Plexus Announces Fiscal Third Quarter Financial Results
NEENAH, WI,(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ: PLXS) announced financial results for our fiscal third quarter ended June 29, 2024, and guidance for our fiscal fourth quarter ending September 28, 2024.
- Reports fiscal third quarter 2024 revenue of $961 million, GAAP operating margin of 4.1% and GAAP diluted EPS of $0.91.
- Reports fiscal third quarter 2024 non-GAAP operating margin of 5.8% and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.45, excluding $0.24 of stock-based compensation expense and $0.30 of restructuring and other charges, net of tax.
- Initiates fiscal fourth quarter 2024 revenue guidance of $990 million to $1.03 billion with GAAP diluted EPS of $1.14 to $1.29, including $0.36 of stock-based compensation expense. Fiscal fourth quarter 2024 non-GAAP EPS guidance of $1.50 to $1.65 excludes stock-based compensation expense.
| Three Months Ended | ||||||
| Jun 29, 2024 | Jun 29, 2024 | Sep 28, 2024 | ||||
| Q3F24 Results | Q3F24 Guidance | Q4F24 Guidance | ||||
| Summary GAAP Items | ||||||
| Revenue (in millions) | $961 | $960 to $1,000 | $990 to $1,030 | |||
| Operating margin | 4.1% | 3.9% to 4.3% | 4.6% to 5.0% | |||
| Diluted EPS | $0.91 | $0.80 to $0.95 | $1.14 to $1.29 | |||
| Summary Non-GAAP Items (1) | ||||||
| Adjusted operating margin (2) | 5.8% | 5.2% to 5.6% | 5.6% to 6.0% | |||
| Adjusted EPS (3) | $1.45 | $1.22 to $1.37 | $1.50 to $1.65 | |||
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 10.4% | |||||
| Economic return | 2.2% | |||||
| (1) | Refer to Non-GAAP Supplemental Information in Tables 1 and 2 for additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures. |
| (2) | Excludes stock-based compensation expense of approximately 70 bps for Q3F24 results, 60 bps for Q3F24 guidance, and 100 bps for Q4F24 guidance. Excludes restructuring and other charges, net, of approximately 100 bps for Q3F24 results and 70 bps for Q3F24 guidance. |
| (3) | Excludes stock-based compensation expense, net of tax, of $0.24 for Q3F24 results, $0.21 for Q3F24 guidance and $0.36 for Q4F24 guidance. Excludes restructuring and other charges, net of tax, of $0.30 for Q3F24 results and $0.21 for Q3F24 guidance. |
Fiscal Third Quarter 2024 Information
- Won 35 manufacturing programs during the quarter representing $279 million in annualized revenue when fully ramped into production.
- Generated fiscal third quarter free cash flow of $114 million, contributing to fiscal year-to-date free cash flow of $147 million.
- Purchased $18.6 million of our shares at an average price of $100.64 per share under our repurchase program, leaving $19.5 million available under our existing $50.0 million authorization.
Todd Kelsey, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Our team delivered superior operational performance for the fiscal third quarter, which enabled outstanding financial results. Revenue of $961 million was within our guidance range, while non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP EPS of 5.8% and $1.45, respectively, exceeded our guidance ranges. We generated free cash flow of $114 million, representing the second best quarterly performance in our history.”
Mr. Kelsey continued, “We delivered fiscal third quarter new manufacturing program wins worth $279 million in annualized revenue, including a record contribution within Healthcare/Life Sciences. In addition, we are seeing increasing market sector diversification in the demand for our engineering solutions, resulting in the team achieving the highest level of new business wins in the past four quarters.”
Patrick Jermain, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented, “The $114 million of free cash flow generated during the fiscal third quarter significantly exceeded our expectations. Continued progress on our working capital initiatives contributed to this strong performance, resulting in fiscal third quarter cash cycle of 83 days, three days favorable to our expectations and sequentially lower by eight days. Given this performance, we now anticipate delivering in excess of $150 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2024. The ongoing benefits from our working capital initiatives combined with increasing profitability is anticipated to result in continued strong free cash flow generation in fiscal 2025. Finally, we reduced our borrowing by $89 million and repurchased $18.6 million of our shares during the fiscal third quarter. We expect to continue to execute upon the remaining $19.5 million of our current repurchase authorization during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, creating additional shareholder value.”
Mr. Kelsey added, “We are witnessing signs of strengthening demand across each of our market sectors, with share gains and new program ramps further bolstering our ongoing and continued expectations for revenue growth. As a result, we are guiding fiscal fourth quarter revenue of $990 million to $1.03 billion, non-GAAP operating margin of 5.6% to 6.0% and non-GAAP EPS of $1.50 to $1.65.”
Mr. Kelsey concluded, “Consistent with prior expectations, we anticipate delivering a strong finish to our fiscal 2024, with sequential expansion in revenue, robust operating margin performance, sequential growth in EPS and continued free cash flow generation. We expect sustained revenue growth momentum into fiscal 2025, capitalizing upon Aerospace/Defense market sector strength, increasing Healthcare/Life Sciences customer forecasts aided by new program ramps, and improved semiconductor capital equipment and broadband communications demand. We anticipate revenue growth momentum, the benefits from optimizing our business for greater efficiency during fiscal 2024 and ongoing free cash flow deployment toward debt reduction and share repurchases will create meaningful EPS growth in fiscal 2025.”
