle electronics. This product set has been gaining momentum. It's a new product line for us and we're seeing immediate returns on this initial investment With significant room to expand the business with our current customers and other customers in the harness and connector market.

Speaker 2

As a result, we've recently ordered new prototyping, testing and production equipment to further expand our offering here. This will lead NN into other shielding markets for sensitive electronic equipment as well. Before I turn the call over to Mike, Please turn to Page 7, where I'll discuss our current active proposal momentum. We've been aggressively quoting our open capacity and have refocused and upsized our new business win program globally. We're doing this by shifting our focus on to highly probable business and towards better and new business.

Speaker 2

This has shown immediate results over the last 5 months that is clear on the chart on this slide. Excluding diverse We have grown our active proposals in all market segments and notably EV hybrid programs, an important space for us to continue expanding our presence globally. And we have seen a growth of 43% sequentially and 60% year over year. Notably, this is yet to include Medical, where we are boldly reentering the market upon the expiration of our prior non compete. We are proud of the business we've won To date, and we're confident in our pipeline and ability to take market share.

Speaker 2

We see opportunities in the medical market and current segments we serve, and our focus on being bigger And moving faster has already shown great results in key target markets. With that, I'll now turn it over to Mike, who will walk us through our financials. Mike?

Speaker 3

Thank you, Harold, and good morning, everyone. I'll start on Slide 8. Net sales for the quarter of 124 point $1,000,000 was slightly down compared to the prior year period. While we captured an additional $6,000,000 of price versus last year, This benefit was more than offset by the impact of lower volume and to a lesser extent by foreign currency. Also, the current year result Includes a favorable customer settlement of $1,100,000 From a profitability standpoint, our operating loss of $2,700,000 Was greater compared to the $2,100,000 operating loss in last year's Q3.

Speaker 3

That said, adjusted operating income for the 3rd quarter was $3,600,000 compared to adjusted operating income of $2,500,000 from the prior year, an increase of 1,100,000 As Harold highlighted, adjusted EBITDA of $14,500,000 was significantly above last year's $11,800,000 We are seeing the impacts of cost reductions from facility closures and headcount reductions flow through to our adjusted EBITDA, totaling approximately $4,000,000 of benefit in the quarter versus the prior year. As we progress further through the year, we expect to continue to benefit from cost As we aggressively address the underperforming areas of the business and we continue to expect roughly $10,000,000 in annual adjusted EBITDA improvement once all our actions are completed. Turning to Slide 9. Sales in our Mobile Solutions Group increased 3.7% versus the prior year period, improving by 2,800,000 The increase was primarily driven by improved pricing, the aforementioned customer settlement and foreign exchange effects, which were slightly offset by lower volumes. Mobile Solutions adjusted EBITDA of $9,500,000 was an increase of $1,500,000 from $8,000,000 in the Q3 of 2022.

Speaker 3

Stronger year over year adjusted EBITDA was driven in part by the customer settlement We previously discussed as well as capturing the benefits of rightsizing indirect labor support. Demand for our mobile solutions end markets is It will be steady in the Q4, though we anticipate some weakness with the lingering impact of the UAW strikes and the impacts that carry at the OEM level. That said, we are focused globally and our new business wins performance has remained strong in China, where we are seeing growth as we enter into more non fuel on electric platforms. We also anticipate continued operational improvement. Turning to Slide 10.

Speaker 3

Power Solutions segment sales decreased 11% year over year, primarily driven by decreased Auto component sales due to 2 key customers losing market share. Further, the segment's top line performance was impacted by general Industrial component sales being lower due to lower capital spending across the market in response to rising interest rates. Aerospace and Defense sales were lower as well following the closures of Irvine, California and Taunton, Massachusetts facilities. Despite lower sales, our facility closures, rightsizing and direct labor support and a retroactive material cost recovery from a supplier Drove adjusted EBITDA of $8,300,000 which compared favorably to $7,100,000 in the prior year. I'd like To congratulate the team here as delivering a 17% increase in adjusted EBITDA on a top line decline of 11% was quite an accomplishment And it shows a strong commitment to the initiatives Harold outlined in our transformation strategy.

