Powell Industries Inc (POWL) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to the Powell Industries earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Ryan Coleman of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

歡迎參加鮑威爾工業公司的財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意此事件正在被記錄。現在我想將會議轉交給投資者關係部的 Ryan Coleman 先生。請繼續，先生。

Thank you and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Powell Industries conference call today to review fiscal year 2024 fourth-quarter and full-year results. With me on the call are Brett Cope, Powell's Chairman and CEO; and Mike Metcalf, Powell's CFO. There will be a replay of today's call and it will be available via webcast by going to the company's website, powellind.com, or a telephonic replay will be available until November 27. The information on how to access the replay was provided in yesterday's earnings release.

謝謝大家，早安。感謝您今天參加 Powell Industries 的電話會議，回顧 2024 財年第四季和全年業績。與我一起參加電話會議的是鮑威爾董事長兼執行長布雷特·科普 (Brett Cope)；和鮑威爾首席財務官邁克·梅特卡夫。今天的電話會議將進行重播，您可以透過造訪公司網站 powellind.com 透過網路廣播進行重播，或在 11 月 27 日之前進行電話重播。昨天的財報中提供了有關如何存取重播的資訊。

Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, November 20, 2024, and therefore, you are advised that any time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of replay listening or transcript reading. This conference call includes certain statements, including statements related to the company's expectations of its future operating results that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

請注意，本次電話會議報告的資訊僅截至今天（2024 年 11 月 20 日），因此，請注意，任何時間敏感的資訊在重播或閱讀文字記錄時可能不再準確。本次電話會議包括某些聲明，包括與公司對其未來經營業績的預期相關的聲明，這些聲明可能被視為 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性聲明。

Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competition and competitive pressures; sensitivity to general economic and industry conditions; international, political and economic risks; availability and price of raw materials; and execution of business strategies. For more information, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

請投資人注意，此類前瞻性陳述涉及風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述中的預測有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於競爭和競爭壓力；對總體經濟和產業狀況的敏感度；國際、政治和經濟風險；原料的供應情況和價格；和執行業務策略。欲了解更多信息，請參閱該公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Brett.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉給布雷特。

Thank you, Ryan, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to review Powell's fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter and full-year results. I will make a few comments and then turn the call over to Mike for more financial commentary before we take your questions.

謝謝瑞安，大家早安。感謝您今天與我們一起回顧鮑威爾 2024 財年第四季和全年業績。在我們回答您的問題之前，我將發表一些評論，然後將電話轉給麥克以獲取更多財務評論。

Powell delivered a strong fourth quarter performance that saw revenue growth 32% compared to the prior year, helping the company achieve a total of $1 billion in revenue for the full fiscal year and marking a significant growth milestone and a record year for the company.

Powell 在第四季度表現強勁，營收較上年增長 32%，幫助公司在整個財年實現了 10 億美元的總收入，標誌著公司的一個重要成長里程碑和創紀錄的一年。

We experienced tremendous growth in each of our key markets throughout fiscal 2024 with our top line growing by 45% compared to fiscal 2023. Our oil and gas and petrochemical sectors grew 53% and 97%, respectively, while the revenues within the commercial and other industrial and electric utility sectors increased 44% and 18%, respectively.

2024 財年，我們在每個主要市場都實現了巨大成長，與 2023 財年相比，我們的營收成長了 45%。我們的石油天然氣和石化產業分別成長了 53% 和 97%，而商業和其他工業以及電力公用事業產業的收入分別成長了 44% 和 18%。

We booked $267 million of new orders in the quarter, led by continuing strong activity within our utility sector and a notable booking supporting the capacity expansion of an LNG facility based along the US Gulf Coast.

我們在本季預訂了 2.67 億美元的新訂單，這得益於我們公用事業部門持續強勁的活動以及支持美國墨西哥灣沿岸液化天然氣設施產能擴張的顯著訂單。

We recorded more than $1 billion in new orders for the second consecutive fiscal year. Our core industrial markets have remained strong, while we continue to make substantial progress to diversify and grow in markets such as utilities, data centers, hydrogen, carbon capture, and more. Our project execution remains an area of strength for us as reflected by our gross margin.

我們連續第二個財年新增訂單超過 10 億美元。我們的核心工業市場仍然強勁，同時我們繼續在公用事業、資料中心、氫氣、碳捕獲等市場的多元化和成長方面取得實質進展。正如我們的毛利率所反映的那樣，我們的專案執行仍然是我們的優勢領域。

Our fourth quarter margin of 29.2% was aided slightly by some one-time items, which Mike will discuss shortly, but the underlying margin performance continues to improve. For the full year, we recorded a gross margin of 27%, which was an improvement of 590 basis points compared to the prior year. We continue to see improvement in the margin profile of sectors outside of our core industrial end markets, as we become more efficient in our manufacturing and delivery processes for these projects.

我們第四季 29.2% 的利潤率得益於一些一次性項目的輕微幫助，麥克將很快討論這些項目，但基本的利潤率表現仍在繼續改善。全年毛利率為 27%，較前一年提高 590 個基點。隨著我們在這些專案的製造和交付流程中變得更加高效，我們繼續看到核心工業終端市場以外的產業的利潤狀況有所改善。

On the bottom line, we recorded net income of $46 million in the fourth quarter or $3.77 per diluted share, which was 74% higher than the prior year. For the full year, net income of $150 million translated to $12.29 per diluted share, which nearly tripled the $4.50 per diluted share we delivered in fiscal 2023.

