Matrix Service Co (MTRX) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Matrix Service Company conference call to discuss results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

早安，歡迎參加 Matrix Service Company 電話會議，討論 2024 財年第一季度的業績。（操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄音。

I would now like to turn the conference over to today's host, Ms. Kellie Smythe, the Senior Director of Investor Relations for Matrix Service Company.

現在我想把會議交給今天的主持人，Matrix Service 公司投資者關係高級總監 Kellie Smythe 女士。

Thank you, Josh. Good morning, and welcome to Matrix Service Company's First Quarter Fiscal 2024 Earnings Call.

謝謝你，喬許。早安，歡迎參加 Matrix Service Company 的 2024 財年第一季財報電話會議。

Participants on today's call will include John Hewitt, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Kevin Cavanah, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The presentation materials we will be referring to during the webcast today can be found under Events and Presentations on the Investor Relations section of matrixservicecompany.com.

今天電話會議的參與者包括總裁兼執行長 John Hewitt；副總裁兼財務長凱文·卡瓦納 (Kevin Cavanah)。我們今天在網路廣播中提到的簡報資料可以在matrixservicecompany.com 投資者關係部分的活動和演示下找到。

Before we begin, please let me remind you that on today's call, we may make various remarks about future expectations, plans and prospects for Matrix Service Company, that constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may different materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements because of various factors, including those discussed in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and in subsequent filings made by the company with the SEC. To the extent we utilize non-GAAP measures, reconciliations will be provided in various press releases, periodic SEC filings and on our website.

在開始之前，請允許我提醒您，在今天的電話會議上，我們可能會對Matrix Service Company 的未來預期、計劃和前景發表各種評論，這些評論構成1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所規定的前瞻性陳述。由於各種因素，包括我們最近的 10-K 表格年度報告以及公司隨後向 SEC 提交的文件中討論的因素，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述所示的結果存在重大差異。如果我們採用非 GAAP 衡量標準，我們將在各種新聞稿、定期向 SEC 提交的文件和我們的網站上提供對帳資訊。

Before I turn the call over to John Hewitt, I'd like to share information about several upcoming investor conferences and corporate access opportunities. On November 14, we will hold the Matrix Service Company Virtual Annual Stockholder Meeting. You can register to attend as instructed in the proxy or via the Events tab on our Investor Relations website.

在將電話轉給約翰·休伊特之前，我想分享有關即將舉行的幾個投資者會議和企業訪問機會的資訊。 11 月 14 日，我們將舉辦 Matrix Service 公司虛擬年度股東大會。您可以按照代理商中的指示或透過我們投資者關係網站上的「活動」標籤註冊參加。

We will present at and hold one-on-one meetings at the Sidoti Micro-Cap Virtual Conference planned for November 15 and 16. And finally, we will hold a Virtual Non-Deal Roadshow hosted by Rose & Company in December. If you'd like additional information on any of these events, I invite you to contact us through Matrix Service Company Investor Relations website.

我們將出席 Sidoti Micro-Cap 虛擬會議計劃於 11 月 15 日至 16 日的虛擬會議並舉行一對一會議。最後，我們將於 12 月舉辦由 Rose & Company 主辦的虛擬非交易路演。如果您想了解有關這些活動的更多信息，我邀請您透過 Matrix Service Company 投資者關係網站與我們聯繫。

I will now turn the call over to John.

我現在將把電話轉給約翰。

Thank you, Kellie, and good morning, everyone. Here at Matrix, we continue to pursue and expect zero injuries across our platform. Broadly, our focus is around accountability, communication and training to drive better outcomes.

謝謝你，凱莉，大家早安。在 Matrix，我們繼續追求並期望整個平台實現零傷害。總的來說，我們的重點是責任、溝通和培訓，以推動更好的成果。

Each of us need to be accountable to ourselves and each other as we think about our behaviors, decision-making and risk awareness in not only our professional lives, but at home as well. We need to communicate our expectations, why safety is important and support each other.

我們每個人都需要對自己和彼此負責，不僅在職業生涯中，而且在家庭中思考我們的行為、決策和風險意識。我們需要傳達我們的期望、為什麼安全很重要並且互相支持。

As a learning organization, training is critical to improve awareness, decision-making and ultimately, outcomes. Above all, each employee has the authority and the obligation to stop work when they see or feel uncomfortable with the task they or a coworker are about to perform. Three simple questions, what am I about to do? How can I get hurt? What am I going to do about it? A key to keeping yourself and your coworkers safe.

作為一個學習型組織，培訓對於提高意識、決策並最終提高成果至關重要。最重要的是，當每個員工看到自己或同事即將執行的任務或感到不舒服時，他們都有權力和義務停止工作。三個簡單的問題，我要做什麼？我怎麼會受傷呢？我該怎麼辦呢？確保您自己和同事安全的關鍵。

Turning to the quarter. We're pleased to update you on the continued momentum in our business and our end markets. We generated awards of $497 million in our fiscal first quarter, surpassing our fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 awards of $464 million. This is our highest project award total in 5 years. Project awards resulted in a book-to-bill ratio of 2.5.

轉向季度。我們很高興向您通報我們業務和終端市場持續成長動能的最新情況。我們在第一財季獲得了 4.97 億美元的獎勵，超過了 2023 財年第四季的 4.64 億美元。這是我們 5 年來最高的項目獎項總數。項目獲獎後的訂單出貨比為 2.5。

Our Storage and Terminal Solutions segment was the standout in the quarter, recording a book-to-bill of 4.6 on the back of a large capital project award. This award is a midsized LNG liquefaction and storage facility in the Eastern U.S., similar to previous small to mid-sized LNG projects completed in the past. This is a project for a client, we've done a good deal of work for over the years, which is a testament to our ability to deliver complex projects safely, on time and with high quality.

