North American Construction Group Ltd. (NOA) Earnings Call Transcript

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the North American Construction Group Conference Call regarding the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. [Operator Instructions] the company wishes to confirm that today's comments contain forward-looking information and that actual results could differ materially from a conclusion, forecast or projection contained in that forward-looking information. Certain material factors or assumptions were applied in drawing conclusions or in making forecasts or projections that are reflected in the forward-looking information. Additional information about those material factors is contained in the company's most recent management's discussion and analysis, which is available on SEDAR and EDGAR as well as on the company's website at nacg.ca. I will now turn the conference call over to Jason Veenstra, CFO.

Thanks, Jenny, and good morning, everyone. I'll start today's call with brief commentary on the financials, then pass the call to Barry for his operational and forward-looking comments, and we'll conclude as per usual with Q&A. Starting on Slide 4. We delivered $93 million of EBITDA in the first quarter, translating into year-over-year improvements in both adjusted earnings and margin performance. Combined revenue was up $86 million from last year, with IMC contributing $91 million of revenue in the quarter. Excluding IMC, Australia was up organically 15% in the quarter on commission growth assets and strong execution. Offsetting these increases was the year-over-year impact of the divestiture of the ultra-class haul trucks in Canada. The $456 million of total combined revenue finished off a strong first half foundation of over $875 million, supporting our 2026 combined revenue midpoint of $1.7 billion. Moving to Slide 5. Australia posted 13.6% gross profit margin and Canada delivered a combined adjusted margin of approximately 7% despite difficult seasonal conditions early in the quarter in both regions. These results reflected disciplined project execution, improved internal maintenance capability, lower repair costs and the implementation of continued fleet efficiency initiatives, and importantly, are trending in the right direction heading into the second half of 2026. Moving to Slide 6. Q2 EBITDA and EBIT were both up meaningfully from the prior year quarter on the acquisition of IMC and a more typical quarter from the Fargo joint ventures. Direct adjusted G&A was $15 million, or 3.8% of reported revenue, well below our 5% targeted threshold, demonstrating operating leverage on stronger revenue. Depreciation as a percent of combined revenue dropped to 13% from 16% last year as IMC's lower capital intensity resulted in the combined number being lower than our expected range midpoint of 15%. All told, adjusted EPS of $0.32 was generated by solid operational performance. Interest expense increased to $18.9 million from $14.1 million last year, reflecting the financing of our strategic expansions in Australia. Our average cost of debt for the quarter remained consistent at 6.4%. Moving to Slide 7. The business produced $78 million of operating cash flow before working capital, generated by EBITDA performance, net of cash interest. Free cash flow generation was $23 million after a $13 million positive working capital change in the quarter. Moving to Slide 8. Net debt increased $191 million to $1.1 billion, reflecting the acquisition of IMC and growth capital equipment purchased during the quarter. Trailing 12 net debt leverage is reported at 2.9x, but importantly, is not yet benefiting from 12 months of IMC EBITDA. Based on our second half run rate, we are operating at a 2.6x leverage ratio with the plan to decrease that moving forward. Senior secured debt remains steady at 1.7x based on the $200 million of senior unsecured notes we raised in the quarter and the impact of unsecured debt that partially funded the IMC acquisition. With those comments on the financials, I'll pass the call to Barry.

