Irrigation demand in North America remains stable while market activity in Brazil declines; infrastructure results deliver meaningful margin expansion

Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN), a leading global manufacturer and distributor of irrigation and infrastructure equipment and technology, today announced results for its second quarter ended on February 29, 2024.

Key Highlights

• Total revenues decreased 9 percent to $151.5 million on lower irrigation revenues
• Increased Road Zipper System™ lease revenues support accretive sales mix shift and improved infrastructure results
• Diluted earnings per share of $1.64 compared to $1.63 in the prior year quarter

“Demand for irrigation equipment in North America remained stable during our second quarter and in line with our expectations, supported by grower investment from the carryover impact of solid farm profits realized last year," said Randy Wood, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In Brazil, a significant drop in commodity prices during the quarter coupled with the anticipated impact of reduced yields for the current crop has reduced grower profitability and curtailed near-term capital investment capacity. In our infrastructure business, we are pleased with the continued growth of our Road Zipper System™ leasing business, which continues to represent a greater proportion of our infrastructure segment revenues with this sales mix accretive to Lindsay's overall margin profile."

"We continue to invest in our innovation strategy, driving value creation through our advanced technology platforms. During the second quarter we successfully launched the next generation of our industry leading FieldNET™ platform that provides growers with an intuitive and easy-to-use interface with enhanced capabilities for precision irrigation management. In January, we announced plans to invest more than $50 million to expand and modernize our largest global manufacturing facility located in Lindsay, NE. This includes implementation of Industry 4.0 technologies, including data connectivity, analytics, artificial intelligence and additional automation and robotics. This investment will accelerate our ability to bring our latest innovations to market, and it aligns with our capital allocation priorities and commitment to leverage state-of-the art technology across our global operations."

Second Quarter Summary

Revenues for the quarter were $151.5 million, a decrease of $14.7 million, or 9 percent, compared to revenues of $166.2 million in the prior year second quarter. The decrease resulted from lower irrigation segment revenues as infrastructure revenues were comparable to the prior year second quarter.

Operating income for the quarter was $22.1 million, a decrease of $5.2 million, or 19 percent, compared to operating income of $27.3 million in the prior year second quarter. Operating margin was 14.6 percent of sales, compared to 16.4 percent of sales in the prior year quarter. The decrease in operating income and operating margin resulted primarily from lower revenues and the resulting impact from deleverage of fixed operating expenses as gross margin was similar to the prior year second quarter.

Net earnings for the quarter were $18.1 million, or $1.64 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $18.1 million, or $1.63 per diluted share, for the prior year second quarter. The impact of lower operating income was favorably offset by higher other income and a lower effective tax rate compared to the prior year second quarter. Other income benefited from increased interest income and favorable foreign currency translation results compared to the prior year second quarter. Income tax expense for the quarter included the realization of a one-time tax benefit of $1.1 million in Brazil.

Second Quarter Segment Results

Irrigation segment revenues for the quarter were $133.0 million, a decrease of $14.8 million, or 10 percent, compared to $147.8 million in the prior year second quarter. North America irrigation revenues of $82.8 million decreased $7.6 million, or 8 percent, compared to the prior year second quarter. The majority of the decrease resulted from lower sales of replacement parts, along with slightly lower average selling prices and the impact of a less favorable mix of shorter machines compared to the prior year second quarter. This decrease was partially offset by moderately higher unit sales volume compared to the prior year second quarter.

International irrigation revenues of $50.2 million decreased $7.2 million, or 13 percent, compared to the prior year second quarter. The decrease resulted primarily from lower sales volumes in Brazil and other Latin America markets compared to the prior year second quarter while the impact of small increases and decreases in other markets primarily offset one another. In Brazil, order activity declined due to a significant drop in local commodity prices during the quarter which has negatively impacted the outlook for grower profitability and available liquidity. This dynamic has also resulted in a more constrained credit environment which is limiting growers' ability to invest in irrigation equipment. The decrease in revenues was partially offset by the favorable effects of foreign currency translation of approximately $0.9 million compared to the prior year second quarter.

