Earnings Call Transcript - SLND Q1 2026

Operator (Tracy), Conference Operator

Good morning. My name is Tracy, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Southland First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, press star 1 again. Thank you. Alex, you may begin your conference.

Alex Murray, Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Southland first quarter 2026 Conference Call. This is Alex Murray, Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Joining me today are Frankie S. Renda, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Keith Bassano, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Forward-looking statements are uncertain and outside of Southland's control. Southland's actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements and we do not undertake any duty to update these statements. For a discussion of some of the risks that could affect these results, please see the risk factors section of our Form 10-K for the year ended 12/31/2025 that was filed with the SEC on 03/26/2026, and the discussion in Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 03/31/2026, that was filed with the SEC last night. We will also refer to non-GAAP financial measures, and you will find reconciliations in the press release relating to this conference call which can be found on the Investor Relations page of our website. With that, I will now turn the call over to Frankie.

Frankie S. Renda, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Thank you, Alex. Good morning, and thank you for joining Southland's first quarter 2026 conference call. I will provide an update on the strategic plan outlined during our late March call, as well as review our quarterly results including progress on the wind down of legacy projects, and the strength of our current pipeline of opportunities. Turning to our strategic plan and capital structure, we continue to make strong progress against the framework outlined in March. On March 17, our surety partners assumed the debt under our senior credit facility and waived all principal and interest payments through maturity, providing meaningful flexibility as we execute the next phase of our plan. We are now in the final stages of completing a credit amendment for this facility, which is expected to close as part of a broader financing agreement. During the first quarter, our surety partners also advanced approximately $125 million to support active bonded projects, bringing total surety advances to $139 million. Their continued support reflects confidence in both our operating plan and execution strategy. None of these amounts are due prior to 05/13/2027, and we are actively working toward extending these maturities further as part of the broader agreement. We believe an agreement in principle is substantially complete and are focused on finalizing the remaining details. Additional information will be provided once the agreement is executed. The working capital support has materially strengthened operations and enabled continued progress across our backlog over the past several months. As part of a broader plan, we have also initiated the monetization of idle assets and noncore real estate. While these transactions take time to execute properly, we expect activity to build over the coming quarters, with proceeds directed towards debt reduction. We are moving with urgency while maintaining a disciplined approach to ensure these assets are monetized thoughtfully and at attractive values. Turning to this quarter's results. First quarter revenue was $172 million, inclusive of the revenue reversal of $18 million from noncash adjustments related to legacy dispute negotiations and resolutions. Gross loss for the quarter was $4.8 million, primarily driven by unfavorable adjustments of $26 million from legacy dispute resolutions and the M&P business, of which $18 million were noncash impacts. These adjustments reflect continued progress in addressing legacy matters and further positioning the business for improved operational performance going forward. Importantly, we expect to collect approximately $11 million in the coming weeks from the resolution of a legacy dispute, with proceeds intended to further reduce the senior term loan facility. The income statement impact associated with this resolution was recorded in the first quarter and we expect a further balance sheet impact to be recognized in the second quarter due to the timing of billing and cash receipt. This represents another step forward in converting legacy matters into liquidity and strengthening the balance sheet. The vast majority of our contract assets balance relates to legacy projects where construction activities are already completed. We continue to actively pursue all avenues to collect the amounts owed to us and expect to make meaningful progress throughout 2026 in resolving these matters and converting them into cash, which we intend to use to further reduce our debt and strengthen our balance sheet. Our legacy portfolio also continues to shrink. We are down to $71 million of M&P backlog with three projects in active construction and $42 million of non-M&P legacy backlog remaining. We expect the three M&P projects to be substantially completed this year and one remaining non-M&P legacy project to go into 2027. As these projects are completed and outstanding disputes are resolved, we expect our overall earnings risk to continue declining. At the same time, our core backlog remains strong and continues to demonstrate the quality of our underlying business. This was highlighted in the quarter by 14% gross margin in our Civil segment, driven by execution on core projects. The $48 million data center project announced last quarter remains on track for completion within the next two months and is an example of our strategy to focus on high-margin, short-duration projects within our core markets. This project is being led by a team of tenured managers which is the same group executing short-duration, high-margin emergency projects in the region. The market backdrop across our core end markets also remains strong. Federal, state, and local infrastructure funding continues to translate into active procurement for water, bridge, marine, and tunnel work. As we move towards finalizing the broader financing agreement, we expect increased funding support and bidding activity to continue increasing with several key bids and proposals expected to be submitted this week. We expect a combination of improving financial flexibility, a shrinking legacy portfolio, and strong market demand positions us well to convert upcoming opportunities into awards over the coming months. Active pursuits in our pipeline include the Phase 3 Winnipeg North End sewage treatment plant, packages on the GDOT I-285 top end Express Lanes in Georgia, various marine and bridge opportunities in the Southeast, packages on the Gardner Expressway rehabilitation in Toronto, the MoDOT Liberty Bend Bridge design-build in Missouri, a 42-inch pipeline project in Texas, the North Texas Municipal Water District Fossil Creek wastewater treatment plant design-build in Texas, the DWU pipeline and tunnel in Dallas, the Claiborne Pell Bridge rehabilitation in Rhode Island, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bronx Whitestone Bridge Rehabilitation in New York. In summary, we have begun executing the strategic plan we outlined in March. Our surety partners have provided capital to support execution. Our senior credit facility has been restructured to provide meaningful cash debt service relief and we are nearing completion of the broader financing agreement. While we are encouraged by this progress, more important work remains ahead. Our operational priorities continue to be winding down legacy projects, collecting cash on outstanding legacy disputes, executing on our strong core backlog, and targeting new high-margin opportunities that align with our core capabilities. Lastly, I want to thank our experienced team for their continued dedication, resilience, and commitment as we execute on these priorities. The steps ahead have been carefully planned for and we are now focused on putting the final pieces in place to complete this transition. With the right team, deep industry experience, and a clear strategic focus, I know we are well positioned to navigate the path ahead and create long-term value. With that, I will now turn the call over to Keith for a financial update.