Thanks, Jason, and good morning, everyone. As Jason just outlined, our first half performance was stronger than expected entering the year and gives us the confidence to raise our full year revenue outlook. More importantly, the quarter reinforced that North American Construction Group is in an inflection point. The strategic groundwork we have put in place is increasingly translating to measurable growth, stronger earnings visibility and more resilient operating profile. Our operating platform continues to evolve, and there's even more opportunity ahead of us. We are now seeing clear evidence that our broader geographic reach, expanded capabilities and operating discipline are working together. Our focus is to convert that opportunity into quality earnings and free cash flow through consistent execution across all operations. On Slide 11 summarizes the 3 strategic building blocks supporting our growth. First, scaling toward a national Tier 1 contractor platform in Australia; secondly, securing infrastructure awards across North America; and third, expanding mining services in Canada and the United States. These are distinct markets, but the underlying model is consistent. We established a position where our equipment, people and execution capabilities create the right to win. We then deepen our customer relationship, expand the scope of work and allocate capital where we can earn attractive returns. The regional updates that follow are proof that this strategy is gaining further traction. On Slide 12, Australia remains our primary growth engine. Revenue has increased approximately 31% compound annual rate from the first half of 2024 through the first half of 2026, and first half 2026 revenue was 14% above the second half of 2025. This momentum reflects the scale we have added through MacKellar and IMC, supported by favorable operating conditions and strong market demand. Together, MacKellar and IMC give us a broader national presence and the capability to pursue larger, more comprehensive scopes across all of Australia. IMC's new eight-bay Muchea workshop is another important step. It expands our maintenance capacity and supports our equipment rebuild program as well as the larger projects we expect to pursue over time. The strategic value extends beyond scale. We are increasing our exposure to lower capital unit rate work and diversifying across gold, lithium, iron ore, nickel and other critical minerals. This combination will support more consistent utilization and a better balance of growth and returns. This integration is also benefiting from a close alignment in safety, culture, core values and maintenance capabilities, which is critical to sustaining performance as the business expands. As of June 30, our Australian operations had approximately $3.4 billion of contractual backlog and a further $3.9 billion bid pipeline, supported by approximately $278 billion of public infrastructure spending and a $242 billion major project pipeline. This gives us meaningful runway as we continue building the platform. Turning to Slide 13. In Northern Canada, where I want to focus on our infrastructure discussion for today's call. Our strategy is to position capital and capabilities where our operating experience provides a clear advantage. Nuna is a strong example with a fleet of approximately 230 heavy equipment assets. New equipment is arriving to Nunavut during the third quarter, increasing capacity and mechanical availability at an established mine site. We expect that expansion to drive approximately 20% site level revenue growth with our ownership stake providing NACG exposure to Nuna's growing earnings contribution. At the same time, we are executing a land-and-expand strategy across priority mining regions. The Yukon infrastructure award and 3 initial projects in Ontario established footholds from which we can pursue larger follow-on scopes. Our ability to safely deliver on time, on budget with 0 deficiencies is how we earn the opportunity to do more for these customers. Nuna's deep remote operating expertise, established infrastructure and indigenous partnerships are difficult to replicate. Those capabilities position us well as critical minerals, defense and nation building investment advances across Northern Canada. With approximately $5 billion of opportunities in the regional pipeline, we see a significant pathway to long-term growth while remaining disciplined in how we pursue it. Turning to Slide 14. In the oil sands, customer demand is shifting towards more equipment-intensive work as haul distances lengthen and operating requirements broaden. This creates an attractive opportunity for North American that can provide reliable fleet availability and consistent service, but it has also required a disciplined operating plan. During the second quarter, we formally identified 260 multi-life heavy equipment assets as our target fleet and aligned our maintenance and operations team around clear objectives. Mechanical availability is a primary operating measure with a medium-term target of 70%. Improving reliability reduces downtime, provides greater schedule certainty and allows us to capture visible demand more efficiently. This is not simply about increasing activity. It's about improving the quality of earnings. We are concentrating on investment for assets and scopes that meet our return thresholds with incremental investments targeting IRRs above 40% and a clear line of sight towards gross profit margins in the 15% range. Better fleet performance, selective capital allocation and operating discipline are the levers that we will translate strong customer demand into resilient margins. Turning to Slide 15. This shows the depth of our diversity and the opportunity set. Our total bid pipeline exceeds $12 billion with approximately $3.6 billion currently in active tender and procurement. The active pipeline is balanced geographically with approximately $1.8 billion in Australia and $1.8 billion in North America. It is also balanced by type with 54% in mining services and 46% in infrastructure across 14 resource categories. Expected award timing is weighted across the second half of 2026 and into 2027 with additional opportunities beyond that period. We do not need every project to move forward to create meaningful growth. Our priority is to convert the opportunities where our capabilities provide a clear advantage and where the risk-adjusted returns meet our standards. Turning to Slide 16, our outlook. Record contractual backlog of approximately $3.8 billion as of June 30 underpins our full year expectations. Based on stronger-than-expected revenue in the first half, including a quarterly revenue record for Q2, we are raising our combined revenue guidance to a range of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion. The new midpoint of $1.7 billion is $100 million above our prior midpoint and approximately 14% above our full year 2025 results. We are growing. We continue to expect adjusted EBITDA of $380 million to $420 million and free cash flow of $110 million to $130 million. At the midpoint, that represents $400 million of adjusted EBITDA and $120 million of free cash flow. In Australia, we expect optimal dry seasonal conditions in Queensland to support MacKellar while IMC activity ramps up in Western Australia. In the oil sands, utilization should improve following the spring breakup, supported by fleet optimization and incremental project scopes. At Nuna, we expect the seasonally strong third quarter to be followed by fourth quarter uplift from the Nunavut fleet expansion. Taken together, our first half performance, record backlog and identifiable second half operating drivers support the raised revenue outlook and our continued confidence in the adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow ranges. Our job is now straightforward, safely execute with discipline, improve the quality of earnings and convert the opportunity embedded across the platform into sustainable shareholder value. Lastly, I'm extremely pleased to announce that our Chairman, Martin Ferron, has confirmed that our CEO search is going very well, and we plan to announce our new CEO in the coming weeks. That concludes the Q2 presentation, and we would be happy to take any questions you may have..