Speaker 3

Looking ahead, we Demand levels in the Q4 to remain consistent relative to what we have observed year to date with the UAW strikes impacting the Q4 slightly, Potentially pushing out some demand into the Q1 of next year. Demand signals are strengthening for electrification and grid products, and we have a focused effort Now please turn to Slide 11. As Harold highlighted, we are encouraged by our free cash flow generation in the period With trailing 12 month free cash flow of $17,000,000 Working capital turns improved in the 3rd quarter to 5.3 turns From 4.8 in the previous quarter, marking the 4th consecutive period that we've improved upon this key efficiency metric. Consistently remaining free cash flow positive has been one of the key goals we have set with the team. And going forward, it will remain an area of ongoing focus as we Now turning to Slide 12, you can see a snapshot of our balance sheet and liquidity metrics.

Speaker 3

Net debt at the end of the 3rd quarter was $137,700,000 versus $147,900,000 in the Q2 of 2023. Our net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio stood at 3.37 times at the end of the 3rd quarter compared to 3.87 times at the end of The Q1 of 2023, cutting a full half term from our leverage metrics sequentially. We expect to continue to bring down our leverage ratio through cash generation, improved profitability and reducing our debt, And we remain on track to reduce our leverage to below 3x in 2024, while maintaining proactive capital investments to fund our growth. Our focus on free cash flow generation is tailored in part around our CapEx strategy, which has an increased emphasis now on growth opportunities. Our CapEx spend in the 3rd quarter was $4,100,000 compared to $4,300,000 in the prior year.

Speaker 2

Please turn to

Speaker 3

Slide 13 for our full year outlook. Consistent with many of our customers and peers and based on our expectations for the remainder of the year, We are narrowing our range outlook for revenues and adjusted EBITDA, while raising our free cash flow expectation. Our outlook now reflects net sales in the range of $487,000,000 to $497,000,000 roughly flat to prior year Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $40,000,000 to $44,000,000 roughly flat to prior year and free cash flow in the range of $10,000,000 to $14,000,000 a significant improvement over last year's results. Our guidance reflects overall stable demand, but some softness in Q4 due to the UAW strike impact and normal seasonality. We are turning the corner in many aspects of the business and we are seeing immediate results.

Speaker 3

We set out clear pathways for meaningful long term improvements to our results And those efforts are encouragingly already taking effect. Our cost reduction activities and aggressive actions Towards addressing unprofitable business, combined with more diligent inventory and working capital management are reflected in our profitability and free cash flow. And we have seen increased results following our newly improved commercial strategy. We feel our team is aligned operationally and commercially, And we're looking forward to sharing this journey with all of you. I will now turn the call back to the operator for questions.

Operator

Thank you. And the first question will be from Rob Brown from Lake Street Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Hi, good morning and congratulations on the early progress.

Speaker 2

Thank you.

Operator

I guess first question is

Speaker 4

kind of on The operating kind of improvements, you said you're kind of in the early innings of that. What's sort of the timing of getting through those? Is that 2 year period here or just a sense of kind of the view on what's remaining here?

Speaker 2

There's a couple of things that are underway. We have the problem plants, if The plants we have 7 plants that are in aggregate together, losing around Little greater than $10,000,000 as we put in the deck here. And then we have the overall program of total cost productivity, which impacts All plants, including the ones that make money. So that's underway. That's over 100 projects.

Speaker 2

Every plant is participating. And then the 7th and so we have annual goals there and the 7th plants that lose money, we have a game plan to cease that in 24. So we're not ready to say numbers yet combined between those 2. It's something that we're going to do over the next year. We have firm plans in place.

Speaker 2

We're just not ready to say we're not ready to say much about 24 yet.

Speaker 4

Okay, okay, fair enough. That's a good good. I wonder what you've given us. On the switching kind of the market environment, you mentioned EV is fairly active in terms of coating. Are you still seeing strong kind of demand there?

Speaker 4

Or How is that market looking at into the next period here?

