Sterling Infrastructure Inc (STRL) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Sterling Infrastructure Third Quarter 2023 Conference Call and Webcast. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 Sterling 基礎設施 2023 年第三季電話會議和網路廣播。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Noelle Dilts, Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人，投資者關係和企業策略副總裁 Noelle Dilts。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, Joanna. Good morning to everyone joining us, and welcome to Sterling Infrastructure's 2023 Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Webcast.

謝謝你，喬安娜。大家早安，歡迎參加 Sterling Infrastructure 的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議和網路廣播。

I'm pleased to be here today to discuss our 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 the detailed discussion of the financial results. After which Joe will provide a market and full year outlook. Then we will open the call up for questions.

我很高興今天能夠與 Sterling 執行長 Joe Cutillo 討論我們的業績；以及 Sterling 財務長 Ron Ballschmiede。喬將在電話會議開始時概述公司及其本季的業績。羅恩將隨後詳細討論財務表現。之後，喬將提供市場和全年展望。然後我們將開放提問。

As a reminder, there are accompanying slides on the Investor Relations section of our website. Before turning the call over to Joe, I will read the safe harbor statement. Some discussions made today may include forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from the statements made today.

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含前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與今天的聲明有重大差異。

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. The company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

請參閱 Sterling 最近的 10-K 和 10-Q 文件，以了解可能影響這些預測和假設的風險因素的更完整描述。本公司不承擔因新資訊、未來事件或其他原因而更新前瞻性陳述的義務。

The financial information herein and discussions are related to the company's continuing operations. Please also note that management may reference EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income or adjusted earnings per share on the call, all -- which all are 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.

本文中的財務資訊和討論與公司的持續經營有關。另請注意，管理層可能會在電話會議上提及 EBITDA、調整後 EBITDA、調整後淨利潤或調整後每股收益，所有這些都是美國公認會計原則不認可的財務指標。根據 SEC 規則和法規的要求，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 財務指標進行了調整。

I'll now turn the call over to our CEO, Joe Cutillo.

我現在將把電話轉給我們的執行長 Joe Cutillo。

Thanks, Noelle. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Sterling's third quarter 2023 earnings call. I'd like to thank our Sterling team for another record quarter. Their hard work and dedication has allowed us to deliver 11 quarters of consecutive year-over-year net income growth.

謝謝，諾艾爾。大家早安，感謝您參加 Sterling 的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我要感謝我們的斯特林團隊再次創造了創紀錄的季度業績。他們的辛勤工作和奉獻精神使我們能夠實現連續 11 個季度的淨利潤同比增長。

Our diluted earnings per share for the third quarter were $1.26. This represents a substantial 25% increase compared to our same period in 2022, and surpassed our internal projections. Revenue growth in the quarter was 13.7% or 11.7% on an organic basis.

第三季稀釋後每股收益為 1.26 美元。與 2022 年同期相比，這一數字大幅成長 25%，超出了我們的內部預測。本季營收成長 13.7%，有機成長 11.7%。

Demand trends across our key markets remain strong. The best reflection of this is our backlog, which is up 42% from the beginning of the year and totaled over $2 billion. Our cash flow generation remains excellent. Operating cash flow in the quarter was $150 million, bringing our total cash position to $409 million at the end of the quarter.

我們主要市場的需求趨勢仍然強勁。最能體現這一點的是我們的積壓訂單，比年初成長了 42%，總計超過 20 億美元。我們的現金流生成仍然出色。本季的營運現金流為 1.5 億美元，季末我們的總現金部位達到 4.09 億美元。

Our focus remains on deploying our cash into acquisitions that complement our current offerings and enhance our competitive position. We have intensified our targeting efforts and remain extremely active on this front. As we continue to expand our business both organically and through strategic acquisitions, we remain unwavering in our adherence to our guiding principles, the Sterling Way.

我們的重點仍然是將現金部署到收購中，以補充我們目前的產品並增強我們的競爭地位。我們加強了目標努力，並在這方面保持極其強大的態度。隨著我們繼續有機地和透過策略收購擴展我們的業務，我們仍然堅定不移地堅持我們的指導原則：Sterling Way。

These principles underscore our commitment to take care of our people, our environment, our investors and our communities, while we work to build America's infrastructure. With a strong third quarter performance, year-to-date results, backlog position and visibility into the fourth quarter, we are raising our full year guidance.

這些原則強調了我們在努力建立美國基礎設施的同時照顧我們的人民、我們的環境、我們的投資者和我們的社區的承諾。憑藉強勁的第三季業績、年初至今的業績、積壓訂單狀況以及第四季度的可見性，我們正在上調全年指引。

The midpoint of our increased earnings per share guidance would represent a 32% growth over 2022. Moving to our segments. E-Infrastructure Solutions backlog grew 48% from the beginning of the year to a new record of $891 million. We continue to see a strong pipeline of work related to data centers and onshoring of manufacturing. We currently have line of sight into several large projects slated to bid in 2024 and 2025 in both of these markets.

