Adient(ADNT) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Financial Performance - Q4 2024 revenue was $3,562M, a decrease of 4% year-over-year, with a full-year revenue of $14,688M, down 5% compared to FY 2023[2] - Q4 2024 adjusted EBITDA was $235M, flat year-over-year, while full-year adjusted EBITDA totaled $880M, reflecting a 6% decrease from FY 2023[3] - Net sales for the three months ended September 30, 2024, were $3,562 million, a decrease of 4.5% compared to $3,729 million for the same period in 2023[18] - Gross profit for the three months ended September 30, 2024, was $245 million, down from $250 million in the prior year, reflecting a decline of 2%[18] - Net income attributable to Adient for the three months ended September 30, 2024, was $79 million, a decrease of 41.5% from $135 million in the same period last year[18] - Diluted earnings per share for the three months ended September 30, 2024, were $0.91, compared to $1.42 for the same period in 2023, representing a decline of 36%[18] - Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended September 30, 2024, was $880 million, down from $938 million in the previous year, indicating a decrease of 6.2%[29] - Adjusted net income attributable to Adient for the twelve months ended September 30, 2024, was $166 million, consistent with $205 million in the previous year[30] Cash Flow and Debt - Free cash flow for FY 2024 was $277M, with $275M returned to shareholders through share repurchases, equating to approximately 10% of shares outstanding at the beginning of FY 2024[3] - Cash provided by operating activities for the three months ended September 30, 2024, was $263 million, compared to $294 million in the same period of 2023, reflecting a decrease of 10.6%[20] - Cash used in investing activities for the three months ended September 30, 2024, was $(70) million, compared to $(65) million in the same period of 2023[20] - The company experienced a cash increase of $55 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024, compared to an increase of $202 million in the same period of 2023[20] - Net debt as of September 30, 2024, was $1,460 million, slightly up from $1,425 million a year earlier, indicating a 2.5% increase[39] - Total debt as of September 30, 2024, was $2,405 million, down from $2,535 million a year earlier, a reduction of 5.1%[39] - Gross debt and net debt as of September 30, 2024, were approximately $2.4B and $1.5B, respectively, with cash and cash equivalents of $945M[1] Operational Initiatives - Adient's automation initiatives include an AI welding inspection tool and a joint development agreement with Paslin to enhance efficiency in traditional sewing operations[3] - The company launched a Global Water Initiative, resulting in 235 water-related continuous improvement projects that conserve over 53,000 cubic meters of water annually[11] - Adient joined the RACE initiative to improve recycling methods for automotive plastics, aiming to increase recycling rates by up to 75%[13] - Adient plans to continue restructuring actions to align with market conditions and improve operational efficiencies in response to declining automotive production volumes[3] Future Outlook - For FY 2025, Adient expects consolidated sales in the range of $14.1B to $14.4B and adjusted EBITDA between $850M and $900M, anticipating flat performance despite lower production volumes[9] - Interest expense for FY 2025 is forecasted at approximately $185M, with cash taxes expected to be around $105M[9] Segment Performance - Adjusted EBITDA for the Americas segment was $116 million with a margin of 6.7%, compared to $100 million and a margin of 5.4% in the same quarter of 2023[23] - The EMEA segment's adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to 2.5% in Q4 2024 from 4.1% in Q4 2023[23] - The Americas segment's adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended September 30, 2024, was $375 million, with a margin of 5.5%[24] Non-GAAP Measures - Adient's management emphasized the importance of non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, to provide supplemental information regarding financial trends[17] - The company is focused on evaluating its ongoing operations through non-GAAP measures to provide supplemental information regarding financial and business trends[28]