Q4 2025 Toromont Industries Ltd Earnings Call
Speaker #1: Good morning. Today is Wednesday, February 11, 2026. Welcome to the Toromont Industries Ltd. 2025 fourth quarter and full-year results conference call. Please be advised that this call is being recorded and all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise.
Operator: Good morning. Today is Wednesday, 11 February 2026. Welcome to the Toromont Industries Ltd. 2025 Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Results Conference Call. Please be advised that this call is being recorded and all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. Your host for today will be Mr. John Doolittle, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead, Mr. Doolittle.
Operator: Good morning. Today is Wednesday, 11 February 2026. Welcome to the Toromont Industries Ltd. 2025 Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Results Conference Call. Please be advised that this call is being recorded and all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. Your host for today will be Mr. John Doolittle, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead, Mr. Doolittle.
Speaker #1: Your host for today will be Mr. John Doolittle, Executive Officer. Please go ahead, Mr. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Doolittle.
Speaker #2: Thank you very much, Ludi. Morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Toromont's results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025.
John Doolittle: Thank you very much, Ludy. Morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Toromont's results for Q4 and full year of 2025. Also on the call with me this morning is Mike McMillan, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mike and I will be referring to the presentation that is available on our website. And to start, I would like to refer our listeners to slide 2, which contains our advisory regarding forward-looking information and statements. After our prepared remarks, we will be more than happy to answer questions. So let's get started and move to slide 3. Over to you, Mike.
John Doolittle: Thank you very much, Ludy. Morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Toromont's results for Q4 and full year of 2025. Also on the call with me this morning is Mike McMillan, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mike and I will be referring to the presentation that is available on our website. And to start, I would like to refer our listeners to slide 2, which contains our advisory regarding forward-looking information and statements. After our prepared remarks, we will be more than happy to answer questions. So let's get started and move to slide 3. Over to you, Mike.
Speaker #2: Also on the call with me this morning is Mike McMillan, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mike and I will be referring to the presentation that is available on our website.
Speaker #2: And to start, I would like to refer our listeners to slide two, which contains our advisory regarding forward-looking information and statements. After our prepared remarks, we will be more than happy to answer questions, so let's get started and move to slide three.
Speaker #2: Over to you,
Speaker #2: Mike. Great.
Mike McMillan: Great. Thanks very much, John. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us this morning. Our team delivered solid results in the fourth quarter, closing out the year on a positive note despite persistent macroeconomic and trade uncertainty. We remain focused on long-term performance, continuing to invest in our people and capabilities to support our customers, and drive sustainable growth over the long-term cycle. Earnings improved over the course of the year, although full-year earnings showed a modest decline due to factors such as investment in growth-related initiatives, lower net interest income, and short-term non-cash costs from the AVL acquisition, which John will expand upon shortly. The equipment group executed well with solid activity in rentals, product support, and new equipment deliveries. However, activity levels still reflect the economic environment, which continues to impact end-customer demand. As expected, mining deliveries were lower due to the segment's inherent variability.
Mike McMillan: Great. Thanks very much, John. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us this morning. Our team delivered solid results in the fourth quarter, closing out the year on a positive note despite persistent macroeconomic and trade uncertainty. We remain focused on long-term performance, continuing to invest in our people and capabilities to support our customers, and drive sustainable growth over the long-term cycle. Earnings improved over the course of the year, although full-year earnings showed a modest decline due to factors such as investment in growth-related initiatives, lower net interest income, and short-term non-cash costs from the AVL acquisition, which John will expand upon shortly. The equipment group executed well with solid activity in rentals, product support, and new equipment deliveries. However, activity levels still reflect the economic environment, which continues to impact end-customer demand. As expected, mining deliveries were lower due to the segment's inherent variability.
Speaker #3: Thanks very much, John. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us this morning. Our team delivered solid results in the fourth quarter, closing out the year on a positive note despite persistent macroeconomic and trade uncertainty.
Speaker #3: We remain focused on long-term performance continuing to invest in our people and capabilities to support our customers and drive sustainable growth over the long-term cycle.
Speaker #3: Earnings improved over the course of the year, although full-year earnings showed a modest decline due to factors such as investment and growth-related initiatives, lower net interest income, and short-term non-cash costs from AVL from the AVL acquisition, which John will expand upon shortly.
Speaker #3: The equipment group executed well. With solid activity in rentals, product support, and new equipment deliveries. However, activity levels still reflect the economic environment, which continues to impact end customer demand.
Speaker #3: As expected, mining deliveries were lower, due to the segments inherent variability; however, we saw good order intake in Q4. Revenue increased with the inclusion of the acquired business, along with higher rental product support revenue and higher total equipment sales.
Mike McMillan: However, we saw good order intake in Q4. Revenue increased with the inclusion of the acquired business along with higher rental, product support revenue, and higher total equipment sales. Rental revenue rose, supported by a larger fleet, and product support revenue also increased due to higher parts and service volumes. Operating income was 3% higher in the fourth quarter as the higher revenue and gross profit margins were partly offset by the higher expense levels. CIMCO posted higher revenue and earnings, driven by good demand and disciplined execution in both Canada and the US. Growth in package revenue was supported by a stronger order backlog while product support activity continued to improve, aided by our growing technician workforce. Operating income increased largely, reflecting the higher revenue and solid execution, which more than offset higher expenses to support activity and growth.
Mike McMillan: However, we saw good order intake in Q4. Revenue increased with the inclusion of the acquired business along with higher rental, product support revenue, and higher total equipment sales. Rental revenue rose, supported by a larger fleet, and product support revenue also increased due to higher parts and service volumes. Operating income was 3% higher in the fourth quarter as the higher revenue and gross profit margins were partly offset by the higher expense levels. CIMCO posted higher revenue and earnings, driven by good demand and disciplined execution in both Canada and the US. Growth in package revenue was supported by a stronger order backlog while product support activity continued to improve, aided by our growing technician workforce. Operating income increased largely, reflecting the higher revenue and solid execution, which more than offset higher expenses to support activity and growth.
Speaker #3: Rental revenue rose, supported by a larger fleet, and product support revenue also increased due to higher parts and service volumes. Operating income was 3% higher in the fourth quarter, as the higher revenue and gross profit margins were partly offset by the higher expense levels.
Speaker #3: Simcoe posted higher revenue and earnings. Driven by good demand and disciplined execution in both Canada and the US. Growth in package revenue was supported by a stronger order backlog, while product support activity continued to improve aided by our growing technician workforce.
Speaker #3: Operating income increased largely reflecting the higher revenue and solid execution, which more than offset higher expenses to support activity and growth. We continue to work closely with our new partners at AVL, focusing on this promising market.
Mike McMillan: We continue to work closely with our new partners at AVL, focusing on this promising market. Production at AVL has been expanding since the date of acquisition and continues to build their healthy order backlog and new order demand. Hiring and development of production capacity continues. As noted in Q2, we acquired a facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, to expand production capacity and better serve the Eastern US market. This facility commenced the first phase of production during the third quarter of 2025 and will ramp up throughout 2026. Revenue for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 were CAD 97.7 million and CAD 254.7 million, respectively. As part of the accounting for the acquisition, the company recognized intangible assets related to order backlog and customer relationships, both of which are amortized over time.
Mike McMillan: We continue to work closely with our new partners at AVL, focusing on this promising market. Production at AVL has been expanding since the date of acquisition and continues to build their healthy order backlog and new order demand. Hiring and development of production capacity continues. As noted in Q2, we acquired a facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, to expand production capacity and better serve the Eastern US market. This facility commenced the first phase of production during the third quarter of 2025 and will ramp up throughout 2026. Revenue for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 were CAD 97.7 million and CAD 254.7 million, respectively. As part of the accounting for the acquisition, the company recognized intangible assets related to order backlog and customer relationships, both of which are amortized over time.
Speaker #3: Production at AVL has been expanding since the date of acquisition and continues to build their healthy order backlog and new order demand. Hiring and development of production capacity continues.
Speaker #3: As noted in Q2, we acquired a facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, to expand production capacity and better serve the eastern US market. This facility commenced the first phase of production during the third quarter of 2025 and will ramp up throughout 2026.
Speaker #3: Revenue for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025 were $97.7 million and $254.7 million, respectively. As part of the accounting for the acquisition, the company recognized intangible assets related to order backlog and customer relationships.
Speaker #3: Both of which are amortized over time. Certain other non-cash expenses are recorded as a result of the acquisition, accounting related to the commitment for purchase of the remaining shares of AVL.
Mike McMillan: Certain other non-cash expenses are recorded as a result of the acquisition accounting related to the commitment for purchase of the remaining shares of AVL. Non-cash expenses recognized for these items amounted to CAD 33.4 million and CAD 90.4 million, respectively, on a pre-tax basis for the fourth quarter and full year. Net income for AVL, after consideration of amortization of intangibles recognized at acquisition, was approximately negative CAD 0.01 per share and a contribution of CAD 0.01 per share for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025, respectively. Let's turn to slide 4, and we'll highlight some of our key financial metrics. Investment in non-cash working capital decreased 11% year-over-year, a net effect of lower inventory levels, higher accounts receivable balances, and lower accounts payable balances due to equipment delivery timings.
Mike McMillan: Certain other non-cash expenses are recorded as a result of the acquisition accounting related to the commitment for purchase of the remaining shares of AVL. Non-cash expenses recognized for these items amounted to CAD 33.4 million and CAD 90.4 million, respectively, on a pre-tax basis for the fourth quarter and full year. Net income for AVL, after consideration of amortization of intangibles recognized at acquisition, was approximately negative CAD 0.01 per share and a contribution of CAD 0.01 per share for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025, respectively. Let's turn to slide 4, and we'll highlight some of our key financial metrics. Investment in non-cash working capital decreased 11% year-over-year, a net effect of lower inventory levels, higher accounts receivable balances, and lower accounts payable balances due to equipment delivery timings.
Speaker #3: Non-cash expenses recognized for these items amounted to 33.4 and 90.4 million, respectively. On a pre-tax basis for the fourth quarter and full year. Net income for AVL after consideration of amortization of intangibles recognized at acquisition was approximately -1 cent per share and a contribution of 1 cent per share for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025, respectively.