總而言之，我們第四季淨利潤為 4,600 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 3.77 美元，比上一年增長 74%。全年淨利潤為 1.5 億美元，攤薄後每股收益為 12.29 美元，幾乎是 2023 財年稀釋後每股收益 4.50 美元的三倍。

Our backlog continues to hold steady at $1.3 billion, which was unchanged compared to both the prior quarter as well as the prior year. We are pleased with the overall composition of our backlog as well as the time lines and margin profile of the projects that constitute our order book.

我們的積壓訂單繼續穩定在 13 億美元，與上一季和前一年相比沒有變化。我們對積壓訂單的整體組成以及構成訂單的項目的時間表和利潤狀況感到滿意。

Our current project schedule provides good visibility as we have orders in our backlog, which we expect to realize revenue into our fiscal 2027. We are making good progress with our capacity initiatives, which are advancing as planned to help facilitate the execution of our current backlog as well as provide room for modest volume growth going forward.

我們目前的專案時間表提供了良好的可見性，因為我們有積壓訂單，我們預計這些訂單將在 2027 財年實現收入。我們的產能計劃正在取得良好進展，這些計劃正在按計劃推進，以幫助促進我們當前積壓訂單的執行，並為未來產量的適度增長提供空間。

At the start of the fourth quarter, we acquired 9 acres of property neighboring our Houston headquarters location. We are already making use of this incremental space, freeing up capacity to drive more throughput in our nearby manufacturing facility, which will contribute incremental revenue in fiscal 2025.

第四季初，我們收購了休士頓總部附近的 9 英畝土地。我們已經在利用這一增量空間，釋放產能以提高附近製造工廠的吞吐量，這將在 2025 財年貢獻增量收入。

The expansion of our electrical products factory in Houston also remains on schedule and is expected to be completed in the middle of fiscal 2025. This effort coincides with our initiative to develop and launch new products in support of our future growth across the customers and markets we serve. On that point, our R&D spend in fiscal 2024 was up 52% as we advanced our innovation initiatives to develop new technologies and broaden our product portfolio.

我們位於休士頓的電氣產品工廠的擴建也仍在按計劃進行，預計將於 2025 財年中期完成。這項努力與我們開發和推出新產品的舉措一致，以支持我們在所服務的客戶和市場的未來成長。在這一點上，隨著我們推進創新計劃以開發新技術並擴大我們的產品組合，我們在 2024 財年的研發支出增長了 52%。

I'm pleased to report a recent win in our product development process as last quarter we launched our new station breaker, which is a medium voltage breaker commonly used in the commercial and utility renewables market sectors.

我很高興地報告我們的產品開發過程中最近的勝利，上季度我們推出了新的電站斷路器，這是商業和公用事業可再生能源市場領域常用的中壓斷路器。

We received our first order for this product in October, and we've been very pleased thus far with this reception by our customers. Our labor staffing levels are relatively unchanged, and we remain comfortable with our ability to execute on the project schedules within our current backlog.

我們在 10 月收到了該產品的第一筆訂單，到目前為止，我們對客戶的接待感到非常滿意。我們的勞動力配備水準相對沒有變化，並且我們對在目前積壓的專案計劃內執行專案的能力感到滿意。

However, as we evaluate the medium- and long-term trajectories of our markets and plan for volume growth, identifying and acquiring qualified people throughout the organization remains a top priority. As part of our efforts on this front, we are in the final steps of opening an engineering satellite office.

然而，當我們評估市場的中長期軌跡並規劃銷售成長時，在整個組織中識別和獲取合格的人才仍然是首要任務。作為我們在這方面努力的一部分，我們正處於開設工程衛星辦公室的最後階段。

This office is located in the far west side of Houston, allowing us to better engage and hire from a wider population of qualified engineers. This will enable us to continue to attract the talent to fuel each of our three strategic growth initiatives.

該辦事處位於休士頓最西側，使我們能夠更好地吸引和聘用更廣泛的合格工程師。這將使我們能夠繼續吸引人才來推動我們的三個策略成長計劃。

Looking forward, our expectations for project activity and new orders across our markets remain healthy. The balanced nature of our quoting activity, coupled with our recent win rate, leaves us optimistic as we head into fiscal 2025. The fundamentals for our oil and gas and petrochemical markets support our expectation for continued strength for these sectors.

展望未來，我們對整個市場的專案活動和新訂單的預期仍然良好。我們報價活動的平衡性質，加上我們最近的勝率，讓我們對 2025 財年的到來感到樂觀。我們的石油、天然氣和石化市場的基本面支持我們對這些產業持續走強的預期。

In addition to the legacy work Powell does in these markets, our oil and gas sector includes energy transition projects, such as biofuels, carbon capture and hydrogen, areas, where Powell has not historically participated, but where we are seeing substantially higher volume of project activity.

除了鮑威爾在這些市場所做的遺留工作外，我們的石油和天然氣部門還包括能源轉型項目，例如生物燃料、碳捕獲和氫，這些領域鮑威爾歷史上沒有參與過，但我們看到這些項目的數量大幅增加活動。

Specific to the fundamentals of the US natural gas market, price spreads across global markets remain favorable and conducive to US export activity. While recent activity has been more muted as a result of the US Department of Energy Policy regarding LNG export permitting, activity around future projects continues to be very strong.

