Ducommun - Q2 2023
August 3, 2023
Transcript
Operator (participant)
Good day, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the second quarter 2023 Ducommun earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to Ducommun Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and Treasurer. Suman Mookherjee, please go ahead.
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
Thank you, welcome to Ducommun's 2023 second quarter conference call. With me today is Steve Oswald, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. I'm going to discuss certain limitations to any forward-looking statements regarding future events, projections, or performance that we may make during the prepared remarks or the Q&A session that follows. Certain statements today that are not historical facts, including any statements as to future market conditions, results of operations, and financial projections, are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are therefore prospective. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct.
In addition, estimates of future operating results are based on the company's current business, which is subject to change. Particular risks facing Ducommun's include, among others, the cyclicality of our end-use markets, the level of U.S. government defense spending, timing of orders from our customers, legal and regulatory risks, the cost of expansion and acquisitions, competition, economic and geopolitical developments, including supply chain issues and rising interest rates, pandemics and disasters, natural or otherwise. These risks and others are described in our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and our forward-looking statements are subject to those risks.
Statements made during this call are only as of the time made, and we do not intend to update any statements made in this presentation, except if and as required by regulatory authorities. This call also includes non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to our filings with the SEC for a reconciliation of the GAAP and non-GAAP measures referenced on this call. We filed our Q2 2023 quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the SEC today. I would now like to turn the call over to Steve Oswald for a review of the operating results. Steve?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Okay. Thanks, Suman, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today for our second quarter conference call. Today, as usual, I will give an update of the current situation at the company. Afterwards, Suman will review our financials in detail. Before I begin discussing our Q2 results, I did want to follow up on our press release and mention that we completed the BLR acquisition at the end of April for an initial purchase price of $115 million net of cash acquired. This is a very positive step forward for the company as we continue to build both our electronic and structural product portfolios with more engineered products and aftermarket revenue, a strategic long-term goal.
In addition, to help pay for a portion of the BLR acquisition, in May, we completed a public stock offering, resulting in net proceeds of over $85 million, and used those proceeds to pay down the revolver that was utilized for the acquisition. We are thrilled with the BLR acquisition. I want to publicly welcome Mike Carpenter, the President, and his team, and they are off to a very good start. Now turning to the quarterly results. Q2 was an excellent quarter as we grew our top-line both year-over-year and sequentially, delivering year-over-year revenue growth of 8%, reaching $187.3 million. As mentioned in the press release, narrow-body aircraft was once again the catalyst in driving overall revenue growth and another positive sign the recovery is in good shape and will only get better and better.
Turning to the markets, the continued recovery in commercial aerospace once again delivered in Q2, with Boeing 737 MAX business up almost 60% year-over-year, and the Airbus A220 also having significant growth, up almost 90% year-over-year. Overall, commercial aerospace with Airbus and Boeing and others was up 37% from Q2 2022. Ducommun's commercial aerospace business has now showed year-over-year revenue growth for the eighth consecutive quarter, an excellent sign as the industry and build rates recover. The company's defense business was down year-over-year in Q2, mainly due to timing of programs such as the F-18 and continued softness at GA for UAVs, among others. Once again, we delivered solid performance of $96 million of revenue for the quarter.
Company posted improved gross margins of 21.4%, up 150 basis points year-over-year from 19.9%, as we work through our restructuring activities and benefit from higher volume. The team also delivered adjusted operating income margins of 8.1%, adjusted EBITDA was $26.1 million, an increase of $2 million year-over-year. Ducommun's adjusted EBITDA margins of 13.9% in Q2 was up as well. We anticipate adjusted EBITDA to be solid this year, with stronger numbers in 2024, once the plant closures, restructuring activities this year are completed. The quality of earnings, when factoring the effects of the BLR acquisition, were good, with GAAP diluted EPS of $0.17 a share versus $0.34 a share for Q2 2022.
