JBT Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results and Establishes 2024 Guidance with Solid Organic Revenue Growth and Continued Margin Expansion
Summary
In 2024, we expect to deliver mid-single-digit organic top line growth primarily through recurring revenue initiatives and a strengthening demand environment for equipment, which includes improvement in the North American poultry market in the back half of the year," added Meister. " Since the preliminary outlook provided on January 19, 2024, JBT updated income from continuing operations and GAAP EPS guidance to reflect additional expected M&A related costs in the first half of 2024. The combined companys enhanced operating scale, expanded global reach, and scalable innovation are expected to create beneficial outcomes for customers while also providing meaningful shareholder value creation. Launch of the offer will most likely occur in the second quarter of 2024 and remains subject to confirmatory due diligence, mutual agreement on non-price deal terms, and board approvals of both Marel and JBT. The factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from expectations include but are not limited to the following factors: the completion of confirmatory due diligence by us prior to launching the offer for Marel shares (the offer); the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination or abandonment of the offer; the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the proposed transaction with Marel, including the timing, receipt and terms and conditions of any required governmental and regulatory approvals of the offer that could reduce anticipated benefits or cause the parties to abandon the transaction; the ability to successfully integrate the businesses of JBT and Marel; the possibility that our stockholders may not approve the issuance of new shares of common stock in the offer; the risk that Marel and/or JBT may not be able to satisfy the conditions to the proposed offer in a timely manner or at all; the risk that the proposed offer and its announcement could have an adverse effect on the ability of JBT and Marel to retain customers and retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with their suppliers and customers and on their operating results and businesses generally; the risk that problems may arise in successfully integrating the businesses of Marel and JBT, which may result in the combined company not operating as effectively and efficiently as expected; the risk that the combined company may be unable to achieve cost-cutting synergies or it may take longer than expected to achieve those synergies; fluctuations in our financial results; unanticipated delays or acceleration in our sales cycles; deterioration of economic conditions, including impacts from supply chain delays and reduced material or component availability; inflationary pressures, including increases in energy, raw material, freight, and labor costs; disruptions in the political, regulatory, economic and social conditions of the countries in which we conduct business; changes to trade regulation, quotas, duties or tariffs; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; changes in food consumption patterns; impacts of pandemic illnesses, food borne illnesses and diseases to various agricultural products; weather conditions and natural disasters; impact of climate change and environmental protection initiatives; acts of terrorism or war, including the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; termination or loss of major customer contracts and risks associated with fixed-price contracts, particularly during periods of high inflation; customer sourcing initiatives; competition and innovation in our industries; difficulty in implementing our pure play food and beverage strategy, including our ability to execute on strategic investments, merger or acquisition opportunities; our ability to develop and introduce new or enhanced products and services and keep pace with technological developments; difficulty in developing, preserving and protecting our intellectual property or defending claims of infringement; catastrophic loss at any of our facilities and business continuity of our information systems; cyber-security risks such as network intrusion or ransomware schemes; loss of key management and other personnel; potential liability arising out of the installation or use of our systems; our ability to comply with U.S. and international laws governing our operations and industries; increases in tax liabilities; work stoppages; fluctuations in interest rates and returns on pension assets; a systemic failure of the banking system in the United States or globally impacting our customers financial condition and their demand for our goods and services; availability of and access to financial and other resources; and other factors described under the captions “Risk Factors” and “ Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in JBT’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in any subsequently filed Form 10-Q.