Blue Bird Reports Fiscal 2022 First Quarter Results; Focused on Margin Expansion and EV Growth; Impacted by Supply Chain Disruptions, Inflationary Pressures; Confirms FY2022 Guidance (2024)

MACON, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blue Bird Corporation (“Blue Bird”) (Nasdaq: BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, announced today its fiscal 2022 first quarter results. GAAP net loss for the quarter of $4.1 million was $2.5 million higher than the same FY2021 fiscal period. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $3.6 million, down $2.2 million from last year. Order backlog remains strong at a record 4,800 buses, worth approximately $500 million, which fills a large portion of FY2022 production.

Highlights

(in millions except Unit Sales and EPS data)

Three Months Ended January 1, 2022

B/(W) 2021

Unit Sales

1,149

(106

)

GAAP Measures:

Revenue

$

129.2

$

(1.2

)

Net Income

$

(4.1

)

$

(2.5

)

Diluted Earnings per Share

$

(0.15

)

$

(0.09

)

Non-GAAP Measures1:

Adjusted EBITDA

$

3.6

$

(2.2

)

Adjusted Net Income

$

(2.0

)

$

(2.1

)

Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share

$

(0.07

)

$

(0.07

)

1 Reconciliation to relevant GAAP metrics shown below

Blue Bird faced a challenging first quarter marked by supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures. Primarily driven by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the company continued to be negatively impacted by rising raw material, freight and labor costs, as well as the worldwide microchip shortage. Blue Bird has also onboarded a second source supplier for one of the critical components that has been impacting production. In addition, Blue Bird brought its pricing in line with expected cost increases. The company announced a 4% price increase for new orders effective March 1st, on top of a total 11% price increase announced through the summer of 2021.

As an employee-centric organization, Blue Bird continued to invest in its workforce and workplace upgrades to further improve safety, quality, cost and delivery. Blue Bird also advanced its Lean Transformation to implement a world class-operating system that improves efficiency, quality and production capacity while reducing costs.

The transformation enables Blue Bird to capitalize on significant growth opportunities tied to chassis building and the electrification of school buses.

“We are expanding our chassis business to motorhomes and electrified, last mile delivery vehicles,” said Matthew Stevenson, President and CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “With a market size of more than 30,000 units we will effectively double our addressable market. Based on our world-class engineering capabilities and nearly 95 years of experience in bus chassis building, Blue Bird is uniquely qualified to serve these markets.

“Blue Bird also remains committed to further grow its share of emission-free electric activity and school buses in North America. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill allocates $5B in funding for electric and low-emission school buses. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to start implementing the program by the end of March. Blue Bird anticipates orders to follow in 2H 2022.”

Added Stevenson: “Blue Bird is the proven technology leader for zero-emission electric activity and school buses. We anticipate scaling up our electric vehicle production capacity to 4,000 vehicles a year by 2024 to meet demand. Blue Bird continues to transform the transportation industry.”

2022 Guidance Confirmed

“We are expecting a challenging 1H for fiscal 2022 due to continued supply constraints and margin pressure, with the majority of the supplier cost increases taking effect on January 1, 2022,” said Razvan Radulescu, CFO of Blue Bird Corporation. “We still expect to see gradual relief beginning in fiscal Q3 as supply chain constraints are resolved due to new suppliers coming on board, and orders with the 11% price increase begin to be delivered. In Fiscal Q4 we expect to be at higher production levels and with normalized margins as the full 11% price increase goes into effect. Therefore, we are maintaining our guidance for fiscal 2022, previously released during our fiscal 2021 year-end call.”

Fiscal 2022 First Quarter Results

Net Sales

Net sales were $129.2 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2022, a decrease of $1.2 million, or 0.9%, from prior year period. Bus unit sales were 1,149 units for the quarter compared with 1,255 units for the same period last year. The $5.4 million decrease in bus segment sales was partially offset by an increase of $4.2 million in parts segment sales, driven by increased demand, as more busses are in operation as more schools have opened back up to in person learning, and by pricing actions taken by management to offset increases in purchased part costs.

Gross Profit

First quarter gross profit of $16.2 million represented an increase of $1.7 million from the first quarter of last year. The increase was primarily driven by higher parts segment sales volume and pricing actions taken by management to offset increases in purchased part costs. Gross profit margin improved 1.4 points to 12.5%.