我們增加的每股盈餘指引的中位數將比 2022 年成長 32%。轉向我們的細分市場。電子基礎設施解決方案積壓訂單較年初增加了 48%，達到 8.91 億美元的新紀錄。我們繼續看到與資料中心和製造業外包相關的強大工作管道。目前，我們正在關注計劃於 2024 年和 2025 年在這兩個市場投標的幾個大型項目。

In the quarter, we did see a slight decline in Infrastructure Solutions revenue and margins relative to prior year. This was driven by timing of several new project starts and the continued softness in e-commerce distribution centers and small warehouses in the Northeast. Our Southeastern operations continued to show strong growth and margin expansion as we execute on large manufacturing and data center projects.

在本季度，我們確實看到基礎設施解決方案的收入和利潤率較上年略有下降。這是由於幾個新項目啟動的時機以及東北部電子商務配送中心和小型倉庫的持續疲軟所推動的。隨著我們執行大型製造和數據中心項目，我們的東南部業務繼續表現出強勁的成長和利潤率擴張。

The early start of large manufacturing projects in the Southeast has allowed the region to more than offset the softness in e-commerce distribution in small warehouses. This has not yet been the case in the Northeast, where we are just seeing the first large manufacturing opportunities emerge.

東南部大型製造項目的早期啟動使該地區足以抵消小型倉庫電子商務配送的疲軟。東北地區的情況尚未出現，我們剛剛看到第一個大型製造機會的出現。

In Transportation Solutions, revenue increased nearly 23% year-over-year and 28% sequentially. We are seeing very strong demand and margin growth across our entire geographic footprint. Awards in the quarter of $472 million drove backlog growth of 14% from the beginning of the year. Though the majority of backlog growth year-to-date is attributable to the highway market.

在運輸解決方案方面，營收年增近 23%，季增 28%。我們看到整個地區的需求和利潤都非常強勁。該季度的獎勵金額為 4.72 億美元，推動積壓訂單較年初增長 14%。儘管今年迄今的大部分積壓成長都歸因於高速公路市場。

Aviation bid activity has picked up significantly, and we expect to hear final decisions on several projects in the fourth quarter. Transportation Solutions margin expanded 130 basis points driving a 49% growth in operating income. Operating margins reached a new high of 7.5%. We believe we have an opportunity to continue to increase margins as long as the market remains robust. This is supported by the improving margin profile in our backlog.

航空投標活動顯著增加，我們預計將在第四季度聽到幾個項目的最終決定。運輸解決方案利潤率擴大了 130 個基點，帶動營業收入成長 49%。營業利益率創下7.5%的新高。我們相信，只要市場保持強勁，我們就有機會繼續提高利潤率。我們的積壓訂單中不斷改善的利潤狀況支持了這一點。

In Building Solutions, we grew revenue 41% or 29% on an organic basis. On the residential side, we continued to significantly outperform the national market. Our revenue growth was 52% compared to an average increase of 7% for single-family home starts nationally in the third quarter.

在建築解決方案方面，我們的收入有機成長了 41% 或 29%。在住宅方面，我們的表現持續顯著優於全國市場。我們的營收成長了 52%，而第三季全國單戶住宅開工平均成長率為 7%。

We remain confident that the dynamics in our markets and our strong customer relationships will drive sustained outperformance. Continued strong demand in multifamily and attractive margin opportunities enabled us to grow our commercial revenues by nearly 23%. Building Solutions operating profit margins remained strong at 11.3%, driving income growth of 38%.

我們仍然相信，市場的動態和強大的客戶關係將推動持續的優異表現。多戶住宅持續強勁的需求和有吸引力的利潤機會使我們的商業收入成長了近 23%。建築解決方案營運利潤率維持在 11.3% 的強勁水平，帶動收入成長 38%。

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

說到這裡，我想將其轉交給羅恩，向您提供有關本季度的更多詳細資訊。羅恩？

Thanks, Joe, and good morning. I am pleased to discuss our third quarter performance. Let me take you through our financial highlights, starting with our backlog metrics. At the end of the quarter, our backlog totaled a record $2.01 billion, an increase of $596 million at the beginning of the year.

