Phibro Animal Health Corporation (NASDAQ:PAHC) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Jack C. Bendheim: So it’s a few products that we have developed. I mean the novel technology that we’ve been using is the TAbic or the — our ability to tabletize a vaccine, which makes it easier to use in the field. And the combination of both those things, we’re seeing growth in the market. I mean you always remember that you also need to see the virus, and we are seeing the virus in these markets. So the virus is spreading and with the virus spreading, we have a very effective product and the vaccine follows.

Michael Ryskin: Okay, great. If I can squeeze in one last one. Some comments again on your — I think you mentioned you want to control cost or control the spend just a little bit in companion — in the companion business. Could you expand on that, is that new product development, is that anything — any promotions or sales efforts tied to Rejensa, just kind of like where are you pulling back a little bit in that part of the business?

Daniel M. Bendheim: Yes, I’ll take that, Donny again. So it deals with our pipeline. I think we have strong stage gates throughout. And when a product misses a stage gate, we kind of look at it again. One of our products in our pipeline, dealing with one of our oral care products, we have two oral care products in the pipeline, one for dog, one for cats. In the dog product we decided to slow down on our spend there because it doesn’t — we’re really looking at the opportunity in light of the results we’re getting. So we are curtailing our spend in that respect.

Michael Ryskin: Okay, really helpful as always. Thanks a lot guys.

Operator: Your next question will come from the line of Brian Wright with ROTH MKM. Please go ahead.

Brian Wright: Thanks, good morning. Two real quick questions. Just was trying to get a little more understanding the detail about the pension settlement and that — I’ve read the 10-Q, but just trying to understand what exactly happened there?

Richard G. Johnson: Sure. So I think first, let me say that for the corporation, this was a noncash event. In other words, we funded — we put money into the pension plan years ago. So this was a transaction that happens inside the pension plan, and it’s something that many, many corporations have been doing. We essentially got — an insurance company agreed to irrevocably assume the liability for paying those future benefits for a group of people that are in the pension plan. And so basically, the — on a present value basis, the insurance company took over the precise number is there, but it was $24 million. The insurance company took over a $24 million present value of a liability and the pension plan took $24 million of its assets and paid the insurance company to take over that liability.

So — and then from there on, you get into some accounting recognition rules where we had to recognize this $10 million charge, but again, a non-cash item to the corporation, to Phibro.

Brian Wright: Okay. So that’s still off the books as far as the insurance company has that obligation, there’s no counterparty risk impact that’s being recorded here in that $10 million charge?

Richard G. Johnson: No, there’s no counterparty risk. In the insurance company, we were very careful to only consider transferring this liability to very highly rated insurance companies. So this is — I forget how the rating system works, but this is a very highly rated, very financially stable insurance company who has irrevocably assumed the obligation to pay these benefits over time in the future.

Brian Wright: Okay, thanks. And then just one detail on the follow-up. Of that — of the gross debt, how much is characterized as first lien?

Richard G. Johnson: Fundamentally all of it. It’s — with the exception of a small — I think it’s around $11 million, every — the remainder of the gross debt is all within one credit facility. It’s broken into various pieces. There’s a revolver piece and a term loan piece, but it’s all supported by the same collateral package.

Brian Wright: Okay, thank you so much.