With adjustments, diluted EPS was $0.54 a share, compared to diluted EPS of $0.76 a share in the prior year. Some key drivers for the lower GAAP diluted EPS include higher interest expense due to debt incurred related to the BLR acquisition, higher restructuring charges, higher Guaymas and other fire-related expenses, and BLR acquisition-related expenses. Switching to the total company's backlog performance, I'm very pleased to report the company achieved a major milestone this quarter, reaching $1 billion in backlog for the first time ever. Defense backlog contributed greatly in the quarter by increasing $50 million sequentially, from $444 million at the end of Q1 2023 to $494 million at the end of Q2 2023, an increase of over 11%.
This was led by military rotary wing platforms, such as the Seahawk and Blackhawk and other military and space platforms. We are very pleased with this, and it's in line with my past comments, that the overall DCO defense business is in very good shape, with more positive news to come. In addition, the commercial aerospace backlog increased sequentially for the ninth consecutive quarter from $266 million at the end of Q1 2021 to $465 million at the end of Q2 2023, an increase of over 74% during that time. This was led by the 737 MAX, Viasat for in-flight entertainment, the A220, A320, and Gulfstream, all which we would expect after a slower-than-expected recovery in 2022. The other excellent news out of the quarter was the overall book-to-bill ratio for the company was 1.3.
For offloading for defense primes, the work continues. We're expecting roughly $90 million for the full year as committed to, mainly in our circuit card business for Raytheon. As communicated, the long-term run rate of these defense programs already commercialized or in development for offloading will be over $125 million for Ducommun by 2025, once the transition work is completed. In Q2, our team delivered another excellent quarter as well, managing the supply chain. This is not only showing up in our financials, but also, we cannot be in a better place with our customers regarding on-time delivery and quality, which shows loud and clear in our $1 billion-plus backlog. For revenue guidance in 2023, I'm happy to reaffirm our expectations that it should be in the mid to high single digits for 2023.
The recovery for commercial aerospace will continue to lead the way for the rest of the year, as we see more and more volume return, along with defense being solid as well. The expected completion of the two plant closings by the end, the end of this year will also have some limited headwinds, but we feel confident in our guidance. Let me provide some additional color on our markets, products, and programs. Beginning with our military and space sector, we posted second quarter revenue of $95.9 million, a decrease versus Q2 2022. Despite being down, as mentioned earlier, it was a solid showing for the business in Q2. We still saw increases in demand for the METEOR missile, Apache, F-35, and various other military and space platforms.
The second quarter military and space revenue represented 51% of Ducommun's revenue in the period, down from 61% last year. This trend will continue to reflect more balance with commercial aerospace, which we like. We also ended the second quarter with a much improved backlog of $494 million, a significant increase of over 11% sequentially, and reverses a five-quarter downward trend. This represents 49% of Ducommun's total backlog. Within our commercial aerospace operations, second quarter revenue increased 37% year-over-year to $78.2 million, driven mainly by build rate increases on large aircraft platforms and other commercial aerospace platforms as well. Ducommun expects this continued improvement in the commercial aerospace to gain momentum in the second half of 2023. The future is bright across our product offerings.
Our delivery and quality also continue to stand out as we move ahead. The backlog within our commercial aerospace sector stands at $465 million at the end of the second quarter and was up $46 million than Q2 2022. With that, I'll have Suman review our financial results in detail. Suman?
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
Thank you, Steve. As a reminder, please see the company's Q2, 10-Q, and Q2 earnings release for a further description of information mentioned on today's call. As Steve discussed, our second quarter results reflect another period of strong performance. Once again, we saw a significant increase in our commercial aerospace revenues. We remain encouraged by the continued strength in domestic and global travel, which should support higher long-term demand for aircraft, and are also encouraged by the build rate outlook from our key customers that should drive continued growth in our shipments. During the quarter, we also continued to make progress on our restructuring program, and as Steve mentioned, we announced the completion of the acquisition of BLR Aerospace, and subsequently completed a public stock offering to help pay a portion of the BLR acquisition, which I will discuss in further detail later.