謝謝，喬，早安。我很高興討論我們第三季的業績。讓我從我們的積壓指標開始向您介紹我們的財務亮點。截至本季末，我們的積壓訂單總額達到創紀錄的 20.1 億美元，比年初增加了 5.96 億美元。

The gross margin of this backlog was 15.2%, a 90 basis point improvement from the beginning of the year. Higher Transportation and E-Infrastructure backlog margins drove this improvement. Unsigned Awards at the end of the third quarter totaled $375 million. Substantially all of our Unsigned Awards relate to our Transportation Solutions segment. We expect to have the majority of Unsigned Awards to move into backlog by the end of the year.

本次積壓訂單毛利率為15.2%，較年初提高90個基點。較高的運輸和電子基礎設施積壓利潤推動了這項改善。截至第三季末，未簽名獎項總額為 3.75 億美元。我們幾乎所有未簽署的獎項都與我們的運輸解決方案部門相關。我們預計到今年年底，大部分未簽署的獎項將進入積壓狀態。

We finished the quarter with combined backlog of $2.386 billion, a $696 million increase from the beginning of the year. Our gross margin in the combined backlog was 14.9%, an increase of 70 basis points from the beginning of the year. The 14.9% gross margin is the highest level in Sterling's history.

本季末，我們的積壓訂單總額為 23.86 億美元，比年初增加了 6.96 億美元。合併未訂單毛利率為 14.9%，較年初成長 70 個基點。 14.9%的毛利率是史特林史上的最高水準。

Our year-to-date backlog book-to-bill ratio was very strong 1.5x for both backlog and combined backlog. Revenue for the current quarter was $560 million, up $67 million over the 2022 quarter. As a result of our strong backlog and our opportunities across each of our markets, our updated increased full year revenue guidance is now between $1.99 billion and $2.05 billion.

年初至今，我們的積壓訂單訂單出貨比非常強勁，無論是積壓訂單還是合併積壓訂單，均為 1.5 倍。本季營收為 5.6 億美元，比 2022 年季度增加 6,700 萬美元。由於我們大量的積壓訂單以及我們在每個市場上的機會，我們更新後的全年收入指引目前在 19.9 億美元至 20.5 億美元之間。

Consolidated gross profit was $92 million in the quarter, an increase of $12 million over the prior year period. Gross margins increased to 16.4% or 30 basis points over the prior year quarter. General and administrative expense was $25 million for the quarter, an increase of $3 million when compared to the same quarter of the prior year.

該季度綜合毛利為 9,200 萬美元，比去年同期增加 1,200 萬美元。毛利率較去年同期成長 30 個基點，增至 16.4%。本季一般及管理費用為 2,500 萬美元，比去年同期增加 300 萬美元。

The increase was driven by general inflation, increased revenue-related incremental costs and G&A related to the late 2022 Arizona Slab acquisition. We continue to expect our full year G&A expense to be approximately 5% of revenues. Operating income for the quarter was $57 million, an increase from $49 million or 15% over the prior year quarter.

這一增長是由總體通膨、與收入相關的增量成本增加以及與 2022 年末收購 Arizona Slab 相關的一般管理費用 (G&A) 推動的。我們仍然預計全年 G&A 費用將佔收入的 5% 左右。本季營業收入為 5,700 萬美元，較去年同期的 4,900 萬美元增加，增幅為 15%。

Our third quarter operating margin increased to 10.2% from 10% in the third quarter of 2022. Our effective income tax rate for the third quarter was 25.7%. Our 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 approximately 27%.

我們第三季的營業利潤率從 2022 年第三季的 10% 增至 10.2%。第三季的有效所得稅率為 25.7%。我們的稅率受益於與股票薪酬相關的稅收減免的增加。我們仍預期 2023 年全年有效所得稅率約為 27%。

The net effect of all these items resulted in record third quarter net income of $39.4 million or $1.26 per diluted share compared to $30.7 million or $1.01 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2022. With our year-to-date 2023 strong performance and the strength of each of our key markets, we have increased our full year 2023 net income guidance to $128 million to $130 million -- $132 million.

所有這些項目的淨效應導致第三季淨利達到創紀錄的3,940 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益1.26 美元，而2022 年第三季淨利為3,070 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益1.01 美元。2023 年至今，我們的業績表現強勁，並且根據我們每個主要市場的實力，我們將 2023 年全年淨利潤指導提高至 1.28 億美元至 1.3 億美元 - 1.32 億美元。

Our EPS guide is now $4.10 to $4.23 per diluted share from our prior EPS range of $4 to $4.20 per diluted share. EBITDA for the quarter totaled $71.2 million, an increase of 16% over the prior year quarter. EBITDA margins improved to 12.7%, up from 12.5% in the prior year quarter.

