Q2 2022 Letter to Unitholders
Q2 2022
Letter to Unitholders
Overview
We made excellent progress in our business this quarter, generating strong financial results and advancing initiatives that should crystalize considerable value for investors. Second quarter Adjusted EBITDA increased to
While global business conditions are mixed, we are pleased with the continued resilience of our operations. Many of our largest operations - representing the majority of our overall earnings and cash flows - are market-leading providers of essential products and services. The earnings from these operations are underpinned by stable demand, pricing power or contracted volumes with built-in cost escalators. The durability of our cash flows, combined with the execution of our value creation plans, is serving us well in the current environment.
Our strong corporate liquidity position will continue to be enhanced by capital recycling initiatives currently underway. Although interest rates are increasing, they remain low relative to historical levels and we have been able to continue financing our growth at reasonable rates. We have also significantly de-risked our balance sheet over the last several years, fixing or hedging borrowings where appropriate and locking in long-term maturities to mitigate exposure to rising rates.
Monetizations
It often takes years for us to implement improvements, reposition operations and build value in our businesses. Along the way some of them will provide us with ongoing distributions, while others will reinvest cash flows to fund growth or pay down debt.
In some instances, we have been able to implement improvements and generate significant value in a relatively short period of time. Such is the case with Westinghouse, our nuclear technology services operation. Over the last four years we have made substantial operational enhancements in the business, improving annual EBITDA by
Westinghouse has come into its own over the last few years and conditions to support a monetization have improved markedly. In May we launched a process that generated robust interest from prospective buyers. We expect this will crystalize meaningful value and generate significant proceeds to support our future growth initiatives.
We have other businesses which have matured to the point where they could be candidates for monetization. The timing of any sale will depend on many factors including market conditions.
As an example, our water and wastewater operation in
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As one of only a few water services companies in
With the significant progress made on our value creation plans, we are now exploring options to crystalize value for the business. One of those options includes a public listing of shares and the business recently filed its registration statement with the securities regulators in
Our Canadian residential mortgage insurer has performed exceptionally well since we initially acquired control of the business in 2019. It has benefited from record levels of new underwriting activity, strong home price appreciation and low mortgage default rates. We have also made meaningful changes over the last few years to grow the business' market share, lower its expense ratio and optimize its capital structure. As a result, retuon equity has improved to 20% from 13% when we acquired it and the business has provided us with approximately
Given recent increases in mortgage rates, housing sales and new mortgage insurance underwriting activity are expected to slow. While this will reduce the level of premiums earned compared to exceptionally strong levels of the last few years, the business should continue generating consistent earnings and reasonable returns as it has done throughout past economic and housing cycles. To put this in context - we would expect the business to still generate positive earnings and cash flows even if home prices were to fall by 40% and the national unemployment rate were to approach 10%, both of which would be well beyond any consensus economic forecasts.
As a reminder, our business provides insurance to mortgage lenders against homeowner default for which it receives a lump-sum, up front non-refundable premium on new policies. We typically cater to first-time home buyers with growing household incomes, insuring homes with an average price of approximately
The Canadian mortgage lending environment itself has historically been very stable, with mortgage delinquency rates over long periods of time trending meaningfully lower than comparable levels in the
Years of increasingly stringent underwriting requirements have contributed to a high-quality insurance portfolio. Today the insurance book is backed primarily by stable fixed-rate mortgages and has benefited from a growing amount of embedded equity, resulting in a loan-to-value ratio of less than 60%. Notwithstanding loss ratios increasing from current historical low levels - most borrowers should be able to absorb an expected 10% to 15% correction in housing prices and only 5% of our insured borrowers would be at risk of their monthly mortgage payments increasing because of an increase in interest rates.
Acquisitions and Capital Position
So far this year, we have invested
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cash generative operations. These acquisitions have increased our annual Adjusted EBITDA on a run-rate basis to approximately
In July we acquired a leading provider of technology services and software solutions to the automotive dealer industry. The business' subscription-based software model, recurring contracted revenues and low ongoing capital requirements underpin a track record of high margins and resilient cash flow generation. Its strong relationships with large dealer customers position it well to benefit from additional consolidation across the dealership industry. We are currently in the early stages of implementing plans to enhance the business' services and productivity to grow margins and cash flows. While credit spreads have widened meaningfully since the beginning of the year, we were able to finance this acquisition at favorable rates supported by the overall quality of the business.
