Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

So again, it’s not something that worries me, where we don’t have, let’s say, a commercial imaging system that somebody would buy in China. On the flip side, we have custom products that we’re developing, which are very profitable. Actually, more profitable than commercial. I sit here today and I’m just looking at our portfolio and I wouldn’t change it with anybody else’s considering all the uncertainty around the world. One area may go down a little bit but we’ll pick it up somewhere else. And that’s the resilience of our earnings year-over-year, quarter-over-quarter.

Guy Hardwick: Just one last one for me. In Aerospace and Defense Electronics, I think previously, you had mentioned that you benefited from a particularly good mix there. Is that — presumably, that has continued in Q2 and assume that continues in the second half given your guidance for the margin?

Robert Mehrabian: Yes. We think we may have a little lower revenue in the second half. On the other hand, the products that we make in Aerospace go primarily in commercial aircraft. And that market has expanded, as you well know, very close to pre-COVID. Q3, Q4 margins for Aerospace and Defense might be a little lower than Q2 but it will be higher than Q1. So again, I don’t see major inflections in that area.

Operator: We’ll go the line of Jim Ricchiuti with a follow-up from Needham.

Jim Ricchiuti: You gave us some book-to-bills and I’m just wondering if you could perhaps provide us the book-to-bill in the different segments. I feel like I’ve got pieces of it.

Robert Mehrabian: Sure. Jim, in Instruments, our book-to-bill is about 1.05, so over 1, led by our Marine businesses, which are doing really well, both — in underwater vehicles as well as oil discovery and production. In the Digital Imaging as a whole, the book-to-bill is about 1.07. In Aerospace and Defense, that’s a little more =- and Engineered Systems, those are much more lumpy orders. So quarter-over-quarter book-to-bill may change but it’s not affecting the revenue that much because we expect both — revenue in both segments to grow. Overall, across the company, our book-to-bill is about 1.

Jim Ricchiuti: Okay. And last question for me. Just given the debt pay down, I’m wondering how — if anything has changed with respect to thinking about acquisitions, including any change in areas that you might be pursuing? And I know you can’t be specific but I’m just wondering, just in general, what your appetite is for M&A as you look out over the next several quarters?

Robert Mehrabian: Well, as I mentioned earlier, Jim, we paid on $620 million this year effective today, let’s say. That’s taken our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio to 2.1%. We have about $60 million of debt left that’s variable, which we pay 6%, out of the $3 billion that — $3 billion plus that Sue mentioned, the rest of our debt is on fixed. So other than that $60 million, our interest payments are 2.1% in future years, which is a very healthy place to be because we haven’t really touched our line of credit. So we have a lot of capability to acquisitions. Last year, even as we were paying our debt down, last year, we did 3 bolt-on acquisitions and spent about $160 million. We expect to continue that bolt-on acquisitions. On the flip side is that because if we don’t do anything else, if we don’t make acquisitions, if we don’t — doing anything, our debt-to-EBITDA ratio is going to go less than 1 in about a year and 1.5 years.