MACON, Ga. — Blue Bird Corporation (“Blue Bird”) (Nasdaq: BLBD), the leader in electric and low-emission school buses, announced today its fiscal 2024 third quarter results.
“I am incredibly proud of our team’s achievements in delivering another outstanding result and record profit in the third quarter,” said Phil Horlock, CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “The Blue Bird team continued to exceed expectations, improving operations, driving new orders, and expanding our leadership in alternative-powered buses. Market demand remains very strong with over 5,200 units in our order backlog. Unit sales were up slightly from last year, revenue grew by 13% to $333 million, and Adjusted EBITDA hit a record $48 million with a 14.5% margin.
“In our push to expand our leadership in alternative-powered school buses, we delivered over 200 electric-powered buses this quarter, nearly 40% more than last year. We also saw strong growth in EV orders from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program, ending the quarter with over 560 EV orders in our backlog. Following the nearly $1 billion funding from Phase 1 of the $5 billion program, we’re excited for new EV orders over the next year from Phases 2 and 3, which provide another $2 billion in funding. These buses need to be delivered by the end of 2026, and we’re working aggressively with our dealers and school districts, confident in the continued, exciting growth ahead for Blue Bird.
“Based on our strong year-to-date performance, we’ve increased our full-year financial guidance for Adjusted EBITDA to $175 million, with a 13% margin. This will be an all-time full-year record for Blue Bird, and we look forward to sustained profitable growth in the coming years, particularly as the global supply-chain recovery progresses.”
FY2024 Guidance Increased and Long-Term Outlook Raised
“We are very pleased with the third quarter results, with the highest ever quarterly Adj. EBITDA,” said Razvan Radulescu, CFO of Blue Bird Corporation. “Our business transformation continues to yield great results, and ahead of the plan we have been messaging. We are raising our full-year guidance for Net Revenue to $1.30-1.33 Billion, Adj. EBITDA to $170-180 million (13.1% – 13.5% margin) and Adj. Free Cash Flow to $80-90 million. Additionally, we are raising our long-term profit outlook towards an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 15% on ~$2 billion in revenues.”
Fiscal 2024 Third Quarter Results
Net Sales
Net sales were $333.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2024, an increase of $39.1 million, or 13.3%, from the third quarter of last year. Bus sales increased $37.8 million, reflecting a 13.2% increase in average sales price per unit, resulting from pricing actions taken by management as well as product and customer mix changes, as well as a 0.7% increase in units booked. In the third quarter of fiscal 2024, 2,151 units were booked compared with 2,137 units booked for the same period in fiscal 2023. The small increase in units sold was primarily due to customer and product mix changes, although both quarters were negatively impacted by supply chain constraints that limited the Company’s ability to produce and deliver buses due to shortages of critical components. Additionally, Parts sales increased $1.3 million, or 5.5%, for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2023. This increase is primarily attributed to price increases, driven by ongoing inflationary pressures, as well as higher fulfillment volumes and slight variations due to product and channel mix.
Gross Profit
Third quarter gross profit of $69.4 million represented an increase of $23.6 million from the third quarter of last year. The increase was primarily driven by the $39.1 million increase in net sales, discussed above, and partially offset by an increase of $15.5 million in cost of goods sold. The increase in cost of goods sold was primarily driven by increased inventory costs, as the average cost of goods sold per unit for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 was 5.8% higher compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2023, primarily due to increases in manufacturing costs attributable to a) increased raw materials costs resulting from ongoing inflationary pressures and b) ongoing supply chain disruptions that resulted in higher purchase costs for components.
Net Income
Net income was $28.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2024, which was a $19.4 million increase from the third quarter of last year. The increase was primarily driven by the $23.6 million increase in gross profit, discussed above. Partially offsetting this was the corresponding $8.1 million increase in income tax expense.
Adjusted Net Income
Adjusted net income was $30.5 million, representing an increase of $16.1 million compared with the same period last year, primarily due to the $19.4 million increase in net income, discussed above.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA was $48.2 million, which was an increase of $18.6 million compared with the third quarter last year. This increase primarily results from the $19.4 million increase in net income as a result of the factors discussed above.
Fiscal 2024 Year-to-Date Results
Net Sales
Net sales were $996.9 million for the nine months ended June 29, 2024, an increase of $167.1 million, or 20.1%, compared with the same period in fiscal 2023. Bus sales increased $162.4 million, or 21.5%, reflecting a 18.9% increase in average sales price per unit, primarily driven by pricing actions taken by management in response to increased inventory purchase costs, and a 2.1% increase in units booked. There were 6,534 units booked in the nine months ended June 29, 2024 compared with 6,398 units booked during the same period in fiscal 2023. The increase in units sold was primarily due to slight improvements in supply chain constraints impacting the Company’s ability to produce and deliver buses due to shortages of critical components during the first nine months of fiscal 2024 relative to the same period in fiscal 2023. Parts sales increased $4.7 million, or 6.4%, for the nine months ended June 29, 2024 compared with the nine months ended July 1, 2023. This increase is primarily attributed to price increases, driven by ongoing inflationary pressures, as well as higher fulfillment volumes and slight variations due to product and channel mix.
Gross Profit
Gross profit for the nine months ended June 29, 2024 was $196.6 million, an increase of $107.7 million compared with the same period in the prior year. The increase was primarily driven by the $167.1 million increase in net sales, discussed above. This was partially offset by an increase of $59.4 million in cost of goods sold, primarily driven by the 2.1% increase in units booked and increased inventory costs, as the average cost of goods sold per unit for the nine months ended June 29, 2024 was 6.1% higher compared to the nine months ended July 1, 2023, primarily due to increases in manufacturing costs attributable to a) increased raw materials costs resulting from ongoing inflationary pressures and b) ongoing supply chain disruptions that resulted in higher purchase costs for components.
Net Income
Net income was $80.9 million for the nine months ended June 29, 2024, which was a $75.7 million increase from the same period in the prior year. The increase in net income was primarily driven by the $107.7 million increase in gross profit, discussed above. This was partially offset by a corresponding $26.4 million increase in income tax expense.
Adjusted Net Income
Adjusted net income for the nine months ended June 29, 2024 was $89.5 million, an increase of $76.4 million compared with the same period last year, primarily due to the $75.7 million increase in net income, discussed above.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA was $141.6 million for the nine months ended June 29, 2024, an increase of $94.4 million compared with the same period in the prior year. This is primarily due to the $75.7 million increase in net income, discussed above, and the corresponding $26.4 million increase in income tax expense.
About Blue Bird Corporation
Blue Bird (NASDAQ: BLBD) is recognized as a technology leader and innovator of school buses since its founding in 1927. Our dedicated team members design, engineer and manufacture school buses with a singular focus on safety, reliability, and durability. School buses carry the most precious cargo in the world – 25 million children twice a day – making them the most trusted mode of student transportation. The company is the proven leader in low- and zero-emission school buses with more than 20,000 propane, natural gas, and electric powered buses in operation today. Blue Bird is transforming the student transportation industry through cleaner energy solutions. For more information on Blue Bird’s complete product and service portfolio, visit www.blue-bird.com.
