POOL - Pool Corporation (POOL) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript
2024-02-22 18:42:04 ET
Pool Corporation (POOL)
Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call
February 22, 2024, 11:00 AM ET
Company Participants
Melanie Hart - VP and CFO
Peter Arvan - President and CEO
Conference Call Participants
Ryan Merkel - William Blair
Susan Maklari - Goldman Sachs
David Manthey - Baird
Scott Schneeberger - Oppenheimer
David MacGregor - Longbow Research
Sid Ramesh - Stephens
Andrew Carter - Stifel
Sam Reid - Wells Fargo
Garik Shmois - Loop Capital
Joe Ahlersmeyer - Deutsche Bank
Presentation
Operator
Good day and welcome to the Pool Corporation Fourth Quarter 2023 Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Melanie Hart, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.
Melanie Hart
Welcome to our fourth quarter and year end 2023 earnings conference call. Discussion, comments, and responses to questions today may include forward-looking statements, including management's outlook for 2024 and future periods. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed today. Information regarding the factors and variables that could cause actual results to differ from projected results are discussed in our 10-K. In addition, we may make references to non-GAAP financial measures in our comments.
A description and reconciliation of any of our non-GAAP financial measures included in our press release are posted to our corporate website in the Investor Relations section.
President and CEO, Peter Arvan will begin our call today. Pete?
Peter Arvan
Thank you, Melanie, and good morning to everyone on the call.
For the full year 2023, we generated over $5.5 billion in revenue, the second largest in company history, and over $2 billion higher than 2019, a year with a similar number of new pools constructed and the last year and before the pandemic. We generated $747 million in operating income, more than double our operating income in 2019, an operating margin of 13.5%, a 280 basis point expansion above 2019 operating margin.
These results highlight the larger installed base available for us to serve post pandemic and our ability to fulfill our customers maintenance, remodel, and renovation and new construction product needs. Even in a challenging environment our customer service outshined our competitors through our powerful distribution network, the largest, most integrated in the pool industry, and we continue to make wise investments to promote our future growth. We were up against tremendous comps throughout most of the year, yet the team at all levels worked extremely hard to deliver very solid results.
The year began with us lapping 33% sales growth in the first quarter of 2022 over 2021. Sales declined 15% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to 2022 amidst unusually poor weather conditions in key year round markets. Delayed pool openings in many of our seasonal markets followed, and higher than normal inventory levels across the industry contributed to an abnormal selling environment during the first half of the year.
Macroeconomic constraints and uncertainties, primarily in the form of elevated and escalating interest rates and recent inflation, resulted in new pool units declining from 98,000 units in 2022 to an estimated 70,000 to 75,000 units in 2023, or 25% to 30% decline.
These evolving external factors made it extremely difficult to forecast underlying demand at the start of the year. As 2023 progressed, clarity around the market improved and we adapted accordingly....
Pool Corporation (POOL) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript