Concrete Pumping Holdings Inc (BBCP) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for participating in today's conference call to discuss Concrete Pumping Holdings' financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended October 31, 2024. Joining us today are Concrete Pumping Holdings' CEO, Bruce Young; CFO, Iain Humphries; and the company's External Director of Investor Relations, Cody Slach.

大家下午好，感謝您參加今天的電話會議，討論 Concrete Pumping Holdings 截至 2024 年 10 月 31 日的第四季度和財政年度的財務業績。今天與我們一起參加的有 Concrete Pumping Holdings 的執行長 Bruce Young；財務長，Iain Humphries；以及公司外部投資者關係總監 Cody Slach。

Before we go further, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Slach to read the company's Safe Harbor statement within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that provides important cautions regarding forward-looking statements. Cody, please go ahead.

在我們進一步討論之前，我想請斯萊赫先生閱讀公司根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》制定的安全港聲明，該聲明對前瞻性陳述提出了重要警告。科迪，請繼續。

Thanks, Matt. I'd like to remind everyone that in the course of this call, to give you a better understanding of our operations, we will be making certain forward-looking statements regarding our business and outlook. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. For information concerning these risks and uncertainties, see Concrete Pumping Holdings' Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly report on Form 10-Q, and other publicly available filings with the SEC. The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

謝謝，馬特。我想提醒大家，在本次電話會議中，為了讓大家更了解我們的營運情況，我們將就我們的業務和前景做出一些前瞻性的陳述。這些聲明受到多種風險和不確定因素的影響，可能導致實際結果與這些聲明有重大差異。有關這些風險和不確定性的信息，請參閱 Concrete Pumping Holdings 的 10-K 表年度報告、10-Q 表季度報告以及向美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 提交的其他公開文件。本公司不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的意圖或義務，無論其是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因。

On today's call, we will also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA, net debt and free cash flow, which we believe provide useful information for investors. We provide further information about these non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to the comparable GAAP measures in our press release issued today or the investor presentation posted on the company's website.

在今天的電話會議上，我們還將參考某些非 GAAP 財務指標，包括調整後的 EBITDA、淨債務和自由現金流，我們認為這些指標為投資者提供了有用的信息。我們在今天發布的新聞稿或公司網站上發布的投資者介紹中提供了有關這些非 GAAP 財務指標以及與可比較 GAAP 指標的對帳的更多資訊。

I'd like to remind everyone this call will be available for replay later this evening. A webcast replay will also be available via the link provided in today's press release as well as on the company's website. Additionally, we have posted an updated investor presentation to the company's website.

我想提醒大家，今晚晚點可以重播本次通話。您還可以透過今天的新聞稿中提供的連結以及該公司的網站觀看網路直播的重播。此外，我們已在公司網站上發布了更新的投資者介紹。

I'd like to now turn the call over to the CEO of Concrete Pumping Holdings, Bruce Young. Bruce?

現在我想將電話轉給 Concrete Pumping Holdings 的執行長布魯斯楊 (Bruce Young)。布魯斯？

Thank you, Cody, and good afternoon, everyone. The trends we experienced in the fourth quarter largely followed prior quarters, with year-over-year volume-driven declines in our US Pumping segment offsetting continued gains in our Concrete Waste Management business. Specifically, lingering high interest rates during our fourth fiscal quarter affected the timing of more rate-sensitive commercial projects, while increased commercial building vacancy rates continue to delay the start of new construction.

謝謝你，科迪，大家下午好。我們在第四季度經歷的趨勢基本上沿襲了前幾季的趨勢，美國泵送部門的銷售量較去年同期下降抵消了混凝土廢棄物管理業務的持續成長。具體而言，我們第四財季持續的高利率影響了對利率敏感的商業項目的時機，而商業建築空置率的上升繼續推遲了新建築的開工。

Conversely, our Concrete Waste Management business sustained its double-digit growth, fueled by strong market share expansion and our ability to improve pricing. We anticipate this positive momentum will continue. In the UK, the impacts of sustained higher interest rates on commercial project volume largely followed similar trends we experienced domestically, but our infrastructure projects and improved pricing held up well considering the market backdrop.

相反，由於市場份額強勁擴張以及我們提高定價的能力，我們的混凝土廢棄物管理業務保持了兩位數的成長。我們預計這一積極勢頭將會持續下去。在英國，持續較高的利率對商業項目數量的影響在很大程度上與我們國內經歷的趨勢相似，但考慮到市場背景，我們的基礎設施項目和改進的定價保持良好。

Despite the challenges in the US Pumping market, our disciplined fleet management and cost control strategies enabled us to increase adjusted EBITDA margins and generate robust free cash flow in the fourth quarter. In fact, an $11 million reduction in year-over-year equipment expenditure, coupled with strong proceeds from sale of the equipment, resulted in a 5% increase in free cash flow compared to last year, allowing us to lower our year-over-year net debt by $42 million and further reduce our leverage. This flexible capital expenditure strategy, combined with our strong unit economics, expanded liquidity, improving balance sheet strength positions us well for a market recovery in fiscal 2025 and beyond.

