Moog Inc. Reports First Quarter 2024 Sales Growth and Margin Expansion and Increases Full-Year Earnings Per Share Guidance

East Aurora, NY -- Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B), a worldwide designer, manufacturer and systems integrator of high-performance precision motion and fluid controls and controls systems, today reported fiscal first quarter 2024 diluted earnings per share of $1.48 and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.53. 

Quarter Highlights

• Net sales of $857 million increased 13%, with increases across all four segments, including a near 50% increase in Commercial Aircraft.
• Operating margin of 11.0% decreased 40 basis points. The absence of the prior year's gain on the sale of two buildings more than offset the current quarter's benefits from pricing and higher production volume. Adjusted operating margin, excluding the gain on the sale of two buildings, expanded 90 basis points to 11.3%. 
  
• Diluted earnings per share of $1.48 increased 3% due to higher operating profit, offset by the absence of the prior year's gain on the sale of two buildings. Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.53 increased 22%.
  
• Free cash flow improved by $45 million as compared to last year.
• Twelve-month backlog increased 6% to $2.5 billion due to growth across our aerospace and defense businesses.

"We had a great start to fiscal 2024, setting us up nicely to deliver margin enhancement in line with our investor day plan," said Pat Roche, CEO. "Our highly engaged employees are delivering for our customers and are driving margin improvements across the business."

Quarter Results

Sales in the first quarter of 2024 increased across all segments compared to the first quarter of 2023. Commercial Aircraft sales increased 47% to $194 million due to the continued market recovery in widebody aircraft in both OEM and aftermarket programs. Sales in Industrial increased 6% to $246 million due to higher demand for flight simulation systems and industrial automation applications. Within Space and Defense, sales increased 6% to $230 million, driven by strong defense demand across both the space and defense markets. Sales in Military Aircraft increased 5% to $186 million due to the ramp up on the V-280 program.

Operating margin decreased 40 basis points to 11.0% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023. Industrial operating margin decreased 400 basis points, as the prior year benefited $10 million from the sale of two buildings related to the footprint rationalization initiative. Military Aircraft operating margin increased 200 basis points to 10.5%, driven by increased activity on the V-280 program and by a more favorable sales mix. Space and Defense operating margin increased 170 basis points to 11.0% due to production efficiencies and pricing initiatives. Commercial Aircraft operating margin decreased 40 basis points to 10.6% since favorable retrofit activity from last year did not repeat.

Adjusted operating margin in the first quarter of 2024 increased 90 basis points to 11.3% compared to the first quarter of 2023. The only segment with significant adjustments is Industrial, which increased 30 basis points to 12.6% as the benefits of pricing initiatives were partially offset by the absence of the prior year's favorable sales mix.

Free Cash Flow Results

Free cash flow was $23 million, which included a $25 million benefit related to the expansion of the securitization facility. Higher collections from customers were mostly offset by growth in physical inventories to support the growth across the aerospace and defense businesses. Capital expenditures were $37 million.

2024 Financial Guidance

"We are raising our sales and earnings per share guidance for the year based on our first quarter results, and are holding our operating margin guidance," said Jennifer Walter, CFO. "Our sales in fiscal year 2024 will grow by 5%, operating margin will expand by 110 basis points and earnings per share will increase by 12%. We are confident we are on track to deliver exceptional results again this year."

Diluted net earnings per share for the second quarter of 2024 is forecasted to be $1.70, plus or minus $0.10.

Conference call information

In conjunction with today’s release, Pat Roche, CEO, and Jennifer Walter, CFO, will host a conference call today beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET, which will be simultaneously broadcast live online. Listeners can access the call live, or in replay mode, at www.moog.com/investors/communications. Supplemental financial data will be available on the website approximately 90 minutes prior to the conference call.

Cautionary Statement 

Information included or incorporated by reference in this press release that does not consist of historical facts, including statements accompanied by or containing words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “believes,” “expects,” “expected,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “approximate,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “outlook,” “forecast,” “anticipates,” “presume” and “assume,” are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to several factors, risks and uncertainties, the impact or occurrence of which could cause actual results to differ materially from the expected results described in the forward-looking statements. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should carefully consider the factors set forth below.

