Sterling Infrastructure Inc (STRL) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to Sterling Infrastructure's 2023 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Noelle Dilts, Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy. Thank you. You may begin.

您好，歡迎來到 Sterling Infrastructure 的 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議和網絡廣播。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，正在錄製此會議。現在我很高興向您介紹主持人，投資者關係和公司戰略副總裁 Noelle Dilts。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Paul. Good morning to everyone joining us. I'm pleased to be here today to discuss our first quarter results with Joe Cutillo, Sterling's Chief Executive Officer; and Ron Ballschmiede, Sterling's Chief Financial Officer. Joe will open the call with an overview of the company and its performance in the quarter. Ron will follow that up with a detailed discussion of the financial results, after which Joe will provide a market and full year outlook. Then we'll open the call up for questions.

謝謝你，保羅。大家早上好。我很高興今天能來到這裡與 Sterling 的首席執行官 Joe Cutillo 討論我們第一季度的業績；和 Sterling 的首席財務官 Ron Ballschmiede。 Joe 將在電話會議開始時概述公司及其本季度的業績。隨後，Ron 將詳細討論財務結果，之後 Joe 將提供市場和全年展望。然後我們將打開問題電話。

Unless otherwise stated, all numbers discussed today will be for continued operations, which excludes our late 2022 divestiture of Myers. As a reminder, there are accompanying slides on the Investor Relations section of our website. Before turning the call over to Joe, I'll read the safe harbor statement. Some discussions made today may include forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from the statements made today. Please refer to Sterling's most recent 10-K and 10-Q filings for a more complete description of risk factors that could affect these projections and assumptions.

除非另有說明，否則今天討論的所有數字都將用於持續運營，其中不包括我們在 2022 年底剝離 Myers。提醒一下，我們網站的投資者關係部分有隨附的幻燈片。在將電話轉給喬之前，我將閱讀安全港聲明。今天進行的一些討論可能包括前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與今天的聲明存在重大差異。請參閱 Sterling 最近的 10-K 和 10-Q 文件，以更完整地描述可能影響這些預測和假設的風險因素。

The company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Please note that we may discuss EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income or adjusted earnings per share on this call, which are all financial measures not recognized under U.S. GAAP. As required by SEC rules and regulations, these non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled to their most comparable GAAP financial measures in our earnings release issued yesterday afternoon. I'll now turn the call over to our CEO, Joe Cutillo.

公司不承擔因新信息、未來事件或其他原因而更新前瞻性陳述的義務。請注意，我們可能會在本次電話會議上討論 EBITDA、調整後的 EBITDA、調整後的淨收入或調整後的每股收益，這些都是美國公認會計原則不認可的財務指標。根據 SEC 規則和條例的要求，這些非 GAAP 財務指標與我們昨天下午發布的收益報告中最具可比性的 GAAP 財務指標相一致。我現在將電話轉給我們的首席執行官 Joe Cutillo。

Thanks, Noelle. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Sterling's First Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. It's always great to be able to discuss strong results, but what I'm really proud of is what our Sterling team is doing to achieve these results. Our people are out in the field every day using their entrepreneurial spirit to win projects, execute flawlessly and push Sterling to the next level. This is even more impressive when you consider the unprecedented supply chain and macroeconomic challenges we are facing. This team has delivered quarter after quarter and is doing a great job. In these dynamic times, it is important we stay committed to our guiding principles, the Sterling Way which remind us of our duty to continuously improve how we protect our people, our environment and give back to our communities while working to build America's infrastructure.

謝謝，諾艾爾。大家早上好，感謝您參加 Sterling 2023 年第一季度財報電話會議。能夠討論出色的結果總是很棒，但我真正感到自豪的是我們的 Sterling 團隊為實現這些結果所做的工作。我們的員工每天都在現場，用他們的企業家精神贏得項目，完美執行並將 Sterling 推向新的高度。當你考慮到我們面臨的前所未有的供應鍊和宏觀經濟挑戰時，這就更令人印象深刻了。這個團隊一個季度又一個季度地交付，並且做得很好。在這個充滿活力的時代，重要的是我們要堅持我們的指導原則，即 Sterling Way，它提醒我們有責任在努力建設美國的基礎設施的同時不斷改進我們保護我們的人民、我們的環境和回饋我們社區的方式。

These values have gained -- again helped us to deliver another record quarter. Safety is a cornerstone of how we operate. This week kicks off National Safety Week which we believe is a great time to reflect on both our success in achieving one the best safety records in the industry and on what we can do to further these efforts. This is a particular importance as we head into the busy construction season.

這些價值已經獲得——再次幫助我們創造了另一個創紀錄的季度。安全是我們運營方式的基石。本週開始了國家安全週，我們認為這是一個很好的時機來反思我們在實現行業最佳安全記錄方面取得的成功以及我們可以做些什麼來進一步努力。當我們進入繁忙的施工季節時，這一點尤為重要。

Moving to our financials. Our first quarter results capture the resilience of our business model. In the infrastructure, which is now over half of our revenues and is our fastest-growing, highest-margin segment. We delivered 22% organic top line growth. This reflects a rapid increase in activity related to high-value advanced manufacturing projects. We have announced some of the largest projects in the company's history over the past few months and we see more of these opportunities on the horizon. Data center activity also remains strong as our customers push to manage continuously increasing data demand. E-Infrastructure's operating margins declined 80 basis points from the prior year, driven by seasonal weather impacts, supply chain disruptions and mix.

轉向我們的財務。我們第一季度的業績體現了我們商業模式的彈性。在基礎設施方面，它現在占我們收入的一半以上，是我們增長最快、利潤率最高的部分。我們實現了 22% 的有機收入增長。這反映出與高價值先進製造項目相關的活動迅速增加。在過去的幾個月裡，我們宣布了公司歷史上一些最大的項目，我們看到更多這樣的機會即將出現。隨著我們的客戶推動管理不斷增長的數據需求，數據中心活動也依然強勁。 E-Infrastructure 的營業利潤率比上一年下降了 80 個基點，原因是季節性天氣影響、供應鏈中斷和組合。

We expect to see improvements in the segment margins as we move through the year. Results in Transportation Solutions reflect our strategic progress in shifting the business away from low bid heavy highway work to alternative delivery highway, aviation, rail and other projects. While our revenue declined 4% year-over-year, operating income improved 19% and operating margins expanded 95 basis points. Our focus for this segment remains on growing higher-margin, lower-risk work.

我們預計，隨著這一年的推進，該部門的利潤率會有所改善。運輸解決方案的結果反映了我們在將業務從低投標重型公路工程轉向替代交付公路、航空、鐵路和其他項目方面取得的戰略進展。雖然我們的收入同比下降 4%，但營業收入提高了 19%，營業利潤率擴大了 95 個基點。我們對該細分市場的關注點仍然是增加利潤率更高、風險更低的工作。

Our Building Solutions segment grew revenues by 7%, driven by higher levels of commercial work. It is notable that our residential revenue was essentially flat relative to last year as a mid-single-digit decline in slab volume was offset by price. This compares to a 29% decline in single-family home starts nationally in the first quarter. Looking at our residential slab volume trends in more detail, Houston was extremely strong in the quarter as we nearly doubled our slab count and saw sequential increases each month.

