There is a lot to be digested when you look at Park Lawn Corporation’s (PLC) 2nd Quarter Earnings Release and their Earnings Call transcript which were made public last week.  Much like the quarterly reports from SCI and Carriage Services, Park Lawn was able to increase revenues, but like their counterparts, it appears that the duo of interest rate hikes and inflationary costs reduced the company’s Net Earnings for the quarter in spite of those revenue increases.

 

According to the press release that you can see here, PLC increased Revenue for the quarter 12.3% as compared to the same quarter in 2022.  The raw number of 2023 Revenue is listed at $85.2 million for the 2nd Quarter as compared to $75.9 million in 2Q2022.  However, the Net Earnings listed the results for 2Q2023 at $3.7 million as compared to the Net Earnings for 2Q2022 of $5.8 million. . . a decrease of about 35%.

 

Here’s what Park Lawn’s CEO J. Bradley Green said in prepared remarks in the Earnings press release, “We are proud of our operating results this quarter as our overall performance demonstrates the ability of our team to incrementally improve their business operations in a challenging macroeconomic environment while simultaneously staying true to our mission to deliver the highest level of service to our families.  Despite a slightly depressed death rate, we were nonetheless able to maintain strong market share in the communities in which we operate. . . .”

 

We also were able to read the company’s Earnings Call transcript from Friday, August 11, and we found lots of information extremely interesting.  We will highlight some of the quotes from company officers below.  You can read the entire transcript from Seeking Alpha found here.

 

On Park Lawn’s offer to acquire Carriage Services CEO J. Bradley Green stated, “While we understand that you may have additional questions surrounding this potential transaction, we will not be providing any further comments on that transaction today except to tell you that we have entered into a nondisclosure agreement with Carriage Services and that it includes customary provisions of this type of transaction. We are engaged in the review process that was subsequently announced by Carriage Services and when we have a substantive update to provide you, we will do so at that time.”

 

On Average Revenue per Call for the 2nd Quarter CFO Daniel Millet made this statement, “With our continued focus on providing our families with the highest level of service, the average revenue per call on funeral contracts increased 5.3% despite the impact of inflation on costs such as labor and merchandise.”

 

On Interest Rate issues CFO Daniel Millet made this statement, “. . . interest rates have had a negative impact on our financial results for the second quarter. We have seen interest rates on our variable debt increase over 500 bps (5.0%) since early 2022 which has impacted our earnings by approximately $0.04 per share in the quarter. . . “

 

On Declining Death Rates CEO J. Bradley Green made this comment, “While dramatic fluctuations in the death rates seem to be behind us. Those death rates are still declining. And while I’m looking forward to a quarter, we don’t have to talk about the pandemic or access mortality in our comparables, I think that we will continue to see these decreases in mortality throughout the remainder of the year. It is our job, however, to manage these declining death rates.. . “

 

On the funeral director labor market CEO J. Bradley Green made this comment, “So, there’s still pressure on labor costs. It’s not as acute as it was last year. We’re able to find workers easier than we did last year. It’s just not something that was as front of mind as it was. Now listen, we’re going to have to pay attention because inflation is still there. Wage pressure is still there. . . . “

 

On Pricing Dynamics and the possible new disclosures that may come about (Editor’s Note:  While not specifically mentioned we think of the potential for FTC website pricing being a part of this question).  Here’s what CEO J. Bradley Green said, “. . And we’re so unconcerned about that, that by the end of this month, our GPLs will be on every one of our websites of every one of our businesses and we believe it will have absolutely zero impact on what we do, pricing or otherwise.”

 

Funeral Director Daily take:  We learned a lot by reading the Earnings Call transcript.  We think that reading the Earnings Call transcript will give funeral home owners and managers a really good perspective on how at least one major company is viewing things in the profession.  You will get their opinion on labor issues, their opinion on sales multiples, their opinion on website pricing transparency, their opinion on pressures facing profitability and much more.

 

Their comment or non-comment on the Carriage Services potential acquisition was also interesting.  The idea that the proposal has went from simply a proposal to a situation where a non-disclosure agreement has been entered into with Carriage Services might point out that there is a fire where we see some smoke rising.

 

For your information, Carriage Services stock closed at $30.37 on Friday, about 11% lower than Park Lawn’s original acquisition proposal of $34 per share.  It will be interesting to see as time marches on if Carriage Services is truly in play.

 

Finally, it was announced in the Park Lawn press release that they had entered into an acquisition agreement with the B.W. Becker Funeral Home Ltd. of Keswick, Ontario.  The PLC press release stated that “The addition of the M.W. Becker Funeral Home allows us to enter a growing market north of Toronto, and expands Park Lawn’s footprint in Ontario, in furtherance of our stated growth objectives.  We are excited to welcome the M.W. Becker team into the Park Lawn family.”

 

The press release further states that the acquisition (will add) “approximately 162 calls per year and was financed with cash on hand and funds from PLC’s credit facility. . .”

 

Here is the website for the M.W. Becker Funeral Home.

 

Disclaimer — The author of this article for Funeral Director Daily holds a stock position in Park Lawn Corporation.

 

More news from the world of Death Care:

• Former OKC cemetery employees allegedly sold burial plots illegally.  News4 – KFOR Oklahoma City  (OK)
• Green Tips:  There’s a better way to depart this mortal coil.  ParkRecord.com  (UT)
• Discovering the modern twist of Direct Cremation.  Female First (Great Britain)

 

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