Willdan Group, Inc. (WLDN) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, welcome to the Willdan Group first quarter fiscal year 2026 financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this conference is being recorded.

各位好，歡迎參加 Willdan Group 2026 會計年度第一季財務業績電話會議。(接線員指示) 請注意，本次會議將被錄音。

I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Al Kaschalk, Vice President. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我想把會議交給主持人、副總裁 Al Kaschalk。先生，請開始。

Thank you, Terry. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Willdan Group’s first quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining our call today are Mike Bieber, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Kim Early, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Our conference call remarks will include both GAAP and non-GAAP financial results.

謝謝你，Terry。各位下午好，歡迎參加 Willdan Group 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。今天與會的還有總裁兼執行長 Mike Bieber，以及執行副總裁兼財務長 Kim Early。我們在電話會議中的發言將同時包含 GAAP 與非 GAAP 的財務結果。

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. Please note that year over year commentary or variances on revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EPS discussed during our prepared remarks are on an actual basis unless otherwise specified.

GAAP 與非 GAAP 指標之間的調節表可在今日新聞稿與簡報投影片中找到，相關資料皆可於我們的網站取得。請注意，除非另有說明，我們在事先準備的發言中所討論的營收、調整後 EBITDA 與調整後 EPS 的年對年評論或差異，均以實際基礎計算。

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

我們將就公司表現發表前瞻性陳述。這些陳述係基於我們目前對情勢的看法。雖然我們未來可能選擇在某個時間點更新這些前瞻性陳述，但我們不承擔任何更新義務。如同我們向 SEC 提交的文件所述，由於風險與不確定性，實際結果可能出現重大差異。

With that, I’ll hand the call over to Mike, who will begin on slide 2.

接下來，我把電話交給 Mike，他將從第 2 頁投影片開始。

Thanks, Alan. Good afternoon to everyone on the call. We had a strong start to 2026, continuing the momentum we’ve been building with solid execution and expanding margins across the business. In the first quarter, normalized for that extra week we had last year in Q1, contract revenue grew 10%, net revenue grew 17%, and adjusted EBITDA increased 35% year over year.

謝謝你，Alan。各位與會者下午好。我們在 2026 年有一個強勁的開局，延續我們透過穩健執行與全公司利潤率擴張所建立的動能。第一季若排除去年第一季多出的一週影響，合約營收年增 10%，淨營收年增 17%，調整後 EBITDA 年增 35%。

Overall, the business is performing well, and we remain at the center of several long-term energy trends that are driving growth. With a solid Q1 behind us and good visibility on what we believe will be a very strong performance over the next few quarters, we have improved visibility on 2026 compared to our last quarter recall. That is all before the announcement of our latest acquisition.

整體而言，業務表現良好，而我們仍處於多項推動成長的長期能源趨勢核心位置。在第一季表現穩健且我們對未來幾季可望非常強勁的表現具備良好能見度的情況下，相較於上季的財報電話會議，我們對 2026 年的能見度有所提升。而這一切還是在我們最新併購案宣布之前。

On Monday of this week, we closed the acquisition of Burton Energy Group, which I’ll discuss next. On slide 3. Burton Energy Group is a trusted advisor, serving mainly Fortune 500 customers throughout the US Willdan has been working with Burton for more than 10 years under our Con Edison program and elsewhere around the country. Burton brings a highly complementary set of capabilities, including energy management, energy efficiency, and energy procurement services.

本週一，我們完成了對 Burton Energy Group 的收購，接下來我將進一步說明。請看第 3 頁投影片。Burton Energy Group 是值得信賴的顧問，主要服務全美各地的《財富》500 大客戶。Willdan 在我們的 Con Edison 計畫以及全國其他地區，與 Burton 合作已超過 10 年。Burton 帶來高度互補的一系列能力，包括能源管理、能源效率，以及能源採購服務。

They help manage the energy at more than 60,000 client sites. Burton expands our capabilities in energy cost management and procurement, deepens our relationships with large enterprise clients, and adds a high percentage of recurring revenue to our business, usually contracted under multi-year agreements. Burton generated approximately $103 million in contract revenue, $15 million in net revenue, and $7 million in EBITDA in 2025.

他們協助管理超過 60,000 個客戶據點的能源。Burton 擴充我們在能源成本管理與採購方面的能力，加深我們與大型企業客戶的關係，並為我們的業務增加高比例的經常性收入，通常以多年期合約形式簽訂。Burton 於 2025 年約產生 1.03 億美元的合約營收、1,500 萬美元的淨營收，以及 700 萬美元的 EBITDA。

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to our margin, earnings, and EPS this year in 2026. Burton opens an almost entirely new market to Willdan with Fortune 500 clients. We’re excited to welcome the Burton team, and we’re particularly optimistic about the cross-selling opportunities with this group since we’ve known them for so long.

預期此項收購在 2026 年將對我們的利潤率、獲利與 EPS 具有增益效果。Burton 為 Willdan 打開一個幾乎全新的《財富》500 大客戶市場。我們很高興歡迎 Burton 團隊加入；由於我們與他們相識已久，對於與該團隊的交叉銷售機會尤其樂觀。

On slide 4. When I became CEO at the beginning of 2024, I talked about our strategy to significantly expand into the commercial sector. We described then that we believe diversification would add long-term stability and would provide Willdan with the opportunity to earn higher margins. These pie charts show that in 2024, commercial revenue was 7% of our business. Two years later, on a full-year pro forma basis after Burton, commercial revenue is expected to be about 25% of revenue this year. The diversification has also contributed to our higher margins and to the reset of our long-term margin targets that Kim will present in a few slides.