在更高水平的商業工作的推動下，我們的建築解決方案部門的收入增長了 7%。值得注意的是，我們的住宅收入與去年相比基本持平，因為樓板數量中個位數的下降被價格所抵消。相比之下，第一季度全國單戶住宅開工率下降了 29%。更詳細地查看我們的住宅樓板數量趨勢，休斯頓在本季度非常強勁，因為我們的樓板數量幾乎翻了一番，並且每個月都出現連續增長。

Our strategy to capture share is working. Dallas and Phoenix started the quarter off slow, but picked up in March, with Dallas picking up early in the month and Phoenix later. Solid volume trends have continued across each of our geographies into April. First quarter Building Solutions operating margin declined 150 basis points from prior year, driven by a mix shift towards inherently lower margin commercial work and continued escalation of concrete prices. As residential picks up and supply chains ease, our margin should improve through the year.

我們獲取份額的策略正在奏效。達拉斯和菲尼克斯本季度開局緩慢，但在 3 月份有所回升，達拉斯在月初和菲尼克斯之後有所回升。穩定的銷量趨勢在我們每個地區都持續到 4 月份。第一季度 Building Solutions 營業利潤率較上年同期下降 150 個基點，這是由於向本質上利潤率較低的商業工程的混合轉變以及混凝土價格的持續上漲。隨著住宅回暖和供應鏈的放鬆，我們的利潤率應該會在今年有所提高。

Shifting over to consolidated results. Revenue was up 10% relative to last year, and our adjusted EBITDA grew 13%. The We grew our combined backlog to $1.75 billion, up 4% versus year-end 2022 and delivered $0.64 per share to our shareholders. As we look to the remainder of the year, we expect a continuation of strong demand in E-Infrastructure and Transportation Solutions and a gradual recovery in Building Solutions. Our strong backlog position gives us confidence in our previously issued guidance ranges, which we are reiterating today. Based on our first quarter results, we believe we are tracking towards the high end of our 2023 guidance, which suggests a 13% increase in revenue and a 14% growth in net income.

轉向綜合結果。收入較去年增長 10%，調整後的 EBITDA 增長 13%。我們的總積壓訂單增加到 17.5 億美元，比 2022 年底增長 4%，並向我們的股東交付每股 0.64 美元。展望今年剩餘時間，我們預計電子基礎設施和交通解決方案的需求將持續強勁，建築解決方案將逐步復甦。我們強大的積壓狀況使我們對我們之前發布的指導範圍充滿信心，我們今天重申了這一點。根據我們第一季度的業績，我們相信我們正在朝著 2023 年指引的高端邁進，這表明收入增長 13%，淨收入增長 14%。

With that, I'd like to turn it over to Ron to give you more details on the quarter. Ron?

有了這個，我想把它交給羅恩，給你更多關於這個季度的細節。羅恩？

Thanks, Joe, and good morning. I am pleased to discuss our record first quarter performance. Let me take you through our financial highlights, starting with our backlog metrics. At the end of the quarter, our backlog totaled $1.62 billion, up $210 million from the beginning of the year. Gross margin of this backlog was 14.8%, a 50 basis point improvement over the beginning of the period. The 14.8% backlog margin represents the highest backlog margin in our history. A higher proportion of E-Infrastructure backlog and increased Transportation backlog margin drove this improvement.

謝謝，喬，早上好。我很高興討論我們創紀錄的第一季度業績。讓我帶您了解我們的財務重點，從我們的積壓指標開始。本季度末，我們的積壓訂單總計 16.2 億美元，比年初增加 2.1 億美元。該積壓訂單的毛利率為 14.8%，較期初提高 50 個基點。 14.8% 的積壓利潤率是我們歷史上最高的積壓利潤率。更高比例的電子基礎設施積壓和增加的運輸積壓利潤率推動了這一改善。

Unsigned awards at the end of the first quarter totaled $131 million. We finished the first quarter with combined backlog of $1.755 billion, a $65 million increase from the beginning of the year. Our gross profit in combined backlog was 14.6%, an increase of 40 basis points from the beginning of the year, another historically high watermark. Our first quarter 2023 book-to-burn ratios were 1.6x backlog and 1.2x for combined backlog.

第一季度末未簽約的合同總額為 1.31 億美元。我們在第一季度結束時積壓的總金額為 17.55 億美元，比年初增加了 6500 萬美元。我們的合併積壓毛利為 14.6%，比年初增加 40 個基點，再創歷史新高。我們在 2023 年第一季度的訂單銷毀比為 1.6 倍積壓訂單和 1.2 倍總積壓訂單。

Revenue for the first quarter was $404 million, up $38 million over the 2022 comparable period. As a result of our strong backlog and opportunities across each of our markets, we are confident that we will be well within our full year revenue guidance range of $1.9 billion to $2 billion. Our current quarter E-Infrastructure revenues were $206 million, a $37 million increase over the prior year period. The e-commerce -- the E-Infrastructure, organic revenue growth of 22% reflects the continuing strong demand for data centers, distribution centers, warehouses, and more recently, the new manufacturing opportunities across our expanding footprint.

第一季度收入為 4.04 億美元，比 2022 年同期增長 3800 萬美元。由於我們在每個市場都有大量的積壓和機會，我們有信心我們將完全在 19 億美元至 20 億美元的全年收入指導範圍內。我們當前季度的電子基礎設施收入為 2.06 億美元，比去年同期增加 3700 萬美元。電子商務——電子基礎設施，22% 的有機收入增長反映了對數據中心、配送中心、倉庫的持續強勁需求，以及最近我們不斷擴大的業務範圍內的新製造機會。

Transportation revenues were $111 million in current quarter, a decrease of $5 million or 4% from the 2022 period. The revenue decline was driven by a shift of transportation resources to perform additional higher-margin E-Infrastructure work. The first quarter Building Solutions revenue were $87 million compared to $81 million in the prior year period. This increase was driven by commercial activities, primarily in the multifamily market. Residential revenues were $54 million in the quarter essentially flat with the 2022 comparable period.

本季度運輸收入為 1.11 億美元，比 2022 年同期減少 500 萬美元或 4%。收入下降的原因是運輸資源轉移到執行額外的利潤率更高的電子基礎設施工作。第一季度建築解決方案收入為 8700 萬美元，而去年同期為 8100 萬美元。這一增長是由商業活動推動的，主要是在多戶住宅市場。本季度住宅收入為 5400 萬美元，與 2022 年同期基本持平。

Current quarter consolidated gross profit was $62 million, an increase of $7 million over the 2022 period. Gross margin increased to 15.3%, a 20-point increase over 2022. This consolidated margin increase reflects an increased mix of revenues from our high-margin infrastructure segment and increased margins from Transportation Solutions. Building Solutions gross margins were down slightly due to a higher mix of commercial revenues, which carry a lower margin percentage. Consistent with our financial expectation for 2023. Our gross margin improvements were negatively impacted by our continuing supply chain challenges in our E-Infrastructure segment and inflationary pressures, which were primarily impacted our Business Solutions segment, specifically the cost of concrete.