Net Loss

Net loss was $4.1 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2022, which was $2.5 million higher than the same period last year. The increase was primarily driven by an increase of $3.5 million in SG&A, which was largely a result of share-based compensation expense as a result of the accelerated vesting of all outstanding stock awards for two of the Company's former executives, merit increases for all employees, and reversal of COVID-19 related extraordinary actions taken in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 to reduce labor costs. This increase in SG&A was partially offset by a $1.2 million increase in income tax benefit.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted Net Income was $(2.0) million, representing a decrease of $2.1 million compared with the same period last year. This decrease is primarily due to the $2.5 million increase in net loss. This was partially offset by a $0.7 million increase in share-based compensation.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA was $3.6 million, which was a decrease of $2.2 million compared with the first quarter last year. This decrease is primarily due to the $2.5 million increase in net loss.

Conference Call Details

Blue Bird will discuss its first quarter 2022 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 1-877-407-0784 or 1-201-689-8560

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 (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. Blue Bird buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – the majority of 25 million children twice a day – making us the most trusted brand in the industry. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses in operation today. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird's complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com. For Blue Bird's line of emission-free electric buses, visit www.bluebirdelectricbus.com.

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 or loss 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 circ*mstances 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

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands of dollars, except for share data)

January 1, 2022

October 2, 2021

Assets

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

$

4,069

$

11,709

Accounts receivable, net

6,140

9,967

Inventories

141,953

125,206

Other current assets

12,044

9,191

Total current assets

$

164,206

$

156,073

Property, plant and equipment, net

104,675

105,482

Goodwill

18,825

18,825

Intangible assets, net

48,940

49,443

Equity investment in affiliate

13,916

14,817

Deferred tax assets

6,117

4,413

Finance lease right-of-use assets

5,111

5,486

Other assets

2,258

1,481

Total assets

$

364,048

$

356,020

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)

Current liabilities

Accounts payable

$

61,410

$

72,270

Warranty

6,821

7,385

Accrued expenses

14,083

12,267

Deferred warranty income

7,493

7,832

Finance lease obligations

1,340

1,327

Other current liabilities

5,090

8,851

Current portion of long-term debt

16,088

14,850

Total current liabilities

$

112,325

$

124,782

Long-term liabilities

Revolving credit facility

$

5,000

$

45,000

Long-term debt

144,181

149,573

Warranty

10,431

11,165

Deferred warranty income

11,595

12,312

Deferred tax liabilities

3,743

3,673

Finance lease obligations

4,197

4,538

Other liabilities

12,393

14,882

Pension

21,720

22,751

Total long-term liabilities

$

213,260

$

263,894

Stockholders' equity (deficit)

Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized, 0 shares outstanding at January 1, 2022 and October 2, 2021

$

$

Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 31,975,274 and 27,205,269 shares outstanding at January 1, 2022 and October 2, 2021, respectively

3

3

Additional paid-in capital

171,150

96,170

Accumulated deficit

(37,835

)

(33,753

)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(44,573

)

(44,794

)

Treasury stock, at cost, 1,782,568 shares at January 1, 2022 and October 2, 2021

(50,282

)

(50,282

)

Total stockholders' equity (deficit)

$

38,463

$

(32,656

)

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity (deficit)

$

364,048

$

356,020

BLUE BIRD CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

(in thousands of dollars except for share data)

January 1, 2022

January 2, 2021

Net sales

$

129,223

$

130,434

Cost of goods sold

113,026

115,966

Gross profit

$

16,197

$

14,468

Operating expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses

18,233

14,690

Operating loss

$

(2,036

)

$

(222

)

Interest expense

(3,082

)

(1,930

)

Interest income

1

Other income, net

736

643

Loss on debt modification

(561

)

(598

)

Loss before income taxes

$

(4,943

)

$

(2,106

)

Income tax benefit

1,762

521

Equity in net loss of non-consolidated affiliate

(901

)

(29

)

Net loss

$

(4,082

)

$

(1,614

)

Loss per share:

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

28,118,450

27,060,259

Diluted weighted average shares outstanding

28,118,450

27,060,259

Basic loss per share

$

(0.15

)

$

(0.06

)

Diluted loss per share

$

(0.15

)

