Caesarstone Ltd. (NASDAQ:CSTE) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Yosef Shiran: So Stanley, so far, the business in Australia continues quite well, and business as usual in terms of selling the products. And this expected to continue until July. From July, we don’t know now exactly what will be the reaction in the market. What we are seeing is a very positive sign for the products that we introduced. And we will have to wait and see. There are still things that needs to be cleared by the Australian government. So the signs are very good, but we don’t have something which is carved in stone as of yet. But overall, it seems that the products that we have introduced — by the way, also some of our competitors are introducing similar — not similar, but let’s say look-alike products. And the reaction from the government is positive.

And also, we believe it’s in accordance with the Australian new regulations. So as I said, we definitely got some positive response in the last few weeks. And we are advancing with the products and with the production. And we will have to wait and see what will be the exact revenue. We also have our lines of porcelain, which are relevant to the Australian market under the new regulations. So all in all, we believe that we will continue to maintain our leading position in the market. How much exactly will it be? We don’t know at this stage.

Stanley Elliott: Yes. That’s fair. And I guess one last just kind of a point of clarification. So maybe help us with the inventory days, how you see this model running now that you’re going to be more on the import side? And then lastly, a point of clarification, you mentioned positive operating cash. Are you also expecting positive free cash flow in 2024?

Yosef Shiran: So in terms of the inventory, that as Nahum has said, we went down from 170 days to 120 by the end of Q4. We are aiming to be lower than 100. So there is still room for improvement there. And in terms of free cash flow, we are reducing our CapEx. So we will still have CapEx for our porcelain plant in India and also for plant in Israel, mainly. But it’s — it will be less than what we used to have when we had all the additional factory in Sdot-Yam and Richmond Hill, of course. So all in all, we believe that we will still generate positive cash flow, of course, and we will, of course, have free cash flow after that.

Stanley Elliott: Perfect, guys. Thanks so much. And best of luck.

Yosef Shiran: Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Yos Shiran, Caesarstone’s Chief Executive Officer, for any closing remarks.

Yosef Shiran: Thank you for your attention this morning, and we look forward to updating you on our progress next quarter. Thank you very much. Bye. Thanks.

Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect.

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