我們的儲存和終端解決方案部門在本季度表現出色，在獲得大型資本項目獎勵後，訂單出貨比達到 4.6。該合約是位於美國東部的一個中型液化天然氣液化和儲存設施，與過去完成的中小型液化天然氣項目類似。這是一個客戶的項目，多年來我們做了大量的工作，這證明了我們有能力安全、按時、高品質地交付複雜的項目。

In our last earnings call, we referenced another LNG project we were awarded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, an LNG peak shaver in our Utility and Power Infrastructure segment. Together, these projects are in line with our strategy of leveraging our strong cryogenic storage brand and our capabilities in engineering, fabrication, procurement and construction.

在我們上次的財報電話會議中，我們提到了我們在 2023 財年第四季度獲得的另一個液化天然氣項目，即我們公用事業和電力基礎設施部門的液化天然氣調峰器。總之，這些項目符合我們利用強大的低溫儲存品牌以及工程、製造、採購和施工能力的策略。

Our strategy to offer complete solutions to the growing small to midsized LNG facility market is creating awards and growth for the company as we expand our brand and capture market share. This market covers a range of uses, such as peak shaving units, backup power plant fuel supply, ship bunkering, rocket fueling and export facilities.

我們的策略是為不斷增長的中小型液化天然氣設施市場提供完整的解決方案，隨著我們擴大品牌並佔領市場份額，我們正在為公司創造獎項和成長。該市場涵蓋多種用途，例如尖峰調節裝置、備用發電廠燃料供應、船舶加油、火箭加油和出口設施。

Our teams have a great reputation executing these types of projects and have built strong client relationships over the years, made clear by continued awards like the most recent one, I mentioned above. The pipeline for opportunities in the small to mid-scale LNG market remains strong with both new and repeat clients. Matrix' capability to wrap the complete facility around the storage is unique in our markets and among our competition.

我們的團隊在執行此類專案方面享有盛譽，多年來建立了牢固的客戶關係，我上面提到的最近的獎項等不斷獲得的獎項就證明了這一點。對於新客戶和回頭客來說，中小型液化天然氣市場的機會仍然強勁。 Matrix 將整個設施包裹在儲存周圍的能力在我們的市場和競爭對手中是獨一無二的。

Considering our current position in a robust market and with the numerous project proposals and bids in progress as well as the ongoing FEED studies, we expect to keep adding similar projects to our backlog over time. Adjacent to this strong position in the small, the midsized LNG market, our strategy extends to other specialty vessels and facilities for ammonia, ethane and other natural gas liquids.

考慮到我們目前在強勁市場中的地位，以及許多正在進行的項目提案和投標以及正在進行的 FEED 研究，我們預計隨著時間的推移，我們將繼續在積壓中添加類似的項目。除了在中小型液化天然氣市場的強大地位之外，我們的策略還擴展到其他用於氨、乙烷和其他天然氣液體的特殊船舶和設施。

In addition, our brand and skill sets extend the hydrogen storage facilities as well as development of large-scale storage solutions for various clients. We have several clients that are part of the 7 hydrogen hub teams recently selected by the Department of Energy to receive funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

此外，我們的品牌和技能組合擴展了儲氫設施以及為各種客戶開發大型儲存解決方案。我們有幾個客戶屬於能源部最近選定的 7 個氫中心團隊的一部分，以根據兩黨基礎設施法案獲得資金。

We are in discussion with these clients on how we can assist them in these programs. We believe there will be significant opportunities for our company in not only these hubs, but also a variety of other projects that are taking advantage of the changing energy mix and federal clean energy funding and tax credits.

我們正在與這些客戶討論如何幫助他們完成這些計劃。我們相信，我們公司不僅在這些中心，而且在利用不斷變化的能源結構以及聯邦清潔能源資金和稅收抵免的各種其他項目中都將擁有重大機會。

As we look out into the future, we fully expect our backlog and specialty vessel storage and related facilities to continue to grow with a diversified mix of energy projects. In addition to our storage market strategy, the vision for the rest of the business creates opportunity for growth, expansion and sustainability and revenue. For example, our position for electrical infrastructure services from substations to transmission and distribution and other industrial electrical work, presents a strong growth potential for the company in a market that has significant demand of expansion, upgrades and repair across the country.

展望未來，我們完全預期我們的積壓訂單和特殊船舶儲存及相關設施將隨著能源項目的多元化組合而持續成長。除了我們的儲存市場策略之外，其他業務的願景也為成長、擴張、永續性和收入創造了機會。例如，我們在從變電站到輸配電以及其他工業電力工作的電力基礎設施服務領域的地位，為公司在全國範圍內具有巨大擴建、升級和維修需求的市場中提供了強大的成長潛力。

We are working with technology providers on an increasing number of project opportunities across the country for carbon capture. We continue to be a leading contractor in traditional energy for refinery maintenance and repair, turnarounds and projects, many of which are focused on lower carbon process improvements such as renewable fuel refining. We remain active in crude and refined product storage tanks and terminals, both new build and repair and maintenance.