儘管美國泵送市場面臨挑戰，但我們嚴格的車隊管理和成本控制策略使我們能夠提高調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率，並在第四季度產生強勁的自由現金流。事實上，與去年同期相比，設備支出減少了 1,100 萬美元，再加上設備銷售的強勁收益，導致自由現金流比去年增加了 5%，使我們能夠將淨債務同比降低 4,200 萬美元，並進一步降低我們的槓桿率。這種靈活的資本支出策略，加上我們強大的單位經濟效益、擴大的流動性和不斷改善的資產負債表實力，使我們為 2025 財年及以後的市場復甦做好了準備。

Turning to specific comments by end market, within our commercial end market, we continue to experience softness across a variety of commercial work, especially in light commercial and office buildings, which tend to be more interest rate sensitive. Larger commercial projects remain mostly durable but continue to move at a slower pace, given the economic backdrop.

談到終端市場的具體評論，在我們的商業終端市場中，我們繼續經歷各種商業工作的疲軟，特別是輕型商業和辦公大樓，它們往往對利率更為敏感。考慮到經濟背景，大型商業項目大多仍具有持久力，但進展速度持續放緩。

Our residential end market remained resilient, especially considering the interest rate environment. In fact, our mix of US Concrete Pumping work in the residential end market was resilient at 32% of total revenue on a trailing 12-month basis. We continue to see residential construction investments within our Mountain region and in Texas, which represents undersupplied regions where single-family construction is prominent.

我們的住宅終端市場仍保持彈性，尤其是考慮到利率環境。事實上，我們在美國住宅終端市場的混凝土泵送業務組合保持穩定，在過去 12 個月中佔總收入的 32%。我們繼續看到山區和德克薩斯州的住宅建設投資，這些地區是供應不足的地區，單戶住宅建設尤為突出。

We still expect the structural supply-demand imbalance in housing will continue to support homebuilding activity, especially as homebuilders entice customers with creative solutions that include rate buydowns, and we believe the Federal Reserve's path to interest rate reductions should continue to support this end market's growth. Offsetting some of our commercial market softness, revenue share in our infrastructure markets grew slightly year over year in the fourth quarter.

我們仍然預計，住房的結構性供需失衡將繼續支撐房屋建築活動，特別是當房屋建築商採用包括利率下調在內的創意解決方案來吸引客戶時，我們相信聯準會的降息路徑應該繼續支持這一終端市場的成長。第四季度，我們基礎設施市場的營收份額較去年同期略有成長，抵消了商業市場的部分疲軟。

In the UK, infrastructure growth has continued, and our strong US national footprint allowed us to win more work. We expect our infrastructure business to grow in fiscal year 2025 due to the funding environment in the UK as well as opportunities domestically from the conversion of our allocated budget funding into project starts within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

在英國，基礎設施持續成長，我們在美國強大的國家影響力使我們贏得了更多的工作。我們預計，由於英國的融資環境以及我們分配的預算資金轉化為《基礎設施投資與就業法案》下的專案啟動所帶來的國內機遇，我們的基礎設施業務將在 2025 財年實現成長。

I will now let Iain address our financial results in more detail before I return to provide some concluding remarks. Iain?

現在，我將讓伊恩更詳細地介紹我們的財務業績，然後我回來發表一些總結性言論。伊恩？

Thanks, Bruce, and good afternoon, everyone. I'll keep my prepared remarks mostly focused on our fourth-quarter results. An analysis of our full year can be found in our supplemental investor presentation as well as within our 10-K.

謝謝，布魯斯，大家下午好。我的準備好的發言將主要集中在我們第四季的業績上。您可以在我們補充投資者報告以及 10-K 中找到我們全年的分析。

In the fourth quarter, revenue was $111.5 million compared to $120.2 million in the same year ago quarter. The decrease is mostly attributable to a decline in our US Concrete Pumping segment due to the slowdown in commercial construction volume and an oversaturation of concrete pumps in certain markets. Revenue in our US Concrete Pumping segment mostly operating under the Brundage-Bone brand was $74.5 million compared to $85 million in the prior year quarter. For our UK operations operating largely under the Camfaud brand, revenue was $17.1 million compared to $17.4 million in the same year ago quarter.

第四季營收為 1.115 億美元，去年同期為 1.202 億美元。下降主要歸因於美國混凝土泵送部門的下滑，原因是商業建築量放緩以及某些市場的混凝土泵過度飽和。我們美國混凝土泵送部門（主要以 Brundage-Bone 品牌營運）的收入為 7,450 萬美元，去年同期為 8,500 萬美元。我們主要以 Camfaud 品牌營運的英國業務的收入為 1,710 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,740 萬美元。

When excluding the foreign exchange translation effects from the British pound, revenue for our UK operations decreased approximately 6% in the fourth quarter, primarily due to lower construction volumes. Revenue in our US Concrete Waste Management Services segment operating under the Eco-Pan brand increased 11% to $19.8 million compared to $17.8 million in the prior year quarter. This strong organic increase was driven by increased volumes and sustained improvement in pricing.