Keith Bassano, Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Thank you, Frankie, and good morning, everyone. I will discuss an overview of our financial performance during 2026. You can find additional details and information in the financial statements, footnotes, and management's discussion and analysis that were filed on Form 10-Q last night. Revenue in the first quarter was $172 million compared to $239 million in the same period in 2025. Gross loss in the quarter was $4.8 million compared to gross profit of $21.5 million in 2025. This was driven by unfavorable adjustments of $26 million from legacy dispute resolutions in the M&P business, of which $18 million were noncash impacts. Selling, general and administrative expenses in the first quarter were $14.9 million, a decrease of $1.5 million compared to the same period in 2025. The decrease was primarily driven by a $2.4 million reduction in compensation expense, a $600 thousand decrease in professional fees, and a $500 thousand decrease in real estate and personal property taxes, partially offset by a $2.1 million increase in business transformation expenses. The reduction in selling, general, and administrative expense reflects our commitment to reducing our administrative spend to better align with our revenue volume. Exclusive of business transformation expenses, selling, general and administrative expense was 7% of revenue in the quarter. Interest expense for the quarter totaled $8.7 million, a decrease of $200 thousand compared to the same period in 2025, primarily due to lower total debt outstanding. Cash interest in the quarter was $8.5 million; the difference is mainly attributable to the suspended interest service on our senior term loan, which started in late March. Income tax expense was approximately $19 thousand for the quarter, compared to a $300 thousand benefit in the same period last year. As we discussed on our last call, we recorded a valuation allowance against our domestic deferred tax assets in 2025. As a reminder, that valuation allowance does not limit our ability to use these deferred tax assets in the future. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was approximately zero. Net loss attributable to Southland stockholders in the first quarter was $28.4 million or a loss of $0.52 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $4.6 million or a loss of $0.08 per diluted share in 2025. EBITDA in the first quarter was negative $14.1 million compared to a positive $10.1 million in 2025. As I mentioned earlier, this quarter's results were impacted by unfavorable adjustments of $26 million from legacy dispute resolutions and the M&P business, of which $18 million were noncash impacts. Now to touch on segment performance for the quarter. Our Civil segment had revenue of $104 million compared to $103 million in the same period in 2025. Civil gross profit was $14.7 million or a 14.1% margin compared to a gross profit of $22.6 million or a 22% margin in the prior year period. Our Transportation segment had revenue of $68.6 million, a decrease of $68 million from the same period in 2025. Transportation had a gross loss of $19.4 million compared to a gross loss of $1.2 million in the same period in the prior year. The increase in gross loss was primarily driven by a $13 million unfavorable adjustment from a dispute resolution on a project in the South and a $5 million unfavorable adjustment from a dispute resolution on an M&P project in the Southeast. The materials and paving business line contributed $11 million to revenue and a gross loss of $13.1 million in the first quarter compared to revenue of $18.1 million and a gross loss of $9.1 million in the same period in 2025. M&P represents approximately 4% of the total backlog and we expect substantially all of the remaining M&P work to be complete by 2026. Excluding M&P and the unfavorable adjustments from legacy dispute resolutions, our core business produced double-digit gross profit margins in the quarter. As we put the remaining legacy work behind us, we expect the consolidated margin profile to move toward our core performance. We finished the quarter with approximately $1.88 billion of backlog of which we expect to recognize approximately 38% as revenue over the next 12 months. Turning to liquidity. We ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $20.5 million and total cash, including restricted cash, of $32 million. During the quarter, our sureties advanced approximately $125 million under our general indemnity agreements to support ongoing project performance. As Frank noted, the principal and interest waiver on the senior facility combined with the amounts funded by the sureties under the general indemnity agreements gives us the runway to execute on our backlog and complete our legacy wind down. Consistent with what we have communicated on our last call, our focus remains on closing out legacy work, improving the balance sheet through asset monetization and our surety partnership, and executing on our core business in the markets and geographies where our margins are the strongest. As Frank mentioned, we are making meaningful progress on the financing agreement with our surety partners, and we look forward to sharing those details once finalized. I will now return the call to the operator for questions.

