Curtiss-Wright Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-year 2024 Financial Results; Issues Full-year 2025 Guidance Reflecting Higher Sales, Operating Margin Expansion and Double-digit EPS Growth

Company Delivers Record FY24 Sales, Profitability, EPS, Free Cash Flow and Orders

Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) reports financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2024.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights:

• Reported sales of $824 million, up 5%, operating income of $155 million, operating margin of 18.8%, and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.09;
• Adjusted operating income of $163 million;
• Adjusted operating margin of 19.8%;
• Adjusted diluted EPS of $3.27, up 3%;
• Free cash flow (FCF) of $278 million, generating 223% Adjusted FCF conversion;
• Total share repurchases of $112 million; and
• New orders of $939 million, up 37%, generating a book-to-bill of 1.1x.

Full-Year 2024 Highlights:

• Reported sales of $3.1 billion, up 10%, operating income of $529 million, operating margin of 16.9%, and diluted EPS of $10.55;
• Adjusted operating income of $546 million, up 11%;
• Adjusted operating margin of 17.5%, up 10 basis points;
• Adjusted diluted EPS of $10.90, up 16%;
• FCF of $483 million, generating 116% Adjusted FCF conversion;
• Total share repurchases of $250 million;
• New orders of $3.7 billion, up 20%, reflecting strong demand in our Aerospace & Defense (A&D) markets, and book-to-bill of 1.2x; and
• Backlog of $3.4 billion, up 20%.

"Curtiss-Wright concluded the year with a strong, fourth quarter financial performance that reflected better-than-expected sales growth, record quarterly Adjusted diluted EPS of $3.27, strong free cash flow and robust order activity," said Lynn M. Bamford, Chair and CEO of Curtiss-Wright Corporation.

"We achieved numerous financial records in 2024, while maintaining our commitment to invest in innovative technologies, capacity expansion, talent and systems to support our future growth. Our performance was highlighted by double-digit growth in sales, operating income and diluted EPS, along with record free cash flow of $483 million, as we delivered profitable growth while reducing working capital. We also experienced strong demand across our Defense and Commercial Aerospace markets, driving record new orders of $3.7 billion. Our results this past year are a testament to our teams' strong execution and the momentum we are building in our Pivot to Growth strategy."

"Looking ahead, our strong backlog at the start of the year, combined with the alignment of our technologies to favorable secular growth trends in our end markets, reinforces our confidence in delivering another strong performance in 2025. We anticipate total sales growth of 7% to 8%, driven by strong organic growth in our A&D and Commercial Nuclear markets, and the contribution from our recently completed acquisition of Ultra Energy. We also expect to deliver operating margin expansion of 40 to 60 basis points while increasing our R&D investments, as well as double-digit EPS growth and strong free cash flow generation. As a result, we maintain line of sight to the three-year financial targets that we communicated at our 2024 Investor Day and remain well-positioned to drive long-term shareholder value."

Fourth Quarter 2024 Operating Results

• Sales of $824 million increased 5% compared with the prior year period;
• Total A&D market sales increased 6%, while total Commercial market sales increased 3%;
• In our A&D markets, we experienced solid growth in the defense markets principally driven by increased submarine revenues in naval defense, as well as higher OEM sales in the commercial aerospace market;
• In our Commercial markets, we experienced solid growth in the power & process market, principally driven by higher sales of commercial nuclear products that were partially offset by lower industrial valve sales in the process market, in addition to lower sales in the general industrial market; and
• Adjusted operating income was $163 million, essentially flat compared with the prior year period, while Adjusted operating margin decreased 100 basis points to 19.8%, as favorable overhead absorption on overall higher revenues was partially offset by higher investments in research and development in all three segments, as well as unfavorable mix in both the Defense Electronics and Naval & Power segments.

Fourth Quarter 2024 Segment Performance

Aerospace & Industrial

• Sales of $251 million, up $13 million, or 5%;
• Higher revenue in the aerospace defense market reflected higher sales for our actuation equipment principally on the F-35 and other fighter jet programs;
• Commercial aerospace market revenue increases reflected increased demand and higher OEM sales of sensors products and surface treatment services on narrowbody and widebody platforms;
• Lower general industrial market revenue was principally driven by reduced sales of industrial vehicle products serving off-highway and specialty vehicle platforms; and
• Adjusted operating income was $54 million, up 22%, reflecting a strong Adjusted operating margin up 280 basis points to 21.3%, as favorable absorption on higher revenues and the benefits of our restructuring and cost containment initiatives were partially offset by higher investment in research and development.