本季度綜合毛利為 6200 萬美元，比 2022 年同期增加 700 萬美元。毛利率增至 15.3%，比 2022 年增長 20 個百分點。這一綜合利潤率增長反映了我們高利潤基礎設施部門的收入組合增加以及運輸解決方案利潤率的增加。建築解決方案的毛利率略有下降，原因是商業收入的組合較高，而商業收入的利潤率較低。與我們對 2023 年的財務預期一致。我們的毛利率改善受到電子基礎設施部門持續的供應鏈挑戰和通脹壓力的負面影響，這主要影響我們的業務解決方案部門，特別是混凝土成本。

General and administrative expense in the quarter increased $3 million to $23.3 million. The increase was driven by general inflation and increased revenue-related incremental costs. We continue to expect our full year G&A expense to approximate 5% of our revenues. Operating income for the quarter was $32.6 million, an increase of $29.4 million over the prior year quarter. Our current quarter operating margin increased 8.1% compared to 8% in the prior year quarter. Our effective income tax rate for the first quarter was approximately 26%. Our first quarter tax rate benefited from increased tax deductions related to stock-based compensation. We continue to expect our full year 2023 effective income tax rate to be 28% to 29%.

本季度的一般和行政費用增加了 300 萬美元，達到 2330 萬美元。這一增長是由普遍通貨膨脹和與收入相關的增量成本增加推動的。我們繼續預計全年 G&A 費用將佔收入的 5% 左右。本季度營業收入為 3260 萬美元，比去年同期增加 2940 萬美元。我們當前季度的營業利潤率增長了 8.1%，而去年同期為 8%。我們第一季度的有效所得稅率約為 26%。我們第一季度的稅率得益於與股票薪酬相關的稅收減免增加。我們繼續預計 2023 年全年的有效所得稅率為 28% 至 29%。

The net effect of all these resulted in a first quarter net income of $19.6 million or $0.64 per share. We reaffirmed our full year 2023 net income guidance of $104 million to $110 million and our EPS guidance of $3.33 per share to $3.53 per share. EBITDA for the quarter totaled $45.9 million, an increase of 14% over the prior year quarter. As a percent of revenues, EBITDA improved 11.4%, up from 11.1% prior year quarter. We expect our 2023 EBITDA to be in the range of $220 million to $235 million.

所有這些的淨效應導致第一季度淨收入為 1960 萬美元或每股 0.64 美元。我們重申 2023 年全年淨收入指引為 1.04 億美元至 1.1 億美元，每股收益指引為每股 3.33 美元至 3.53 美元。本季度的 EBITDA 總計 4590 萬美元，比去年同期增長 14%。作為收入的百分比，EBITDA 增長了 11.4%，高於去年同期的 11.1%。我們預計 2023 年的 EBITDA 將在 2.2 億美元至 2.35 億美元之間。

Our cash balance increased by $21 million to $202.6 million at March 31, 2023. Cash flow from operating activities for the quarter was a very strong $49.1 million compared to $26.6 million in the prior year quarter. The 2023 operating cash flow improvement was driven by the significant organic growth of our E-Infrastructure segment as well as favorable improvements in our consolidated working capital. Cash flow from investing activities was a positive $6.5 million in the quarter.

截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日，我們的現金餘額增加了 2100 萬美元，達到 2.026 億美元。本季度經營活動產生的現金流非常強勁，為 4910 萬美元，而去年同期為 2660 萬美元。 2023 年運營現金流的改善是由我們電子基礎設施部門的顯著有機增長以及我們綜合營運資本的有利改善所推動的。本季度來自投資活動的現金流為正 650 萬美元。

The increase was driven by the receipt of $14 million from our late 2022 Myers divestiture. This was offset by $7.5 million of net capital expenditures. We continue to expect our full year capital expenditures to be in the $55 million to $60 million range reflecting the strong organic growth of the E-Infrastructure Solutions. Our cash flow from financing activities was a, up $35 million cash outflow in the quarter, primarily from debt repayments of $31 million.

這一增長是由於我們從 2022 年末的 Myers 資產剝離中收到了 1400 萬美元。這被 750 萬美元的淨資本支出所抵消。我們繼續預計我們全年的資本支出將在 5500 萬至 6000 萬美元之間，反映出電子基礎設施解決方案的強勁有機增長。我們來自融資活動的現金流量在本季度增加了 3500 萬美元的現金流出，主要來自 3100 萬美元的債務償還。

The debt repayments included a voluntary early term loan repayment of $25 million. Considering the diversity and the strength of our portfolio of businesses, our strong liquidity business and our comfortable EBITDA leverage, we are well prepared to take advantage of the additional opportunities in 2023 and beyond.

債務償還包括自願提前償還 2500 萬美元的貸款。考慮到我們業務組合的多樣性和實力、我們強大的流動性業務以及我們舒適的 EBITDA 槓桿，我們已做好充分準備，在 2023 年及以後利用更多機會。

Finally, as you may have seen this morning, we filed a Form S-3 shelf registration statement with the SEC. The new shelf allows us to issue securities periodically over the next 3 years to expand our liquidity options within our capital structure. This filing will replace our 2020 shelf with expires next week. We believe having a refreshed shelf on file and available to use as a best practice. We have no current intentions to issue any securities at the current time. Now I'll turn it back over to Joe.

最後，正如您今天早上可能看到的那樣，我們向美國證券交易委員會提交了 S-3 表格貨架註冊聲明。新貨架允許我們在未來 3 年內定期發行證券，以擴大我們資本結構內的流動性選擇。該文件將在下周到期時取代我們的 2020 年貨架。我們相信將更新的書架存檔並作為最佳實踐可供使用。我們目前無意發行任何證券。現在我將把它轉回給 Joe。

Thanks, Ron. As we look forward, we believe Sterling has a critical role in the build-out of our nation's infrastructure. Whether this is the data infrastructure that enables our increasingly connected way of life. Next-generation manufacturing facilities that are bringing production back to the U.S., the highways, bridges and airports that connect us or the homes we live in Sterling is leading the way. We expect the E-Infrastructure will remain our fastest growing, highest margin segment for the next several years.