具體到美國天然氣市場的基本面，全球市場的價差仍然有利，有利於美國的出口活動。儘管由於美國能源部關於液化天然氣出口許可的政策，近期活動較為平靜，但圍繞未來項目的活動仍然非常強勁。

And we believe that projects which are currently on hold will come to market at some point, and as such, we have not altered our long-term planning for this market.

我們相信目前被擱置的項目將在某個時候上市，因此我們沒有改變對該市場的長期規劃。

Activity within our commercial and other industrial market also remains healthy and includes activity within the data center market. We continue to evaluate ways to further penetrate the data center market and expand the total content opportunity with these customers, which requires that we qualify more of our products and services for the future of this important end market.

我們的商業和其他工業市場內的活動也保持健康，包括資料中心市場內的活動。我們繼續評估進一步滲透資料中心市場並擴大與這些客戶的整體內容機會的方法，這要求我們為這個重要終端市場的未來提供更多的產品和服務。

Lastly, the outlook for our utility market remains very strong. Activity levels in this sector have clearly accelerated in recent quarters, and our fourth quarter was the second consecutive quarter where new order totals were led by the utility sector. It is becoming increasingly clear that the reliable supply of electrical energy must grow significantly over the next several years to meet rising demand. Powell has the right industry breadth technical knowledge, talent, and strategy to leverage our more than 75 years of expertise in these markets to deliver for all of our stakeholders.

最後，我們的公用事業市場的前景仍然非常強勁。最近幾季該行業的活動水準明顯加快，第四季度是公用事業行業連續第二季新訂單總數領先。越來越明顯的是，未來幾年可靠的電能供應必須大幅成長，以滿足不斷增長的需求。Powell 擁有廣泛的行業技術知識、人才和策略，可以利用我們在這些市場超過 75 年的專業知識為所有利害關係人提供服務。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Mike to walk us through our financial results in more detail.

說到這裡，我想將電話轉給麥克，讓他更詳細地向我們介紹我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Brett, and good morning, everyone. I'll first begin with the fiscal fourth quarter business results and then move to the total fiscal year 2024 results. Revenues for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2024 increased by 32% to $275 million compared to the same quarter in fiscal 2023 of $209 million and was lower sequentially by $13 million, primarily due to the project timing within the electric utility sector.

謝謝你，布雷特，大家早安。我將首先從第四財季的業務表現開始，然後轉向 2024 財年的整體業績。與2023 財年同期的2.09 億美元相比，2024 年第四財季的營收成長了32%，達到2.75 億美元，季減了1,300 萬美元，這主要是由於電力公用事業領域的專案時間安排所致。

Net orders for the fourth fiscal quarter were $267 million, $96 million higher than the same period one year ago, driven by a strong year-over-year increase in our petrochemical, oil and gas, and electric utility sectors.

第四財季的淨訂單為 2.67 億美元，比上年同期增加 9,600 萬美元，這得益於我們的石化、石油和天然氣以及電力公用事業行業同比強勁增長。

Notably, during the quarter, we secured a large oil and gas order for an LNG facility expansion on the Gulf Coast. Overall, we remain encouraged with the commercial activity across our core industrial and electric utility markets. Thanks to another strong quarter of new order bookings and the sustained strength of our top line performance, the book-to-bill ratio was 1.0 times for both the fourth quarter and the full year of fiscal 2024.

值得注意的是，在本季度，我們獲得了一份用於墨西哥灣沿岸液化天然氣設施擴建的大型石油和天然氣訂單。總體而言，我們對核心工業和電力公用事業市場的商業活動仍然感到鼓舞。由於新訂單預訂又一個強勁的季度以及我們營收業績的持續強勁，2024 財年第四季和全年的訂單出貨比均為 1.0 倍。

Reported backlog at the end of fiscal 2024 remained at $1.3 billion, $41 million higher than the end of fiscal 2023 on a favorable mix of electric utility and commercial and other industrial backlog, partially offset by lower petrochemical and oil and gas backlog levels versus the prior year.

報告稱，2024 財年末的積壓訂單仍為13 億美元，比2023 財年末高出4,100 萬美元，這得益於電力、商業和其他工業積壓訂單的有利組合，但部分被石化和石油和天然氣積壓訂單水準較上一年下降所抵銷年。

In general, we are very pleased with both the execution across the business, driving record revenue levels for the year as well as our orders performance, sustaining our backlog position as we enter into fiscal 2025.

總的來說，我們對整個業務的執行情況非常滿意，推動了今年創紀錄的收入水平，而且我們的訂單表現也非常滿意，在進入 2025 財年時維持了我們的積壓狀況。

Compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, domestic revenues of $226 million, increased by $56 million or 33%, while international revenues increased by 28% to $49 million on higher volume across most of our international manufacturing and service locations.

與2023 財年第四季相比，國內營收為2.26 億美元，增加了5,600 萬美元，即33%，而國際收入則成長了28%，達到4,900 萬美元，大部分國際製造和服務地點的銷量都有所增加。

From a market sector perspective, revenues from our petrochemical sector grew by 112%, driven primarily by the large petrochemical order booked in mid fiscal 2023, while our oil and gas sector was higher by 23%, driven by strong revenues generated from our traditional oil and gas end markets, along with sustained LNG revenues.

