Ferguson PLC Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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

Question: Phil Ng - Jefferies LLC - Analyst : Hey, guys. Volume is certainly tracking a little better than you expected coming into the year, notably in your Waterworks and Commercial/Mechanical business. Are you starting to see some of that uptick in bidding activity you called out for the last few quarters on the heavy commercial/industrial activity start to come through? And on the flip side, resi was a little more muted and is higher for longer interest rate environment. But just curious when you unpack all these crosscurrents, how do you think about fourth quarter certainly looking out to 2025?

Question: Phil Ng - Jefferies LLC - Analyst : Okay. That's great color. And I guess, Bill, now you're expecting some modest inflation for the full year. Have you seen prices stabilize, particularly on your more commodity side of things? Is down 2% a good way to think about the fourth quarter? And how has like finished goods prices behave? We've seen some inflation for the actual commodities like copper and zinc prices rise noticeably in recent months. Are you seeing any inflation? And does that have a lag effect? Like what does that all mean for you as we look out the next six to nine months in terms of your margins and your top line?

Question: Phil Ng - Jefferies LLC - Analyst : And Bill, any categories that stand out that's a little spottier on the finished goods side from a pricing standpoint?

Question: Phil Ng - Jefferies LLC - Analyst : Okay. Appreciate all the great color, guys. Thank you.

Question: John Lovallo - UBS Securities LLC - Analyst : Good morning, guys. Thank you for taking my questions. The first one is can you walk through the moving pieces of your revenue outlook? I mean, how much of a headwind versus the prior outlook is the updated view on price? And is that fully offset by organic volume? Or is there some incremental M&A that's part of this as well? And if so, can you help us break out those two components, please?

Question: John Lovallo - UBS Securities LLC - Analyst : Understood. And then can you just help us think about the drivers of risk across the operating margin outlook range? It seems like the top end was taken off the table, what drove you to do that? Was that all the fleet -- was solely attributable to the deflation? And what would get you to the bottom end of the range and why not take that bottom end of the range off the table as well?

Question: John Lovallo - UBS Securities LLC - Analyst : Understood. Thank you, guys. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JUNE 04, 2024 / 12:30PM, FERG.N - Q3 2024 Ferguson PLC Earnings Call

Question: Sam Reid - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC - Analyst : Thanks so much guys for taking my question. I wanted to maybe unpack the quarter in a bit more detail. You've already provided some color here, but maybe just one more question around this. If I recall, February was trending more flattish from an organic basis. So maybe just talk through how trends might have looked through the remainder of the quarter, especially since you are lapping easier comps in those months?

Question: Sam Reid - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC - Analyst : That's helpful. Maybe put pivot down the P&L and talk a little bit about SG&A. It's something that a lot of investors, I think, are looking at with respect to your name. And maybe just think about absolute SG&A levels this quarter, would you say you're well calibrated into some of these seasonally stronger quarters that are coming up? And maybe how should we be thinking about SG&A into FQ4 and perhaps into FQ1? Thanks.

Question: Sam Reid - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC - Analyst : That's helpful. Thanks so much. I'll pass it on.

Question: Quinn Fredrickson - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : Hi, good morning, guys. It's Quinn Fredrickson on for Dave. Thanks for taking the question. I know that you're not providing fiscal '25 guidance obviously at this stage. But just wondering even conceptually or qualitatively which of your end markets or customer groups as you're looking out into next fiscal year, are you starting to feel better about? And conversely, are there any other you're starting to maybe see a little bit more pressure on?

Question: Quinn Fredrickson - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : Thank you. That's helpful. And then second question on gross margin here in the third quarter. I'm wondering if you could help unpack for us that. I think you mentioned, Bill, maybe just on the pricing side of things, really good execution. But was there anything unusual in terms of rebates or anything like that? It's just seemed like seasonally it was very strong and then secondly, on the execution side of things, can you help unpack what were you doing to drive that? Are there certain tools that you're providing to associates or just any color there?

Question: Quinn Fredrickson - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated - Analyst : Thank you, both.

Question: Keith Hughes - Truist Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Thank you. Just to delve on the deflation a little more. Could you talk about what individual products are continuing to see deflation and what sectors that's affecting?

Question: Keith Hughes - Truist Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Okay. One final question on this. On the water plastic pipe, the large diameter pipe has remain particularly high after substantial run. Are you seeing any signs of real deflation there that coming back down to historical prices?

Question: Keith Hughes - Truist Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Okay. And final question, the residential trade numbers were very encouraging, that positive 1%. I think you made a comment there on volume. Was the volume a little better than the revenue number you mentioned?

Question: Keith Hughes - Truist Securities, Inc. - Analyst : Okay, great. Thank you.

Question: Chris Clark - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : It's Chris Clark on for Mike. Just going back to the pricing conversation and then your comments around spottiness on the finished goods side, can you just may be flesh out a little more the dynamic that's causing that? Is it competitive pressures in the market? Is it your customers pushing back? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JUNE 04, 2024 / 12:30PM, FERG.N - Q3 2024 Ferguson PLC Earnings Call And then I think last quarter your expectation was overall pricing, including commodity to be positive in 4Q, now that's through -- you expect it to be negative to the end of this year. So are you expecting total pricing to be positive in 1Q '25? Or just some color there on when you expect eventual positive price inflection?

Question: Chris Clark - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Understood. And then maybe just shifting to some of the tailwinds you've called out on mega-projects in the past, I just was curious what you're seeing today in terms of that tailwind and any quantification you could provide on expectations of growth exiting this year into next? Thanks.

Question: Chris Clark - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Got it. I appreciate the color. REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. JUNE 04, 2024 / 12:30PM, FERG.N - Q3 2024 Ferguson PLC Earnings Call

Question: Will Jones - Redburn Atlantic - Analyst : Thanks. Good morning. Can you come back on volume please, when you talk about continued improvement through the rest of the year. Is the

Question: Will Jones - Redburn Atlantic - Analyst : Thank you.