謝謝，羅恩。展望未來，我們相信斯特林在我們國家的基礎設施建設中發揮著關鍵作用。這是否是使我們日益互聯的生活方式成為可能的數據基礎設施。將生產帶回美國的下一代製造設施、連接我們的高速公路、橋樑和機場或我們在斯特林居住的房屋正在引領潮流。我們預計電子基礎設施在未來幾年仍將是我們增長最快、利潤率最高的部分。

The reemergence of U.S. manufacturing through onshoring is happening faster than we anticipated, and the projects are very large. Our recently announced awards for Hyundai and Rivian exemplified the types of opportunities we are seeing. We believe that we are one of the few companies in the U.S. that can take on projects of this size and scale. This, coupled with our proven ability to deliver projects on time makes us a key trusted partner for our customers. Data center activity remains strong and the need for the data management continues to grow. Every day, more technology is integrated into our homes, businesses and infrastructure.

美國製造業通過外包重新崛起的速度比我們預期的要快，而且項目非常龐大。我們最近為現代和 Rivian 宣布的獎項體現了我們所看到的機會類型。我們相信，我們是美國為數不多的能夠承擔這種規模和規模項目的公司之一。這一點，再加上我們久經考驗的按時交付項目的能力，使我們成為客戶值得信賴的重要合作夥伴。數據中心活動依然強勁，對數據管理的需求持續增長。每一天，越來越多的技術被集成到我們的家庭、企業和基礎設施中。

Our customers are racing to build the capacity they need to stay ahead of the demand curve. While e-commerce distribution center activity with Amazon has slowed, other big-name retailers continue to build out their networks. We expect Amazon distribution center activity to remain muted in 2024 with a rebound in 2025. We will continue to look for acquisitions in this segment to add further capabilities or geographic coverage.

我們的客戶正在競相建立他們所需的能力，以保持領先於需求曲線。雖然與亞馬遜合作的電子商務配送中心活動放緩，但其他知名零售商仍在繼續建設自己的網絡。我們預計亞馬遜配送中心的活動將在 2024 年保持低迷，並在 2025 年出現反彈。我們將繼續在這一領域尋求收購，以增加更多的能力或地理覆蓋範圍。

In our Transportation Solutions segment, we continue to improve our margins by focusing on alternative delivery highway, aviation and rail. In addition, we are taking advantage of and looking for more opportunities that support the Building Solutions and E-Infrastructure segments outside their geographic footprint. This remains the strategy moving forward. We are focused on profitable, lower-risk opportunities.

在我們的運輸解決方案部門，我們通過專注於替代交付公路、航空和鐵路來繼續提高我們的利潤率。此外，我們正在利用並尋找更多機會來支持其地理足蹟之外的建築解決方案和電子基礎設施部門。這仍然是前進的戰略。我們專注於有利可圖、風險較低的機會。

We're now seeing awards and project activities driven by the new infrastructure build. One key benefit of the higher levels of bid activity is that we can be even more selective and pursue what we believe to be the most attractive projects. Notably, aviation, which has traditionally been some of our highest margin work has taken longer to release new projects associated with the infrastructure bill. However, we are seeing nice activity in the design phase and believe we will see strong bid activity later in the year. Overall state and federal funding for transportation initiatives is very strong and should allow for strong, steady opportunities and margin expansion over the next several years.

我們現在看到了由新基礎設施建設推動的獎項和項目活動。更高水平的投標活動的一個主要好處是我們可以更有選擇性地追求我們認為最具吸引力的項目。值得注意的是，傳統上一直是我們利潤率最高的工作之一的航空業需要更長的時間才能發布與基礎設施法案相關的新項目。然而，我們在設計階段看到了不錯的活動，並且相信我們將在今年晚些時候看到強勁的投標活動。州和聯邦對交通倡議的整體資助非常強勁，應該會在未來幾年內帶來強勁、穩定的機會和利潤擴張。

In Building Solutions, we continue to see good growth in multifamily as first-time homes have become less affordable. On the residential front, we are encouraged by our significant acceleration in slab volume in March and April and by the public comments from our top customers. We continue to believe that Dallas, Houston and Phoenix markets should outperform the national average. But more importantly, there is an immediate opportunity to pick up additional resources to support long-term gains in share.

在 Building Solutions 方面，我們繼續看到多戶住宅的良好增長，因為首次購房的價格越來越低。在住宅方面，我們對 3 月和 4 月板坯產量的顯著加速以及我們的頂級客戶的公開評論感到鼓舞。我們仍然認為達拉斯、休斯頓和菲尼克斯市場的表現應該優於全國平均水平。但更重要的是，現在有機會獲得額外的資源來支持長期的份額增長。

We continue to look at adding additional services and capacity in 2023 if the right opportunity presents itself. The strong demand for infrastructure services across the country has helped us get off to a great start and gives us high confidence in our full year outlook. More importantly, we believe this demand is going to continue over the next 3 to 5 years and will provide us with even more opportunities.

如果合適的機會出現，我們將繼續考慮在 2023 年增加額外的服務和容量。全國對基礎設施服務的強勁需求幫助我們開了個好頭，讓我們對全年前景充滿信心。更重要的是，我們相信這種需求將在未來 3 到 5 年內持續下去，並將為我們提供更多機會。

With that, I'd like to turn it over for questions.

有了這個，我想把它交給問題。

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Sean Eastman with KeyBanc here.

謝謝。我們現在將進行問答環節。 （操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Sean Eastman 和 KeyBanc。

Can you hear me?

你能聽到我嗎？

Yes, we can now.

是的，我們現在可以。

Nice start here, guys. And Noelle, congratulations on the new job. I think it's great. You guys got to real ringer here and at the same time, Relieve Brent and I have some competition. So really fantastic there double way. So maybe starting on the Infrastructure margins. Just a little more color on the lower year-on-year performance in the first quarter. I'm just wondering what's in that bridge? And how do we think about the trajectory from here?

好的開始，伙計們。諾埃爾，恭喜你獲得新工作。我認為這很棒。你們必須在這裡真正振作起來，同時，Relieve Brent 和我有一些競爭。雙重方式真的很棒。所以也許從基礎設施利潤率開始。第一季度較低的同比表現略有不同。我只是想知道那座橋裡有什麼？我們如何看待從這裡開始的軌跡？

Yes. Well, I think there's a couple of factors. The first quarter for us is always seasonably lower and a little more variable from a standpoint of the impact of weather. The other thing that, that tends to drive, Sean, is more focused on some of the smaller projects where they can get in, in between weather spurts or have short durations work on so if we look at Southeast less impacted more so in the Northeast in the winter, we tend to see a little bit.

是的。好吧，我認為有幾個因素。從天氣影響的角度來看，我們的第一季度總是季節性較低，而且變化更大。另一件傾向於推動的事情，肖恩，更專注於他們可以進入的一些較小的項目，在天氣突增之間或持續時間較短的工作，所以如果我們看看東南部受到的影響較小，東北部的影響更大在冬天，我們往往會看到一點點。

In addition, what we do during that period of time as we take advantage of the slow period and we ramp up or revamp and rebuild and do all of our stuff to our equipment so that we're ready to hit the busy season running. So that adds some cost and takes out some productivity as we have less equipment out there working and getting that ready. We see those margins coming back. It doesn't concern us. We can titrate to specific items. And we believe that will come back in the second and third quarter.

