North American Construction Group Ltd (NOA) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the North American Construction Group Conference Call regarding the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2025. (Operator Instructions)

女士們、先生們，早安。歡迎參加北美建築集團 2025 年 3 月 31 日結束的第一季電話會議。（操作員指示）

The company wishes to confirm that today's comments contain forward-looking information and that actual results could differ materially from a conclusion, forecast, or projection contained in that forward-looking information. Certain material factors or assumptions were applied in drawing conclusions or in making forecasts or projections that are reflected in the forward-looking information. Additional information about those material factors is contained in the company's most recent management discussion and analysis, which is available on SEDAR and EDGAR as well as on the company's website at nacg.ca.

該公司希望確認今天的評論包含前瞻性訊息，並且實際結果可能與前瞻性資訊中包含的結論、預測或預期存在重大差異。在得出結論或做出前瞻性資訊中反映的預測或預期時，應用了某些重要因素或假設。有關這些重要因素的更多資​​訊包含在公司最新的管理討論和分析中，可在 SEDAR 和 EDGAR 以及公司網站 nacg.ca 上查閱。

I'll now turn the conference over to Joe Lambert, President and CEO. Please go ahead.

現在我將會議交給總裁兼執行長喬·蘭伯特 (Joe Lambert)。請繼續。

Thanks, Jennifer. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining our call today. I'm going to start with a brief overview of our Q1 2025 operational performance before handing it over to Jason for the financials, and then I'll conclude with the operational priorities, a review of our growth opportunities in Australia and the infrastructure markets, our expanding bid pipeline, our backlog, and our outlook for the remainder of 2025 before taking your questions.

謝謝，珍妮佛。大家早安，感謝大家今天參加我們的電話會議。我將首先簡要概述我們 2025 年第一季的營運業績，然後交給 Jason 介紹財務狀況，最後我將介紹營運重點、我們在澳洲和基礎設施市場的成長機會、我們不斷擴大的投標管道、我們的積壓訂單以及我們對 2025 年剩餘時間的展望，然後再回答您的問題。

On slide 3, our Q1 trailing 12-month total recordable rate of 0.34 improves upon our Q4 results and remains better than our industry-leading target frequency of 0.5. We continue to advance our systems and training with key focus on Human and Organizational Performance principles commonly called HOP and look to continue the trend with our ultimate goal of getting everyone home safe.

投影片3顯示，我們第一季過去12個月的總可記錄事故發生率為0.34，較第四季有所改善，並仍高於我們行業領先的0.5的目標頻率。我們將繼續改進我們的系統和培訓，重點關注通常稱為「HOP」的人力和組織績效原則，並期待延續這一趨勢，最終目標是讓每個人都安全回家。

On slide 4, we highlight some of the major achievements of Q1. While we struggled to overcome the weather impacts to our business, we were able to achieve some meaningful accomplishments. We expanded our heavy equipment fleet in Australia by over 10%, boosting capacity to meet growing demand. In Canada's oil sands, we achieved an impressive 68% equipment utilization rate in the quarter, with February peaking at 70%, reflecting our focus on operational efficiency. Early-stage development and heavy civil infrastructure work began at a major copper mine in New South Wales, positioning us for long-term value in the critical minerals sector.

在投影片 4 上，我們重點介紹了第一季的一些主要成就。在我們努力克服天氣對業務的影響的同時，我們也取得了一些有意義的成就。我們將澳洲的重型設備車隊規模擴大了 10% 以上，提高了運能以滿足不斷增長的需求。在加拿大油砂領域，我們在本季度實現了令人印象深刻的 68% 的設備利用率，其中 2 月的設備利用率最高達到 70%，這反映了我們對營運效率的關注。新南威爾斯州的一個大型銅礦開始了早期開發和大規模土木基礎設施建設工作，為我們在關鍵礦產領域的長期價值奠定了基礎。

The Fargo project continued to advance surpassing 65% completion with final construction now underway in Q2. Financially, we reached a new milestone with trailing 12-month combined revenue hitting a record $1.5 billion. Our disciplined management approach kept administrative costs at 3.9%, meeting our internal targets. Additionally, our parts and component supply and services agreement with Finning delivered a full quarter of impact, effectively combining our in-house capabilities with their expertise to drive improving cost and equipment utilization.

法戈計畫繼續推進，已完成超過 65%，最終建設將於第二季開始。在財務方面，我們達到了一個新的里程碑，過去 12 個月的總收入達到創紀錄的 15 億美元。我們嚴謹的管理方法將管理成本維持在 3.9%，達到了我們的內部目標。此外，我們與 Finning 簽訂的零件供應和服務協議產生了整整一個季​​度的影響，有效地將我們的內部能力與他們的專業知識結合起來，以推動成本和設備利用率的提高。

Moving on to slide 5; you can see that the Q1 utilization of 68% was the same in both Canada and Australia. Our Canadian fleet improved to our best quarterly utilization since the winter of 2022, 2023. And while we expect Canadian utilization to drop modestly in Q2, we also fully expect it to then trend back up, approaching our 75% target by year-end. Australia took a major hit in Q1 due to rain impacts, but we remain confident in our ability to hit our target range of 85% in late Q2 to early Q3.

轉到投影片 5；您可以看到加拿大和澳洲的第一季利用率均為 68%。我們的加拿大機隊季度利用率提升至自 2022 年和 2023 年冬季以來的最佳水準。雖然我們預計加拿大的利用率在第二季會略有下降，但我們也完全預期其隨後會回升，到年底將接近我們的 75% 的目標。由於降雨的影響，澳洲在第一季遭受了重大打擊，但我們仍然有信心在第二季末至第三季初達到 85% 的目標範圍。

With that, I'll hand it over to Jason for the Q1 financials.

說完這些，我會把第一季財務報告交給 Jason。

Thanks, Joe, and good morning, everyone. Starting on slide 7, the headline EBITDA number of $100 million and the correlated 25.5% margin were both negatively impacted by the weather in Australia and Canada, which Joe mentioned and will be reviewed in the next slide.

