Miller Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MLR) Q1 2023 Earnings Conference Call May 4, 2023 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Michael Gaudreau - Investor Relations, FTI Consulting

Will Miller - President & Chief Executive Officer

Debbie Whitmire - Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Arnold Ursaner - Ursaner Family Office

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Miller Industries First Quarter Results Conference Call. Please note, this event is being recorded.

And now at this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Michael Gaudreau of FTI Consulting. Please go ahead.

Michael Gaudreau

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. I would like to welcome you to the Miller Industries Conference Call. We are here to discuss the company's 2023 first quarter results, which were released after the close of the market yesterday.

With us from the management team today are Bill Miller, Chairman of the Board; Will Miller, President and CEO; Jeff Badgley, President of International and Military; Debbie Whitmire, Executive Vice President and CFO; Frank Madonia, Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel; Vince Tiano, Chief Revenue Officer; and Jamison Linden, Chief Manufacturing Officer.

Today's call will begin with formal remarks from management, followed by a question-and-answer session. Please note, in this morning's conference call, management may make forward-looking statements in accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

I'd like to call your attention to the risks related to these statements, which are more fully described in the company's annual report filed on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Will. Please go ahead, Will.

Will Miller

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. We had a great start to our 2023, generating record quarterly revenue and significantly improved profitability compared to 2022. Sales in the quarter increased 31% year-over-year, due to improved availability of component parts.

Gross profit for the first quarter was $30.4 million, an increase of 98.3% compared to the prior year quarter, while gross margin of 10.8% improved 370 basis points year-over-year. We are encouraged by our profitability levels as input costs have begun to stabilize and we are benefiting from our efforts taken to offset inflationary pressures. We are seeing continued signs of supply chain improvement as we move forward in 2023.

Demand for our products remains strong, and we have not experienced order cancellations despite the challenging macroeconomic environment. We have decided, in light of our strong sales and elevated backlog, to continue to accumulate inventory in the form of goods near completion and feel that investing in our business in this manner is the best use of our cash in the current environment.