Speaker 2

Yes, we're our markets are growing. So we're And with the whole on the power side of our business, which is tied into Electricity and Grid and Electrical Products, there's just a general natural Low single digit kind of base demand improvement. And then on the vehicle side, on the mobile side, It's a very flourishing environment for innovation with all the focus upon Vehicle control, vehicle automation, emission reduction, greenhouse gas reduction. So whether it's an internal combustion engine Form or hybrid or electrical, there's a lot of innovation. And so innovation at the carmaker, vehiclemaker level Flows down to us and that we see more opportunities to quote on.

Speaker 2

So it's a robust Environment for us for the whole company and on both sides of our company. And then of course, medical, Medical has been growing all along here. We've just been in the tool part of it. If you look at The title page of our deck here today, you'll see in the upper right a tool that we make that's a spinal tool for Turning to Rod into spine. So we've been in the tool business, all along, but we've had a non compete with the sale of our Life Sciences business 3 years ago, Almost exactly, and we're reentering that.

Speaker 2

So that is a naturally growing market as well. So we have robust Opportunity environment that we're participating in.

Speaker 4

Okay, great. And then on the reentry to the medical area, how do you sort of see that I know you're early into it, but what's the sales cycle there? How what sort of areas are you looking at first? Maybe How long till revenue ramps in that area?

Speaker 2

For us, we're going to be able to Short circuit some of this because we know the business already and we still have facility approvals and equipment approvals and people know the business. So I think it would be a very lengthy entry for someone that didn't know the business already or who wasn't already in it. So by Given that we are in the tool business still through this whole period, we're an approved supplier at a lot of Participants in the industry. So generally, it's a little difficult to become an approved supplier. You have to go through validation process.

Speaker 2

So Phase 1 for us is to go into account for where we are already approved and expand what we're selling And to the stamped pieces, the machine pieces, drill bits, bone plates And other items that we had to exit and stay out of when we sold the Life Sciences business. So for us, Phase 1 is to go in where we're already approved And expand the products that we make and then number 2 is to expand into other customers. So we're able to immediately get into it. We're already quoting. We're in a quoting business at a very high level.

Speaker 2

It's not in our pipeline yet because we're not through the cycle, but We immediately hired a Vice President of Sales in North America, and we're looking for a Vice President of Sales in Europe, and we're looking for a leader of sales in China also. So We're entering it

Speaker 5

globally.

Speaker 4

Okay. Thank you for all the color. I'll turn it over.

Speaker 2

Welcome. Thank

Operator

you. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our question and answer session. I will now turn the conference back over to Harold Bevis for any closing remarks.

Speaker 2

I'm looking at the excuse me, but I'm looking at the details here on our screen, and I see we have one more question.

Operator

Yes, just as I was concluding, it looks like we have Tom Kerr to join us from Zacks Investment Research. So Tom Kerr, please go with your question.

Speaker 6

Good morning, guys. Sorry about that. My star one wasn't working. A couple of quick ones. On the transformation plan in terms of the 7 plants that are losing $10,000,000 just back to that, is that Would that be just operational improvement or would that include shutdowns possibly or everything?

Speaker 2

We're not going to have to shut down. It's mainly the result of Bad contract. So I saw this movie before at my last company of not correcting Customer contracts going through COVID and the disruptions that happened in supply chains and That's number 1. So it's pricing and cost. We don't foresee plant closures right now.

Speaker 2

I'm not against it, but don't foresee it. So for us, we believe that we can fix all 7 plants Right where they sit today, like everything, there's some are harder than other. We have one plant that really It's a hard one. We're still going through. Tim Fretz, our Chief Operating Officer, is very focused on this with the teams.

Speaker 2

But We believe I think that our footprint is pretty good. I like it. And so we like to fix it where it is And fill it up with new business. So we have our growth program is tethered to the plants where they sit And we're quoting the capacity where it is. So we have a base case to fix every plant right where it is.

Speaker 6

Okay. Sounds good. One of the comments in the presentation was in the industrial side where there's lower capital market spending due to increasing interest rates. What does that mean? Does that mean they're financing capital spending through borrowing or are you just saying the interest rates are taken away from free cash flow?

Speaker 2

Can you repeat that one more time?