In addition we closed on two smaller acquisitions over the last few months. These include the acquisition of an Australian residential mortgage lender and a slate roofing products provider. Our total share of the equity commitment for these two acquisitions was approximately
Our capital position remains strong. After accounting for our funding of recently announced and closed acquisitions, we ended the quarter with approximately
With central banks turning to policy normalization to combat inflation, the balance sheets of our individual operations are in good shape. We have only modest maturities over the next few years and about half of the non- recourse debt within our business is hedged or fixed, while the overall term to maturity of our total borrowings is approximately five years.
Operating Results
Infrastructure Services
Our Infrastructure Services segment generated second quarter Adjusted EBITDA of
Our nuclear technology services operations remain on track to generate strong full-year EBITDA and cash flow. Performance during the quarter reflected expected seasonality and the disruptions caused by the conflict in
We are progressing onboarding activities at our lottery services and technology operations following the completion of our acquisition in April. Underlying demand remains resilient, and we are focused on mitigating the impacts of supply chain delays and increased input costs. Since closing our acquisition, we have achieved several customer wins, including a 10-year contract to provide products and services to the operator of the
Utilization levels at our modular building leasing services operation are continuing to benefit from customers extending the use of existing units on rent. Increasing penetration of value-added products and services is also supporting margin expansion as we execute on our broader value creation plans. We are assisting the business in reviewing add-on acquisition opportunities and evaluating plans to accelerate organic fleet growth.
Industrials
Our Industrials segment generated second quarter Adjusted EBITDA of
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Performance at our advanced energy storage operations benefited from ongoing pricing actions, cost reductions and a favorable mix of higher margin advanced battery sales. Overall battery volumes were impacted by ongoing production challenges at auto manufacturers during the quarter. Prior year levels benefited from strong aftermarket demand as global lockdowns and travel restrictions eased.
Our engineered components manufacturer generated strong performance during the quarter driven by the benefits of recent acquisitions and increased pricing. While volumes have been stable, we are anticipating some softening of demand through the balance of the year. The business continues to review a strong pipeline of add- on acquisition opportunities to support its growth plans.
Business Services
Our Business Services segment generated second quarter Adjusted EBITDA of
Strong performance at our residential mortgage insurer benefited from continued low mortgage default rates and higher premiums earned. The business remains well capitalized and in June distributed
The environment at our Australian healthcare services operations remains challenging. Activity levels at our hospitals were impacted by high COVID-19 infection rates of both patients and doctors, resulting in delays and cancellations of planned surgical procedures. The business also continues to incur higher-than-normal labor costs associated with overtime pay and agency expenses required to cover staff shortages and sick leave. We remain hopeful that activity levels in the business will improve as COVID-19 infection rates in
We continue to be pleased with the stable performance of our construction operations supported by strong project execution.
Our Brazilian fleet management operations also continue to perform well. In June the business agreed to acquire
Outlook
The trading price of our shares is at levels materially disconnected from our view of intrinsic value. While we do not manage the business based on near-term market fluctuations, we know this dislocation affects many of you. Our focus is on what we can control and on building long-term value in our business - and as we execute on our plans, we are confident that the trading discount will close over time. We will also continue to repurchase our units and shares as an attractive use of capital when they trade at levels materially below our view of intrinsic value.
The launch earlier this year of
The recent sell-off in capital markets has resulted in a slowdown in private market transactions. However, there may be opportunities to acquire debt and equity securities in companies we know well at attractive valuations. We are also well positioned to provide high-quality businesses with capital that otherwise may be more challenging to raise in conventional ways.
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We would like to thank all our unit and shareholders for their ongoing interest and support, especially those of you who have taken time to provide us with suggestions as partners in our business. We look forward to speaking with you all at our annual Investor Day in September.
Sincerely,
Chief Executive Officer
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Q2 2022 Letter to Unitholders
CNO FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. – 10-Q – MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
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