謝謝，喬，大家早安。從第 7 張投影片開始，1 億美元的整體 EBITDA 數位和 25.5% 的相關利潤率均受到澳洲和加拿大天氣的負面影響，Joe 提到了這一點，將在下一張投影片中進行回顧。

We included a comment here about our steady growth since the second quarter of 2024, which was our weakest revenue quarter post the MacKellar acquisition. We generated $330 million of combined revenue in that quarter after absorbing a 25% reduction in Canada from the first quarter.

我們在這裡評論了我們自 2024 年第二季以來的穩定成長，這是我們收購 MacKellar 後收入最弱的季度。在加拿大的銷售額較第一季下降 25% 之後，我們在該季度創造了 3.3 億美元的總收入。

Since that time, our combined revenue has been steadily climbing and the $392 million of revenue this quarter represents an overall increase of 18%. But importantly, when just looking at Australia and Canada represents a 25% increase in just three quarters. And when looking one level further, the Canadian operations posted an encouraging top line of $178 million this quarter, which is impressively 45% higher than the second quarter of 2024.

自那時起，我們的綜合收入一直在穩步攀升，本季 3.92 億美元的收入總體增長了 18%。但重要的是，光是看澳洲和加拿大，短短三個季度就成長了 25%。進一步來看，加拿大業務本季的營收令人鼓舞，達到 1.78 億美元，比 2024 年第二季高出 45%。

Moving to slide 8 and our combined revenue and gross profit; MacKellar Group and DGI Trading, which we combine as Heavy Equipment Australia in our results, were up $24 million on a quarter which was impacted by heavy rains in February and March and during which MacKellar posted equipment utilization of 68%, their lowest mark since acquisition.

轉到幻燈片 8，我們的合併收入和毛利；MacKellar Group 和 DGI Trading（我們在業績中將其合併為 Heavy Equipment Australia）的季度收入增長了 2400 萬美元，但受到 2 月和 3 月暴雨的影響，在此期間 MacKellar 的設備利用率為 68%，為收購以來的最低水平。

The reason for the quarter-over-quarter increase is due to the 25% increase in fleet capacity since March of last year, with 10% of that increase coming since year-end. This top line positive variance was further bolstered by higher revenue in the oil sands region and as previously mentioned, was importantly and significantly up from the fourth quarter.

環比成長的原因是，自去年 3 月以來，船隊運力增加了 25%，其中 10% 的增幅來自年底。油砂地區收入的增加進一步增強了這項營收正向差異，如前所述，這一差異比第四季度有了顯著的成長。

Our share of revenue generated in the first quarter by joint ventures was consistent with last year as higher scopes in the Fargo-Moorhead project were mostly offset by lower scopes within the Nuna Group of Companies as well as the discontinuation of the Brake Supply joint venture.

我們第一季合資企業創造的收入份額與去年持平，因為法戈-穆爾黑德項目的較高範式大部分被努納集團公司內部的較低範圍以及製動供應合資企業的終止所抵消。

Before getting into the weather, our reported combined gross profit margin of 13.2% was impacted by unusually high early component failures in Canada, which we have adjusted for in the adjusted EBITDA margins.

在進入天氣因素之前，我們報告的 13.2% 的綜合毛利率受到加拿大異常高的早期組件故障的影響，我們已在調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率中對此進行了調整。

Excluding these abnormally high component failures, which we have addressed through the reorganization of our component supply approach, overall combined gross profit was approximately 14% and Canada's gross profit margin was approximately 8%.

除掉這些異常高的組件故障率（我們已透過重組組件供應方法予以解決），整體合併毛利約為 14%，加拿大的毛利率約為 8%。

As mentioned, the weather significantly impacted gross margins with the dual impact of lower top line revenue not covering overheads and the increased costs incurred during idle time. In Australia, the consistent rain resulted in poor utilization as equipment remained parked for significant amounts of time, particularly at the Carmichael mine, and this was compounded by increased costs incurred for site cleanup and dewatering activities.

如上所述，天氣嚴重影響了毛利率，造成雙重影響：較低的營業收入無法涵蓋管理費用，以及停工期間產生的成本增加。在澳大利亞，持續的降雨導致設備利用率低下，因為設備停放了很長時間，尤其是在卡邁克爾礦，而現場清理和脫水活動的成本增加又加劇了這種情況。

In Canada, February was the month that had the most serious impact on operations with the extreme cold requiring both equipment to be idled for extended periods of time as well as the incurrence of cost to keep personnel and equipment warm. All told, it is estimated based on historical precedent that the weather impacted gross margins by between 5% and 7% in the quarter.

在加拿大，二月是營運受創最嚴重的月份，極端寒冷不僅導致設備長時間閒置，還產生了人員和設備保暖成本。總而言之，根據歷史經驗估計，天氣因素對本季毛利率的影響在5%至7%之間。

Moving to slide 9; Q1 EBITDA essentially matched last year as the revenue increase was fully offset by operational challenges. As mentioned, the 25.5% margin we achieved reflected the weather we were required to operate through. This margin level is not indicative of where we see our business operating at with cumulative EBITDA margin since the MacKellar acquisition at 29%, which covers over $2 billion in revenue in an eventful 18-month timeframe.

轉到投影片 9；第一季 EBITDA 與去年基本持平，因為營收成長完全被營運挑戰所抵銷。如上所述，我們實現的 25.5% 的利潤率反映了我們需要應對的惡劣天氣。這一利潤率水準並不能反映我們業務的營運狀況，自收購 MacKellar 以來，累計 EBITDA 利潤率為 29%，涵蓋了 18 個月內超過 20 億美元的收入。

Included in EBITDA is general and administrative expenses of $11.1 million in the quarter and equivalent to 3.3% of reported revenue, which is below the 4% target we've set for ourselves. Going from EBITDA to EBIT, we expensed depreciation equivalent to 16% of combined revenue, which is much higher than the 14% posted in 2024 Q4 and reflects the high idle hours incurred in Canada, particularly in February.

EBITDA 包括本季 1,110 萬美元的一般及行政開支，相當於報告收入的 3.3%，低於我們為自己設定的 4% 的目標。從 EBITDA 到 EBIT，我們將折舊費用化到相當於合併收入的 16%，這遠高於 2024 年第四季的 14%，反映了加拿大（尤其是在 2 月）的高閒置時間。

Again, this 16% is much higher than our expected run rate moving forward, given we've been at approximately 14% since the MacKellar acquisition in 2023 Q4, and we fully expect 2025 to finish in that range.