剔除英鎊的外匯換算影響，我們英國業務第四季的營收下降了約 6%，主要原因是建築量下降。我們以 Eco-Pan 品牌營運的美國混凝土廢棄物管理服務部門的營收與去年同期的 1,780 萬美元相比成長了 11%，達到 1,980 萬美元。強勁的有機成長是由銷售增加和價格持續改善所推動的。

Returning to our consolidated results, gross margin in the fourth quarter increased 80 basis points to 41.5% compared to 40.7% in the same year ago quarter. The improved margin was primarily due to continued improvement in our cost control initiatives that include improved labor utilization and repair and maintenance efficiencies.

回到我們的綜合業績，第四季的毛利率從去年同期的 40.7% 增加了 80 個基點至 41.5%。利潤率的提高主要歸功於我們成本控制措施的持續改善，包括提高勞動力利用率以及維修和維護效率。

General and administrative expenses in the fourth quarter declined 9% to $27 million compared to $29.6 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to noncash currency translation gains and lower amortization expense. As a percentage of revenue, G&A costs were 24.2% in the fourth quarter compared to 24.6% in the prior year quarter.

第四季的一般及行政開支為 2,700 萬美元，較去年同期的 2,960 萬美元下降 9%，主要由於非現金貨幣折算收益和攤銷費用下降。作為收入的百分比，第四季的一般及行政費用為 24.2%，而去年同期為 24.6%。

Net income available to common shareholders in the fourth quarter was $9 million or $0.16 per diluted share, and this is largely unchanged compared to the same year ago quarter. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter decreased slightly to $33.7 million compared to $35.8 million in the same year ago quarter. However, adjusted EBITDA margin increased 40 basis points to 30.2% compared to 29.8% in the same year ago quarter. As discussed previously, the improvement in margin on lower revenue was driven by strong variable cost control and a disciplined approach to managing our fleet.

第四季普通股股東淨利為 900 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.16 美元，與去年同期相比基本沒有變化。第四季綜合調整後 EBITDA 略微下降至 3,370 萬美元，去年同期為 3,580 萬美元。不過，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率較去年同期的 29.8% 增加了 40 個基點，至 30.2%。如前所述，較低收入下的利潤率提高得益於強有力的變動成本控制和嚴謹的車隊管理方法。

In our US Concrete Pumping business, adjusted EBITDA declined to $19.3 million compared to $23.4 million in the same year ago quarter. In our UK business, adjusted EBITDA increased 18% to $5.2 million compared to $4.4 million in the same year ago quarter. And for our US Concrete Waste Management business, adjusted EBITDA increased 12% to $9.1 million compared to $8.1 million in the same year ago quarter.

在我們的美國混凝土泵送業務中，調整後的 EBITDA 下降至 1,930 萬美元，而去年同期為 2,340 萬美元。在我們的英國業務中，調整後的 EBITDA 成長 18% 至 520 萬美元，而去年同期為 440 萬美元。就我們美國混凝土廢棄物管理業務而言，調整後的 EBITDA 成長 12% 至 910 萬美元，而去年同期為 810 萬美元。

Additionally, free cash flow increased 26% in the fourth quarter to $24 million compared to $19 million in the same year ago quarter. This includes proactive steps that we've taken to turn our net replacement CapEx negative in the fourth quarter, which further highlights the flexibility we have in our fleet investments.

此外，第四季自由現金流從去年同期的 1,900 萬美元成長 26% 至 2,400 萬美元。這包括我們採取的積極措施，在第四季度將我們的淨替換資本支出轉為負值，這進一步凸顯了我們在機隊投資方面的靈活性。

Turning to liquidity, at October 31, 2024, we had total debt outstanding of $375 million and net debt of $332 million, and this is a decrease of $46 million over the course of the year, which is a testament to our strong free cash flow generation. This equates to a net debt-to-EBITDA leverage ratio of 3 times, which was our guided target for the 2024 fiscal year. We had approximately $378 million of liquidity as of October 31, 2024, which includes cash on the balance sheet and availability from our ABL facility. We remain in a strong liquidity position, which provides optionality to responsibly pursue value-added investment opportunities like accretive M&A or the organic investment in our fleet of equipment to support our overall long-term growth strategy.

談到流動性，截至 2024 年 10 月 31 日，我們的未償債務總額為 3.75 億美元，淨債務為 3.32 億美元，這一數字在一年內減少了 4,600 萬美元，證明了我們強勁的自由現金流產生能力。這相當於淨債務與 EBITDA 槓桿率為 3 倍，這是我們 2024 財年的指導目標。截至 2024 年 10 月 31 日，我們的流動資金約為 3.78 億美元，其中包括資產負債表上的現金和 ABL 設施的可用資金。我們仍然保持著強大的流動性狀況，這為我們負責任地追求增值投資機會（如增值性併購或對我們的設備隊伍的有機投資）提供了選擇權，以支持我們的整體長期成長策略。

Now looking at the terms of our credit facilities, our ABL facility will mature in September of 2029. And although our senior notes have more than a year until they come due in February of 2026, we believe there's encouraging momentum in the market that could support an opportunistic refinance.

