Willdan Group Inc (WLDN) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Willdan Group fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results conference call.

問候並歡迎參加 Willdan Group 2024 年第四季和全年財務業績電話會議。

(Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議正在錄音。

It is, now, my pleasure to introduce your host, Al Kaschalk. Thank you. You may begin.

現在，我很高興向大家介紹主持人 Al Kaschalk。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, [Matt]. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Willdan Group's fourth-quarter and fiscal 2024 earnings call.

謝謝你，[馬特]。大家下午好。歡迎參加 Willdan Group 第四季和 2024 財年財報電話會議。

Joining our call, today, are Mike Bieber, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Kim Early, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

今天參加我們電話會議的有總裁兼執行長 Mike Bieber 和執行副總裁兼財務長 Kim Early。

Our conference call remarks will include both GAAP and non-GAAP financial results. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP measures can be found in today's press release and in the presentation slides, all of which are available on our website.

我們的電話會議評論將包括 GAAP 和非 GAAP 財務結果。您可以在今天的新聞稿和簡報幻燈片中找到 GAAP 和非 GAAP 指標之間的對賬，所有這些都可以在我們的網站上找到。

Please note that year-over -year commentary are variances on revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EPS discussed during our prepared remarks or on an organic basis. We'll make forward-looking statements about our performance. These statements are based on how we see things, today. While we may elect to update these forward-looking statements, at some point in the future, we do not undertake any obligation to do so.

請注意，同比評論是我們在準備好的評論中或有機基礎上討論的收入、調整後的 EBITDA 和調整後的 EPS 的差異。我們將對我們的業績做出前瞻性的陳述。這些陳述是基於我們今天對事物的看法。雖然我們可能選擇在未來某個時候更新這些前瞻性陳述，但我們不承擔任何義務。

As described in our SEC filings, actual results may differ, materially, due to risk and uncertainties.

正如我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件所述，由於風險和不確定性，實際結果可能存在重大差異。

With that, I'll hand the call over to Mike.

說完這些，我就把電話交給麥克。

Thanks, Al. We had a strong finish to a record year in 2024, significantly exceeding the Street consensus estimates and our own expectations.

謝謝，艾爾。2024 年是我們創紀錄的一年，我們取得了強勁的成績，大大超越了華爾街的普遍預期和我們自己的預期。

For 2024, contract revenue was up 11% and adjusted EBITDA was up 24% year over year. GAAP EPS nearly doubled year over year and adjusted EPS was up 39%.

2024 年，合約營收年增 11%，調整後 EBITDA 年成長 24%。GAAP EPS 年比幾乎翻了一番，調整後 EPS 成長了 39%。

Execution and performance across all lines of business were strong, leading to a record level of free cash flow. For 2024, we generated $4.49 per share of free cash flow, an outstanding result for any public company.

所有業務線的執行力和業績均表現強勁，導致自由現金流達到創紀錄的水平。2024 年，我們每股產生了 4.49 美元的自由現金流，對於任何一家上市公司來說，這都是一個出色的成績。

With our latest acquisition announced this morning, we've transformed our technical capabilities to serve the commercial data center market.

隨著我們今天上午宣布的最新收購，我們已經轉變了我們的技術能力，以服務商業資料中心市場。

Electric load growth, Willdan's unique capabilities in the market, and our consistently solid execution have all come together to fuel a positive long-term outlook, coming into 2025.

電力負荷的成長、Willdan 在市場上的獨特能力以及我們一貫穩健的執行力，共同推動了我們進入 2025 年的長期樂觀前景。

On slide 3. Willdan provides a wide range of energy and infrastructure solutions. We provide solutions for the electric power grids, solutions to electric utilities, and solutions to commercial and local government customers.

在第 3 張投影片上。Willdan 提供廣泛的能源和基礎設施解決方案。我們為電網、電力公司以及商業和地方政府客戶提供解決方案。

With the acquisition announced, today, we have about 1,800 employees, comprised mostly of scientists, engineers, and technical professionals. We, now, have 54 offices across North America and helped clients avoid emissions of 12.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses.

隨著收購的宣布，今天我們擁有約 1,800 名員工，其中大部分是科學家、工程師和技術專業人員。目前，我們在北美設有 54 個辦事處，協助客戶避免了 1,250 萬公噸溫室氣體的排放。

I've talked about wanting to expand our commercial services, as well as add electrical engineering capabilities. The Enica acquisition in Q4 serving biopharma and the APG acquisition we announced today, both overwhelmingly serve the commercial technology sector.

我曾談到希望擴大我們的商業服務，以及增加電機工程能力。我們於第四季度收購了服務於生物製藥業的 Enica，而今天宣布收購 APG 則主要服務於商業技術領域。

Calculated on a pro forma basis, our commercial customers, now, comprise 15% of our revenue, (multiple speakers) the percentage of last year. State and local government customers are, now, 44% and utilities are, now, 41% of our revenue.

