Primoris Services Corp (PRIM) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and thank you for standing by. My name is Abby, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Primoris Services Corporation third quarter 2024 earnings conference call and webcast. (Operator Instructions)

女士們先生們，美好的一天，謝謝你們的支持。我叫艾比，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此時，我歡迎大家參加 Primoris Services Corporation 2024 年第三季財報電話會議和網路廣播。（操作員說明）

Thank you. And I would now like to turn the conference over to Blake Holcomb, Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin.

謝謝。現在我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁布萊克‧霍爾科姆 (Blake Holcomb)。你可以開始了。

Good morning and welcome to the Primoris third quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Joining us today with prepared comments are Tom McCormick, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Ken Dodgen, Chief Financial Officer.

早安，歡迎參加 Primoris 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天，總裁兼執行長湯姆·麥考密克 (Tom McCormick) 與我們一起發表了事先準備好的評論；和財務長肯‧多德根 (Ken Dodgen)。

Before we begin, I would like to make everyone aware of certain language contained in our Safe Harbor statement. The company cautions that certain statements made during this call are forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from our projections and expectations. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in our reports filed with the SEC. Our forward-looking statements represent our outlook as of today, November 5, 2024. We disclaim any obligation to update these statements, except as may be required by law.

在我們開始之前，我想讓大家了解我們的安全港聲明中包含的某些語言。該公司警告稱，本次電話會議中做出的某些陳述具有前瞻性，並受到各種風險和不確定性的影響。實際結果可能與我們的預測和期望有重大差異。我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中討論了這些風險和不確定性。我們的前瞻性陳述代表了我們截至今天（2024 年 11 月 5 日）的展望。我們不承擔更新這些聲明的義務，除非法律要求。

In addition, during this conference call, we will make reference to certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures are available on the Investors section of our website and our third quarter 2024 earnings press release, which was issued yesterday.

此外，在本次電話會議中，我們將參考某些非公認會計準則財務指標。這些非 GAAP 財務指標的調整表可在我們網站的投資者部分以及我們昨天發布的 2024 年第三季財報新聞稿中找到。

I would now like to turn the call over to Tom McCormick.

我現在想把電話轉給湯姆·麥考密克。

Thank you, Blake. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today to discuss our third quarter 2024 financial and operational results.

謝謝你，布萊克。早安，感謝您今天加入我們討論我們 2024 年第三季的財務和營運表現。

Primoris set new records in the third quarter across several key financial metrics, including revenue, earnings, backlog and cash flow from operations. More importantly, our record revenue was accompanied by a higher growth rate in operating income. We have often discussed our objective to not only grow but to grow profitably, and this quarter demonstrates success in achieving this goal.

Primoris 在第三季的幾個關鍵財務指標上創下了新紀錄，包括收入、收益、積壓訂單和營運現金流。更重要的是，我們創紀錄的收入伴隨著更高的營業收入成長率。我們經常討論我們的目標不僅是成長，而且是獲利成長，本季證明了我們在實現這一目標方面取得了成功。

We have positioned the company in recent years to have exposure to some very favorable macro tailwinds that can help drive quality revenue growth. I am proud of our teams for focusing their attention on growing in the right end markets with the right customers and executing at a high level of safety and productivity.

近年來，我們將該公司定位在一些非常有利的宏觀順風，這有助於推動高品質的收入成長。我為我們的團隊感到自豪，他們專注於在正確的終端市場與正確的客戶一起發展，並以高水準的安全性和生產力執行。

Our record backlog was a result of roughly $2.5 billion of new work booked driven primarily by wins in our solar and industrial businesses. Despite the timing of certain awards booked later in the year than expected, we are on track to exceed our bookings target for the year and enter 2025 in a great position. Lastly, record cash flow from operations in the quarter drove us to more than $200 million for the first nine months of the year and higher than our full year 2023 cash flow from operations.

我們創紀錄的積壓是由於我們的太陽能和工業業務的勝利而預訂了約 25 億美元的新工作。儘管某些獎勵的預訂時間比預期晚，但我們有望超越今年的預訂目標，並以良好的狀態進入 2025 年。最後，本季創紀錄的營運現金流使我們今年前 9 個月的營運現金流超過 2 億美元，高於 2023 年全年營運現金流。

Even with lower-than-expected upfront payments in Q4, we believe we remain on track for a very good year in cash flow and are progressing well toward our near-term objectives. These milestones are only made possible by our employees and their commitment to safely serving our customers. I want to thank them for their hard work and dedication to keeping themselves, their co-workers and the public safe and encourage them to continue to set more records in these metrics in the quarters ahead.

即使第四季的預付款低於預期，我們相信我們仍將迎來現金流良好的一年，並在實現我們的近期目標方面取得良好進展。這些里程碑只有透過我們的員工及其對安全服務客戶的承諾才能實現。我要感謝他們為保護自己、同事和公眾安全所做的辛勤工作和奉獻精神，並鼓勵他們在未來幾季繼續在這些指標上創造更多記錄。

Now let's look at our performance for the quarter by segment. In the Utilities segment, revenues were higher compared to last year, driven primarily by increased communications and gas operations activity. Gas operations top line improvement was driven primarily by increased activity in the Midwest. Despite the stronger performance in Q3, we still expect to see the gas business to be slightly down this year, but the team has performed very well in maintaining margins despite the decreased revenue.

現在讓我們來看看我們每季的業績表現。在公用事業領域，收入高於去年，主要是由於通訊和天然氣營運活動的增加。天然氣業務收入的改善主要是由中西部活動的增加所推動的。儘管第三季表現強勁，但我們仍預計今年天然氣業務將略有下降，但儘管收入下降，但該團隊在維持利潤率方面表現出色。

On the positive front, the California Public Utility Commission recently approved rate increases for two of our clients in Southern California to upgrade aging infrastructure and help modernize the system for improved safety and integrity. It is an encouraging sign, and while we are still in the early stages of our planning process, we are optimistic that the gas operations business could trend modestly upward next year as a result of these CPUC approvals.

從積極的方面來看，加州公用事業委員會最近批准了我們南加州的兩家客戶的費率上漲，以升級老化的基礎設施並幫助實現系統現代化，以提高安全性和完整性。這是一個令人鼓舞的跡象，雖然我們仍處於規劃過程的早期階段，但我們樂觀地認為，由於這些 CPUC 的批准，明年天然氣營運業務可能會出現適度成長的趨勢。

In communications, activities saw a significant increase from the prior year, driven by an increase in fiber-to-the-home investments and network buildouts by hyperscalers. There was also a considerable slowdown in activity in the back half of 2023 that we aren't seeing this year. Profitability and cash flow were also better in communications due to the mix of work with customers with higher MSA rates and better payment terms. Growth outlook in our communications business continues to look favorable despite the delay in rolling out federal spending programs on rural fiber networks, which is yet to materialize.