Speaker 6

The one of the comments was that, I think you quoted general industrial component sales Due to lower capital spending and increasing rate environment,

Speaker 2

what does that mean exactly? Well, I can just tell you what we're doing. We're going to you touched on a couple of things there. We are going to spend the same amount of capital that we have been. We're more aggressively using or more aggressively quoting the existing capacity that we have where it sits.

Speaker 2

But In cases where we are pursuing growth prospects that require capital, we are being careful to Balance our portfolio between mobile and power and we're also being careful to balance Our vehicle portfolio across the powertrains of combustion engine, hybrid and Electrical. For the specifics here, Mike, I'll turn it over to you.

Speaker 3

Yes. Tom, I think the comment is driven by the same Cautious behavior on our customer parts that Harold is talking about on our part in terms of reduced Capital investment in new programs, which is translating to some near term softness for us, just given the uncertain Interest rate environment and higher interest rate costs that we're seeing.

Speaker 6

Right. Okay. Couple more quick ones. Refresh my memory on free cash flow uses. Are you allowed to use it besides anything besides debt pay down, Share buybacks or dividends?

Speaker 3

We are. There are restrictions under Our credit agreement, there's an excess cash flow calculation that could come into play depending on our cash generation That could require a pay down of the term loan and then there's also restrictions on things we can do from a capital standpoint based on leverage ratios and other Considerations, but as long as we satisfy those requirements, we have the flexibility to spend our free cash flow as we see fit.

Speaker 6

Okay. Two more quick ones. In the UAW strike, you said a few million slip into the Q1 from the Q4. That's sales, not profits, Correct.

Speaker 2

Well, the volume will take margin with it. So this I think this is my 3rd strike I've gone through in each Case that was primarily a timing issue because there was still demand for the vehicles and so then the vehicle makers had to get Caught up, so put a little like a little kink in the supply chain. So we're going to be going through that. So There is nothing formally changed in our supply chains yet in any of our signals, any of our EDI signals. And the UAW is going through ratification processes and it varies by OE.

Speaker 2

But It's possible that we have some volume move from Q4 to Q1, but it's not a big number, But it will take margin with it, of course. It will be a little lever that might move. And we don't see that it is yet. We're just stating it as a risk.

Speaker 6

Okay. Last quick one. Do you guys have any operations or sales or business in the Middle East region or Israel region?

Speaker 2

We do not. We do not. It's a terrible thing that's happening there, but we're not impacted our company is not impacted by it.

Speaker 6

Okay. That's all I have for today. Thanks.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Tom. Thank you.

Operator

And the next question will be from Barry Hames from Sage Asset Management, please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Thanks so much for taking your question. I had one quick question. Can you hear me?

Speaker 2

Yes.

Speaker 5

Okay, great. I had one quick question on the Unprofitable or very low profitable contracts. Could you talk about how many of those there are and What sort of duration there is? I'm harkening back, Harold, to your previous situation where some of those truck Contracts lasted for a while before you could get out of them. So I would love to get some color around what kind of duration we're looking at.

Speaker 2

Yes, very good question. And you're correct, the contracts have notification periods. It crosses you asked how many customers Does it involve good grief? I don't know that, but it's I'll estimate it that it's between 10 20. And we also have a situation where my predecessor Did notify a few of the big ones before I got here, so the notification period has begun.

Speaker 2

And as I stated it Earlier on one of the questions, I think it was to Rob, we're acting upon all of them. We're actively engaged On all of these matters right now, and our goal is to make significant improvement during 'twenty four. So I don't believe there is a contract that would push us into 'twenty five, but We have to use our judgment because a lot of these situations are with customers that where we make money in one place and lose money in one and you have to So they require a negotiated outcome, but We have a base plan underway right now that's within our control and will deliver significant Improvement to our current run rate. Said differently, the current the results we reported have a big loss Within them. So we're trying to rectify that.

Speaker 2

The double win for us, Barry, would be it will be when Not only do we get rid of the problem, but we refill the capacity with profitable business. So it's good capacity And we intend to use it, in new business pursuits. Great.