以備考基礎計算，我們的商業客戶現在占我們收入的 15%，（多位發言者）這一比例與去年持平。目前，州和地方政府客戶占我們收入的 44%，公用事業占我們收入的 41%。

Demand for our services with all three customer groups is healthy.

這三個客戶群對我們服務的需求都很旺盛。

Our work for commercial customers is, now, largely related to electricity usage at data centers. AI-driven load growth is providing Willdan with many commercial opportunities to help technology clients navigate electricity constraints. We would like to continue adding acquisitions that strengthen our capabilities with commercial customers.

目前，我們為商業客戶所做的工作主要與資料中心的電力使用有關。人工智慧驅動的負載成長為 Willdan 提供了許多商業機會，幫助技術客戶應對電力限制。我們希望繼續增加收購，以增強我們與商業客戶合作的能力。

Our work for state and local government clients is growing, organically, at a high-single-digit pace -- is strong and the outlook is positive. Willdan has almost no work, directly, with the federal government or funded by the federal government. The recent federal spending cuts have had almost no impact to our backlog or our outlook because our state and local government work is funded, primarily, through user fees and bonds.

我們為州和地方政府客戶所做的工作正在以高個位數的速度有機成長——成長勢頭強勁，前景樂觀。威爾丹幾乎沒有與聯邦政府直接合作，也沒有得到聯邦政府的資助。最近的聯邦開支削減幾乎對我們的積壓工作或前景沒有影響，因為我們的州和地方政府工作主要透過用戶費用和債券獲得資金。

Our work for utilities is primarily under multi-year contracts, is funded by user fees, and remains robust.

我們為公用事業所做的工作主要基於多年期合同，資金來自用戶費用，並且保持強勁。

Onto slide 4.

轉到投影片 4。

Our upfront policy and data analytics work informs Willdan's strategy. In our upfront work, we are seeing particular demand for integrated resource planning and asset valuation on projects often associated with data center electricity load. Those market changes have led us to acquisitions that provide solutions to these clients.

我們的前期政策和數據分析工作為 Willdan 的策略提供了資訊。在我們的前期工作中，我們發現與資料中心電力負荷相關的項目對綜合資源規劃和資產評估有特別的需求。這些市場變化促使我們進行收購，為這些客戶提供解決方案。

In engineering, we saw strong geographic expansion in Florida and Texas and continued demand from Southwestern-city customers.

在工程領域，我們看到佛羅裡達州和德克薩斯州的地理擴張強勁，西南城市客戶的需求持續成長。

In program management, we performed above our plan on utility programs and building energy programs for cities.

在專案管理方面，我們在城市公用事業專案和建築能源專案方面的表現超越了計劃。

Since Q3, we've completed three acquisitions, totaling about $50 million in 2024 annual revenue. And the diagram shows where they expand our engineering and program management capabilities. I'll talk more about these capabilities, in later slides.

自第三季以來，我們已完成三筆收購，2024 年年收入總計約 5,000 萬美元。這張圖表顯示了他們擴展我們的工程和專案管理能力的地方。我將在後面的幻燈片中詳細討論這些功能。

On slide 5.

在第 5 張投影片上。

We've had a great string of new wins, since the last call. In fact, Willdan successfully won all of our major three competes in 2024.

自從上次通話以來，我們取得了一系列新的勝利。事實上，Willdan 在 2024 年成功贏得了我們所有三項主要比賽。

Today, we announced winning the expanded recompete with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, LADWP. The new $330 million, five-year contract delivers more complex energy efficiency measures to a broader set of commercial and government clients within LADWP territory.

今天，我們宣布贏得與洛杉磯水電局 (LADWP) 的擴大再競爭。這份價值 3.3 億美元的五年新合約將為洛杉磯水電局轄區內更廣泛的商業和政府客戶提供更複雜的能源效率措施。

The new contract will become among our largest programs at Willsan, on an annual basis. I'll note that due to the recent timing of this award and ramp up, we don't expect significant revenue from the LADWP program until the back-half of this year.

新合約將成為 Willsan 年度最大的項目之一。我要指出的是，由於該獎項授予和增加的時間較晚，我們預計直到今年下半年才能從洛杉磯水電局計劃中獲得可觀的收入。

Next, we were awarded three new California energy efficiency programs, outside of our traditional investor-owned utility base. The first two are with Regional Energy Networks, or RES, which are groups of public entities that band together and form a collective entity providing energy services and savings.

接下來，除了我們傳統的投資者擁有的公用事業基礎之外，我們還獲得了三個新的加州能源效率計劃。前兩個是區域能源網路（RES），它們是聯合起來形成提供能源服務和儲蓄的集體實體的公共實體團體。

For the Los Angeles County Regional Energy Network, SoCalREN, we won a $15 million commercial energy program. And for the Central California Rural Regional Energy Network, or CCREN, we were awarded a new $6 million program for energy efficiency and regulatory support.

