| Item 2.02 | Results of Operations and Financial Condition. |
On April 30, 2024, Leggett & Platt, Incorporated issued a press release announcing its financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2024, related matters and its second quarter dividend. The press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
This information is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section. This information shall not be incorporated by reference into any document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
On May 1, 2024, the Company will hold an investor conference call to discuss its first quarter results, annual earnings guidance, capital allocation priorities, market conditions and related matters.
The press release contains the Company’s (i) Net Debt/Adjusted EBITDA (trailing twelve months) ratio; (ii) Adjusted EPS; (iii) Adjusted EBIT; (iv) Adjusted EBIT Margin; (v) EBITDA; (vi) EBITDA Margin; (vii) Adjusted EBITDA; (viii) Adjusted EBITDA Margin; (ix) Adjusted EBITDA (trailing twelve months); and (x) change in Organic Sales.
The press release also contains certain Segments’ (i) Adjusted EBIT; (ii) Adjusted EBIT Margin; (iii) EBITDA; (iv) Adjusted EBITDA; (v) EBITDA Margin; (vi) Adjusted EBITDA Margin; and (vii) change in Organic Sales.
Company management believes the presentation of Net Debt/Adjusted EBITDA (trailing twelve months) provides investors a useful way to assess the time it would take the Company to pay off its debt, ignoring various factors including interest and taxes. Management uses this ratio as supplemental information to assess its ability to pay off its incurred debt. Because we may not be able to use our earnings to reduce our debt on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the presentation of Net Debt/Adjusted EBITDA (trailing twelve months) may have material limitations.
Company management believes the presentation of Company Adjusted EPS, Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted EBIT Margin, EBITDA, EBITDA Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted EBITDA (trailing twelve months), and Segment Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted EBIT Margin, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, EBITDA Margin and Adjusted EBITDA Margin is useful to investors in that it aids investors’ understanding of underlying operational profitability. Management uses these non-GAAP measures as supplemental information to assess the Company’s operational performance.
Organic Sales is calculated as trade sales excluding sales attributable to acquisitions and divestitures consummated within the last twelve months. Company management believes the presentation of change in Organic Sales, is useful to investors, and is used by management, as supplemental information to analyze our underlying sales performance from period to period in our legacy businesses.
The above non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and should not be considered a substitute for, or more meaningful than, their GAAP counterparts. For non-GAAP reconciliations, please refer to pages 7 and 8 of the press release.
| Item 7.01 | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
The information provided in Item 2.02, including Exhibit 99.1, is incorporated herein by reference.
The Company’s Board of Directors and our management team evaluated our capital allocation priorities and, after consideration, determined to reduce our quarterly dividend. The Board declared a second quarter dividend of $.05 per share, a decrease of $.41 per share versus the 2023 second quarter dividend. We expect to reallocate a large portion of cash spent on dividends to deleverage our balance sheet and enhance our financial position in the near term as weak demand in our residential end markets continues to pressure earnings. In the longer term, we expect to use cash to grow our business both organically and through strategic acquisitions, while also returning cash to shareholders via a combination of dividends and share buybacks.
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