Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Michael Greiner: Yes. So, you’re right. I mean I think we’ll be a little bit north of 14%, but you’re in the range there. And yes, first half is always going to be lower than the second half. I’d like to believe we can at least tweaking in 10% operating profit in the first quarter. But yes, that will be our lowest operating profit quarter, and then it will build a couple of few hundred basis points per quarter from there.

Rick Wise:

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JoeWoody: It’s more sustaining in terms of the MIC-KEY area, maintaining our technology position and helping us there primarily. And then we do see continued growth in NeoMed this year, as an example, double-digit again, even though we’ve talked about the infant conversions are starting to get completed on a global level. So, primarily sustaining that leadership position in the legacy business, and then we still see good runway ahead for CORTRAK, frankly, and for NeoMed.

Rick Wise: Thank you.

Operator: And our next question today comes from Kristen Stewart with CL King. Please go ahead.

Kristen Stewart: Hi. Thanks for taking the question. I just wanted to clarify, Michael, you talked about the 2000 — or 2025 kind of goals for the full year. Are you still reaffirming that $750 million target, because we are growing at a lower base now? Or is it just the mid-single-digit that you’re reiterating?

Michael Greiner: The mid-single-digit, yes. What I was trying to convey was what we originally laid out was the $750 million are correct. And that $750 million is not — we don’t believe currently attainable with the growth rates we see. But we still believe that the growth rates are going to have or mid-single-digits, it’s just off of that $20 million lower base due to the HA impact.

Kristen Stewart: Okay. And separately, how do you feel about free cash flow generation and getting to that over $100 million of free cash flow in 2025. What are kind of some of the measures that you’re looking forward to achieve that objective?

Michael Greiner: Yes. I mean, if you think about this year we had a $50 million of total cash outflow for litigation settlements restructuring the RH divestiture that will be around $25 million to $30 million in 2024. And in 2025 we’ll have hopefully minimal to no one-time cash payments. So that’s a huge tailwind. On top of that our operational cash flow will be improving and just by nature of the revenue going up mid-single digits and the margin improvement the cost management takeout. And then on top of that we’ve got working capital opportunities in inventory. As you know, we’ve struggled a little bit with our inventory management over the last couple of years for a range of reasons some macro and some self-inflicted. We have about $30 million — $25 million to $30 million of inventory opportunity between now and the end of 2025.

So if we execute on each of those pieces which are many of them are very much in our control, I feel very good about the $100 million opportunity and free cash flow over 2025.

Kristen Stewart: Okay. Perfect. And then last question just on the IVP portfolio can you maybe just some talk through if you have any supply constraints still there with Tom Cooley? And then on the Trident launch in the US, I think you mentioned that was better than expected. Can you maybe just provide additional color on that?

Joe Woody: Yes. So again, we saw about a 10% growth versus the third quarter in the business. And the quality issues in the supply chain issues are behind us. We were also happy with the capital sold in the fourth quarter that lends itself to the next year. The following year, zero’s has really been exceeding our expectations in terms of a launch. But we just to remind everybody that we sell into the US, which is a new market now and we’re going to be double digit for the full year globally, high double digit but it can take you six months or so than they get those accounts up and running for the full revenue streams. But we think there is going to be a big contributor to the business this year. And again it will be it will be high double digit as it has been.

Michael Greiner: And Kristen just one wanted to so the 10% Joe is referring to is the sequential growth Q3 to Q4 specific to our RF business. So that includes CoolWave our standard RF probes. And as Joe just mentioned the capital sales that does not include zero. Zero’s grew more than 10%. Q3, Q4.

Kristen Stewart: Okay. Perfect. And then the organic growth expectation for this year, I just want to make sure that does not include euros or does that include euros?

Michael Greiner: It includes D. Rose against the time period that we owned zeros. So the back half of the year it does not include any revenue in the first half of the year or the first half of the year through partially in the third quarter where we did not own zero. So it’s pure organic growth.

Kristen Stewart: Okay. Perfect.

Operator: Thank you. And this concludes our question-and-answer session. I’d like to turn the conference back over to the management team for any closing remarks.