對於洛杉磯縣區域能源網路 (SoCalREN)，我們贏得了價值 1500 萬美元的商業能源計劃。對於加州中部農村區域能源網路（CCREN），我們獲得了一項價值 600 萬美元的新計劃，用於能源效率和監管支援。

We're attracting more opportunities, this year, from California REN customers.

今年，我們吸引了更多來自加州 REN 客戶的機會。

For the South Coast Air Quality Management District, we won a $10 million-dollar new multi-family and small business energy program. We were also awarded new contracts with Snohomish County and South Lake Tahoe.

對於南海岸空氣品質管理區，我們贏得了價值 1000 萬美元的新型多戶家庭和小型企業能源計畫。我們還與斯諾霍米甚縣和南太浩湖簽訂了新合約。

Coming into 2025, our pipeline of new opportunities, around the country, is robust.

進入 2025 年，我們在全國各地的新機會將十分強勁。

On slide 6.

在第 6 張投影片上。

From 1970 until 2005, the US saw decades of higher electric load growth, followed by 15 years of mostly flat load growth. The US has, now, returned to higher low growth, again. And this is creating exciting new opportunities for Willdan we believe will help drive our growth for years to come.

從 1970 年到 2005 年，美國經歷了數十年的電力負載高速成長，隨後的 15 年電力負載成長基本上持平。如今，美國又回到了較高低成長階段。這為 Willdan 創造了令人興奮的新機遇，我們相信這將有助於推動我們未來幾年的成長。

I've mentioned that experts are uncertain about the future speed and scale of this load growth. But there is, now, widespread consensus that higher load growth will occur and has already begun.

我曾提到，專家們對於未來負載成長的速度和規模並不確定。但現在人們普遍認為，更高的負載成長將會出現，而且這種情況已經開始。

In the most current forecast data, the electricity consumed by data centers powering AI will be the largest load growth driver -- the coral-colored block on this slide. Willdan is, now, in the center of discussions about how to meet this load growth.

在最新的預測數據中，為人工智慧提供動力的資料中心所消耗的電力將成為最大的負載成長驅動力——這張投影片上的珊瑚色塊。現在，Willdan 正處於如何應對這種負載成長的討論中心。

Data centers will be followed by light- and medium-duty electric vehicles -- the green blocks on the slide. Reshoring of industrial manufacturing facilities in the US and the electrification of buildings -- the blue blocks.

緊隨數據中心之後的是輕型和中型電動車——幻燈片上的綠色塊。美國工業製造設施的回流和建築電氣化—藍色方塊。

On slide 7.

在第 7 張投影片上。

In January, we completed the acquisition of a small engineering business in Central Florida, Alpha Inspections. This transaction expands our civil engineering presence in the Southeast, which has been an area of strong organic growth for Willdan.

一月份，我們完成了對佛羅裡達州中部一家小型工程公司 Alpha Inspections 的收購。這項交易擴大了我們在東南部的土木工程業務，東南部一直是 Willdan 強勁有機成長的地區。

Turning to slide 8.

翻到幻燈片 8。

We added new technical expertise with the acquisition of Alternative Power Generation, Inc., or APG, that we announced, this morning. APG helps fill a strategic gap that Willdan customers have been asking for -- expertise in utility-scale electrical engineering.

我們今天上午宣布收購 Alternative Power Generation, Inc.（簡稱 APG），增加了新的技術專長。APG 幫助填補了 Willdan 客戶一直要求的策略空白——公用事業規模電氣工程的專業知識。

I've personally known the APG management team for many years. And they are well respected in the industry as experts in substation design, interconnects, microgrids, and data center electricity.

我個人認識 APG 管理團隊很多年了。他們是變電站設計、互連、微電網和資料中心電力的專家，在業界享有盛名。

Most of their work, today, powers new large-scale data centers. Although, in years past, their work has powered other industries and utility customers, these are all highly -specialized electrical engineering areas that complement Willdan's technical strengths in mechanical engineering, energy efficiency, and grid planning.

如今，他們的大部分工作都是為新的大型資料中心提供動力。儘管在過去的幾年裡，他們的工作為其他行業和公用事業客戶提供了支持，但這些都是高度專業化的電氣工程領域，補充了 Willdan 在機械工程、能源效率和電網規劃方面的技術優勢。

APG's customers, today, are all commercial, which is consistent with our strategy to expand our commercial client base. APG generated approximately $37 million of revenue in 2024. We're excited to be adding APG and believe the combined skill set is exactly what commercial data center owners want.

如今，APG 的客戶都是商業客戶，這與我們擴大商業客戶群的策略一致。APG 在 2024 年創造了約 3,700 萬美元的收入。我們很高興能夠加入 APG，並相信合併後的技能組合正是商業資料中心所有者想要的。

Willdan, now, offers upfront data center planning and consulting, APG's detailed electrical engineering design, and, then, Willdan's legacy data center resiliency and energy efficiency work. This combined data center offering is estimated to be 10% to 15% of our revenue in 2025 -- probably the fastest growing area.

