Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (WTS Quick QuoteWTS - Free Report) reported impressive fourth-quarter 2021 results, wherein both the bottom line and the top line surpassed their respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Amid pandemic-induced supply chain woes, double-digit growth in all regions along with increased productivity initiatives and economic recovery boosted Watts Water’s performance. The company is focused on new product development while bolstering productivity to fund long-term investments. Its robust operations teams continued to support its customers’ needs despite market demand challenges.

Net Income

On a reported basis, net income in the quarter was $40.1 million or $1.18 per share compared with $29.2 million or 86 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. The improvement mainly resulted from year-over-year top-line expansion.

Adjusted net income was $48 million or $1.42 per share compared with $38.9 million or $1.15 per share in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8 cents, delivering a surprise of 6%.

In 2021, net income on a reported basis came in at $165.7 million or $4.88 per share compared with $114.3 million or $3.36 per share in 2020. Adjusted net income in the year was $187 million or $5.52 per share compared with $132 million or $3.88 per share in 2020.

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Revenues

On a reported basis, quarterly net sales grew 17.5% year over year to $473.9 million, driven by double-digit growth in all regions. The top line surpassed the consensus estimate of $453 million. Organic sales increased 18% year over year.

In 2021, net sales totaled $1,809.2 million compared with $1,508.6 million in 2020. Organic sales for the full year increased 17%.

Segment Results

Americas: Net sales grew 20.4% year over year to $318.3 million. Organic sales increased 19% on the back of widespread growth in all major product lines. Favorable foreign exchange movements and acquisitions combined for 1%. Adjusted operating income improved 12.9% to $51.8 million. However, the adjusted operating margin decreased 110 basis points (bps) to 16.3% as benefits from price, volume, cost reduction actions and productivity initiatives were offset by inflation, incremental growth investments, incentives and business normalization costs.

Europe: Net sales grew 11.4% year over year to $133.6 million, including an unfavorable foreign exchange impact of 4%. Organic sales were up 15%, with growth in both Fluid Solutions and Drains platforms. Adjusted operating income was $21 million, up 25% year over year, driven by increased price, volume and productivity initiatives.

Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa: Net sales improved 15.2% to $22 million, including 2% from positive foreign currency impact. Organic sales increased 13% from growth in all major regions. Adjusted operating income was $3.7 million compared with $3.4 million in the prior-year quarter, benefiting from volume, productivity initiatives and higher intercompany volume.

Other Details

Cost of goods sold increased to $274.6 million from $234.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Gross profit grew to $199.3 million from $169.2 million. Operating income was $62.6 million, up 15.1%. GAAP operating margin was down 30 bps to 13.2%. Adjusted operating margin was 13.4%, down 20 bps.

The company repurchased almost 23,000 shares for about $4.2 million during the fourth quarter. In 2021, it repurchased nearly 110,000 shares for $16 million to offset dilution from its stock compensation programs.

Cash Flow & Liquidity

In 2021, Watts Water generated $180.8 million of cash from operating activities compared with $228.8 million a year ago. Free cash flow in the same period totaled $159.2 million, down from $187.2 million. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to a proactive decision to increase inventories in response to solid market demand amid continued supply chain challenges. However, it was partially offset by lower capital expenditures.

As of Dec 31, 2021, the company had $242 million in cash and cash equivalents with $141.9 million of long-term debt compared with the respective tallies of $218.9 million and $198.2 million in the year-ago period.

Outlook

Watts Water has issued the financial outlook for first-quarter 2022 and full-year 2022.

For first-quarter 2022, the company expects organic sales growth to be in the range of 5-10%. Adjusted operating margin is estimated to rise between 14% and 14.5%, with adjusted margin growth flat to -50 bps.

For full-year 2022, Watts Water expects organic sales growth to be in the range of 3-8%. Adjusted operating margin is estimated to rise between 14.3% and 14.7%, with adjusted margin growth of between 0 bps and 40 bps.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Watts Water currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry are Allied Motion Technologies Inc. , Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI Quick QuoteBMI - Free Report) and Progress Software Corporation (PRGS Quick QuotePRGS - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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