PHINIA Inc. reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

First Quarter Highlights:

• U.S. GAAP net sales of $863 million, an increase of 3.4% compared with Q1 2023.
  • Excluding $17 million of contract manufacturing sales, sales were up slightly compared to Q1 2023. Favorable pricing and currency were partially offset by lower commercial vehicle sales in Europe.
• Operating income of $71 million and adjusted operating income of $97 million includes the benefit of a supplier settlement and inflationary pass-through. Operating margin of 8.2% and an adjusted operating margin of 11.5%, represents a year-over-year increase of 130 basis points (bps) and 170 bps, respectively.
  • Q1 2024 segment adjusted operating margin of 13.6% also includes the benefits noted above.
  • Corporate costs of $18 million were in line with expectations.
• U.S. GAAP net earnings of $0.62 per diluted share.
  • Excluding $0.46 per diluted share related to non-comparable items (detailed in the non-GAAP appendix below), adjusted net earnings of $1.08 per diluted share.
• Net earnings of $29 million with net margin of 3.4%, a year-over-year decrease of 80 bps.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $131 million with adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.5%, a year-over-year increase of 160 bps.
• Net cash generated by operating activities of $31 million.
  • Adjusted free cash flow was $13 million.

Key Wins in Strategic Growth Markets:

New business wins remained strong across all end markets, the company said. A few examples of new business awards in Q1 are:

• Important contract extension win and volume uplift to supply fuel injectors to a leading global original equipment manufacturer (OEM), in the commercial vehicle (CV) segment for its European business.
• Contract extension for important GDi fuel system with leading global OEM, supporting the customer with its localization plan in South America.
• Conquest business win to supply GDi fuel systems to a leading global OEM for one of its light vehicle (LV) platforms in North America.

Brady Ericson, president, and chief executive officer of PHINIA commented: “I am pleased to report that we began the new year delivering strong first quarter results which support our full year guidance. The strong performance in the quarter was driven by our Aftermarket business, coupled with positive contributions from inflationary pass-through and a supplier settlement. Furthermore, the first quarter showcased the operating discipline of our teams as we are focused on realizing efficiencies and margin expansion across our business segments.

“Our capital allocation strategy continues to be a balanced approach of investing for growth and returning value to our shareholders through cash dividend and share re-purchases. To that end, during the quarter, we paid $12 million in dividends and repurchased $23 million of our outstanding shares. Additionally, in early April, we strengthened our financial position even further with the issuance of $525 million of senior secured notes which enabled us to repay our Term Loan B facility and outstanding balance on our revolving credit facility. The completion of this refinancing initiative was an important step and provides us with more financial flexibility under which we can continue to invest in the strategic growth and evolution of the company.

“We have delivered against the initiatives we have laid out and our financial results are also reflective of this. New business wins are at record levels with a significant portion being new business conquests which bodes well for further market share gains. Additionally, we are well positioned from a balance sheet perspective to execute our operating strategy and to address market conditions as they unfold for the remainder of 2024 and beyond.”

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow:

The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $325 million and $424 million of available capacity under its revolving credit facility. Long-term debt at quarter end was $706 million.

Capital expenditures during the quarter were $43 million with the funds primarily used for investments in new machinery and equipment related to new program launches. Dividends paid to shareholders in the quarter were $12 million while share repurchases totaled $23 million. Net cash provided by operating activities was $31 million and adjusted free cash flow was $13 million.