Patrick S. Watson
Thank you, Sanjay, and good morning, everyone. I will begin on Slide 4 with a review of the Q4 operating results. Our results for the quarter reflect the continued broad-based market softness affecting all of our end markets and regions. The sales in the quarter came in slightly below our expectations as a result of modest shortfalls in general engineering from continued market softness, mining pressures in Earthworks and supply chain disruptions in Aerospace & Defense. On an organic basis, in Q4, sales decreased year-over-year at 5% with Metal Cutting declining 4% and Infrastructure declining 5%. Regionally, on a constant currency basis, we experienced low- to mid-single-digit declines. Similarly, by end market, we experienced low- to mid-single-digit declines in all of our end markets. In Energy, the decline was due to lower energy activity in EMEA and lower rig counts in the Americas. Transportation within Metal Cutting was impacted by continued OEM production softness, mainly in EMEA. We experienced an unusual decline in Aerospace & Defense sales. In the Americas, we lapped a large order delivery in Infrastructure last year and had a temporary supply chain disruption at one of our metal cutting customers this year. These discrete items were partially offset by growth in EMEA from OEM build rates. Lower industrial production continues to affect General Engineering across both segments, and lower mining activity in Asia Pacific and the Americas was partially offset by higher construction and Earthworks. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 14.8% versus 17.7% in the prior year quarter. The decline in adjusted EBITDA margin was primarily from lower volumes across the business as well as the expected unfavorable effect of tariffs, net of the surcharges we implemented. These unfavorable items were not offset by the higher prices, restructuring benefits and the positive net effect from the tornado which occurred in the prior year. During the quarter, we realized approximately $6 million in savings from the restructuring program we announced in January. Additionally, we have increased this program and now expect approximately $35 million in annualized savings, up from the $15 million we originally communicated. At year-end, we achieved $65 million of run rate savings against the $100 million target we set at our last Investor Day. Adjusted EPS declined to $0.34 compared to $0.49 in the prior year quarter. And finally, as part of our capital allocation strategy, we continued the share repurchase program with $5 million of shares bought back and $15 million in dividends paid. The bridge on Slide 5 shows the effect on EPS of operations, including all of the factors I just discussed, plus currency, taxes and share count. The year-over-year effect of operations this quarter was negative. This reflects lower sales and production volumes, higher wage and general inflation, higher raw material costs, pricing and incremental year-over-year restructuring savings of approximately $6 million. The $0.07 net benefit related to the tornado that occurred last year includes a $0.04 benefit from the charges incurred in the prior year and $0.03 from the net insurance proceeds received this year. Currency impact of $0.04, which reflects transaction gains, including a preferential Bolivia exchange rate. As discussed last quarter, unmitigated tariff costs were negative $0.04 of EPS. You can also see the effects of the tax rate, which was positive $0.02. Other reflects lower share count and interest expense, which was neutral. Slides 6 and 7 detail the performance of our segments this quarter. Metal Cuttings reported an organic sales decline 4% compared to the prior year quarter. Regionally, excluding the effects of currency exchange, Asia Pacific was down 1%, the Americas declined 4% and EMEA declined 5%. Looking at sales by end market on a constant currency basis, Aerospace & Defense grew 1% year-over-year from higher OEM production in EMEA, partially offset by prior year OEM project timing and a customer supply chain disruption in the Americas this quarter. Transportation declined 4% mainly due to lower volume in EMEA. General Engineering declined 5% with weakness due to lower industrial activity in EMEA and prior year indirect channel order timing in the Americas. And lastly, Energy declined 6% this quarter from lower activity due to weak energy prices. Metal Cutting adjusted operating margin of 7.9% decreased 550 basis points year-over-year due to lower volumes, higher wages, inflation and net tariff costs of approximately $4 million, partially offset by price and restructuring savings of $4 million. Turning to Slide 7 for Infrastructure. Organic sales decreased by 5% year-over-year