Speaker #3: Investment in non-cash let's turn to slide four, and we'll highlight some of our key financial metrics. Investment in non-cash working capital decreased 11% year over year.
Speaker #3: A net effect of lower inventory levels higher accounts receivable balances and lower accounts payable balances due to equipment delivery timings. Accounts receivable increased primarily reflecting higher trailing revenues and receivables from AVL.
Mike McMillan: Accounts receivable increased, primarily reflecting higher trailing revenues and receivables from AVL, offset by good collection activity. DSO decreased by 1 day to 39 days. Our team continues to manage receivables aging and customer credit metrics effectively. Inventory levels declined, primarily due to executed deliveries against order backlog, inventory management initiatives, slightly offset by CIMCO's higher work and process inventory levels, which reflects the timing of project construction and product support schedules. We ended the year with ample liquidity, including CAD 1.3 billion in cash and an additional CAD 453 million available under existing credit facilities. Our net debt to total capitalization ratio was -19%. Overall, our balance sheet is well positioned to support operations and navigate evolving economic and business conditions. We will continue to apply our operational financial discipline as we support customer needs and evaluate future investment opportunities.
Mike McMillan: Accounts receivable increased, primarily reflecting higher trailing revenues and receivables from AVL, offset by good collection activity. DSO decreased by 1 day to 39 days. Our team continues to manage receivables aging and customer credit metrics effectively. Inventory levels declined, primarily due to executed deliveries against order backlog, inventory management initiatives, slightly offset by CIMCO's higher work and process inventory levels, which reflects the timing of project construction and product support schedules. We ended the year with ample liquidity, including CAD 1.3 billion in cash and an additional CAD 453 million available under existing credit facilities. Our net debt to total capitalization ratio was -19%. Overall, our balance sheet is well positioned to support operations and navigate evolving economic and business conditions. We will continue to apply our operational financial discipline as we support customer needs and evaluate future investment opportunities.
Speaker #3: Offset by good collection activity. DSO decreased by one day to 39 days. Our team continues to manage receivables aging and customer credit metrics effectively.
Speaker #3: Inventory levels declined primarily due to executed deliveries against order backlog, inventory management initiatives, slightly offset by Simcoe's higher work-in-process inventory levels which reflects the timing of project construction and product support schedules.
Speaker #3: We ended the year with ample liquidity, including 1.3 billion in cash and an additional 453 million available under existing credit facilities. Our net debt to total capitalization ratio was -19%.
Speaker #3: Overall, our balance sheet is well positioned to support operations and navigate evolving economic and business conditions. We will continue to apply our operational and financial discipline as we support customer needs and evaluate future investment opportunities.
Speaker #3: We purchased and canceled 337,500 common shares for 40.1 million in the year under our NCIB program. Our purchases are intended to practice good capital hygiene and to mitigate option exercise dilution.
Mike McMillan: We purchased and canceled 337,500 common shares for CAD 40.1 million in the year under our NCIB program. Our purchases are intended to practice good capital hygiene and to mitigate option exercise dilution. Toromont targets a return on equity of 18% over the business cycle. ROE was below this at 16.9%, reflecting slightly lower earnings and higher shareholders' equity. Return on capital employed was 23.4%, also lower year-over-year, reflecting our increased capital investment. It is worth noting that non-cash charges related to the AVL's backlog amortization, which will be effectively completed during the first half of 2026, impact these important metrics. Finally, as announced yesterday, the Board of Directors approved the increase of the quarterly dividend by CAD 0.04 per share, or 7.7%, to CAD 0.56 per share, or CAD 2.24 per share annually.
Mike McMillan: We purchased and canceled 337,500 common shares for CAD 40.1 million in the year under our NCIB program. Our purchases are intended to practice good capital hygiene and to mitigate option exercise dilution. Toromont targets a return on equity of 18% over the business cycle. ROE was below this at 16.9%, reflecting slightly lower earnings and higher shareholders' equity. Return on capital employed was 23.4%, also lower year-over-year, reflecting our increased capital investment. It is worth noting that non-cash charges related to the AVL's backlog amortization, which will be effectively completed during the first half of 2026, impact these important metrics. Finally, as announced yesterday, the Board of Directors approved the increase of the quarterly dividend by CAD 0.04 per share, or 7.7%, to CAD 0.56 per share, or CAD 2.24 per share annually.
Speaker #3: Toromont targets a return on equity of 18% over the business cycle. ROE was below this at 16.9%, reflecting slightly lower earnings and higher shareholders' equity.
Speaker #3: Return on capital employed was 23.4%, also lower year over year, reflecting our increased capital investment. It is worth noting that non-cash charges related to the AVL's backlog amortization, which will be effectively completed during the first half of 2026, impact these important metrics.
Speaker #3: Finally, as announced yesterday, the board of directors approved the increase of the quarterly dividend by 4 cents per share or 7.7% to 56 cents per share or 2.24 per share annually.
Speaker #3: Toromont has paid dividends every year since 1968, and this is the 37th consecutive year of dividend increases. We continue to be proud of this track record and our disciplined approach to capital allocation.
Mike McMillan: Toromont has paid dividends every year since 1968, and this is the 37th consecutive year of dividend increases. We continue to be proud of this track record and our disciplined approach to capital allocation. The next dividend will be payable on 2 April 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business, 6 March 2026. John, I'll turn it back over to you for more detailed commentary on the results.
Mike McMillan: Toromont has paid dividends every year since 1968, and this is the 37th consecutive year of dividend increases. We continue to be proud of this track record and our disciplined approach to capital allocation. The next dividend will be payable on 2 April 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business, 6 March 2026. John, I'll turn it back over to you for more detailed commentary on the results.
Speaker #3: The next dividend will be payable on April 2nd, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business, March 6th, 2026. John, I'll turn it back over to you for more detailed
Speaker #3: commentary on the results. Okay.
Speaker #4: Thank you, Mike. Let's turn to slide five for a few additional comments. On a consolidated basis, higher revenue was generative of both the Equipment Group and Simcoe.
John Doolittle: Okay. Thank you, Mike. Let's turn to slide 5 for a few additional comments. Consolidated basis, higher revenue was generated with both the equipment group and CIMCO. Equipment group revenue increased with new equipment deliveries and execution against order backlog and project schedules, coupled with the revenue of the newly acquired business, AVL. Rental revenue improved during the latter half of the year, although utilization levels remained lower than prior year. Product support revenue increased in both parts and service on improving customer activity and focused execution. CIMCO revenue increased on continuing strong demand for its product and services. Gross profit margins improved compared to the prior year on improved efficiency and better sales mix. Operating income was up 2% compared to last year, reflecting the higher revenue, improved gross profit margins partially offset by the higher expense levels.
John Doolittle: Okay. Thank you, Mike. Let's turn to slide 5 for a few additional comments. Consolidated basis, higher revenue was generated with both the equipment group and CIMCO. Equipment group revenue increased with new equipment deliveries and execution against order backlog and project schedules, coupled with the revenue of the newly acquired business, AVL. Rental revenue improved during the latter half of the year, although utilization levels remained lower than prior year. Product support revenue increased in both parts and service on improving customer activity and focused execution. CIMCO revenue increased on continuing strong demand for its product and services. Gross profit margins improved compared to the prior year on improved efficiency and better sales mix. Operating income was up 2% compared to last year, reflecting the higher revenue, improved gross profit margins partially offset by the higher expense levels.
Speaker #4: The equipment group revenue increased with new equipment deliveries and execution against order backlog and project schedules. Coupled with the revenue of the newly acquired business AVL, rental revenue improved during the latter half of the year, although utilization levels remained lower than prior year.
Speaker #4: Product support revenue increased in both parts and service on improving customer activity and focused execution. Simcoe revenue increased on continuing strong demand for its product and services.
Speaker #4: Gross profit margins improved compared to the prior year on improved efficiency and better sales mix. Operating income was up 2% compared to last year, reflecting the higher revenue improved gross profit margins partially offset by the higher expense levels.
Speaker #4: Excluding the property disposition pre-tax capital gain of 13.7 million in Q3, operating income was relatively flat compared to the prior year. Expense levels reflect continued support for key operational focus areas.
John Doolittle: Excluding the property disposition pre-tax capital gain of CAD 13.7 million in Q3, operating income was relatively flat compared to the prior year. Expense levels reflect continued support for key operational focus areas. Net interest income was significantly lower for the year, reflecting both higher interest expense as a result of higher borrowings, as well as lower interest income earned due to lower interest rates. Bookings for the fourth quarter increased 47% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, with higher bookings in the equipment group, including a significant contribution from the acquired business and strong mining activity offset by lower bookings at CIMCO. Backlog is strong at CAD 1.5 billion, up 46% year-over-year, with an increase in the equipment group of 68% while CIMCO was comparable to 2024.
John Doolittle: Excluding the property disposition pre-tax capital gain of CAD 13.7 million in Q3, operating income was relatively flat compared to the prior year. Expense levels reflect continued support for key operational focus areas. Net interest income was significantly lower for the year, reflecting both higher interest expense as a result of higher borrowings, as well as lower interest income earned due to lower interest rates. Bookings for the fourth quarter increased 47% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, with higher bookings in the equipment group, including a significant contribution from the acquired business and strong mining activity offset by lower bookings at CIMCO. Backlog is strong at CAD 1.5 billion, up 46% year-over-year, with an increase in the equipment group of 68% while CIMCO was comparable to 2024.
Speaker #4: Net interest income was significantly lower for the year, reflecting both higher interest expenses as a result of higher borrowings, as well as lower interest income earned due to lower interest rates.
Speaker #4: Looking through, the fourth quarter increased 47% compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, with higher bookings in the Equipment Group, including a significant contribution from the acquired business and strong mining activity, offset by lower bookings at Simcoe.
Speaker #4: Backlog is strong at 1.5 billion, up 46% year over year with an increase in the equipment group of 68% while Simcoe was comparable to 2024.