Willdan 目前提供前期資料中心規劃和諮詢、APG 的詳細電氣工程設計，以及 Willdan 的傳統資料中心彈性和能源效率工作。預計到 2025 年，綜合資料中心服務將占我們收入的 10% 至 15%——可能是成長最快的領域。

Slide 9.

幻燈片 9。

On the left. Depicts our current actual versus our pro forma customer mix. Diversifying this mix towards commercial technology customers should add long-term stability. And commercial customers generally provide higher-profit margins.

在左側。描述我們目前實際與預期的客戶組合。將這種組合多樣化，面向商業技術客戶，應該可以增加長期穩定性。商業客戶通常提供更高的利潤率。

On the right side of the slide. Many years ago, we laid out a goal 20% operating margin, measured as adjusted EBITDA divided by net revenue. While COVID impacted '21 or '22 results, I'm proud of our progress toward our goal.

在幻燈片的右側。許多年前，我們制定了 20% 的營業利潤率目標，以調整後的 EBITDA 除以淨收入來衡量。儘管 COVID 影響了 21 年或 22 年的業績，但我為我們朝著目標取得的進展感到自豪。

A 20% EBITDA margin, in our industry, represents best-in -class performance and is associated with a highly-differentiated customer solution. In 2025, Willdan estimates that it will be around that 20% margin goal.

在我們的行業中，20% 的 EBITDA 利潤率代表著一流的業績，並與高度差異化的客戶解決方案相關。Willdan 估計，到 2025 年，利潤率目標將達到 20% 左右。

We plan to add even more capabilities to future acquisitions in the quarters ahead.

我們計劃在未來幾季為未來的收購增添更多功能。

Kim, over to you.

金，交給你了。

Thanks, Mike. Good afternoon, everyone.

謝謝，麥克。大家下午好。

Our fourth quarter provided a very strong finish to an exciting and productive year, resulting in a record-setting performance for the company.

我們的第四季為令人興奮且富有成效的一年畫上了圓滿的句號，為公司創造了創紀錄的業績。

I'll provide a brief review of the fourth quarter, beginning on slide 10.

我將從第 10 張投影片開始對第四季進行簡要回顧。

Keep in mind that the fourth quarter of 2023 benefited from some exceptional opportunities we experienced last year to overdeliver target quantities on some of our utility programs. As we shared at that time, we estimated these exceptional opportunities contributed approximately $20 million in contract revenue, $15 million in net revenue, and $3 million of adjusted EBITDA, which, of course, significantly impacts the comparison of the two periods.

請記住，2023 年第四季受益於我們去年經歷的一些特殊機會，使我們的一些公用事業項目超額完成了目標數量。正如我們當時所分享的，我們估計這些特殊機會貢獻了約 2000 萬美元的合約收入、1500 萬美元的淨收入和 300 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，這當然對兩個時期的比較產生了重大影響。

Despite the appearance that the 2024 quarter was relatively flat with or slightly lower than 2023, when adjusting for those exceptional opportunities, the comparison would reflect a 20% increase in net revenue, a 29% increase in adjusted EBITDA, and a 19% increase in adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the prior year.

儘管 2024 年季度看起來與 2023 年持平或略低，但在調整這些特殊機會後，與去年相比，2024 年第四季度的淨收入將增長 20%，調整後 EBITDA 將增長 29%，調整後每股收益將增長 19%。

Turning the slide 11.

轉動幻燈片 11。

In terms of the full year, 2024 was a record year across all our key metrics. Contract revenue increased 11% over 2023 to a record $566 million and net revenue increased 10% to $296 million, with solid growth across our service lines and, substantially, all of it organic.

從全年來看，2024 年是我們所有關鍵指標創紀錄的一年。合約收入比 2023 年增長 11%，達到創紀錄的 5.66 億美元，淨收入增長 10%，達到 2.96 億美元，我們的服務線均實現了穩健增長，而且基本上全部是有機增長。

Double-digit percentage increases in building solutions activities, utility programs, and municipal civil engineering services were the primary factors behind the higher revenues. If adjusted for the Q4 exceptional opportunities in 2023, the revenue growth would reflect even stronger organic growth of approximately 14% year over year.

建築解決方案活動、公用事業項目和市政土木工程服務的兩位數百分比成長是收入成長的主要因素。如果根據 2023 年第四季的特殊機會進行調整，營收成長將反映出更強勁的有機成長，年增約 14%。

Gross profit in 2024 increased 13% to $203 million and gross margin expanded slightly to 35.8% from 35.2% a year ago, driven by the improved performance in our program management activities and the increased activities and mix of business in our Engineering and Consulting segment.

2024 年毛利成長 13% 至 2.03 億美元，毛利率從一年前的 35.2% 小幅擴大至 35.8%，這得益於我們專案管理活動績效的提高以及工程和諮詢部門活動和業務組合的增加。

G&A expenses grew about 9%, closely tracking the 9% increase in headcount but less than the 10% net revenue growth. Higher stock-based compensation was partially offset by lower intangible amortization from previous acquisitions. Wage related and other GNA expenses were consistent with the revenue growth.