請看第 4 頁投影片。當我在 2024 年初擔任執行長時，我談到我們將大幅擴展至商業領域的策略。當時我們也說明，我們相信多元化將帶來長期穩定性，並讓 Willdan 有機會取得更高的利潤率。這些圓餅圖顯示，2024 年商業營收占我們業務的 7%。兩年後，在納入 Burton 後以全年備考（pro forma）基礎計算，今年商業營收預期約占總營收的 25%。多元化也促成我們較高的利潤率，並促使我們重設長期利潤率目標；Kim 將在接下來幾頁投影片中說明。

On slide 5. This chart shows that Burton is headquartered outside Atlanta, Georgia, and helps fill in Willdan’s presence in the Southeastern and Midwestern states. With Burton, Willdan now has active projects in all 50 states. We now have permanent offices in 26 of the 50 states, plus a presence in Puerto Rico and Canada.

請看第 5 頁投影片。此圖表顯示 Burton 的總部位於喬治亞州亞特蘭大市郊，並有助於補強 Willdan 在美國東南部與中西部各州的布局。在納入 Burton 後，Willdan 現在在全美 50 州皆有進行中的專案。我們目前在 50 州中的 26 州設有常設辦公室，並在波多黎各與加拿大也有據點。

On slide 6. We’ve used this triangle diagram before to show that in problem-solving, upfront analysis of a client’s problem leads to the engineering of a solution and then to the program management of the solution implementation. Burton’s services fall into all three categories. Burton often starts with the study of a client’s energy usage, energy costs, and carbon generation.

請看第 6 頁投影片。我們之前用過這個三角形圖示來說明：在解決問題時，先對客戶問題進行前期分析，接著進行解決方案的工程設計，最後再進行解決方案落地的專案／計畫管理。Burton 的服務涵蓋這三個類別。Burton 通常從研究客戶的能源使用、能源成本與碳排放開始。

That usually results in the design of a program that helps lower cost, improve resilience, and achieve a client’s unique objectives. Burton will usually manage the teams of contractors that will address a client’s energy usage to achieve that client’s objectives. Each of these phases of work is usually conducted through multi-year contracts that lead to the long-term client engagements of more than 10 years.

這通常會導向一個方案設計，以協助降低成本、提升韌性，並達成客戶的特定目標。Burton 通常會管理承包商團隊，針對客戶的能源使用進行改善，以達成該客戶的目標。這些各階段的工作通常透過多年期合約執行，並帶來超過 10 年的長期客戶合作關係。

On slide 7. We’ve had another solid stretch of contract wins, and here are a few examples since our last earnings call. For Southern California Edison, SCE, we received a two-year extension and another $100 million of funding for our commercial energy efficiency program. This expansion would extend the program through the end of 2027.

請看第 7 頁投影片。我們又取得一段穩健的合約得標表現，以下是自上次財報電話會議以來的幾個例子。針對 Southern California Edison（SCE），我們獲得為期兩年的延長，並為我們的商業能源效率計畫新增 1 億美元資金。此項擴充將使該計畫延續至 2027 年底。

For the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, DASNY, we won a $54 million project to upgrade the central plant at a college in New York City. I’m very pleased that we were awarded the $27 million three year New York Accelerator program. This is a new contract which has been held for many years by one of our strongest competitors. We started pursuing this contract several years ago and were able to win this key program, which helps the city of New York accelerate the decarbonization of buildings in the city. A very cool win. We were awarded the Ciro One project in Puerto Rico, a $24 million battery energy storage system. This project is one of several on the island designed to help improve power grid resiliency in Puerto Rico, a major issue there.

針對紐約州宿舍管理局（DASNY），我們贏得一項 5,400 萬美元的專案，將為紐約市一所大學升級中央機房（central plant）。我也非常高興我們獲得 2,700 萬美元、為期三年的 New York Accelerator 計畫。這是一份新合約，過去多年一直由我們最強的競爭對手之一持有。我們在數年前開始追逐這份合約，並成功拿下這個關鍵計畫，協助紐約市加速推動市內建築的去碳化。這是一個非常棒的勝利。我們也獲頒波多黎各的 Ciro One 專案，為一套 2,400 萬美元的電池儲能系統。此專案是島上多個專案之一，旨在協助提升波多黎各電網韌性，而這是當地的一項重大議題。

Lastly, we were awarded two small contracts with National Grid for New York City and Long Island to implement small business energy efficiency programs. It was a good quarter for new wins and our pipeline of opportunities continues to grow.

最後，我們獲得了與 National Grid（紐約市與長島）簽訂的兩份小型合約，用於推動小型企業能源效率計畫的執行。本季在新案獲取方面表現良好，我們的機會管線也持續成長。

On slide 8. Each quarter, we try to take a step back and look at macro changes to electricity demand and its effect on the grid and Willdan’s market. We’ve talked a lot about how AI is driving a long-term increase in electricity demand due to new data centers. Previously, we presented some of our work for the state of Virginia, the largest data center market in the world. Recently, we studied electricity demand increases across the Western US. I’ll present a few highlights from those studies. Work like these keeps Willdan at the very forefront of trends in energy markets, helping us to navigate this period of rapid change.

請看第 8 張投影片。每一季，我們都會嘗試退一步，觀察用電需求的總體變化，以及其對電網與 Willdan 市場的影響。我們已多次談到，AI 正透過新資料中心帶動用電需求的長期增加。先前，我們分享過為維吉尼亞州所做的一些工作；該州是全球最大的資料中心市場。近期，我們研究了美國西部各地用電需求的增幅。我將分享這些研究的幾個重點。這類工作讓 Willdan 始終站在能源市場趨勢的最前沿，協助我們在快速變動的時期中掌握方向。

Slide 8 shows a few examples of electricity demand across the Western US. On the left of the slide, in the Pacific Northwest, the scale of the new electricity generation is insufficient to meet forecasted demands by 2030. To the right, the Southwestern US needs 25 GW, and California alone needs 20 GW of additional generation capacity by 2030. The growth in electricity demand is largely driven by new data centers.