Irrigation segment operating income for the quarter was $25.6 million, a decrease of $7.2 million, or 22 percent, compared to the prior year second quarter. Operating margin was 19.3 percent of sales, compared to 22.2 percent of sales in the prior year second quarter. Lower operating income and operating margin resulted primarily from lower revenues and the resulting impact from deleverage of fixed operating expenses.

Infrastructure segment revenues for the quarter of $18.5 million were comparable to the prior year second quarter. An increase in Road Zipper System lease revenues was offset by lower Road Zipper System project sales and lower sales of road safety products compared to the prior year second quarter.

Infrastructure segment operating income for the quarter was $3.5 million, an increase of $1.5 million, or 74 percent, compared to the prior year second quarter. Operating margin was 19.0 percent of sales, compared to 10.9 percent of sales in the prior year second quarter. Increased operating income and operating margin resulted from a more favorable margin mix of revenues with higher Road Zipper System lease revenues compared to the prior year second quarter.

The backlog of unfilled orders as of February 29, 2024, was $94.2 million compared with $95.2 million as of February 28, 2023. Included in these backlogs are amounts of $20.3 million and $5.4 million, respectively, for orders that are not expected to be fulfilled within the subsequent twelve months.

Outlook

Mr. Wood concluded, “The USDA recently released the initial projection for 2024 U.S. net farm income which reflects a substantial decline compared to 2023 levels and was below broader market expectations. The forecasted decline, if realized, could negatively affect demand for irrigation equipment during the remainder of our fiscal 2024. We remain confident in the growth opportunity in South America end markets and Brazil in particular; however we expect current market conditions to temper demand for irrigation equipment at least in the near term."

“In our infrastructure business, we expect continued growth in our Road Zipper System lease revenues through increased construction activity supported by growth in U.S. infrastructure spending. We also continue to execute our Road Zipper System project sales pipeline, however the timing of implementation remains challenging to forecast due to the number of variables involved in executing these projects.”

Second Quarter Conference Call

Lindsay’s fiscal 2024 second quarter investor conference call is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time today. Interested investors may participate in the call by dialing (833) 535-2202 in the U.S., or (412) 902-6745 internationally, and requesting the Lindsay Corporation call. Additionally, the conference call will be simulcast live on the Internet and can be accessed via the investor relations section of the Company's Web site, www.lindsay.com. Replays of the conference call will remain on our Web site through the next quarterly earnings release. The Company will have a slide presentation available to augment management's formal presentation, which will also be accessible via the Company's Web site.

About the Company

Lindsay Corporation (NYSE: LNN) is a leading global manufacturer and distributor of irrigation and infrastructure equipment and technology. Established in 1955, the company has been at the forefront of research and development of innovative solutions to meet the food, fuel, fiber and transportation needs of the world’s rapidly growing population. The Lindsay family of irrigation brands includes Zimmatic^® center pivot and lateral move agricultural irrigation systems, FieldNET^® and FieldWise^® remote irrigation management, FieldNET Advisor™ irrigation scheduling technology, and industrial IoT solutions. Also a global leader in the transportation industry, Lindsay Transportation Solutions manufactures equipment to improve road safety and keep traffic moving on the world’s roads, bridges and tunnels, through the Barrier Systems^®, Road Zipper^® and Snoline™ brands. For more information about Lindsay Corporation, visit www.lindsay.com.

Concerning Forward-looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and which reflect management’s current beliefs and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, Company performance and financial results. You can find a discussion of many of these risks and uncertainties in the annual, quarterly and current reports that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations and planned financing of the Company and those statements preceded by, followed by or including the words “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” "expect," "outlook," "could," "may," "should," “will,” or similar expressions. For these statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release.

The Company manages its business activities in two reportable segments as follows:

Irrigation – This reporting segment includes the manufacture and marketing of center pivot, lateral move, and hose reel irrigation systems, as well as various innovative technology solutions such as GPS positioning and guidance, variable rate irrigation, remote irrigation management and scheduling technology, irrigation consulting and design and industrial IoT solutions.

Infrastructure – This reporting segment includes the manufacture and marketing of movable barriers, specialty barriers, crash cushions and end terminals, and road marking and road safety equipment.

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