再次，這個 16% 遠高於我們預期的未來運行率，因為自 2023 年第四季度收購 MacKellar 以來，我們的運行率一直保持在 14% 左右，我們完全預計 2025 年將達到這個範圍。

Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter of $0.52 reflects the steady EBITDA performance but was significantly impacted by the $11 million of increased depreciation, which is equivalent to $0.30 per share. Interest and taxes were generally consistent with last year, and the average cash interest rate for Q4 was 6%.

本季調整後每股收益為 0.52 美元，反映了穩定的 EBITDA 表現，但受到 1,100 萬美元增加折舊（相當於每股 0.30 美元）的顯著影響。利息和稅金與去年基本持平，第四季平均現金利率為6%。

Moving to slide 10, I'll briefly summarize our cash flow. Net cash provided by operations prior to working capital of $76 million was generated by the business, reflecting EBITDA performance net of cash interest paid. Free cash flow usage was impacted by our front-loaded capital maintenance programs as well as a $25 million draw on working capital accounts.

轉到第 10 張投影片，我將簡要總結我們的現金流。該業務產生了 7,600 萬美元的營運資本前的經營淨現金，反映了扣除現金利息支付後的 EBITDA 表現。自由現金流的使用受到我們前期資本維護計劃以及 2500 萬美元營運資本帳提取的影響。

Moving to slide 11; net debt levels ended the quarter at $867 million, an increase of $11 million in the quarter as the free cash flow usage and growth spending required debt financing but was mostly offset by the $73 million of debentures that were converted into shares during the quarter. Net debt and senior secured debt leverage ended at 2.2 times and 1.8 times.

移至投影片 11；本季末的淨債務水準為 8.67 億美元，本季增加了 1,100 萬美元，因為自由現金流使用和成長支出需要債務融資，但大部分被本季轉換為股票的 7,300 萬美元債券所抵銷。淨債務和優先擔保債務槓桿分別為2.2倍和1.8倍。

Of note, and subsequent to quarter end, we issued $225 million of 7.75% senior unsecured notes, which had no impact on net debt leverage ratio, but decreases pro forma senior debt leverage to 1.3 times. ROIC of 10.6% as at March 31 decreased more than 1 percentage point in the quarter as the high depreciation and capital spending in the quarter with normalized levels having resulted in an approximate 12% ROIC.

值得注意的是，季末之後，我們發行了2.25億美元、票息7.75%的優先無擔保票據，雖然對淨負債槓桿率沒有影響，但將備考優先債務槓桿率降至1.3倍。截至3月31日，投資資本報酬率（ROIC）為10.6%，較本季下降超過1個百分點，原因是本季高額折舊和正常化的資本支出導致ROIC約為12%。

As we get the full trailing 12 benefit of the increased Australian fleet and with the Fargo project achieving certain financial milestones, we expect to see a trend back to our company target of 15%. With that, I'll pass the call back to Joe.

隨著我們獲得澳洲船隊規模擴大帶來的全部 12 個好處，而法哥計畫實現了某些財務里程碑，我們預計趨勢將回到我們公司 15% 的目標。這樣，我就把電話轉回喬。

Thanks, Jason. On slide 13, we highlight our 2025 priorities. These priorities remain unchanged. Safety is our social license to operate and our moral obligation to our employees and will forever be our highest priority. Equipment is our largest, most controllable cost and high utilization drives return on capital and financial performance.

謝謝，傑森。在第 13 張投影片上，我們重點介紹了 2025 年的優先事項。這些優先事項保持不變。安全是我們經營的社會許可證，也是我們對員工的道德義務，永遠是我們的首要任務。設備是我們最大、最可控的成本，高利用率可推動資本回報和財務表現。

Geographic and commodity diversification is both our growth engine and opportunity to engage underutilized assets and increase the stability and consistency of our business. Customer satisfaction, especially with our Queensland and Alberta markets in which we have worked continuously for many decades, is what drives our expectations for 100% renewal rates in those markets and opportunities to increase scope with expected increasing client production forecast.

地理和商品多樣化既是我們的成長引擎，也是利用未充分利用的資產並提高業務穩定性和一致性的機會。客戶滿意度，尤其是我們已經連續工作了幾十年的昆士蘭州和阿爾伯塔省市場的客戶滿意度，推動了我們對這些市場 100% 續約率的期望，以及隨著客戶產量預測的增加而擴大範圍的機會。

As we have grown, we have also relied on expanded and upgraded systems to increase our management information, cost monitoring, and ability to enter new markets such as unit rate work in Australia, which we have had recent success with our win and smooth start-up of the copper mine in New South Wales.

隨著我們的成長，我們也依靠擴展和升級的系統來增加我們的管理資訊、成本監控和進入新市場的能力，例如澳洲的單位費率工作，我們最近在新南威爾斯州的銅礦中標並順利啟動，取得了成功。

Lastly, we continue to look to improve and expand our internal maintenance skills, both to improve our internal costs and also to expand our revenue streams through external customers.

最後，我們繼續尋求改進和擴展我們的內部維護技能，既要改善我們的內部成本，也要透過外部客戶擴大我們的收入來源。

As I have stated previously, we believe our in-house component rebuilds, whole machine rebuilds, telematics, and strategic partnerships with OEM dealer will provide increasing opportunity for external maintenance sales.

正如我之前所說，我們相信我們的內部零件重建、整機重建、遠端資訊處理以及與 OEM 經銷商的策略合作夥伴關係將為外部維護銷售提供越來越多的機會。

I don't have a slide specifically on tariffs, but this is as good a place as any to clarify. We have had two vendors identify increases in costs due to tariffs. One is a US engine manufacturer who had advised of a 3% to 4% increase due to tariffs, which isn't far beyond normal expected annual increases. The other is a US-based tire manufacturer for our ultra-class truck tires, which has a 25% tariff increase in pricing.