Defense Electronics

• Sales of $227 million, down $12 million, or 5%;
• Higher revenue in the aerospace defense market was principally driven by increased sales of flight test instrumentation equipment;
• Ground defense market revenue declines principally reflected the timing of sales of embedded computing equipment on the Stryker ground combat vehicle;
• Lower revenue in the naval defense market reflected the timing of sales of embedded computing equipment supporting various domestic and international programs; and
• Adjusted operating income was $55 million, down 20% from the prior year period, while Adjusted operating margin decreased 450 basis points to 24.3%, primarily due to unfavorable absorption on lower defense revenues, unfavorable mix of products, and higher investment in research and development.

Naval & Power

• Sales of $346 million, up $38 million, or 12%;
• Revenue growth in the naval defense market was stronger than anticipated principally driven by higher demand and timing of revenues on the Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarine programs, in addition to higher growth for aircraft handling systems to international customers;
• Lower revenue in the aerospace defense market principally reflected the timing of sales of arresting systems equipment supporting various international customers;
• Higher power & process market revenues mainly reflected increased commercial nuclear aftermarket sales supporting the maintenance of U.S. operating reactors. Those increases were partially offset by lower industrial valve sales in the process market; and
• Adjusted operating income was $66 million, up 11% from the prior year period, while Adjusted operating margin decreased 20 basis points to 19.1%, as favorable absorption on higher revenues was partially offset by unfavorable mix of products and higher investment in research and development.

Free Cash Flow

• Reported free cash flow of $278 million increased $8 million, primarily due to the timing of customer advances driving improved working capital partially offset by higher capital investments;
• Adjusted free cash flow of $278 million increased $8 million; and
• Capital expenditures increased approximately $11 million compared with the prior year period, primarily due to higher growth investments within the Naval & Power segment.

New Orders and Backlog

• New orders of $939 million increased 37% in the fourth quarter, principally reflecting strong demand across our A&D markets;
• Full-year 2024 new orders of $3.7 billion increased 20% and generated an overall book-to-bill of approximately 1.2x, reflecting strong growth within our A&D markets as well as solid demand for commercial nuclear products within our Commercial markets; and
• Backlog of $3.4 billion, up 20% from December 31, 2023.

Share Repurchase and Dividends

• During the fourth quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 311,000 shares of its common stock for approximately $112 million;
• During full-year 2024, the Company repurchased approximately 766,000 shares for $250 million; and
• The Company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 a share.

Full-Year 2025 Guidance

The Company's full-year 2025 financial guidance⁽¹⁾ is as follows:

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A more detailed breakdown of the Company's 2025 financial guidance by segment and by market, as well as all reconciliations of Reported GAAP amounts to Adjusted non-GAAP amounts, can be found in the accompanying schedules. Historical financial results are available in the Investor Relations section of Curtiss-Wright's website.

Conference Call & Webcast Information

The Company will host a conference call to discuss fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results and expectations for 2025 guidance at 11:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, February 13, 2025. A live webcast of the call and the accompanying financial presentation, as well as a webcast replay of the call, will be made available on the internet by visiting the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.curtisswright.com.

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Use and Definitions of Non-GAAP Financial Information (Unaudited)

The Corporation supplements its financial information determined under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) with certain non-GAAP financial information. Curtiss-Wright believes that these Adjusted (non-GAAP) measures provide investors with improved transparency in order to better measure Curtiss-Wright's ongoing operating and financial performance and better comparisons of our key financial metrics to our peers. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related GAAP measures, and other companies may define such measures differently. Curtiss-Wright encourages investors to review its financial statements and publicly filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. Reconciliations of "Reported" GAAP amounts to "Adjusted" non-GAAP amounts are furnished within this release.

The following definitions are provided:

Adjusted Operating Income, Operating Margin, Net Earnings and Diluted EPS

These Adjusted financials are defined as Reported Operating Income, Operating Margin, Net Earnings and Diluted Earnings per Share under GAAP excluding: (i) the impact of first year purchase accounting costs associated with acquisitions, specifically one-time inventory step-up, backlog amortization, deferred revenue adjustments and transaction costs; (ii) costs associated with the Company's 2024 Restructuring Program; and (iii) the sale or divestiture of a business or product line, as applicable.

Organic Sales and Organic Operating Income

The Corporation discloses organic sales and organic operating income because the Corporation believes it provides investors with insight as to the Company's ongoing business performance. Organic sales and organic operating income are defined as sales and operating income, excluding contributions from acquisitions and results of operations from divested businesses or product lines during the last twelve months, costs associated with the Company's 2024 Restructuring Program, and foreign currency fluctuations.

Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow Conversion

The Corporation discloses free cash flow because it measures cash flow available for investing and financing activities. Free cash flow represents cash available to repay outstanding debt, invest in the business, acquire businesses, return capital to shareholders and make other strategic investments. Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures. Adjusted free cash flow excludes payments associated with the Westinghouse legal settlement in the prior year period. The Corporation discloses adjusted free cash flow conversion because it measures the proportion of net earnings converted into free cash flow and is defined as adjusted free cash flow divided by adjusted net earnings.