一般及行政費用增加約 9%，與員工人數 9% 的成長幅度接近，但低於 10% 的淨收入成長。股票薪酬的增加被先前收購帶來的無形資產攤銷的減少部分抵消。工資相關費用和其他 GNA 費用與收入成長一致。

All this helped drive a 24% increase in adjusted EBITDA in 2024 over 2023 to $56.8 million.

所有這些都推動了 2024 年調整後 EBITDA 較 2023 年增長 24%，達到 5,680 萬美元。

Interest expense decreased by 17% to $7.8 million for 2024, primarily due to the lower interest rate spread from lower leverage levels. Income tax expense was $4.1 million or an effective tax rate of 15.4% compared to 25.1% in 2023, resulting in net income of $22.6 million or GAAP earnings per share of $1.58 versus net income of $10.9 million or $0.80 per share in 2023.

2024 年利息支出減少 17% 至 780 萬美元，主要原因是槓桿率較低導致利差較小。所得稅費用為 410 萬美元，有效稅率為 15.4%，而 2023 年為 25.1%，導致淨收入為 2,260 萬美元，即每股 GAAP 收益為 1.58 美元，而 2023 年淨收入為 1,090 萬美元，即每股 0.80 美元。

Adjusted earnings per share was $2.43 per share, up 39%, over $1.75 a year ago.

調整後每股收益為 2.43 美元，較去年同期的 1.75 美元成長 39%。

The lower tax rate, in 2024, reflects the expanded energy efficiency incentives, as well as other discrete reductions related to stock options.

2024 年的較低稅率反映了擴大的能源效率激勵措施，以及與股票選擇權相關的其他單獨減稅。

From a balance sheet and cash flow perspective -- on slide 12 -- we generated $72 million in cash flow from operations and $64 million or $4.49 per share in free cash flow in 2024. This impressive cash flow strengthened our balance sheet, adding $50 million to our cash balance. And, when combined with our untapped $50 million-dollar line of credit, provided us $124 million in total liquidity at the end of the year.

從資產負債表和現金流的角度來看——在第 12 張投影片上——我們在 2024 年產生了 7,200 萬美元的營運現金流和 6,400 萬美元或每股 4.49 美元的自由現金流。這一令人印象深刻的現金流增強了我們的資產負債表，使我們的現金餘額增加了 5000 萬美元。而且，加上我們尚未使用的 5,000 萬美元信用額度，到年底我們總共獲得了 1.24 億美元的流動資金。

We expect to invest this liquidity in future cash flows to enhance our growth and to expand our service capabilities and strategic markets through acquisitions.

我們希望將這些流動性投資於未來的現金流，以促進我們的成長，並透過收購擴大我們的服務能力和策略市場。

Our financial position is strong and our outlook remains positive, despite the uncertainty of the current economic environment and the impact of the delay in the restart of our new LADWP energy efficiency contract.

儘管當前經濟環境存在不確定性，且新洛杉磯水電局能源效率合約重啟延遲帶來影響，但我們的財務狀況依然強勁，前景依然樂觀。

Thus, slide 13 provides our financial guidance for 2025.

因此，投影片 13 提供了我們 2025 年的財務指引。

We're expecting net revenue in the range of $320 million to $330 million, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $63 million to $67 million and adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.70 to $2.85 per share. These targets assume a 16% tax rate and 15.1 million shares outstanding and does not include any potential future acquisitions.

我們預計淨收入在 3.2 億美元至 3.3 億美元之間，調整後的 EBITDA 在 6,300 萬美元至 6,700 萬美元之間，調整後的每股收益在 2.70 美元至 2.85 美元之間。這些目標假設稅率為 16%，流通股數為 1,510 萬股，且不包括任何潛在的未來收購。

Note that these targets are well above the current consensus Street estimates. For more detail on our financial results, you can access this presentation, our press release, and our 10-K on the Investor page of our website.

請注意，這些目標遠高於華爾街目前的普遍預期。有關我們財務業績的更多詳細信息，您可以訪問此演示文稿、我們的新聞稿以及我們網站投資者頁面上的 10-K。

Operator, we're now prepared to take questions.

接線員，我們現在準備回答問題。

Great. Thank you. At this time, we will be conducting a question-and-answer session.

偉大的。謝謝。此時，我們將進行問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Craig Irwin, Roth Capital Partners.

克雷格歐文，羅斯資本合夥公司。

Good evening. Congratulations on another really solid result, here, tonight.

晚安.恭喜您今晚又取得了一次非常不錯的成績。

Mike, I wanted to start off by asking about the LADWP contract, the renewal and expansion of the contract. Can you comment a little bit about the linearity oof this contract? Are there any potential startup issues? As we look at '25, is this something that becomes a bigger book of business, over the five years? Or does this have a potential chunky step-up in activity, this year?