我沒有專門關於關稅的幻燈片，但這是一個很好的澄清的地方。我們有兩家供應商發現由於關稅導致成本增加。其中一家是美國引擎製造商，該公司曾表示，關稅將導致產品價格上漲 3% 至 4%，與正常預期的年度漲幅相差無幾。另一家是美國的輪胎製造商，生產我們的超高級卡車輪胎，價格的關稅增加了25%。

While we're researching other suppliers, there are limited ultra-class tire manufacturers. Overall, we expect the tariffs to potentially raise our internal costs less than one half of one percent over the next year or so should the tariffs remain in place. We continue to monitor the potential impact of US tariffs, but at this point, believe it's negligible.

雖然我們正在研究其他供應商，但超一流的輪胎製造商有限。總體而言，我們預計，如果關稅繼續實施，未來一年左右，我們的內部成本可能會增加不到百分之零點五。我們將繼續監測美國關稅的潛在影響，但目前我們認為其影響可以忽略不計。

On slide 14, we highlight the growing civil infrastructure spend in our key markets of the US, Canada, and Australia. Aging infrastructure, energy transition, climate resiliency, and tariff threats pushing nations to seek more resource independence are all driving what we believe is a vastly growing opportunity in the civil infrastructure markets. We see the desired speed for development also lowering the risk for contractors.

在第 14 張投影片上，我們重點介紹了美國、加拿大和澳洲等主要市場不斷增長的民用基礎設施支出。老化的基礎設施、能源轉型、氣候適應力以及迫使各國尋求更多資源獨立的關稅威脅都在推動我們認為的民用基礎設施市場的巨大成長機會。我們看到，期望的開發速度也降低了承包商的風險。

The growing opportunity and lower risk is why we believe we can build our infrastructure business to about 25% of our overall business in the next three years. We have a new executive member starting with us in a couple of months, and she will be leading our Infrastructure business in what we see as an exciting area for growth. Stay tuned as we provide more information and analysis on this expanding infrastructure market over this summer.

正是由於機會的不斷增長和風險的降低，我們相信未來三年內我們的基礎設施業務可以占到整體業務的 25% 左右。幾個月後，我們將有一位新的執行成員加入我們，她將領導我們的基礎設施業務，我們認為這是一個令人興奮的成長領域。請繼續關注，我們將在今年夏天提供有關這個不斷擴大的基礎設施市場的更多資訊和分析。

On slide 15, we highlight what we believe is our biggest organic growth opportunity going forward, and that is our continued expansion in Australia. The Australian contractor marketplace is massive and growing. Western Australia, in particular, is 50% of the active mines in the entire country, and we have less than a 1% share of that market. We have just started to see initial tender packages and budgetary proposals coming out of Western Australia and believe we will begin to receive RFPs in late Q2, early Q3 for 2026 project starts.

在第 15 張投影片上，我們強調了我們認為未來最大的有機成長機會，那就是我們在澳洲的持續擴張。澳洲承包商市場規模龐大且不斷成長。尤其是西澳大利亞州，該州的活躍礦山佔全國的 50%，而我們在該市場的份額不到 1%。我們剛開始看到西澳大利亞州推出的初步招標方案和預算提案，並相信我們將在第二季末、第三季初開始收到 2026 年專案啟動的 RFP。

Slide 16 highlights a strong bid pipeline of $15 billion with a massive increase around $4 billion in our upcoming infrastructure opportunities.

幻燈片 16 重點介紹了價值 150 億美元的強勁投標管道，其中我們即將到來的基礎設施機會大幅增加了約 40 億美元。

The addition of a major equipment operator labor supply tender in oil sands, continued strong activity in diversified resources in Canad, and a couple of major opportunities for early renewal extensions and expansions with our existing Queensland clients in Australia. We have had a 100% success rate in renewals with our Queensland clients and look to continue that trend.

在油砂領域增加了大型設備操作員勞動力供應招標，在加拿大多元化資源領域繼續保持強勁活動，並為與澳洲現有昆士蘭客戶進行早期續約和擴張提供了幾個重大機會。我們與昆士蘭客戶的續約成功率達到 100%，並希望繼續維持這一趨勢。

Moving to slide 17; with the Q1 typical quarterly backlog consumption, our pro forma backlog now sits at $3.2 billion and is a decrease of about $300 million from our year-end 2024 backlog. With the previously mentioned activity level in our bid pipeline, we expect our backlog to hit a record $4 billion midyear this year and demonstrate increasing geographic and resource diversification.

轉到第 17 張投影片；根據第一季典型的季度積壓訂單消耗情況，我們目前的形式積壓訂單為 32 億美元，比 2024 年底的積壓訂單減少了約 3 億美元。鑑於我們先前提到的投標通路活動水平，我們預計今年年中我們的積壓訂單將達到創紀錄的 40 億美元，並展現出日益多樣化的地理和資源。

On slide 18, we have provided our outlook for 2025 with unchanged key metrics from year-end. We believe we can make up for the Q1 weather impacts in both Australia and Canada over the course of the year and expect December construction activity in North America will be busy, particularly in Q3. We also expect that the growth assets we have added into our Australian operations will be fully operational by the beginning of Q3, providing what we will be another busy second half of our year.

在第 18 張投影片上，我們提供了 2025 年的展望，關鍵指標與年底相比沒有變化。我們相信，我們能夠在全年彌補澳洲和加拿大第一季天氣帶來的影響，並預計北美12月份的施工活動將會非常繁忙，尤其是在第三季。我們也預計，我們新增至澳洲業務的成長資產將在第三季初全面投入運營，這將使我們在下半年再次迎來繁忙的營運。

Lastly, regarding capital allocation going forward, we have been active in our NCIB having purchased and canceled 250,000 shares since inception to quarter end, demonstrating our commitment to shareholder-focused allocation.

最後，關於未來的資本配置，我們一直積極參與 NCIB，自成立至季度末已購買並註銷了 250,000 股，表明了我們致力於以股東為中心的配置的承諾。

We have increased liquidity with our high-yield raise, which gives us confidence to continue investing in our NCIB and provides us funds should we need to settle our remaining convertible debt with cash, which is now a current liability.

透過高收益融資，我們提高了流動性，這給了我們繼續投資 NCIB 的信心，並在我們需要用現金償還剩餘的可轉換債務（現在是一項流動負債）時為我們提供資金。

The high yield also provides additional funding should we need letters of credit for future infrastructure bids or fund other high-return investment opportunities. Q1 weather dragged down our start of the year, but we see great opportunities, improved financial performance, and continued shareholder-friendly investments going forward.