我們的每股攤薄每股收益指南目前為每股攤薄每股收益 4.10 美元至 4.23 美元，而之前的每股攤薄每股收益範圍為 4 美元至 4.20 美元。該季度 EBITDA 總計 7,120 萬美元，比去年同期成長 16%。 EBITDA 利潤率從去年同期的 12.5% 提高至 12.7%。

Our updated 2023 guidance for EBITDA is now $252 million to $260 million for the year. Our consolidated cash balance increased by $228 million from the beginning of the year to $409 million at the end of the third quarter. Our cash balance exceeds our total debt of $358 million by $51 million.

我們更新後的 2023 年 EBITDA 指引為 2.52 億至 2.6 億美元。我們的綜合現金餘額從年初增加了 2.28 億美元，達到第三季末的 4.09 億美元。我們的現金餘額比 3.58 億美元的總債務多了 5,100 萬美元。

Cash flow from operating activities for the 9 months ended September 30, '23 was a very strong $331 million compared to $138 million in the prior year period. The operating cash flow improvement was driven by the significant organic growth of each of our segments as well as favorable improvements in our working capital.

截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日的 9 個月，經營活動產生的現金流量達到了 3.31 億美元，而去年同期為 1.38 億美元。營運現金流的改善是由我們每個部門的顯著有機成長以及營運資本的有利改善所推動的。

Cash used in investing activities was $25.6 million for the 9 months ended September 30, '23 compared to $47.8 million for the 2022 period. The decrease was driven by the timing of net capital expenditures, offset by first quarter receipt of $14 million from the late 2022 Myers divestiture.

截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日的 9 個月，投資活動使用的現金為 2,560 萬美元，而 2022 年期間為 4,780 萬美元。這一下降是由淨資本支出的時機推動的，但被 2022 年底 Myers 資產剝離帶來的第一季收入 1,400 萬美元所抵消。

We expect full year capital expenditures to be $50 million to $55 million, reflecting the strong organic growth of our E-Infrastructure Solutions segment. Cash flow from financing activities was an $81 million cash outflow for the 9 months ended September 30, 2023, primarily from debt repayments of $77 million.

我們預計全年資本支出為 5,000 萬至 5,500 萬美元，反映出我們電子基礎設施解決方案部門的強勁有機成長。截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日的 9 個月，融資活動產生的現金流量為 8,100 萬美元，主要來自 7,700 萬美元的債務償還。

The debt reductions include voluntary early debt payments totaling $53 million. Considering the diversity and strength of our portfolio of businesses, our strong liquidity position and our very comfortable EBITDA leverage, we are well prepared to take advantage of additional opportunities in 2023 and beyond.

債務削減包括總計 5300 萬美元的自願提前債務償還。考慮到我們業務組合的多樣性和實力、強大的流動性狀況以及非常舒適的 EBITDA 槓桿，我們已做好充分準備，以利用 2023 年及以後的更多機會。

Now I'll turn the call over to Joe.

現在我將把電話轉給喬。

Thanks, Ron. As we sit here today, there appears to be no end in sight to the growing need to build and revitalize America's infrastructure. We play a critical role in building the manufacturing plants that are reshoring production to the U.S.

謝謝，羅恩。當我們今天坐在這裡時，建設和振興美國基礎設施的日益增長的需求似乎沒有盡頭。我們在建造將生產回流到美國的製造工廠方面發揮關鍵作用。

The data infrastructure that enables today's way of life, the highways, the bridges and the airports that connect this and the homes we live in. In E-Infrastructure Solutions, we continue to see a robust pipeline of large manufacturing projects tied to electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors and pharma, both in our current footprint and other potential geographies.

數據基礎設施支持當今的生活方式、高速公路、橋樑和機場，將其與我們居住的房屋連接起來。在電子基礎設施解決方案中，我們繼續看到與電動車相關的大型製造項目的強大管道，電池、半導體和製藥，無論是在我們目前的足跡還是其他潛在的地區。

We anticipate continued strength in data centers as current capacity represents only a fraction of what will be needed to support artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. We believe that the e-commerce and small warehouse markets will remain soft through 2024, but pick back up in 2025. These dynamics support strong growth opportunities over a multiyear period for E-Infrastructure solutions.

我們預計資料中心將繼續保持強勁勢頭，因為目前的容量僅佔支援人工智慧和其他新興技術所需容量的一小部分。我們認為，到 2024 年，電子商務和小型倉庫市場將保持疲軟，但將在 2025 年回升。這些動態為電子基礎設施解決方案提供了多年內的強勁成長機會。

In Transportation Solutions, we think we're now in a market environment where we can accelerate growth relative to historical levels as long as margins remain at current levels or higher. In Building Solutions, we continue to see strong residential activity in our markets and our customers remain bullish as we enter into 2024.