Speaker 5

Thanks so much and congrats on all the progress so far.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Barry.

Operator

And our next question is from Peter Sidoti from Sidoti and Company. Please go ahead.

Speaker 7

Hey, Harold. Two quick questions. What's the economic assumptions you're making for the next 12 to 18 months Just for the general economy.

Speaker 2

So thank you for joining, Peter. I know you're a busy man. For the outlook for vehicle production for our the vehicle outlook, you probably know them very well. The Commercial vehicle outlook is for slightly less heavy duty trucks, but stable Medium duty kind of work trucks. On the passenger vehicle side, it's going to be heavily dependent on rates, But we adopt 3rd party outlooks on vehicles, which is a steady outlook for us.

Speaker 2

Overall, globally, it Varies by market in China. Thankfully, we're tethered to the electric vehicle Government mandates that are underway, and so we're benefiting from that, both in new business and existing business. In Europe, we have a smaller business, And it's steady. And in Brazil, we have Nice business there and several big OEs that we're partnered with the product the vehicle We're on our growth platforms and in North America is where our sport is as a company, where we We're going with the market evolution. We're not placing a bet on the type of vehicle powertrain.

Speaker 2

So we're balancing our portfolio between combustion engine, hybrid and electric, so that no matter the end customer choice, we have an ability to win there. And so we're That's a big thing that the transformation plan is doing is balancing our forward risk. And so We're being very careful to tether ourselves to growth platforms. Overall, vehicles, as you know, Right now, there's not a lot of firm outlooks, but we're basically assuming in North America a stable Number of vehicles made.

Speaker 7

Okay. And my other question, how is you've been you've played this game before. As it relates to turnaround, how does this one rate to the ones you've worked in the past? And what's the timing in terms of when you think You'll get to it. What inning are you in?

Speaker 7

And how much what's the timing on finishing where you want to get to?

Speaker 2

Yes. Good question, Peter. We're right at the front end, very front end here. And This particular company had a lot of operational opportunity to improve on Flat sales. So the results we just turned in, as Mike mentioned, had a was it $4,000,000 in the quarter, Mike, versus prior year of cost out?

Speaker 2

Yes. So a big number, and we're still going after that number. And on top of it, The company was rolling with money losing situations. And so the juice, if you will, on the existing business As it is, it's bigger than normal. So there's a larger opportunity than normal to grow profit without Hitting a home run, if you will, in the sales arena.

Speaker 2

On the sales side, it's a little harder than normal than my just Prior company, Peter, because we weren't aligned properly, that's very fixable and we're doing that right now, hiring people, swapping out people. So Degree of difficulty versus the prior company where I'd led the turnaround there, which you know of, It's, I'd say, slightly easier than here, slightly easier. We have a great team. We have great products. We're really good at what we do.

Speaker 2

We make submicron level Machine parts and stamp parts. In other words, at the nanometer level, submicron. So not very many people can do that. We're vertically integrated. We're digging in on this medical thing.

Speaker 2

So I believe that our we have strong profit potential here, Stronger than the last company I was at because they were not vertical, mainly in assemblers. We are vertical in what we do and so we control our own destiny as a manufacturer. So I think that our profits I can benefit from that. And given that we had so much opportunity, if you will, not optimized When I came in the door, it was not optimized operationally, not. And so Tim French has done this before.

Speaker 2

David Harrison has, I have and the team here we've rallied together. And you can see 1 quarter we made a big difference. So we're committed to Keeping on with that and adding to it new wins. And so I believe it's very doable, Peter, And it's not going to take forever, but we'll have to report results as we go.

Speaker 7

Okay. Thank you very much, sir.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Peter.

Operator

And ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Harold Bevis for any closing remarks.

Speaker 2

I appreciate it, and thank you to the investors on the phone, and thank you for being patient with NN and investing in our company. We Very much believe in the words that we spoke on behalf of the team today and we look forward to delivering against our plans and exceeding your expectations. And with that, we'll conclude the call for today, Chad.

Operator

And thank you, sir. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation.

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Earnings Conference Call
NN Q3 2023
00:00 / 00:00