Johnson Controls reports solid second quarter results and once again raises full-year guidance; Announces $250 million in new annual run rate COGS savings by fiscal 2023

“Our performance continues to strengthen as we emerge from the global pandemic with a sharpened focus on our future,” said chairman and CEO, George Oliver. “I am incredibly proud of our employees’ leadership and commitment through this time. The strategic actions we have taken to address future profitability, expand into key growth markets through disciplined capital allocation, deliver on sustainability, and expand our digital and service offerings, are all evidence of how we are executing our strategy,” Oliver continued.

“Momentum in many of our end markets continues to build. Volumes in our Global Products business are recovering nicely, led by continued strength in Residential, while order activity in our non-residential businesses is accelerating and the pipeline is expanding further as we enter the second half of our year. Based on our year-to-date performance, the strength and resilience of our backlog, and the outlook for the remainder of the year, I am confident we are positioned to deliver on all of our commitments.”    

Cost Savings Program

In addition to the multi-year SG&A actions designed to further optimize the overall cost structure and enhance operational efficiency that was announced in February, the company announced this morning the details of its multi-year Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) actions which are expected to deliver annualized net savings of $250 million. Together, these cost savings programs are expected to deliver a net $550 million in annualized net savings by fiscal year-end 2023. Additional details related to the COGS actions are included in the slide presentation.

Income and EPS amounts attributable to Johnson Controls ordinary shareholders
($ millions, except per-share amounts)

The financial highlights presented in the tables below are in accordance with GAAP, unless otherwise indicated. All comparisons are to the second fiscal quarter of 2020.

Organic sales, total segment EBITA, adjusted segment EBITA, adjusted corporate expense, EBIT, adjusted EBIT, adjusted net income from continuing operations, adjusted EPS from continuing operations and free cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures. For a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures and detail of the special items, refer to the attached footnotes. A slide presentation to accompany the results can be found in the Investor Relations section of Johnson Controls’ website at http://investors.johnsoncontrols.com.

SEGMENT RESULTS

Building Solutions North America

Sales in the quarter of $2.1 billion decreased 4% versus the prior year. Organic sales also declined 4% versus the prior year, driven by continued weakness in project installations due primarily to the slower order intake experienced throughout much of the pandemic. Strong growth in Performance Solutions resulting from increased demand for our energy savings performance contract business, was more than offset by a decline in Fire & Security and Applied HVAC & Controls.         

Orders in the quarter, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency, increased 5% year-over-year. Backlog at the end of the quarter of $6.0 billion increased 3% compared to the prior year, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency.

Adjusted segment EBITA was $266 million, up 5% versus the prior year. Adjusted segment EBITA margin of 12.7% expanded 110 basis points versus the prior year driven by significant cost mitigation actions and restructuring benefits as well as positive mix, which more than offset the impact of the volume decline. 

Building Solutions EMEA/LA (Europe, Middle East, Africa/Latin America)

Sales in the quarter of $897 million increased 6% versus the prior year. Organic sales were flat with the prior year as a modest increase in project installations was offset by a modest decline in service.  Strength in our Industrial Refrigeration and Applied HVAC & Controls businesses was offset by a low-single digit decline in Fire & Security. Modest growth in Europe, despite continued headwinds related to the pandemic, was offset by declines in the Middle East and Latin America.          

Orders in the quarter, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency, increased 5% year-over-year. Backlog at the end of the quarter of $1.9 billion increased 7% year-over-year, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency.

Adjusted segment EBITA was $86 million, up 1% versus the prior year. Adjusted segment EBITA margin of 9.6% declined 40 basis points over the prior year, including a 40 basis point headwind related to foreign currency. Adjusting for foreign currency, EMEALA’s underlying EBITA margin was flat with the prior year, as the benefit of mitigating cost actions was offset by lower equity income. 

Building Solutions Asia Pacific

Sales in the quarter of $603 million increased 15% versus the prior year. Organic sales grew 9% versus the prior year with growth in both service and project installations, driven by strong growth in Applied HVAC & Controls. China continues to recover sharply, with the rest of Asia still mixed.       

Orders in the quarter, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency, declined 1% year-over-year.  Significantly improved demand in China was offset by further declines in countries such as Japan, Korea and South East Asia. Backlog at the end of the quarter of $1.7 billion increased 4% year-over-year, excluding M&A and adjusted for foreign currency.

Adjusted segment EBITA was $74 million, up 14% versus the prior year. Adjusted segment EBITA margin of 12.3% declined 10 basis points versus the prior year including a 20 basis point headwind related to foreign currency and a divestiture.  Adjusting for this, Asia Pacific’s underlying EBITA margin increased 10 basis points as the benefit of volume leverage was mostly offset by geographic mix.    

Global Products

Sales in the quarter of $2.0 billion increased 6% versus the prior year. Organic sales also grew 6% versus the prior year driven by growth in Residential HVAC and to a lesser extent Fire & Security. This growth was partially offset by a moderating decline in Commercial HVAC and Industrial Refrigeration. 

Adjusted segment EBITA was $285 million, up 32% versus the prior year. Adjusted segment EBITA margin of 14.2% expanded 280 basis points versus the prior year driven by volume leverage, increased equity income, the benefit of mitigating cost actions, and positive price/cost partially offset by negative mix. 

Corporate

Adjusted Corporate expense was $70 million in the quarter, a decrease of 15% compared to the prior year, driven primarily by mitigating cost actions and continuous structural cost reductions.

