Standard Motor Products Stock Is Ready To Roar

 | Nov 10, 2021 05:05AM ET

Global auto parts maker Stand Motor Products (NYSE:SMP) stock has been on a tear as the demand for automobiles is stripping electric vehicle (EV) powertrains helps expand Standard’s footprint in mechanical and electronic power switching devices. They also acquired Stoneridge (NYSE:SRI), a high-tech emissions sensor producer. Prudent investors seeking exposure in the bolstering automobile parts market can watch for opportunistic pullbacks in shares of SMP.

h2 Q3 Fiscal 2021 Earnings Release /h2

On Oct. 28, 2021, Standard Motor released its fiscal third-quarter 2021 results for the quarter ending September 2021. The Company reported an earnings-per-share (EPS) profit of $1.32 excluding non-recurring items versus consensus analyst estimates for $1.10, a $0.22 beat. Revenues rose 7.7% year-over-year (YoY) to $370.1 million beating analyst estimates for $342.64 million.

Standard Motors CEO Eric Sills commented,

"We are very pleased with our second-quarter results as the strong sales trends we have been experiencing for the last three quarters continued unabated. While our sales finished the quarter 38% ahead of 2020, last year's second quarter was dramatically affected by the pandemic. Yet we were also 12% favorable to the comparable quarter in 2019. We set records in earnings, with non-GAAP diluted earnings per share from continuing operations up 142% in the quarter, and up 37% vs. the second quarter of 2019.

"Our overall year-to-date performance was very strong, with sales and earnings up 23% and 135% respectively vs. last year. However, although market conditions remain robust, comparisons to 2020 will become more challenging. 2020 was a year of two halves – the first half was severely impacted by pandemic-related lockdowns, while the second half set records as the market surged. We believe that going forward a comparison to a more normalized 2019 is more appropriate.”

h2 Conference Call Takeaways/h2

CEO Sills set the tone,

“This year, things shifted forward a bit. We began seeing very strong POS early on in the year, which suggested that the purchases intended to load shelves were selling through, and this trend has continued. We saw early heat in many parts of the country. And when combined with the return of miles driven and the associated vehicle maintenance, we enjoyed a record-setting quarter for sales, up nearly 50% from last year and up over 25% compared to 2019.

"Customer sell-through has remained very high with elevated summer heat in much of the country, we believe we are in for a good third quarter. However, similar to Engine Management, here too, we are facing difficult third quarter comparisons to 2020, which was up 25% from '19 and was far and away the biggest third quarter we had ever had in Temperature Control. Overall, gross margins dipped slightly from the first quarter.”

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He continued,

“For the last several years, we have been growing our penetration in the OE space. And while we do have a certain amount of passenger car OE, our efforts have been more in niche areas, specifically heavy-duty and commercial vehicles, where product life cycles tend to be longer, technology tends to be more stable and price pressures tend to be less.

"This year, we have made 2 acquisitions in this arena, both previously announced. On our first quarter call, we discussed the acquisition of a high-tech emission sensor product line from Stoneridge Inc., which we are in the process of integrating into existing SMP locations. Then at the end of May, we made a larger acquisition. We acquired Trombetta, a worldwide leader in mechanical and electronic power switching and power management devices, generating about $60 million in annual sales.”

“We believe that this acquisition takes us to the next level in this OE space. When combined with previous activities, including organic business wins such as our compressed natural gas injection program and other acquisitions, such as the Pollak deal in 2019, we have grown this business to an annual run rate of around $250 million.

"We now have the critical mass to be a significant supplier and are excited to see where we can take it. And to reiterate, we believe that this channel is highly complementary to our core aftermarket business from the product and technology standpoint as well as from an engineering and production.”