我們正在與技術提供者合作，在全國範圍內提供越來越多的碳捕獲專案機會。我們仍然是傳統能源煉油廠維護和修理、週轉和專案的領先承包商，其中許多專案專注於低碳製程改進，例如可再生燃料精煉。我們仍然活躍於原油和成品油儲槽和碼頭的新建以及維修和維護領域。

And finally, midstream gas compression, mining and minerals, chemical and petrochemical and aerospace projects on an E-only, C-only or full EPC basis, leverage our engineering capabilities, project skills and construction experience. These service lines, offerings and skill sets, complement each other and support the growth aspirations of the entire business, market capture and geographic diversity of our operations.

最後，在純 E、純 C 或完全 EPC 基礎上的中游氣體壓縮、採礦和礦物、化學和石化以及航空航天項目，利用我們的工程能力、項目技能和施工經驗。這些服務線、產品和技能組合相輔相成，支持整個業務的成長願望、市場佔領和我們業務的地理多樣性。

All these end markets continue to be supported by the strong tailwinds and macroeconomic drivers we have discussed before, which include global energy security, domestic energy supply assurance, clean energy transition goals, commodity demand to support renewables and infrastructure upgrades and industrial reshoring of manufacturing as well as federal infrastructure investments that will start to meaningfully flow into the project phase during calendar year 2024.

所有這些終端市場繼續受到我們之前討論過的強勁順風和宏觀經濟驅動因素的支持，其中包括全球能源安全、國內能源供應保證、清潔能源轉型目標、支持可再生能源和基礎設施升級的商品需求以及製造業的工業回流。以及聯邦基礎設施投資將在 2024 年開始有意義地流入專案階段。

I can confidently say that we're executing our strategy from a position of strength. Our backlog has grown by 27% from the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 and 126% from a year ago. At $1.4 billion, our backlog is at its highest level since June 30, 2015. Even with $1.6 billion of awards these past 4 quarters, our opportunity pipeline remains steady between $5 billion to $6 billion, providing a strong indication of the potential in our markets and ability to continue our long-term trend of backlog growth.

我可以自信地說，我們正在以優勢地位執行我們的策略。與 2023 財年第四季末相比，我們的積壓訂單成長了 27%，與去年同期相比成長了 126%。我們的積壓訂單達到14 億美元，達到2015 年6 月30 日以來的最高水準。儘管過去4 個季度的獎勵金額為16 億美元，但我們的機會管道仍穩定在50 億至60 億美元之間，這有力地表明了我們市場的潛力以及繼續我們積壓訂單成長的長期趨勢的能力。

Organization has been meaningfully transformed over the past few years. We are focused on the end markets that present the best opportunity for us to leverage our decades of experience. We have restructured our organization to be more cost efficient, while maintaining our skills, expertise and strong brand. We are positioned to safely execute projects with improved operating processes while continuing to deliver best-in-class quality for our customers, and we continue to invest in digital solutions to improve our administrative and project execution performance.

在過去幾年中，組織發生了有意義的轉變。我們專注於終端市場，這為我們提供了利用我們數十年經驗的最佳機會。我們重組了我們的組織，以提高成本效益，同時保持我們的技能、專業知識和強大的品牌。我們的定位是透過改進的操作流程安全地執行項目，同時繼續為客戶提供一流的質量，並且我們繼續投資數位解決方案以提高我們的管理和專案執行績效。

While the company is well positioned with a high-quality backlog that contains larger long-term capital projects. It is important to note that our traditional small-cap projects and recurring repair and maintenance work, which is strategic to our overall portfolio come in and out of backlog in a shorter timeframe. And this work has historically represented on average over 50% of our annual revenue.

雖然該公司處於有利位置，擁有高品質的積壓訂單，其中包含較大的長期資本項目。值得注意的是，我們傳統的小型專案以及經常性的維修和維護工作對我們的整體投資組合具有戰略意義，可以在更短的時間內完成積壓工作。歷史上，這項工作平均占我們年收入的 50% 以上。

So to be clear, our strategic market focus and positioning, the macroeconomic and industrial drivers, and the steady opportunity pipeline, combined with our transformed organization, we'll continue to build on our diversified backlog portfolio, which will lay the foundation for the business to grow and be sustainable well into the future.

因此，需要明確的是，我們的策略市場重點和定位、宏觀經濟和產業驅動因素以及穩定的機會管道，再加上我們轉型後的組織，我們將繼續建立多元化的積壓投資組合，這將為業務奠定基礎不斷成長並在未來保持永續發展。

With that, I'll hand the call over to Kevin to review the results.

這樣，我會將電話轉交給凱文以查看結果。

Thanks, John. Overall, the first quarter of fiscal 2024 was in line with our expectations, highlighted by the strong project awards, John previously discussed. Revenue of $198 million during the first quarter was lower than the $206 million in the fiscal 2023 fourth quarter, primarily related to the decrease in the Process and Industrial Facilities segment, which I will discuss shortly, as well as seasonality in our business.

謝謝，約翰。約翰之前曾討論過，總體而言，2024 財年第一季符合我們的預期，突出表現是強勁的專案獎項。第一季的營收為 1.98 億美元，低於 2023 財年第四季的 2.06 億美元，這主要與我將很快討論的流程和工業設施部門的下降以及我們業務的季節性有關。

The contribution to revenue of newly awarded projects is beginning to benefit the Storage and Terminal Solutions segment but is still currently limited as the projects progress through engineering and planning stages. Gross margin was 6% in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to a gross margin of 7.1% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

新授予的專案對收入的貢獻開始有利於儲存和終端解決方案部門，但隨著專案在工程和規劃階段的進展，目前仍然有限。 2024 財年第一季的毛利率為 6%，而 2023 財年第四季的毛利率為 7.1%。

Despite generally strong project execution, gross margins in the first quarter experienced a 470 basis point impact from the under recovery of construction overhead cost. Some of these construction overhead resources have been more actively involved in the pursuit and planning of future work.