在運輸解決方案方面，我們認為我們現在所處的市場環境是，只要利潤率保持在當前水準或更高，我們就可以相對於歷史水準加速成長。在建築解決方案領域，我們繼續看到市場上強勁的住宅活動，隨著進入 2024 年，我們的客戶仍然看好。

In addition, multifamily starts to remain robust and margin opportunity is strong. With our very healthy cash flow and balance sheet, we continue to look hard at acquisitions in E-Infrastructure and Building Solutions. We're proud of how far we've come, but even more excited about the opportunities ahead of us.

此外，多戶住宅開始保持強勁，利潤機會也很大。憑藉我們非常健康的現金流和資產負債表，我們繼續認真考慮電子基礎設施和建築解決方案領域的收購。我們對我們所取得的進步感到自豪，但更對我們面前的機會感到興奮。

We believe that the build-out of the U.S. infrastructure will remain strong over the next 3 to 5 years. With our visibility into the fourth quarter in a record backlog, we are confident in our increased guidance and are positioned for an even better 2024. With that, I'd like to turn it over for questions.

我們相信，美國基礎建設在未來三到五年內將保持強勁。鑑於第四季度創紀錄的積壓，我們對增加的指導充滿信心，並為 2024 年更好的目標做好了準備。因此，我想將其轉交給問題。

(Operator Instructions) First question comes from Brent Thielman at D.A. Davidson.

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

I guess first question, Joe, you talked about it a bit in the closing comments there, but this sort of drag from the e-commerce projects, some of the steps in the Northeast, you mentioned it will carry through 2024.

我想第一個問題，喬，你在最後的評論中談到了這一點，但是電子商務項目的這種拖累，東北部的一些步驟，你提到它將持續到 2024 年。

How should we think about that impacting your ability to get the E-Infrastructure business still to those kind of long-term compound growth rates you talked about for the business, I guess, the 9% to 12%?

我們應該如何看待這會影響您使電子基礎設施業務保持您所說的業務長期複合成長率（我猜是 9% 到 12%）的能力？

Yes. We're still -- Brent, we're still confident in those numbers. Let me explain in a little more detail what happened in the second quarter because there's really a couple of parts of that. On the positive side, we had great weather in the second quarter. Teams are running hard, and we actually finished some projects that would have been anticipated to finish in the third quarter a little early in the second quarter. So our second quarter numbers were fantastic.

是的。我們仍然——布倫特，我們仍然對這些數字充滿信心。讓我更詳細地解釋一下第二季發生的事情，因為確實有幾個部分。從積極的一面來看，我們第二季的天氣很好。團隊正在努力工作，我們實際上在第二季度提前完成了一些原本預計在第三季完成的專案。所以我們第二季的數據非常棒。

What we tried to do is get other jobs kicked off earlier in the third quarter, and we had a combination of one, that not happening, and two, jobs that have actually pushed out to start later. So you got a little bit of a double whammy just in the Northeast that, that happened. So that's where the lion's share of the revenue drop was. Actually, all of the revenue drop was there.

我們試圖做的是讓其他工作在第三季早些時候啟動，而我們有一個組合，即沒有發生，以及兩個實際上已經推遲開始的工作。所以，在東北地區，就發生了一些雙重打擊。這就是收入下降的最大部分。事實上，所有的收入下降都在那裡。

And as a result, we got a little bit of an impact on indirect absorption and those sort of things relative to our normal run rate. As we look forward, it's not that the e-commerce distribution centers definitely, Amazon has slowed down. We normally have five Amazons going at any given time. We've got one right now. And we continue to -- we think that's not going to pick up according to Amazon until the small warehouse activity is really the private side, which is a little bigger piece of the market up in the Northeast and the Southeast, and that softened with some of the financing.

結果，我們對間接吸收以及與我們正常運作率相關的此類事情產生了一些影響。正如我們所期望的那樣，這並不是說電子商務配送中心的速度明顯放緩，而是亞馬遜放緩了速度。我們通常在任何特定時間都會有五架亞馬遜飛機。我們現在就有一個。我們繼續——根據亞馬遜的說法，我們認為這種情況不會好轉，除非小型倉庫活動真正成為私人方面，這是東北和東南部市場的一個更大的部分，並且隨著一些的融資。

However, what we've seen, the biggest difference is when you look at the Southeast, we originally anticipated manufacturing jobs, not kicking off until '24, '25. The good news is in the Southeast, those jobs have kicked off quicker. In the Northeast, those jobs are in the early stages of being launched and released.