此外，我們在那段時間裡所做的事情，因為我們利用了緩慢的時期，我們進行了升級或改造和重建，並對我們的設備進行了所有的工作，以便我們準備好迎接繁忙的季節。因此，這增加了一些成本並降低了一些生產力，因為我們在那里工作和準備的設備更少。我們看到這些利潤率回來了。這與我們無關。我們可以滴定到特定的項目。我們相信這將在第二和第三季度恢復。

Okay. Great. So it sounds like kind of right on track with the internal plan there, which is good. And just relative to the shift in the customer base we're seeing here, where perhaps that traditional distribution, warehousing, customer bases, going to be outpaced by maybe some of the manufacturing -- larger manufacturing jobs on a go-forward. Is there any difference in the approach to project execution for those customers relative to that traditional customer base that you guys are having to adapt to?

好的。偉大的。所以這聽起來像是內部計劃的正確軌道，這很好。相對於我們在這裡看到的客戶群的轉變，傳統的分銷、倉儲、客戶群可能會被一些製造業所超越——更大的製造業工作正在向前發展。相對於你們必須適應的傳統客戶群，這些客戶的項目執行方法有什麼不同嗎？

No. It's all about speed. It doesn't matter if it's an Amazon distribution center, a Facebook data center or Hyundai battery plant. We're winning on our horsepower and our capabilities to get projects done faster. We were just at the Hyundai job 2 weeks ago, I think it was now, and we have got 200 of the biggest piece of equipment you've ever seen on the first 200 acres we have to have traffic control. That's how many vis-a-vis equipment, how fast they're moving. So it's fundamentally the same stuff. That's the beauty of it. We -- whether it's a data center or a distribution center or manufacturing facility it doesn't matter. We just like bigger more dirt that has to be moved. That's our specialty.

不，一切都與速度有關。不管它是亞馬遜配送中心、Facebook 數據中心還是現代電池廠。我們正在以我們的馬力和我們更快完成項目的能力取勝。兩週前我們剛剛在現代工作，我想是現在，我們有 200 台你見過的最大的設備，在我們必須進行交通管制的前 200 英畝土地上。這就是相對設備的數量，它們移動的速度。所以它基本上是相同的東西。這就是它的美妙之處。我們——無論是數據中心、配送中心還是製造設施，都無關緊要。我們只是喜歡必須移動的更大更多的污垢。那是我們的專長。

Okay. Very helpful. And then the comment about Transportation Solutions, reallocating some resources to E-Infrastructure, it's kind of interesting. I wonder if there's some sort of deeper integration happening that could improve your visibility into the overhead leverage in the model over time? Or maybe I'm overthinking that comment?

好的。很有幫助。然後是關於運輸解決方案的評論，將一些資源重新分配給電子基礎設施，這很有趣。我想知道是否發生了某種更深層次的集成，可以隨著時間的推移提高您對模型中間接費用槓桿的可見性？或者也許我想得太多了？

Yes. I don't know if it's as much in the overhead. The way I look at it, and this is also a little bit of our margin erosion in the first quarter that -- what we've done is we've had an opportunity to leverage some blue-chip customers that are doing projects out in the Rocky Mountain areas. And we certainly with plateau and Petillo, don't have capabilities, but our RLW business does all of the Rocky Mountains continuously. So we've leveraged those resources to do data center up there and a manufacturing facility, and it's worked out really well.

是的。我不知道它是否在開銷中。我看待它的方式，這也是我們第一季度利潤率的一點點侵蝕——我們所做的是，我們有機會利用一些正在開展項目的藍籌客戶落基山脈地區。我們當然有高原和 Petillo，沒有能力，但我們的 RLW 業務連續不斷地在所有落基山脈進行。因此，我們利用這些資源在那裡建立了數據中心和製造設施，而且效果非常好。

Now their margins are not quite as high as we would get out of plateau and Petillo just because of the efficiency those guys have and the horsepower they have, they have a little bit smaller equipment on the Rocky Mountains. But we'll continue to look at that. And the way we think of it is yellow -- a piece of yellow iron is a piece of yellow iron, what's the best return on capital we can get out of that piece of equipment. In the private sector is traditionally always been higher margins than the public sector. So ideally, if we could continue to shift a little more of those resources over there, our total margin goes up as a company and our retirement on capital continues to go up.

現在他們的利潤率並不像我們從高原和 Petillo 得到的那麼高，只是因為這些人的效率和他們擁有的馬力，他們在落基山脈的設備有點小。但我們會繼續關注這一點。我們認為它是黃色的——一塊黃鐵就是一塊黃鐵，我們可以從那件設備中獲得的最佳資本回報是多少。傳統上，私營部門的利潤總是高於公共部門。因此，理想情況下，如果我們能夠繼續將更多的資源轉移到那裡，我們作為一家公司的總利潤率就會上升，我們的資本退休金也會繼續上升。

Okay. Interesting. And just one last one for me, a little higher level. I mean how would you frame the operating environment or operating conditions as we head into this year's busy construction season versus last year just relative to supply chain, equipment and material deliveries, pricing being kind of commensurate with the cost environment. Maybe just help us contrast where we're at this year versus last year from that perspective.

好的。有趣的。對我來說只是最後一個，更高一點的水平。我的意思是，在我們進入今年繁忙的施工季節時，您將如何構建運營環境或運營條件與去年相比，僅與供應鏈、設備和材料交付有關，定價與成本環境相稱。也許只是幫助我們從這個角度對比今年和去年的情況。

I think on a positive front, availability has become better as a general statement. Fuel has somewhat stabilized, though the stocks that are going up this summer again. Pipe lead times are still extremely long.

我認為從積極的方面來看，作為一般性陳述，可用性已經變得更好。燃料已經有所穩定，儘管今年夏天庫存再次上漲。管道交貨時間仍然非常長。

We're still seeing increases, the one dichotomy or challenge we have is concrete prices are still going up is the builders are putting more and more pressure on price concessions to the supply chain on it. So that's a little bit of a disconnect on what you would normally think. Wood is stabilized and has come down, but we don't use a ton of wood. Aggregate in general is still up. But we're at least able to get materials right now.

我們仍然看到價格上漲，我們面臨的一個二分法或挑戰是具體價格仍在上漲，因為建築商正在對供應鏈的價格讓步施加越來越大的壓力。所以這與您通常的想法有點脫節。木頭穩定下來了，但我們不用一噸木頭。總的來說還是向上的。但我們至少現在能夠拿到材料。

Equipment availability is out there again. We've seen that over the last quarter. The downside of that, it's about 30% more expensive to buy the same piece of equipment this year as it was 18 months ago. So we'll still have what I'll call the productivity challenges in the E-Infrastructure until we can get the material sequencing right. There's some redundant work that has to take place there. a little bit of challenge with concrete on the residential side. The rest of the stuff, I would say that has stabilized and is on track to not cause significant problems for the year.