Speaker #4: On a consolidated basis, revenue increased 9% in the fourth quarter with an increase in the equipment group of 9% due to revenue from the acquired business along with higher product support revenue and an increase of 10% at Simcoe on higher package and product support revenue in both Canada and the US.
John Doolittle: On a consolidated basis, revenue increased 9% in Q4, with an increase in the equipment group of 9% due to revenue from the acquired business, along with higher product support revenue, and an increase of 10% at CIMCO on higher package and product support revenue in both Canada and the US. For the year, revenue increased 4%, with the equipment group up 3% and CIMCO up 14% compared to 2024. Excluding the property disposition gain in the acquired business, SG&A expenses increased 10% in the quarter and 5% for the year. Higher expenses reflect the continued investment in key strategic areas. Higher DSU mark-to-market adjustments increased expenses in both periods due to the higher share price. Compensation costs were largely unchanged from the prior year as regular salary increases and higher staffing levels were largely offset by lower profit sharing accruals.
John Doolittle: On a consolidated basis, revenue increased 9% in Q4, with an increase in the equipment group of 9% due to revenue from the acquired business, along with higher product support revenue, and an increase of 10% at CIMCO on higher package and product support revenue in both Canada and the US. For the year, revenue increased 4%, with the equipment group up 3% and CIMCO up 14% compared to 2024. Excluding the property disposition gain in the acquired business, SG&A expenses increased 10% in the quarter and 5% for the year. Higher expenses reflect the continued investment in key strategic areas. Higher DSU mark-to-market adjustments increased expenses in both periods due to the higher share price. Compensation costs were largely unchanged from the prior year as regular salary increases and higher staffing levels were largely offset by lower profit sharing accruals.
Speaker #4: For the year, revenue increased 4% with the equipment group up 3% and Simcoe up 14% compared to 2024. Excluding the property disposition gain in the acquired business, SG&A expenses increased 10% in the quarter and 5% of the year.
Speaker #4: Higher expenses reflect the continued investment in key strategic areas. Higher DSU mark-to-market adjustments increased expenses in both periods due to the higher share price.
Speaker #4: Compensation costs were largely unchanged from the prior year, as regular salary increases and higher staffing levels were largely offset by lower profit-sharing accruals.
Speaker #4: Sales-related expenses increased year over year, reflecting continued investment in resources. All other expenses, such as travel, training, occupancy, and information technology costs, have increased slightly on continued investment for future growth and inflationary effects.
John Doolittle: Sales-related expenses increased year over year, reflecting continued investment in resources. All other expenses, such as travel, training, occupancy, and information technology costs, have increased slightly on continued investment for future growth and inflationary effects. For the year, expenses increased to 12.3% of revenue compared to 11.8% last year. Operating income increased 3% in the quarter, reflecting the higher revenue, partially offset by the higher expense levels given higher activity. On a year-to-date basis, operating income increased 2% as higher revenue and improved gross profit margins were partially offset by the higher expenses. As a percentage of revenue, operating income was 13.1% on a year-to-date basis compared to 13.3% last year. Net interest income increased CAD 1 million in the quarter due to higher interest earned on the higher excess cash balance.
John Doolittle: Sales-related expenses increased year over year, reflecting continued investment in resources. All other expenses, such as travel, training, occupancy, and information technology costs, have increased slightly on continued investment for future growth and inflationary effects. For the year, expenses increased to 12.3% of revenue compared to 11.8% last year. Operating income increased 3% in the quarter, reflecting the higher revenue, partially offset by the higher expense levels given higher activity. On a year-to-date basis, operating income increased 2% as higher revenue and improved gross profit margins were partially offset by the higher expenses. As a percentage of revenue, operating income was 13.1% on a year-to-date basis compared to 13.3% last year. Net interest income increased CAD 1 million in the quarter due to higher interest earned on the higher excess cash balance.
Speaker #4: For the year, expenses increased to 12.3% of revenue compared to 11.8% last year. Operating income increased 3% in the quarter reflecting the higher revenue partially offset by the higher expense levels given higher activity.
Speaker #4: On a year-to-date basis, operating income increased 2% as higher revenue and improved gross profit margins were partially offset by the higher expenses. As a percentage of revenue, operating income was 13.1% on a year-to-date basis compared to 13.3% last year.
Speaker #4: Net interest income increased 1 million in the quarter due to higher interest earned on the higher excess cash balance. For the year, net interest expense increased 17 million reflecting interest expense on higher borrowings with the new senior debentures issued in March 2025.
John Doolittle: For the year, net interest expense increased CAD 17 million, reflecting interest expense on higher borrowings with the new senior debentures issued in March 2025. In connection with the acquisition of AVL in early 2025, the company made a commitment to purchase the remaining 40% of the shares at various dates through 2031. Reevaluation of this purchase commitment liability resulted in a CAD 7.9 million expense for the year, and you will see that as a separate line item on our P&L. Net earnings increased 1%, or CAD 0.9 million, in the quarter compared to last year and decreased 2%, or CAD 9.9 million, for the year. Basic earnings per share was CAD 1.93 in the quarter and CAD 6.11 for the year.
John Doolittle: For the year, net interest expense increased CAD 17 million, reflecting interest expense on higher borrowings with the new senior debentures issued in March 2025. In connection with the acquisition of AVL in early 2025, the company made a commitment to purchase the remaining 40% of the shares at various dates through 2031. Reevaluation of this purchase commitment liability resulted in a CAD 7.9 million expense for the year, and you will see that as a separate line item on our P&L. Net earnings increased 1%, or CAD 0.9 million, in the quarter compared to last year and decreased 2%, or CAD 9.9 million, for the year. Basic earnings per share was CAD 1.93 in the quarter and CAD 6.11 for the year.
Speaker #4: In connection with the AVL acquisition of AVL in early 2025, the company made a commitment to purchase the remaining 40% of the shares at various dates through 2031.
Speaker #4: Reevaluation of this purchase commitment liability resulted in a 7.9 million expense for the year and you'll see that as a separate line item on our P&L.
Speaker #4: Net earnings increased 1%, or $0.9 million, in the quarter compared to last year and decreased 2%, or $9.9 million, for the year. Basic earnings per share was $1.93 in the quarter and $6.11 for the year.
Speaker #4: Turning to the equipment group on slide six, revenue increased 9% in the quarter and 3% for the year as higher construction and power systems markets, including the acquired business, along with higher rental and product support revenue, were largely offset by lower mining revenue against a strong comparable.
John Doolittle: Turning to the equipment group on slide 6, revenue increased 9% in the quarter and 3% for the year as higher construction and power systems markets, including the acquired business, along with higher rental and product support revenue, were largely offset by lower mining revenue against a strong comparable. Equipment sales, including both new and used equipment, were up in both quarter and full year by 9% and 1%, respectively. New equipment sales increased 10% in the quarter and 1% for the year with decreases in mining against a strong comparable, partially offset by higher power systems markets, which include revenue of the acquired business. Used equipment sales increased 4% in the quarter, mainly on improved dispositions in the construction market, and decreased 4% year to date in most markets. The decrease prominently led by a lower construction market, slightly offset by improved mining market activity.
John Doolittle: Turning to the equipment group on slide 6, revenue increased 9% in the quarter and 3% for the year as higher construction and power systems markets, including the acquired business, along with higher rental and product support revenue, were largely offset by lower mining revenue against a strong comparable. Equipment sales, including both new and used equipment, were up in both quarter and full year by 9% and 1%, respectively. New equipment sales increased 10% in the quarter and 1% for the year with decreases in mining against a strong comparable, partially offset by higher power systems markets, which include revenue of the acquired business. Used equipment sales increased 4% in the quarter, mainly on improved dispositions in the construction market, and decreased 4% year to date in most markets. The decrease prominently led by a lower construction market, slightly offset by improved mining market activity.
Speaker #4: Equipment sales, including both new and used equipment, were up in both the quarter and full year by 9% and 1%, respectively. New equipment sales increased 10% in the quarter and 1% for the year, with decreases in mining against a strong comparable partially offset by higher power systems markets, which include revenue of the acquired business.
Speaker #4: Used equipment sales increased 4% in the quarter mainly on improved dispositions in the construction market and decreased 4% year-to-date in most markets. The decrease prominently led by lower construction market, slightly offset by improved mining market activity.
Speaker #4: Looking at the market segments for the quarter, total equipment revenue decreased 39% in mining, while power systems increased 131%. Construction increased 1%, and material handling increased 12%.
John Doolittle: Looking at the market segments for the quarter, total equipment revenue decreased 39% in mining, while power systems increased 131%, construction increased 1%, and material handling increased 12%. Rental revenue was up 5% in the quarter and was up 9% year to date. While market conditions remain somewhat challenging, revenue increased compared to the prior year, reflecting a larger fleet and improved activity levels in certain areas. Revenue improved in most areas for the quarter as follows: heavy equipment rentals were up 15%, light equipment up 5%, material handling up 7%, partially offset by decrease in power rentals down 11%. The RPO fleet was CAD 92.5 million versus CAD 97.9 million a year ago, and rental revenue was up 5% for the quarter and 40% for the year compared to the similar periods last year.
John Doolittle: Looking at the market segments for the quarter, total equipment revenue decreased 39% in mining, while power systems increased 131%, construction increased 1%, and material handling increased 12%. Rental revenue was up 5% in the quarter and was up 9% year to date. While market conditions remain somewhat challenging, revenue increased compared to the prior year, reflecting a larger fleet and improved activity levels in certain areas. Revenue improved in most areas for the quarter as follows: heavy equipment rentals were up 15%, light equipment up 5%, material handling up 7%, partially offset by decrease in power rentals down 11%. The RPO fleet was CAD 92.5 million versus CAD 97.9 million a year ago, and rental revenue was up 5% for the quarter and 40% for the year compared to the similar periods last year.
Speaker #4: Rental revenue was up 5% in the quarter and was up 9% year-to-date. While market conditions remained somewhat challenging, revenue increased compared to the prior year, reflecting a larger fleet and improved activity levels in certain areas.