如果我們需要信用證來進行未來的基礎設施投標或資助其他高回報的投資機會，高收益還可以提供額外的資金。第一季的天氣拖累了我們今年的開局，但我們看到了巨大的機會、改善的財務表現以及未來持續的股東友好型投資。

With that, I'll open up for any questions you may have.

這樣，我就可以回答你們的任何問題了。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Adam Thalhimer, Thompson Davis.

亞當泰爾希默，湯普森戴維斯。

Can you help us a little bit thinking about seasonality for the rest of the year? I'm curious how you guys think Q2 might trend versus Q1 from a top line and an EBITDA perspective.

您能幫我們思考今年剩餘時間的季節性嗎？我很好奇，從營業收入和 EBITDA 的角度來看，你們認為第二季與第一季相比會有什麼趨勢。

Yeah, I can take that one, Adam. We actually see top line and EBITDA being quite consistent with Q1. The oil sands is seasonally slower. It's less of an impact in our more diversified business, but we see utilization in the oil sands coming down a little bit. But with lower depreciation, we see on the EPS side, a nice increase in Q2.

是的，我可以接受，亞當。我們實際上看到營業收入和 EBITDA 與第一季相當一致。油砂的產量因季節變化而較慢。這對我們更加多元化的業務影響較小，但我們發現油砂的利用率略有下降。但隨著折舊減少，我們看到每股盈餘在第二季出現了不錯的成長。

So top line and EBITDA consistent with Q1.

因此營業收入和 EBITDA 與第一季一致。

Great. And then, Joe, can you just expand? You talked about a new hire on the infrastructure side and just maybe what you're seeing for large infrastructure bidding in the US and Canada.

偉大的。那麼，喬，你能詳細闡述一下嗎？您談到了基礎設施方面的新員工，以及您在美國和加拿大大型基礎設施招標中看到的情況。

Yeah. I mean predominantly what we're looking at recently has been a big increase in P3s in the US and the ones we're looking at are -- there's a couple of dozen actually. It's all-around energy transition and climate resiliency. So there's quite a few pumped hydro projects.

是的。我的意思是，我們最近主要關注的是美國 P3 數量的大幅增加，而我們正在關注的 P3 實際上有幾十個。這是全方位的能源轉型和氣候適應力。因此有相當多的抽水蓄能項目。

We're seeing quite a few dam construction levy raises around flooding. We see a lot of water retention in the Western US. And so we've really just got into the business development side of this, which is the big adds you're seeing. Those are all P3 projects. About half of them are the US (inaudible) engineers. And yeah, we've got what we think is a great leader for that business and our overall business development starting here at the beginning of July.

我們看到洪水氾濫時，不少水壩的建設稅都提高了。我們發現美國西部存在大量水滯留現象。因此，我們實際上已經進入了業務開發環節，也就是您看到的那些大增。這些都是 P3 項目。其中大約一半是美國（聽不清楚）工程師。是的，我們已經找到了一位優秀的領導者，他將領導這項業務，並從 7 月初開始推動我們的整體業務發展。

So we think those are great opportunities. We also see them as lower risk in the form of contracts that are coming out. So most of the stuff you'll see on our bid chart is actually from the P3 conference in Dallas in the US and that's really what's driving that part of the business.

所以我們認為這些都是很好的機會。我們也認為，以即將簽訂的合約形式來看，它們的風險較低。因此，您在我們的出價表上看到的大部分內容實際上來自美國達拉斯的 P3 會議，而這才是推動該部分業務的真正因素。

And is that in your $4 billion backlog expectation by midyear or would that be?

這是否符合您預計的年中 40 億美元積壓訂單量？

That wouldn't be in this year at all. They're longer lead times. They'd be more in the 2027 kind of range on average. If you look at that bid chart, the two that are the furthest to the right on the bid pipeline are both flood protection jobs from the Corps of Engineers. There is some potential for some earlier, but that's kind of the timeframe we're looking at is around 2027 for most of these to kick off.

今年根本不會發生這種事。他們的交貨週期更長。平均而言，它們會處於 2027 年左右。如果你看一下投標圖表，你會發現投標管道最右邊的兩個都是工程兵團的防洪工作。有些專案可能會更早啟動，但我們預計大多數專案將在 2027 年左右啟動。

John Gibson, BMO Capital Markets.

蒙特利爾銀行資本市場 (BMO Capital Markets) 的約翰吉布森 (John Gibson)。

Just first, wondering if you could quantify the financial impact of the rainy weather in Australia in Q1?

首先，您能否量化澳洲第一季雨水天氣所造成的財務影響？

Yeah. We put it at about 5% to 7% of gross profit margin in Australia. Was your question just on Australia, John?

是的。我們將其定為澳洲毛利率的5%至7%左右。約翰，你的問題只是關於澳洲嗎？

Yeah. I guess just what a normalized quarter would have been absent the severe weather impact.

是的。我想，如果沒有惡劣天氣的影響，一個季度會是正常的。

Yeah. So we're kind of in the $10 million range in Australia. They're normally at about 25% gross profit margin. They came in at 16% or 17%. So that kind of order of magnitude.

是的。因此我們在澳洲的估值在 1000 萬美元左右。他們的毛利率通常約為25%。他們的比例為 16% 或 17%。這就是那種數量級。

Okay, great. And then second one for me, just your oil sands work continues to improve. I guess what's changed here? Is it the new contract structure? Is it just a bit of a pickup from some work that was delayed last year?

好的，太好了。對我來說第二個就是你們的油砂工作不斷改善。我猜這裡發生了什麼變化？這是新的合約結構嗎？這是否只是去年被推遲的一些工作的一點補充？

I think it's very similar top line. I think we're getting a bit more efficient in the operations there. Obviously, Q1, we had a big hit on the cold weather. When it gets extremely cold, like in that minus 25 or colder you just got to leave equipment running because if you turn it off, it's very difficult to get them started again. Other than that, I think we're seeing very strong demand.