現在看看我們的信貸條款，我們的 ABL 信貸將於 2029 年 9 月到期。儘管我們的優先票據將於 2026 年 2 月到期，還有一年多的時間，但我們相信，市場存在著令人鼓舞的勢頭，可以支持機會性再融資。

Now moving to our share buyback plan. During the fourth quarter, we repurchased approximately 423,000 shares for $2.5 million or an average price of $5.89. Since the buyback was initiated in 2022, we have repurchased approximately $18 million of our stock and have an additional $17 million authorized through March of 2025. We believe our share buyback plan demonstrates both our commitment to delivering enhanced value to shareholders and our confidence in our strategic growth plan.

現在轉向我們的股票回購計劃。在第四季度，我們以 250 萬美元或平均價格 5.89 美元回購了約 423,000 股。自 2022 年開始回購以來，我們已回購了約 1,800 萬美元的股票，並已獲准在 2025 年 3 月之前額外回購 1,700 萬美元。我們相信，我們的股票回購計畫既體現了我們為股東提供更高價值的決心，也體現了我們對策略成長計畫的信心。

Moving now into our 2025 full-year guidance, we expect fiscal year revenue to range between $425 million and $445 million, adjusted EBITDA to range between $115 million and $125 million, and free cash flow, which we define as adjusted EBITDA less net replacement CapEx and less cash paid for interest, to be at least $65 million. Please note that this outlook assumes a return to our more normal typical seasonality with roughly 45% of our revenue incurred in the first half of 2025 and the balance in the back half of the year.

現在進入我們的 2025 年全年指導，我們預計財年收入在 4.25 億美元至 4.45 億美元之間，調整後的 EBITDA 在 1.15 億美元至 1.25 億美元之間，自由現金流（我們將其定義為調整後的 EBITDA 減去淨替代資本支出減去支付 650 萬美元的利息）至少為 650 萬美元。請注意，該展望假設我們將恢復到更正常的典型季節性，即約 45% 的收入發生在 2025 年上半年，其餘則發生在下半年。

With that, I will now turn the call back over to Bruce.

說完這些，我現在將電話轉回給布魯斯。

Thanks, Iain. In summary, while construction markets remained softer in 2024, particularly in the commercial end market, we believe that we are well positioned relative to our competitors to execute in a challenging environment due to our unique value proposition to our customers, given our national footprint, market diversification and the breadth, depth, and agility of our equipment fleet. Furthermore, our strong balance sheet and healthy liquidity positions us well for continued growth investments and other strategies to deliver superior shareholder value.

謝謝，伊恩。總而言之，雖然 2024 年建築市場仍然疲軟，尤其是在商業終端市場，但我們相信，由於我們向客戶提出的獨特價值主張、全國覆蓋範圍、市場多樣化以及設備隊伍的廣度、深度和靈活性，我們相對於競爭對手處於有利地位，能夠在充滿挑戰的環境中執行任務。此外，我們強勁的資產負債表和健康的流動性使我們能夠繼續進行成長投資並採取其他策略來提供卓越的股東價值。

As we look towards 2025 and remain focused on the long-term strategies -- strategic aspect of our business that we can meaningfully influence, including the consistent and disciplined execution of our strategic growth plan, resolute adherence to our leading commercial strategy and prudent cost control through ongoing operational excellence, equally, we are hopeful that a return of more seasonal weather patterns, coupled with an expected improvement in commercial construction volumes, will stimulate demand. In fact, we expect that overall construction volumes in the US and UK in 2025 will increase by low single digits and pricing will increase the same.

展望 2025 年，我們將繼續專注於長期戰略——我們可以對業務的戰略方面產生重大影響，包括持續且嚴謹地執行我們的戰略增長計劃、堅決遵守我們領先的商業戰略以及通過持續的卓越運營進行審慎的成本控制，同樣，我們希望更多季節性天氣模式的回歸，加上商業建築量的預期改善，將刺激需求。事實上，我們預計 2025 年美國和英國的整體建築量將以個位數成長，價格也將隨之上漲。

As Iain mentioned, our 2025 outlook is predominantly back half weighted, which reflects typical seasonality but also considers our estimation that the incoming administration's pro-growth onshoring agenda, combined with the gradual easing of interest rates, can accelerate our domestic Concrete Pumping and Eco-Pan business when these policies take hold. In the UK, our team continues to secure nationally critical energy road and rail projects in addition to the well-documented HS2 project as the new government seeks to drive broader economic and productivity growth.

正如伊恩所提到的，我們對 2025 年的展望主要是後半部分加權，這反映了典型的季節性，但也考慮到了我們的估計，即新政府的促增長在岸議程，加上逐步降低利率，可以在這些政策生效後加速我們的國內混凝土泵送和 Eco-Pan 業務的發展。在英國，新政府尋求推動更廣泛的經濟和生產力成長，除了有據可查的 HS2 項目外，我們的團隊還繼續確保國家關鍵能源公路和鐵路項目。

With that, I would now like to turn the call back over to the operator for Q&A. Matt?

