January 16, 2023

Acuity Brands, Inc. recently announced net sales of $1.11 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter ended August 31, 2022, an increase of 11.8 percent, or $117.6 million compared to the same period in 2021. Diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) was $3.48 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of 27.9 percent, or $0.76, as compared to the prior year.

“We continued to deliver strong results in the fiscal fourth quarter, concluding what has been a very good fiscal 2022,” stated Neil Ashe, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acuity Brands, Inc. “We had strong demand across our end markets, and we demonstrated our ability to capture price and drive volume through product vitality and service in both our lighting and spaces businesses throughout this fiscal year.”

Gross profit was $462.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $43.2 million, or 10 percent, as compared to prior year. Gross profit as a percent of net sales was 41.7 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, a decrease of 50 basis points as compared to the prior year.

Operating profit was $149.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $16.8 million, or 12.7 percent, as compared with the prior year. Operating profit as a percent of net sales was 13.5 percent of net sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of 10 basis points as compared with the prior year.

Adjusted operating profit was $169.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $13.3 million, or 8.5 percent, as compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating profit as a percent of net sales was 15.3 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, a decrease of 50 basis points from 15.8 percent in the same period of fiscal 2021.

Net income was $115.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $17.3 million, or 17.6 percent, as compared to the prior year. Diluted earnings per share was $3.48 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $0.76, or 27.9 percent, from $2.72 in the same period of fiscal 2021.

Adjusted net income was $130.8 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $13.1 million, or 11.1 percent, as compared to the prior year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $3.95 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $0.68, or 20.8 percent, from $3.27 in the same period of fiscal 2021.

Full-Year 2022 Summary

Net sales increased $545.1 million, or 15.7 percent, to $4.01 billion for the full year of fiscal 2022, from $3.46 billion in the full year of fiscal 2021.

Gross profit was $1.7 billion for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $197.7 million, or 13.4 percent, as compared to the prior year. Gross profit margin was 41.8 percent for the full year of fiscal 2022, a decrease of 80 basis points as compared to the prior year.

Operating profit was $509.7 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $82.1 million, or 19.2 percent, as compared to the prior year. Operating profit as a percent of net sales was 12.7 percent for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of 30 basis points, from 12.4 percent in the same period of fiscal 2021.

Adjusted operating profit was $588.1 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $81.8 million, or 16.2 percent, as compared to the prior year. Adjusted operating profit as a percent of net sales was 14.7 percent for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of 10 basis points from 14.6 percent in the same period of fiscal 2021.

Net income was $384.0 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $77.7 million, or 25.4 percent as compared to the prior year. Diluted earnings per share was $11.08 for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $2.70, or 32.2 percent, from $8.38 in the same period of fiscal 2021.

Adjusted net income was $444.4 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $72.7 million, or 19.6 percent, as compared to the prior year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $12.83 for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $2.66, or 26.2 percent, from $10.17 in the same period of fiscal 2021.

Segment Performance

Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL)

Fourth-Quarter Results

ABL generated net sales of $1.06 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $108.1 million, or 11.4 percent, as compared to the prior year.

Independent Sales Network generated sales of $737.1 million, an increase of $74.0 million, or 11.2 percent, as compared to the prior year.
Direct Sales Network generated sales of $114.9 million, an increase of $12.8 million, or 12.5 percent, as compared to the prior year.
Retail channel generated sales of $44.0 million, a decrease of $1.7 million, or 3.7 percent, as compared to the prior year.
Corporate Accounts channel generated sales of $73.0 million, a decrease of $2.6 million, or 3.4 percent, as compared to the prior year.
Our Other channel generated sales of $86.0 million, an increase of $25.6 million, or 42.4 percent, as compared to the prior year.

ABL operating profit was $151.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $2.1 million, or 1.4 percent, as compared to the prior year. ABL operating profit as a percent of ABL net sales was 14.4 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, a decrease of 140 basis points from 15.8 percent in the same period of fiscal 2021.

ABL adjusted operating profit was $161.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $2.6 million, or 1.6 percent, as compared to the prior year. ABL adjusted operating profit as a percent of ABL net sales was 15.3 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, a decrease of 150 basis points from 16.8 percent in the same period of fiscal 2021.

Full-Year Results

ABL generated net sales of $3.8 billion for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $522.8 million, or 15.9 percent as compared to the prior year.

ABL operating profit was $545.6 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $69.4 million, or 14.6 percent, as compared to the prior year. ABL adjusted operating profit was $586.6 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $71.5 million, or 13.9 percent, from the same period of fiscal 2021.

Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG)

Fourth-Quarter Results

ISG generated net sales of $61.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $10.9 million, or 21.6 percent, as compared to the prior year.

ISG operating profit was $10.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $8.3 million compared to the prior year. ISG adjusted operating profit was $14.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, an increase of $8.6 million, as compared to the prior year.

Full-Year Results

ISG generated net sales of $216.1 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $26.1 million, or 13.7 percent, as compared to the prior year.

ISG operating profit was $22.7 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $12.8 million compared to the prior year. ISG adjusted operating profit was $39.9 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, an increase of $14.3 million as compared to the prior year.

Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

Net cash from operating activities was $316.3 million for the full year of fiscal 2022, a decrease of $92.4 million, or 22.6 percent, as compared to the prior year as we invested in working capital to support our growth.

During the full year of fiscal 2022, the Company repurchased approximately 3 million shares of common stock for a total of $512 million.

Form 10-K Filing

The independent registered public accounting firm’s audit report with respect to the Company’s fiscal year-end financial statements will not be issued until the Company files its annual report on Form 10-K, including its evaluation of the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting. Accordingly, the financial results reported in this earnings release are preliminary pending completion of the audit.

Source