然而，我們所看到的，最大的區別是，當你看看東南部時，我們最初預計製造業就業機會要到 24 年、25 年才會開始。好消息是在東南部，這些工作開始得更快。在東北地區，這些就業機會正處於啟動和釋放的早期階段。

The difference between us growing at high single digits to what I'll call strong double digits is really literally landing one or two of those jobs. I will tell you that we've got line of sight to three to five of those jobs as we sit here today going into '24 and '25. And we feel confident we'll land our fair share of those and we'll be in good shape once those big projects kick in to the Northeast.

我們以高個位數成長與我所說的強勁兩位數成長之間的區別實際上是獲得其中一兩個工作崗位。我會告訴你，當我們今天坐在這裡進入 24 和 25 年時，我們已經看到了其中的三到五個工作。我們相信，我們將獲得這些項目的公平份額，一旦這些大型項目在東北地區啟動，我們將處於良好狀態。

The Southeast continues to grow at kind of strong rates, and it's really a lag of the big projects in the Northeast.

東南部繼續以強勁的速度成長，這確實落後於東北部的大型計畫。

Okay. That's helpful, Joe. And yes, I guess the large project that you mentioned, plan to bid '24, '25. Are these as biggest the record booking that you recently announced, just looking maybe for a little more context relative to that or just to see the year-to-date, Joe.

好的。這很有幫助，喬。是的，我猜你提到的大型專案計劃在「24」、「25」投標。這些是您最近宣布的最大紀錄預訂嗎？只是尋找更多相關背景信息，或者只是看看今年迄今為止的情況，喬。

Yes. These are -- these projects are in total multibillion-dollar projects, just like the ones we're doing now. Obviously, they vary in size to some degree on our scope. But these are large projects, Brent. The other thing to keep in mind is our backlog position right now is up 40 something percent over beginning of the year, we're in a very good, very strong backlog position. So I would tell you, don't let a quarter or two of dip kind of take over the narrative of what the real growth and real opportunity is up there and where we're at with it.

是的。這些項目總價值數十億美元，就像我們現在正在做的項目一樣。顯然，它們的大小在我們的範圍內有所不同。但這些都是大型項目，布倫特。另一件需要記住的事情是，我們現在的積壓狀況比年初增加了 40% 左右，我們的積壓狀況非常好、非常強勁。所以我想告訴你，不要讓一兩個季度的下跌取代了真正的成長和真正的機會以及我們所處的位置的敘述。

Yes. Understood. And then on Building Solutions, I mean, pretty solid growth here considering the environment, you were more optimistic as the year sort of developed around that business. Certainly things have picked up. But I guess with mortgage rates continuing to climb, is that having any impact on the KPIs that you sort of track internally slab growth rates, et cetera? Just any measure you'd point to that positivity there in light of that.

是的。明白了。然後，在建築解決方案方面，我的意思是，考慮到環境，這裡的成長相當穩健，隨著這一年圍繞著該業務的發展，您更加樂觀。當然，事情已經好轉了。但我想隨著抵押貸款利率持續攀升，這會對您內部追蹤的板塊成長率等 KPI 產生影響嗎？有鑑於此，您可以採取任何措施來表明這種積極性。

Yes. I mean everything it's -- what I would reflect back and say the strategy we put together a couple of years ago for the downturn is really paying off. As we're able to not only take advantage of growing markets, but we'll continue to grow market share in the Houston and Phoenix market to offset those declines in total.

是的。我的意思是一切——我會反思並說我們幾年前針對經濟低迷制定的策略確實得到了回報。因為我們不僅能夠利用不斷成長的市場，而且我們將繼續增加休士頓和鳳凰城市場的市場份額，以抵消整體下降的影響。

But we're seeing both of those markets remain -- including Dallas, they all remain strong. It's working. We're outperforming the general market by a factor of a lot, right? So that's been very good. The only thing we've seen that I think is encouraging to us is we have definitely seen the size of slabs decrease.

但我們看到這兩個市場仍然存在——包括達拉斯，它們都仍然強勁。它正在發揮作用。我們的表現比整體市場好很多，對嗎？所以這非常好。我認為我們看到的唯一令人鼓舞的事情是我們確實看到了平板尺寸的減少。

So what that means is we have to do more slabs to get the same revenue. The nice thing is -- if we look at the margins on those slabs versus the older larger slabs, we've been able to hang in there on the margin side.

這意味著我們必須生產更多的板材才能獲得相同的收入。好的事情是 - 如果我們看看這些板的邊緣與舊的較大板的邊緣，我們已經能夠在邊緣一側堅持下去。

Okay. Commercial I mean this is just...

好的。商業廣告我的意思是這只是......

Commercial -- yes, on the commercial, I always forget to talk about commercial because it's normally such a small piece of our business. But we've seen very nice margin growth and very nice opportunities there. If you remember, a couple of years ago, we shrunk that commercial business down to I'll call it, a small skeleton of what it is today. But the margins remain strong and the activity on multifamily remains very strong in the markets we're at, and that was up 20-something percent.

