HNI Corporation (NYSE:HNI) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript April 29, 2024 11:00 AM ET

Thompson Research Group

Matt McCall - VP, IR and Corporate Development
Jeff Lorenger - Chairman, President and CEO
Marshall Bridges - SVP and CFO

Conference Call Participants

Reuben Garner - The Benchmark Company
Greg Burns - Sidoti & Company
Budd Bugatch - Water Tower Research
Kathryn Thompson - Thompson Research Group

Operator

Hello, and thank you for standing by. My name is Regina and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the HNI Corporation First Quarter Fiscal 2024 Results Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the conference over to Matt McCall. Please go ahead.

Matt McCall

Good morning. My name is Matt McCall. I'm Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Development for HNI Corporation. Thank you for joining us to discuss our first quarter fiscal 2024 results. With me today are Jeff Lorenger, Chairman, President and CEO; and Marshall Bridges, Senior Vice President and CFO. Copies of our financial news release and non-GAAP reconciliations are posted on our website.

Statements made during this call that are not strictly historical facts are forward-looking statements which are subject to known and unknown risks. Actual results could differ materially. The financial news release posted on our website includes additional factors that could affect actual results. The corporation assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during the call.

I'm now pleased to turn the call over to Jeff Lorenger. Jeff?

Jeff Lorenger

Thanks, Matt. Good morning, and thank you for joining us. During the first quarter, our teams continued to build upon the strong progress we have made over the past two years. We delivered earnings that were nearly triple the prior year period with operating margin and EPS reaching first quarter levels not seen since 2007. First quarter non-GAAP EPS of $0.37 was up 185% year-over-year. This was despite an 8% organic revenue decline which was primarily driven by continued housing market softness.

Our strong results continue to be fueled by our legacy workplace furnishings profit transformation plan and the inclusion of Kimball International which combined to deliver the highest first quarter workplace furnishings operating profit margin since 2016. At residential building products, our recent cost actions help support profitability despite a continued soft housing market. Longer term, we remain bullish about the prospects of the housing market broadly and our market-leading position specifically. Overall, we started the year on a very strong note.