在通訊領域，由於超大規模企業光纖到戶投資和網路建設增加，推動活動較前一年大幅增加。2023 年下半年的經濟活動也出現了相當大的放緩，但今年我們沒有看到這種情況。由於與客戶的合作具有更高的 MSA 費率和更好的付款條件，溝通方面的獲利能力和現金流也更好。儘管推遲推出農村光纖網路聯邦支出計劃（尚未實現），但我們的通訊業務的成長前景仍然看好。

Power deliveries revenue was down compared to the prior year, but margins were significantly improved. This is in part due to downsizing our presence in some geographic areas with underperforming contracts and focusing resources on areas with customers that offer better returns. Margins also benefited from an increase in storm response work compared to last year.

與上年相比，電力輸送收入有所下降，但利潤率顯著提高。部分原因是我們縮小了在一些合約表現不佳的地理區域的業務規模，並將資源集中在客戶回報較好的地區。與去年相比，風暴響應工作的增加也使利潤率受益。

The month of September, October were extremely challenging for our employees and the communities we serve. three named storms led to not just the loss of power, but the loss of property and more tragically, the loss of lives. We are very proud to serve our customers, communities and employees by restoring their power safely and quickly as possible.

九月和十月對於我們的員工和我們服務的社區來說極具挑戰性。三場命名的風暴不僅導致停電，還造成財產損失，更悲慘的是，造成人員傷亡。我們非常自豪能夠透過盡可能安全、快速地恢復電力來為我們的客戶、社區和員工提供服務。

In total, Primoris deployed over 250 crews and more than 1,400 employees to the regions impacted by these storms. These employees worked over 185,000 work hours to help restore power to more than 3.8 million people tragically impacted across Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. This required working long hours in harsh conditions and the use of specialized equipment in order to get these communities back online. We even had employees leave their own homes in disrepair in order to travel to other parts of the country to help their neighboring communities.

Primoris 總共向受風暴影響的地區部署了 250 多名工作人員和 1,400 多名員工。這些員工工作了超過 185,000 個小時，幫助路易斯安那州、佛羅裡達州、喬治亞州和卡羅來納州超過 380 萬人恢復電力。這需要在惡劣的條件下長時間工作並使用專用設備才能使這些社區恢復正常運作。我們甚至讓員工離開自己年久失修的房屋，前往全國其他地區幫助鄰近社區。

To assist these employees and their families, we set up an emergency storm team call center that employees could contact to request Primoris assistance in obtaining food, water, generators or to report damage to their homes in order to receive additional support in an effort to get them back in order. I want to congratulate all the Primoris employees who served in response to these storms and thank them again for truly demonstrating the power of Primoris.

為了幫助這些員工及其家人，我們設立了一個緊急風暴團隊呼叫中心，員工可以聯繫中心請求Primoris 協助獲取食物、水、發電機，或報告其房屋受損情況，以獲得額外支持，以努力獲得幫助。我要祝賀所有為應對這些風暴而服務的 Primoris 員工，並再次感謝他們真正展示了 Primoris 的力量。

Turning now to the Energy segment. The renewables business was a primary driver for the increase in segment revenue, surpassing the $1 billion mark for the quarter. In renewables, the market for our solar EPC services and product solutions continues to see very high demand. We believe we are one of the best performing service providers in the market and continue to have very strong customer relationships that have allowed us to successfully navigate challenges that some of the industry have been experiencing.

現在轉向能源領域。再生能源業務是該部門營收成長的主要推動力，本季營收超過 10 億美元大關。在再生能源領域，市場對我們的太陽能 EPC 服務和產品解決方案的需求仍然非常高。我們相信，我們是市場上表現最好的服務提供者之一，並繼續擁有非常牢固的客戶關係，這使我們能夠成功應對一些行業所經歷的挑戰。

While we saw some contract signings pushed out in the first half of this year, this was largely due to customer-driven design changes or switching modules that extended the planning phases. However, during the third quarter, we booked nearly $1.1 billion in backlog to finish the quarter at $2.9 billion in renewals. This includes approximately $250 million in backlog for Premier PV, battery storage and our O&M business. These three businesses also accounted for over 8% of the renewables revenue generated in the third quarter, and we are confident that we will continue to capitalize on growing these lines of business that help supplement our EPC work.

雖然我們看到今年上半年推遲了一些合約簽署，但這主要是由於客戶驅動的設計變更或切換模組延長了規劃階段。然而，在第三季度，我們預訂了近 11 億美元的積壓訂單，本季末續訂金額達到 29 億美元。這包括 Premier PV、電池儲存和營運與維護業務的約 2.5 億美元的積壓訂單。這三項業務也佔第三季再生能源收入的 8% 以上，我們有信心我們將繼續利用這些業務線的成長來補充我們的 EPC 工作。

We did experience lower margins in the business in the third quarter compared to last year due primarily to fewer project closeouts and unfavorable weather conditions that negatively impacted our productivity on several projects. In all instances, these productivity challenges are short lived and most of our contracts contain provisions for named storms or customer-driven delays.

與去年相比，我們第三季的業務利潤確實有所下降，這主要是由於專案清倉減少和不利的天氣條件對我們幾個專案的生產力產生了負面影響。在所有情況下，這些生產力挑戰都是短暫的，我們的大多數合約都包含針對命名風暴或客戶驅動的延誤的條款。

In industrial services, revenue was lower, driven mostly from a decrease in activity in our Canadian operations as well as in our non-union industrial businesses where we are winding down or divesting certain subscale or low-margin businesses. On the other hand, margins did improve due to strong execution on natural gas projects in the Western US and improved bid margins on work booked over the last 12 to 18 months.

在工業服務方面，收入較低，主要是由於我們的加拿大業務以及非工會工業業務的活動減少，我們正在關閉或剝離某些小規模或低利潤業務。另一方面，由於美國西部天然氣項目的強勁執行以及過去 12 至 18 個月預訂工作的投標利潤率的提高，利潤率確實有所改善。

The non-union industrials business was recently awarded a power generation expansion in Oklahoma in the fourth quarter and has the potential to close on a second project in Texas that will support the energy needs of newly constructed data center. We continue to be excited about the opportunities ahead for natural gas power generation and have built a strong team of experience in building dozens of large and small-scale gas power projects throughout their careers. We are also adding additional experienced resources to further build out these teams.