Speaker #4: Revenue improved in most areas for the quarter as follows. Heavy equipment rentals were up 15%. Light equipment up 5%. Material handling up 7%. Partially offset by decrease in power rentals down 11%.
Speaker #4: The RPO fleet was 92.5 million, versus 97.9 million a year ago, and rental revenue was up 5% for the quarter and 40% for the year compared to the similar periods last year.
Speaker #4: Product support revenue increased 9% in the quarter and 4% year-to-date. With an increase in both parts and service. Activity was higher across most markets and regions reflecting end-user demand and activity levels.
John Doolittle: Product support revenue increased 9% in the quarter and 4% year to date, with an increase in both parts and service. Activity was higher across most markets and regions, reflecting end-user demand and activity levels. Gross profit margins increased 10 basis points in the quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and increased 30 basis points on a full year basis. Equipment margins were up 50 basis points in the quarter, up 50 basis points for the year, reflecting market dynamics and the nature of equipment sold. Rental margins were down 10 basis points in the quarter, down 20 basis points for the year on higher recent fleet acquisitions and higher maintenance and repair costs. Product support margins decreased 30 basis points in the quarter and 10 for the year.
John Doolittle: Product support revenue increased 9% in the quarter and 4% year to date, with an increase in both parts and service. Activity was higher across most markets and regions, reflecting end-user demand and activity levels. Gross profit margins increased 10 basis points in the quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and increased 30 basis points on a full year basis. Equipment margins were up 50 basis points in the quarter, up 50 basis points for the year, reflecting market dynamics and the nature of equipment sold. Rental margins were down 10 basis points in the quarter, down 20 basis points for the year on higher recent fleet acquisitions and higher maintenance and repair costs. Product support margins decreased 30 basis points in the quarter and 10 for the year.
Speaker #4: Gross profit margins increased 10 basis points in the quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and increased 30 basis points on a full-year basis.
Speaker #4: Equipment margins were up 50 basis points in the quarter, up 50 basis points for the year, reflecting market dynamics and the nature of equipment sold.
Speaker #4: Rental margins were down 10 basis points in the quarter. Down 20 basis points for the year. On higher recent fleet acquisitions and higher maintenance and repair cost.
Speaker #4: Product support margins decreased 30 basis points in the quarter and 10 for the year. Sales mix was favorable, up 10 basis points in the year, reflecting a higher proportion of product support revenue to total revenue.
John Doolittle: Sales mix was favorable, up 10 basis points in the year, reflecting a higher proportion of product support revenue to total revenue. Excluding the gain on property disposition and the acquired business in 2025, selling and administrative expenses increased CAD 11.3 million, or 9% in the quarter, and CAD 21.5 million, or 4% for the year. Higher expenses reflected continuing investment in key strategic areas. Higher DSU mark-to-market adjustments increased expenses in both periods. Compensation costs were higher in both periods, reflecting staffing levels and regular salary increases, more than offset by lower profit sharing accruals on the lower income. Other expenses, such as training, travel, and occupancy costs, have increased in light of sales levels, planned investment, and inflation. As a percentage of revenue, selling and administrative expenses increased to 12.1% versus 11.5% last year. Operating income increased 3% for the quarter and was relatively unchanged for the year.
John Doolittle: Sales mix was favorable, up 10 basis points in the year, reflecting a higher proportion of product support revenue to total revenue. Excluding the gain on property disposition and the acquired business in 2025, selling and administrative expenses increased CAD 11.3 million, or 9% in the quarter, and CAD 21.5 million, or 4% for the year. Higher expenses reflected continuing investment in key strategic areas. Higher DSU mark-to-market adjustments increased expenses in both periods. Compensation costs were higher in both periods, reflecting staffing levels and regular salary increases, more than offset by lower profit sharing accruals on the lower income. Other expenses, such as training, travel, and occupancy costs, have increased in light of sales levels, planned investment, and inflation. As a percentage of revenue, selling and administrative expenses increased to 12.1% versus 11.5% last year. Operating income increased 3% for the quarter and was relatively unchanged for the year.
Speaker #4: Excluding the gain on property disposition and the acquired business in 2025, selling and administrative expenses increased $11.3 million or 9% in the quarter, and $21.5 million or 4% for the year.
Speaker #4: Higher expenses reflect the continuing investment in key strategic areas. Higher DSU mark-to-market adjustments increased expenses in both periods. Compensation costs were higher in both periods, reflecting staffing levels and regular salary increases, more than offset by lower profit sharing accruals on the lower income.
Speaker #4: Other expenses, such as training, travel, and occupancy costs, have increased in light of sales levels, planned investment, and inflation. As a percentage of revenue, selling and administrative expenses increased to 12.1% versus 11.5% last year.
Speaker #4: Operating income increased 3% for the quarter and was relatively unchanged for the year. Excluding the property disposition gain, operating income decreased 2% for the year, reflecting the higher revenue and improved gross profit margins more than offset by the higher expenses.
John Doolittle: Excluding the property disposition gain, operating income decreased 2% for the year, reflecting the higher revenue and improved gross profit margins, more than offset by the higher expenses. The acquired business continues to increase production; however, it did not contribute meaningfully to operating income given expenses arising from purchase price accounting, including items such as amortization of intangibles, and the setup of a new US facility. Bookings increased 71% in the quarter, led by strong order intake in power systems, and the mining sector. For the quarter, construction markets were up 9%, reflecting more normalized customer demand. Power systems, which includes the acquired business, saw strong order activity up 195% on good demand for our products. Mining markets are lumpy or cyclical due to the nature of the business, and improved up 324% on good orders in the quarter. Material handling orders were down 14% versus a strong comparable last year.
John Doolittle: Excluding the property disposition gain, operating income decreased 2% for the year, reflecting the higher revenue and improved gross profit margins, more than offset by the higher expenses. The acquired business continues to increase production; however, it did not contribute meaningfully to operating income given expenses arising from purchase price accounting, including items such as amortization of intangibles, and the setup of a new US facility. Bookings increased 71% in the quarter, led by strong order intake in power systems, and the mining sector. For the quarter, construction markets were up 9%, reflecting more normalized customer demand. Power systems, which includes the acquired business, saw strong order activity up 195% on good demand for our products. Mining markets are lumpy or cyclical due to the nature of the business, and improved up 324% on good orders in the quarter. Material handling orders were down 14% versus a strong comparable last year.
Speaker #4: Acquired business continues to increase production; however, did not contribute meaningfully to operating income given expenses arising from purchase price accounting, including items such as amortization of intangibles and the setup of a new US facility.
Speaker #4: Bookings increased 71% in the quarter led by strong order intake and power systems in the mining sector. For the quarter, construction markets were up 9%, reflecting more normalized customer demand.
Speaker #4: Power systems, which includes the acquired business, saw strong order activity up 195% on good demand for our products. Mining markets are lumpy or cyclical due to the nature of the business and improved up 324% on good orders in the quarter.
Speaker #4: Material handling orders were down 14%, versus a strong comparable last year. Backlog sits at $1.2 billion and remains at healthy levels. Backlog includes approximately $428 million at ABL, and excluding this, the backlog was up 7% compared to the same time last year, reflecting good new order intake throughout the year.
John Doolittle: Backlog sits at CAD 1.2 billion and remains at healthy levels. Backlog includes approximately CAD 428 million at AVL. Excluding this, the backlog was up 7% compared to the same time last year, reflecting good new order intake throughout the year. Approximately 90% of the backlog is expected to be delivered over the next 12 months, but of course, this is subject to timing differences depending upon vendor supply, customer activity, and delivery schedules. When you consider the impact of AVL on our results, please keep in mind that the bulk of the purchase price amortization is related to acquired backlog. A substantial portion of this backlog was shipped in 2025, with a small remainder expected to be delivered in Q1 2026. You can refer to note 11 in the financial statements for a break out of this.
John Doolittle: Backlog sits at CAD 1.2 billion and remains at healthy levels. Backlog includes approximately CAD 428 million at AVL. Excluding this, the backlog was up 7% compared to the same time last year, reflecting good new order intake throughout the year. Approximately 90% of the backlog is expected to be delivered over the next 12 months, but of course, this is subject to timing differences depending upon vendor supply, customer activity, and delivery schedules. When you consider the impact of AVL on our results, please keep in mind that the bulk of the purchase price amortization is related to acquired backlog. A substantial portion of this backlog was shipped in 2025, with a small remainder expected to be delivered in Q1 2026. You can refer to note 11 in the financial statements for a break out of this.
Speaker #4: Approximately 90% of the backlog is expected to be delivered over the next 12 months, but, of course, this is subject to timing differences depending upon vendor supply.
Speaker #4: Customer activity and delivery schedules. When you consider the impact of ABL on our results, please keep in mind that the bulk of the purchase price amortization is related to acquired backlog.
Speaker #4: A substantial portion of this backlog was shipped in 2025 with a small remainder expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2026. And you can refer to node 11 in the financial statements for a breakout of this.
Speaker #4: As well as important to recognize that we own 60% of the business and any dividends paid to minority shareholders will be treated as expenses when paid.
John Doolittle: As well, it is important to recognize that we own 60% of the business, and any dividends paid to minority shareholders will be treated as expenses when paid. We expect dividends to begin in 2026 with amounts reflective of both trailing earnings, excluding the impact of amortization, and the cash flow needs of a rapidly expanding business. Turning now to CIMCO on slide 7, revenue is up 10% in the quarter and 14% for the year. Package revenue increased 4% in the quarter and 18% year to date, led by strong recreational market activity, reflecting good execution on equipment delivery and progress in customer schedules, slightly offset by a decrease in the industrial market. Recreational activity increased 51% in the year, with higher revenue in both Canada and the US in both periods.
John Doolittle: As well, it is important to recognize that we own 60% of the business, and any dividends paid to minority shareholders will be treated as expenses when paid. We expect dividends to begin in 2026 with amounts reflective of both trailing earnings, excluding the impact of amortization, and the cash flow needs of a rapidly expanding business. Turning now to CIMCO on slide 7, revenue is up 10% in the quarter and 14% for the year. Package revenue increased 4% in the quarter and 18% year to date, led by strong recreational market activity, reflecting good execution on equipment delivery and progress in customer schedules, slightly offset by a decrease in the industrial market. Recreational activity increased 51% in the year, with higher revenue in both Canada and the US in both periods.
