Concrete Pumping (BBCP) Earnings Call Transcript

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DATE

Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Chief Executive Officer — Bruce Young
• Chief Financial Officer — Iain Humphries
• Director of Investor Relations — Cody Slach

TAKEAWAYS

• Revenue -- $90.6 million, an increase of 5%, driven by higher U.S. commercial and infrastructure volumes, especially from data center projects, favorable weather, and pricing strength in U.S. Concrete Pumping and Eco-Pan segments.
• U.S. Concrete Pumping Segment Revenue -- $59.9 million, up 5%, with higher volumes in commercial, infrastructure, chip plants, education, and bridge work, partly offset by ongoing softness in light commercial and residential markets.
• Eco-Pan Waste Management Services Revenue -- $18.1 million, rising 8% on organic volume increases and pricing improvements, reflecting business scalability during mixed construction cycles.
• UK Segment Revenue -- $12.5 million, a decrease from $12.8 million, impacted by adverse winter weather and reduced commercial project demand amid economic uncertainty; FX translation added a 570 basis point benefit.
• Gross Margin -- 35.3%, decreasing 80 basis points from the previous year, primarily due to higher commercial insurance and increased repair and maintenance expenses.
• Adjusted EBITDA -- $18 million, representing a 6% increase, with the margin steady at 20%.
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA -- $9.7 million for U.S. Concrete Pumping (up 6%), $6 million for Eco-Pan (up 20% due to operating leverage), and $2.3 million for UK operations (down from $2.8 million).
• Loss Attributable to Common Shareholders -- $2.9 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $3.1 million in the prior year.
• G&A Expenses -- $27.5 million, down from $27.8 million; 30.4% of revenue versus 32.2% previously, indicating continued cost discipline.
• Net Debt -- $372 million, with a net leverage ratio of approximately 3.8x adjusted EBITDA.
• Available Liquidity -- $350 million, including cash on hand and ABL facility capacity, supporting capital priorities.
• Share Repurchases -- 651,000 shares bought back for $4 million at an average price of $6.21; cumulative buybacks since 2022 total 5.6 million shares for $35.5 million, with $14.5 million authorization remaining through December 2026.
• Fiscal 2026 Outlook -- Revenue expected between $390 million and $410 million, adjusted EBITDA $90 million–$100 million, and free cash flow of at least $40 million; guidance does not assume recovery in construction markets.
• CapEx Plan -- $23 million of net replacement CapEx and $22 million in accelerated fleet investment planned for 2026 due to NOx emission standards changes; replacement CapEx expected to move to low single-digit percentage of revenue from 2027 onward.
• Revenue Growth Breakdown -- CFO Iain Humphries specified "about 2%" came from volume and "about 3%" from price increases.

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RISKS

• CEO Bruce Young said, "office construction, continue to experience softness as developers remain cautious in the current rate environment," indicating risk from persistent weakness in rate-sensitive segments.
• CFO Iain Humphries said UK revenue decline was "due to a mix of disruptive winter weather and volume-driven weakness in commercial construction activity amid elevated interest rates and economic uncertainty."
• Ongoing elevated interest rates and affordability constraints continue to dampen U.S. residential construction demand, limiting recovery in that segment.
• Potential margin pressure if elevated oil prices persist, with CEO Young stating, "that, but we will do the best we can to recoup some of those additional costs."

SUMMARY

Concrete Pumping Holdings (NASDAQ:BBCP) reported 5% revenue growth to $90.6 million and a 6% increase in adjusted EBITDA to $18 million. U.S. and Eco-Pan volume and pricing gains offset declines in UK revenue and overall gross margin contraction. The company maintained unchanged fiscal 2026 guidance and confirmed readiness for accelerated capital investments aligned with upcoming emissions regulations.

• Management confirmed the full $22 million accelerated CapEx for pre-NOx emission standard fleet investment remains scheduled for fiscal 2026; no portion was spent during the quarter.
• CEO Young said, "data center work certainly has been stronger for us than we had initially anticipated, and it does appear that there could be greater potential in that as the year plays out," highlighting an emerging growth catalyst.
• Share repurchase program remains active, with capacity under the current authorization extending through December 2026.
• Available liquidity of $350 million as of quarter-end provides continued financial flexibility for ongoing share repurchases, investments, and future M&A, as noted by management.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

• NOx Emission Standards: Government-mandated regulatory limits for oxides of nitrogen emissions from diesel truck engines that require equipment upgrades or replacement to remain compliant.
• Eco-Pan: Concrete Pumping Holdings’ waste management services segment that supplies containment pans and related services for environmentally responsible concrete waste disposal.
• ABL facility: Asset-Based Lending facility—revolving credit secured by company assets, providing liquidity for operations and strategic investments.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for participating in today's conference call to Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. financial results for the first quarter ended 01/31/2026. Joining us today are Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc. CEO, Bruce Young, CFO, Iain Humphries, and the company's external Director of Investor Relations, Cody Slach. Before we go further, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Slach to read the company's safe harbor statement within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that provides important cautions regarding forward-looking statements. Cody, please go ahead.