Although it is not possible to create a comprehensive list of all factors that may cause actual results to differ from the results expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements or that may affect our future results, some of these factors and other risks and uncertainties that arise from time to time are described in Item 1A “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other periodic filings with the SEC and include the following:

Strategic risks

• We operate in highly competitive markets with competitors who may have greater resources than we possess;
• Our research and development and innovation efforts are substantial and may not be successful, which could reduce our sales and earnings;
• If we are unable to adequately enforce and protect our intellectual property or defend against assertions of infringement, our business and our ability to compete could be harmed; and
• Our sales and earnings may be affected if we cannot identify, acquire or integrate strategic acquisitions, or as we conduct portfolio shaping and footprint rationalization initiatives.

Market condition risks

• The markets we serve are cyclical and sensitive to domestic and foreign economic conditions and events, which may cause our operating results to fluctuate;
• We depend heavily on government contracts that may not be fully funded or may be terminated, and the failure to receive funding or the termination of one or more of these contracts could reduce our sales and increase our costs;
• The loss of The Boeing Company as a customer or a significant reduction in the sales to The Boeing Company could adversely impact our operating results; and
• We may not realize the full amounts reflected in our backlog as revenue, which could adversely affect our future revenue and growth prospects.

Operational risks

• A constrained supply chain, as well as inflated prices, across various raw materials and third-party provided components and sub-assemblies have had, and could continue to have, a material impact on our ability to manufacture and ship our products, in addition to adversely impacting our operating profit and balance sheet;
• If our subcontractors or suppliers fail to perform their contractual obligations, our prime contract performance and our ability to obtain future business could be materially and adversely impacted;
• We face, and may continue to face, risks related to information systems interruptions, intrusions and or new software implementations, which may adversely affect our business operations;
• We may not be able to prevent, or timely detect, issues with our products and our manufacturing processes, which may adversely affect our operations and our earnings; and
• The failure or misuse of our products may damage our reputation, necessitate a product recall or result in claims against us that exceed our insurance coverage, thereby requiring us to pay significant damages.

Financial risks

• We make estimates in accounting for over-time contracts, and changes in these estimates may have significant impacts on our earnings;
• •       We enter into fixed-price contracts, which could subject us to losses if we have cost overruns;
• Our indebtedness and restrictive covenants under our credit facilities and indenture governing our senior notes could limit our operational and financial flexibility;
• Significant changes in discount rates, rates of return on pension assets, mortality tables and other factors could adversely affect our earnings and equity and increase our pension funding requirements;
• A write-off of all or part of our goodwill or other intangible assets could adversely affect our operating results and net worth; and
• Unforeseen exposure to additional income tax liabilities may affect our operating results.

Legal and compliance risks

• Contracting on government programs is subject to significant regulation, including rules related to bidding, billing and accounting standards, and any false claims or non-compliance could subject us to fines, penalties or possible debarment;
• Our operations in foreign countries expose us to currency, political and trade risks and adverse changes in local legal and regulatory environments could impact our results of operations;
• Government regulations could limit our ability to sell our products outside the United States and otherwise adversely affect our business;
• We are involved in various legal proceedings, the outcome of which may be unfavorable to us;
• Our operations are subject to environmental laws and complying with those laws may cause us to incur significant costs;
• We may face reputational, regulatory or financial risks from a perceived, or an actual, failure to achieve our sustainability goals; and
• The recently received invalidation of our facility security clearance by the U.S. Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency could impact potential future business as well as adversely affect our operating results.

General risks

• Future terror attacks, war, natural disasters or other catastrophic events beyond our control could negatively impact our business; and
• Our performance could suffer if we cannot maintain our culture as well as attract, retain and engage our employees.

While we believe we have identified and discussed above the material risks affecting our business, there may be additional factors, risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial that may affect the forward-looking statements made herein. Given these factors, risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as predictive of future results. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statement made in this report, except as required by law.