該非工會工業企業最近獲得了第四季度在俄克拉荷馬州的發電擴建項目，並有可能完成在德克薩斯州的第二個項目，該項目將支持新建數據中心的能源需求。我們繼續對天然氣發電面臨的機會感到興奮，並建立了一支強大的團隊，在其職業生涯中建造了數十個大型和小型天然氣發電項目。我們還增加了額外的經驗豐富的資源來進一步組成這些團隊。

The pipeline business, while operating much more profitably and efficiently due to cost control efforts, did see some revenue and margin decline from the prior year due to a very high-performing project in the mid-Atlantic we were executing in the third quarter of last year.

管道業務雖然由於成本控制努力而運作得更加盈利和高效，但由於我們去年第三季度在大西洋中部執行的一個非常高性能的項目，收入和利潤率確實比上年有所下降。

In summary, it was another solid quarter where our Utilities segment was able to drive higher margins to compensate for some challenges in our Energy segment margins, which puts us in a great position to not only finish with a strong Q4, but to achieve our operational and financial targets for the year.

總而言之，這是另一個穩健的季度，我們的公用事業部門能夠推動更高的利潤率，以彌補能源部門利潤率方面的一些挑戰，這使我們處於有利地位，不僅可以在第四季度取得強勁的業績，而且可以實現我們的營運目標以及今年的財務目標。

Now I'll turn it over to Ken for more on our financial results.

現在我將把它交給肯，以了解有關我們財務表現的更多資訊。

Thanks, Tom, and good morning, everyone. Our Q3 revenue was over $1.6 billion, an increase of $119.6 million or 7.8% over the prior year, driven primarily by growth in both our Energy and Utilities segments. The Energy segment was up $123.1 million or 13.9% from the prior year, driven primarily by solar, partially offset by lower industrial construction activity. The Utilities segment increased $15.6 million or 2.4% from the prior year, primarily due to an increase in communications activity, partially offset by slightly lower power delivery revenue.

謝謝，湯姆，大家早安。我們第三季的營收超過 16 億美元，比上年增加 1.196 億美元，或 7.8%，這主要是由我們的能源和公用事業部門的成長推動的。能源部門比上年增長 1.231 億美元，或 13.9%，主要由太陽能推動，但部分被工業建築活動減少所抵消。公用事業部門比前一年增加了 1,560 萬美元，即 2.4%，主要是由於通訊活動的增加，但部分被電力傳輸收入略有下降所抵消。

Gross profit for the third quarter was $198.6 million, an increase of $24.7 million or 14.2% compared to the prior year. This is primarily due to the increase in revenue in both segments and improved Utilities margins. As a result, gross margins were 12% for the quarter compared to 11.4% in the prior year.

第三季毛利為1.986億美元，比去年同期增加2,470萬美元，成長14.2%。這主要是由於兩個部門的收入增加以及公用事業利潤率的提高。因此，本季毛利率為 12%，而去年同期為 11.4%。

Turning to our segment results. Utilities segment gross profit was $87 million, up $22.4 million or 34.6% compared to the prior year. Communications gross profit was higher due to revenue growth. Power delivery gross profit was higher due to improved efficiency and an increase in higher-margin storm work, which contributed about $5 million of incremental gross profit during the quarter. Power delivery also did not experience the same challenges on legacy PLH products that negatively impacted margins in the prior year. Gas gross profit was mostly flat on slightly higher revenue.

轉向我們的部門業績。公用事業部門毛利為 8,700 萬美元，比上年增加 2,240 萬美元，成長 34.6%。由於收入成長，通信毛利較高。由於效率提高和利潤率較高的風暴工作的增加，電力輸送毛利較高，本季貢獻了約 500 萬美元的增量毛利。電力傳輸也沒有遇到與去年對利潤產生負面影響的傳統 PLH 產品相同的挑戰。由於收入略有增加，天然氣毛利基本持平。

We believe we are on track to see improved margins in the segment for the full year compared to 2023. While we expect to see some modest benefit from additional storm work early in the fourth quarter, we anticipate seeing a seasonal slowdown in activity and increased time off for employees after the storm work that could impact our productivity in Q4 and offset some of the storm benefit. The combination of these factors leads us to believe that gross margin in the Utilities segment for the full year 2024 will land in the low to mid-9% range, up from 8.6% in the prior year.

我們相信，與 2023 年相比，該領域全年利潤率可望有所改善。雖然我們預計第四季度初額外的風暴工作會帶來一些適度的好處，但我們預計活動會出現季節性放緩，風暴工作後員工的休假時間也會增加，這可能會影響我們第四季度的生產力，並抵消部分風暴帶來的好處。綜合這些因素，我們相信 2024 年全年公用事業部門的毛利率將降至 9% 的中低水平，高於上一年的 8.6%。

In the Energy segment, gross profit was $111.5 million for the quarter, an increase of $2.3 million or 2.1%. The increase was primarily driven by higher revenues in the renewables business and strong performance on natural gas power projects in the Western US. This was partially offset by lower productivity on certain projects related to weather in the quarter. We also had higher margins on the mid-Atlantic pipeline project in 2023 that did not repeat in 2024. As a result, gross margins for the segment were 11%, down from 12.3% in the prior year as we expected. We expect full year 2024 gross margins to be a little over 11%.

在能源部門，本季毛利為 1.115 億美元，增加 230 萬美元，即 2.1%。這一成長主要是由於再生能源業務收入的增加以及美國西部天然氣發電項目的強勁表現。該季度與天氣相關的某些項目的生產力下降部分抵消了這一影響。我們在 2023 年大西洋中部管道項目上也獲得了更高的利潤，但 2024 年沒有重複。因此，該部門的毛利率為 11%，低於我們預期的前一年 12.3%。我們預計 2024 年全年毛利率將略高於 11%。

Looking at SG&A, expenses in the third quarter were $98.1 million, an increase of $13.7 million compared to the prior year but down $2 million sequentially from Q2. The increase in SG&A is primarily due to increased personnel costs to support our growth. As a percent of revenue, SG&A rose slightly from the prior year to 5.9%. We still expect SG&A will continue to trend toward our full year target in the low 6% range.

SG&A 方面，第三季支出為 9,810 萬美元，比上年增加 1,370 萬美元，但比第二季季減 200 萬美元。SG&A 的增加主要是由於支持我們成長的人員成本增加。SG&A 佔營收的百分比較前一年略有上升，達到 5.9%。我們仍然預計 SG&A 將繼續朝著 6% 的全年目標邁進。

Net interest expense in the quarter was $17.9 million, down from $21.1 million in the prior year. The decrease was driven by lower average debt balances and lower interest rates, partially offset by a $1.4 million unrealized loss on our interest rate swap in the quarter. We expect that our full year interest expense will be between $68 million and $71 million down from our previous estimate of $71 million to $74 million provided last quarter. Our effective tax rate was 29% for the quarter, and we believe this rate will be consistent for the full year.

