JELD-WEN Holding, Inc. (NYSE:JELD) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Julie Albrecht: Maybe the only other color I’d add to that, Susan, is just very specifically in the fourth quarter. And as Bill just mentioned, we’ve been mentioning this trend all year. But in the fourth quarter in our forecast, we have very little year-over-year price impact to the top line and very little price/cost. So, really, what’s driving our Q4 outlook is the volume mix decline that we’ve mentioned and then again, really basically offset by cost reductions and productivity. So, that price/cost benefit. We had a lot in first half less so in Q3, we really do expect to, I’ll say, flatten out significantly in the fourth quarter. So, just adding that additional clarity there.

Susan Maklari: Okay, that’s helpful color. Thank you. And then, Bill, in your prepared remarks, you outlined some of those completed or those announced changes to the — to some of those facilities that are — will be closing. I guess when you think about the asset base that the business has, any kind of higher view in terms of where we are in this process and how we should think about this going forward, given all the progress that you’ve already made through the first couple of quarters of this year?

Bill Christensen: Yes. So, I’d say there’s a couple of factors. So, we’re definitely not finished, Susan. There’s a number of overarching topics that are coming into this decision-making process. One, obviously, is macro headwinds and our expectations on kind of midterm volumes. Second, is regional presence and our ability to deliver on time and full to our customers. So basically, it’s a network view, making sure that we have assets in the right place. Third, what we’ve already talked about today is, are we balanced effectively between labor and investments in automation. And I would argue we’re definitely not balanced today. So, this is going to be a big opportunity for us as we move forward. And obviously, there’s a cost to that, but there’s also a benefit and that will then also lead to probably a rebalancing of assets to make sure that we have the ability to serve the customers.

So, there’s a lot of overarching topics that are coming into this decision-making process, which leads then to the answer for your question is, no, we’re definitely not finished. This is a long-term process. And we’ve constantly said that we need fewer sites that we overinvest in and create high-performing operating assets. So, again, to use the analogy that I shared with Phil, we’re in the early innings. And this is a long game, especially when you look at some of the lead times on automation around the world, this is not something that we’re going to solve in the next quarter.

Susan Maklari: Okay. Thank you for all that and good luck with everything.

Bill Christensen: Thank you very much Susan. Have a good day.

Julie Albrecht: Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Reuben Garner with The Benchmark Company. Please go ahead.

Reuben Garner: Thank you. Good morning everybody.

Bill Christensen: Hi Reuben.

Reuben Garner: So, maybe to start a clarification on the pricing outlook in the near-term. Are you guys seeing — what are you seeing from a sequential standpoint on pricing? Has it been pretty stable? Or are there any categories within doors or windows or anything doors versus windows that’s changed from a competitive standpoint over the last 3 to six months?

Bill Christensen: Yes, it’s pretty flat, Reuben. I’d say that there’s puts and takes, but all-in, it’s flat.

Reuben Garner: Okay. And then in your kind of longer term discussion. You mentioned pricing capabilities, I think, was the terminology used. What does that mean? Is that looking at things more centralized than you have been less centralized? Any detail would be helpful.

Bill Christensen: Yes, sure. So, yes, what that means is building better capabilities and systems within our organization to be able to create decision-making documentation and make those decisions on fact base that I would argue have not been as robust as they should be. And in a high inflation environment and potential volatile environment, we want to make sure that we’re prepared as an organization to react, so that would be the one area. It’s kind of getting ourselves better aligned to react to the volatile environment that we’ve been throwing into the last couple of years, and we feel could potentially continue. And second point is just to make sure that we’re doing our homework. We have a very broad portfolio. We’re a global player. So, we operate in many different markets, and we just want to make sure that we’re doing a good job of supporting our sales teams around the world with the right data and documentation to guide on pricing decisions.

Reuben Garner: Got it. Congrats on the strong performance and good luck with the rest of the year.

Bill Christensen: Yes, thank you very much Reuben. Take care.

Julie Albrecht: Thank you, Reuben.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Michael Rehaut with JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

Andrew Azzi: Its Andrew Azzi on for Mike. Thank you for taking my questions.

Julie Albrecht: Sure. Good morning.

Bill Christensen: Hey Andrew.

Andrew Azzi: Good morning. I just wanted to ask if you can comment maybe on volume monthly trends in the retail channel for doors and maybe kind of get your read on how retail is trending compared to the underlying market? And how you perceive your volumes relative to the rest of the industry?