第 8 張投影片展示了美國西部用電需求的幾個例子。在投影片左側的太平洋西北地區，新增發電規模不足以滿足 2030 年的需求預測。在右側，美國西南部需要 25 GW，而僅加州到 2030 年就需要額外 20 GW 的新增發電容量。用電需求的成長主要由新資料中心所驅動。

On slide 9. This slide from the same study shows that in the Northwestern US, when you take into account retiring electricity generation, the pace of new generation will increase by 4 to 5 times the pace of historical generation development. The sum of Integrated Resource Plans, IRPs, indicates that most of this electricity is forecasted to come from solar, wind, and battery storage, given the supply chain constraints around gas turbines.

請看第 9 張投影片。同一份研究中的這張投影片顯示，在美國西北部，若將退役的發電機組納入考量，新增發電的速度將提升至歷史開發速度的 4 到 5 倍。綜合資源規劃（Integrated Resource Plans，IRPs）的總和顯示，考量燃氣渦輪機供應鏈受限，多數新增電力預計將來自太陽能、風能與電池儲能。

This more complex future generation stack complements Willdan’s capabilities. The sustained load growth and increased investment are driving long-term demand for grid infrastructure, engineering, and energy solutions, areas where Willdan is well-positioned. As we’ve mentioned before, energy efficiency is one of the most quickly available, least cost electricity resources. We believe these trends will drive our business for years to come.

這種更為複雜的未來發電組合與 Willdan 的能力相互契合。持續的負載成長與投資增加，正推動電網基礎設施、工程與能源解決方案的長期需求，而這些正是 Willdan 具備優勢的領域。如同我們先前提到的，能源效率是最能快速取得、且成本最低的電力資源之一。我們相信，這些趨勢將在未來多年持續帶動我們的業務。

Overall, we’re pleased with our performance to start the year. Operational strength and the addition of Burton set Willdan up to have what we believe will be another very strong year. As Kim will detail, we are now anticipating that we will grow adjusted EBITDA by 26% to 32% year over year, an outstanding result.

整體而言，我們對今年開局的表現感到滿意。營運面的強勁表現以及 Burton 的加入，使 Willdan 有望迎來我們認為又一個非常強勁的一年。如 Kim 將進一步說明，我們目前預期調整後 EBITDA 將年增 26% 至 32%，這是非常出色的成果。

Kim, over to you.

Kim，交給你。

Thanks, Mike. Good afternoon, everyone. We delivered a strong start to 2026, exceeding expectations with solid performance across our businesses and continued margin expansion. Strong underlying demand for our services and greater productivity in our utility programs and performance engineering projects drove higher profitability in the quarter.

謝謝，Mike。各位下午好。我們在 2026 年開局強勁，整體表現優於預期，各業務均有穩健表現，且利潤率持續擴張。對我們服務的強勁基本需求，以及在公用事業計畫與績效工程（performance engineering）專案中更高的生產力，帶動本季獲利能力提升。

Slide 11 shows the key metrics for the quarter. Contract revenue increased 2% year over year to $155 million, while net revenue grew 8% to $92 million for the quarter. As a reminder, the first quarter of 2025 included an additional week. Excluding this impact, contract revenue grew 10% year over year and net revenue 17%, reflecting the continued health of the business.

第 11 張投影片顯示本季的關鍵指標。合約營收年增 2% 至 1.55 億美元，而本季淨營收成長 8% 至 9,200 萬美元。提醒一下，2025 年第一季多了一週。排除此影響後，合約營收年增 10%，淨營收年增 17%，反映業務持續健康。

An improvement in gross margins was the key driver behind the 25% increase, or 35% when 2025 is normalized, in adjusted EBITDA over the prior year. The $18.1 million in adjusted EBITDA was a first quarter record and represented 19.6% of net revenue. Expense control and a 2026 tax benefit versus the smaller tax expense in the prior year enabled adjusted earnings per share to increase 44% over last year’s first quarter to $0.91 per share compared to $0.63 in 2025.

毛利率改善是調整後 EBITDA 年增 25%（若將 2025 年週數差異標準化則為 35%）的主要驅動因素。調整後 EBITDA 為 1,810 萬美元，創第一季新高，約占淨營收的 19.6%。費用控管，以及 2026 年的稅務利益（相較前一年較小的所得稅費用），使調整後每股盈餘較去年第一季成長 44% 至每股 0.91 美元，對比 2025 年的每股 0.63 美元。

To provide a little more detail on the components of the earnings improvements, our gross margin expanded to 40.7%, up from 37.8% in the prior year, reflecting the expanding volume, improved productivity, and a favorable service mix as we continue to focus on quality and profitability.

為了更詳細說明獲利改善的構成，我們的毛利率擴張至 40.7%，高於前一年的 37.8%，反映業務量擴大、生產力提升，以及在我們持續聚焦品質與獲利能力下，服務組合更為有利。

The improved margin performance was derived from productivity improvements in sales and reduced costs under our utility programs and further aided by margin improvements in our performance contracting projects, including those from the acquisition of APG a year ago. G&A expenses increased 10% year over year, or 19% when normalized for the additional week in 2025, primarily reflecting higher non-cash charges for the amortization of intangibles derived from acquisitions of $1 million, as well as stock compensation increases reflecting the higher stock price compared to a year ago, up $1.3 million.

利潤率表現的改善，來自銷售端生產力提升、公用事業計畫下成本降低，並進一步受惠於我們績效承攬（performance contracting）專案的利潤率改善，其中包括一年前收購 APG 所帶來的貢獻。一般及行政（G&A）費用年增 10%（若將 2025 年多一週的影響標準化則為 19%），主要反映併購所產生無形資產攤銷的較高非現金費用 100 萬美元，以及因股價較一年前更高而增加的股票酬勞費用，上升 130 萬美元。

Salary and benefit costs also increased consistent with the acquisitions and the growth of core revenues and earnings, while interest expense was $1 million lower than a year ago, reflecting the lower leverage from our strong cash flows.

薪資與福利成本也隨著併購以及核心營收與獲利成長而增加；同時，利息費用較一年前減少 100 萬美元，反映我們在強勁現金流帶動下槓桿水準下降。

Thus, our pre-tax income grew by 40% to $7.3 million for the 13-week first quarter of 2026, compared to $5.2 million in the 14-week period a year ago. We recognized a $1.3 million tax benefit in the quarter compared to a $500,000 tax expense in 2025. The tax benefit was driven by Section 179D energy efficiency deductions and discrete items related to stock-based compensation.

因此，2026 年第一季（13 週）的稅前淨利年增 40% 至 730 萬美元，相較一年前（14 週期間）的 520 萬美元。本季我們認列 130 萬美元的稅務利益，而 2025 年則為 50 萬美元的所得稅費用。該稅務利益主要由第 179D 條能源效率扣除額，以及與股票基礎酬勞相關的個別（discrete）項目所驅動。

On the bottom line, net income increased 82% to $8.5 million, 96% when normalized, or $0.55 per diluted share on a GAAP basis, compared to $4.7 million or $0.32 per diluted share in the prior year. Again, adjusted earnings per share increased 44% to $0.91 per share this quarter, compared to $0.63 a year ago.

在最終盈餘方面，淨利年增 82% 至 850 萬美元（若標準化則為 96%），按 GAAP 計為稀釋後每股 0.55 美元，相較前一年為 470 萬美元或稀釋後每股 0.32 美元。再次強調，本季調整後每股盈餘年增 44% 至每股 0.91 美元，對比一年前的每股 0.63 美元。

Earnings were very good, with solid growth in improving margins in what historically has been our weakest quarter of the year. Turning to cash flow on the balance sheet on slide 12. Cash flow used in operating activities was $24 million in the quarter compared to a positive $3 million in the prior year. On a trailing 12-month basis, cash flow from operations was a positive $52 million, which would have been $18 million higher should one client have paid us two weeks earlier. From a free cash flow perspective, we used approximately $1.71 per share in the quarter, but generated $2.81 per share on a trailing 12-month basis.

獲利表現非常好，在歷來通常是全年最弱的一季中，仍展現穩健成長並持續改善利潤率。接著看第 12 張投影片的資產負債表現金流。本季營運活動使用的現金流為 2,400 萬美元，相較前一年為正 300 萬美元。以過去 12 個月計，營運現金流為正 5,200 萬美元；若有一位客戶能提前兩週付款，該數字本可再高出 1,800 萬美元。以自由現金流角度來看，本季我們約使用每股 1.71 美元，但以過去 12 個月計則每股產生 2.81 美元。

We continue to expect strong cash flows from operations, aided by the carryforward of $28 million in deferred tax assets on our balance sheet, generated by the Section 179D deductions and other incentives to offset future tax liabilities well into 2027 and beyond. On a long-term basis, we would expect free cash flow to exceed 70% of our adjusted EBITDA on an annual basis. We ended the quarter with $28 million of unrestricted cash to net against the $48 million outstanding under our term loan, resulting in a 0.2 times leverage ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA over the trailing 12 months.

我們仍預期營運活動將帶來強勁現金流，並受惠於資產負債表上結轉的2,800萬美元遞延所得稅資產，該資產係由《第179D條》扣除額及其他獎勵所產生，可用以抵銷未來稅負，延續至2027年及其後。從長期來看，我們預期年度自由現金流將超過調整後EBITDA的70%。本季末我們持有2,800萬美元不受限制現金，可用以抵減定期貸款項下尚未償還的4,800萬美元，使得過去12個月淨負債對調整後EBITDA的槓桿比率為0.2倍。

There were no borrowings outstanding on our $100 million revolving credit facility at the end of the quarter. Subsequent to year-end or quarter end, we drew $30 million on the revolver to fund a portion of the Burton acquisition, which would increase the leverage ratio to 0.6 times. Given our expected earnings for the remainder of the year, we would expect the revolver to be fully repaid by year-end and continue to provide us low leverage and high liquidity with significant expansion capacity under the $100 million revolver and the $50 million delayed draw term loan facility to support continued organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

本季末，我們的1億美元循環信用額度項下並無任何未償借款。於年末或季末之後，我們自循環額度提取3,000萬美元，以資助Burton收購案的一部分，這將使槓桿比率提高至0.6倍。鑑於我們對今年剩餘期間的獲利預期，我們預期循環額度將於年末前全數償還，並持續為我們提供低槓桿與高流動性；同時在1億美元循環額度及5,000萬美元延遲提取定期貸款額度下仍具顯著擴張容量，以支持持續的有機成長與策略性併購。

Turning to slide 13. Last year, we exceeded our long-held goal of delivering adjusted EBITDA in excess of 20% of net revenue. Based on our recent performance and the underlying drivers in the business, including improved productivity, favorable revenue mix, and additional operating leverage, we are now raising our long-term margin goal to expect the adjusted EBITDA of the net revenues margin to be in the high twenties. We’ll continue to focus on the volume, productivity, and cost control efforts required to achieve that goal as we continue to grow the business.

接著看第13頁投影片。去年，我們達成並超越了長期以來「調整後EBITDA超過淨營收20%」的目標。基於我們近期表現以及業務的基本驅動因素，包括生產力提升、有利的營收組合，以及額外的營運槓桿，我們現在上調長期利潤率目標，預期調整後EBITDA占淨營收的利潤率將達到接近30%的高二十幾%。隨著我們持續擴大業務規模，我們將繼續聚焦於達成該目標所需的量能、生產力與成本控管工作。

To slide 14. Based on our strong start of the year, we’re raising our full year 2026 financial targets. I’ll note that the increase in guidance is roughly double the Q1 beat plus the expected contribution of Burton, reflecting the strength of our core business. We now expect net revenues to be in the range of $410 million to $425 million, adjusted EBITDA in the range of $100 million to $105 million, and adjusted diluted earnings per share between $4.90 and $5.05.

來到第14頁。基於今年強勁的開局，我們上調2026全年財務目標。我想指出，本次指引上調幅度約為第一季超預期表現的兩倍，再加上Burton的預期貢獻，反映我們核心業務的強勁動能。我們目前預期淨營收介於4.10億至4.25億美元之間，調整後EBITDA介於1.00億至1.05億美元之間，調整後稀釋每股盈餘介於4.90至5.05美元之間。

This outlook assumes approximately 15.9 million diluted shares outstanding at year-end and a 0% effective tax rate for the year, reflecting the higher expected pre-tax income and reduced estimates of discrete tax benefits derived from stock compensation.

此展望假設年末稀釋後流通股數約為1,590萬股，且全年有效稅率為0%，反映較高的預期稅前所得，以及因股票薪酬所產生的一次性稅務利益（discrete tax benefits）估計下調。

On slide 15, it was a strong start to FY26, fueling our optimism for continued growth and expanding margins. The acquisition of Burton a few days ago further fuels that optimism, expanding our addressable markets and creating numerous opportunities for collaboration and cross-selling. We continue to enjoy low leverage and high liquidity even after this investment, and we are raising our guidance and increasing our goal for adjusted EBITDA margins. It was a good quarter.

在第15頁，我們在FY26有一個強勁的開局，進一步強化我們對持續成長與利潤率擴張的樂觀展望。幾天前完成的Burton收購案也進一步增添這份樂觀，擴大我們可服務市場，並創造眾多協作與交叉銷售機會。即使在這項投資之後，我們仍維持低槓桿與高流動性，因此我們上調指引並提高調整後EBITDA利潤率目標。這是一個不錯的季度。

Operator, we’re now ready to take questions.

接線員，我們現在準備開始回答問題。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Craig Irwin, ROTH Capital Partners.

Craig Irwin，ROTH Capital Partners。

Good evening. Thanks for taking my questions and congratulations on a strong quarter here. Mike, I wanted to start off the top by asking if you could help us, you know, with maybe a little bit more color on why your fundamental profitability levels are going up, right? You’re raising your base EBITDA guidance targets, raising your guidance for this year on that as well.

晚安。感謝讓我提問，也恭喜本季表現強勁。Mike，我想先從一開始請你協助我們多補充一些背景：為什麼你們的基本獲利水準正在上升？你們上調了基礎EBITDA指引目標，也上調了今年的相關指引。

Clearly, you know, there’s things that are working for you. You know, I know you’ve had a number of initiatives internally at the company to improve profitability. We’re also seeing an environment where reserve margins are likely to fall, so your customers will look pretty desperate to stop brownouts and other problems that you prevent with your services. How would you help us understand, you know, what the opportunity is? Is this really just a first step? Is there potential room in the future for this number to keep moving higher?

顯然，有一些因素正在對你們有利。我知道你們公司內部推動了多項提升獲利能力的計畫。我們也看到一個環境：備轉容量（reserve margins）可能下降，因此你們的客戶會相當迫切地想避免限電（brownouts）及其他你們服務能夠預防的問題。你會如何協助我們理解這個機會？這真的只是第一步嗎？未來這個數字是否還有可能持續往上走？

Yeah, Craig. You know, if you look back five years ago, we wouldn’t have thought this possible, but we’re performing very well, and we’ve got a lot of confidence that we’ll be able to get this into the high 20s. If you just model out our guidance for this year, you know, we’ll be potentially north of 24% already this year. There’s really four things that are driving it.

是的，Craig。你知道，如果回頭看五年前，我們不會認為這是可能的，但我們目前表現非常好，而且我們很有信心能把這個比率提升到接近30%的高二十幾%。如果你把我們今年的指引做個模型推算，你會看到今年可能已經超過24%。主要有四個因素在推動。

You know, number one, is growth and back office cost absorption. We’ve been able to control costs as we grow the business, especially on the back office, at, you know, a fraction of the rate of the growth rate of the company. That’s number one. We need to keep growing.

第一，是成長與後勤（back office）成本吸收。隨著業務成長，我們能夠控制成本，尤其是後勤部門的成本增幅，僅為公司成長率的一小部分。這是第一點。我們需要持續成長。

Number two, you’re right, energy demand plays a part in this. You know, the price of energy is going up. Resources are becoming more constrained, so the value of our services are going up to those customers who need us. The third is probably that we’ve moved up the value chain. You know, we’ve got a much more differentiated set of services that we provide compared to five years ago, and that continues to go in the right direction, north.

第二，你說得對，能源需求在其中扮演一部分角色。能源價格正在上升。資源變得更受限，因此對於需要我們的客戶而言，我們服務的價值正在提高。第三，可能是我們在價值鏈上移。相較五年前，我們提供的服務組合更具差異化，而且這個方向仍在持續改善、往上走。

The last thing is probably, you know, the percentage of commercial work. State and local tends to be the lowest margin opportunity, and when that was almost 15% of the business several years ago, there just wasn’t that kind of opportunity to grow north of 20%, and now there is. With, you know, I’ll call it a balanced portfolio of the three customer groups and commercial being 25% now, we have the opportunity to drive margins.

最後一點可能是商業案源的占比。州與地方政府通常是毛利率最低的機會；幾年前當它占業務比重接近15%時，就很難有機會把利潤率提升到20%以上，而現在情況不同了。在三類客戶群較為均衡的組合下，且商業客戶目前占比達25%，我們有機會推動利潤率提升。

Those customers tend to want the solution immediately, like yesterday, but they’re willing to pay for that, unlike government customers that take a little more modest approach to schedules. Those are the four things driving it. We think this reset of expectations for margins is, you know, very achievable. We’re going to make good progress on that this year.

這些客戶往往希望立刻就能得到解決方案，像是「昨天就要」，但他們也願意為此付費；不同於政府客戶在時程上通常採取較為保守的做法。以上就是推動的四個因素。我們認為這次對利潤率預期的重新設定是非常可達成的。我們今年會在這方面取得良好進展。

Fantastic. I wanted to ask about APG and the setup that you have providing services, building power blocks primarily for data centers. You know, this business, you’ve talked about it growing, you know, extremely quickly, potentially doubling this year. Is there any update or any color you can give us on specific wins in there, new customers, diversification? What should we look for over the next couple quarters as you scale that business?

太棒了。我想請教一下 APG，以及你們目前提供服務、主要為資料中心建置電力模組（power blocks）的業務布局。你們談到這項業務成長非常快，可能今年就會翻倍。在其中是否有任何最新進展，或能否就具體得標案、新客戶、客戶多元化等提供一些說明？未來幾個季度在你們擴大這項業務規模時，我們應該關注哪些重點？

Wow, has that been a good acquisition. They are doing outstanding. Yeah, they’re going to more than double. They might even approach tripling this year. They’re just performing outstanding. It’s already work we’ve, you know, we’ve won and are executing, and we’re really looking towards the pipeline of '27 and '28 right now.

哇，那真是一筆很棒的收購。他們表現非常出色。是的，他們將會不只翻倍。今年甚至可能接近三倍。他們的執行表現非常亮眼。這些已經是我們贏得並正在執行的工作，而我們現在也把目光放在 2027 年與 2028 年的案源管線上。

The biggest thing driving that is a few big power blocks for large data centers. Those tend to be confidential projects, that’s why you haven’t seen them announced. The biggest project that APG has going and what’s going to drive the next couple quarters for them and really most of the year is a very large data center located in the Southwestern United States. Where we’re providing, you know, the substation, essentially the interconnect and all of the power blocks.

推動這一切的最大因素，是幾個為大型資料中心打造的大型電力模組案。這些通常屬於保密專案，所以你們才沒有看到對外公告。APG 目前手上最大的專案、也將推動他們接下來幾個季度乃至於大部分年度表現的，是位於美國西南部的一座非常大型資料中心。我們在那裡提供變電站、基本上是併網（interconnect）以及所有電力模組。

There are several more projects in the pipeline that look just like that. They’ve also diversified. They were the ones that won the battery storage project down in Puerto Rico, they do that type of work. That’s good as well. It’s been very good. Mt. SAC was a great collaboration. We announced that project. That was with the rest of Willdan. It’s been one of the most synergistic acquisitions that we’ve made because of their level of collaboration with the rest of the company.

管線中還有好幾個看起來非常類似的專案。他們也已經做了多元化。他們就是在波多黎各拿下電池儲能專案的團隊，他們也做那類型的工作。那也很不錯。整體來說非常好。Mt. SAC 是一次很棒的合作。我們已經公告了那個專案。那是與 Willdan 其他團隊一起完成的。這是我們做過最具協同效益的收購之一，因為他們與公司其他部門的合作程度非常高。

Excellent. Last question, if I may. Amber and her team at E3 have incredible visibility on demand for services like Willdan’s and the overall outlook for CapEx for utilities and commercial infrastructure for power. You know, it’s interesting that you guys are buying Burton, that you’ve tucked them into the team, and obviously this is something you know, similar in character to the core of your business. Do you see the Northwest as, you know, maybe a new frontier for Willdan, something that could potentially be as interesting or as substantial as your work on the West Coast and the East Coast, where you generate quite a large portion of your revenue?

很好。如果可以的話，最後一個問題。Amber 和她在 E3 的團隊，對於像 Willdan 這類服務的需求，以及公用事業與商用電力基礎設施的資本支出（CapEx）整體展望，都有極高的能見度。你們正在收購 Burton，並把他們納入團隊，這顯然在性質上與你們核心業務相近，這點很有意思。你們是否把西北地區視為 Willdan 的一個新前沿，可能像你們在西岸與東岸的業務一樣有趣或同樣具規模，而那兩地目前貢獻了你們相當大一部分營收？

I wouldn’t really focus on the Northwest so much as that happened to be a study of all of the Western states, the Northwest being a particular focus area. It also covered California. It was a regional study that we did, so we just pointed that out as new data that all points to what we’re seeing across the country, which is that the demand for electricity is increasing. In some cases, we’re not keeping up with that demand, so CapEx is going to have to go up substantially. How do you do that in an equitable way without raising rates? Rates are going up across the country. It’s a complex equation that’s happening all across the United States. I wouldn’t single out the Northwest more than in other places, though.

我不會特別把焦點放在西北地區；那其實是一份涵蓋所有美國西部州的研究，只是西北地區是其中一個重點。它也涵蓋了加州。那是一份我們做的區域性研究，所以我們只是把它指出來，作為新的數據，而這些數據都指向我們在全國看到的現象：電力需求正在上升。在某些情況下，我們跟不上這個需求，因此資本支出（CapEx）必須大幅提高。要如何在不提高電價的情況下，以公平的方式做到這一點？全國各地電價都在上漲。這是一個正在全美各地發生的複雜方程式。不過，我不會把西北地區單獨拿出來看得比其他地方更特殊。

Well, that’s good to hear it’s broad-based. Thanks for taking my questions. Congrats on another solid quarter. I’ll hop back in the queue.

好的，很高興聽到這是普遍性的趨勢。謝謝你回答我的問題。恭喜你們又交出一個穩健的季度。我回到排隊序列裡。

Tim Moore, Clear Street.

Tim Moore，Clear Street。

Thanks. Very impressive EBITDA growth and margin in the seasonally low quarter despite one last week, last year. Despite probably not benefiting from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power award yet. I enjoyed your head fake of conservative guidance late February. Can you just update us maybe on the timing or visibility for maybe when the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power contract might kick in? I mean, that’s a quite the large contract. I don’t know, maybe $16 million gross revenue a quarter run rate. Any visibility on when that might start? Is that part of your recent guidance upgrade?

謝謝。在季節性偏淡的季度裡，你們的 EBITDA 成長與利潤率非常亮眼，儘管去年同期有一次性因素。也儘管你們可能還沒有從洛杉磯水電局（Los Angeles Department of Water and Power）的得標案中受益。我很欣賞你們二月底先給出保守指引的「假動作」。你能否更新一下洛杉磯水電局合約大概何時會開始貢獻、或我們何時能有較高能見度？畢竟那是一份相當大的合約。我不知道，也許每季毛營收的年化運行率大概是 1,600 萬美元。對於何時可能啟動，有任何能見度嗎？這是否是你們近期上調指引的一部分？

It didn’t really drive the guidance upgrade that much. We had a very small contribution in Q1, but we did have revenue for the first time in a while. That’s going to increase pretty substantially in Q2, but it’s still a small number. We have bigger expectations for the back half of this year. I would characterize it as sort of the first inning of a, you know, of a ballgame. We’re ramping up the program.

它其實沒有對指引上調造成太大的推動。我們在第一季有非常小的貢獻，但確實是隔了一段時間後首次有了營收。第二季會相當明顯地增加，但仍然是個小數字。我們對今年下半年有更高的期待。我會把它形容為一場球賽的第一局。我們正在把這個計畫拉升（ramp up）。

Every week is better than the previous. In addition to all that ramp up, though, there are some future opportunities we hope to share with the group that may drive that contract even larger. We haven’t nailed that down yet, but the customer is discussing those with us. The ball’s rolling. It’s not driving current results, nor did it really drive the upgrade of our forecast, but we think there may be more to come there.

每一週都比前一週更好。除了這些拉升之外，我們也希望未來能與各位分享一些潛在機會，可能會讓那份合約規模變得更大。我們還沒有把它完全敲定，但客戶正在與我們討論這些事項。事情已經在推進了。它目前沒有推動當期結果，也沒有真正推動我們上調預測，但我們認為後續可能還會有更多進展。

That’s very helpful color to have that in your back pocket. It seems like it’ll be more of a contributor for next calendar year, as it ramps up and maybe play some catch up on that five year contract. Just switching gears. If you could maybe just share a little color on, you know, how many months did you evaluate or negotiate maybe, or, you know, the Burton Energy Group.

這些補充資訊非常有幫助，等於你們手上還有一些潛在利多。看起來隨著逐步拉升，可能會在下一個曆年成為更主要的貢獻者，並且也許在那份五年合約上把先前的進度補回來。換個話題。你是否可以分享一些背景，例如你們評估或談判 Burton Energy Group 花了大概幾個月？

Maybe if you can just provide a little color on your acquisition front. I mean, you have so much liquidity and, you know, barely any net debt. It seems like you could absorb a few more acquisitions, you know, over the coming quarters. Just any thoughts on that, or are you still really focusing a bit more on the commercial side for targets?

另外也想請你就併購面向再補充一些看法。我的意思是，你們流動性非常充裕，而且幾乎沒有淨負債。看起來你們在接下來幾個季度還能再消化幾筆收購。對此你有什麼想法？或者你們仍然更聚焦在商用端的標的？

Well, Burton was extremely deliberate in their discussions with us. It took a long time. We were in detailed discussions with them for, I’m thinking, I don’t know, seven or eight months, something like that. It took a long time and we got to the right spot. We’re very pleased with the Burton deal. We had known that company for more than 10 years, and when they decided that they wanted to make a move and potentially sell the company, they called us, in fact, even though we had known them. We very much appreciate them for doing that. We’ve respected Burton for a long time, and that’s sometimes what happens with our teaming partners and, you know, people we’re working with out in the industry.