$

(0.06

)

BLUE BIRD CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

(in thousands of dollars)

January 1, 2022

January 2, 2021

Cash flows from operating activities

Net loss

$

(4,082

)

$

(1,614

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

Depreciation and amortization

3,288

3,471

Non-cash interest expense

1,143

563

Share-based compensation

1,673

724

Equity in net loss of non-consolidated affiliate

901

29

Loss (gain) on disposal of fixed assets

9

(1

)

Deferred taxes

(1,704

)

(106

)

Amortization of deferred actuarial pension losses

291

465

Loss on debt modification

561

598

Changes in assets and liabilities:

Accounts receivable

3,827

2,721

Inventories

(16,747

)

(12,618

)

Other assets

(2,554

)

245

Accounts payable

(11,115

)

(6,545

)

Accrued expenses, pension and other liabilities

(8,568

)

571

Total adjustments

$

(28,995

)

$

(9,883

)

Total cash used in operating activities

$

(33,077

)

$

(11,497

)

Cash flows from investing activities

Cash paid for fixed assets

$

(1,570

)

$

(3,317

)

Total cash used in investing activities

$

(1,570

)

$

(3,317

)

Cash flows from financing activities

Payments of revolving credit facility borrowings

$

(40,000

)

$

Principal payments of senior term loan borrowings

(3,713

)

(2,475

)

Principal payments of finance lease borrowings

(328

)

(382

)

Cash paid for debt costs

(2,468

)

(2,476

)

Proceeds from Private Placement

75,000

Cash paid for repurchases of common stock in connection with employee stock award exercises

(1,484

)

(518

)

Cash received from employee stock option exercises

74

Total cash provided by (used in) financing activities

$

27,007

$

(5,777

)

Change in cash and cash equivalents

(7,640

)

(20,591

)

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

11,709

44,507

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

$

4,069

$

23,916

Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA

Three Months Ended

(in thousands of dollars)

January 1, 2022

January 2, 2021

Net loss

$

(4,082

)

$

(1,614

)

Adjustments:

Interest expense, net (1)

3,157

2,012

Income tax benefit

(1,762

)

(521

)

Depreciation, amortization, and disposals (2)

3,523

3,676

Operational transformation initiatives

1

55

Share-based compensation

1,673

724

Product redesign initiatives

253

186

Restructuring and other charges

246

494

Costs directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic (3)

29

170

Loss on debt modification

561

598

Adjusted EBITDA

$

3,599

$

5,780

Adjusted EBITDA margin (percentage of net sales)

2.8

%

4.4

%

__________________

(1) Includes $0.1 million for both 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 fiscal periods, representing amortization charges on right-of-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 represents 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

(in thousands of dollars)

January 1, 2022

January 2, 2021

Net cash used in operating activities

$

(33,077

)

$

(11,497

)

Cash paid for fixed assets

(1,570

)

(3,317

)

Free cash flow

$

(34,647

)

$

(14,814

)

Cash paid for product redesign initiatives

253

186

Cash paid for operational transformation initiatives / Other

1

55

Cash paid for restructuring charges

246

494

Cash paid for costs directly attributed to COVID-19

29

170

Adjusted free cash flow

(34,118

)

(13,909

)

Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted Net Income

Three Months Ended

(in thousands of dollars)

January 1, 2022

January 2, 2021

Net loss

$

(4,082

)

$

(1,614

)

Adjustments, net of tax benefit or expense (1)

Operational transformation initiatives

1

41

Product redesign initiatives

190

140

Share-based compensation

1,255

543

Restructuring charges

185

371

Costs directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic (2)

22

128

Loss on debt modification

421

449

Other

Adjusted net income (loss), non-GAAP

$

(2,010

)

$

56

___________________

(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

January 1, 2022

January 2, 2021

Diluted loss per share

$

(0.15

)

$

(0.06

)

One-time charge adjustments, net of tax benefit or expense

0.08

0.06

Adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share, non-GAAP

$

(0.07

)

$

Weighted average dilutive shares outstanding

28,395,912

27,060,259

Blue Bird Reports Fiscal 2022 First Quarter Results;
Focused on Margin Expansion and EV Growth;
Impacted by Supply Chain Disruptions, Inflationary Pressures;
Confirms FY2022 Guidance (2024)
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