Cody Slach: Thank you. I would like to remind everyone that during this call, to give you a better understanding of our operations, we will be making certain forward-looking statements regarding our business and outlook. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. For information concerning these risks and uncertainties, see Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and other publicly available filings with the SEC. The company disclaims any intent or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

On today's call, we will also reference certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA, net debt, and free cash flow, which we believe provide useful information for investors. We provide further information about these non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to the comparable GAAP measures in our press release issued today or the investor presentation posted on the company's website. I would like to remind everyone that this call will be available for replay later this evening. A webcast replay will also be available via the link provided in today's press release, as well as on the company's website. Additionally, we have posted an updated investor presentation to the company's website.

Now I would like to turn the call over to the CEO of Concrete Pumping Holdings, Inc., Bruce Young. Bruce?

Bruce Young: Thank you, Cody, and good afternoon, everyone. We were pleased with our first quarter results, which represented a promising start to the year. Revenue increased 5% year over year with adjusted EBITDA up 6%, driven by a return to growth in our U.S. Concrete Pumping operations, solid execution across the organization, and continued discipline around pricing and cost management. The quarter was led by renewed growth in our commercial end market, where activity improved year over year. In particular, demand from large-scale data center projects has remained strong across several of our core geographies and continues to be a meaningful driver of growth for the business.

These projects benefit from our scale, fleet depth, and ability to reliably service complex, high-volume pours, and we believe we are well positioned to continue supporting this activity. We also benefited from more favorable weather patterns during the quarter compared to the prior-year quarter. Combined with strength in pricing, these factors contributed to improved performance and a solid quarter of free cash flow generation. Outside of data centers, the broader commercial end market continues to reflect the trends we have seen in recent quarters. Heavy commercial activity remains relatively resilient, while more rate-sensitive segments, such as office construction, continue to experience softness as developers remain cautious in the current rate environment.

Turning to residential, conditions were largely unchanged from prior quarters. Elevated interest rates and affordability constraints continue to weigh on homebuilding activity, and volumes in this end market remain soft. While we continue to believe in the long-term fundamentals of housing given structural supply-demand imbalances, near-term conditions remain challenging. Infrastructure activity was also generally consistent with recent trends. We continue to closely monitor public infrastructure spending, particularly as the current federal funding bill approaches its expiration in September. That said, it is important to remember that the infrastructure funding is not an on-and-off switch. Historically, when a new funding bill is not immediately in place, extensions of existing programs are often implemented, typically adjusted for inflation.

As a result, bidding activity and project starts tend to continue. Given this dynamic and our national footprint, we remain optimistic on the overall infrastructure backdrop. Our Eco-Pan Waste Management Services business again delivered a strong quarter, continuing to demonstrate the ability and diversification benefits it brings to the platform. Demand remains healthy, supported by both volume and pricing, and Eco-Pan continues to perform excellently even as the broader construction markets remain mixed. Moving to our UK operations, the impacts of interest rates and economic uncertainty continue to weigh heavily on commercial project volumes.

However, infrastructure remains resilient in the UK, particularly with energy projects and the continued demand in HS2 construction and the long construction runway remaining to the project completion. Finally, we remain on track with our capital investment plans we discussed last quarter. Our focus on fleet management, efficiency, and capital allocation remains unchanged, and we believe these investments will continue to enhance our competitive positioning, support margins, and drive long-term shareholder value. Overall, we are encouraged by the start of the year and believe the first quarter reinforces the strength of our operating model, the benefits of our scale, and our ability to perform across a range of market conditions.

I will now turn the call over to Iain to walk through financial results in more detail. Iain?

Iain Humphries: Thanks, Bruce, and good afternoon, everyone. Moving directly into our first quarter results, revenue increased 5% to $90.6 million compared to $86.4 million in the prior-year quarter. The increase was driven by higher U.S. commercial and infrastructure volumes, particularly in data center-related projects, favorable weather patterns, and continued strength in pricing within our U.S. Concrete Pumping and Eco-Pan segments. Revenue in our U.S. Concrete Pumping segment, which operates primarily under the Brundage-Bone brand, increased 5% to $59.9 million compared to $56.9 million in the prior-year quarter. By end market, commercial and infrastructure activity benefited from higher volumes led by data center projects along with strength in chip plants, education, and bridge work.