說完這些，我現在想將電話轉回給接線生進行問答。馬特？

Thank you so much. We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Andrew Wittmann, Baird.

太感謝了。我們現在將進行問答環節。（操作員指令）安德魯·威特曼，貝爾德。

I guess just wanted to drill in a little bit on the CapEx here. So you flipped the net CapEx here to slightly negative, disposing more than you purchased. Iain, I was just hoping maybe you could just help us think about '25. I heard the greater than $65 million of free cash flow under your definition. But maybe can you break it down a little bit? How much kind of gross CapEx do you think is going to go into new fleets? And how much -- are the sales going to remain elevated? Just if you could help us just understand how you're thinking about the overall CapEx budget for '25.

我想只是想在這裡對資本支出進行一點深入的探討。因此，您將這裡的淨資本支出變為略微負的，處置量多於購買量。伊恩，我只是希望你能幫助我們思考『25』。我聽說，按照你的定義，自由現金流超過 6,500 萬美元。但也許你可以把它分解一下？您認為新船隊將佔總資本支出的多少？銷售額還能維持在多少水準？如果您能幫助我們了解您對 25 年整體資本支出預算的看法的話。

Yeah, absolutely. And thanks for the question, Andy. So yeah, just to recap on '24, I mean, as you know, during the year, based on the volume demand, we had sufficient capacity in our fleet, so we invested less on the replacement side, and it was roughly around 4% of revenue. Now our more normalized target replacement is around 6% or 7% of revenue, and that's what we have placed into the guidance for 2025, with the expectation that we feel good about the fleet that we have and the capacity that we've got but really making sure that the uptime that we would expect is more reflective of that sort of more normal 6% or 7% of revenue.

是的，絕對是如此。謝謝你的提問，安迪。是的，回顧一下 24 年，我的意思是，如你所知，在這一年中，基於數量需求，我們的車隊擁有足夠的容量，因此我們在替換方面的投資較少，大約佔收入的 4% 左右。現在，我們更標準化的目標替換率是收入的 6% 或 7% 左右，這就是我們在 2025 年指引中所考慮的，我們期望對現有的機隊和運力感到滿意，但真正確保的是，我們預期的正常運行時間更能反映出更正常的 6% 或 7% 的收入。

In addition to that, I would say, Andy, we may apply $3 million or $4 million on the growth side for Eco-Pan. But again, it will -- as we look for volume coming through the year, then we'll consider that within the guidance. That's actually the starting point, if that's helpful.

除此之外，我想說，安迪，我們可能會向 Eco-Pan 的成長方面投入 300 萬或 400 萬美元。但是，當我們期待全年的交易量時，我們會在指導範圍內考慮這一點。如果有幫助的話，這實際上就是起點。

On the trade side, we would expect unusual trade activity. I mean, as you know, about 5% of our fleet will age out each year. We don't expect that to change.

在貿易方面，我們預期會出現異常貿易活動。我的意思是，如你所知，我們每年約有 5％ 的飛機會老化。我們不希望這種情況改變。

Got it, okay. Thank you for that. I guess maybe the next thing I wanted to dig into, you kind of had a comment there on the senior notes coming due about a year from now. You said something about the market conditions may allow you to refinance. Are you thinking right now the primary path is refinanced senior notes with new senior notes? Or would you expand the ABL? What's kind of the pricing of the way you're approaching that since it sounds like you're kind of thinking about it already?

知道了，好的。謝謝你。我想也許我接下來想深入探討的是，您對大約一年後到期的優先票據發表了一些評論。您所說的一些市場條件可能會讓您進行再融資。您是否認為現在主要的方法是用新的優先票據再融資優先票據？或者你會擴大 ABL 嗎？聽起來你已經在考慮這個問題了，那麼你對此方法的定價是怎麼樣的呢？

Yeah, we are. I mean, obviously, we have a number of options available to us, and we're looking for best execution. So yeah, we think the market has some momentum right now, so we think that is a good time to be considering like that window. And we'll be opportunistic as we see that market play out, Andy. Obviously, as you know, we upsized the ABL at the end of last year, so we think we have some good structural elements for good execution.

是的。我的意思是，顯然我們有很多選擇，我們正在尋求最佳的執行。是的，我們認為市場現在有一些勢頭，所以我們認為這是一個考慮這個窗口的好時機。安迪，當我們觀察到市場發展趨勢時，我們就會抓住機會。顯然，如你所知，我們在去年年底擴大了 ABL 的規模，因此我們認為我們擁有一些良好的結構要素來確保良好的執行。

Got it. And then Bruce, just for you. Obviously, getting EBITDA margins up year over year on tough volumes is always a testament to how you're running the business. Could you maybe just talk about some of the major buckets that allowed you to drive that kind of performance, maybe things like fuel? It sounded like there was a comment on repair and maintenance as well that you made.