我認為這是極為相似的頂線。我認為我們在那裡的營運效率正在提高。顯然，第一季我們受到了寒冷天氣的嚴重打擊。當天氣變得極度寒冷時，例如零下 25 度或更低，你必須讓設備繼續運轉，因為如果你把它關掉，就很難再啟動它們。除此之外，我認為我們看到了非常強勁的需求。

Q2 is usually our weakest quarter in oil sands, and then we think we're going to finish strong there and look forward to the projections for next year. We think with production continuing to increase in oil sands and material movements will follow, and we see modest growth potential year on year in the oil sands as well.

第二季度通常是我們油砂業務最弱的季度，我們認為我們將在該季度表現強勁，並期待明年的預測。我們認為，隨著油砂產量的持續增加，物質流動也將隨之增加，我們也看到油砂產量比去年同期也呈現適度增長的潛力。

Congrats on the solid quarter in light of some tough operating conditions.

恭喜您在面臨一些嚴峻的經營情況下取得了穩健的季度業績。

[Fremie Pauldier].

[弗雷米·保爾迪爾]。

I was coming through the financials and saw that the subcontractor services increased a good bit. It looks like from $59.6 million ballpark to $75.6 million comparing 2024 Q1 to 2025 Q1. How would you comment on that? What was the reason for the increase?

我查看了財務狀況，發現分包商服務增加了不少。將 2024 年第一季與 2025 年第一季進行比較，其金額約為 5,960 萬美元至 7,560 萬美元之間。您對此有何評論？增加的原因是什麼？

Yeah. So that's all Australia driven, and we're doing some new work in Australia that requires subcontractor services, particularly at that copper mine in Australia as well as the rainy weather required some services to be brought into sites that we coded as subcontractors. So about $18 million of that increase is MacKellar-related. And it is a kind of a run rate that we would expect to see. We do enjoy a margin on that subcontractor work.

是的。所以這都是由澳洲驅動的，我們在澳洲正在做一些新的工作，需要分包商的服務，特別是在澳洲的銅礦，以及陰雨天氣需要將一些服務帶到我們編碼為分包商的站點。因此，其中約 1800 萬美元的成長與 MacKellar 有關。這是我們期望看到的一種運行率。我們確實從那項分包商的工作中獲得了利潤。

So it's all kind of part of the different scopes year over year.

因此，這都是逐年不同範圍的一部分。

Okay, got it. And then my second question is I think that you guys are doing an excellent job as far as management is concerned. But how do you respond to any investors who might be losing confidence in management's ability to execute based on, I guess, repeated issues related to climate and weather.

好的，明白了。我的第二個問題是，我認為你們在管理方面做得非常出色。但是，對於那些可能因為與氣候和天氣有關的反覆出現的問題而對管理層的執行能力失去信心的投資者，您該如何回應呢？

I think our job is to deliver results that we say we're going to get. And so yeah, Q1 was a bit down due to weather, and we need to deliver into the yearly guidance, and that's our expectation. I think any market is just expecting you -- if you put up a number that you hit it or beat it. And that's our internal expectations as well.

我認為我們的工作是實現我們承諾的成果。是的，第一季由於天氣原因略有下滑，我們需要達到年度預期，這是我們的預期。我認為任何市場都在期待你——如果你提出一個數字，你就達到或超過它。這也是我們的內在期望。

Chris Thompson, CIBC.

加拿大帝國商業銀行的克里斯湯普森。

Last quarter, you put out a bit of guidance on the quarterly cadence of EBITDA. You kind of framed it as percentage of your guidance per quarter. Just wondering if you could reiterate that for us going forward?

上個季度，您針對 EBITDA 的季度節奏發布了一些指導。您將其定義為每季指導的百分比。我只是想知道您是否可以為我們重申這一點？

Yeah, Chris, just as mentioned in the previous call, I think we didn't put that in Joe's shareholder letter this quarter, but we do see Q2 looking a lot like Q1 on the EBITDA perspective. I think as far as first half, second half, the way we see it is on the EBITDA anyway that about 55% being in the second half of the year with 45% in the first half. So that's kind of the cadence we're seeing right now. Q3 will be a little bit up on Q4. But yeah, you're getting into the 1 and 2 percentages at that point.

是的，克里斯，正如上次電話會議中提到的那樣，我認為我們沒有將這一點寫入喬本季度的股東信中，但從 EBITDA 的角度來看，我們確實看到第二季度與第一季非常相似。我認為就上半年和下半年而言，我們看到的 EBITDA 大約是下半年的 55%，上半年的 45%。這就是我們現在看到的節奏。第三季將比第四季略有上升。但是的，那時你就進入了 1% 和 2% 的水平。

Okay. And then just with respect to the guidance, when you said it back in December, these weather impacts would have been unforeseeable. And you talk about your run rate EBITDA margin being about 3% higher than what you put up in the quarter. So that implies there's potential slack in the guide. So I'm just wondering like given the context of that, how should we be thinking about the guide?

好的。然後就指導而言，當您在 12 月說這一點時，這些天氣影響是無法預見的。您說您的運行率 EBITDA 利潤率比本季高出約 3%。所以這意味著指南中可能存在鬆弛。所以我只是想知道，考慮到這個背景，我們應該如何考慮這個指南？

Even the range, are you feeling like you'd be leading more to the lower end of the range after the tough Q1?

即使是這個範圍，您是否感覺在經歷了艱難的第一季之後，您會更多地處於該範圍的低端？

I guess it depends on how you how you look at the law of averages, Chris, I think we're expecting average weather becomes average weather. And I think that's a reasonable expectation. If you project the weather in Q1 through the rest of the year, and generally, two and three are -- we're obviously not running into idle issues even if we get rain in Q2 and Q3. We had a colder Q1. Do you expect a warmer Q4?

我想這取決於你如何看待平均法則，克里斯，我認為我們預期平均天氣會變成平均天氣。我認為這是一個合理的期望。如果您預測第一季到今年剩餘時間的天氣狀況，一般來說，第二季和第三季的天氣狀況是這樣的——即使第二季和第三季下雨，我們顯然也不會遇到停工問題。我們經歷了一個較為寒冷的第一季。您預計第四季會更加溫暖嗎？

The law of average would suggest so. But I don't think we project our guidance with any kind of slack or anything else. We project the midpoint is what we think is our 50% probability number. And the range where we think the volatility of that is. So I fully expect to deliver into the range.

