FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ:FSV) Q1 2023 Earnings Conference Call April 26, 2023 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Scott Patterson - Chief Executive Officer

Jeremy Rakusin - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Michael Doumet - Scotia Bank

Daryl Young - TD Securities

Stephen MacLeod - BMO Capital Markets

Stephen Sheldon - William Blair

Frederic Bastien - Raymond James

Operator

Welcome to the FirstService Corporation First Quarter Investors Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded. Legal counsel requires us to advise that the discussion scheduled to take place today may contain forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results may be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements contemplated in the forward-looking statements.

Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the company's annual information form as filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and in the company's annual report on Form 40-F as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. Today is Wednesday, April 26, 2023.

I would like to turn the call over to Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Scott Patterson. Please go ahead, sir.

Scott Patterson

Thank you, Shannon. Good morning, and welcome, everyone to our Q1 conference call. Thank you for joining. As usual, Jeremy Rakusin is on the line with me today. And together, we will walk you through the results we released this morning, results that reflect continued very strong growth in both divisions.

Total revenues for the quarter were up 22% over the prior year with organic revenue growth at 17%. Again, this quarter boosted by particularly strong growth in our Brands division. EBITDA was up 32%, reflecting a margin of 8.1%, a 60 basis point increase over last year's Q1, primarily resulting from operating leverage in brands. Earnings per share were up 16%. We're very pleased with our performance to start the year and confident that it sets us up for a strong 2023.

I'll summarize our results for each division and then pass it over to Jeremy to provide more financial detail. At FirstService Residential, revenues were up 13% with organic growth at a very strong 11%. The organic growth reflects net new contract wins and increases in labor and services provided to existing accounts. We entered this year with momentum off the back of a strong sales in the fourth quarter and solid client retention. Our growth was broad-based across North America, with particularly strong results in the Southeast and Texas, driven by wins in our high-rise and lifestyle verticals.