儘管專案執行整體強勁，但由於建築管理費用回收不足，第一季的毛利率受到了 470 個基點的影響。其中一些建築間接費用資源已更積極參與未來工作的追求和規劃。

With the improved backlog, more resources will now shift to the execution of projects. On a consolidated basis, we expect to achieve full recovery of construction overhead costs on higher revenue volumes in the second half of fiscal 2024. Consolidated SG&A expenses were $17.1 million in the first quarter compared to $17 million of SG&A expense in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

隨著積壓工作的改善，更多的資源現在將轉移到專案的執行上。在合併基礎上，我們預計在2024 財年下半年收入量增加的情況下，將實現建築管理費用的完全回收。第一季的綜合SG&A 費用為1,710 萬美元，而本財年第四季的SG&A費用為1,700 萬美元。2023 年。

The first quarter expense includes an additional accrual of $1.6 million associated with the variable accounting for cash settled stock-based compensation, which increased due to a significantly higher stock price. The improved stock price is obviously a positive, we have all been working to achieve, but it does increase expense related to certain stock-based awards that are subject to variable accounting. This increase was offset by various other lower costs as we manage our cost structure, which includes our continued streamlining of the business as well as delaying certain costs based on the timing of revenue.

第一季費用包括與現金結算股票薪酬可變會計相關的 160 萬美元額外應計費用，該費用因股價大幅上漲而增加。股價的改善顯然是一個積極的因素，我們一直在努力實現這一目標，但它確實增加了與某些基於可變會計的股票獎勵相關的費用。這一增長被我們管理成本結構時各種其他較低成本所抵消，其中包括我們不斷精簡業務以及根據收入時間推遲某些成本。

Other income during the first quarter included a gain of $2.5 million on the sale of a previously utilized facility, which was no longer strategic to the future of the business. This transaction is just one of many steps we have taken as we focus the business to its core offerings, improve efficiency and manage our cost structure. As expected, the effective tax rate for the first quarter was 0 and we expect the effective tax rate to be around 0 throughout fiscal 2024.

第一季的其他收入包括出售先前使用的設施獲得的 250 萬美元收益，該設施對公司的未來不再具有戰略意義。這項交易只是我們將業務重點放在核心產品、提高效率和管理成本結構方面所採取的眾多步驟之一。如預期，第一季的有效稅率為 0，我們預計整個 2024 財年的有效稅率將在 0 左右。

So for the first quarter of fiscal 2024, we had a net loss of $3.2 million or $0.12 per share, compared to a net loss of $0.3 million or $0.01 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

因此，在 2024 財年第一季，我們的淨虧損為 320 萬美元，即每股 0.12 美元，而 2023 財年第四季的淨虧損為 30 萬美元，即每股 0.01 美元。

Now let me briefly discuss the operating segments. In the Storage and Terminal Solutions segment, revenue increased to $90 million in the first quarter as compared to $64 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Revenue for this segment was positively impacted in the first quarter by the procurement of materials and components for capital projects awarded in the prior fiscal year. We expect revenue to significantly improve in the second half of fiscal 2024.

現在讓我簡單討論一下營運部門。在儲存和終端解決方案領域，第一季的收入增至 9,000 萬美元，而 2023 財年第四季的收入為 6,400 萬美元。第一季該領域的收入受到資本採購材料和組件的正面影響上一財政年度授予的項目。我們預計 2024 財年下半年營收將大幅改善。

Gross margin of 5.5% improved over the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 due to strong project execution, but was still negatively impacted by the under-recovery of construction overhead cost. We have allocated additional resources to this segment to support recent awards and additional revenue in the second half of fiscal 2024. As these revenues increase, we expect to eliminate the under-recovery of construction overhead costs in this segment.

由於專案執行強勁，毛利率較 2023 財年第四季提高了 5.5%，但仍受到建築管理費用回收不足的負面影響。我們已向該部門分配了額外的資源，以支持最近的獎項和 2024 財年下半年的額外收入。隨著這些收入的增加，我們預計將消除該部門建築管理費用回收不足的問題。

In the Utility and Power Infrastructure segment, revenue was $32 million in the first quarter compared to $39 million in the fourth quarter due to lower volumes of power delivery work during the summer months. LNG peak shaving work added to backlog over the past year, is expected to positively impact revenue as we move through fiscal 2024.

在公用事業和電力基礎設施領域，由於夏季電力傳輸工作量減少，第一季的收入為 3,200 萬美元，而第四季的收入為 3,900 萬美元。去年，液化天然氣調峰工作增加了積壓，預計將在 2024 財年對收入產生正面影響。

Gross margin of 11.4%, was positively impacted by strong project execution, which led to favorable project closeouts, as well as LNG peak shaving projects, which have a better margin profile.

毛利率為 11.4%，受到強勁的專案執行的正面影響，這導致了有利的專案收尾，以及具有更好利潤率的液化天然氣調峰專案。

In Process and Industrial Facilities segment revenue decreased to $75 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $103 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, primarily due to the completion of certain gas processing work, lower refinery volumes during the summer months and the sale of a non-core business during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Despite generally strong project execution, first quarter gross margin of 6.8% was negatively impacted by low revenue volumes, which led to the under-recovery of construction overhead cost.

