Lindsay Corporation (NYSE:LNN) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call April 4, 2023 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Randy Wood - President and Chief Executive Officer

Brian Ketcham - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Ryan Connors - Northcoast Research

Brian Wright - ROTH Capital

Adam Farley - Stifel

Brett Kearney - Gabelli Funds

Blake Keating - William Blair

Operator

Good day and welcome to the Lindsay Corporation’s Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded. And again this is Lindsay Corporation’s second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. I would now like to turn the conference over to Randy Wood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lindsay Corporation. Please go ahead.

Randy Wood

Thank you and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our fiscal 2023 second quarter earnings call. With me today is Brian Ketcham, our Chief Financial Officer. With the first half of our fiscal year complete, I am pleased with the performance of our business and encouraged by our ability to execute operationally and strategically to drive improved profitability across the organization amidst a volatile macroeconomic environment. While we have been faced with broader economic headwinds and strong year-over-year comparisons that have created pressure on the top line during the quarter, our organization continues to prove its resilience as demonstrated by the strong operating income results.

Looking at the macro environment. During the quarter, we continued to observe constraints across the supply chain, most notably in electronics. Our teams are working hard to mitigate these issues and we maintain our expectation that we will see continued improvement throughout the second half of the fiscal year. Compared to the prior year period, inflationary pressures have subsided moderately. Having said that, we are still taking a cautious approach to managing costs and this helped drive expansion in our operating margins during the quarter. Additionally, strong price realization contributed to improved operating income across the business.

Shifting to technology and business development. We continue to make progress on implementing our innovation strategy. Last quarter, we announced a strategic partnership with Ceres Imaging, a leading provider of high-resolution imagery and analytics that will expand the capabilities of our FieldNET platform. This partnership will provide valuable insights into crop health in alignment with our smart pivot roadmap, while giving customers a choice in the imagery platform that best suits their unique needs.

During the quarter, we also introduced the TAU-XR to our MASH Crash Cushion Lineup in our infrastructure business. This easy-to-install crash cushion expands our offering, increases safety and reduces maintenance labor in the field. We also recently appointed Brian Magnusson as our Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. Brian’s role will be focused on accelerating growth and creating value for all stakeholders through synergistic partnerships as well as strategic M&A. This is going to be a critical role for the organization as we continue to strengthen our position in the market, drive deeper penetration and position Lindsay for stable top and bottom line growth.