Speaker #4: We expect dividends to begin in 2026, with amounts reflective of both trailing earnings, excluding the impact of amortization, and the cash flow needs of a rapidly expanding business.
Speaker #4: Turn now to SIMCO on slide 7. Revenue is up 10% in the quarter and 14% for the year. Package revenue increased 4% in the quarter and 18% year-to-date, led by strong recreational market activity reflecting good execution on equipment delivery and progress on customer schedules.
Speaker #4: Slightly offset by a decrease in the industrial market. Recreational activity increased 51% in the year, with higher revenue in both Canada and the U.S. in both periods.
Speaker #4: Industrial market revenue decreased 3% in the year with lower activity in Canada against a strong comparable and higher activity in the US in both periods.
John Doolittle: Industrial market revenue decreased 3% in the year, with lower activity in Canada against a strong comparable and higher activity in the US in both periods. Product support revenue increased 17% in the quarter and 9% on a year-to-date basis, with higher market activity in Canada in both periods. Activity in the US was down 11% in the quarter and down 1% year-to-date, with a stronger start to the year. Activity levels continue to improve on good customer demand and the increased technician base. Gross margins were unchanged in the quarter and increased 10 basis points in the year versus similar periods last year. Package margins reflect good execution and the nature of the projects and process for both periods, driving a 20 basis point increase for the quarter and 50 basis points increase for the year.
John Doolittle: Industrial market revenue decreased 3% in the year, with lower activity in Canada against a strong comparable and higher activity in the US in both periods. Product support revenue increased 17% in the quarter and 9% on a year-to-date basis, with higher market activity in Canada in both periods. Activity in the US was down 11% in the quarter and down 1% year-to-date, with a stronger start to the year. Activity levels continue to improve on good customer demand and the increased technician base. Gross margins were unchanged in the quarter and increased 10 basis points in the year versus similar periods last year. Package margins reflect good execution and the nature of the projects and process for both periods, driving a 20 basis point increase for the quarter and 50 basis points increase for the year.
Speaker #4: Product support revenue increased 17% in the quarter and 9% on a year-to-date basis with higher market activity in Canada in both periods. Activity in the US was down 11% in the quarter and down 1% year-to-date with a stronger start to the year.
Speaker #4: Activity levels continue to improve on good customer demand and the increased technician base. Gross margins were unchanged in the quarter and increased 10 basis points in the year versus similar periods last year.
Speaker #4: Package margins reflect good execution and the nature of the projects and process for both periods, driving a 20 basis point increase for the quarter and a 50 basis point increase for the year.
Speaker #4: Product support margins decreased 50 basis points in the quarter and 20 basis points for the year. Improving execution and efficiency continues to be a focus. A favorable sales mix, with a higher proportion of product support revenue to total, increased margin 30 basis points in the quarter, and an unfavorable sales mix of 20 basis points reduced gross profit for the year.
John Doolittle: Product support margins decreased 50 basis points in the quarter and 20 basis points for the year. Improving execution and efficiency continues to be a focus. A favorable sales mix, with a higher proportion of product support revenue to total, increased margin 30 basis points in the quarter, and an unfavorable sales mix of 20 basis points reduced gross profit for the year. Selling and administrative expenses increased CAD 2 million, or 12% in the quarter, and CAD 7 million, or 10% for the year. Compensation costs increased, reflecting staffing levels, annual salary increases, and higher profit sharing accruals on the higher earnings. Other expenditures, such as travel and training expenses, increased the support activity and staffing levels. As a percentage of revenue, selling and administrative expenses improved to 14.3% in 2025 versus 14.8% in 2024.
John Doolittle: Product support margins decreased 50 basis points in the quarter and 20 basis points for the year. Improving execution and efficiency continues to be a focus. A favorable sales mix, with a higher proportion of product support revenue to total, increased margin 30 basis points in the quarter, and an unfavorable sales mix of 20 basis points reduced gross profit for the year. Selling and administrative expenses increased CAD 2 million, or 12% in the quarter, and CAD 7 million, or 10% for the year. Compensation costs increased, reflecting staffing levels, annual salary increases, and higher profit sharing accruals on the higher earnings. Other expenditures, such as travel and training expenses, increased the support activity and staffing levels. As a percentage of revenue, selling and administrative expenses improved to 14.3% in 2025 versus 14.8% in 2024.
Speaker #4: Selling and administrative expenses increased 2 million or 12% in the quarter and 7 million or 10% for the year. Compensation costs increased reflecting staffing levels, annual salary increases, and higher profit sharing accruals.
Speaker #4: On the higher earnings. Other expenditures such as travel and training expenses increased the support activity and staffing levels. As a percentage of revenue, selling and administrative expenses improved to 14.3% in 2025 versus 14.8% in 2024.
Speaker #4: Operating income was up 2 million or 9% for the quarter and 11 million or 20% for the year. Largely reflecting the higher revenue and improved gross margins partially offset by higher expense levels supporting growth.
John Doolittle: Operating income was up CAD 2 million, or 9% for the quarter, and CAD 11 million, or 20% for the year, largely reflecting the higher revenue and improved gross margins, partially offset by higher expense level supporting growth. Operating income, as a percentage of revenue, increased 60 basis points to 12.2% on a year-to-date basis compared to the similar period last year. Bookings decreased 45%, or CAD 56 million, in the quarter and were 11% lower against a strong comparator. For the year, industrial orders were down 9% and recreational orders down 14%. Generally, activity is continuing with good strategic capital investment levels. However, the current economic uncertainty has delayed some customer buying decisions. Backlog of CAD 343 million was relatively unchanged versus last year, as higher backlog in the industrial markets up 2% were offset by lower recreational markets down 2%.
John Doolittle: Operating income was up CAD 2 million, or 9% for the quarter, and CAD 11 million, or 20% for the year, largely reflecting the higher revenue and improved gross margins, partially offset by higher expense level supporting growth. Operating income, as a percentage of revenue, increased 60 basis points to 12.2% on a year-to-date basis compared to the similar period last year. Bookings decreased 45%, or CAD 56 million, in the quarter and were 11% lower against a strong comparator. For the year, industrial orders were down 9% and recreational orders down 14%. Generally, activity is continuing with good strategic capital investment levels. However, the current economic uncertainty has delayed some customer buying decisions. Backlog of CAD 343 million was relatively unchanged versus last year, as higher backlog in the industrial markets up 2% were offset by lower recreational markets down 2%.
Speaker #4: Operating income is a percentage of revenue increased 60 basis points to 12.2% on a year-to-date basis compared to the similar period last year. Bookings decreased 45% or 56 million in the quarter and were 11% lower against a strong comparator.
Speaker #4: For the year, industrial orders were down 9% and recreational orders down 14%. Generally, activity is continuing with good strategic capital investment levels. However, the current economic uncertainty has delayed some customer buying decisions.
Speaker #4: Backlog of $343 million was relatively unchanged versus last year, as higher backlog in the industrial markets, up 2%, was offset by lower recreational markets, down 2%.
Speaker #4: Approximately 75% of this backlog is expected to be realized over the next 12 months. However, again, this is subject to construction schedules. And with that, we can move to slide 8.
John Doolittle: Approximately 75% of this backlog is expected to be realized over the next 12 months. However, again, this is subject to construction schedules. With that, we can move to slide 8. Turn again to Mike to highlight some key takeaways as we look forward to the year ahead. Great. Thanks again, John. As we look forward to Q1 2026, our focus remains firmly on executing our strategic priorities, namely maintaining safe and efficient operations, delivering exceptional customer service, and applying disciplined financial and operational rigor to support long-term growth. With that in mind, we continue to monitor several external factors that may influence the business environment. Trade negotiations between the US and Canada remain fluid. We have implemented a proactive mitigation plan and continue to refine such plans as the situation evolves in order to manage potential impacts.
John Doolittle: Approximately 75% of this backlog is expected to be realized over the next 12 months. However, again, this is subject to construction schedules. With that, we can move to slide 8. Turn again to Mike to highlight some key takeaways as we look forward to the year ahead.
Speaker #4: Turn again to Mike to highlight some key takeaways as we look forward to the year ahead.
Mike McMillan: Great. Thanks again, John. As we look forward to Q1 2026, our focus remains firmly on executing our strategic priorities, namely maintaining safe and efficient operations, delivering exceptional customer service, and applying disciplined financial and operational rigor to support long-term growth. With that in mind, we continue to monitor several external factors that may influence the business environment. Trade negotiations between the US and Canada remain fluid. We have implemented a proactive mitigation plan and continue to refine such plans as the situation evolves in order to manage potential impacts.
Speaker #2: Great. Thanks again, John. As we look forward to the first quarter of 2026, our focus remains firmly on executing our strategic priorities—namely, maintaining safe and efficient operations, delivering exceptional customer service, and applying disciplined financial and operational rigor to support long-term growth.
Speaker #2: With that in mind, we continue to monitor several external factors that may influence the business environment. Trade negotiations between the US and Canada remain fluid.
Speaker #2: We have implemented a proactive mitigation plan and continue to refine such plans as the situation evolves in order to manage potential impacts. Foreign exchange volatility, particularly fluctuations in the Canadian dollar, is being actively managed primarily through our hedging program.
John Doolittle: Foreign exchange volatility, particularly fluctuations in the Canadian dollar, is being actively managed primarily through our hedging program. While this helps to protect our bottom line, broader economic effects may still be present. Macroeconomic conditions, including inflation and interest rates, are being closely tracked. Our backlog of CAD 1.5 billion and the equipment supply chain is well positioned to support our customer requirements as well. The AVL acquisition continues to track to our production plan, though near-term earnings contributions remain modest due to non-cash purchase accounting adjustments and the dividends, as John noted earlier. We continue to invest in our technician workforce, a key enabler of our aftermarket growth strategy. This critical initiative strengthens our aftermarket services capability and enhances the value we deliver to our customers through our product and service offerings.