知道了。然後是布魯斯，只為你。顯然，在業務量龐大的情況下，EBITDA 利潤率逐年上升，總是能證明你的業務運作能力。您能否談談支持您實現如此出色表現的一些主要因素，例如燃料？聽起來您也對維修和保養提出了評論。

And maybe if you could drill into like how much that helped you. And are you starting to defer stuff because the utilization rates of the equipment maybe aren't as high, so you can defer that and grab it later when the equipment is more in demand? And maybe if you could just address how labor's factoring into your P&L as well if you're able to optimize that further.

也許您可以深入了解這對您有多大幫助。您是否開始推遲一些事情，因為設備的使用率可能不是那麼高，所以您可以推遲這些事情，等到設備需求更大的時候再抓取？也許您可以解決勞動力如何影響您的損益問題，並進一步優化它。

Sure. As it comes to fuel pricing, fuel pricing has gotten better for us over the last several months, and so we have had some benefit of that. We believe we've done a much better job of managing our labor within the business to improve the margin as well. And then pricing on spare parts for repair and maintenance have gone back to lower levels than what we had seen in the previous year, and we've been able to take advantage of some large orders to improve that. And there's just being more aware of preventative maintenance and making sure that we get out on top of things before they become serious issues.

當然。就燃料價格而言，過去幾個月燃料價格對我們來說已經變得更好，因此我們從中獲得了一定的好處。我們相信我們在企業內部勞動力管理方面做得更好，也因此提高了利潤率。然後，維修和保養備件的價格已經回到了比去年更低的水平，而且我們已經能夠利用一些大訂單來改善這種情況。我們要更重視預防性維護，確保在問題變得嚴重之前就採取措施。

We have not deferred any maintenance at all on any units. So we feel like we're -- we've done a good job of controlling those rates, getting those margins down and really preparing ourselves for the future.

我們沒有推遲任何單位的維護。因此，我們覺得我們在控制利率、降低利潤率和為未來做好充分準備方面做得很好。

Tim Mulrooney, William Blair.

提姆·馬爾羅尼、威廉·布萊爾。

So it looks like your guidance is calling for about 7% EBITDA growth at the midpoint for the full year. So this is kind of following a 7% decline or so in the back half of fiscal 2024. So it sounds like you're expecting a nice inflection here. Just curious how you're thinking about the cadence of EBITDA growth as you move through the year. Do you expect it to be pretty steady? Or is the expectation that this growth will be more front-end or back-end loaded?

因此看起來您的指導意見要求全年中期 EBITDA 成長率約為 7%。因此，這有點像是 2024 財年下半年 7% 左右的下降。聽起來你期待著這裡出現一個很好的轉變。只是好奇您如何看待這一年中 EBITDA 成長的節奏。您期望它會相當穩定嗎？或者預期這種增長將更多地集中在前端或後端？

Yeah, Tim, it really ties to that return to more normal seasonality that we mentioned in our prepared remarks. And if you look at 2024, we were more up [46] weighted on the front half of the year, and we now expect to be more back to the [45-55].

是的，蒂姆，這確實與我們在準備好的評論中提到的回歸更正常的季節性有關。如果你看看 2024 年，我們上半年的權重更大，現在我們預計會回到[45-55]

So the cadence of EBITDA, I mean, obviously, Q1 is a slower quarter for us obviously being through winter. So we would expect margin to build through the year, ultimately resulting in at least a 1% margin pickup through the end of the year. So we expect some improvement as we go through the year, but it's likely going to be more back-end weighted just like the change in that revenue phasing.

因此，EBITDA 的節奏，我的意思是，顯然，由於正處於冬季，第一季對我們來說是一個較慢的季度。因此，我們預計利潤率將在全年不斷上升，最終導致年底利潤率至少上升 1%。因此，我們預計今年的情況會有所改善，但就像收入階段的變化一樣，它可能更偏向後端。

Okay, got you. Thank you. And kind of building off of the conversation you were having with Andy, you mentioned previously, I think last quarter maybe or two quarters ago, you're running at about 70% fleet utilization, down a bit from that 80% target. Curious where utilization currently stands today.

好的，明白了。謝謝。基於您與 Andy 的對話，您之前提到過，我想上個季度或兩個季度前，您的車隊利用率約為 70％，比 80％ 的目標略有下降。好奇今天的利用率是多少。

Yeah, it's right around that 70%. So again, it comes back to the fleet utilization and the expectations as we go into 2025. We think there's an opportunity in there, which also, to your earlier point, Tim, on margin contribution, we think we have capacity to improve that as the demand moves.

是的，大概是 70% 左右。因此，問題又回到了車隊利用率和對 2025 年的預期。我們認為其中存在機會，而且，正如您之前提到的，蒂姆，關於利潤貢獻，我們認為我們有能力隨著需求的變化而改善這一點。

Okay, got it. Moving to the infrastructure business, which I think you said grew a little bit in the fourth quarter, was good to hear. But now you've got this incoming administration, focused on cost reductions. Do you see any risk to the funding environment for some of the large infrastructure projects that you work on, whether or not they're tied to the IIJA maybe in both cases? Or has most of that money been set aside for these projects or already kind of set aside or deployed?