設備可用性再次出現。我們在上個季度看到了這一點。不利的一面是，與 18 個月前相比，今年購買同樣的設備要貴 30% 左右。因此，在我們能夠正確安排材料排序之前，我們仍然會面臨電子基礎設施中的生產力挑戰。那裡必須進行一些多餘的工作。住宅方面的混凝土有點挑戰。其餘的東西，我想說已經穩定下來，並且有望在今年不會造成重大問題。

Our next question is from Brent Thielman with D.A. Davidson.

我們的下一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Brent Thielman。戴維森。

Joe, maybe just -- it sounds like March, April activity just with respect to slabs is getting better? What's the view you're getting from your homebuilder customers at this point? I mean, does this effectively kind of call the bottom? Or maybe just some more color around that.

喬，也許只是 - 聽起來好像 3 月、4 月的平板活動正在好轉？此時您從您的房屋建築商客戶那裡得到什麼看法？我的意思是，這是否有效地稱為底部？或者可能只是圍繞它添加一些顏色。

Yes. I would say our customers continue to be more bullish, much more bullish than we are. We've been pretty conservative on our forecast numbers and outlooks. They remain very bullish. I think they're seeing a turn some data that just came out this morning, the percentages of cancellations. If you remember last year, they were kind of mid- to high single digits as a normal run rate, we'll call it, and they went up to 30% on the cancellation rates, and they're back down under double digits again, which is a good sign that people are buying houses and they're sticking with the contracts.

是的。我會說我們的客戶繼續看漲，比我們看漲得多。我們對我們的預測數字和前景一直非常保守。他們仍然非常樂觀。我認為他們正在看到今天早上剛剛發布的一些數據，取消的百分比。如果你還記得去年，他們的正常運行率是中高個位數，我們稱之為，他們的取消率上升到 30%，然後又回落到兩位數以下，這是一個好兆頭，表明人們正在購買房屋並且他們會遵守合同。

They're seeing a pickup in demand and frankly, they're -- again, they're much more bullish than we've been. We saw that happen. January and February were very slow, with the acceptance of Houston. Houston has continued to grow, not stop. March kicked down in Dallas. In late March, we saw Phoenix come on in April and the outlook for May looked like that trend is continuing forward. So these guys are back to build homes and they're running hard.

他們看到需求回升，坦率地說，他們 - 再一次，他們比我們以前更加樂觀。我們看到了這種情況。一月和二月非常緩慢，休斯頓接受了。休斯頓一直在繼續成長，而不是停止。三月在達拉斯開始了。 3 月下旬，我們看到 Phoenix 在 4 月出現，而 5 月的前景看起來這種趨勢仍在繼續。所以這些人又回來建房了，他們正在努力奔跑。

And so Joe, even in the face of some of these inflationary headwinds, that -- it sounds like that mix is going to work back in your favor in the coming quarters hopefully, benefits Building Solutions margins at the same time. Is that fair? .

因此，喬，即使面對這些通貨膨脹的逆風，聽起來這種組合將在未來幾個季度對你有利，同時有利於建築解決方案的利潤率。這公平嗎？ .

Yes. Well, it certainly depends on the rate of increases. Multifamily still is strong. But theoretically, you're absolutely correct. Is the mix shift goes back to a higher percentage of residential, there's a higher percentage of commercial.

是的。好吧，這當然取決於增長率。多戶家庭仍然很強大。但從理論上講，你是絕對正確的。如果混合轉變回到更高比例的住宅，那麼商業的比例就會更高。

That commercial business has always been much lower margins than the residential side. So yes, that's correct. We will pick up some of that margin as we continue through the year. And if we can prevent the June concrete increases, which I say we can't do anything for the tail on the dog. But if they don't go through because the market softening overall for raw materials, that would help us tremendously.

商業業務的利潤率一直比住宅方面低得多。所以是的，這是正確的。隨著我們繼續這一年，我們將獲得部分利潤。如果我們能阻止 6 月的混凝土上漲，我說我們對狗的尾巴無能為力。但如果他們因為原材料市場整體疲軟而沒有通過，那將對我們有很大幫助。

Okay. Okay. And then, Joe, maybe a little higher level. I mean, look at the E-Infrastructure business, obviously, no slowing in momentum there. I guess thinking across Building Solutions and E-Infrastructure there's obviously you have some concerns about out there about the non-residential environment tightening lending. I'd just like to get your perspective on it, how does that play into your business? Where do you see exposures or potential risk?

好的。好的。然後，喬，也許更高一點。我的意思是，看看電子基礎設施業務，顯然，那裡的勢頭沒有放緩。我想考慮到建築解決方案和電子基礎設施，顯然你對非住宅環境收緊貸款有一些擔憂。我只想了解您對此的看法，這對您的業務有何影響？您在哪裡看到風險敞口或潛在風險？

It allowed us to, a lot of the stuff that I think is going to get hit the most are what I'll call those $1 million to $3 million type projects that we use as fill-in work or will only do for specific customers when they ask us I think as you're talking about some of the commercial stuff with everybody's saying it's going to slow down. Those tend to be very small projects. We -- I've got to tell you, we are not seeing a slowdown across the board -- and to put it in perspective, one manufacturing plant could be 30 or 40 of these small projects and equivalent value in size. So we're continuing to stay focused on that.

它讓我們能夠，很多我認為會受到最大打擊的東西是我稱之為 100 萬到 300 萬美元類型的項目，我們用作填充工作或只為特定客戶做他們問我們，我想當你在談論一些商業的東西時，每個人都說它會放慢速度。這些往往是非常小的項目。我們——我必須告訴你，我們並沒有看到全面放緩——從一個角度來看，一個製造廠可能有 30 或 40 個這樣的小項目，規模相當。因此，我們將繼續專注於此。

We think that there's going to be a lot more coming on the manufacturing front, not only from further battery plants, obviously, the [EV] plants but we have yet to see in our footprint at least the release of the first chip plant, and there's several of those stated up through the Northeast. So we're staying close to that stuff. And again, we think there's more upside opportunity out there than potential risk for us over the next -- and that's not just this year. That's over the next 3-plus years.

我們認為在製造方面將會有更多的事情發生，不僅來自更多的電池工廠，顯然是 [EV] 工廠，而且我們還沒有看到我們的足跡至少是第一家芯片工廠的發布，並且東北部有幾個這樣的說法。所以我們一直在接近那些東西。再一次，我們認為未來的上行機會多於我們的潛在風險——不僅僅是今年。那是在接下來的 3 年多時間裡。

Yes. And Joe, I mean, I heard a lot about manufacturing across other companies, too. You guys are obviously tied pretty close to this stuff. Any context in terms of the prospect pipeline for the next 12-plus months around manufacturing, in particular, maybe relative to what you've seen over the last few years in that business.