[Operator Instructions] Your first question is from Joseph Reagor from ROTH Capital Partners.

Congrats on a strong quarter. So on the increased revenue guide, is this -- like is part of it that there's some flow-through costs that have raised revenue but have also raised costs, which is why the EBITDA guide didn't change? Or is there something else we should read into there?

Joe, that's a good way to look at it. It's really a first half impact when we look at revenue and how strong it was in the first half and then EBITDA being consistent with what we expected for the first half. So yes, it's a cost conclusion there.

Okay. And then a follow-up on that. With higher diesel costs right now, is that something that will flow through your model? It won't like press too hard on your margins, but would potentially push you guys towards the higher end of the revenue guide?

No, there's no impact to us either on revenue or EBITDA margin. It's always -- for the vast majority of our operations, it's a flow-through.

Your next question is from Adam Thalhimer from Thompson, Davis.

Congrats on a nice quarter. The fuel services contract that you won in July, can you give some more color on that and comment if you see additional opportunities similar to that award?

Yes, it's great. And I mean, that was a great win for us. I mean that business has been up till now solely servicing our own gear with odds and ends with different other contractors, truck here or there. And we've been looking to win something like that for a while. So that's very -- it was very exciting to win that. And what we see going forward is there's other opportunities coming up where some of these contracts are nearing the end of what was contracted out 4, 5 years ago. And we're in a very good position to certainly take advantage of some of that. And we look forward to winning 1, 2 or maybe even 3 more of these as they come online.

And that was -- so that's not included in the Q2 backlog, correct?

Actually, it is, Adam. It is part of $3.8...

Okay. Well, still $5 million of spend for $135 million backlog is a pretty good trade.

Excellent contract. And as Barry mentioned, it definitely is opening doors for additional ones. And it's a lot less capital intensive, as you alluded, with the $5 million.

And then a quick update. Can you just give a quick update on IMC integration, how that's going? And how you think the margin profile of that business is going to trend over time?

Yes. I mean the IMC integration is going really well. I mean the beauty about IMC is they're so like-minded of how we do business here in Canada. They're very good operators. I mean, I guess that's what attracted us to them is that they're so much like us on how they view equipment rebuilds. They're very, very, very structured. They've been executing unit rate work for many, many years. As far as the margins go, they're not quite as high as what we would expect on the equipment rental side in the Queensland business because a lot of the work that they do is unit rate work. However, there is opportunity to go higher because of the unit rate style contract. The better we perform, the better the margin is.