John Doolittle: Foreign exchange volatility, particularly fluctuations in the Canadian dollar, is being actively managed primarily through our hedging program. While this helps to protect our bottom line, broader economic effects may still be present. Macroeconomic conditions, including inflation and interest rates, are being closely tracked. Our backlog of CAD 1.5 billion and the equipment supply chain is well positioned to support our customer requirements as well. The AVL acquisition continues to track to our production plan, though near-term earnings contributions remain modest due to non-cash purchase accounting adjustments and the dividends, as John noted earlier. We continue to invest in our technician workforce, a key enabler of our aftermarket growth strategy. This critical initiative strengthens our aftermarket services capability and enhances the value we deliver to our customers through our product and service offerings.
Speaker #2: While this helps to protect our bottom line, broader economic effects may still be present. Macroeconomic conditions, including inflation and interest rates, are being closely tracked.
Speaker #2: Our backlog of 1.5 billion and the equipment supply chain is well positioned to support our customer requirements as well. The ABL acquisition continues to track to our production plan.
Speaker #2: Though near-term earnings contributions remain modest, due to non-cash purchase accounting adjustments and the dividends as John noted earlier. We continue to invest in our technician workforce a key enabler of our aftermarket growth strategy.
Speaker #2: This critical initiative strengthens our aftermarket services, capability, and enhances the value we deliver to our customers through our product and service offerings. From both an operational and financial standpoint, we have a focused operating model, talented leadership team, disciplined culture, and ample liquidity, which helps equip us to navigate near-term uncertainty while pursuing strategic growth opportunities.
John Doolittle: From both an operational and financial standpoint, we have a focused operating model, talented leadership team, disciplined culture, and ample liquidity, which helps equip us to navigate near-term uncertainty while pursuing strategic growth opportunities. Our long-term commitment to shareholder value remains anchored in cost discipline, strategic investment, and operational excellence. We thank our team for their continued dedication and our stakeholders for their trust and support. That concludes our prepared remarks. We'd now be pleased to take your questions. Lodie, back over to you, please, to set up the first call. Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star followed by the number 2.
John Doolittle: From both an operational and financial standpoint, we have a focused operating model, talented leadership team, disciplined culture, and ample liquidity, which helps equip us to navigate near-term uncertainty while pursuing strategic growth opportunities. Our long-term commitment to shareholder value remains anchored in cost discipline, strategic investment, and operational excellence. We thank our team for their continued dedication and our stakeholders for their trust and support. That concludes our prepared remarks. We'd now be pleased to take your questions. Lodie, back over to you, please, to set up the first call.
Speaker #2: Our long-term commitment to shareholder value remains anchored in cost discipline, strategic investment, and operational excellence. We thank our team for their continued dedication, and our stakeholders for their trust and support.
Speaker #2: That concludes our prepared remarks. We'd now be pleased to take your questions. Lodi, back over to you, please, to set up the first call.
Operator: Thank you. And ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star followed by the number 2.
Speaker #3: Thank you. And, ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. To ask a question, you may press star followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad.
Speaker #3: If you're using a speakerphone, please speak up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press a star followed by the number 2.
Speaker #3: With that, our first question comes from the line of Devin Dodge with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
John Doolittle: With that, our first question comes from the line of Devin Dodge with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Yeah, thanks. Good morning. I wanted to start with a question on, I guess it's on the AVL business. But look, we've seen Cat is increasingly seeing opportunities for really large data centers. That's both for prime and backup power. I mean, they saw multiple orders for Gensets for sites more than a gigawatt of power. Are these opportunities for AVL, or are these Gensets likely to be deployed in larger enclosures or buildings versus the typical AVL offering? Yeah, thanks, Devin, for the question. Let me just start with that. And John can provide some color as well. I would say at this stage, our focus is really on the standby power and ramping up production to support the data centers in motion today.
John Doolittle: With that, our first question comes from the line of Devin Dodge with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Yeah, thanks. Good morning. I wanted to start with a question on, I guess it's on the AVL business. But look, we've seen Cat is increasingly seeing opportunities for really large data centers. That's both for prime and backup power. I mean, they saw multiple orders for Gensets for sites more than a gigawatt of power. Are these opportunities for AVL, or are these Gensets likely to be deployed in larger enclosures or buildings versus the typical AVL offering? Yeah, thanks, Devin, for the question. Let me just start with that. And John can provide some color as well. I would say at this stage, our focus is really on the standby power and ramping up production to support the data centers in motion today.
Speaker #3: ahead. Yeah, thanks.
Speaker #4: Good morning. I wanted to start with a question on— I guess it's on the ABL business. Look, we've seen CAD has increasingly seen opportunities for really large data centers.
Speaker #4: That's both for prime and backup power. I mean, they saw multiple orders for GenSense, like for sites more than a gigawatt of power, just are these opportunities for ABL or are these GenSense likely to be deployed in larger enclosures or buildings versus the typical ABL offering?
Speaker #4: That's both for prime and backup power. I mean, they saw multiple orders for GenSense, like for sites more than a gigawatt of power. Just, are these opportunities for ABL, or are these GenSense likely to be deployed in larger enclosures or buildings versus the typical ABL offering?
Speaker #5: Yeah, thanks, Devin, for the question. Let me just start with that and John can provide some color as well. I would say at this stage, our focus is really on the standby power and ramping up production to support the data centers in motion today, not to say that we aren't looking at the gas.
John Doolittle: Not to say that we aren't looking at the gas. I think from your perspective, what you're talking about is the shortage in energy in the segment, right? And so as we've heard, certainly there is a shortage of energy to support data centers, and they're looking at different opportunities to bridge until they get into the grid, and also just operating as a prime power solution while they continue to build out and address the demand and the data center side of things. And so I would say, broadly speaking, we certainly can provide enclosures. Some of these power plants, certainly the gas solutions, are larger, a little heavier, but many of them do require a similar type enclosure and so forth. And so at this stage, I would just say it's a bit early in that regard.
John Doolittle: Not to say that we aren't looking at the gas. I think from your perspective, what you're talking about is the shortage in energy in the segment, right? And so as we've heard, certainly there is a shortage of energy to support data centers, and they're looking at different opportunities to bridge until they get into the grid, and also just operating as a prime power solution while they continue to build out and address the demand and the data center side of things. And so I would say, broadly speaking, we certainly can provide enclosures. Some of these power plants, certainly the gas solutions, are larger, a little heavier, but many of them do require a similar type enclosure and so forth. And so at this stage, I would just say it's a bit early in that regard.
Speaker #5: I think from your perspective, what you're talking about is the shortage in energy in the segment, right? And so, as we've heard, certainly there is a shortage of energy to support data centers, and they're looking at different opportunities to bridge until they get into the grid.
Speaker #5: And also just operating as a prime power solution while they continue to build out and address the demand in the data center side of things.
Speaker #5: And so I would say broadly speaking, we certainly can provide enclosures. Some of these power plants, certainly the gas solutions are larger, a little heavier, but many of them do require similar type enclosure and so forth.
Speaker #5: And so, at this stage, I would just say it's a bit early in that regard. That's something that we'll probably evaluate as we get further down the path of executing our plan and ramping up production in Charlotte.
John Doolittle: That's something that we'll probably evaluate as we get further down the path of executing our plan and ramping up production in Charlotte. Okay. Makes sense. Thanks for that. And then maybe just sticking with AVL, I just wondering if you could provide an update on the ramp-up at the Charlotte facility and how quickly that could get to full production. And just wondering if there's any plans to expand the AVL network beyond Charlotte, either at existing facilities or just expanding the overall network. Yeah, just on Charlotte, Devin, I think Mike called that out in his remarks. We're making good progress in Charlotte. The building is basically kitted out. We're hiring folks. There is some limited production going on right now. We would expect that to continue to grow throughout 2026. And I commented last quarter, I think, on margins following that growth in production.
John Doolittle: That's something that we'll probably evaluate as we get further down the path of executing our plan and ramping up production in Charlotte. Okay. Makes sense. Thanks for that. And then maybe just sticking with AVL, I just wondering if you could provide an update on the ramp-up at the Charlotte facility and how quickly that could get to full production. And just wondering if there's any plans to expand the AVL network beyond Charlotte, either at existing facilities or just expanding the overall network. Yeah, just on Charlotte, Devin, I think Mike called that out in his remarks. We're making good progress in Charlotte. The building is basically kitted out. We're hiring folks. There is some limited production going on right now. We would expect that to continue to grow throughout 2026. And I commented last quarter, I think, on margins following that growth in production.
Speaker #4: Okay, makes sense. Thanks for that. And then maybe just sticking with ABL, I just wonder if you could provide an update on the ramp-up at the Charlotte facility and how quickly that could get to full production and just wondering if there's any plans to expand the ABL network beyond Charlotte either at existing facilities or just expanding the overall network.
Speaker #4: Okay, makes sense. Thanks for that. And then maybe just sticking with ABL, I just wonder if you could provide an update on the ramp-up at the Charlotte facility and how quickly that could get to full production. And just wondering if there's any plans to expand the ABL network beyond Charlotte, either at existing facilities or just expanding overall.
Speaker #5: Yeah, just on Charlotte, Devin, I think Mike called that out in his remarks. We're making good progress in Charlotte. The building is basically kitted out.
Speaker #5: We're hiring folks. There is some limited production going on right now. We would expect that to continue to grow throughout 2026. And I commented last quarter, I think, on margins following that growth in production.
Speaker #5: Mike, did you want to talk?
John Doolittle: Mike, did you want to talk about? Yeah, just when you say your second part of your question there, Devin, on further expansion. I mean, I think the first thing we want to do is ramp up production, both Hamilton and here. Hamilton's at a pretty good state at the moment. I think there is also some opportunity when you think about operating efficiently and, say, the Charlotte facility, shift scheduling, adding a little bit more assembly and manufacturing space, that type of thing. So we'll evaluate that first before we would go further with another opportunity in another location. Okay. Thank you. I'll turn it over. Thanks, Devin. Thanks, Devin. And the next question comes from the line of Maxim Sytchev with National Bank Financial. Please go ahead. Hi. Good morning, gentlemen. Hey, Max.
