Exponent, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPO) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call February 1, 2024 4:30 PM ET

Company Participants

Joni Konstantelos - Investor Relations

Catherine Corrigan - President and Chief Executive Officer

Rich Schlenker - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Andrew Nicholas - William Blair

Josh Chan - UBS

Tobey Sommer - Truist

Operator

Good afternoon and welcome to the Exponent Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2023 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Joni Konstantelos. Please go ahead.

Joni Konstantelos

Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us on Exponent’s fourth quarter and fiscal year 2023 financial results conference call. Please note that this call will be simultaneously webcast on the Investor Relations section of the company’s corporate website at www.exponent.com/investors. This conference call is the property of Exponent and any taping or other reproduction is expressly prohibited without prior written consent.

Joining me on the call today are Dr. Catherine Corrigan, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Rich Schlenker, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Before we start, I would like to remind you that the following discussion contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, Exponent’s market opportunities and future financial results that involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed here. Additional information that could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements can be found in Exponent’s periodic SEC filings, including those factors discussed under the caption Risk Factor in Exponent’s most recent Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements and risks in this conference call are based on current expectations as of today and Exponent assumes no obligation to update or revise them, whether as a result of new developments or otherwise.

And now, I will turn the call over to Dr. Catherine Corrigan, Chief Executive Officer. Catherine?

Catherine Corrigan

Thank you, Joni and thank you everyone for joining us today. I will start off by reviewing our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2023 business performance. Rich will then provide a more detailed review of our financial results and outlook for 2024 and we will then open the call for questions.

Exponent’s world class team of experts delivered a 7% increase in net revenues in 2023, showcasing the effectiveness of our highly diversified portfolio of services. Notably, our reactive business grew in the high-teens, driven by robust failure investigations and disease-related work primarily for the transportation and energy sectors. While proactive services for the consumer electronics sector declined year-over-year due to ongoing industry headwinds and product lifecycle timing, the remainder of our proactive portfolio grew in the mid single-digits for the year.