本季淨利息支出為 1,790 萬美元，低於上年同期的 2,110 萬美元。下降的原因是平均債務餘額下降和利率下降，但部分被本季利率掉期 140 萬美元的未實現損失所抵銷。我們預計全年利息支出將在 6,800 萬美元至 7,100 萬美元之間，低於我們先前上個季度提供的 7,100 萬美元至 7,400 萬美元的估計。本季我們的有效稅率為 29%，我們相信全年的稅率將保持一致。

Earnings per fully diluted share rose $0.18 or 20% compared to last year, driven by higher operating income and lower interest expense. Adjusted EPS was also higher by $0.20 and adjusted EBITDA increased by nearly $8 million to $127.7 million for the quarter.

受營業收入增加和利息支出減少的推動，完全攤薄後每股收益較去年增長 0.18 美元，即 20%。該季度調整後每股收益也增加了 0.20 美元，調整後 EBITDA 增加了近 800 萬美元，達到 1.277 億美元。

Turning to cash flow. Our third quarter cash flow from operations was $222 million, which represented our best quarter as a company. Year-to-date cash flow from operations is up $217 million compared to last year. The primary drivers for this improvement were an increase in deferred revenue related to upfront customer payments, higher operating income and a $40 million decrease in contract assets year-to-date, including a $67 million reduction in contract assets since the end of Q2. The decrease in contract assets is a partial pull forward from Q4, but it's also due to our working capital initiatives, particularly our team's efforts to bill customers timely.

轉向現金流。我們第三季的營運現金流為 2.22 億美元，這是我們公司最好的季度。年初至今，營運現金流比去年增加了 2.17 億美元。這項改善的主要驅動力是與客戶預付款相關的遞延收入增加、營業收入增加以及年初至今合約資產減少 4,000 萬美元，其中自第二季末以來合約資產減少了 6,700 萬美元。合約資產的減少是第四季度提前的部分原因，但這也是由於我們的營運資金計劃，特別是我們的團隊及時向客戶開出帳單的努力。

We have more work to do, but we are encouraged by the progress. Based on the pull forward of cash flow from Q4, we expect our fourth quarter cash from operations to be lower compared to Q4 of 2023. But despite this, the full year is shaping up to be a very good year for operating cash flow as we make progress towards our goal of 4% to 5% of revenue.

我們還有更多工作要做，但我們對所取得的進展感到鼓舞。根據第四季現金流量的前移，我們預計第四季的營運現金將低於 2023 年第四季。但儘管如此，隨著我們在實現收入 4% 至 5% 的目標方面取得進展，全年將成為營運現金流非常好的一年。

Moving over to the balance sheet. We continue to have very strong liquidity of almost $625 million, which includes over $350 million of cash and $272 million in available borrowing capacity on our revolver. Our trailing 12-month net debt-to-EBITDA ratio, as defined by our debt covenants, dropped to just under 1.4 times EBITDA at the end of Q3. This puts us below our target range of 1.5 times EBITDA and positions us to reduce our debt balance and further lower our interest expense in the coming quarters.

轉向資產負債表。我們仍然擁有近 6.25 億美元的強勁流動性，其中包括超過 3.5 億美元的現金和 2.72 億美元的左輪手槍可用借款能力。根據我們的債務契約定義，我們過去 12 個月的淨負債與 EBITDA 比率在第三季末降至略低於 EBITDA 的 1.4 倍。這使我們低於 1.5 倍 EBITDA 的目標範圍，並使我們能夠在未來幾季減少債務餘額並進一步降低利息支出。

Total backlog at the end of Q3 was just under $11.3 billion, up $366 million from the end of 2023 and more than $800 million higher sequentially from Q2. Fixed backlog was up $377 million from year-end, primarily due to solar and other Energy segment bookings. MSA backlog was essentially flat from year-end as a decrease in pipeline and Canadian MSA work was offset by additional utilities MSA backlog. We are optimistic that we have the potential to increase fixed and MSA backlog by year-end if we do not see any delays in contract signings, which at this point, we do not anticipate.

第三季末的未完成訂單總額略低於 113 億美元，比 2023 年底增加了 3.66 億美元，比第二季末增加了 8 億多美元。固定積壓訂單比年底增加了 3.77 億美元，主要是由於太陽能和其他能源部門的預訂。MSA 積壓工作與年底基本持平，因為管道和加拿大 MSA 工作的減少被其他公用事業 MSA 積壓工作所抵消。我們樂觀地認為，如果我們沒有看到合約簽署出現任何延誤，我們有可能在年底前增加固定訂單和 MSA 積壓訂單（目前我們預計不會出現這種情況）。

Before turning it back over to Tom, I'll close the financial overview with our updated guidance. We are raising our full year EPS guidance to $2.85 to $3 per share and adjusted EPS guidance to $3.40 to $3.55 per share due to our strong operational performance and our lower expected interest expense for the year. We are also modifying our adjusted EBITDA guidance to $405 million to $420 million as we feel more confident about the higher end of the range we provided in Q2.

在將其轉回給 Tom 之前，我將用我們更新的指導來結束財務概述。由於我們強勁的營運業績和今年較低的預期利息支出，我們將全年每股收益指引上調至每股 2.85 美元至 3 美元，並將每股盈餘指引調整至每股 3.40 美元至 3.55 美元。我們還將調整後的 EBITDA 指引修改為 4.05 億至 4.2 億美元，因為我們對第二季提供的較高範圍更有信心。

Through Q3, we've had very strong project execution resulting in improved profitability while also growing backlog and increasing cash flow. The outlook for the fourth quarter and opportunities we see on the horizon should set this up for another solid year in 2025.

透過第三季度，我們的專案執行非常強勁，從而提高了盈利能力，同時也增加了積壓訂單並增加了現金流。第四季的前景和我們看到的機會應該會為 2025 年又一個堅實的一年奠定基礎。

With that, I'll turn it back over to Tom.

有了這個，我會把它轉回給湯姆。

Thank you, Ken. Prior to opening the line up for questions, I'd like to recap some of the key points of the quarter.

謝謝你，肯。在開始提問之前，我想回顧一下本季的一些要點。

First, our record revenue, earnings, backlog and cash flow from operations demonstrate that we are successfully executing our strategy to grow while improving profitability and cash flow. Although Q3 is typically a strong quarter for us on a seasonal basis, the efforts of our teams in the field and in our offices deserve recognition for their hard work and outstanding execution to accomplish these milestones.

