South Pacific Resources Ltd (NYSE:SPB) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Ian Zaffino: No, that’s very helpful. Thank you. And on HPC and the spin, can you maybe give us an update there? Maybe the timeline, how are you thinking about it? Is it predicated on getting this HHI deal done? Are you going to have to wait for it to close and then you proceed? How are we thinking about the timeline as it relates to that HPC spin? Thanks.

David Maura: Yeah. You’re definitely correct. We’ve got to focus and close HHI, and then we’ve got to deal with HPC after that.

Ian Zaffino: Yeah.

Jeremy Smeltser: We continue to work internally to separate the business and be prepared, be ready to go when the time comes. The business — within the business, we’ve done a good job there. I like the progress we’re making, but I agree with David. We’ll focus on HHI as our first priority.

Ian Zaffino: Okay. Thank you very much.

David Maura: Thanks, Ian.

Operator: Our next question comes from Peter Grom with GBS. Your line is open.

Peter Grom: Hey. Good morning, guys. Hope you are doing well?

David Maura: Hi, Peter.

Peter Grom: Can you maybe just — can you just maybe give us an update on the HHI transaction? I’m not really sure what you can share, given the situation. But just any thoughts on next steps? Is there a chance in your view that we’re not going to go to trial here? Just any thoughts around that? And then, David, I know you will remain confident in this deal closing for some time. So maybe just help us understand why you remain so confident just kind of given where we are and with everything that is going on. Thanks.

David Maura: Yeah. Thanks, Peter. Look, the HHI deal, the original deal is a good deal. And in my opinion, it is good for the American consumer to have ASO run this business. And so I view the original deal as not being anticompetitive in and of itself. I think the original deal was just fine and should have closed. I think the current construct with the remedies that are being offered increase my confidence in that based on the law in this country. And so my advisers, my legal team is very, very confident that we will win against the DOJ. But these things take time, and I can’t give you a great estimate on when that is. I can just tell you, hey, my drop-dead date is June, and we believe we can get it closed by the end of June or before.

Peter Grom: Got it. That’s helpful. And then, I guess, I kind of wanted to ask a follow-up to Chris’s question earlier. Just on the outlook, but can you maybe just help us frame the confidence there. Is there any sort of conservatism embedded in the outlook. Just because I think what Chris was alluding to is just kind of the lack of visibility in kind of two straight quarters of missing expectations. So just I think people are trying to understand kind of the confidence, if you will, in this kind of 311 to 320 EBITDA number?

David Maura: Yeah. Look, I think if I could ask, if I could talk directly to our shareholders, here’s what I would tell you. I think strategically, we are absolutely on the right track to create a stronger, faster-growing, higher-margin business called Pet, Home & Garden. We clearly did not anticipate a DOJ lawsuit. If you — when you talk about the quarterly progression — actually, if you go — if you pull your model up right now and you look at our earnings over the last four quarters, we actually, despite being a little softer because of some FX that I originally thought was Q4, we almost comped in line EBITDA year-over-year in the fourth quarter. The fourth quarter, despite all the problems, was actually our stronger quarter in terms of how it relates.