Earnings Sentiment

Sentiment Analysis of the earnings transcript to help figure out if there are any bullish or bearish sentiments that could be gathered from it. We're doing ML and AI based analysis on the earnings call to get some more insights.

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Sentiment Distribution

   

Earnings Call Transcript Word Cloud

     

Bullish Statements during Earnings call

Statement
For Matrix, our expertise in both the traditional and emerging energy markets, together with our longstanding reputation for safe, quality delivery, positions us as a leading contractor across the entire industry and puts us in to the advantageous position
Second, we believe our strategic approach to our strong end markets, clients and services to help us maintain a sizable opportunity pipeline and lead to further backlog growth and strong performance well into the future
I'm really overall strong execution by our field that has helped that
And then overlay what we see in the opportunity pipeline, gives us confidence that we're gonna be able to have a strong revenue stream here out over the next couple of years
So, when we make comments like that, with these larger projects we've added to backlog, we've got much better visibility into the total revenue stream for 2025 and 2026 that gives us the confidence to make that statement
I am proud to announce that with awards of $233 million in a quarter, we've achieved a record backlog for Matrix of $1.45 billion
We've allocated additional resources to this segment as well, to support recent awards, a strong bidding environment, and related anticipated revenue growth
First quarter revenues for this segment were positively impacted by the procurement of materials and components for construction projects awarded in the prior fiscal year
We are positioned to safely execute projects with improved operating processes, while continuing to deliver best in class quality for our customers
With project execution strong in both quarters, we also reduced construction overhead costs in the second quarter by allocating resources to other segments, as I noted previously
First, with record high backlog, we expect to see a marked improvement in revenue volumes in the near term
And that, we are positioned for significantly improved bottom line profitability as you look out into the out into the short term here
In the meantime, we are encouraged that direct gross margins return to historical double-digit levels in the first half of 2024
Our opportunity pipeline remains steady at $5 billion, demonstrating the strength of our markets and our ability to continue our long-term trend of backlog growth
We expect to see cash and liquidity also improve in the second half of fiscal 2024
So when you look at the margin performance quarter-over-quarter It's an extremely big improvement
Positive net cash inflows of $30 million from operations allowed the company to repay all outstanding borrowings on our credit facility of $10 million and increase our cash balance by $20 million
This has creation of our strong market position in LNG was made possible because of our specialty vessel, cryogenic capabilities
In conclusion, there was a lot of positive momentum in the business, and we are well positioned to maximize our profitability and generate value and growth for our stakeholders
With these awards, we have increased our backlog to $1.45 billion, the highest in company history
Of course, we continue to be active in our other end markets with robust opportunities and growth potential across each of our reporting segments
We expect to see improved overhead recovery in the third quarter and to achieve full recovery in the fourth quarter as a result of the revenue ramp we previously discussed
Those higher revenue volumes will provide for better construction overhead absorption, leverage of SG&A, and improved bottom line performance
A dramatic improvement in both the volume and quality of the projects in our backlog, we expect revenue volume to grow and as such, leverage our streamlined cost structure, which will resolve our final issue
Liquidity increased to $106 million an improvement of $26 million in the quarter
We'll continue to invest in the process, systems and people needed to drive performance improvement and deliver strong project execution
Can you give us a sense of what drove the margin in the quarter? Kevin Cavanah So as I as I talked about on the call, the direct gross margins in the quarter, were strong back in the double digit area that we've been striving to get to
In the utility and power infrastructure segment $40 million in the second quarter compared to $32 million in the first quarter as revenue begins to benefit from peak shaver projects previously awarded
We've just gotta get that strong backlog we've booked the last year plus to convert to revenue, which we think is coming
Project execution was strong once again, but was offset by under recovered construction overhead resulting from the low revenue volume that impacted gross margins by almost 500 basis points
       

Bearish Statements during earnings call

Statement
Revenue of $175 million in the second quarter was on the lower side of our range of expectations
And finally, in the Process and Industrial Facility segment, second quarter revenue was $71 million, which was slightly lower than the $75 million in the first quarter
We have completed projects that were bid into highly competitive pandemic environment, which resulted in limited margin opportunity
We were still continuing to work on a project that was, very difficult for us to complete in a profitable manner
In a period where our revenue volume is low, and we're not fully recovering that under recovery can have a very significant impact on our margins as it as it did this quarter, almost 600 basis points
Gross margin was 2.9% in the second quarter as strong project was execution was negatively impacted by 770 basis points from the under recovery of construction overhead costs due to the lower revenue
Consolidated SG&A expenses were $15.7 million in the second quarter, which is the lowest level since the first quarter of fiscal 2014
The decline compared to first quarter revenue of $198 million related primarily to the normal timing of project execution on storage construction projects with the first quarter benefiting from a high level of project procurement
As you will see, when Kevin walks through our results, Matrix has resolved the primary issues that have plagued us the last few years
Kevin, you suggested that the second quarter SG&A was artificially low, due to timing of, I guess, bonus accruals and other items
When we think about the safety risks present in the construction industry, we often think about the physical risks to people, but there are equally significant risks that have to do with mental health and well-being
Should we see some revenue progression from fiscal quarter - from the second fiscal quarter to third? It seems like this should be sort of a trough for revenue given the sizable backlog today
But it leads itself to a lower margin profile
Just wanted to see if it's a better or worse, relative to the past few years
For the second quarter of fiscal 2024, we had a net loss of $2.9 million or $0.10 per fully diluted share, which was similar to the net loss $3.2 million or $0.12 per share in the first quarter
I think this will be a the low point of the fiscal year
   

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