首先，我們創紀錄的收入、獲利、積壓訂單和營運現金流表明，我們正在成功執行成長策略，同時提高獲利能力和現金流。儘管第三季度對我們來說通常是季節性強勁的季度，但我們在現場和辦公室的團隊為實現這些里程碑所做的辛勤工作和出色的執行力值得認可。

Second, we had substantial improvement in our Utilities segment's margins, driven by an improved mix of work from communications, owing strong margins in gas operations, and improving power delivery margins through resource allocation to both higher-performing regions and from storm response.

其次，我們的公用事業部門的利潤率大幅提高，這得益於通訊工作組合的改善、天然氣業務的強勁利潤率以及透過向績效較高的地區分配資源和風暴響應來提高電力輸送利潤率。

I can't be thankful enough to the men and women that answered the call to serve their fellow citizens even while they and their families were also experiencing hardships. We continue to keep those impacted by these weather events in our thoughts and prayers as they continue to rebuild and get their lives back to a more normal status as quickly and as safely as possible.

我對那些響應號召為同胞服務的男女錶示感激，儘管他們和他們的家人也經歷著困難。我們繼續為那些受這些天氣事件影響的人們祈禱，讓他們繼續重建，並儘快、安全地讓生活恢復到更正常的狀態。

Third, the market for renewables continues to be resilient and strong. We have record backlog approaching $3 billion and are confident that we will maintain our successful track record of executing on behalf of our clients while expanding our product and service offerings to achieve our growth targets through 2026.

第三，再生能源市場持續保持彈性和強勁。我們的積壓訂單接近 30 億美元，創歷史新高，我們有信心維持代表客戶執行的成功記錄，同時擴大我們的產品和服務範圍，以實現到 2026 年的成長目標。

Lastly, we are already seeing opportunities emerge to grow our non-union and industrial businesses and have the teams and expertise to win our share of the work. The growth prospects in our focused end markets are such that we believe that we are well positioned to thrive regardless of the outcome of today's election. The need for infrastructure investment to help our economy grow and support next-generation technology is a bipartisan objective.

最後，我們已經看到了發展我們的非工會和工業業務的機會，並擁有贏得我們工作份額的團隊和專業知識。我們重點關注的終端市場的成長前景使我們相信，無論今天的選舉結果如何，我們都能夠蓬勃發展。需要基礎設施投資來幫助我們的經濟成長和支持下一代技術，這是兩黨的共同目標。

We will continue to keep our focus on being the best allocators of capital in our space with the goal to generate the best returns on capital and drive higher margins and cash flow. We believe this is the best strategy to deliver the best outcomes for our employees, our customers and our shareholders.

我們將繼續專注於成為所在領域的最佳資本配置者，目標是產生最佳資本回報並推動更高的利潤和現金流。我們相信這是為我們的員工、客戶和股東帶來最佳成果的最佳策略。

We will now open up the call for your questions.

我們現在將開放式電話詢問您的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Lee Jagoda, CJS Securities.

Lee Jagoda，CJS 證券。

It's Pete Lukas for Lee. Congrats on a great quarter. Just wanted to -- you touched on it in your prepared remarks in terms of backlog, a nice positive this quarter, and you've constantly said you expect book-to-bill to be above 1 times exiting the year. How should we think about Q4 in terms of potential bookings, given that you're already above that 1 times? I think you had said in your remarks, you expect that could increase by year-end.

這是李的皮特盧卡斯。恭喜您度過了一個出色的季度。只是想——您在準備好的發言中談到了積壓，這是本季度的一個積極的積極因素，並且您一直表示您預計今年的訂單出貨量將超過 1 倍。鑑於您已經超過該數字 1 倍，我們應該如何看待第四季度的潛在預訂量？我想你在演講中說過，你預計到年底這一數字可能會增加。

Yes, look, I think Q4 is going to be down sequentially from Q3. Q3 was a very good quarter for us but should be right at 1 times or maybe just a little bit above 1 times for Q4.

是的，我認為第四季將比第三季連續下降。第三季度對我們來說是一個非常好的季度，但應該是正確的 1 倍，或者可能比第四季的 1 倍略高一點。

Helpful. And then just one broad question. Just looking out a little further, can you speak broadly about the pipeline of opportunities you see for your order book beyond '24 and how they should translate into revenue growth, looking at it kind of by segment for the next, call it, 12 to 18 months?

有幫助。然後只是一個廣泛的問題。只要再進一步看一下，您能否廣泛地談談您在 24 年之後為訂單簿看到的機會管道，以及它們應如何轉化為收入增長，按細分市場來看待下一個，稱之為 12 到18個月？

If you look at -- if you start with Energy, and we'll pull renewables out and talk specifically renewables to start with, they're booked for 2025 now as we speak -- or actually booking work that's extending into 2026. And some of that work will even complete -- extend into 2027. So there's a lot of opportunity there in our renewables business.

如果你看一下——如果你從能源開始，我們將把可再生能源拿出來，從一開始就專門討論可再生能源，正如我們所說，它們現在已經被預訂到了2025 年——或者實際上預訂了延續到2026 年的工作。其中一些工作甚至將完成——延續到 2027 年。因此，我們的再生能源業務存在許多機會。

In the industrial businesses, there's a lot of opportunity out there. We're seeing a lot with respect to opportunities with respect to power generation and anything that supports power generation, pump stations, compressor stations and the like. So we're seeing a nice bit of work, probably more than we've seen in the last several years.

在工業企業中，有很多機會。我們看到了很多與發電以及支援發電、泵站、壓縮機站等相關的機會。所以我們看到了一些不錯的工作，可能比我們過去幾年看到的還要多。

So I would say heavy civil, again, there's a TxDOT spend. It's just pretty much as is all the time. The -- TxDOT's spending a certain amount of money here in Texas and Louisiana each and every year. They're going to continue to spend that amount of money, and we continue to win our share of the work.

所以我想說，民事方面有大量 TxDOT 支出。一直以來都是如此。德州交通部每年都會在德州和路易斯安那州花費一定數量的資金。他們將繼續花費這麼多錢，而我們將繼續贏得我們的工作份額。

Pipeline, we'll see. I mean pipeline has seen more opportunities, but it's probably relatively flat to where they're going to end up this year, then we'll just see what happens post-election, but that's going to take some time to become reality.

管道，我們拭目以待。我的意思是管道已經看到了更多機會，但與今年的最終結果相比可能相對持平，然後我們將看看選舉後會發生什麼，但這需要一些時間才能成為現實。

Very helpful.

非常有幫助。

I'm sorry, Ken just reminded me. Gas looks good. We're seeing some opportunities in gas. But again, it's going to be low single digits, probably relatively flat. We may see some upside just based on the PUCs approvals out in California of budgeting and spending plans, so for two of our clients out there. We have some clients here in Texas that are spending more money but again, it's -- so there's some opportunity there with respect to power delivery.