John Doolittle: Mike, did you want to talk about? Yeah, just when you say your second part of your question there, Devin, on further expansion. I mean, I think the first thing we want to do is ramp up production, both Hamilton and here. Hamilton's at a pretty good state at the moment. I think there is also some opportunity when you think about operating efficiently and, say, the Charlotte facility, shift scheduling, adding a little bit more assembly and manufacturing space, that type of thing. So we'll evaluate that first before we would go further with another opportunity in another location. Okay. Thank you. I'll turn it over. Thanks, Devin. Thanks, Devin. And the next question comes from the line of Maxim Sytchev with National Bank Financial. Please go ahead. Hi. Good morning, gentlemen. Hey, Max.
Speaker #5: about? Yeah, just when you
Speaker #2: say your second part of your question there, Devin, on further expansion. I mean, I think the first thing we want to do is ramp up production both Hamilton and here.
Speaker #2: Hamilton's at a pretty good state at the moment. I think there is also some opportunity when you think about operating efficiently in, say, the Charlotte facility—shift scheduling, adding a little bit more assembly and manufacturing space, that type of thing.
Speaker #2: So, we'll evaluate that first before we would go further with another opportunity in another.
Speaker #2: location. Okay, thank you.
Speaker #4: I'll
Speaker #4: turn it over.
Speaker #5: Thanks, Thanks, Devin.
Speaker #5: Devin. And the next question comes from
Speaker #3: The line of Maxim Sichev with National Bank Financial. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: ahead. Hi, good morning,
Speaker #6: gentlemen. Hey, Hey, good morning. Max. If we switch gears, if we can, to the kind of the core equipment group, can you maybe talk about the inflection in the backlog year on year and what's driving that specifically in terms of end markets, etc.?
John Doolittle: If we switch gears, if we can, to the kind of the core equipment group, can you maybe talk about the inflection in the backlog year-over-year and what's driving that specifically in terms of end markets, etc.? Thank you. Yeah, just so I'm clear, Max, you're focused on more of the traditional equipment group as far as the backlog? Correct. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, please. Yep. Thank you. Yeah, I think as we've talked about, probably over the course of the last year or so, availability of equipment has improved quite significantly in the industry. And bundle that with a little bit softer demand and activity levels in Canada with some of the other factors at play. I would just say that what we are seeing, again, strong levels of bookings, strong.
John Doolittle: If we switch gears, if we can, to the kind of the core equipment group, can you maybe talk about the inflection in the backlog year-over-year and what's driving that specifically in terms of end markets, etc.? Thank you. Yeah, just so I'm clear, Max, you're focused on more of the traditional equipment group as far as the backlog? Correct. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, please. Yep. Thank you. Yeah, I think as we've talked about, probably over the course of the last year or so, availability of equipment has improved quite significantly in the industry. And bundle that with a little bit softer demand and activity levels in Canada with some of the other factors at play. I would just say that what we are seeing, again, strong levels of bookings, strong.
Speaker #6: Thank you.
Speaker #5: Yeah, just so I'm clear, Max, you're just focused on the more traditional equipment group as far as the backlog?
Speaker #6: Correct. Yes, yep. Yeah, please. Yep, thank you.
Speaker #5: Yeah, I think, as we've talked about probably over the course of the last year or so, availability of equipment has improved quite significantly in the industry.
Speaker #5: And bundle that with a little bit softer demand and activity levels in Canada, with some of the other factors at play. I would just say that what we are seeing—again, strong levels of bookings, strong.
Speaker #5: Our backlog continues to be at a relatively high level, even if you back out the power and energy side of things, relative to we always look back at, say, 2019 and where we would normally be with strong availability.
John Doolittle: Our backlog continues to be at a relatively high level, even if you back out the power and energy side of things, relative to we always look back at, say, 2019 and where we would normally be with strong availability. And so I'd say it's an interesting dynamic. I'd say we're still trying to help our customers with solutions, whether it's new equipment, which has strong availability, but also as we look at inflationary effects over the last several years, the right solutions for them in terms of used, rebuilds, rentals, and so forth. And so you tend to see that. But right now, I'd say given the demand strength, customers do have the opportunity to make their purchase decisions in line with what they're seeing in the project pipeline and some of the infrastructure we anticipate will materialize over time.
John Doolittle: Our backlog continues to be at a relatively high level, even if you back out the power and energy side of things, relative to we always look back at, say, 2019 and where we would normally be with strong availability. And so I'd say it's an interesting dynamic. I'd say we're still trying to help our customers with solutions, whether it's new equipment, which has strong availability, but also as we look at inflationary effects over the last several years, the right solutions for them in terms of used, rebuilds, rentals, and so forth. And so you tend to see that. But right now, I'd say given the demand strength, customers do have the opportunity to make their purchase decisions in line with what they're seeing in the project pipeline and some of the infrastructure we anticipate will materialize over time.
Speaker #5: And so I'd say it's an interesting dynamic. I'd say we're still trying to help our customers with solutions whether it's new equipment, which has strong availability, but also as we look at inflationary effects over the last several years, the right solutions for them in terms of used, rebuilds, rentals, and so forth.
Speaker #5: And so you tend to see that. But right now, I'd say given the demand strength, customers do have the opportunity to make their purchase decisions in line with what they're seeing in the project pipeline and some of the infrastructure we anticipate will materialize over time.
Speaker #5: So it's a little more patient than it has been, say, for the last little while.
John Doolittle: So it's a little more patient than it has been, say, for the last little while. Okay. No, that's fair enough. And then in terms of the margins on AVL, I know that John sort of alluded to this in the previous question, but how much of a drag was Charlotte ramp-up in the margin performance for AVL in Q4 from your perspective? It wasn't a significant drag in the fourth quarter, Max. And all I was saying is the expectation as we build up production is that, of course, costs kind of upfront before you get revenues. And so we'd expect margins to build as revenue grows in Charlotte over the course of the year. But it wasn't much of a drag on the Q4 performance. Okay. Okay. That's great. That's it from me. Thank you so much. Thanks, Max.
John Doolittle: So it's a little more patient than it has been, say, for the last little while. Okay. No, that's fair enough. And then in terms of the margins on AVL, I know that John sort of alluded to this in the previous question, but how much of a drag was Charlotte ramp-up in the margin performance for AVL in Q4 from your perspective? It wasn't a significant drag in the fourth quarter, Max. And all I was saying is the expectation as we build up production is that, of course, costs kind of upfront before you get revenues. And so we'd expect margins to build as revenue grows in Charlotte over the course of the year. But it wasn't much of a drag on the Q4 performance. Okay. Okay. That's great. That's it from me. Thank you so much. Thanks, Max.
Speaker #6: Okay, no, that's fair enough. And then, in terms of the margins on ABL, I know that John sort of alluded to this in the previous question, but how much of a drag was the Charlotte ramp-up in the margin performance for ABL in Q4 from your—
Speaker #6: perspective? It wasn't a significant
Speaker #5: drag in the fourth quarter, Max, and all I was saying is we the expectation is we build a production is that, of course, costs kind of upfront before you get revenues.
Speaker #5: And so we'd expect margins to build as revenue grows in Charlotte over the course of the year. But it wasn't much of a drag on the Q4
Speaker #5: performance. Okay, okay, that's great.
Speaker #6: That's it for me. Thank you so much. Thanks,
Speaker #3: And your next Max. question comes from the line of Charilene Radborn with TD Cowan, please go ahead.
John Doolittle: Your next question comes from the line of Cherilyn Radbourne with TD Cowen. Please go ahead. Thanks very much, and good morning. I wanted to key off a comment in regards to the bookings in the equipment group in Q4. You mentioned that construction orders were up 9%, reflecting more normalized customer demand. Can you sort of elaborate on that comment? Is that confidence-driven, project-driven? Any detail you can give there would be helpful. Yeah, I think, Carolyn, it's a number of factors when you break it down. I think it's, like I mentioned earlier, availability and so forth. I think also it's not unusual for us to see in Q4, depending on how customers' financial positions are, and what they see for year-end buys, and they can time it.
John Doolittle: Your next question comes from the line of Cherilyn Radbourne with TD Cowen. Please go ahead. Thanks very much, and good morning. I wanted to key off a comment in regards to the bookings in the equipment group in Q4. You mentioned that construction orders were up 9%, reflecting more normalized customer demand. Can you sort of elaborate on that comment? Is that confidence-driven, project-driven? Any detail you can give there would be helpful. Yeah, I think, Carolyn, it's a number of factors when you break it down. I think it's, like I mentioned earlier, availability and so forth. I think also it's not unusual for us to see in Q4, depending on how customers' financial positions are, and what they see for year-end buys, and they can time it.
Speaker #7: Thanks very much and good morning.
Speaker #7: I Thank you. wanted to key off a comment in regards to the bookings in the equipment group in the fourth quarter. You mentioned that construction orders were up 9%, reflecting more normalized customer demand.
Speaker #7: Can you sort of elaborate on that comment? Is that confidence-driven? Project-driven? Any detail you can give there would be helpful.
Speaker #2: Yeah, I think Charilene it's a number of factors. When you break it down, I think it's, like I mentioned earlier, availability and so forth.
Speaker #2: I think also it's not unusual for us to see in Q4, depending on how customers, their financial positions are, and what they see, for year-end buys, and they can time it.
Speaker #2: This year, we certainly have better availability, so they can you'll see the booking activity was pretty strong in Q4, for example, right in our execution on new sales was strong in the same period.
John Doolittle: This year, we certainly have better availability, so you'll see the booking activity was pretty strong in Q4, for example. Right in, our execution on new sales was strong in the same period. And so there's certainly an element of that. I'd be careful on confidence in the market at the moment. I mean, we are seeing a little bit of activity. But I think we're still waiting to see improved activity levels in infrastructure, sewer water, all the things that tend to drive a lot of the initial construction activity. And I think it really relates to the economic uncertainty in the marketplace and in the work environment, right? So. Okay. That's helpful. And in terms of the narrative around the potential for nation-building infrastructure projects, how are you tracking that internally?