從市場部門的角度來看，我們的石化部門的收入增長了112%，這主要是由於2023 財年中期簽訂的大型石化訂單所致，而我們的石油和天然氣部門的收入增長了23%，主要是由於我們的傳統石油所產生的強勁收入和天然氣終端市場，以及持續的液化天然氣收入。

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, the electric utility sector was lower by 5%, primarily as a function of project timing, while the commercial and other industrial sector was higher by 66% and continued momentum in the data center space. And finally, the light rail traction power sector increased by 19% on a small revenue base as we continue to selectively target pursuits in this market.

2024 財年第四季度，電力產業下降了 5%，主要是由於專案時間安排的影響，而商業和其他工業產業則成長了 66%，且資料中心領域的勢頭持續強勁。最後，隨著我們繼續選擇性地瞄準該市場，輕軌牽引電力產業在收入基礎較小的情況下成長了 19%。

We reported $80 million of gross profit in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, which was $28 million or 55% higher than the same period of fiscal 2023. Gross profit as a percentage of revenues increased by 430 basis points to 29.2% of revenues in the fourth fiscal quarter.

我們報告 2024 財年第四季的毛利為 8,000 萬美元，比 2023 財年同期增加 2,800 萬美元，成長 55%。第四財季毛利佔營收的百分比增加了 430 個基點，達到營收的 29.2%。

The higher quarterly margin rate is in large part attributable to the strong project execution across the business, resulting in favorable project closeouts. In addition to the volume leverage and associated productivity across all of our manufacturing operations, which is helping to drive these incremental margin gains.

較高的季度利潤率在很大程度上歸因於整個業務的強勁項目執行，從而導致了有利的項目收尾。除了我們所有製造業務的產量槓桿和相關生產力之外，這也有助於推動這些增量利潤成長。

Although negligible, the current quarter margin rate also benefited from three order cancellations, which generated $2.2 million of gross profit or an incremental 60 basis points to the margin rate in the quarter. Selling, general, and administrative expenses increased by $1.1 million or 6% due to higher levels of infrastructure spending. SG&A expenses were $21.6 million in the fiscal fourth quarter or 7.8% of revenue compared to 9.8% of revenues a year ago on a higher revenue base.

雖然可以忽略不計，但當前季度的利潤率也受益於三筆訂單取消，這產生了 220 萬美元的毛利，或使本季的利潤率增加了 60 個基點。由於基礎設施支出水準較高，銷售、一般和管理費用增加了 110 萬美元，即 6%。第四財季的銷售、管理及行政費用為 2,160 萬美元，佔營收的 7.8%，而去年同期（在較高的收入基礎上）佔營收的 9.8%。

These results demonstrate our continued focus on thoughtfully managing overhead, while also addressing the critical resource requirements necessary to execute on the order book. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, we reported net income of $46.1 million, generating $3.77 per diluted share compared to net income of $26.4 million or $2.17 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. We used $6 million of operating cash flow in the fiscal fourth quarter due to a buildup in our working capital as we continue to execute on the project backlog.

這些結果顯示我們持續專注於周全的管理費用，同時也滿足執行訂單所需的關鍵資源需求。2024 財年第四季，我們報告的淨利潤為 4,610 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 3.77 美元，而 2023 財年第四季淨利潤為 2,640 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 2.17 美元。由於我們繼續執行積壓項目，我們的營運資金不斷增加，因此我們在第四財季使用了 600 萬美元的營運現金流。

CapEx spending during the quarter was $8.5 million, with the majority of the spend attributable to both the purchase of the new property neighboring our largest Houston facility, which consumed $5.6 million as well as the facility expansion at our products factory in Houston, consuming the first $1.5 million of a projected $11 million total spend.

本季的資本支出為850 萬美元，其中大部分支出歸因於購買我們最大的休士頓工廠附近的新房產（消耗了560 萬美元）以及我們位於休士頓的產品工廠的設施擴建（消耗了第一筆資金）。

Now recapping our total year fiscal 2024. Revenues of $1 billion, increased by $313 million or 45% compared to fiscal 2023. Orders were $1.1 billion, 24% or $340 million lower versus fiscal 2023 as fiscal 2024 contains a mix of very healthy medium to large projects. However, no repeat mega projects as were booked in fiscal 2023.

現在回顧我們 2024 財年的全年情況。營收為 10 億美元，與 2023 財年相比增加了 3.13 億美元，即 45%。與 2023 財年相比，訂單減少了 11 億美元，減少了 24% 或 3.4 億美元，因為 2024 財年包含了一系列非常健康的中型到大型專案。然而，2023 財年並沒有重複預訂大型專案。

Overall, we've been very pleased with the orders mix and cadence throughout fiscal 2024. Gross profit as a percentage of revenues grew 590 basis points year-over-year to 27% or $126 million higher than fiscal 2023.

總體而言，我們對 2024 財年的訂單組合和節奏感到非常滿意。毛利佔營收的百分比年增 590 個基點，達到 27%，比 2023 財年高出 1.26 億美元。

The margin rate continues to benefit from efficient project execution, optimal volume leverage and successful operational and commercial strategies that helped to offset the ongoing inflationary headwinds and supply chain challenges.