2024 財年第一季加工和工業設施部門收入下降至 7,500 萬美元，而 2023 財年第四季為 1.03 億美元，這主要是由於某些天然氣加工工作的完成、夏季煉油廠產量下降以及2023 財年第四季出售非核心業務。儘管專案執行整體強勁，但第一季6.8% 的毛利率受到收入量低的負面影響，導致建築管理費用回收不足。

Now let's move to the balance sheet. During the first quarter, we utilized $28 million of cash for working capital purposes, this was expected and primarily related to the timing of cash flows on projects. We ended the first quarter with total liquidity of $80 million and $10 million in debt.

現在讓我們轉向資產負債表。第一季度，我們使用了 2,800 萬美元現金作為營運資金，這是預期的，主要與專案現金流的時間表有關。第一季結束時，我們的流動資金總額為 8,000 萬美元，債務為 1,000 萬美元。

Our liquidity is comprised of $27 million of unrestricted cash and $53 million of borrowing availability under the credit facility. We also have $25 million of restricted cash to support the facility. We expect to see cash and liquidity increase as we move through the rest of the fiscal year. In fact, an event subsequent to the end of the first quarter also benefits our financial position.

我們的流動資金包括 2700 萬美元的無限制現金和 5300 萬美元的信貸額度下的可用借款。我們還有 2500 萬美元的限制性現金來支持該設施。我們預計隨著本財年剩餘時間的推移，現金和流動性將會增加。事實上，第一季末之後發生的事件也有利於我們的財務狀況。

In October, we reached a favorable resolution on a long-standing legal dispute with an iron and steel customer that resulted in the receipt of $16.8 million. The amount collected represented the full amount owed under a reimbursable contract which the company had pursued for a number of years.

10 月份，我們就與一家鋼鐵客戶的長期法律糾紛達成了有利的解決方案，並獲得了 1,680 萬美元的賠償。所收取的金額是該公司多年來一直追求的可償還合約項下所欠的全部金額。

Another subsequent event that warrants mention is that, with the improving financial position of the company, we repaid all outstanding borrowings under the credit facility in early November. We will continue to proactively manage the balance sheet to support the improving business.

隨後發生的另一個值得一提的事件是，隨著公司財務狀況的改善，我們已於11月初償還了信貸安排下的所有未償還借款。我們將繼續積極管理資產負債表，以支持業務的改善。

On our last call, we provided an outlook for fiscal 2024, which is substantially unchanged. Overall, the results for the first quarter were in line with our expectations. We now expect revenue to be at a similar level in the second quarter and then show strong growth in the second half of the fiscal year as a result of the improved backlog.

在上次電話會議中，我們提供了 2024 財年的展望，該展望基本上沒有變化。整體而言，第一季的業績符合我們的預期。我們現在預計第二季的營收將處於類似水平，然後由於積壓的改善，本財年下半年將出現強勁成長。

For the full year, this will create significant year-over-year revenue growth.

對於全年而言，這將帶來顯著的同比收入成長。

The bottom line results will follow a similar pattern as the revenue was significantly stronger results in the second half of the fiscal year. We also anticipate accelerated movement toward the longer-term financial targets in the second half of the fiscal year.

底線結果將遵循類似的模式，因為本財年下半年的收入明顯強勁。我們也預期本財年下半年將加速實現長期財務目標。

This concludes my prepared remarks, so I'll turn it back to John.

我準備好的發言到此結束，所以我將把它轉回給約翰。

Thanks, Kevin. Before we go to questions, I'd just like to reiterate some key takeaways for today.

謝謝，凱文。在我們開始提問之前，我想重申一下今天的一些關鍵要點。

First of all, our strategic approach to the energy and industrial end markets we serve is being validated given the strength of our awards and ultimately backlog. This is supported by a steady opportunity pipeline across these markets. The timing and volume of project awards will not be linear and there will be some lighter award quarters. But overall, we believe our strategic approach will lead to further backlog growth and strong performance into the future.

首先，鑑於我們的獎項和最終積壓訂單的實力，我們對所服務的能源和工業終端市場的戰略方法正在得到驗證。這得到了這些市場上穩定的機會管道的支持。專案獎勵的時間和數量不會是線性的，並且會有一些較輕的獎勵季度。但總體而言，我們相信我們的策略方針將導致積壓訂單進一步成長並在未來實現強勁業績。

In the long-term, the reshaping of global energy markets, energy supply security, push towards lower carbon activity and industrial reshoring, all create opportunities that we expect will drive our business for years to come. We are well positioned and structured to maximize our profitability and generate value and growth for stakeholders.

從長遠來看，全球能源市場的重塑、能源供應安全、低碳活動和工業回流的推動，所有這些都創造了機會，我們預計這些機會將在未來幾年推動我們的業務發展。我們的定位和結構良好，可以最大限度地提高我們的獲利能力，並為利害關係人創造價值和成長。

With that, I'd like to open the call for questions.

至此，我想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Brent Thielman with D.A. Davidson.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Brent Thielman。戴維森。

I guess first off, John, I wanted to get just your feel for look, higher cost of capital environment looks to be sustaining going forward. You're still looking more at an elevated pace. Maybe your customers' reaction to that, how that might be impacting the overall kind of business or bookings pipeline? I imagine maybe the 50% of the business that smaller project work could potentially be susceptible, but love to get your sense on that.

我想首先，約翰，我想聽聽你對外觀的感覺，更高的資本成本環境看起來會持續下去。您仍然在加快步伐。也許您的客戶對此有何反應，這可能會如何影響整體業務或預訂管道？我想也許 50% 的企業可能會受到較小專案工作的影響，但希望了解您的感受。

Probably two comments there. One is that we do hear from some customers that they have -- that they're relooking at their portfolio of projects, capital projects that they're doing, based on the cost of debt. But I would say that's a pretty small percentage of our entire client base that we're kind of hearing those things from.