And your next question is from Tim Monachello from ATB Cormark Capital Markets.

I'm just wondering if you can dig in a little bit more on the equipment optimization strategy in the oil sands. So you've identified 260 fleet assets. What are you doing with the remainder? And can you talk about some capital investments within that fleet? What type of investments need to be made there? And, I guess, how do you expect that in terms of CapEx in '26 and '27 coming through?

Yes. So on the fleet we've identified, and just to clarify, that's on multi-life assets. So that's the large assets. So that's the fleet that we see vision for active work in the oil sands where we can take advantage of some of this additional work that's coming out. As for the remainder of this, look, we're in no rush to say we're going to sell this stuff or whatever we're going to do. Some of these assets we've set aside are smaller assets that were underutilized. But with the activity that's going on in the oil sands with some of this exciting opportunities that we're seeing through Nuna, we feel that we'll have the ability to bring some of those units back in because they're the smaller nature and actually put those things to work. And if somebody come along and we didn't have a use for some of these units and they offer the right price, obviously, we'd look at taking advantage of that. And I mean, there is opportunities, too. I've said this in the past with moving some units to Australia. It's not front and center. But because the way IMC is structured and their rebuild philosophy and -- it's something that we've already done. We've sent half a dozen units that way because it made good sense. As far as the capital spend, what's required this year, it's probably on the fleet that we want to focus on and get our availability up above that 70% range. We're probably in the $50 million range for 2026 to get us where we need to be.

Okay. What has to happen with those assets? I was under the impression that they're all in pretty good working conditions. So a little bit surprised you have to invest more in those. So just maybe if you could provide some context.

Yes. I mean it's just -- I mean, because they're multi-life assets, these things -- we run them for these things, they got 20-plus year lives, and they come up when the schedule hits on component change-outs. And these aren't small dollar items. I mean it's -- some of these things are million dollar items. So it's just in the cycle of where we're at with them, and we just need to focus and make sure that we're doing the proper thing here and replacing components as they need and making sure these things are in tiptop shape so that when we win work, we go in there and we execute as planned and we satisfy the clients' needs and meet our margin targets.

And then more generally, in the oil sands, are you seeing an inflection in demand alongside higher crude prices?

Yes, absolutely. I mean there's a lot of excitement in the oil sands. I mean there's -- we're getting more offers every day of can you do this, can you do that? There's this scope. And so we're pricing stuff every day out there right now, and it's an exciting time in the oil sands. I mean, look, I've been in the oil sands since the mid-80s, and this is one of these times where over the last couple of years, it's been kind of a bit of a lull and where there's in-sourcing and stuff, but it's full steam ahead, and there's capital projects going on in the sites and there's volume to be moved. And as we said in the deck, the haul distances are lengthening, which means you have to add more trucks to move the same amount of volume. So yes, I mean, we're extremely excited about the oil sands right now.

Okay. Fantastic. And then last one, just in Australia, I understand that it's pretty large and diverse market, but we did see a decline, a fairly meaningful decline in your stated bid pipeline quarter-over-quarter. So maybe you can talk a little bit about what's going on there?

Yes. So I mean, there was one large project on there that we missed on. And the funny thing is we still have opportunity on that. So it was -- we were shortlisted. It was between us and the incumbent. And I think the -- obviously, the owner thought that replacing the incumbent was far too expensive at this point in time. So they went with the incumbent. That said, they've come back to us already asking if there's opportunity or we can see the possibility of putting a fleet or 2 onto that site. So we still see opportunity there. We're actively working on that site, always have been. We won a fairly good contract there a couple of years ago or a year ago. So yes, we see great opportunity still there. And maybe it's a blessing in a way because it's not that -- that was a large amount of capital investment to get to win that work. So this will be less capital and yet still have opportunity to increase our revenue and margins on that site. We also missed one in IMC on the West side, but we have another one right in our pipeline right now that we're shortlisted for. And again, we think that we have a very good opportunity at winning. So we'll see where that goes.