RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Frank Sullivan: Again, Mike, it’s really just repeated, the comments I made earlier. In our more cyclical impacted businesses, January and February and March have not been good. And so €“ you can see that in the Construction Products Group and in the Specialty Coatings Group. I will tell you the Performance Coatings Group backlog is good. We expect that to continue. As Matt highlighted, big dollars in infrastructure and driving industrial capital spending. So, there is plenty of reasons to be cautious and that’s why we have a wide range in Q4. I can tell you the couple of things to look at in terms of possible upside is consumer POS getting better in the spring. That could be an upside. Our Roofing division improving in the spring and the summer.

Again, that as part of our construction products business has been slow versus record levels last year. And we are starting to see some sequential improvement in Europe. Some of that’s just rounding easier comps. So, those are the elements that we will pay attention to in the spring and the summer as possible upsides to the guidance that we provided.

Mike Sison: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from Vincent Andrews with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Vincent Andrews: Thank you and good morning everyone.

Frank Sullivan: Good morning.

Vincent Andrews: Two quick ones from me. First, you referenced electric vehicles and could you just talk a little bit about how incremental that is versus, I don’t recall you guys having a lot of content in automobiles at all. But is there any sort of cannibalization versus an existing sale into an internal combustion engine vehicle?

Frank Sullivan: Sure. So, these are not coatings that go into auto, and we are not in automotive coatings, but we have a very strong presence in industrial new construction. So, whether it’s corrosion control coatings, various elements of industrial for steel or into mesh at more architectural decorative fireproofing coatings. And a really good franchise across Stonhard, Euclid, Dudick, a number of flooring businesses, whether it’s concrete coatings or fibers that go into concrete in the case of Euclid or the actual polymer flooring. We have been a leader in microelectronics globally in those areas. And to the extent that we are seeing a big influx and onshoring that’s partly government-subsidized, we should be the beneficiaries of that.

And that includes the manufacturing €“ that includes the construction of these EV plants and also of battery plants. So, those are all areas of strength in terms of specification and work, but it’s entirely related to industrial capital spending or construction, not automotive coatings.

Vincent Andrews: Okay. Terrific. And just getting back to the issues with the banks and sort of the credit outlook for customers, I mean if we make the assumption that credit is going to become incrementally tighter for folks over the balance of the year and potentially even more expensive. What can RPM do in terms of working with your customers on that? And are you already starting to hear that the customers are having issues or thinking about paring back just because we will have less capital to put in the markets?

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