好的，明白了。轉向基礎設施業務，我認為您說過該業務在第四季度有所增長，這是件好事。但現在新政府將專注於降低成本。您是否認為您所從事的一些大型基礎設施專案的融資環境存在風險，無論它們是否與 IIJA 掛鉤，或兩種情況都有？或者大部分資金是否已保留給這些項目，或者已經被保留或部署了？

Yeah. So we see this as an opportunity for us, Tim, where -- the money has been set aside for those projects. It's been allocated to those projects, but it hasn't been awarded to contractors yet. And a lot of that has to do with the amount of challenges that the municipality states have had to get -- meet the requirements. And we believe as they lessen some of those requirements, whether they're environmental or labor, that it may accelerate some of those projects, and we should see infrastructure pick up this year and into '26.

是的。因此，蒂姆，我們認為這對我們來說是一個機會，資金已經為這些項目預留了。該資金已分配給這些項目，但尚未授予承包商。這在很大程度上與市政府必須應對的挑戰數量有關——滿足要求。我們相信，隨著他們減少一些要求，無論是環境要求還是勞動力要求，都可能加速其中一些項目的發展，我們應該會看到基礎設施在今年和26年回暖。

Steven Fisher, UBS.

瑞銀的史蒂文·費雪。

Just to follow up again on that sort of return-to-normal seasonality, is there a particular quarter that you expect that US Concrete Pumping revenues to inflect back to positive year-over-year growth from what we're seeing now the decline?

為了再次追蹤這種回歸正常的季節性，您是否預計在某個特定季度，美國混凝土泵送收入將從目前的下降趨勢恢復到同比增長？

Yeah, Steve, it's likely going to be more into the third quarter, and that's really back to that back half weighting, and that gets us back to that certain more normalized [45-55] split. That's where I would expect the inflection to be. It will be close through the end of the second quarter, but I would say the start of the third quarter.

是的，史蒂夫，這種情況很可能會持續到第三季度，這實際上又回到了後半部分的權重，這讓我們回到某種更加正常化的[45-55] 分割。我期望拐點會出現在那裡。到第二季末才會公佈，但我認為到第三季初就會公佈。

Okay, that's helpful. And you mentioned, Bruce, that the current level of activity is sort of a continuation of trends you've seen for a little while now. I mean, I just am curious how your customer conversations changed if they did at all after the election.

好的，這很有幫助。布魯斯，您提到，當前的活動水平是您最近看到的趨勢的延續。我的意思是，我只是好奇選舉之後您的客戶對話發生了怎樣的變化。

The conversations with the customers are a lot more optimistic. Now there are several things that I think that have to happen before that shifts into more positive results for us. And that's why we're thinking more towards the second half of the year than the first half of the year. But there are projects that were delayed that are now ramping up that we should be placing concrete on in the next quarter, sizable projects. We see other projects that we think that had been put on hold that we think they will be starting as well. So we're starting to be a lot more optimistic about the second half of the year.

與顧客的對話更加樂觀。我認為，在為我們帶來更積極的結果之前，必須先發生幾件事。這就是為什麼我們更多地考慮下半年而不是上半年。但是有些被延後的專案現在正在加緊進行，我們應該在下個季度具體實施這些規模較大的專案。我們看到其他一些我們認為已被擱置的項目也將會啟動。因此，我們開始對今年下半年更加樂觀。

Okay. And you mentioned that there's imbalance of supply and demand, too many concrete pumps in certain markets. Can you clarify, is that referring to certain geographic markets or is it sort of end vertical markets or maybe both? And just maybe some detail on what specifically you're referring to there.

好的。您提到供需不平衡，某些市場混凝土泵過多。您能否澄清一下，這是指特定的地理市場，還是某種終端垂直市場，或者兩者兼而有之？也許您可以詳細說明一下您具體提到了什麼。

Yeah. We've talked about this before, but all the concrete pumps come from overseas, whether they come from South Korea, China or Germany. And so they're always ordered well in advance. And so the oversupply came when 2023 and 2024 really didn't meet the level of growth that we and -- that the industry had anticipated or the manufacturers had anticipated. So they had those assets. They did a good job of getting them out of their facilities into concrete pumpers' hands.

是的。我們之前談過這個問題，但所有的混凝土泵都來自海外，無論是來自韓國、中國還是德國。因此他們總是提前預定。因此，當 2023 年和 2024 年確實沒有達到我們和產業預期或製造商預期的成長水準時，就會出現供應過剩的情況。所以他們擁有這些資產。他們出色地完成了將設備從工廠運送到混凝土泵送人員手中的工作。

But as we've talked to the manufacturers for 2025, their expectations are much, much lower, and we expect that that will play out. It will improve for us over this year and into next year.

但正如我們與製造商對 2025 年的談話所言，他們的預期要低得多，我們預計這將會發生。今年和明年我們的情況都會有所改善。

(Operator Instructions) Jean Ramirez, D.A. Davidson.

（操作員指令）Jean Ramirez，D.A.戴維森。

Just following regarding the US Concrete Pumping's inflection in third quarter, could you talk about what sort of demand conditions are baked in into this outlook?

