Arcosa, Inc. (NYSE:ACA) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call February 23, 2024 8:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Antonio Carrillo - President and CEO

Gail Peck - CFO

Erin Drabek - Director, IR

Conference Call Participants

Trey Grooms - Stephens, Inc.

Alex Hantman - Sidoti & Company

Jean Ramirez - D.A. Davidson

Garik Shmois - Loop Capital Markets

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Arcosa Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2023 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Todd, and I will be your conference call coordinator today. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded.

Now, I would like to turn the call over to your host, Erin Drabek, Director of Investor Relations for Arcosa. Ms. Drabek, you may begin.

Erin Drabek

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Arcosa's fourth quarter and full-year 2023 earnings call. With me today are Antonio Carrillo, President and CEO, and Gail Peck, CFO. A question-and-answer session will follow their prepared remarks. A copy of yesterday's press release and the slide presentation for this morning's call are posted on our Investor Relations website, ir.arcosa.com. A replay of today's call will be available for the next two weeks. Instructions for accessing the replay number are included in the press release. A replay of the webcast will be available for one year on our website under the News and Events tab.

Today's comments and presentation slides contain financial measures that have not been prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the closest GAAP measure are included in the appendix of the slide presentation. In addition, today's conference call contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the company's SEC filings for more information on these risks and uncertainties, including the press release we filed yesterday, and our Form 10-K expected to be filed later today.

I would now like to turn the call over to Antonio.

Antonio Carrillo

Thank you, Erin. Good morning and thank you for joining us to discuss our fourth quarter and full-year 2023 results and the outlook for 2024. I will start with a few key messages. 2023 represented another solid year of operational and financial performance for Arcosa. Our success reflects the effective execution of our strategy and the talent and dedication of our outstanding team. Normalizing for the sale of the storage tank business, Arcosa generated double-digit growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA for 2023, outpacing the guidance we set at the beginning of the year. Additionally, we drove solid improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin, reflecting a favorable pricing environment, increased operational leverage in our Transportation Products business, and the benefit of wind tar tax credits. Finally, we reported 50% increase in full-year operating cash flow that helped fund key growth initiatives. Strategically, we continue to advance our objectives and position our portfolio for sustainable long-term growth. Following the divestiture of the storage tank business in the fourth quarter of 2022, we redeployed a portion of the sale proceeds to strengthen our construction product segment. Over the past year, we closed six bolt-on acquisitions, expanding our geographic presence in key natural and recycled aggregates markets, including Florida, and enhancing our capabilities in trench shoring. Consistent with our disciplined approach to capital allocation, these strategic acquisitions were completed at attractive valuations.