OTHER ITEMS

• For the quarter, cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations was $0.6 billion and capital expenditures were $0.1 billion, resulting in free cash flow from continuing operations of $0.5 billion.
• During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately 6 million shares for $315 million.
• During the quarter, the company increased its regular annual cash dividend to $1.08 per share, and its share repurchase authorization by $4 billion.
• During the quarter, the company repaid $257 million, in 4.25% senior notes that matured in March. This was replaced with a zero coupon €200M one-year bank loan.
• In early April, Johnson Controls announced an agreement to acquire Silent-Aire for up to $870 million, including an upfront payment of approximately $630 million and additional payments to be made subject to the achievement of post-closing earnout milestones.

FY21 THIRD QUARTER AND FULL YEAR GUIDANCE

Johnson Controls initiated fiscal 2021 third quarter guidance:

• Organic revenue growth up mid-teens year-over-year
• Adjusted segment EBITA margin up slightly, year-over-year
• Adjusted EPS before special items of $0.80 to $0.82; represents 19 to 22% growth year-over-year

The company raised fiscal 2021 full year guidance:

• Organic revenue growth up mid-single digits year-over-year
• Adjusted segment EBITA margin expansion of 70 to 90 basis points, year-over-year
• Adjusted EPS before special items of $2.58 to $2.65; represents 15 to 18% growth year-over-year

CONFERENCE CALL & WEBCAST INFO

Johnson Controls will host a conference call to discuss this quarter’s results at 8:30 a.m. ET today, which can be accessed by dialing 888-324-9610 (in the United States) or 630-395-0255 (outside the United States), or via webcast. The passcode is “Johnson Controls”. A slide presentation will accompany the prepared remarks and has been posted on the investor relations section of the Johnson Controls website at https://investors.johnsoncontrols.com/news-and-events/events-and-presentations. A replay will be made available approximately two hours following the conclusion of the conference call.

About Johnson Controls:

At Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet. 

With a history of more than 135 years of innovation, Johnson Controls delivers the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through its comprehensive digital offering OpenBlue. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries, Johnson Controls offers the world`s largest portfolio of building technology, software as well as service solutions with some of the most trusted names in the industry. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

Johnson Controls International plc Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Johnson Controls International plc has made statements in this communication that are forward-looking and therefore are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements in this document other than statements of historical fact are, or could be, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this communication, statements regarding Johnson Controls’ future financial position, sales, costs, earnings, cash flows, other measures of results of operations, synergies and integration opportunities, capital expenditures and debt levels are forward-looking statements. Words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “should,” “forecast,” “project” or “plan” and terms of similar meaning are also generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Johnson Controls cautions that these statements are subject to numerous important risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond Johnson Controls’ control, that could cause Johnson Controls’ actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to: Johnson Controls’ ability to manage general economic, business, capital market and geopolitical conditions, including the impacts of natural disasters, climate change, pandemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments, such as the COVID-19 pandemic; the strength of the U.S. or other economies; changes or uncertainty in laws, regulations, rates, policies or interpretations that impact Johnson Controls’ business operations or tax status; the ability to develop or acquire new products and technologies that achieve market acceptance; changes to laws or policies governing foreign trade, including increased tariffs or trade restrictions; maintaining the capacity, reliability and security of our enterprise and product information technology infrastructure; the risk of infringement or expiration of intellectual property rights; any delay or inability of Johnson Controls to realize the expected benefits and synergies of recent portfolio transactions such as its merger with Tyco and the disposition of the Power Solutions business;  the outcome of litigation and governmental proceedings; the ability to hire and retain key senior management; the tax treatment of recent portfolio transactions; significant transaction costs and/or unknown liabilities associated with such transactions; the availability of raw materials and component products; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; work stoppages, union negotiations, labor disputes and other matters associated with the labor force; the cancellation of or changes to commercial arrangements.  A detailed discussion of risks related to Johnson Controls’ business is included in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Johnson Controls’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 2020 fiscal year filed with the SEC on November 16, 2020, which is available at www.sec.gov and www.johnsoncontrols.com under the “Investors” tab. Shareholders, potential investors and others should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements and should not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements included in this communication are made only as of the date of this document, unless otherwise specified, and, except as required by law, Johnson Controls assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this communication.

Non-GAAP Financial Information
The Company’s press release contains financial information regarding adjusted earnings per share, which is a non-GAAP performance measure. The adjusting items include restructuring and impairment costs, transaction costs, integration costs, net mark-to-market adjustments, Power Solutions divestiture reserve adjustment and discrete tax items. Financial information regarding organic sales, EBIT, EBIT margin, adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBIT margin, total segment EBITA, adjusted segment EBITA, adjusted segment EBITA margin, adjusted corporate expense, free cash flow, and adjusted net income (loss) from continuing operations are also presented, which are non-GAAP performance measures. Adjusted segment EBITA excludes special items such as integration costs because these costs are not considered to be directly related to the underlying operating performance of its business units.  Management believes that, when considered together with unadjusted amounts, these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors in understanding period-over-period operating results and business trends of the Company. Management may also use these metrics as guides in forecasting, budgeting and long-term planning processes and for compensation purposes. These metrics should be considered in addition to, and not as replacements for, the most comparable GAAP measure.  For further information on the calculation of thee non-GAAP measures and a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures, refer to the attached footnotes.