可能有兩則評論。一是我們確實從一些客戶那裡聽說他們正在根據債務成本重新審視他們的專案組合、他們正在做的資本項目。但我想說的是，我們聽到這些事情的客戶群只佔很小的一部分。

And a lot of that may be mixed up with individual things that they've got going on within their organization of how they have spent or overspent their capital in the past year or two. So we're not hearing a lot of that.

其中許多可能與他們在組織內發生的個別事情混合在一起，即他們在過去一兩年如何花費或超支了他們的資本。所以我們沒有聽到很多這樣的說法。

Two is that it's probably not a great market right now for a developer, mid-project, because of the cost of capital but the majority of our clients and the clients that where we're seeing a lot of our backlog growth from are more blue-chip companies that they've got a heavy piece of their personal balance sheet and their own cash flows that are funding the projects.

二是，由於資金成本的原因，對於處於專案中期的開發商來說，目前可能不是一個很好的市場，但我們的大多數客戶以及我們看到大量積壓訂單成長的客戶都更加藍色。晶片公司擁有很大一部分個人資產負債表和自己的現金流來為專案提供資金。

And they have a -- those companies have a tendency to look much longer term on interest rates, the price of energy, demand in the market and then appreciating that some of these larger projects take upwards of 3-years to get put in place. So currently, I would say we're not seeing a major effect on our business on this award cycle.

他們有一個傾向——這些公司傾向於對利率、能源價格、市場需求進行更長遠的考慮，然後認識到其中一些較大的項目需要長達三年以上的時間才能到位。所以目前，我想說的是，我們在這個獎勵週期中沒有看到對我們的業務產生重大影響。

That's encouraging. I guess second was question was on LNG peak shaving projects. You've been really active there. And it sounds like the pipeline is pretty busy there with maybe some forthcoming opportunities as well. I think you mentioned the margin profile attached to these is pretty attractive. I was wondering if you could just kind of give us a sense what those look like, maybe relative to kind of the long-term averages you expect from the business from a gross profit perspective. Can these be sort of accretive beyond those targets as you kind of get deeper into execution on them?

這令人鼓舞。我想第二個問題是關於液化天然氣調峰計畫的。你在那裡真的很活躍。聽起來那裡的管道非常繁忙，也許還有一些即將到來的機會。我認為你提到的這些附加的保證金概況非常有吸引力。我想知道您能否讓我們了解一下這些數據是什麼樣的，也許是相對於您從毛利角度期望的業務長期平均水平而言的。當你更深入地執行這些目標時，這些目標是否會增加？

Those projects certainly support our consolidated long-range forecast for gross margins. And as we've said in the past, in the 10% to 12% range. I think one of the things that support that for those projects is it's a smaller competitive set for us and the risk and margin profile embedded in the entirety of the project gives us an opportunity to deliver on the margins we need to support the consolidated margin profile of the business.

這些項目無疑支持我們對毛利率的全面長期預測。正如我們過去所說，在 10% 到 12% 的範圍內。我認為支持這些項目的因素之一是，它對我們來說是一個較小的競爭環境，整個項目中嵌入的風險和利潤狀況使我們有機會提供支持合併利潤狀況所需的利潤。的業務。

So the levels of contingency and escalation, projects were -- these are projects that are getting to be more competitive, so we're able to appreciate the risks better and to manage the execution better that we're able to deliver on those margins. So I think those are a couple of reasons that help us drive the overall business to this more of a consolidated margin profile.

因此，專案的意外事件和升級的水平 - 這些專案變得更具競爭力，因此我們能夠更好地認識風險並更好地管理執行，以便我們能夠在這些利潤上交付。因此，我認為這些是幫助我們推動整體業務更加全面的利潤狀況的幾個原因。

And I think what's key here is the consolidated margin profile. As John said, these projects have good margins, but it -- one of the other added benefits is that we've talked about under-recovery of construction overhead has been a big driver towards our margins not being where we want them to be. And so the volume from these projects will benefit us on that recovery of overhead.

我認為這裡的關鍵是綜合利潤率狀況。正如約翰所說，這些項目具有良好的利潤率，但其他額外好處之一是，我們已經討論過建築費用回收不足，這是導致我們的利潤率達不到我們想要的水平的一個重要推動因素。因此，這些項目的數量將使我們受益於管理費用的回收。

I guess the last one, I'll get back in queue. Kevin, I think you've sort of indicated look, as you start ramping up on these projects you should see increase in cash generation potential. You're essentially debt-free at this point. It seems like you could be building some cash on the balance sheet. I guess a 2-part question would be, what do you start to think about doing with that cash, John or Kevin?

我想最後一個，我會重新排隊。凱文，我認為你已經表明了這一點，當你開始增加這些項目的力度時，你應該會看到現金產生潛力的增加。此時你基本上已經沒有債務了。看來你可以在資產負債表上累積一些現金。我想一個由兩個部分組成的問題是，約翰或凱文，你開始考慮用這筆錢做什麼？

And two, how do we think about kind of the conversion to cash or cash conversion, as again, you're start ramping up on these projects, just to get a feel for the cash potential this year?

第二，我們如何考慮現金轉換或現金轉換，您再次開始加大這些項目的力度，只是為了感受今年的現金潛力？

So I do believe that our balance sheet position is going to improve as we move through the rest of the year. I think that's going to come from a couple of places. Number one is the improved financial results, just producing positive earnings is going to produce positive cash.

