Richelieu Hardware Ltd Q3 2019 Earnings Call Transcript

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

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : I was hoping you could speak more about the AutoStore expansion. What is being added?

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : That's helpful. And this actually might my tie into that. U.S. sales made up a larger portion of consolidated sales versus the same quarter last year, and you have indicated in the past that your U.S. margins are generally lower than your margins in Canada, yet this quarter, despite softening markets and growing exposure in the U.S., margins increased 10 basis points year-over-year on EBITDA. So could you provide us with some insight into where that's coming from? 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. OCTOBER 03, 2019 / 6:30PM, RCH.TO - Q3 2019 Richelieu Hardware Ltd Earnings Call

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : And do you think that there is more you can extract there?

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : Moving on to the activity in Canada, which has been poor year-to-date. Have you seen any signs of end markets turning a corner?

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : That's very helpful. Any sign of things turning around in the months since the quarter ended?

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : So of that -- okay. 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. OCTOBER 03, 2019 / 6:30PM, RCH.TO - Q3 2019 Richelieu Hardware Ltd Earnings Call

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : That's fair. Then of the impact that we're seeing on the retailer front, how much do you think is attributable to the inventory rightsizing and how much is end-market slowness?

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : Excellent. And we have brought this up in the past, but the Home Depot new self-pickup lockers are seeing positive reactions. Are you seeing an impact on your sales or have any customer mentioned it?

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : That's clear. Moving on to the M&A pipeline, always an important topic. How is it looking these days?

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : And any context of a weaker market in Canada? Do you think that may cause an acceleration of the pace of M&A? 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. OCTOBER 03, 2019 / 6:30PM, RCH.TO - Q3 2019 Richelieu Hardware Ltd Earnings Call

Question: Zachary Evershed - National Bank Financial, Inc., Research Division - Analyst : Excellent. And one last one for me then. How did the various end markets perform? Any weak spots in your manufacturer end markets?