保證金率繼續受益於高效的專案執行、最佳的銷售槓桿以及成功的營運和商業策略，這些策略有助於抵消持續的通膨阻力和供應鏈挑戰。

Selling, general, and administrative expenses were higher by $6 million versus the prior year. Overall, net SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenues were lower versus the prior year by 290 basis points at 8.4% of revenues in fiscal 2024 versus 11.3% in the prior year.

銷售、一般和管理費用比前一年增加了 600 萬美元。整體而言，2024 財年淨 SG&A 費用佔營收的百分比較前一年下降了 290 個基點，佔營收的 8.4%，而上年為 11.3%。

In fiscal 2024, research and development spending increased $3 million or 52% versus the prior fiscal year as we continue to make good progress in new product design and development in addition to advancing our current product offerings. R&D spending in fiscal 2024 was $9.4 million or 0.9% of revenues. We reported net income of $149.8 million or $12.29 per diluted share in fiscal 2024 compared to $54.5 million or $4.50 per diluted share in the prior year.

2024 財年，研發支出比上一財年增加了 300 萬美元，即增加了 52%，除了推進現有產品供應外，我們還繼續在新產品設計和開發方面取得良好進展。2024 財年的研發支出為 940 萬美元，佔營收的 0.9%。我們報告 2024 財年淨利為 1.498 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 12.29 美元，而前一年為 5,450 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 4.50 美元。

Operating cash flow generated in fiscal 2024 was $109 million versus $183 million in the prior year. The reduction was driven by cash used for the execution of our existing backlog in the current fiscal year versus the advanced payments received in the prior fiscal year when large petrochemical and LNG projects were booked into the backlog in fiscal 2023. Total capital spending was $12 million in fiscal 2024, $4 million higher than the prior year, attributable in large part to the purchase of the new property neighboring our largest facility in Houston.

2024 財年產生的營運現金流為 1.09 億美元，而前一年為 1.83 億美元。減少的原因是本財年用於執行現有積壓訂單的現金與上一財年收到的預付款相比，當時大型石化和液化天然氣項目已記入 2023 財年的積壓訂單。2024 財年的總資本支出為 1,200 萬美元，比前一年增加 400 萬美元，這在很大程度上歸因於購買了位於休士頓最大工廠附近的新房產。

At the end of fiscal 2024, we had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $358 million, $79 million higher than our fiscal 2023 year-end position, reflecting the sustained level of commercial activity across our end markets as well as the healthy focus on working capital management. The company holds 0 debt.

截至 2024 財年末，我們的現金、現金等價物和短期投資為 3.58 億美元，比 2023 財年末高出 7,900 萬美元，反映了我們終端市場商業活動的持續水準以及健康的發展狀況。公司持有0債。

As we look ahead to fiscal 2025, we expect continued strength across most of our end markets, spanning across all of the geographies that we compete in. We're pleased with our fiscal 2024 results and remain focused on carrying forward the strong operational execution and commercial momentum that we've experienced this year into fiscal 2025.

展望 2025 財年，我們預期大多數終端市場（涵蓋我們參與競爭的所有地區）將持續強勁。我們對 2024 財年的業績感到滿意，並將繼續致力於將今年所經歷的強勁營運執行和商業勢頭延續到 2025 財年。

With this healthy backdrop, robust backlog, strong liquidity and a solid balance sheet, we anticipate that fiscal 2025 will be another successful year for Powell.

憑藉這種健康的背景、強勁的積壓、強勁的流動性和穩健的資產負債表，我們預計 2025 財年將是鮑威爾又一個成功的一年。

At this point, we'll be happy to answer your questions.

此時，我們很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) John Franzreb, Sidoti & Company.

（操作員說明）John Franzreb，Sidoti & Company。

Good morning, Brett and Mike, and congratulations on another great quarter.

早安，布雷特和麥克，祝賀又一個偉大的季度。

Thank you. Good morning.

謝謝。早安.

I'd like to start by revisiting the question I asked in the previous quarter. First on how did the closeouts impact the gross margin on the quarter?

我想先回顧一下我在上個季度提出的問題。首先，清倉對本季的毛利率有何影響？

Yes. Hi, John. This is Mike. Yes, we're very pleased with where we landed margins for both year-to-date at 27% and on the discrete 4Q at 29.2%. That as said, as you know, project-based business, we do anticipate choppiness across the quarterly landscape. And similar to 3Q, we did experience approximately 150 to 200 basis points of uplift in our margins due to project closeouts as some of the larger projects make their way through the system.

是的。嗨，約翰。這是麥克。是的，我們對今年迄今 27% 的利潤率和第四季 29.2% 的利潤率感到非常滿意。話雖如此，如您所知，基於專案的業務，我們確實預計整個季度情況會出現波動。與第三季類似，由於一些較大項目通過系統而導致專案收尾，我們的利潤率確實提高了約 150 至 200 個基點。

In addition to that, we also recognized roughly 60 bps of upside due to three project cancellations due to customer schedule changes. So that really was the anomalies for the quarter based -- from a margin standpoint. Once you normalize for that, you're roughly aligned with where we exited the year on a trailing 12-month basis, 27%.