麥克，我想先詢問一下洛杉磯水電局的合約、合約的續約和擴展情況。您能否對該合約的線性程度做一點評論？是否存在任何潛在的啟動問題？當我們展望 25 時，這是否會在五年內成為一本更大的商業書籍？或者今年這方面的活動是否有可能大幅增加？

Sure. There's not a big startup concerns we have about this program because it is a recompete. We've operated this contract for many years before. It's the third or fourth time we've won this recompete.

當然。我們對這個計畫沒有太大的啟動擔憂，因為它是一個重新競爭的計畫。我們之前已經運營這個合約很多年了。這是我們第三次或第四次贏得這項比賽。

I'll note, though, that activity on the contract stopped in December so we're going to have to re-ramp it back up, here, in the spring of this year. We don't yet have notice to proceed, as we've just been awarded the contract and it's been finalized and ratified. So we expect to get notice to proceed soon. And we'll be ramping that up in the first half of this year, Craig.

不過，我要指出的是，合約活動已於 12 月停止，因此我們必須在今年春季重新啟動它。我們還沒有收到繼續進行的通知，因為我們剛剛獲得合同，並且合同已經最終確定和批准。因此，我們希望很快收到繼續進行的通知。克雷格，我們將在今年上半年加強這項。

That's why I said we don't expect much revenue in the first half of this year from the contract.

這就是為什麼我說我們預計今年上半年合約不會帶來太多收入。

Beyond that, though, it should be a more linear program. It's roughly $65 million a year. Because we've got some ramp-up, we'll have a little bit more to spend, maybe, next year than this year.

除此之外，它應該是一個更線性的程序。每年大約是 6500 萬美元。由於我們已經取得了一些進展，因此明年我們的支出可能會比今年多一點。

It's a great program. The other thing about it is that it adds more complex measures, which we wanted and the LADWP needed. So it's a different contract, from that perspective.

這是一個很棒的項目。另一件事是，它增加了更複雜的措施，這是我們想要的，也是洛杉磯水電局所需要的。所以從這個角度來看，這是一份不同的合約。

Complex measures, you pump hot water heaters, other measures that address a wider group of customers than we previously had access to. It's a great program and it's going to become one of our largest.

採取複雜的措施，例如泵熱水器，以及其他措施，可以涵蓋比我們以前更廣泛的客戶群。這是一個很棒的項目，它將成為我們最大的項目之一。

Excellent. That's great to hear.

出色的。聽到這個消息真是太好了。

I wanted to ask a little bit about the RENs. We've talked about this on-and-off, over the last couple of years, and it's nice to see the orders coming through.

我想問一些有關 REN 的問題。在過去的幾年裡，我們斷斷續續地談論過這個問題，很高興看到訂單不斷湧來。

Can you, maybe, just remind us -- the funding for these rents come from? Who drives the accountability of the project activity? Where are they administered from? And who are the ultimate constituents?

您能否提醒我們一下—這些租金的資金來自哪裡？誰推動專案活動的責任？它們從哪裡進行管理？最終的選民是誰？

Yeah. Sure. The funding comes from the same surcharge on your electricity bill that I've talked about in the past, which funds most of the energy efficiency in the state of California. It's also the source of funding for the IOUs.

是的。當然。這些資金來自我之前談到的電費附加費，為加州的能源效率提供了大部分資金。這也是 IOU 的資金來源。

The RENs are made up, ironically, in some part, by the IOUs themselves. They choose to band together. In the case of SoCalREN, that's exactly the case.

諷刺的是，REN 在某種程度上是由 IOU 本身構成的。他們選擇團結起來。就 SoCalREN 而言，情況確實如此。

So the RENs band together and do different types of energy efficiency that is overseen directly by the PUC. It also does not have some of the constraints and bureaucracy and administrative requirements that the IOUs are asked to jump through.

因此，REN 聯合起來，進行不同類型的能源效率工作，並由 PUC 直接監督。它也不存在 IOU 所面臨的一些限制、官僚主義和行政要求。

So they're simpler contracts. Each of these two REN contracts is a time and materials contract.

所以它們是更簡單的合約。這兩份 REN 合約都是工時和材料合約。

And we do a wider range of service, as well. We provide everything from regulatory support to technical consulting and the management of the different programs, themselves.

而且我們也提供更廣泛的服務。我們提供從監管支援到技術諮詢以及不同專案本身的管理等一切服務。

Excellent.

出色的。

Then, my third question, if I may. This past couple of months, there have been a lot of investor questions about the Presidential transition, the change in administration, and the potential impact on business activity at Willdan.

那麼，如果可以的話，我的第三個問題是什麼？過去幾個月，投資者對總統過渡、政府更迭以及對威爾丹商業活動的潛在影響提出了許多疑問。

Can you comment about how you see the change in administration impacting your business activity, your broader funnel at the front end? And whether or not some of these big strategic initiatives that President Trump is pushing have the potential to accelerate activity in different areas of your business?