with unfavorable business days and the effect of the divestiture at negative 1% each. Foreign exchange contributed a 1% tailwind. Regionally, on a constant currency basis, Asia Pacific declined 4%, EMEA declined 5% and the Americas declined 7%. From an end market perspective, Energy grew 1%, mainly from project timing in EMEA, partially offset by lower U.S. land rig counts and drilling activity in the Americas. General Engineering declined 5% with lower demand in the Americas and EMEA, partially offset by modest growth in Asia Pacific. Earthworks declined 7% from lower mining activity due to lower coal prices in the Americas and Asia Pacific, partially offset by higher Americas construction activity. Lastly, Aerospace & Defense declined 16% due to a large prior year order in the Americas. Adjusted operating margin declined year-over-year to 6.8%, primarily from lower sales and production volumes, including certain plant shutdowns and higher raw material costs, partially offset by the $7 million net effect of the tornado, price and restructuring savings of $2 million. Now turning to Slide 8 to review our free operating cash flow and balance sheet. Our full year free operating cash flow was $121 million compared to $175 million reported in the prior year. The decline in cash flow is primarily the result of lower net income versus the prior year and an increase in inventory from higher tungsten costs compared to a reduction in inventory in FY '24. Net capital expenditures were $87 million compared to $102 million in the prior year. In total, we returned approximately $20 million to shareholders through our share repurchase and dividend programs this quarter. During the quarter, we repurchased 232,000 shares or $5 million under our $200 million authorization. And as we have every quarter since becoming a public company over 50 years ago, we paid a dividend to our shareholders. We remain committed to returning cash to shareholders while executing our strategy to drive growth and margin improvement in this challenging environment. We continue to maintain a healthy balance sheet and debt maturity profile with $840 million of cash and revolver availability at quarter end. The full balance sheet can be found on Slide 21 in the appendix. Turning to Slide 9 regarding our full year outlook. We are providing a range for both the full year and the first quarter, beginning now with the full year. We expect FY '26 sales to be between $1.95 billion and $2.05 billion, with volume ranging from negative 5% to flat, price and tariff surcharge realization of approximately 4% combined and an approximate 2% tailwind from foreign exchange. As a point of information, the recent divestiture represented approximately 1.5% of FY '25 sales. On an operating income basis, foreign exchange is expected to be an $8 million tailwind and noncash pension expense is expected to be a headwind of $5 million. Approximately $35 million of restructuring savings has been included. From a timing perspective, we expect these restructuring benefits to be 40/60 weighted first half to second half. We expect adjusted EPS to be in the range of $0.90 to $1.30. On the cash side, the full year outlook for capital expenditures is approximately $90 million and free operating cash flow is approximately 120% of adjusted net income. The bridge on Slide 10 highlights the main drivers impacting EPS at the midpoint of our outlook. The year-over-year effect of operations is positive. This reflects higher price and restructuring savings, partially offset by lower sales and production volume, higher raw material and tariff costs, higher wages and general inflation. The outlook includes approximately $0.15 of headwinds from prior year one-time items related to IRA manufacturing credits and the net insurance proceeds from the impact of the FY '24 tornado. You can also see the effects of the tax rate and currency on EPS with taxes of negative $0.06 and currency neutral as the weaker U.S. dollar is offset by favorable transactional FX related to Bolivia recorded in the prior year. Other reflects lower interest income, partially offset by lower share count. Turning to Slide 11 regarding our first quarter outlook. We expect Q1 sales to be between $465 million and $485 million, with volume ranging from negative 7% to negative 3%, price and tariff surcharge realization of approximately 4% and 2% positive impact from foreign exchange. Our Q1 range reflects a volumetric decline that is generally in line with our historical norms and also includes a sequential step-up from foreign exchange and price. We expect adjusted EPS in the range of $0.20 to $0.30. The other key assumptions for the quarter are noted on the slide. And with that, I'll turn it back over to Sanjay.