Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AIT) Q1 2023 Results Conference Call October 27, 2022 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Ryan Cieslak - Director, IR and Treasury

Neil Schrimsher - President and CEO

Dave Wells - CFO

Conference Call Participants

Chris Dankert - Loop Capital

David Manthey - Baird

Ken Newman - KeyBanc Capital Markets

Operator

Welcome to the Fiscal 2023 First Quarter Earnings Call for Applied Industrial Technologies. My name is Bridget, and I will be your operator for today's call. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded.

I will now turn the call over to Mr. Ryan Cieslak, Director of Investor Relations and Treasury. Ryan, you may begin.

Ryan Cieslak

Okay. Thanks, Bridget, and good morning to everyone on the call. This morning, we issued our earnings release and investor presentation detailing our first quarter results. Both of these documents are available in the Investor Relations section of applied.com.

Before we begin, just a reminder, we'll discuss our business outlook and make forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in our SEC filings. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations. The company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement. In addition, the conference call will use certain non-GAAP financial measures, which are subject to qualifications referenced in those documents.

Our speakers today include Neil Schrimsher, Applied's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Dave Wells, our Chief Financial Officer.

With that, I'll turn it over to Neil.

Neil Schrimsher

Thanks, Ryan, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us. I'll start today with some perspective on our first quarter results, including an update on current industry conditions and our performance as well as our expectations going forward. Dave will follow with more specific detail on the quarter's financials and provide additional color on our outlook and guidance, which we've raised this morning. And I'll then close with some final thoughts.

So overall, we had a solid start to fiscal 2023. Sales, EBITDA and EPS all hit record first quarter levels, with respective growth of 19%, 34% and 45% over prior year levels. Demand remained strong during the quarter. We continue to benefit from our industry position and internal growth initiatives. This is driving new growth opportunities across both our segments.

We're also doing an excellent job of managing inflation and controlling costs. This consistent performance is supporting robust operating leverage, helping further expand our margin profile and resulting in meaningful earnings growth despite more difficult comparisons. I want to thank our entire team for their ongoing effort and focus on optimizing and positioning Applied to achieve these results.