商業——是的，在商業方面，我總是忘記談論商業，因為它通常只占我們業務的一小部分。但我們在那裡看到了非常好的利潤成長和非常好的機會。如果你還記得的話，幾年前，我們將商業業務縮小到我稱之為今天的小骨架。但我們所在市場的利潤率仍然很高，多戶住宅的活動仍然非常強勁，成長了 20% 左右。

Got it. Just the last one to -- I mean, the huge cash generation again this quarter and year-to-date, it looks like you're benefiting from pretty large advanced payments. Does that all reverse in a material way in 2024 where we see sort of cash flow more consistent with kind of your historical conversion rates?

知道了。我的意思是，本季和今年迄今再次產生大量現金，看起來您正從相當大的預付款中受益。到 2024 年，這一切是否會發生重大逆轉，我們會看到某種現金流與您的歷史轉換率更加一致？

Certainly, on a project by project, it will, although our largest project is still more than four quarters work to do. What -- obviously, we expect to happen are some of these large jobs starting up with the same characteristics, frankly, of cash flow and this work on just the timing of billings and collections.

當然，在一個又一個專案上，它會的，儘管我們最大的專案還有四個多季度的工作要做。顯然，我們預計會發生的是，坦白說，這些大型工作中的一些工作具有相同的現金流特徵，而且只涉及計費和收款的時間。

So I don't see actually variability, which we have across the board in each of our large contractor segments of transportation and the infrastructure. But I think it will stay kind of on the favorable side for quite some time with these big projects out there. We're pretty much plateau, no pun intended at this point in time. I don't see them coming down dramatically.

因此，我並沒有看到實際的變化，而我們在運輸和基礎設施的每個大型承包商領域都存在這種變化。但我認為，隨著這些大型專案的出現，在相當長的一段時間內，它都會保持有利的一面。我們幾乎處於停滯狀態，此時沒有雙關語的意思。我不認為它們會急劇下降。

The next question comes from Brian Russo at Sidoti.

下一個問題來自 Sidoti 的 Brian Russo。

Can you just remind us -- I know there are some margin differences between Plateau in the Southeast in Petillo in the Northeast, it could be union versus nonunion or labor force and/or just scope of work?

您能否提醒我們 - 我知道東南部高原和東北部佩蒂略之間存在一些邊際差異，可能是工會與非工會或勞動力和/或只是工作範圍？

Just trying to get a sense of as the activity ramps up in the Northeast, you can still maintain the margin profile that you've gotten mostly on the hyperscale data center and reshoring down in the Southeast?

只是想了解一下，隨著東北部活動的增加，您仍然可以維持主要在超大規模資料中心和東南部回流中獲得的利潤狀況嗎？

Yes. Let me -- I'll answer some of that and let Rod jump in. Brian, the -- we will always have as long as the project scope mix remains like it is today. We always have about a 4-point margin -- lower margin in the Northeast versus the Southeast.

是的。讓我——我會回答其中的一些問題，然後讓羅德介入。布萊恩，——只要項目範圍組合保持像今天這樣，我們就會一直擁有。我們總是有大約 4 個百分點的優勢——東北部的優勢比東南部低。

And what that has to do is our customers up there because it's union want to deal with less contractors and deal with one. So on a site development, kind of apples-to-apples, the margins are very close. But we do a lot of concrete work curb and gutter will do actually paving a parking lot, sound walls. And in the Southeast, we've stayed away from that because the margins are significantly lower.

這與我們的客戶有關，因為工會希望與更少的承包商打交道並與一個承包商打交道。因此，在網站開發方面，同類產品之間的利潤率非常接近。但我們做了很多具體的工作，包括路邊和排水溝，實際上是鋪設停車場、隔音牆。在東南部，我們遠離這種做法，因為利潤率明顯較低。

In the Northeast, they require it. I think as we look at E-Infrastructure, I think what we need to think about is kind of the, I'll call it, normalized blended average of the two businesses in that segment around 15.5% is what the number should be there. So Plateau runs a little higher, Petillo a little a little lower and you kind of blend it out with revenue and mix, and that's about where it falls.

在東北，他們需要它。我認為，當我們審視電子基礎設施時，我認為我們需要考慮的是，我稱之為該細分市場中兩家企業的歸一化混合平均值，大約 15.5% 是應該存在的數字。因此，Plateau 運行得更高一點，Petillo 運行得更低一點，你可以將其與收入和組合混合起來，這就是它下降的地方。

Yes. During the quarter, it was a bit exacerbated by the slower volume revenues in the month. Give or take, about 1/3 of the revenues come from the Northeast and 2/3 from the Southeast. So the Southeast continue to have nice margin growth. And any time you drop almost 20% of revenues in the month, which was made up by the Southeast, we probably have $1 million to $3 million of unrecovered overhead basically. Now as we beat up, that will come back as we gear up for bigger projects and some of the timings and the issues that we talked about earlier, that will come back a little bit. So -- but 4% is a little bit bigger in the third quarter just because of the swing in the margins.