因此，我確實相信，隨著今年剩餘時間的推移，我們的資產負債表狀況將會改善。我認為這將來自幾個地方。第一是改善財務業績，只要產生正收益就會產生正現金。

Secondly, if you look at the mix of work we're going to do, certainly, there'll be increases in repair and maintenance work, that's reimbursable that we'll have to fund, but I think that will be more than offset by just the timing of cash flows on the capital projects. So I think that we'll be able to build cash.

其次，如果你看看我們要做的工作組合，當然，維修和維護工作將會增加，這是我們必須資助的可償還的，但我認為這將被抵消只是資本項目現金流的時間。所以我認為我們將能夠累積現金。

And I think our initial focus on the use of that cash is going to be more internal making sure that we've got the right equipment needed for us to support that business. And as we've said before, we've been focused on really returning the company to profitability before we get too aggressive on either any other actions such as M&A, stock buyback, dividend, any of that stuff. So those will be things we consider in the future, but focus this year is really about rebuilding the company's profitability, getting back to the financial targets that we've set.

我認為我們最初對現金使用的關注將更多地集中在內部，以確保我們擁有支援該業務所需的正確設備。正如我們之前所說，在我們採取過於激進的任何其他行動（例如併購、股票回購、股息等）之前，我們一直致力於真正讓公司恢復獲利。因此，這些將是我們未來考慮的事情，但今年的重點實際上是重建公司的獲利能力，回到我們設定的財務目標。

Our next question comes from John Franzreb with Sidoti.

我們的下一個問題來自 John Franzreb 和 Sidoti。

John, congratulations on another great bookings quarter. I want to start right there. You mentioned in your prepared remarks that you've relocated -- reallocated resources from procurement to execution, does that kind of suggest that we should think that the incoming booking profile will be a little bit more muted in the next quarter or 2 as you move to execution especially in light of the fact that you also mentioned there are some large projects out there you think that are certainly near-term opportunities?

約翰，恭喜又一個出色的預訂季度。我想從那裡開始。您在準備好的發言中提到，您已經搬遷，將資源從採購重新分配到執行，這是否表明我們應該認為，隨著您的搬遷，下一季度或第二季度收到的預訂資料會更加平靜。特別是考慮到您還提到有一些大型項目，您認為這肯定是近期的機會？

I don't think, we have not taken our foot off the gas pedal as it relates to continuing to book projects and awards. These things have a tendency to come in like waves on the ocean. And we've certainly had a strong wave here in the past couple of quarters. And we've seen it coming, right? So we appreciate the timing of when our clients are going to be making decisions on some of these larger projects.

我不認為，我們還沒有把腳從油門踏板上鬆開，因為這關係到繼續預訂項目和獎項。這些東西往往會像海洋上的波浪一樣湧來。在過去的幾個季度中，我們確實經歷了強勁的浪潮。我們已經看到它的到來，對吧？因此，我們很高興我們的客戶對其中一些大型專案做出決策的時機。

And so we're not taking our foot off the gas pedal, right? We're continuing to pursue projects, to build backlog. We're looking out into the future. How we're going to continue to take a bigger share of that market related to our storage, brand position in that market.

所以我們不會把腳從油門踏板移開，對嗎？我們正在繼續進行項目，建立積壓工作。我們正在展望未來。我們將如何繼續在該市場佔據更大份額，這與我們在該市場的儲存、品牌地位有關。

But to effectively chase some of that work, we do engage our project teams and to not only to help plan and create the estimates and the budgets for that work, but also to talk to our clients, our potential client, about the projects, about how we're going to execute it. Very important for us to put our project and field management in front of our clients.

但為了有效地完成其中一些工作，我們確實讓我們的專案團隊參與進來，不僅幫助計劃和製定該工作的估算和預算，而且還與我們的客戶、我們的潛在客戶討論專案、我們將如何執行它。將我們的專案和現場管理擺在客戶面前對我們來說非常重要。

But yes, they will -- they are starting to transition over into the execution phases. We continue to have proposal specific people that that's what they do for the organization. And so that doesn't change. And so they will -- combine with our business development teams are continuing to pursue projects to build backlog out in the future.

但是，是的，他們會的——他們正在開始過渡到執行階段。我們繼續有提案特定人員，這就是他們為組織所做的事情。所以這不會改變。因此，他們將與我們的業務開發團隊一起繼續進行項目，以在未來建立積壓訂單。

And clearly, the under-absorption issue has been a problem for some time. Kevin certainly said that the second half of the year is where we'll probably migrate to a much better situation. It seems to me that's largely going to be led by Storage and to a lesser extent, the Utility business, but the Process will be lagging a bit.

顯然，吸收不足問題已經存在了一段時間。凱文當然說過，今年下半年我們可能會轉向更好的情況。在我看來，這主要是由儲存業務主導，其次是公用事業業務，但流程會有點滯後。

Can you kind of review the outlook on the Process side, when do you expect that business maybe to turn the corner? I know the expectation is for it to be down this year, but what's the depth and duration of that?

您能否回顧一下流程方面的前景，您預期業務何時可能會出現轉機？我知道今年的預期會下降，但下降的深度和持續時間是多少？

So first thing, I think we'll see pretty good growth in both Storage and the Utility segments. For Process and Industrial Facilities, we've got a number of things that are impacting the topline for that segment. We completed some work that previously have been trying to get done, but that was pretty significant for the company, an important step. We did sell a non-core business that in the fourth quarter of last year that impacts that segment.