With all this, we feel like we have laid a strong foundation for the second half of the year. Turning to our second quarter results. Revenue for the second quarter 2023 was $187.3 million versus $174.2 million for Q2 2022. This year-over-year increase reflects $21.2 million of growth across our commercial aerospace platforms, partially offset by $10.8 million of lower revenue within the military and space sector. Ducommun's overall backlog at the end of the second quarter hit an all-time record of $1.01 billion, exceeding the billion-dollar mark for the first time in the company's history.
This was a growth of almost $50 million over our backlog at the end of Q1 of this year. Was driven by the growth in backlog for our defense business. As a reminder, we define backlog as potential revenue based on customer purchase orders and long-term agreements, with some fixed prices and expected delivery dates of 24 months or less. We posted total gross profit of $40.1 million, or 21.4% of revenue for the quarter, versus $34.6 million, or 19.9% of revenue in the prior year period. We continue to share adjusted gross margins as we have certain non-GAAP cost of sales items relating to the impact of the Guaymas fire on our operations, as well as inventory step-up amortization on our recent acquisition of BLR Aerospace.
On an adjusted basis, our gross margins were 23.1% in Q2 2023, versus 21.1% in Q2 2022. This improvement in gross margin was driven by favorable product mix, better pricing, and improved scale in our commercial aerospace business. We continue to work through a difficult operating environment with supply chain and labor. However, through our proactive efforts, including strategic buys and our inventory investments, we have been able to avoid any significant impacts on the business. Ducommun reported operating income for the second quarter of $5 million, or 2.7% of revenue, compared to $7.8 million, or 4.5% of revenue in the prior year period.
Adjusted operating income was $15.2 million, or 8.1% of revenue this quarter, compared to $14.2 million, or 8.2% of revenue in the comparable period last year. The company reported net income for the second quarter of 2023 of $2.4 million or $0.17 per diluted share, compared to net income of $4.1 million or $0.34 per diluted share a year ago. On an adjusted basis, the company reported net income of $7.3 million or $0.54 per diluted share, compared to net income of $9.3 million or $0.76 in Q2 2022. The lower net income relative to operating income was driven mainly by higher interest costs during the period.
Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2023 was $26.1 million, or 13.9% of revenue, compared to $24.1 million, or 13.8% of revenue for the comparable period in 2022. Let me turn to our segment results. Our structural systems segment posted revenue of $80.2 million in the second quarter of 2023, versus $64.5 million last year. The year-over-year increase reflects $18.1 million of higher sales across our commercial aerospace applications, partially offset by $2.4 million of lower revenue within the military and space markets. structural systems operating income for the quarter was $5.4 million or 6.7% of revenue, compared to $1.3 million or 2% of revenue last year.
Excluding restructuring charges and other adjustments in both years, the segment operating margin was 16% in Q2 2023, versus 9.4% in Q2 2022. This significant year-over-year improvement was driven by favorable product mix, better pricing, and higher manufacturing volume or scale in the business as our commercial aerospace businesses continue to grow. This has been a great quarter for our structural systems segment. Our electronic systems segment posted revenue of $107.1 million in the second quarter of 2023, versus $109.7 million in the prior year period. These results reflect $8.4 million of lower revenue across the company's military and space customers, partially offset by $3.1 million of higher commercial aerospace revenue.
Electronic systems operating income for the second quarter was $9.5 million or 8.9% of revenue, versus $13.6 million or 12.4% of revenue in the prior year period. Excluding restructuring charges and other adjustments in both years, the segment operating margin was 11.4% in Q2 2023, versus 13.9% in Q2 2022. The lower operating income as a percentage of revenue was primarily due to unfavorable product mix and unfavorable manufacturing volume. Moving next to our restructuring update. As a reminder, and as discussed previously, we commenced a restructuring initiative back in Q2 2022. These actions are being taken to accelerate the achievement of our strategic goals and to better position the company for stronger performance in the short and long term.
This includes the shutdown of our facilities in Monrovia, California, and Berryville, Arkansas, and transfer of majority of that work to our low-cost operation in Guaymas, Mexico, with the remainder going to other existing performance centers in the United States. We continue to make progress on these transitions, both with employee retention and engagement, and also working with our customers to get requisite approvals. During Q2 2023, we recorded $4.8 million in restructuring charges. The majority of these charges were severance and benefits related. We expect to incur an additional $5 million-$8 million in restructuring expenses during the rest of 2023. Upon completion of our restructuring program, we expect to generate $11 million-$13 million in annual savings from our actions. Once we wind down production at Monrovia and Berryville, we anticipate selling the associated land and buildings at both locations.
Turning next to liquidity and capital resources. We have available liquidity of $189 million as of the end of the second quarter. We generated $9.2 million in cash flow from operating activities during the quarter as we continue to manage our working capital needs. In April, we completed the acquisition of BLR Aerospace for an initial purchase price of $115 million net of cash acquired. We utilized our revolving credit facility to complete the acquisition. In May, we completed a follow-on stock offering, issuing 2.3 million shares of our common stock, with net proceeds of $85.1 million, which we used to pay down our revolving credit facility. This allowed us to end the quarter with a debt to adjusted LTM EBITDA of 2.7x, which is amongst the lowest in the last several years.
While our debt refinancing during 2022 was timely and beneficial, the rising interest rate environment, along with the debt incurred from the BLR acquisition, drove the increase in interest costs to $5.7 million in the quarter, versus $2.7 million in Q2 2022. In November 2021, we put in an interest rate hedge for $150 million, which goes into effect in January 2024 and will help our interest costs for next year. To conclude the financial review, we are in a good place as we reach the halfway point in 2023, and with the BLR acquisition and public stock offering now completed in Q2, and the expected completion of the restructuring program by the end of this year, there is much to look forward to in the second half of 2023 and beyond.
I'll now turn it back over to Steve for his closing remarks. Steve?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Okay, Suman, thank you. In closing, look, Q2 was obviously a very important quarter for our company and shareholders. BLR, BLR acquisition is off to a good start. Public stock offering was a success. Commercial aerospace continues higher and higher, and defense orders in the quarter were very impressive. I also want to mention the margin expansion in Q2, which shows our strategy presented in December 2022 is working and will continue to generate shareholder value as we move towards our long-term goals in 2027. My continued thanks as well to our employees, investors, and all of the stakeholders for your continued support as we build momentum for a strong second half of 2023 and the years ahead. With that, let's go to questions. Thank you.
Operator (participant)
As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. The first question comes from Ken Herbert with RBC Capital Markets. Your line is open.
Ken Herbert (Aerospace and Defense analyst)
Yeah, hey, good, good morning, Suman and Steve.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Ken, good morning. Thanks for joining us.
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
Good morning.
Ken Herbert (Aerospace and Defense analyst)
Yeah. Hey, Steve, maybe just to start off, you've had several quarters now of, of down defense sales, but, but obviously some really nice bookings momentum. Do we maybe start to see defense sales inflect positively here in, in the third quarter? How should we think about sort of the second half for, for the defense business in terms of top-line?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah, I guess a couple of things. First, you know, we're, we're very happy with the bookings in Q2, right? That's, that's a, that's a big, big positive for Ducommun and, and for our team there. I think, if you look at going forward here, we're gonna still moderate at least through the end of the year. You know, we certainly feel much better about 2024. I will tell you that, just if you look at sort of what happened in Q2, I mean, you know, a big part of that was GA and UAVs. I mean, you know, again, when I've talked in the past on these calls, it's a lot of it's just timing of orders and, you know, they just are not getting the orders, this year.
That's, that was a big takeaway as well as there's a little bit of Patriot and a few others. These are, again, just things that are happening in the market, but I feel very good about our defense business. We have this offloading that's coming. I mentioned in my remarks last last quarter that, you know, these massive moves from internal manufacturing at Raytheon to our facilities, okay, include not only, you know, machines and everything, that's called inventory. You know, there's a lot of things here that are gonna pick up on our revenue side once we start buying all the material versus having it funded from the customer. I think, I think some, some good things ahead, Ken.
Ken Herbert (Aerospace and Defense analyst)
That's great. On your comment on offloading, I mean, there's just a lot going on within defense markets today. Are you seeing incremental opportunities? I mean, part of the narrative has been the ability to take the success with Raytheon and expand it to other defense customers. Yet you've maintained the targets on offloading, which I think are great and ambitious. Are you starting to get a sense that maybe there could be some upside to the offloading opportunities?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
We absolutely do. I mean, look, we're, we're, you know, obviously working, especially with companies like Northrop and others, where, you know, we had a good start with GA, had a great start with Raytheon. We are looking at the other defense primes, working with Northrop. You know, one of the best things for, for us is our performance, because talking to defense prime CEOs, they will not move work out of their facilities unless they can trust the supplier. We all know that, and it all makes sense. That's one of the in this game because of our performance.
Ken Herbert (Aerospace and Defense analyst)
Great. If I could just finally, as I take your comments, and I think about margins and electronic systems, it sounds like maybe a little bit more of a muted second half. Should we think about sort of a second quarter run rate as, as a good margin assumption for that segment, just considering, you know, timing around the defense sales?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah, let me, I'll throw... I want you to come in on that, Suman.
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
That's right. No, I think, you're on the point that, it is, we'll probably see a similar trend. With improvement ahead, especially as we complete the restructuring program by the end of the year, we should start seeing an uptick in those marginal profits.
Ken Herbert (Aerospace and Defense analyst)
Great. All right. Thanks, guys.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Thanks, Ken. Appreciate it.
Operator (participant)
Please stand by for the next question. Our next question comes from Jason Gursky with Citi. Your line is open.
Jason Gursky (Equity Research Analyst)
Hey, good morning, everybody.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Jason, good morning. Can you speak up a little bit? Yeah.
Jason Gursky (Equity Research Analyst)
Yeah, I can try there. How's that?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Better. Yep. Perfect. Thanks.
Jason Gursky (Equity Research Analyst)
Okay, great. Sorry about that. Sticking with Ken's line of questioning on the, on the pipeline and the, the amount of business that's out in front of you, appreciate the comments on the defense side. Can you talk on the commercial side, I, I know you've talked over the last quarter or two about some of the success that you've had with Spirit in particular. I'm just curious to get an update from-
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah
Jason Gursky (Equity Research Analyst)
your perspective on the outlook for the pipeline on the commercial side.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
We certainly, you know, we're, we're very upbeat about it. I mean, it's not only the rates, which we all know are going up, and we're on all these programs for the most part, that are all, you know, gonna, you know, really, sort of, hit it hard in 2024 and 2025, but we're also, you know, gaining, share on the programs, okay? We're not just standing still here. For instance, you know, the skins that I talked about for the MAX, okay, right now, we've, we've, we've, been public about 175,000 per ship set for the 737 MAX. You know, we think, you know, in the next, you know, 12+ months, I mean, we're gonna be at 195, maybe pushing 200.
You know, that's a little bit further out, but we, we feel good about not only the rates, but the program share, and one of that is the skins. That's gonna happen, we're right now in the middle of tooling and everything. You know, January, February, we're looking to start shipping to Spirit, for skins for their, for their MAX production.
Jason Gursky (Equity Research Analyst)
Okay, great. Then on the restructuring side of things, as you look out, you know, based on, you know, some of the bookings that you've had here, of late, are you still thinking that the restructuring cost savings that you're gonna see, as you wrap things up here, are going to accrue 100% to you all? Or are we beginning to see some of that kind of leak out and, and return to customers?
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
We feel-- we continue to feel good about the savings range that we've talked about of $11 million-$13 million. We're in ongoing discussions with each of the customers where we need approvals to work through that transition. There's no reason to believe that we would come in at this point, anywhere less than that range that we've committed to.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah. We, we don't see a lot of leakage. I mean, we're. You know, for instance, just Monrovia, for instance, there's only two major programs we have to move. One, we've already sort of, you know, locked up with Boeing Mesa for the backplate of the Apache. The other one we're working on right now for the spoilers going down to Mexico. You know, it's the nice thing about these moves are, there's not a lot of complexity, so we feel good about that. As far as leakage to customers, we're not planning on that.
Jason Gursky (Equity Research Analyst)
Okay, great. Last one for me. As you look at that billion-dollar backlog, that you've got now,
What, what does the mix of that look like from a margin, perspective? I know we'll bake in this $11 million-$13 million of savings. But as you execute on that backlog itself, is it gonna be margin-accretive backlog based on what you're seeing today?
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
The, the short answer is yes, and it's gonna be supported by growing operating leverage in some businesses. It's gonna be supported by better pricing, and it's gonna be supported by cost efficiencies through the restructuring. All three of those is going to result in margin enhancement in 2024 and, and beyond. Yes, we do expect that backlog, as it flows through into revenue, to start coming in at higher and higher margins over the next several quarters.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
I think that's fair.
Jason Gursky (Equity Research Analyst)
Great. Thank you, gentlemen.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Okay. I just wanna take a moment here. I just wanna welcome you on the Citi team, okay, to our Ducommun call. We very much appreciate your support.
Operator (participant)
Please stand by for our next question. Our next question comes from Mike Crawford with B. Riley Securities. Your line is open.
Mike Crawford (Senior Managing Director and Head of Discovery Group)
Thank you. You, you cited, Steve, strength in military rotary wing platforms, in particular, Seahawk, Black Hawk. How much of that is due to BLR?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Mike, none of it.
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
None of it.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
None of it. It's all organic, mostly coming out of New York facility, Coxsackie. Yeah, we just. Things are starting to move in that area, so we've, we've benefited quite a bit in Q2 for that.
Mike Crawford (Senior Managing Director and Head of Discovery Group)
Excellent. Excellent. On the other side of that coin, was you talked about unfavorable mix and margin in electronic systems, and what was unfavorable about the mix?
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
Yeah, I mean, there were some performance centers which are suboptimal, right? Including, you know, we're shutting down Berryville, and that facility is clearly not operating. There are one or two other programs where pricing was currently not favorable under the existing contract that we are producing to, but we know that kind of the next contract is going to be at a different pricing, and so margins will get better. There, there's been a mix of a few things which has resulted in the lower margin, but we expect those things to resolve over the coming quarters, and it isn't a, you know, long-term-
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
No
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
... change by any means-
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
...in the margin profile of the business.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah.
Mike Crawford (Senior Managing Director and Head of Discovery Group)
Excellent. Do you think, like, if you look out several years from now, that the one segment that will, the structural system segment will continue to have a higher EBITDA margin than ESC, or, or do you think they'll merge, come together?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Well, we certainly, you know, hope for both. I will tell you that, you know, we're, we're, whether it's structural or electronic, we're doing the same type of operating principles. We're driving the businesses. We're making sure we're getting pricing for our work. We think that they're gonna come, still grow and come together nicely. You know, I would say both.
Mike Crawford (Senior Managing Director and Head of Discovery Group)
Okay. Thanks, Steve. Last question is, given the location of the Monrovia plant, it looks like it's in an area where it might not be highest and best use to try to have a new buyer come in and continue to operate that as an industrial plant. Perhaps a buyer might come in and convert it to a mixed use. I'm just wondering what ranges of values you're seeing for either similar properties in that area or that property in particular?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Well, you're right about that. Monrovia facility is in kind of a neighborhood. You look, it's a legacy building, but you know, it's still nine acres of land, so it's, it's a big piece of property. Mike, we just don't know yet. We are committed to our shareholders. We are, you know, in the next month or two, actively going to market it, and, you know, we'll see where things go. No other report for that other than it's moving.
Mike Crawford (Senior Managing Director and Head of Discovery Group)
Okay, thank you very much.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Bye. Thanks, Mike.
Operator (participant)
Please stand by for our next question. Our next question comes from Michael Ciarmoli with Truist. Your line is open.
Michael Ciarmoli (Managing Director of Aerospace and Defense Equity Research)
Hey, good afternoon, guys. Thanks for-
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Hi
Michael Ciarmoli (Managing Director of Aerospace and Defense Equity Research)
... taking the questions here. Steve or Suman, just on the, the structural systems margins, I mean, really, really stood out here, you know, a, a post-COVID high, and I think maybe, maybe an all-time high. How do we, how do we think about these margins going forward, especially with, you know, the, the commercial aerospace volumes continuing to ramp? I mean, is this sort of level, you know, I, I don't wanna put it out there as a new floor, but you, you're gonna get the restructuring benefits as well. So how do we think about structural going forward here as you continue to see rate increases on, on some of the commercial aero programs?
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
I mean, I would say that the margins that we have seen in this, in this business, you know, certainly driven by improving product mix, but also as, you know, the businesses have scaled, as, you know, where they're exposed to commercial aerospace and rates have, have come back. Compared to last year, we have seen improvement in margin, but we are also seeing pricing actions, which we expect will stick across our commercial aerospace structures business and also in our engineered product businesses. You know, the margin trajectory, to some extent, is also influenced by where the engineered products have fit in between our structures and electronic segments. We do have, today, a fair bit of the, you know, a number of the acquisitions we've done in the past few years that fit into that structural segment.
That helps a little bit, too.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah. Mike, I just, I'm glad you brought it up, because this morning I was reflecting on my, one of the first calls I had in 2017, and the operating margin was 4% in structures. I'm happy to see that number. You know, I know it's, it's been several years and COVID and other things, but, you know, I feel good about the number. It'll probably moderate a little bit, but that's, that's where we're heading. I mean, it's only gonna get better.
Michael Ciarmoli (Managing Director of Aerospace and Defense Equity Research)
Got it. Was there anything unusual in this quarter? It sounds like, Suman, you're, I guess, saying, you know, maybe there's a little bit more of the proprietary aftermarket type products that I'm assuming carry higher margins flowing through this unit, and that should probably be fairly consistent going forward as well.
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
Right. I mean, there are always... You know, we try not to give guidance by quarter, right, on margins, but, yeah, there are always things that move in and out. You know, anything that was unusual was, was that, that we don't expect will recur is, is marginal.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah.
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
I think most of it is, is solid.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah. And Mike, it really just-- I think it just, you know, just sort of supports, you know, our strategy, right?
Michael Ciarmoli (Managing Director of Aerospace and Defense Equity Research)
Yeah.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Where, you know, bringing these products in, and it's just, it's good news for the whole P&L.
Michael Ciarmoli (Managing Director of Aerospace and Defense Equity Research)
Got it. Got it. Then where are you right now on, current production rates for, for the MAX, for the 787, you know, some of the other needle-moving programs?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
You know, tell you, you know, this number is flying all over the place. I would say that the 87, we're probably, you know, we're three or four. I think that's, that's, I think I can stand on solid ground and tell you that. I would say the MAX, you know, there's numbers from Spirit, there's numbers from Boeing, there's destocking. I mean, we're probably high 20s right now, if I'm being generous.
Michael Ciarmoli (Managing Director of Aerospace and Defense Equity Research)
Okay.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
you know, from our perspective. We, we, we're looking forward to these numbers we're hearing, and, but we're not, we're not, we're not seeing 30s yet, is what I would say, Mike.