是的。喬，我的意思是，我也聽說過很多其他公司的製造業。你們顯然與這些東西關係密切。未來 12 個多月圍繞製造業的前景管道的任何背景，特別是可能與您在過去幾年在該業務中所看到的有關。

Well, I think it's kind of interesting. Our customer for the battery plant has already asked us to go to Mexico and Canada, which we've said no, we don't speak Spanish, and we don't have passports to get over the Canadian border. But they certainly have a lot of activities going on. And we're -- it's early in some of the big projects because they're working on state funding and those sort of things. But the Southeast seems to be the hotspot right now for this stuff to go into. There seems to be much more incentives from the states to pull in these manufacturing plants. The Northeast is a little bit behind, but we think we'll eventually figure this out and pick up.

好吧，我認為這很有趣。我們電池廠的客戶已經要求我們去墨西哥和加拿大，我們拒絕了，我們不會說西班牙語，而且我們沒有護照無法越過加拿大邊境。但他們肯定有很多活動正在進行。而且我們 - 這是一些大型項目的早期，因為他們正在致力於國家資助和類似的事情。但是東南部現在似乎是這些東西進入的熱點。各州似乎有更多的激勵措施來吸引這些製造工廠。東北部有點落後，但我們認為我們最終會解決這個問題並接受。

Okay. Just last one. I mean really strong showing on cash flow again, Ron, great work. I got any pull forward here this quarter? Or this is just true blue cash flow? What we should expect from Sterling?

好的。只是最後一個。我的意思是再次在現金流方面表現出色，羅恩，幹得好。這個季度我在這裡有什麼進展嗎？或者這只是真正的藍色現金流？我們對斯特林有何期待？

Yes. I think certainly, cash flow is always lumpy. We've done a nice job at integrating our acquisitions, including takes a while to get the cash flow working. But we think it will be strong throughout the year. Certainly, we used $25 million to pay down some debt. We're attempting to control our interest expense to be within our range and our guidance. So not yet it has today, probably this week, another 25 bps coming at us. So we'll continue to kind of balance that of using our cash flow to fund that, if necessary.

是的。我認為當然，現金流總是不穩定的。我們在整合收購方面做得很好，包括需要一段時間才能讓現金流運轉起來。但我們認為全年都會很強勁。當然，我們用了 2500 萬美元來償還一些債務。我們正試圖將利息支出控制在我們的範圍和指導範圍內。所以今天還沒有，可能是本週，又一個 25 個基點向我們襲來。因此，如果有必要，我們將繼續平衡使用我們的現金流為其提供資金的平衡。

And otherwise, we'll continue to look at tuck-in acquisitions or something better if it were to come along. So kind of same story with a little bit of great cash flow helped us. We'd like to keep it around, get more than $200 million, probably too much less than $2 million, I don't like, but I don't never like -- I always like more cash. But anyway, that will be kind of our measuring point.

否則，我們將繼續關注收購或更好的收購。同樣的故事加上一點點大現金流幫助了我們。我們想保留它，獲得超過 2 億美元，可能少於 200 萬美元，我不喜歡，但我從來不喜歡——我總是喜歡更多的現金。但無論如何，這將是我們的衡量點。

And Brent, just to follow up a little bit more on the residential on the trending and that sort of stuff. I think what's important to think about is for the quarter, we ended up fundamentally flat with prior year. And if you were to look at the start of January and the first of February, it's really amazing that we were flat for the year. So the trajectory really picked up in late February, March, and then the accumulation of the growth in Houston really was kind of the icing on the cake for that.

還有布倫特，只是為了跟進住宅的趨勢和諸如此類的事情。我認為重要的是要考慮本季度，我們最終與去年基本持平。如果你看看 1 月初和 2 月 1 日，我們今年持平真是太神奇了。因此，軌跡在 2 月下旬、3 月真正回升，然後休斯頓的增長積累確實為此錦上添花。

And we're seeing exactly what we told people would happen, which is weren't sure if we could grow in a down market, and we never thought the market would go down 30%. We're hoping to go down 10% to 15%. But we're staying relatively flat, might even show some slight growth. but we will continue to grossly outperform the U.S. housing market. And we're picking up share as well, which is nice for long-term kind of thoughts.

我們看到的正是我們告訴人們會發生的事情，不確定我們是否可以在低迷的市場中增長，而且我們從未想過市場會下跌 30%。我們希望下降 10% 到 15%。但我們保持相對平穩，甚至可能略有增長。但我們將繼續大大跑贏美國房地產市場。我們也在增加份額，這對長期的想法很有好處。

Our next question is from Brian Russo with Sidoti & Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 Sidoti & Company 的 Brian Russo。

Just to follow up on the E-Infrastructure. As Sterling kind of migrates and focuses more on the more complex, larger projects. I suppose you have even more competitive advantages. And thus, you should see overall project margins improve relative to maybe what we saw with the smaller projects a year ago?

只是為了跟進電子基礎設施。隨著 Sterling 的遷移，更多地關注更複雜、更大的項目。我想你有更多的競爭優勢。因此，您應該看到整體項目利潤率相對於我們一年前在較小項目中看到的情況有所改善？

Yes. What I would say is that there is a correlation to project size and margin, right? Certainly, the larger the project, the better opportunity we have to get it. But the more productive we can be on a large project because again, the horsepower and capabilities we have, so there is a correlation. So the thing that we always say is most important is it's less about what again, whether it's a data center a distribution center or manufacturing site. It's more about the number of yards, cubic yards that have to be moved and the amount of rock that needs to be blasted. Those are the 2 things we really like. and we have what I'll call a specialty action capability that 99% of the people have they don't have.

是的。我要說的是，項目規模和利潤之間存在相關性，對嗎？當然，項目越大，我們獲得它的機會就越大。但是我們在大型項目上的生產力越高，因為我們擁有的馬力和能力，因此存在相關性。因此，我們總是說最重要的一點是，無論是數據中心、配送中心還是製造基地，它都不是什麼。更多的是關於必須移動的碼數、立方碼以及需要爆破的岩石數量。這些是我們真正喜歡的兩件事。我們擁有 99% 的人都沒有的特殊行動能力。

And I would add, the pace of getting it done to the customer is the ultimate critical value being delivered.

我還要補充一點，向客戶完成任務的速度是交付的最終關鍵價值。

Okay. And I thought your -- the commentary in the press release and on the call regarding reallocating the Transportation Solution resources to higher margin infrastructure work in the Rocky Mountains. And I guess this kind of plays into your whole kind of strategic focus. Clearly, you've got the East Coast covered, but -- and there's a lot of activity to keep you busy, but there's quite a lot of manufacturing in the chip space and even in the auto industry occurring elsewhere in the country.