您能否評論一下您認為行政管理的變化將如何影響您的業務活動以及前端更廣泛的管道？川普總統正在推動的一些重大策略舉措是否有可能加速貴公司不同業務領域的活動？

Craig, we haven't seen much change from what I said the last quarter, when we were asked this question, coming into the Presidential election.

克雷格，與上個季度我所說的相比，我們沒有看到太大的變化，當時我們被問到這個問題，即將進入總統選舉。

What do you think a change in administration will do? The answer is not much. And what we've seen, thus far, is not much.

您認為政府的變動會帶來什麼結果？答案是，不多。而到目前為止，我們看到的還不多。

That's because of the nature of the work that we do, which is primarily driven by state and local governments and local activities. I mentioned federal funding cuts that have decimated the engineering community have had almost no impact. In fact, less than a 1% backlog impact to us.

這是因為我們所做工作的本質，主要由州和地方政府以及地方活動推動。我提到過，聯邦政府削減資金對工程界造成了巨大打擊，但幾乎沒有任何影響。事實上，積壓訂單對我們的影響不到 1%。

Really, no change in our outlook whatsoever. So we just haven't seen impacts like that.

確實，我們的觀點沒有改變。所以我們還沒有看到這樣的影響。

The other thing I'll mention is tariffs. We've worked hard during COVID to put in place language in our contracts that allowed us to pass on supply chain escalations to customers. And that's going to benefit us, this time around, with tariffs or the potential of tariffs, this time, because, now, most of our long-term contracts already have that kind of language in, where we can, if they occur, pass that cost through.

我要提到的另一件事是關稅。在新冠疫情期間，我們努力在合約中加入相關條款，以便我們將供應鏈升級轉嫁給客戶。這一次，關稅或潛在的關稅將使我們受益，因為現在，我們的大多數長期合約中已經包含此類條款，如果發生關稅，我們可以轉嫁這些成本。

So we don't see the change in administration having much impact to our business, at all, right now.

因此，我們認為目前政府的變動不會對我們的業務造成太大影響。

That's good to hear. Well, congrats, again, on some really strong performance, here. Thank you.

聽到這個消息真好。好吧，再次恭喜你在這裡取得如此出色的表現。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Tim Moore, Clear Street.

蒂姆·摩爾，Clear Street。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Mike, your tone and enthusiasm was a refreshing change to more than half the earnings calls I've listened to, over the last couple of weeks.

麥克，在過去幾周里，我聽過的收益電話會議中有一半以上都是如此，而你的語氣和熱情令人耳目一新。

Maybe, my first question. Clearly, load growth in electrification, an obvious enduring theme for the next several years. Just within government, within those customers and market, are there any two to three programs jumping out, gaining a lot more frequency or implementation, over the last couple of quarters, or at least, incoming inquiries? I'm just wondering what, maybe, is more trending, within government.

也許，這是我的第一個問題。顯然，電氣化負荷成長是未來幾年的一個明顯持久的主題。僅在政府內部，在那些客戶和市場中，是否有兩到三個項目脫穎而出，在過去幾個季度中獲得了更多的頻率或實施，或者至少是收到了更多的詢問？我只是想知道，在政府內部，什麼可能更流行。

The California programs have expanded because I mentioned, probably a year-and-a-half ago, the consumption of electricity in California has gone up. And they're looking for additional sources of electricity or, likewise, additional energy efficiency that has the same effect on the grid.

加州的計畫已經擴大，因為我提到，大概一年半前，加州的電力消耗已經上升。他們正在尋找額外的電力來源，或者同樣地，尋找對電網具有相同影響的額外能源效率。

So that's a broad trend that has translated into a lot more demand for the programs that we operate, within California. That's one I can point to.

這是一個廣泛的趨勢，意味著我們在加州運營的項目的需求將大大增加。這是我可以指出的一點。

The same thing, though, is happening, in part, in New York, where certain pockets -- they call them load pockets -- are also seeing the same demand for additional electricity. Those programs have grown.

然而，同樣的事情也發生在紐約，那裡的某些地區——他們稱之為負載區——也面臨著同樣的額外電力需求。這些項目已經發展起來。

The other thing I'll say is our upfront study work -- trying to help customers navigate new load growth, data centers, different strengths they have on the grid has also picked up.

我要說的另一件事是我們的前期研究工作——試圖幫助客戶應對新的負載成長、資料中心以及他們在電網上的不同優勢。

There is a lot of planning work, a lot of consulting work that is going on, right now. And that's why we really wanted to pick up APG.

目前正在進行大量的規劃工作和諮詢工作。這就是我們真正想要選擇 APG 的原因。

We're not able to follow through on that consulting work. We know where the projects are. And, now, with APG, we can follow those trends through and actually provide the detailed electrical engineering and construction management of substations that power these data centers.

