American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc at Deutsche Bank DB Global Auto Industry Conference Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : Sounds good. Thank you. Let me just speak a little bit about the environment and industry conditions. Can you provide an update on industry conditions you're seeing? And how is American Axle doing so far this year?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : Are you tracking with some of your important US launches?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : And what are you seeing in terms of the industry pushing out some of these EV launches and Rams. Is this impacting your business? And is it affecting your capital allocation priorities?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : And let's focused on some of the shorter-term dynamics in your business, get it fairly strong in the first quarter we chose to maintain guidance for the year. What are you assuming for the rest of the year sequentially, get there?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : Now, one of the impacts you had mentioned at the time was some pull forward of the GM full-size truck platform in Q1 as well as some downtime expected in Q2. But I'm tracking what's going on with IHS looks like into volume actually better even than Q1? So any update on essentially up production downtime in production of this has played out?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : Can you dimension the impact from nonmaterial related inflation from freight labor utilities that you expect this year? How much of this do you expect to be able to recover and how are negotiations with automakers?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : So, I was going to ask you about with respect to labor. Can you characterize for us the current environment now? You mentioned in our efforts to increase automation where feasible, you mentioned the focus on plant loading throughout the year. What can you tell us for the progress on these efforts in mitigating labor constraints so far? without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. 'Thomson Reuters' and the Thomson Reuters logo are registered trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. JUNE 11, 2024 / 4:25PM, AXL.N - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc at Deutsche Bank DB Global Auto Industry Conference

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : Wanted to ask you about contribution margin, what contribution margin should we expect from the business this year and going forward relative to your historical average? And is there an impact from a higher mix of electrification?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : And then obviously, you're focused on execution in one year at a time and you have 2024 targets out there. If I look ahead to 2025, what are some of the puts and takes to consider American Axle in terms of growth in margin projection? without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. 'Thomson Reuters' and the Thomson Reuters logo are registered trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. JUNE 11, 2024 / 4:25PM, AXL.N - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc at Deutsche Bank DB Global Auto Industry Conference

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : One or two shift a little bit to the electrification part of the story. So as we discussed, the slowdown has been a big industry shift in recent quarters. Are you handling this changing dynamic? And obviously, you have large market share on some of the combustion engine trucks. Does this EV slowdown provide you better cash generation opportunities?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : Can you remind us the size of the business currently and your existing backlog and the future goals? without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. 'Thomson Reuters' and the Thomson Reuters logo are registered trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. JUNE 11, 2024 / 4:25PM, AXL.N - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc at Deutsche Bank DB Global Auto Industry Conference

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : Can you just go over some of your major recent or upcoming EV launches and what confidence you have on that?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : As the electrification portion of your new business backlog continues to move from. Can you speak to the difference in margin profile of these wins versus the others things?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : And as you develop the electrification global footprint, where do you see the biggest opportunity for American Axle for expansion?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : And just a couple of capital allocation questions. Can you walk us through your overall M&A strategy going forward, then will you continue to target EV specific acquisition or at this point, does it have to be largely powertrain or not?

Question: Emmanuel Rosner - Deutsche Bank AG - Analyst : And then how should we think about the use of free cash flow longer term view of you've directed a lot of it towards that's reduction in recent years. Will that continue to get to that low two turns of leverage? Or is there a different thinking currently? without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. 'Thomson Reuters' and the Thomson Reuters logo are registered trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies. JUNE 11, 2024 / 4:25PM, AXL.N - American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc at Deutsche Bank DB Global Auto Industry Conference