These gains were partially offset by continued softness in light commercial construction and subdued residential demand, largely driven by affordability challenges from elevated interest rates. Revenue in our concrete waste management services segment, operating under the Eco-Pan brand, increased 8% to $18.1 million compared to $16.7 million in the prior-year quarter. This growth was driven by organic volume increases and pricing improvements, underscoring the scalability of this business through the cycle due to long-term market demand. Turning to our UK operations, which operates under the Camfaud brand, revenue was $12.5 million compared to $12.8 million in the prior-year quarter.

The decline was due to a mix of disruptive winter weather and volume-driven weakness in commercial construction activity amid elevated interest rates and economic uncertainty. Foreign exchange translation provided an approximately 570 basis point benefit to revenue during the quarter. At the consolidated level, first quarter gross margin declined 80 basis points to 35.3% compared to 36.1% a year ago. The decrease was primarily attributable to higher commercial insurance costs and an increase in repair and maintenance expenses. General and administrative expenses declined to $27.5 million in the first quarter, compared to $27.8 million in the prior-year quarter.

As a percentage of revenue, G&A was 30.4% in the first quarter, compared to 32.2% in the prior-year quarter, reflecting our continued cost discipline. Now, loss attributable to common shareholders in the first quarter was $2.9 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $3.1 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA increased 6% to $18 million compared to $17 million in the year-ago quarter, with adjusted EBITDA margin remaining consistent at 20%. Within our U.S. Concrete Pumping business, adjusted EBITDA increased 6% to $9.7 million compared to $9.2 million in the prior-year quarter. In our U.S.

Concrete Waste Management Services business, adjusted EBITDA increased 20% to $6 million compared to $5 million in the prior-year quarter, driven by strong operating leverage on higher volumes and pricing. And in the UK operations, adjusted EBITDA was $2.3 million compared to $2.8 million in the prior-year quarter. Turning now to liquidity. As of 01/31/2026, total debt outstanding was $425 million, with net debt of $372 million, representing a net leverage ratio of approximately 3.8x adjusted EBITDA. We ended the quarter with approximately $350 million of available liquidity, which includes cash on hand and availability under our ABL facility, providing substantial financial flexibility.

Regarding capital allocation, during the first quarter, we repurchased approximately 651,000 shares for $4 million at an average price of $6.21 per share. Since initiating this program in 2022, we have repurchased approximately 5,600,000 shares for $35.5 million, with $14.5 million remaining under the current authorization through December 2026. We believe our share buyback plan demonstrates both our commitment to delivering enhanced shareholder value and our confidence in our long-term strategic growth plan. Turning to our outlook for fiscal 2026, it remains unchanged. We continue to expect revenue in the range of $390 million to $410 million and adjusted EBITDA between $90 million and $100 million. Our guidance assumes no meaningful recovery in the construction markets during fiscal 2026.

We expect free cash flow, which is defined as adjusted EBITDA less net replacement CapEx and net cash interest, to be at least $40 million. This outlook assumes approximately $23 million of net replacement CapEx and $32 million of net cash paid for interest. This excludes the accelerated CapEx pulled forward from fiscal 2027 that was discussed on our prior earnings call. As a reminder, we are incorporating accelerated fleet investment into our fiscal 2026 planning. We expect to invest approximately $22 million in fiscal 2026 that has been accelerated from 2027, and this pull-forward investment relates to the upcoming 2027 stricter NOx emission standards.

Beginning in fiscal 2027, we expect net replacement CapEx to be in the low single-digit percentage of revenue. Our balance sheet and liquidity position comfortably support this investment strategy. We remain committed to disciplined capital deployment, maintaining leverage within our target range, and prioritizing returns on invested capital. We believe we are well positioned to strengthen our service offering in anticipation of a market recovery. With that, I will now turn the call back over to Bruce.

Bruce Young: Thanks, Iain. As we move through the year, we are encouraged by the momentum we are seeing in the business following a strong start to 2026. While some end markets remain challenged, particularly in residential construction, the return to growth in our commercial operations and continued strength in data center-related activity reinforces our confidence in the durability of our platform and our ability to perform across varying market conditions. Over the last several quarters, we have continued to generate solid free cash flow and maintain a strong balance sheet, preserving the financial flexibility that allows us to operate from a position of strength.

This discipline provides the ability to invest through the cycle, remain selective and opportunistic, and position the company to benefit as construction activity continues to normalize. Our focus remains squarely on the areas within our control: executing our disciplined growth strategy, maintaining commercial leadership in our core markets, driving efficiency through cost management and fleet optimization, and investing strategically in our equipment base as a key source of competitive advantage. We believe these priorities, combined with the benefits of scale and pricing discipline, will continue to support margin performance and long-term value creation. With our strong financial position, we retain the flexibility to pursue value-accretive acquisitions, invest in organic growth initiatives, and return capital to shareholders when appropriate.