抱歉，肯剛剛提醒了我。瓦斯看起來不錯。我們在天然氣領域看到了一些機會。但同樣，這將是低個位數，可能相對持平。僅根據加州公用事業委員會批准的預算和支出計劃，我們可能會看到一些好處，對於我們的兩個客戶來說也是如此。我們在德州的一些客戶花了更多的錢，但同樣，因此在電力傳輸方面存在一些機會。

Comps, we're seeing up just with the number of data centers being built and developed across the country. And then I said, gas. Gas would be relatively flat, maybe up slightly.

相較之下，我們看到全國各地正在建設和開發的資料中心的數量不斷增加。然後我說，瓦斯。天然氣價格將相對持平，甚至可能略有上漲。

Jerry Revich, Goldman Sachs.

傑瑞·雷維奇，高盛。

This is Adam on for Jerry. Margins in Utilities, up 270 basis points sequentially, well ahead of normal seasonality. Can you just expand on the drivers of that really strong sequential improvement versus normal seasonality? And any updated thoughts on 2025 puts and takes around margin expansion in this segment?

這是亞當替傑瑞演的。公用事業利潤率較上季成長 270 個基點，遠超正常季節性。您能否詳細闡述與正常季節性相比真正強勁的連續改善的驅動因素？關於 2025 年看跌期權和認購期權有關該細分市場利潤率擴張的最新想法嗎？

Look, most of the quarterly improvements sequentially was just seasonal. About $5 million of it, as I mentioned in my remarks, were related to storm work, which is kind of onetime. Ironically, while that benefited, the storms benefited us on the Utilities side. We had about an equal negative impact on the Energy side as well. So net-net, it was really pretty much neutral for us for the quarter.

看，大多數季度的連續改善只是季節性的。正如我在演講中提到的，其中大約 500 萬美元與風暴工作有關，這是一次性的。諷刺的是，雖然風暴使我們受益，但公用事業方面也使我們受益。我們對能源方面也產生了同樣的負面影響。因此，本季我們的情況確實相當中性。

And then, look, with respect to next year, we continue to believe we're going to see margin improvement. We're still racking up the numbers for next year, so I can't give you anything more precise than that. But in general, we are expecting Utilities margins to have a sequential improvement going into next year.

然後，看看明年，我們仍然相信我們將看到利潤率的改善。我們仍在計算明年的數字，所以我無法給您比這更準確的資訊。但總體而言，我們預計公用事業公司的利潤率將在明年持續改善。

And then on the organic growth side of Utilities, it looks like growth accelerated sequentially. You folks continue to focus on project selection and margin expansion. So just wondering, within that context, how we should expect the utility organic growth cadence from here?

然後，在公用事業的有機成長方面，成長似乎連續加速。你們繼續關注專案選擇和利潤擴張。因此，我想知道，在這種背景下，我們應該如何預期公用事業的有機成長節奏？

Yeah. Look, year-over-year at a high level, I'm expecting Utilities revenue to grow probably mid-single digits. It will be a mix. On the stronger side will be power delivery and communications. On the little bit weaker side, but still probably growing next year to Tom's point, will be gas.

是的。看，在較高水準上，我預計公用事業收入可能會實現中個位數的成長。這將是一個混合。更強的一面將是電力傳輸和通訊。天然氣雖然稍微弱一些，但明年仍可能成長到湯姆的水平。

Drew Chamberlain, JPMorgan.

德魯張伯倫，摩根大通。

First one, just kind of a follow-up on the last one. Can you talk a little bit about what you're seeing on the margin side in Utilities in 4Q? I think the guide implies a pretty big sequential -- or material reduction in 4Q over 3Q. I'm just wondering if that's just normal seasonality. If there's some other impact in there.

第一個，只是最後一個的後續。您能談談您在第四季度公用事業部門的利潤方面看到的情況嗎？我認為該指南意味著第四季比第三季有相當大的連續性或實質減少。我只是想知道這是否只是正常的季節性。如果還有其他影響的話。

Yeah, it is normal seasonality. We have parts -- we work in parts of the country, in particular in our gas utility side of the business, where when winter hits, everything just shuts down. And Q3 is traditionally our highest quarter, not only from a revenue standpoint, but also from a margin standpoint, just because everybody is working at capacity and kind of where our normal seasonal peak is during the year.

是的，這是正常的季節性。我們有部分——我們在該國的部分地區工作，特別是在我們的天然氣公用事業方面，當冬天來臨時，一切都會關閉。傳統上，第三季度是我們最高的季度，不僅從收入的角度來看，而且從利潤的角度來看，只是因為每個人都在滿載工作，而且有點像我們一年中正常的季節性高峰。

So Q1 and Q4 are generally kind of shoulder quarters for us that can have some variability in margins depending on when we shut down work in Q4 and then when we start up working again in Q1.

因此，第一季和第四季對我們來說通常是肩膀季度，利潤率可能會有一些變化，這取決於我們在第四季度停止工作的時間以及我們在第一季再次開始工作的時間。

Okay. Great. And then maybe stepping back and looking a little bigger picture here and thinking about capital allocation. I mean I think the leverage has really, really come down, maybe a little faster than just what anybody had expected. Just can you kind of talk through what the priorities are right now? And what do you see on the M&A side, maybe thinking about returning capital to shareholders. Obviously, the dividend going higher this quarter. I mean just kind of run us through the latest thoughts there would be very helpful.

好的。偉大的。然後也許退後一步，放眼全局，思考資本配置。我的意思是，我認為槓桿率確實確實下降了，也許比任何人預期的都要快一點。您能談談現在的優先事項是什麼嗎？您在併購方面有何看法，也許正在考慮向股東返還資本。顯然，本季的股利會更高。我的意思是讓我們了解最新的想法將會非常有幫助。

Yeah, happy to do that. Look, our capital allocation priorities are always going to be support -- the top of the capital list is supporting the organic growth of our business, and that hasn't changed. And that's the working capital support as well as equipment.

是的，很高興這樣做。看，我們的資本配置優先事項始終是支持——資本清單的首要內容是支持我們業務的有機成長，這一點沒有改變。這就是營運資金支援和設備。

Second is debt paydown. And with the strong cash balances that we finished the quarter with, as well as our continued focus on improving free cash flow, we felt that, in conjunction with the discussion with our Board, it was a good time to send a clear signal to the market that we felt it was -- it would be an easy move to raise our dividend.

