Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUBB) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Operator: Our next question comes from Christopher Glynn with Oppenheimer.

Christopher Glynn: Thanks. Good morning, guys. Just curious your thoughts on the acquisition pipeline, couple angles, anything in electrical or focused pretty much on utility and part of the thought there is maybe more premium on the utility side deals, but obviously, you can add lots of value. And also, should we be thinking exclusively along the lines of the typical bolt-on sizes?

Gerben Bakker: Yes, so I would say, Chris, the pipeline is equal opportunity. So two of the three deals we closed in €˜22 are electrical. So I would not think about it being exclusively utility. If you thought about activity doing 180, in €˜22, for me is slightly disappointing I would have rather had a fourth you get us into the mid twos as an annual kind of investment rate. And so we’ve got the cash to keep doing that. And I think the year was a little challenged for us in getting, I think, sellers to accept sort of the uncertainty of the macro. And so I think it was a little harder to get buyers and sellers to agree, at the end of the day. So we had a couple that we thought maybe could get done that ultimately didn’t. And so we’re looking to be more active.

The pipeline, though, is supportive of that activity level. But you’re asking about is the size going to be more typical traditional historical levels? I would say, yes. But I would think about there being opportunities in both electrical and utility, Chris.

Christopher Glynn: Great. Thanks for that. And other question was on the electrical margin. Historically, you have a little bit more of a seasonal margin tail off in the fourth quarter over the third quarter. But last year was moderate too. Are there any particular sequential factors that ease that? Or is the last couple of years really a better guidepost to your margin even historically?

Gerben Bakker: No, I mean, look, I think the seasonality can be driven by fewer days in the fourth quarter. And then if the weather prevents construction, right. Those are the two factors, I’d say. And I do think we’ve been operating with backlogs such that maybe you’d see less than that weather impact, maybe, but the days are there. And the electrical side has less backlog than the utility side right now. So I think the biggest sequential factor continues to be price costs tailwinds and contributions from that help lift that helpless margins.

Operator: Our next question comes from Chris Snyder with UBS.

Chris Snyder: Thank you. So guidance puts electrical at low single digit organic growth in 2023. So flat to up versus 1% in Q4, and with price fading, we think that guidance for volumes to increase from here. Is this solely the result of moving past this customer inventory digestion period or something else driving volumes higher from this point? Thanks.

Bill Sperry : Yes, I mean, I think that’s a sequential fact from the fourth quarter. Do you think the fourth quarter is a little distorted by that? They’re very well could be destocking throughout €˜23, though, as well. Hopefully, that’s kind of measured. But I think that if you just look year-over-year and you go kind of high-end market, we’re anticipating resi contracting significantly. That’s creating ultimately a drag. We think those blue markets that line up, that we think are going to be quite resilient to a consumer led recession and some of the inflation and interest rate problems that consumers are having. We think those are a little more secularly driven right now and then the balance of non res and industrial we see industrial being in slightly probably stronger shape and the non res being a little more, maybe quick to follow resi.