Michael Ciarmoli (Managing Director of Aerospace and Defense Equity Research)
Okay. Okay. Got it. That's, that's helpful. Just the last one. I mean, the bookings, too, I mean, you're, obviously been talked about the bookings, the backlog. Anything else? I mean, that was also, I, I think the bookings number might have been a record as well. Any other color? I mean, is there, you know, offloading in that number or anything to speak of the bookings? Any, any new market share gains or wins that you could talk to?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah, I mean, look, I'm thrilled with the bookings, right? It's, again, a long journey. It is our all-time high. We, as I've talked about, these timing of these defense orders are a little tricky. We had some really heavy orders come in in Q2 for things that we've been waiting on or working on, such as the Seahawk and other things up in our New York facility. And, just continued, strong, even though we didn't, sequentially didn't grow much on commercial aero, that's just gonna continue to build as well. Overall, we're, we're very upbeat.
Michael Ciarmoli (Managing Director of Aerospace and Defense Equity Research)
Okay. Okay. Thanks, guys. I'll jump back in the queue.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Okay.
Operator (participant)
As a reminder, to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. Please stand by for our next question, and it comes from Ken Herbert with RBC Capital Markets. Your line is open.
Ken Herbert (Aerospace and Defense analyst)
Hey, Steve. Appreciate the opportunity with the follow-up. I, I wanted just to dig into that a little bit more. The backlog within commercial aerospace was pretty much flat sequentially from the first to the second quarter. There's certainly been a, a fair amount of disruption and distraction at, at Spirit, you know, over the last month or two. Is there anything? Are you seeing maybe any slowdown in any pull from your customer, as we think about the backlog on commercial in particular, and how do we think about maybe the movement on the MAX, in particular, into the second half of the year?
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah, it's, it's a good question. I think a little bit of the Q2 was a little bit of taking a breather after, you know, a pretty strong run. I think that, you know, the, the Spirit disruption certainly didn't help things. I do, you know, from everything I read and, and talking to Tom at Spirit and other folks, I mean, you know, all this, increase is gonna happen. I think that's gonna be, you know, a positive catalyst for DCO in the second half, especially in 2024. You know, it wasn't a, as far as the headline numbers, you know, I think that it was sort of a, how can you say it?
Just, a little bit of a stalemate in Q2 on bookings, just for lots of reasons, but I don't think they're all, I think they're all transitory.
Ken Herbert (Aerospace and Defense analyst)
Okay, great. With BLR now closed, you know, and maybe I'm not sure how specific you can be here, but as we think about the commercial portfolio, how would you think about that business from an original equipment versus aftermarket standpoint? Is that, can you give any granularity on that within commercial?
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
For BLR, specifically, a large percentage-
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
... more than a majority of that business is aftermarket.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah.
Ken Herbert (Aerospace and Defense analyst)
Okay. I know I was asking, now that BLR is in the portfolio, how do we think about total aerospace, total commercial aerospace in terms of OE versus aftermarket mix?
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
I mean, we were at the end of last year, we were at 10%, and we're looking to go to 15% by 2027. I would say BLR, given that it, a large percentage of it is aftermarket, we've made significant strides already towards that 500 basis point increase. That, I would say we're, we're well on our way on, on that front. I mean, beyond that, we haven't really broken out aftermarket and OEM, and we don't report that-
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
...on a quarterly or annual basis, but there is a material improvement-
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah, at least important.
Suman Mookherjee (SVP, CFO, Controller, and Treasurer)
...in that aftermarket.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Yeah, it's, it's certainly gonna, it's gonna, it's a shot in the arm for us as we, you know, go on this journey now for the next five years to get to 15% plus on aftermarket. It's, it's, it's important to us and investors.
Ken Herbert (Aerospace and Defense analyst)
Perfect. Okay. Hey, thanks, guys.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Thanks, guys.
Operator (participant)
At this time, there is no further questions. I would now like to turn the call back to Steve Oswald for closing remarks.
Steve Oswald (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Thank you very much. Just want to just extend my thanks again for the support to all our folks calling in today. Certainly have new investors with our product, with our stock offering, so I want to absolutely welcome them as well. I feel very good about where we are. I thought Q2 was a very good print for the company. You know, certainly bodes well for the second half of the year. As I've said on my remarks earlier, on the questions that, you know, I'm very upbeat, and I look forward to speaking again after Q3. Thank you again.
Operator (participant)
This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.