其次是償還債務。鑑於本季度結束時我們擁有強勁的現金餘額，以及我們繼續致力於改善自由現金流，我們認為，結合與董事會的討論，現在是向董事會發出明確信號的好時機。提高我們的股息將是一個容易的舉動。

With respect to debt paydown, we are -- we just paid down $50 million on our term loan last week. And I expect we will pay down another $50 million by the end of Q4 as well. And then within M&A, I'll flip it over to Tom. But in general, we've seen very good deal flow.

關於債務償還，我們上週剛償還了 5000 萬美元的定期貸款。我預計我們還將在第四季末支付另外 5000 萬美元。然後在併購中，我會將其交給湯姆。但總的來說，我們看到了非常好的交易流。

There's been a lot of flow in M&A. It's just finding the right targets. So there's a lot of activity, which nothing that we've stepped away from necessarily. It's just we are going to be very specific and surgical about what we look at and what we move forward with. And we just haven't seen the right target yet.

併購方面有大量的資金流。只是找到正確的目標。所以有很多活動，我們沒有必要迴避這些活動。只是我們將非常具體和精確地了解我們的觀點和前進的方向。我們只是還沒有看到正確的目標。

Kevin Gainey, Thompson, Davis.

凱文蓋尼、湯普森、戴維斯。

Kevin on for Adam. Maybe if you guys want to talk about the outlook for Q4 EBITDA margins and what -- or, well, the EBITDA range and what it would take to get from the low end to the high end?

凱文替補亞當。也許你們想談談第四季度 EBITDA 利潤率的前景以及什麼——或者，好吧，EBITDA 範圍以及從低端到高端需要什麼？

Yes, look, I mean, the low end to the high end is going to be really heavily driven on two things. One is Utilities, which we're just talking about with Drew and kind of when the Q4 shutdown happens. And then a little bit on the Energy side is going to be related to project closeouts and the timing of wrapping up both some renewables jobs as well as some industrial jobs that are in progress right now that are scheduled to wrap up in Q4.

是的，我的意思是，從低端到高端將受到兩件事的嚴重推動。一是公用事業，我們剛剛與德魯討論過，大概是在第四季停工時。然後，能源方面的一些問題將與專案收尾以及完成一些可再生能源工作以及一些目前正在進行的工業工作（計劃在第四季度完成）的時間有關。

So in general, we feel good about Q4. It's why we're able to not only slightly increase the range, but also tighten the range a little bit down to $0.15 at EPS and adjusted EPS, but those are going to be the main drivers.

所以總的來說，我們對第四季感覺良好。這就是為什麼我們不僅能夠稍微提高範圍，而且還能將 EPS 和調整後 EPS 的範圍稍微收窄至 0.15 美元，但這些將成為主要驅動因素。

Sounds good. And then maybe we can also talk about how you guys are thinking about cash flow in Q4. I know you said it'd be weaker than Q3, but maybe what are some of the things that would move around in that?

聽起來不錯。然後也許我們也可以談談你們如何看待第四季的現金流。我知道你說過它會比第三季弱，但也許其中會發生哪些變化？

Yeah. Weaker definitely with -- in comparison to prior year, 2023 Q4, just because if you look historically, Q4 has been one of our main cash generation quarters. Some of that was a -- some of Q3's benefit was a pull forward from Q4. And unfortunately, I don't have exact numbers to quantify it, but we just know from looking at timing of customer projects and some work that we were doing that it was a pull forward from Q4.

是的。與前一年 2023 年第四季相比，肯定較弱，因為如果你從歷史角度來看，第四季一直是我們主要的現金產生季度之一。其中一些是——第三季度的一些好處是比第四季提前的。不幸的是，我沒有確切的數字來量化它，但我們只是透過查看客戶專案的時間表和我們正在做的一些工作知道，這是從第四季度開始的。

But as I mentioned, the big chunk of it was just really good down payments from customers on projects that we signed late in Q2 as well as in Q3. So I expect Q4 is still going to be a solid quarter for us from a cash flow perspective. I just don't think it's going to be another $200 million -- or $180 million to $200 million quarter like it was last year and I think the year before as well.

但正如我所提到的，其中很大一部分只是客戶為我們在第二季末和第三季簽署的項目支付的非常好的首付。因此，我預計從現金流的角度來看，第四季對我們來說仍然是一個穩健的季度。我只是認為不會再像去年那樣再增加 2 億美元，或每季增加 1.8 億至 2 億美元，我認為前年也是如此。

So ballpark, I'm kind of thinking of maybe another -- it may be about like $100 million quarter, but there's still a lot that can move there, especially with some pending contract signings that we have that could happen in Q4, potentially slip to Q1.

所以，大概，我在考慮另一個可能——季度可能約為 1 億美元，但仍有很多可以轉移到那裡，特別是我們可能會在第四季度簽署一些懸而未決的合同，可能會下滑到 Q1。

Sounds good. And maybe if I could squeeze one more in just on the California rate piece. How do you guys think about that as far as what that could be as a growth driver for '25?

聽起來不錯。也許我可以在加州的利率部分再擠一張。你們如何看待這可能成為 '25 的成長動力？

Well, it definitely help our gas distribution businesses out there. We have -- it affects two of our major clients out there. So we would expect to see some project opportunities develop into 2025. It's really early days right now, but I'm sure that they're developing their plans for '25 and '26 or further out based on those approvals. But we'll get involved with them either later this year, later in the fourth quarter, probably early next year to actually get some visibility into what their plans are.

嗯，這肯定有助於我們的天然氣分銷業務。我們——它影響了我們的兩個主要客戶。因此，我們預計到 2025 年將會出現一些專案機會。現在還為時過早，但我確信他們正在根據這些批准制定 25 年和 26 年或更遠的計劃。但我們將在今年稍後、第四季晚些時候甚至明年初與他們接觸，以便真正了解他們的計劃。

Brent Thielman, D.A. Davidson.

布倫特‧蒂爾曼，D.A.戴維森。

Great quarter. Just on the power side of the Utilities segment. As we move into next year, do we effectively lap some of these comparisons you've had this year just in terms of headwinds from shifting your presence in certain markets and certain customers? Is there going to be any sort of hangover of that into 2025?

很棒的季度。就在公用事業領域的電力方面。當我們進入明年時，我們是否有效地重複了您今年所做的一些比較，僅就您在某些市場和某些客戶中的業務轉移所帶來的不利因素進行了比較？到 2025 年，這種情況還會有任何後遺症嗎？

No, I don't think so. I think the improvements are going to continue through the year. All of this takes time. And I think we laid out back in April about a three-year plan for -- that just continue to improve margins and performance there to change over -- transition into more project work versus MSA work. And we're in that phase of that. It's just going to -- you'll see that get better through the course of 2025 and you'll see us laying our targets either late next year or into 2026, which is what we've been targeting.