關於第三季美國混凝土泵送的轉折點，您能談談這種前景考慮了哪些需求條件嗎？

Yeah. I mean, around demand conditions, I mean, I think this is where we're -- I mean, Bruce mentioned it in some of his prepared remarks around like manufacturing reshore and really the new administration coming in on the back of that optimism and really what the Federal Reserve are doing, improving that momentum. We think it will still take about five to six months for that to cycle through into like new project starts and improved momentum. So that's why we think that it's going to be more back-end weighted next year.

是的。我的意思是，圍繞著需求狀況，我的意思是，我認為這就是我們所處的境地——我的意思是，布魯斯在他的一些準備好的發言中提到了這一點，比如製造業回流，新政府實際上是在這種樂觀情緒的推動下上台的，而美聯儲正在做的事情確實改善了這種勢頭。我們認為，這個循環仍需要大約五到六個月的時間才能完成，就像新專案的啟動和發展勢頭的增強一樣。所以我們認為明年後端權重會更大。

Got it. And regarding the margin for US Concrete Pumping, given this -- some of the oversaturating comments that you mentioned, do you expect the margins to be around the same levels experienced in fiscal 2024?

知道了。關於美國混凝土泵送的利潤率，鑑於您提到的一些過度飽和的評論，您是否預計利潤率將與 2024 財年的水平大致相同？

Yeah. So we've got margin improvement projected for the consolidated business in 2025 compared to 2024, and we've got some nice momentum certainly in Q4 versus Q3 on the US Pumping side. We expect that will continue into 2025. So we would expect margin improvement through the business next year, including the US Pumping business based on the controllable elements that we actually can influence.

是的。因此，我們預計 2025 年合併業務的利潤率將較 2024 年有所提高，而且在美國泵業方面，與第三季度相比，第四季度無疑獲得了良好的發展勢頭。我們預計這種情況將持續到 2025 年。因此，我們預計明年整個業務的利潤率將會提高，包括美國泵送業務，這基於我們實際上能夠影響的可控因素。

Could you provide some additional color into what this improvement looks like? Is it a 1% increase overall?

能否進一步詳細說明一下這種改進的具體內容？整體來說增加了1%嗎？

Yeah. If you take the -- I mean, if you just take the midpoint of the guide compared to '24, it's about a 1% improvement year over year.

是的。如果你採取—我的意思是，如果你只將指南的中點與'24進行比較，那麼與去年相比大約有1％的改善。

I appreciate that. And going back to Waste Management, and forgive me if I missed it, but could you talk about what caused the big jump in margins from the third quarter to the fourth quarter?

我很感激。回到廢棄物管理業務，如果我沒注意到，請原諒我，您能談談是什麼原因導致利潤率從第三季到第四季大幅成長嗎？

It wasn't any one thing in specific. I mean, obviously, we continue to invest in that business to really expand margins over time. So that you will see some slight margin fluctuation as we invest in the business for growth. I mean, obviously, if you look at the year-over-year comparison, the businesses, I think we grew about 15% year over year. So you might see some small margin [changing], but obviously still a very healthy margin and a great free cash flow part of our business that we're going to drive that continued organic growth on over time.

這不是某一件事具體的事。我的意思是，顯然，我們會繼續投資該業務，以便隨著時間的推移真正擴大利潤率。因此，當我們投資業務以促進成長時，您會看到一些輕微的利潤波動。我的意思是，顯然，如果你看一下同比比較，我認為我們的業務同比增長了約 15％。因此，您可能會看到一些小幅的利潤率[變化]，但顯然我們的利潤率仍然非常健康，而且我們的業務中自由現金流仍然很大，我們將隨著時間的推移推動持續的有機增長。

And just one last one for me, going back to US Pumping margins. What sort of outlook do you guys see regarding pricing? Do you expect any sort of pressure in fiscal '25?

對我來說，只剩下最後一個問題，回到美國泵送利潤。你們對定價有什麼看法？您預計 25 財年會面臨任何壓力嗎？

We do expect there will be some more -- some additional pressure in 2025 until the market starts shifting, and then that pressure will ease on us. And we do expect that we will get -- have success with price increases this year and into the next.

我們確實預計，2025 年還會有一些額外的壓力，直到市場開始轉變，然後這種壓力就會減輕。我們確實預計今年和明年的價格上漲將會成功。

Is there a sort of timing or -- yeah, is there a timing to see when the pressure eases off or is it just a quarter-by-quarter case?

是否有某種時間安排——是的，是否有一個時間來看看壓力何時減輕，還是只是一個季度一個季度的情況？

It's quarter by quarter.

這是按季度進行的。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back to management for any closing comments.

問答環節到此結束。我想將發言權交還給管理階層，請他們發表最後評論。

Thank you, Matt. We'd like to thank everyone for listening to today's call, and we look forward to speaking with you when we report our first-quarter fiscal 2025 results in March. Thank you.

謝謝你，馬特。我們感謝大家聆聽今天的電話會議，並期待在 3 月份報告 2025 財年第一季業績時與您交談。謝謝。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you again for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開您的線路。再次感謝您的參與。