是的。在本季度，由於當月銷量成長放緩，這種情況有所加劇。不管怎樣，大約1/3的收入來自東北部，2/3來自東南部。因此，東南部地區的利潤率持續保持良好成長。每當每月收入下降近 20%（由東南部彌補）時，我們基本上可能有 100 萬至 300 萬美元的管理費用未收回。現在，當我們擊敗時，當我們為更大的項目做好準備時，這將會回來，我們之前討論過的一些時間安排和問題也會回來一點。所以，但由於利潤率的波動，第三季 4% 的成長率有點高。

The good news is our highest margins grew. The bad news is our lowest margin declined a bit. So the math was okay.

好消息是我們的利潤率實現了最高成長。壞消息是我們的最低利潤率略有下降。所以數學沒問題。

Okay. Very helpful. And then just to switch gears on transportation, if I recall, in the second quarter, you were able to pivot some of your crews and equipment to support an E-Infrastructure project in the Rocky Mountains. Just wondering, given all the activity that we're seeing in that region. Are you positioned to continue to do that and just go where the margins are.

好的。很有幫助。然後只是在交通方面進行切換，如果我記得的話，在第二季度，您能夠將一些人員和設備轉移到落基山脈的電子基礎設施項目上。只是想知道，考慮到我們在該地區看到的所有活動。您是否準備好繼續這樣做，並只關注利潤率所在的地方。

Yes. I think a couple of things. One, that project has gone extremely well. It's gone so well that the general contractor that's on that job in beta has pulled us into a manufacturing facility in Idaho, it's around food products. And we're actively looking at some other projects with them. They plan on doing a few more as well. So we will continue if the opportunities are available to reallocate those assets to what I'll call the E-Infrastructure space, whether that's data centers or manufacturing or any of those.

是的。我認為有幾件事。第一，專案進展非常順利。一切進展順利，以至於負責測試工作的總承包商把我們帶到了愛達荷州的一家製造工廠，主要生產食品。我們正在積極與他們一起研究其他一些項目。他們還計劃做更多的事情。因此，如果有機會將這些資產重新分配到我所說的電子基礎設施領域，無論是資料中心還是製造業或其中任何一個，我們將繼續。

And team has done a great job -- and I think just as importantly, they are as excited about expanding into that market as they could be. and they're working diligently to do that. So we hope as we go into '24 to '25, not only do we see the large footprint of projects in the Southeast and starting in the Northeast this opens up the geography for us to go even broader with those core customers.

團隊做得很好——我認為同樣重要的是，他們對盡可能擴展到該市場感到興奮。他們正在努力做到這一點。因此，我們希望，當我們進入「24 世紀」到「25 年」時，我們不僅會看到東南部的大量項目，並從東北部開始，這為我們與這些核心客戶的合作開闢了更廣闊的地域。

Okay. Great. And then just lastly, the Unsigned Awards mostly in the Transportation Solutions segment. Are those still mostly comprised of highway work? Or is that where we're starting to see the aviation projects pick up in the unsigned bids?

好的。偉大的。最後，未簽名獎項主要集中在運輸解決方案領域。這些仍然主要由高速公路工程組成嗎？或者說，這就是我們開始看到航空項目在未簽署的投標中回升的地方嗎？

Yes. I think it's primarily road, highway and bridges. There are some early smaller projects in the aviation side that are waiting for final signatures. So the larger opportunities on the aviation side are going to fall into -- maybe awards this year, but to work in fall into 2024, and we expect that to happen. Nice projects out there being developed.

是的。我認為主要是道路、高速公路和橋樑。航空方面有一些早期的較小項目正在等待最終簽署。因此，航空方面更大的機會將落入——也許是今年的獎項，但要到 2024 年秋季才能發揮作用，我們預計這會發生。正在開發一些不錯的專案。

At this time, I will now turn the call back over to Joe Cutillo for closing comments.

此時，我將把電話轉回給 Joe Cutillo 以徵求結束意見。

Thank you. 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 Dilts. Her contact information can be found in our press release. I want to thank everybody for participating, and have a great day.

謝謝。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通話，請隨時聯絡 Noelle Dilts。她的聯絡資訊可以在我們的新聞稿中找到。我要感謝大家的參與，祝你有美好的一天。

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

今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。