不，我不這麼認為。我認為這項改進將持續到今年。所有這一切都需要時間。我認為我們在四月就制定了一項三年計劃，即繼續提高利潤和績效以進行轉變，轉向更多的專案工作而不是 MSA 工作。我們正處於這個階段。到 2025 年，你會看到情況會變得更好，你會看到我們在明年底或 2026 年設定目標，這也是我們一直以來的目標。

Okay. Awesome. And then, Tom, solar has just been a fantastic story for the company. And I guess what I'm wondering is it's a much larger piece of your business today. But could you talk about what you're planning and doing internally to sort of support the continued growth of that business? And then maybe also just taking a step back, do you want it to be a lot larger as a proportion of the company maybe versus some other areas?

好的。驚人的。然後，湯姆，太陽能對公司來說是一個美妙的故事。我想我想知道的是，它在您今天的業務中佔據了更大的份額。但您能否談談您在內部計劃和做什麼以支持該業務的持續成長？然後也許只是退一步，你是否希望它在公司中所佔的比例比其他一些領域大得多？

Well, I mean, we're going to keep growing that business organically. We are looking at -- there's opportunities for us if we can find the right targets to supplement that business through an acquisition, but it would be a smaller acquisition just to continue with that EPC offering that we provide to our client and complement that.

嗯，我的意思是，我們將繼續有機地發展該業務。我們正在考慮——如果我們能夠找到合適的目標透過收購來補充該業務，那麼我們就有機會，但這將是一次規模較小的收購，只是為了繼續我們向客戶提供的EPC 產品並對其進行補充。

But I think what you're seeing is with the eBOS and the O&M and the battery storage services that we're now providing, you're going to see more growth in that. I mean battery storage has actually got over $100 million worth of work. I think combined, those three have about $250 million of book work and that's -- most of that's going to take -- transpire in 2025, and it's going to -- they're going to continue to grow.

但我認為您看到的是我們現在提供的 eBOS、O&M 以及電池儲存服務，您將看到更多的成長。我的意思是，電池儲存實際上已經投入了價值超過 1 億美元的工作。我認為，這三者合計擁有約 2.5 億美元的圖書作品，其中大部分將在 2025 年實現，而且它們將繼續增長。

Solar is going to grow. It's just as it gets bigger, it grows at a slower pace. So we're going to continue to be disciplined about that growing -- our project teams, and we're going to continue to be disciplined about what clients we work for and what contracts we sign. And our goal is to keep it profitable and just to continue to be disciplined about it because it has worked for us.

太陽能將會成長。只是當它變大時，它的成長速度就會變慢。因此，我們將繼續對我們的專案團隊的發展保持嚴格的紀律，我們將繼續對我們為哪些客戶工作以及我們簽署哪些合約保持嚴格的紀律。我們的目標是保持獲利，並繼續遵守紀律，因為它對我們有用。

Judah Aronovitz, UBS.

猶大‧阿羅諾維茨，瑞銀集團。

It's Judah Aronovitz -- Steven Fisher. Just the gains on sales in the quarter, it was lower than Q2, but still, I think, higher than we expected. What was that related to?

我是猶大‧阿羅諾維茲－史蒂文‧費雪。僅就本季的銷售成長而言，它低於第二季度，但我認為仍然高於我們的預期。那與什麼有關？

Some of it was equipment and then one in specific was a facility that we sold in the DFW area that we no longer needed.

其中一些是設備，特別是我們在 DFW 地區出售的不再需要的設施。

Okay. That's helpful. Just one more quick one. How much storm work do you have embedded in your Q4 guidance ?

好的。這很有幫助。只要再快一點就好了。您在第四季的指導中嵌入了多少風暴工作？

Really, just a couple of million is about it, Judah. We were working on storm earlier in -- well, last month now in October. And so we really only have a couple of million built in that because it was heavily driven by Milton, which didn't do quite as much damage. It was mostly Florida where the recovery was much quicker and crews were released much faster.

真的，只要幾百萬就夠了，猶大。我們早些時候就在研究風暴——嗯，是上個月，現在是十月。所以我們實際上只建造了幾百萬，因為它是由米爾頓大力驅動的，而米爾頓並沒有造成那麼大的傷害。主要是佛羅裡達州，那裡的恢復速度要快得多，船員被釋放的速度也要快得多。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Julio Romero, Sidoti.

胡里奧·羅梅羅，西多蒂。

This is Alex Hantman on for Julio. In the Utilities segment, you mentioned that one of the drivers of higher revenue was increased communications activity. Could you add a little bit more color around that and talk about some of the things that you're seeing there?

我是亞歷克斯漢特曼 (Alex Hantman) 替胡里奧 (Julio) 發言。在公用事業領域，您提到收入增加的驅動因素之一是通訊活動的增加。您能否在此基礎上添加更多色彩並談談您在那裡看到的一些事情？

For us, a lot of its fiber related. It's fiber -- we're building fiber rings around cities or outside of cities for the data centers. In hyperscalers, a lot of it's the fiber-to-the-home programs that are in place. So most of that work is associated with that. There's just a lot of that activity going on in Texas and the other states that we're in and that we're seeing more and more of that work.

對我們來說，很多都跟它的纖維有關。這是光纖——我們正在城市周圍或城市外為資料中心建造光纖環。在超大規模企業中，很多都是光纖到府計畫。所以大部分工作都與此相關。德克薩斯州和我們所在的其他州正在進行大量此類活動，我們看到越來越多的此類活動。

Thanks for the context. And then one more quick one, how much were solar revenues in the quarter?

謝謝你的背景。然後再問一個問題，本季太陽能收入是多少？

Solar revenues in the quarter, I should have that number handy, it was a little over $450 million.

該季度的太陽能收入，我應該有這個數字，略高於 4.5 億美元。

And that concludes our question-and-answer session. I will now turn the conference back over to Mr. Tom McCormick for any additional or closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我現在將把會議轉回給湯姆·麥考密克先生發表補充或結束語。

Thank you. Thank you for your questions and interest in Primoris. We are pleased with our results thus far, and we'll look to finish out 2024 on a positive note and set ourselves up for another solid year in 2025. Thank you again, and we look forward to updating you on the full year results and 2025 guidance in the first quarter of next year.

謝謝。感謝您提出問題以及對 Primoris 的興趣。我們對迄今為止的成果感到滿意，我們希望以積極的態度結束 2024 年，並為 2025 年又一個堅實的一年做好準備。再次感謝您，我們期待在明年第一季向您通報全年業績和 2025 年指引的最新情況。

And ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call and we thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束，我們感謝你們的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。