好的。我認為你的 - 新聞稿中的評論和關於將運輸解決方案資源重新分配給落基山脈更高利潤的基礎設施工作的電話會議。而且我想這種類型會影響您的整個戰略重點。很明顯，你已經覆蓋了東海岸，但是 - 有很多活動讓你忙碌，但是在芯片領域甚至在該國其他地方發生的汽車行業中有相當多的製造業。

And I'm curious, how -- or do you want to expand your E-Infrastructure footprint there rather than just reallocating Transportation Solutions resources. I mean is there a balance? Or is there a kind of a growth strategy there that you're going to pursue?

我很好奇，你想如何——或者你想在那裡擴展你的電子基礎設施足跡，而不是僅僅重新分配交通解決方案資源。我的意思是有平衡嗎？或者是否有一種您要追求的增長戰略？

I think if we found the right player in a large enough market, we certainly would go after and look at making another acquisition. I think what's really nice that we're able to do is these projects we're talking about are in Idaho. Not a huge market, not going to have a plateau or Petillo up there. but is a market that we play in from a transportation side. So it gives us an opportunity to leverage that in a smaller secondary third primary market, right? Now if there is something, I don't know, pick another area that had a very large footprint very high growth over a long period of time, probably not California, but some other areas, we would certainly entertain and look at potentially making an acquisition or buying someone.

我認為，如果我們在一個足夠大的市場中找到合適的參與者，我們當然會追求並考慮進行另一次收購。我認為我們能夠做的真正好的是我們正在談論的這些項目都在愛達荷州。不是一個巨大的市場，那裡不會有高原或 Petillo。但這是我們從運輸方面參與的市場。所以它讓我們有機會在較小的二級第三一級市場中利用它，對吧？現在，如果有什麼，我不知道，選擇另一個在很長一段時間內有著非常大的足跡和非常高的增長的地區，可能不是加利福尼亞，而是其他一些地區，我們肯定會娛樂並考慮潛在的收購或購買某人。

One thing I would add that I think is also interesting about this is it's not like Transportation Solutions is doing this in isolation. You're seeing some nice collaboration across the group with plateau sharing best practices and really helping to get these projects off and on (inaudible).

我要補充的一件事我認為對此也很有趣，因為它不像 Transportation Solutions 是孤立地做這件事。您會看到整個團隊與 plateau 共享最佳實踐的良好合作，並真正幫助啟動和啟動這些項目（聽不清）。

I think it's a good point. So the data center team from plateau in the RLW team, both met and worked with the client on the project upfront. They help put together the bid package in the project schedules. And they even will come out once a month from a project management standpoint and just oversee the job to make sure everything is on track, and we're delivering the same level of quality and service that we deliver on the East Coast. And so far, it's gone really, really well and it's very encouraging for us. But yes, they're not on an item.

我認為這是一個很好的觀點。因此，RLW 團隊中來自高原的數據中心團隊在項目前期就與客戶會面並進行了合作。他們幫助將投標包整合到項目進度表中。他們甚至會從項目管理的角度每月出來一次，只是監督工作以確保一切都在正軌上，我們提供的質量和服務水平與我們在東海岸提供的相同。到目前為止，一切都非常非常順利，這對我們來說非常鼓舞人心。但是，是的，它們不在一個項目上。

Okay. Great. And then just on backlog. Obviously, strong expanding margins there. Is there any more color you could provide with the understanding that the E-Infrastructure projects are much quicker burn than transportation. But it seems as if the mix of the E-Infrastructure continues to grow relative to the overall backlog. Just wondering if you could add any more insight into that or how we should be looking at the backlog over the next 12 months?

好的。偉大的。然後只是積壓。顯然，那裡的利潤率強勁擴大。如果理解電子基礎設施項目比運輸更快地燃燒，您還可以提供更多顏色嗎？但相對於整體積壓，電子基礎設施的組合似乎繼續增長。只是想知道您是否可以對此添加更多見解，或者我們應該如何看待未來 12 個月的積壓工作？

Yes, I think the good news is we're seeing margin improvements across the board of the backlog. So our transportation margins is the infrastructure bill funding continues to come out. We're seeing very nice projects that fit our expertise and scope and more on the alternative delivery, which enables us to be even more selective in the transportation space. We think we're in the second quarter and third quarter, we're going to see a nice barrage of aviation work that comes out for bid.

是的，我認為好消息是我們看到積壓訂單的利潤率全面提高。因此，我們的運輸利潤是基礎設施法案資金不斷湧現。我們看到非常好的項目符合我們的專業知識和範圍，更多的是替代交付，這使我們能夠在運輸領域更具選擇性。我們認為我們在第二季度和第三季度，我們將看到大量的航空工作競標。

That I think we're positioned well on several of those jobs would be our alternative delivery for us. And then obviously, you have what I call the portfolio shift the E-Infrastructure margins will be higher than Transportation. So the faster we build that backlog or the higher percentage of our total backlog ratio that is that moves the margin as well. We still think we have a couple of hundred basis points in Transportation to take out. But we are now nicely positioned in double-digit margins with that. and continue to make great progress there.

我認為我們在其中幾項工作中處於有利地位，這將是我們的替代交付方式。然後很明顯，你有我所說的投資組合轉變電子基礎設施利潤率將高於運輸。因此，我們建立積壓訂單的速度越快，或者我們的總積壓比率越高，這也會影響利潤率。我們仍然認為我們在運輸方面有幾百個基點可以取消。但我們現在已經很好地定位於兩位數的利潤率。並繼續在那裡取得長足進步。

Yes. And I would add that our average project size with some of these large jobs rolling in and the infrastructure side are obviously building up, which means duration goes up. So if you ask that question, we acquired both businesses with the kind of average backlog duration was well less than 6 months, probably somewhere between 4% and 6%, depending on which one we're talking about. Today, they're probably between 6 and 8 months. So some of that is duration also is driving at least these 100 million-plus projects are really -- it's good work they last longer and at a greater margin. So it's a good combination.

是的。我要補充一點，我們的平均項目規模，其中一些大型工作正在湧入，基礎設施方面顯然正在建設，這意味著持續時間會增加。因此，如果你問這個問題，我們收購的這兩家公司的平均積壓持續時間都不到 6 個月，可能介於 4% 到 6% 之間，具體取決於我們談論的是哪一家。今天，他們可能在 6 到 8 個月之間。因此，其中一些是持續時間也正在推動至少這 1 億多個項目是真的——這是一項好工作，它們持續時間更長，利潤率更高。所以這是一個很好的組合。

There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the floor back over to Joe Cutillo for any closing comments.

目前沒有其他問題。我想將發言權交還給 Joe Cutillo，讓他發表任何結束評論。

Thank you, Paul. Thanks again, everyone, for joining our call today. If you have any follow-up questions or wish to schedule a call, please feel free to contact Noelle builds. Our contact information can be found on our press release. Thanks, everybody, and have a great day.

謝謝你，保羅。再次感謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議。如果您有任何後續問題或希望安排電話，請隨時聯繫 Noelle builds。我們的聯繫信息可以在我們的新聞稿中找到。謝謝大家，祝你有美好的一天。

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

今天的會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。