Mueller Water Products Reports Q4 and Fiscal Year Results

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Mueller Water Products Inc. announced that its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter ended September 30, 2021 net sales were $295.6 million and net income was $18.4 million in a press release.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, the company:

• Achieved net sales of $295.6 million, an increase of 11.4 percent as compared with $265.3 million in the prior year quarter.
• Generated operating income of $27.8 million as compared with $40.7 million in the prior year quarter and adjusted operating income of $29.7 million as compared with $41.8 million in the prior year quarter.
• Reported net income of $18.4 million as compared with $26.7 million in the prior year quarter and adjusted net income of $19.8 million as compared with $27.5 million in the prior year quarter.
• Reported net income per diluted share and adjusted net income per diluted share of $0.12 as compared with net income per diluted share and adjusted net income per diluted share of $0.17 in the prior year quarter.
• Reported Adjusted EBITDA of $45.6 million as compared with $57.6 million in the prior year quarter, resulting in an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.4 percent as compared with 21.7 percent in the prior year quarter.
• Repurchased $10.0 million of common stock during the quarter.

In the full fiscal year, the company:

• Achieved net sales of $1,111.0 million, an increase of 15.2 percent, as compared with the prior year of $964.1 million.
• Generated net income of $70.4 million as compared with $72.0 million in the prior year.
• Reported net income per diluted share of $0.44 as compared with $0.45 in the prior year, and achieved adjusted net income per diluted share of $0.56 as compared with $0.52 in the prior year.
• Achieved adjusted EBITDA of $203.6 million, an increase of 6.8 percent as compared with $190.6 million in the prior year yielding an adjusted EBITDA margin of 18.4 percent as compared with 19.8 percent in the prior year.
• Increased operating cash flow by $16.4 million to $156.7 million from $140.3 million in the prior year and improved free cash flow by $21.4 million to $94.0 million from $72.6 million in the prior year.

“The fourth quarter was a disappointing end to a strong year, which we achieved despite the ongoing pandemic and other challenges. In addition to the pandemic, we have faced many obstacles over the past year, including significant raw material and other cost inflation, supply chain disruptions and labor availability challenges, which impacted fourth quarter operations and results. I am grateful to all of our team members for their perseverance and dedication throughout this past year,” said Scott Hall, president and chief executive officer of Mueller Water Products.

“Our consolidated net sales increased 11.4 percent for the fourth quarter and 15.2 percent for the full year. Following record sales growth in the third quarter, we experienced continued strong demand in the fourth quarter driven by both new residential construction and municipal repair and replacement activity. Fourth quarter orders remained elevated compared with pre-pandemic levels, and we ended the year with record backlog for our Infrastructure products.

“While our fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA decreased, primarily due to the challenging operating environment, we still achieved 6.8 percent adjusted EBITDA growth for the year. Although we realized improved pricing in the quarter for the majority of our products, it was not enough to offset the continued higher inflation. Additionally, during the quarter, our specialty valve product portfolio experienced longer delivery times for parts, delaying shipments, and our ongoing plant restructuring has been impacted by the supply chain disruptions and labor challenges.

“I am especially pleased with our cash flow for the year, where we generated $94.0 million of free cash flow. After the $19.7 million purchase of i2O Water and allocating $44.8 million to shareholders via our quarterly dividend and share repurchases, we ended the year with a stronger cash position compared with the prior year.