除此之外，我們也意識到由於客戶行程變化導致三個專案取消，因此帶來了約 60 個基點的上漲空間。因此，從利潤率的角度來看，這確實是本季的異常情況。一旦你對此進行正常化，你就會大致與我們在過去 12 個月的基礎上結束今年的情況一致，即 27%。

Understood, Mike. And it seems odd for me. I can't recall a cancellation of any magnitude in quite some time, much less three. Is anything unusual happening out there we should be cognizant of?

明白了，麥克。這對我來說似乎很奇怪。我不記得在相當長的一段時間內有任何規模的取消，更不用說三次了。外面有什麼不尋常的事情發生我們應該注意嗎？

No, it was nothing unusual. In fact, it was geographically dispersed, two in the US and one at our UK facility. And really, given the capacity constraints that the industry is seeing, if the schedules change from a customer, it really creates a pinch point and they have to reset. So that's what that was all about.

不，這沒什麼不尋常的。事實上，它在地理位置上很分散，兩個在美國，一個在我們的英國工廠。事實上，考慮到產業所面臨的產能限制，如果客戶改變了時間表，這確實會造成一個緊要關頭，他們必須重新調整。這就是全部內容。

Okay. And again, revisiting a question from the previous quarter, are new jobs being written at higher profit margins than the past?

好的。再次回顧上一季的問題，新職位的利潤率是否比過去更高？

Hey, John. It's Brett. No. Just as our conversations flow in this fiscal year, no significant change in price. We continue to watch it on either side, certainly looking for opportunities to sell the value we offer, but also looking for any changes in the market, but it's how do we spend all year.

嘿，約翰。是布雷特。不。正如我們在本財年的談話所進行的那樣，價格沒有重大變化。我們繼續關注雙方的情況，當然是尋找出售我們提供的價值的機會，但也在尋找市場的任何變化，但這就是我們全年的支出方式。

Okay. And just on the capacity expansion, any way we could quantify how much additional revenue opportunity the expansions will bring the firm?

好的。僅就產能擴張而言，我們有什麼方法可以量化擴張將為公司帶來多少額外收入機會？

Well, the last -- the two that are ongoing, there are different -- there's different strategies around both. The expansion of the airport factory is to build a more product central, non-cyclic side of our business. So that 0 to 38 product expansion that we're investing organically in the R&D side, the station breaker that I noted in the prepared comments is going to go into that space, and we have some initial targets we've set for the fiscal '25. We certainly anticipate or hope to exceed those as the years go on. It looks like -- it looks pretty good in terms of the market feedback, where the team has developed the product, how it's fitting in.

嗯，最後一個——正在進行的兩個，有不同的——兩者都有不同的策略。機場工廠的擴建是為了打造我們業務中更以產品為中心、非循環的一面。因此，我們在研發方面進行有機投資的 0 到 38 個產品擴展，我在準備好的評論中指出的站斷路器將進入該領域，並且我們為財政設定了一些初步目標25.隨著時間的推移，我們當然預計或希望超越這些。從市場回饋、團隊開發產品的地方以及產品的適應情況來看，它看起來相當不錯。

So I'm excited for the potential. The Hansen's facility, it's near-term goals will be to declutter the existing operation, the 0.5 million square feet we have over here near the headquarters to give us better line of sight on the productive capacity at this facility, but we do anticipate over there as we put more production over there, that would be in the 20 million to 40 million range over the next year or two.

所以我對這種潛力感到興奮。漢森工廠的近期目標是清理現有運營，我們在總部附近擁有 50 萬平方英尺的空間，以便我們更好地了解該工廠的生產能力，但我們確實預計在那裡隨著我們在那裡投入更多的產量，未來一兩年產量將達到2,000 萬至4,000 萬輛。

Fair enough. I would actually get back in the queue and give somebody else a shot. Thanks, Brett.

很公平。我實際上會回到隊列中並給其他人一個機會。謝謝，布雷特。

(Operator Instructions) Jon Braatz, Kansas City Capital.

（操作員說明）Jon Braatz，堪薩斯市首府。

Good morning, Brett. Good morning, Mike.

早安，布雷特。早上好，麥克。

Hey, John.

嘿，約翰。

Brett, on the LNG paused, I assume the pause will end January '26 or '27 something like that. And my question would be how quickly to things start -- things begin to move forward in that sector? And how quickly can after the pause some of these projects reach final investment decision and project awards -- projects -- I mean, projects are going to be awarded?

布雷特，關於液化天然氣暫停，我認為暫停將在 26 年或 27 年 1 月結束。我的問題是，該領域的事情開始向前發展的速度有多快？暫停後，其中一些項目要多快才能做出最終投資決策和項目授予——項目——我的意思是，項目將被授予？

Yeah. Jon, I can tell you on the timing part, that question is being studied by us every day. I can tell you that from an activity standpoint, it definitely has picked up a couple of quarters ago. We always see the early build of the cost structure, the cost outs, all that effort that we put into these large projects with our partners and the end client.

是的。喬恩，我可以在時間方面告訴你，我們每天都在研究這個問題。我可以告訴你，從活動的角度來看，它肯定在幾個季度前有所回升。我們總是看到成本結構的早期構建、成本支出以及我們與合作夥伴和最終客戶在這些大型專案中投入的所有努力。

But that activity has definitely ramped up. The timing element definitely, as I noted and as you're looking for, is a question we're all in search of , but I would say the momentum is building very positively as we look into '25 and '26 into '27, I think, at this point. So there's definitely a crescendo work being potential out there.

