Donaldson Company Inc. (NYSE:DCI) Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call August 28, 2024 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Sarika Dhadwal - Senior Director, Investor Relations and ESG
Tod Carpenter - Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Scott Robinson - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Bryan Blair - Oppenheimer
Timothy Thein - Raymond James
Adam Farley - Stifel
Brian Drab - William Blair
Robert Mason - Baird

Operator

Thank you for standing by and welcome to the Donaldson Company Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Thank you.

I'd now like to turn the call over to Sarika Dhadwal, Senior Director of Investor Relations and ESG. You may begin.

Sarika Dhadwal

Good morning. Thank you for joining Donaldson's Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2024 Earnings Conference Call. With me today are Tod Carpenter, Chairman, CEO and President; and Scott Robinson, Chief Financial Officer.

This morning, Tod and Scott will provide a summary of our fourth quarter and full year performance and details on our outlook for fiscal 2025. We will also provide an update on our fiscal 2026 financial targets.

During today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP or adjusted results. For fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2024 non-GAAP results exclude pretax restructuring and other charges of $6.4 million related to footprint optimization and cost reduction initiatives. This compares to $4.9 million and $21.8 million of charges in fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2023, respectively, related to the organizational redesign as well as costs associated with exiting a lower-margin customer program.

A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP metrics is provided within the schedules attached to this morning's press release. Additionally, please keep in mind that any forward-looking statements made during this call are subject to risks and uncertainties, which are described in our press release and SEC filings.

With that I'll now turn the call over to Tod Carpenter. Please go ahead.

Tod Carpenter

Thanks, Sarika. Good morning. Fiscal 2024 was another record year for Donaldson Company, record sales, record margins and record EPS.

We surpassed $3.5 billion in sales, achieved operating margin of 15.4% and delivered adjusted EPS of $3.42, a 13% increase above prior year. Our cash conversion was over 97%, well above our historical average and we returned $286 million to our shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.