平均法則顯示如此。但我不認為我們在製定指導時有任何懈怠或其他情況。我們預測中點就是我們認為的 50% 機率數字。我們認為波動的範圍是這樣的。因此我完全希望能夠實現這一目標。

If we have worse than average weather for the year, will we be in the lower end of it? Probably. We go by the law of averages. We forecast on average weather. And so I expect we're going to be close to average when the year ends.

如果今年的天氣比平均更糟糕，我們的處境會不會比較糟糕？大概。我們遵循平均法則。我們預測平均天氣。因此我預計到今年年底我們的水平將接近平均水平。

Got it. Okay. And then just touching on the weather. Looking at rainfall data in Queensland, it looked like April was still relatively high versus historic. I mean, significantly less rain compared to February and March.

知道了。好的。然後我們來談談天氣。查看昆士蘭州的降雨數據，四月份的降雨量與歷史水平相比似乎仍然較高。我的意思是，與二月和三月相比，降雨量明顯減少。

So I'm just wondering like do you expect a bit of a gross margin headwind in Australia for part of Q2 or is the general drying trend enough that you're not seeing those kind of impacts?

所以我只是想知道，您是否預計第二季澳洲的毛利率會受到一定程度的阻力，或者整體乾旱趨勢足以讓您看不到這種影響？

I'm impressed that you're following the Australian weather that closely. But yeah, Chris, April started with some rain continuing [into] in Australia. Again, we think by the end of the quarter and by midyear, those things will average out. It was just a late rainy season in Australia and a very rainy season. They're measuring rainfalls in feet.

你如此密切地關注澳洲的天氣，令我印象深刻。但是，克里斯，四月開始，澳洲就持續下雨。再次，我們認為到本季末和年中，這些情況將會平均化。那時正是澳洲雨季的末期，而且雨量很大。他們以英尺為單位測量降雨量。

That's pretty crazy, doesn't it? But I mean, yeah, there was a bit of disruption to the beginning of April, but we think that will work its way out through the year. And then we had a very warm April in oil sands. So even March, we had an early spring breakup. So I think Q2 looks better in the oil sands side as far as not having to deal with the spring break up in Q2 because it all kind of occurred in Q1.

這太瘋狂了，不是嗎？但我的意思是，是的，四月初出現了一些混亂，但我們認為這種情況會在全年逐漸消失。然後，我們在油砂地區度過了一個非常溫暖的四月。所以即使是三月，我們也早早就分手了。因此，我認為第二季油砂的情況會更好一些，因為第二季不必處理春假問題，因為這一切都發生在第一季。

Got it. Okay. And then just touching on the oil sands. You mentioned that there was additional work at Millennium and then lower scopes at Fort Hills. I'm just wondering if you could give us some color on what's driving that.

知道了。好的。然後我們來談談油砂。您提到在 Millennium 還有額外的工作，而在 Fort Hills 則有較低的工作範圍。我只是想知道您是否可以向我們解釋一下造成這一現象的原因。

I think was that quarter over quarter? We've seen pretty consistent demand. We've moved some fleet between sites. They recently had some scheduled shutdowns and turnarounds on specific sites, and those usually create some near-term impacts and maybe some shuffling around sites. But overall, we're seeing strong demand for our services across the oil sands.

我認為這是一個季度環比變化嗎？我們看到的需求相當穩定。我們已經在站點之間轉移了一些車隊。他們最近對一些特定站點進行了計劃性的關閉和檢修，這些通常會產生一些短期影響，甚至可能導致站點的一些調整。但總體而言，我們看到油砂產業對我們服務的需求強勁。

And it's typically a Q2 low in the oil sands, and I think we will be typical of that. And then it starts to ramp up again and peak in Q4.

通常來說，第二季度是油砂產量最低的時候，我認為我們的情況也會如此。然後它開始再次上升並在第四季度達到峰值。

Okay. Last question for me. Just on the NCIB. I'm just wondering what -- just given where the share price has gone over the last few months, how much flexibility you have with respect to your debt target? Can you lean on the NCIB a little harder in the near-term and then maybe sacrifice like 0.1 of a turn on the debt side in exchange?

好的。我的最後一個問題。就在 NCIB 上。我只是想知道——考慮到過去幾個月股價的走勢，您在債務目標方面有多大的靈活性？您是否可以在短期內更依賴 NCIB，然後犧牲 0.1 的債務週轉率來換取回報？

Maybe just frame how you guys are thinking about that.

也許只是框架一下你們對此的看法。

Yeah. I think at the pricing and what we think is the return on our -- what we think is our intrinsic value, yeah I think we can lean on a little more. I don't -- it just depends on where it goes. We have, obviously, we have a lot more liquidity with the high-yield raise that we just did. So we'll look at it opportunistically and do what we think is the right investment.

是的。我認為，在定價和我們認為的回報——我們認為的內在價值方面，是的，我認為我們可以依靠更多一點。我不知道——這只是取決於它去往何處。顯然，透過剛剛進行的提高高收益，我們擁有了更多的流動性。因此，我們會抓住機會，進行我們認為正確的投資。

And right now, I'd say buying our shares is the best investment that we have out there.

現在，我想說買我們的股票是我們最好的投資。

Devin Schilling, Ventum Financial.

Ventum Financial 的 Devin Schilling。

I see a couple of contracts up for renewal here in 2025. Any updates on these two renewals on timing and maybe expectations on any potential scope changes?

我看到這裡有幾份合約將於 2025 年續約。關於這兩次續約的時間安排以及對任何潛在範圍變化的預期有什麼更新嗎？

Yeah. The first one in the middle row there, that's the earlier one is actually a negotiated early renewal. We've been very successful with these, Devin. And like I said before, you can't be any more successful. We've had 100% renewal rate.

是的。中間一排的第一個，也就是較早的一個，實際上是經過協商的提前續約。我們在這些方面非常成功，德文。正如我之前所說的，你不可能再成功了。我們的續約率已達 100%。

The second one is actually an expansion, which is in the top line there, is an expansion of an existing operation where we're looking to potentially increase our scope. And that one we'll know more towards the end of the year. The one in the middle of the early renewal potentially we should know in the next quarter or so. And that's really the driver for what I said is going to be an increase to $4 billion in our backlog. So I'm highly confident in our ability.