嗯，Burton 在與我們的討論中非常審慎周延。花了很長時間。我們與他們進行了非常細緻的討論，我想，大概有七、八個月左右，差不多是那樣。確實花了很長時間，但我們最後達成了合適的結果。我們對 Burton 這筆交易非常滿意。我們認識那家公司已經超過 10 年了，而當他們決定想要採取行動、並可能出售公司時，他們打電話給我們，事實上，即使我們早就認識他們也是如此。我們非常感謝他們這麼做。我們長期以來都很尊重 Burton，而這有時也會發生在我們的合作夥伴身上，以及你知道的，我們在產業中一起合作的夥伴。

They know what we’re after and, you know, when the time is right, sometimes we get that call. They come to us. That’s what happened with Burton. It’s characteristic of something we’re also seeing in our pipeline. We’re one of the few strategic buyers out there in this marketplace. We’re competing with a lot of private equity that often will pay more. Some of these groups that we’re working with won’t sell to private equity at any price. They want to go with a strategic partner like Willdan, and so that makes us a buyer of choice. If you look at our pipeline right now of what we’re evaluating for the back half of the year and into next year, that’s the case. I’d point to, you know, the same focus areas that we’ve had.

他們知道我們在追求什麼，而且你知道的，當時機成熟時，有時我們就會接到那通電話。他們會來找我們。Burton 的情況就是如此。這也反映出我們在併購/商機管線中正在看到的特徵。在這個市場上，我們是少數的策略型買家之一。我們要與許多私募股權競爭，而他們往往會出更高的價格。我們正在合作的一些團隊，無論價格多高都不會賣給私募股權。他們希望與像 Willdan 這樣的策略夥伴合作，因此這讓我們成為首選買家。如果你看看我們目前正在評估的管線，涵蓋今年下半年以及延伸到明年，情況就是如此。我會指出，你知道的，仍然是我們一直以來的那些重點領域。

Electrical engineering is hard to find. It’s also very expensive. It’s being bid up. Boy, we’d sure like to have it. The success we’ve had in electrical engineering with APG, it demonstrates, you know, that we’re willing to move into that space. Commercial, more commercial would be helpful. We’re looking at that in our core services, we’re getting to a point where that’s more balanced with the other areas. The front end of our business is still undersized. We would love to have more science and front-end evaluation work, more data analytics, more software, very differentiated solutions. We’re looking there as well. Those are still three of the focus areas.

電機工程人才很難找。而且也非常昂貴。價格正在被競標推高。天啊，我們當然很希望能擁有這方面的能力。我們在 APG 的電機工程方面所取得的成功，證明了你知道的，我們願意進入那個領域。更多的商業端（更偏商業的業務）會很有幫助。我們在核心服務中也在看這一塊，我們正走到一個階段，使其與其他領域更為平衡。我們業務的前端仍然規模偏小。我們很希望有更多科學與前端評估工作、更多資料分析、更多軟體，以及非常差異化的解決方案。我們也在看這些方向。這三項仍然是重點領域。

No, that’s great, Mike, and I think you kind of beat me a little bit to my next question. See, I’m just trying to think about what you and Kim think about maybe as a limiter to organic growth. I mean, you know, you mentioned all the states you’re in. I mean, you’re definitely largely in California and New York, and you got some Florida and Texas and some other good scale. I mean, you know, there’s just high demand for what you offer. And you know, you’re really the go-to consultants and experts on this, especially with E3 and everything else you have. Is there any kind of limitation now on really accepting more large contracts that would start in the next 12 months?

不，這很好，Mike，我覺得你有點搶先回答了我下一個問題。你看，我只是想想你和 Kim 對於可能限制內生成長的因素怎麼看。我的意思是，你知道的，你提到你們所在的所有州。我的意思是，你們確實主要在加州和紐約，也在佛州和德州以及其他一些地方有不錯的規模。我的意思是，你知道的，市場對你們提供的服務需求很高。而且你知道的，你們確實是這方面的首選顧問與專家，尤其是有 E3 以及你們其他所有能力。目前在承接更多、會在未來 12 個月內啟動的大型合約方面，是否存在任何限制？

We always hate to say that labor is going to limit our ability to grow organically, and I don’t think it is in a big area. There are some niches where we’re hiring and we’re looking for people. Just go to our website. That area around APG, you know, our electrical engineering and construction management that’s very specialized there, needs to significantly increase its workforce. I wouldn’t say it’s a constraint point at this point, would you?

我們一向不太願意說人力會限制我們的內生成長能力，而我也不認為在大範圍內是如此。確實有一些利基領域，我們正在招募、也在找人。你只要去我們的網站看看就知道。在 APG 周邊那一塊，你知道的，我們的電機工程與施工管理非常專業，那裡需要大幅增加人力。我不會說目前這是個限制點，你覺得呢？

No, I don’t, I don’t see that as a constraint. The, you know, the pipeline of opportunities that our various business units are pursuing is pretty robust. I don’t see a cap on what that potential might be. You know, when you’re dealing with large programs and large projects, you know, timing is everything. Exactly predicting how that when that might occur is more difficult. We don’t have a limitation of resources or even supply chain at this point that really is going to limit that potential.

不，我不，我不認為那是個限制。你知道的，我們各事業單位正在追求的機會管線相當強勁。我不認為那個潛在規模會有上限。你知道的，當你在處理大型計畫與大型專案時，時機就是一切。要精準預測那會在何時發生更為困難。目前我們在資源，甚至供應鏈方面，都沒有會真正限制該潛力的因素。

This now concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to Mike Bieber for closing comments.

現在問答環節到此結束。我想把時間交回給 Mike Bieber 作結語。

Great. Well, thank you for your interest in Willdan. We look forward to speaking with you next quarter.

很好。那麼，感謝各位對 Willdan 的關注。我們期待在下個季度再與各位交流。

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation. This does conclude today’s teleconference. You may disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.

各位女士、先生，感謝各位的參與。今天的電話會議到此結束。您可以掛斷電話線，祝您有美好的一天。