我們無法完成那項諮詢工作。我們知道項目在哪裡。現在，有了 APG，我們可以追蹤這些趨勢，並實際提供為這些資料中心供電的變電站的詳細電氣工程和施工管理。

So those are the areas I point to.

這些就是我所指出的領域。

That's terrific.

太棒了。

And my other question is just any update on software cross-selling? And does APG have its own embedded software or you're going to be introducing yours to their suite?

我的另一個問題是有關軟體交叉銷售的任何更新嗎？APG 是否有自己的嵌入式軟體，或者您打算將您的軟體引入他們的套件中？

We're going to be introducing ours. They don't have any software, right now. And that introduction was yesterday so it's brand new to them. We think that's a great opportunity to cross-sell.

我們將要介紹我們的。他們現在沒有任何軟體。而且那次介紹是昨天才進行的，所以對他們來說還是全新的。我們認為這是一個交叉銷售的好機會。

And you asked about software cross-selling, that's been solid as well. The work that E3 and IA are doing, upfront, to support these different grid planning efforts is a good market.

您詢問了軟體交叉銷售的情況，這也是很可靠的。E3 和 IA 為支援這些不同的電網規劃工作而進行的前期工作是一個很好的市場。

Thanks. That that's it for my questions. I appreciate it.

謝謝。我的問題就這些。我很感激。

Richard Eisenberg, Private Investor.

理查艾森伯格，私人投資者。

Good afternoon, Mike. Congratulations on a great quarter and a great year.

下午好，麥克。恭喜您度過了一個美好的季度和美好的一年。

Thanks, Richard.

謝謝，理查。

You're welcome.

不客氣。

Has artificial intelligence been integrated, yet, into your software? And what are the opportunities for Willdan to expand into Europe?

人工智慧是否已經融入您的軟體中？那麼 Willdan 進軍歐洲市場有哪些機會呢？

Thanks, again, Mike.

再次感謝你，麥克。

We're working hard to roll out the integration of AI into a new version of LoadSEER. And we believe that'll be ready in the first half of this year. The new version of LoadSEER is also simplified, in that it requires a smaller engineering staff to manage and run it.

我們正在努力將 AI 整合到新版本的 LoadSEER 中。我們相信它將在今年上半年準備就緒。新版本的 LoadSEER 也得到了簡化，只需要更少的工程人員來管理和運行它。

We're designing it more for more simplified operations like municipal utilities or smaller cities. And the new AI-powered version of this will have pre-designed load forecasts, and load curves, load shapes that smaller utilities can use. And they don't need a staff of 30 electrical engineers to power it.

我們對其進行的設計更加適合市政公用事業或小城市的更簡化的營運。新的人工智慧版本將具有預先設計的負載預測、負載曲線和小型公用事業公司可以使用的負載形狀。而且他們不需要 30 名電氣工程師來為其供電。

So that is primed to come out this year, in the first half. It's a good opportunity. And we're already looking to cross-sell that towards our municipal relationships, throughout the country.

因此，該消息將於今年上半年發布。這是一個很好的機會。我們已經在尋求將其與全國各地的市政關係進行交叉銷售。

You mentioned Europe. We currently have no presence in Europe and very little presence outside of the United States. We have got five or six people in Calgary, a little bit of presence in Puerto Rico, hardly any international exposure whatsoever.

您提到了歐洲。我們目前在歐洲沒有業務，在美國以外的業務也很少。我們在卡加利有五、六個人，在波多黎各有一點業務，幾乎沒有任何國際曝光。

In the short term, Richard, Europe and work outside of America is not our focus. Eventually, we may consider moving outside, with an acquisition that places us there. But there is so much opportunity in the United States, right now. We're focused on the US market. Probably, all of this year and the next several years.

理查德，短期內，歐洲和美國以外的工作不是我們的重點。最終，我們可能會考慮透過收購將我們轉移到外面。但目前美國有很多機會。我們專注於美國市場。很可能，今年以及未來幾年都是如此。

Okay. Thanks, Mike. Thanks, again. Have a great 2025.

好的。謝謝，麥克。再次感謝。祝福您 2025 年一切順利。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

And if there are no further questions, I'd like to turn the floor back to management for closing comments.

如果沒有其他問題，我想將發言權交還給管理階層，請他們發表最後評論。

Great. Thank you. We'll wrap this up in 30 minutes.

偉大的。謝謝。我們將在 30 分鐘內結束此事。

Thank you for being shareholders and being interested in Willdan.

感謝您成為股東並對 Willdan 感興趣。

I know that, in years past, business has not been as robust. We're enjoying some of the best business opportunity the company has ever seen, right now. We're on fire and we're enjoying it, over here. Expect more throughout the year.

我知道，過去幾年，業務並不那麼強大。目前，我們正在享受公司有史以來最好的商業機會。我們在這裡熱情高漲，並且享受其中。預計全年會有更多。

Thank you.

謝謝。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines, at this time.

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。

Thank you, again, for your participation.

再次感謝您的參與。