第二個其實是一個擴展，也就是最上面那行，是對現有業務的擴展，我們希望能夠擴大我們的範圍。我們將在今年年底前了解更多詳情。我們應該在下個季度左右知道早期更新中期的情況。這就是我所說的將我們的積壓訂單量增加到 40 億美元的真正驅動力。所以我對我們的能力非常有信心。

And obviously, a record of 100% renewal feeds that confidence.

顯然，100% 的續約記錄增強了這種信心。

Okay. That's helpful. I believe in the past, you guys mentioned a large infrastructure opportunity, I believe it was in California that you're aiming to qualify for. Any updates on that project?

好的。這很有幫助。我相信過去你們提到過一個巨大的基礎設施機會，我相信你們的目標是在加州獲得資格。該專案有任何最新進展嗎？

Yeah. We were unsuccessful in that. We have added quite a few other projects. Our feedback on that was California was looking for California experience. And obviously, we haven't got a lot of experience there.

是的。我們在這方面沒有成功。我們增加了不少其他項目。我們的回饋是，加州正在尋求加州的經驗。顯然，我們在這方面沒有太多經驗。

We have a lot of dam building experience, but we haven't done it in California. So unfortunately, that was a weakness in that particular tender. But from what we've added and the information we've seen now in these large earthworks projects like picking up two dozen projects that we followed out on infrastructure earthworks, bigger earthworks in the next three years, of which we've added three, four or five that you'll see on the bid pipeline, which generate about (technical difficulty).

我們擁有豐富的水壩建設經驗，但我們還沒有在加州進行過。所以不幸的是，這是那次招標的弱點。但從我們目前在這些大型土方工程項目中增加的內容和資訊來看，例如挑選了二十幾個我們追蹤的基礎設施土方工程項目，以及未來三年內更大的土方工程，其中我們已經增加了三、四或五個，您將在投標管道中看到，這將產生大約（技術難度）。

We want to win every bid, but obviously, that doesn't happen. And yeah, we see plenty of backfilling for the one that we just didn't qualify for.

我們希望贏得每一次競標，但顯然這不會發生。是的，我們看到有很多我們未達到資格要求的職位得到填補。

And I think with this new exec we're adding on and our focus on the infrastructure side and expansion, I look forward to much success in that market.

我認為，隨著我們新高管的加入以及我們對基礎設施和擴張的關注，我期待該市場取得更大的成功。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Maxim Sytchev, National Bank Financial.

西切夫（Maxim Sytchev），國家金融銀行。

It's [Caspin] here on for Maxim guys. My question is regarding the technician count. You've mentioned in the past that it's been a bottleneck. I'm just wondering for both your regions in Canada and Australia, is that still the case? And if so, how much shortfall in technician count do you think you have?

我是 [Caspin]，為 Maxim 的朋友們表演。我的問題是關於技術人員的數量。您過去曾提到這是一個瓶頸。我只是想知道，對於加拿大和澳洲這兩個地區來說，情況仍然如此嗎？如果是的話，您認為技術人員數量缺口有多大？

And is it still a factor preventing you to reach your respective utilization targets in both regions or is the gap mostly because of weather in your business?

這是否仍然是阻礙您在兩個地區實現各自利用率目標的一個因素，還是說這種差距主要是因為您的業務中的天氣原因？

I'll start (inaudible) would be a bit more of weather. Australia, we've got very full demand in Australian long-term contracts. I think the consistency of how equipment stays on site and the consistency of our labor workforce, especially our skilled labor and the mechanics. We've been very successful in attracting and retaining maintenance personnel. I think skilled trades are an issue around the world, but I think we manage it extremely well in Australia, and that's why between that, the high demand and the weather, you'll see that utilization target is at 85%.

我會開始（聽不清楚）談一些天氣問題。澳大利亞，我們對澳洲長期合約的需求非常旺盛。我認為設備在現場的一致性以及我們的勞動力隊伍的一致性，特別是我們的熟練勞動力和機械師。我們在吸引和留住維護人員方面非常成功。我認為技術工種在世界各地都是一個問題，但我認為我們在澳洲對此管理得非常好，這就是為什麼在高需求和天氣因素的作用下，你會看到利用率目標達到了 85%。

And we're very confident in that. We've been right in that range, obviously, not the last quarter, but before that. In Fort McMurray, the oil sands, we're getting -- when we get into that close to 70% range and above, that means we're full-on demand and getting from 70% to 75% is the efficiency of our skilled labor workforce. We've put in systems and processes and developed things like our apprentice program over the years to address this. And now is the time to deliver.

我們對此非常有信心。顯然，我們一直處於這個範圍內，不是上個季度，而是在那之前。在麥克默里堡，我們的油砂開採效率接近 70% 甚至更高，這意味著我們能夠滿足全部需求，而 70% 到 75% 的效率則體現在我們熟練勞動力的效率上。多年來，我們建立了系統和流程，並開發了學徒計劃等來解決這個問題。現在正是兌現承諾的時候了。

So as we -- as you look to get from that high 60s to mid-70s towards the year-end, that's really where you're testing your abilities in that. And we're confident we've got the systems and the processes in place now. And when the high demand is there, we'll get into that range of utilization. So it's not hindering us at any point right now. And as we go forward, we think we've got the systems and processes as far as attracting and retaining skilled workforce in place, both in Australia and in Canada.

因此，當您希望在年底時將成績從 60 多歲提高到 70 多歲的時候，這才是真正考驗您能力的時候。我們相信，我們現在已經建立了相應的系統和流程。當需求量很大時，我們就會進入這個利用範圍。所以它現在不會在任何時候阻礙我們。隨著我們的前進，我們認為我們已經擁有了吸引和留住熟練勞動力的系統和流程，無論是在澳洲還是加拿大。

There are no further questions at this time. I will now hand the call back to Joe Lambert for any closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。現在我將把電話轉回給喬·蘭伯特 (Joe Lambert)，請他做最後發言。

Well, thanks very much, and Jennifer, and thanks again, everyone, for joining us today. We look forward to providing next update upon our closing of our second quarter results.

好吧，非常感謝詹妮弗，再次感謝大家今天加入我們。我們期待在第二季業績結束後提供下一次更新。

Thank you. And this concludes today's call. Thank you for participating. You may all disconnect.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。你們都可以斷開連線。