AEP Industries (AEPI)’s Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2014 Earnings Call Transcript

Brendan: Yes. That’s a typical, as prices go up the customers try and book specially in stock businesses they try and grab as much inventory as they can get hold of and as prices go down they order as little as possible to keep them operating and again most of that takes place in our stock businesses.

Richard: OK and that’s something that you would expect to impact your fiscal first-quarter and may be bleed a little bit into the fiscal second-quarter?

Brendan: Yes.

Richard: OK. And then you mentioned the 3% volume growth is what your expectation is for fiscal 2015, what are the drivers underlining this?

Brendan: Well we have added capacity in places where we were busy in the past, the capex that we made during the last couple years has tried to address areas where we can relieve backlogs, we were out for five, six weeks so we a have good likelihood of running that equipment, new product development is always the driver behind what we are doing and in some instances where we have to get down and dirty we get down and dirty.

Richard: OK, OK. I think that’s it for me right now thank you very much.

Operator:  Once again if you like to ask question please press *1. Your next question comes from line of Dan Khoshaba of KSA Capital.

Dan: Good Morning Guys. Well Brendan your comments at the end of your initial remarks were that you expected the current year 2015 to be a year were company creates I thinks it’s a substantial shareholders value and you know I believe -correct me if I am wrong- but part of that is what you’re seeing in terms of the moderating . . .  its not the declining price of resins, some of that is the lower capex. The capex that you put in place which is obviously gonna run more efficiently so the fundamental picture is going to look better and we are all pleased about that but when you talk about shareholder value Brendan you also consider may be that your. . .  now that you are done with a what was a huge really -I think you will agree- capex program over the last few year that part of that shareholder value might come from you know generating substantial free cash flow and perhaps beginning to give that path to shareholders which you know today they have not benefited at least not yet from all of that capex. Do you have any thoughts on that side of the — ?

Brendan: I think Paul can chip in on this also but generally speaking at every directors meeting there is an open discussion and it’s always on the agenda about steps we can take and we did  buy back some shares, we have discussed dividends, shares etc. it’s an ongoing.  We don’t have any specific plans on doing anything this year.  I think we just want to sell out what we have sold to generate the type of cash flow that we used to in prior periods and that’s about what’s our goal of the year.

Dan: So if I could just follow up on that and if your CAPEX is going down and you have the kind of year you think you could have and you generate cash, how do you reduce your debt level?  you think your debt is too high at this point or why wouldn’t you either do large special dividends or something else if things work out the way we all hope of course or is it your view that paying down debt  would be a better use?

Brendan: I would let Paul answer that question.