首先，我認為我們將在儲存和公用事業領域看到相當好的成長。對於流程和工業設施，我們有許多因素影響該細分市場的收入。我們完成了一些以前一直試圖完成的工作，但這對公司來說非常重要，是重要的一步。我們確實在去年第四季出售了一項影響該細分市場的非核心業務。

But we've also had some good bookings in that segment. If you go back to -- I think it was the third quarter of fiscal 2023, we booked a large capital project, that project is a little unique. It's got a -- there's a longer runway before we really start seeing revenues on that project. It won't really start benefiting until the first quarter of fiscal '25. So we have visibility to seeing these revenues increase, but most of that will happen in the very first part of fiscal 2025.

但我們在該細分市場也取得了一些不錯的預訂。如果你回顧一下——我認為那是 2023 財年第三季度，我們預訂了一個大型資本項目，這個項目有點獨特。在我們真正開始看到該項目的收入之前，還有更長的路要走。直到 25 財年第一季它才會真正開始受益。因此，我們可以看到這些收入的成長，但其中大部分將在 2025 財年的第一季發生。

And in regards to your long-term financial targets, I'm most interested in the 4.5% operating margin target. What kind of revenue profile and gross margin profile are you using to get that 4.5% op margin target? It's certainly better than what I was expecting by the end of next year.

至於你們的長期財務目標，我最感興趣的是 4.5% 的營業利益率目標。您使用什麼樣的收入狀況和毛利率狀況來實現 4.5% 的營運利潤率目標？這肯定比我對明年年底的預期要好。

There's a number of things that are going to -- that will go into us getting to that target. So we need to get revenue volume up. And we've talked previously that, to get to where we're fully recovering our construction overheads, we probably need at least $250 million of quarterly revenue to get there. But we also want to get the SG&A percentage down to 6.5% or lower. So in order for that to happen, we probably need that revenue to be even higher than that, getting it up to $275 million or so in a quarter. So those are 2 big drivers.

我們需要做很多事情來實現這個目標。所以我們需要增加收入。我們之前說過，要完全收回建設費用，我們可能需要至少 2.5 億美元的季度收入才能實現這一目標。但我們也希望將 SG&A 百分比降至 6.5% 或更低。因此，為了實現這一目標，我們可能需要比這更高的收入，在一個季度內達到 2.75 億美元左右。所以這是兩個重要的驅動因素。

And then the third one is just what's the margin opportunity in the full backlog of the business between the capital projects and the repair and maintenance projects, and that needs to be north of 10%. So the combination of those three things are what's going to get us to the 4.5%. And as I said in my comments, all three of those areas are going to improve and be helping us move toward that, make a significant step for those financial targets as we complete the fiscal year.

第三個是資本項目與維修和保養項目之間的全部積壓業務中的利潤率機會是多少，這需要在 10% 以上。因此，這三件事的結合將使我們達到 4.5%。正如我在評論中所說，所有這三個領域都將得到改善，並幫助我們朝著這一目標邁進，在我們完成本財年時為這些財務目標邁出重要一步。

And I guess one last pesky question. Regarding the tax rate, you mentioned that you expect it to be approaching 0 this year. How does that look in 2025, what's the step function up?

我猜還有最後一個討厭的問題。關於稅率，您提到預計今年稅率接近0。到 2025 年情況會怎樣，階梯功能會怎樣？

So I think it will be near 0 this year. I mean there's always unique tax issues that could adjust that. So it could be 0% to 5% somewhere this year. Next year, we'll still be utilizing a lot of reserved tax assets. So, currently back the envelope projecting that to be somewhere around 10% next year. That's my best guess at this point.

所以我認為今年會接近0。我的意思是總是有一些獨特的稅務問題可以調整這一點。所以今年的某個地方可能會是 0% 到 5%。明年，我們仍將動用大量預留稅務資產。因此，目前預計明年這一比例將達到 10% 左右。這是我目前最好的猜測。

That's fair enough. Congratulations again on that strong bookings number.

這很公平。再次恭喜如此強勁的預訂量。

Thanks, John.

謝謝，約翰。

I would now like to turn the call over to John Hewitt for any closing remarks.

我現在想將電話轉給約翰·休伊特，請他發表結束語。

Couple of things real quickly. First of all, I want to thank all of our employees for your hard work for your dedication to quality and the teamwork that's gone into delivering on the -- not only on the strong awards but also to our execution strategy and improvement in the business overall.

有幾件事真的很快。首先，我要感謝我們所有員工的辛勤工作，感謝你們對品質的奉獻以及團隊合作，不僅獲得了豐厚的獎項，而且還感謝我們的執行策略和整體業務的改進。

I certainly want to thank our shareholders for your support through this period. And we'd leave everybody, again, with a reminder on your personal safety awareness to ask those three questions; What am I about to do? How can I get hurt? What am I going to do about it? And to remember for our employees that you do have the authority to stop work and you have the obligation to do that as well, if you see something or feel something that is unsafe.

我當然要感謝我們的股東在這段期間的支持。我們再次提醒大家，要提高個人安全意識，要問這三個問題；我要做什麼？我怎麼會受傷呢？我該怎麼辦呢？我們的員工請記住，如果您看到或感覺到不安全的情況，您確實有權停止工作，也有義務這樣做。

Other than that, I'm glad to have spend time with everybody today and look forward to seeing you in future conferences and calls.

除此之外，我很高興今天能與大家共度時光，並期待在未來的會議和電話會議中見到您。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. We thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。