We remain disciplined in our approach to M&A, prioritizing opportunities to strengthen our core platform and align with our strategic and financial objectives. The strength of our operating model, diversified end market exposure, and proven ability to navigate cycles gives us confidence in our outlook. We believe we are well positioned to continue executing in the near term while creating meaningful long-term shareholder value as market conditions evolve. With that, I would now like to turn the call back over to the operator for Q&A.

Operator: We will now open for questions. If you would like to ask a question, please press star and the number one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star and the number two if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment while we poll for questions. Our first question is from Sam Cusworth with William Blair. Please proceed with your question.

Sam Cusworth: Hey, Bruce. Congrats on the quarter here.

Bruce Young: Hey, thanks, Sam.

Sam Cusworth: I guess to start, I wanted to ask a bit more about the momentum you saw in your business this quarter. The midpoint of your guide calls for top-line growth of 2% and no meaningful recovery in the construction market. You have a pretty strong start to the year here. Can you talk more about the end markets, geographies, or project types that is surprising you to the positive? And if it is really primarily the data center work, was there a significant step-up that you were not expecting before? Just trying to understand the acceleration a bit more.

Bruce Young: Yeah. So there are three things, I think. One, we did have better weather this quarter than we had last year, so that helped with the momentum that we are feeling. We have started this next quarter with fairly good weather as well, so that has helped our Q2 to begin with. The data center work certainly has been stronger for us than we had initially anticipated, and it does appear that there could be greater potential in that as the year plays out, and we are monitoring that very closely.

And I guess the third thing is our infrastructure is continuing to do a little bit better with dollars that were set aside for those projects many years ago now coming into play, and we are starting to see that momentum. So with those offsetting some of the softness we are seeing in some of the other commercial segments and residential, we are still a little cautious going into the year, but we feel like we have a good start, and we are looking forward to the rest of the year.

Sam Cusworth: Great. That is very helpful color. Maybe on the flip side of this, I need to ask about your energy costs. I know it is really early right now in this whole dynamic, and a lot seems to be changing every day. But if oil were to stay at, say, $90 a barrel for a while, how should we think about the impact to your margins and your ability to stay within your guidance range for EBITDA, given I think your guide assumes or was assuming similar energy costs as last year?

Bruce Young: Fuel prices are certainly front of mind for us. We do have fuel surcharges in a lot of our agreements that are left over from the last time we saw price escalation with fuel. And we are also starting to implement fuel surcharges in other areas as well. We do hope it is short lived. No telling just how long we will deal with that, but we will do the best we can to recoup some of those additional costs.

Sam Cusworth: Great. Perfect. I will leave it there. Thanks, guys.

Operator: Thanks, Sam. Our next question comes from the line of Justin Hauke with Baird. Please proceed with your question.

Justin Hauke: Oh, great. I guess I was curious, I mean, just given that the guidance does not assume any volume growth, but you did talk about volume growth and pricing growth. Of the revenue growth, can you break out the split between those two for the quarter? I am just trying to gauge how much the better weather helped on the volume side.

Iain Humphries: Yeah. Justin, it was almost split about 2% on the volume side. And like Bruce said, that was some part due to more consistent weather that we have seen that helped us with execution. And then the remaining piece, about 3%, on price year over year.

Justin Hauke: Okay. Thanks. I guess my second question before I turn it over, I just wanted to understand the language on the CapEx acceleration, which obviously you talked about that last quarter when you gave the guidance. But there was some additional language where you have not accelerated anything yet, and I did not know if that meant that was still an option that you may decide not to do that $22 million of investment this year, or if it just meant in the quarter, none of that had been spent? Thank you.

Bruce Young: Yeah. It was just meant in the quarter. We do anticipate spending that this year. Now, there may be some concerns with whether or not we can get those trucks delivered before our fiscal year-end is in October. And largely we will have to have the trucks in place that might be delivered into next year that are 2026 trucks.

But some of the changes that you are hearing, or that we are all hearing, about the regulation towards trucks, the truck manufacturers are still telling us they are moving forward with the change to the truck into the emissions, which we talked about on our last call being a concern for us because it will not give us the reliability and the functionality with the stronger horsepower engines that we currently have that will not be available into the future. So we do anticipate getting out in front of that. Now that has some benefit with the data center growth that we are experiencing.

Getting those trucks in a little bit earlier to help us with some of that work has been helpful.

Operator: At this time, this concludes our question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Young for closing remarks.

Bruce Young: Thank you. We would like to thank everyone for listening to today's call, and we look forward to speaking with you when we report our second quarter results in June. Thank you.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

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