但這種活動肯定有所增加。正如我所指出的和您正在尋找的那樣，時機因素肯定是我們都在尋找的問題，但我想說，當我們研究“25”和“26”到“27”時，勢頭正在非常積極地建立，我想，在這一點上。因此，肯定存在著潛力巨大的工作。

Yeah. Brett, am I understanding correctly that -- and I assume I am -- that you are actually working on some of these projects already, and it's just a matter of timing, correct?

是的。布雷特，我是否正確理解——我想我是這樣——你實際上已經在從事其中一些項目了，這只是一個時間問題，對嗎？

There are both out there, Jon. There are a fair amount of expansion this past quarter was an expansion on a project that we've been on for a couple of years. Nice subsequent award with our partners on that one. We're very appreciative of the award. But there are new projects out there, too, just complete new greenfields like you see out there with new money coming into this space over the last decade.

兩者都有，喬恩。上個季度有相當多的擴張是對我們已經進行了幾年的項目的擴張。與我們的合作夥伴一起獲得的後續獎項非常好。我們非常感謝這個獎項。但也有新的項目，就像你在過去十年中看到的那樣，新的資金進入了這個領域，完成了新的綠地。

There are some very ambitious projects that if they get over the line with permitting and the FID funding piece, it's going to -- it will be just that much more to look at for the industry.

有一些非常雄心勃勃的項目，如果它們能夠通過許可和 FID 資助，那麼行業將面臨更多的關注。

Okay. Mike, how would you look at the -- in the fourth quarter the book and burn business? I know you talked about maybe $35 million a quarter, but has that changed at all?

好的。麥克，您如何看待第四季的圖書刻錄業務？我知道您談到的可能是每季 3500 萬美元，但這種情況有改變嗎？

Yeah. I mean given all the productivity initiatives that the business has embarked upon over the last 18 to 24 months that, we are seeing that tick up. The throughput is up. It's in -- it's now in the $40 million to $50 million range. So -- and that's really tied to all the investment we've made, plus all of the project -- productivity projects that have taken place.

是的。我的意思是，考慮到企業在過去 18 到 24 個月內採取的所有生產力計劃，我們看到這種情況有所上升。吞吐量上來了。現在它的價格在 4000 萬到 5000 萬美元之間。所以——這確實與我們所做的所有投資以及所有項目——已經發生的生產力項目息息相關。

Mike, can that get even better?

麥克，還能變得更好嗎？

We're pretty happy with where it is now, that from the 30s to up to 50s. So we're always trying. we've never stopped trying.

我們對現在的情況非常滿意，從 30 年代到 50 年代。所以我們一直在努力。我們從未停止嘗試。

Okay. And Brett, one a big picture question. When you think about the business going forward and where you stand today, are you more optimistic about the duration of the cycle as opposed to necessarily the incremental annual gains that you might see volume gains? Is it more the duration that the cycle that gets you more excited about the years ahead?

好的。布雷特是一個大問題。當您考慮未來的業務以及您今天的處境時，您是否對週期的持續時間更加樂觀，而不是您可能會看到銷售成長的增量年度收益？是不是這個週期的持續時間更長才讓你對未來幾年更加興奮？

I would agree, Jon. I think as this thing came on post-pandemic '22 to '23, the breadth of it was initially, okay, where do you focus on, how do you keep the team, aligned to the three strategies we blind out are always re-examining our strategy should we add to or alter. And so definitely, the duration, I become a maybe a bigger believer in the duration of this thing. Mike and I talk a lot about it, and it definitely has I'd say today sitting here legs for longer in the market.

我同意，喬恩。我認為這件事是在 22 世紀到 23 世紀大流行後發生的，它的廣度最初是，好吧，你關注哪裡，你如何保持團隊，與我們盲目忽視的三個策略保持一致。策略是否應該增加或改變。因此，對於持續時間來說，我可能會更加相信這件事的持續時間。麥克和我對此談了很多，我今天肯定會說，在市場上坐得更久。

And it really -- I feel today on our strategies, we're -- the clarity because of the duration, it's providing a really good direction to our three strategies as we've hit the year running here, and I feel good about where we're going on those as well.

我今天確實覺得我們的策略很清晰，因為持續時間很長，它為我們的三個策略提供了一個非常好的方向，因為我們已經在這裡運行了一年，我對哪裡感到滿意我們也在進行這些工作。

Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Brett, Mike.

好的。謝謝。謝謝你，布雷特，麥克。

Yeah.

是的。

John Franzreb, Sidoti & Company.

約翰‧弗蘭茲雷布 (John Franzreb)，西多蒂公司 (Sidoti & Company)。

Yeah. Thanks for taking my follow ups. I guess I want to start with the fourth quarter. How much was data center as a percent of fourth quarter sales?

是的。感謝您接受我的跟進。我想我想從第四季開始。資料中心佔第四季銷售額的百分比是多少？

I'm going to say it's in the low double digits, John, 10%-ish of the total sales.

約翰，我想說的是，這個數字只有兩位數，佔總銷售額的 10% 左右。

And how do you anticipate that progresses as the year goes forward?

