Quad Reports 15% Sales Decline for Q1 2024; Reaffirms 2024 Financial Guidance

Quad/Graphics, Inc., a global marketing experience company, reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

Recent highlights

• Realized Net Sales of $655 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to $767 million in 2023, and recognized a Net Loss of $28 million or $0.60 Diluted Loss Per Share for the first quarter of 2024.
• Achieved Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA of $51 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to $60 million in the first quarter of 2023, and reported $0.10 Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share for the first quarter of 2024.
• Completed restructuring actions that are expected to generate $60 million of cost savings in 2024.
• Announced In-Store Connect, a new retail solution that aims to advance the in-store shopping experience by creating digital interactions throughout physical retail environments.
• Launched Household Fusion, a first-of-its-kind postal optimization program created to offset continued U.S. Postal Service rate hikes and further differentiate Quad as a market innovator.
• Introduced the next evolution of the Company’s media agency, Rise, which brings together its full range of media and owned data services under one brand.
• Fitch corporate credit rating outlook revised to “Positive” from “Stable,” indicating future potential upgrade from current ‘B+’ rating in recognition of Quad’s strong financial and operational performance.
• Declared quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share.
• Reaffirms full-year 2024 financial guidance.

Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President and CEO of Quad, said: “Our first quarter results were in-line with our expectations, and we remain confident in our ability to achieve our full-year 2024 financial guidance. We continue to focus on growing our offerings, including strategic investments in innovative solutions and superior talent, while proactively managing ongoing revenue challenges that include external factors such as significant postal rate increases and continued economic uncertainty that negatively impact print volumes.

“During Q1, we announced our entry into the next big advertising channel – retail media networks or RMNs. EMARKETER predicts ad spend in omnichannel RMNs will grow to over $100 billion by 2027. Our solution, called Quad In-Store Connect, advances the in-store shopping experience by taking the best elements of digital commerce and bringing it into physical retail environments. Retailers and consumer packaged goods companies now have the ability to deliver engaging brand messages and promotions right at the store shelf – the most critical moment in the purchasing decision. We are excited to announce our partnership with The Save Mart Companies, the largest private regional grocer on the West Coast, to launch its in-store retail media network, and are in talks with several other retailers. We look forward to demonstrating how In-Store Connect can generate value for clients as we strive to become the industry standard for in-store RMNs.

“Also during Q1, we unveiled Household Fusion, a first-of-its-kind postal optimization program we proactively created to offset continued U.S. Postal Service rate hikes. This solution combines various marketing mail from different brands or, separately, various magazines from different publishers into a single package delivered to one address, creating significant postage savings. Clients like PWX Solutions, a direct marketing and production partnership formed between Hearst and Condé Nast, are enthusiastic about this solution, which reduces costs from one of a marketer’s biggest budget lines.

“Additionally, we recently introduced the next evolution of our media agency, Rise, which brings together our full range of media and owned data services under one brand so we’re even better equipped to solve client pain points. This evolution creates a truly differentiated offering in the market, including a modern integrated data stack that has privacy at its core and is resilient to industry challenges, like the deprecation of the third-party cookie.

“To reiterate, I am confident in our team, our strategy and our future as a marketing experience company. We are unwavering in our focus to enhance Quad’s financial strength and create value for all our stakeholders.”

Added Tony Staniak, Chief Financial Officer: “We reaffirm our full-year guidance and remain focused on delivering for our clients while enhancing our financial position, such as through our recent restructuring actions, including plant capacity and labor reduction initiatives, that we anticipate will generate $60 million in cost savings in 2024. We continue to expect strong cash generation, which we will use to further reduce Net Debt and achieve 1.8x Net Debt Leverage by the end of the year. We are pleased that our strong balance sheet and long-term commitment to debt reduction was recognized by Fitch Ratings, who recently revised our corporate credit rating outlook to Positive from Stable, indicating a potential future upgrade from our current ‘B+’ rating. In addition to lowering debt, we will continue to invest in accelerating our competitive position as an MX company while returning capital to shareholders through our regular quarterly dividend, and we expect to be opportunistic in terms of our future share repurchases.”

First quarter 2024 financial results

Click to enlarge. | Credit: Quad Q1 Investor Presentation

• Net Sales were $655 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 15% compared to the same period in 2023 primarily due to lower paper, print and agency solutions sales, including the loss of a large grocery client.
• Net Loss was $28 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to Net Loss of $25 million in the first quarter of 2023. The decrease is primarily due to lower sales and higher restructuring and impairment charges, partially offset by benefits from improved manufacturing productivity, savings from cost reduction initiatives and lower income tax expense.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $51 million in the first quarter of 2024 as compared to $60 million in the same period in 2023. The decrease was primarily due to lower sales, partially offset by benefits from improved manufacturing productivity and savings from cost reduction initiatives.
• Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share was $0.10 in the first quarter of 2024, as compared to $0.15 in the first quarter of 2023, primarily due to lower adjusted net earnings, partially offset by the beneficial impact from the Company repurchasing Class A shares totaling approximately 11% of its outstanding shares since the second quarter of 2022.
• Net Cash Used in Operating Activities was $52 million in the first quarter of 2024, compared to $51 million in the first quarter of 2023. Free Cash Flow improved $9 million from last year to negative $70 million in the first quarter of 2024 primarily due to reduced capital expenditures. As a reminder, the Company historically generates most of its Free Cash Flow in the fourth quarter of the year.
• Net Debt increased by $74 million to $544 million at March 31, 2024, as compared to $470 million at December 31, 2023, primarily due to the negative $70 million Free Cash Flow in the first quarter of 2024. We continue to expect to reduce Net Debt to approximately $405 million, or 1.8x Net Debt Leverage, at the end of this year.

Click to enlarge. | Credit: Quad Q1 Investor Presentation

Dividend

Quad’s next quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share will be payable on June 7, 2024, to shareholders of record as of May 22, 2024.

2024 guidance

The Company’s full-year 2024 financial guidance is unchanged and is as follows:

Click to enlarge. | Credit: Quad Q1 Investor Presentation

Source: Quad

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.