Operator (Tracy), Conference Operator

Thank you. We will begin the question and answer session now. If you would like to ask a question, please press star and the number 1 to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press 1 again. We do ask that you pick up your handset when asking your question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please standby while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Julio Romero with Sidoti and Company. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Julio Romero, Analyst, Sidoti & Company

Thanks. Good morning. Congratulations, guys, on being in the final stages of executing your credit agreement. While we wait for those additional details, can you help us dive a little deeper into what the agreement means for you from an operational perspective, particularly around your ability to bid and go after new work? I believe you mentioned you will be submitting some new bids this week. Would love any more color on that as well.

Frankie S. Renda, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Thank you, Julio, and good morning. As far as the deal terms, we believe it is in the best interest of both us and the surety to work through this agreement with favorable terms and extended maturities. We have worked closely with our surety partners over the past few months. They reviewed our operations and business plan and are confident in the path forward. We are not in a spot yet to share specifics as we work through the final details. Regarding workload, over the past few months our bonding program has been somewhat undefined as we work through this financing agreement. We are in the final stages of this agreement, and once it is finalized, we expect a comprehensive bonding program that supports the long-term plan. In the meantime, we have about $1.8 billion of backlog to execute on and several key bids going forward. The market really does remain strong. We are seeing large water and wastewater opportunities across the Sunbelt, bridge and bridge rehab projects in the North and Southeast, and unique opportunities for our services on large-scale data centers. We have been intentional in aligning projects with what we were pursuing with the surety support that we had. As this agreement closes and bonding support expands, we expect bidding and award activity to step up over the back half of the year.

Julio Romero, Analyst, Sidoti & Company

Perfect. Thank you for all the color. Toward the tail end of that, on the types of projects you mentioned — wastewater and data center-type projects — I'm curious how the comprehensive bonding plan affects the projects you will be pursuing now. Will they maintain their short-duration status? Will they be a little larger in nature? Any additional color would be helpful.

Frankie S. Renda, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Absolutely, Julio. We continue to see the civil market being very strong, and we are focused on short-duration, higher-margin projects. Our teams are fully engaged and executing well on that work. The transportation market is healthy as well, so we continue to look for an optimal blend of transportation and civil projects. Both markets are healthy, but we have a heavy focus on those short-duration, high-margin projects.

Julio Romero, Analyst, Sidoti & Company

Helpful. And just turning to this quarter's performance a bit, the civil segment posted a 14% gross margin. Is that a good baseline for the year absent any of the accelerated project closeouts you may be doing throughout the year?

Frankie S. Renda, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Yes. Civil continues to perform well. Our quarter was in line with our long-term target of mid-teen gross margins. New awards we added in Q4 came in at really strong bid margins, so overall, we feel really good about where Civil is performing and where it is headed.

Julio Romero, Analyst, Sidoti & Company

Excellent. Thanks for the color, and I will turn it over.

Frankie S. Renda, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Thanks, Julio.

Operator (Tracy), Conference Operator

There are no further questions at this time. I would now turn the call back to Frankie S. Renda, President and CEO, for closing remarks.

Frankie S. Renda, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Thanks, everyone, for your interest in Southland, and I look forward to speaking again here soon.

Operator (Tracy), Conference Operator

This concludes today's call. Thank you all for attending. You may now disconnect.