您預計今年的進展如何？

Looking at the activity in the funnel, it's as strong, if not potential for some upside. I think as we look into at least in the first two, three quarters of lock-up, again, timing of getting those jobs over and they're getting bigger in terms of total power consumption. But we're seeing that trend -- one of our products is 38 kV, we see an increase in RFQs coming in for that product.

看看漏斗中的活動，即使沒有潛在的上漲空間，它也同樣強勁。我認為，當我們至少在前兩個、三個季度的封鎖期間再次考慮完成這些工作的時機時，它們的總功耗正在變得越來越大。但我們看到了這種趨勢——我們的一款產品是 38 kV，我們看到該產品的詢問有所增加。

So that's just -- that validates that the power size these things are getting bigger, but that also increases the total spend and certainly on their side, similar to other large projects, FID or equivalent words on their part to fund the projects and ensure the return. But their -- the activity is healthy.

所以這只是——這證實了這些東西的電力規模正在變得越來越大，但這也增加了總支出，當然對他們來說，類似於其他大型項目，最終投資決定或他們方面的同等詞語為項目提供資金並確保返回。但他們的活動是健康的。

So Brett, are you seeing a meaningful change in the composition of your backlog at the end of the fiscal year than maybe you saw two years ago?

那麼布雷特，您在本財政年度結束時是否看到積壓訂單的組成比兩年前發生了有意義的變化？

We are, but I'd point more to the utility piece as an evidence of that. That's an intentional strategy over the better part of 10 to 12 years now, John, the -- which is both a mix of infrastructure investment by the utility and their strategies, but also to meet the secondary demand that's being brought on by data centers and onshoring of new factories.

我們是，但我想更多地指出實用程式作為這一點的證據。約翰，這是一個在10 到12 年內的大部分時間裡有意為之的策略，它既是公用事業公司及其策略的基礎設施投資的組合，也是為了滿足資料中心和資料中心帶來的二次需求。

And so that second effect is changing the conversation between Powell and our utility clients into a longer-term relationship, which is healthy because it allows both groups to work together, not only on the immediate near-term projects, but then to develop approaches that can help optimize the cost structure for them and their build-out needs.

因此，第二個效果是將鮑威爾和我們的公用事業客戶之間的對話轉變為長期關係，這是健康的，因為它允許兩個團隊合作，不僅在近期專案上，而且隨後開發方法可以幫助優化他們的成本結構及其擴大需求。

And so we're seeing the utility piece really changed that complexion on the backlog. Yes, there's been some effect near term on the commercial and other industrial sector. It's been low single digits, but the utility piece is quickly approaching a double-digit change in our profile, as we've grown the overall size of the backlog and the revenue outlook per quarter.

所以我們看到實用程式確實改變了積壓的情況。是的，短期內對商業和其他工業部門產生了一些影響。雖然這個數字一直很低，但隨著我們積壓訂單的整體規模和每季收入前景的擴大，公用事業部分的變化正在迅速接近兩位數。

Got it. Got it. And I guess just on the cash, there was talk at one time about potential M&A. Cash is getting rather sizable. What are your thoughts of -- what to do with the cash and priorities for it?

知道了。知道了。我想就現金而言，曾經有人談論過潛在的併購。現金變得相當可觀。您的想法是什麼—如何處理這些現金和優先事項？

Yeah. We haven't -- I don't recall last quarter, but the M&A activity is the funnel, the work that we've been doing, I think, over the last couple of years, we've indicated the ramp up in the funnel and working with the Board. We're very active in the space. And nothing immediate.

是的。我不記得上個季度，但併購活動是漏斗，是我們一直在做的工作，我認為，在過去幾年中，我們已經表明了併購活動的成長漏斗並與董事會合作。我們在這個領域非常活躍。並沒有什麼直接的。

But given some of the questions this morning about the breadth and duration of this thing, it's crystallize, where we're having strategic discussions, and we are definitely seeing some clear opportunities more in the midterm now than so much long term.

但考慮到今天早上關於這件事的廣度和持續時間的一些問題，它已經很明確了，我們正在進行戰略討論，我們肯定會在中期看到一些明顯的機會，而不是長期的機會。

Okay. Thanks and congratulations, again.

好的。再次感謝並祝賀。

Bye, John. Thanks.

再見，約翰。謝謝。

And this will conclude our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Brett Cope, CEO for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回執行長 Brett Cope 先生發表閉幕詞。

Thank you, Chuck. As you've heard from Mike and I, we are very pleased with the financial performance that the Powell team delivered this past year. The markets we serve continue to support our belief that fiscal 2025 will be another strong year for Powell.

謝謝你，查克。正如您從麥克和我那裡聽到的，我們對鮑威爾團隊去年的財務表現感到非常滿意。我們所服務的市場繼續支持我們的信念，即 2025 財年將是鮑威爾又一個強勁的一年。

I would like to thank our incredibly talented employees for their hard efforts, focus, and continued commitment to our valued customers as we continue to elevate our performance and work to meet our future goals for the company.

我要感謝我們才華橫溢的員工，感謝他們的辛勤努力、專注以及對我們尊貴客戶的持續承諾，因為我們不斷提高我們的績效並努力實現公司的未來目標。

With that, thank you for your participation on today's call. We appreciate your continued interest in Powell and look forward to speaking with you all next quarter.

在此，感謝您參加今天的電話會議。我們感謝您對鮑威爾的持續關注，並期待下個季度與您交談。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。