John Doolittle: This year, we certainly have better availability, so you'll see the booking activity was pretty strong in Q4, for example. Right in, our execution on new sales was strong in the same period. And so there's certainly an element of that. I'd be careful on confidence in the market at the moment. I mean, we are seeing a little bit of activity. But I think we're still waiting to see improved activity levels in infrastructure, sewer water, all the things that tend to drive a lot of the initial construction activity. And I think it really relates to the economic uncertainty in the marketplace and in the work environment, right? So. Okay. That's helpful. And in terms of the narrative around the potential for nation-building infrastructure projects, how are you tracking that internally?
Speaker #2: And so there's certainly an element of that. I'd say I'd be careful on confidence in the market at the moment. I mean, we are seeing a little bit of activity.
Speaker #2: But I think it's we're still waiting to see improved activity levels in infrastructure sewer water, all the things that tend to drive a lot of the initial construction activity.
Speaker #2: And I think it really relates to the economic uncertainty in the marketplace. And in the work environment, right?
Speaker #2: So. Okay, that's
Speaker #6: helpful. And in terms of the narrative around the potential for a nation building infrastructure projects, how are you tracking that internally? And what are your thoughts at this point as to when that could start to positively impact the business?
John Doolittle: And what are your thoughts at this point as to when that could start to positively impact the business? Yeah, it's a great question. I think a couple of things there that we certainly are keeping an eye on. I would say the tailwinds or the backdrop, and you hear about it almost on a daily basis on the news, is resource development. We often hear about Northern Ontario development opportunities. I think, of course, commodity pricing and everything is in a good position, including even iron ore and things like that at the moment. And so I'd say that definitely provides us with a cautiously optimistic long-term outlook. I would say in terms of timing, that's the big question. We're watching carefully to see where mine developments are.
John Doolittle: And what are your thoughts at this point as to when that could start to positively impact the business? Yeah, it's a great question. I think a couple of things there that we certainly are keeping an eye on. I would say the tailwinds or the backdrop, and you hear about it almost on a daily basis on the news, is resource development. We often hear about Northern Ontario development opportunities. I think, of course, commodity pricing and everything is in a good position, including even iron ore and things like that at the moment. And so I'd say that definitely provides us with a cautiously optimistic long-term outlook. I would say in terms of timing, that's the big question. We're watching carefully to see where mine developments are.
Speaker #2: Yeah, it's a great question. I think a couple of things there that we certainly are keeping an eye on. I would say the tailwinds or the backdrop, and you hear about it almost on a daily basis on the news, is resource development.
Speaker #2: We often hear about Northern Ontario development opportunities. I think, of course, commodity pricing and everything is in a good position, including even iron ore and things like that at the moment.
Speaker #2: And so I'd say that definitely provides us with a cautiously optimistic long-term outlook. I would say, in terms of timing, that's the big question. We're watching carefully to see where mine developments are.
Speaker #2: But also infrastructure, when you think of roadworks, and there's certainly in our core markets like Ontario, you often hear about some of the road building and other things that are planned.
John Doolittle: But also infrastructure, when you think of roadworks, and there's certainly in our core markets like Ontario, you often hear about some of the road building and other things that are planned. I would say yet to be seen, though, in terms of material movement. And some initial state stuff is happening. But it'd be difficult to predict where we're going to be in 2026. I think as we look longer term, 2027 forward, I would say we'd be cautiously optimistic that we're going to start to see some good development in both of those areas. On anything here. That's good, Mike. That's all from me. Thank you. Great. Thanks, Cherilyn. And your next question comes from the line of Sabahat Khan with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Hey, good morning. This is Arthur Allan for Sabahat. I want to start with equipment group bookings.
John Doolittle: But also infrastructure, when you think of roadworks, and there's certainly in our core markets like Ontario, you often hear about some of the road building and other things that are planned. I would say yet to be seen, though, in terms of material movement. And some initial state stuff is happening. But it'd be difficult to predict where we're going to be in 2026. I think as we look longer term, 2027 forward, I would say we'd be cautiously optimistic that we're going to start to see some good development in both of those areas. On anything here. That's good, Mike. That's all from me. Thank you. Great. Thanks, Cherilyn. And your next question comes from the line of Sabahat Khan with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Hey, good morning. This is Arthur Allan for Sabahat. I want to start with equipment group bookings.
Speaker #2: I would say yet to be seen, though, in terms of material movement. And some initial stage stuff is happening. But it'd be difficult to predict where we're going to be in '26.
Speaker #2: I think as we look longer term, '27 forward, I would say we'd be cautiously optimistic that we're going to start to see some good development in both of those areas.
Speaker #2: On anything you
Speaker #2: want.
Speaker #5: That's good,
Speaker #5: Mike.
Speaker #7: That's all from me. Thank
Speaker #7: you. Great, thanks,
Speaker #3: And your next Charilene. question comes from the line of Sabahat Khan with RBC Capital Markets. Please go
Speaker #8: Hey, good morning. This is our Charilene for Sabah. I want to start with equipment group bookings. I know you called out mining orders as being reflective of normal lumpiness, but can you just give us a little more color on where the orders are coming from?
John Doolittle: I know you called out mining orders as being reflective of normal lumpiness, but can you just give us a little more color on where the orders are coming from? And would you expect an increase in order activity over the coming quarters given where commodity prices are? And as a follow-up, can you also dig into the power systems growth between both AVL and the rest of the equipment group business? Yeah, thanks, Arthur. Maybe just to start, on the bookings and the mining side, I think, as John mentioned, it is, and I think I commented, it is lumpy here. It is a little bit more cyclical. And so we tend to see, as you know, a lower frequency of orders, but usually larger in nature unless it's replacements or supplementary ancillary equipment.
John Doolittle: I know you called out mining orders as being reflective of normal lumpiness, but can you just give us a little more color on where the orders are coming from? And would you expect an increase in order activity over the coming quarters given where commodity prices are? And as a follow-up, can you also dig into the power systems growth between both AVL and the rest of the equipment group business? Yeah, thanks, Arthur. Maybe just to start, on the bookings and the mining side, I think, as John mentioned, it is, and I think I commented, it is lumpy here. It is a little bit more cyclical. And so we tend to see, as you know, a lower frequency of orders, but usually larger in nature unless it's replacements or supplementary ancillary equipment.
Speaker #8: And would you expect an increase in order activity over the coming quarters, given where commodity prices are? And as a follow-up, can you also dig into the power systems growth between both ABL and the rest of the equipment group
Speaker #8: business? Yeah, thanks,
Speaker #2: Arthur. Maybe just to start, on the bookings and the mining side, I think, as John mentioned, it is, and I think I commented, it is lumpy here.
Speaker #2: It is a little bit more cyclical. And so we tend to see, as you know, lower frequency of orders, but usually larger in nature, unless it's replacements or supplementary ancillary equipment.
Speaker #2: So we are seeing I think, given the commodity backdrop, we are seeing some good interest in mine development. And that would be in the gold sector, of course, but also in areas of nickel and other base metals and things like that.
John Doolittle: So we are seeing, I think, given the commodity backdrop, we are seeing some good interest in mine development. And that would be in the gold sector, of course, but also in areas of nickel and other base metals and things like that. And so our goal, again, is to. It's a very competitive space. There's some very capable players in the equipment space. Our goal is to compete and win and earn our way into those projects. I mean, we certainly are prepared to invest in terms of infrastructure, technician workforce, and support throughout the cycle for our customers. And so that's one of the areas we try to add value, if you will. And so it's very difficult to predict the order flow, but I think we do see a reasonable pipeline of opportunities over the next several years. And these are long-duration projects, right?
John Doolittle: So we are seeing, I think, given the commodity backdrop, we are seeing some good interest in mine development. And that would be in the gold sector, of course, but also in areas of nickel and other base metals and things like that. And so our goal, again, is to. It's a very competitive space. There's some very capable players in the equipment space. Our goal is to compete and win and earn our way into those projects. I mean, we certainly are prepared to invest in terms of infrastructure, technician workforce, and support throughout the cycle for our customers. And so that's one of the areas we try to add value, if you will. And so it's very difficult to predict the order flow, but I think we do see a reasonable pipeline of opportunities over the next several years. And these are long-duration projects, right?
Speaker #2: And so our goal, again, is to—it's a very competitive space. There are some very capable players in the equipment space. Our goal is to compete and win, and earn our way into those projects.
Speaker #2: I mean, we certainly are prepared to invest in terms of infrastructure, technician workforce, and support throughout the cycle for our customers. And so that's one of the areas we try to add value, if you will.
Speaker #2: And so it's very difficult to predict the order flow, but I think we do see a reasonable pipeline of opportunities over the next several years.
Speaker #2: And these are long-duration projects, right? So just to give you a bit of color, I mean, it's hard to pin that stuff down, but I think the Canadian marketplace and commodity backdrop provides good investment, which generally results in mine development and opportunity for our team to execute, so.
John Doolittle: So, just to give you a bit of color, I mean, it's hard to pin that stuff down, but I think the Canadian marketplace commodity backdrop provides good investment, which generally results in mine development and opportunity for our team to execute, so. Yeah, you mentioned – sorry, Arthur. You mentioned also the power system side and that sort of thing. I think certainly, you get some good color out of the AVL disclosure that John and I provided in the order backlog and so forth to give you a sense of where that's headed. Maybe John can talk a little bit about the timing on that backlog and so forth. But I'd say it's been driven by some of the Eastern US market activity out of the AVL side. The power and energy group here in Canada is doing a nice job in a number of projects.
John Doolittle: So, just to give you a bit of color, I mean, it's hard to pin that stuff down, but I think the Canadian marketplace commodity backdrop provides good investment, which generally results in mine development and opportunity for our team to execute, so. Yeah, you mentioned – sorry, Arthur. You mentioned also the power system side and that sort of thing. I think certainly, you get some good color out of the AVL disclosure that John and I provided in the order backlog and so forth to give you a sense of where that's headed. Maybe John can talk a little bit about the timing on that backlog and so forth. But I'd say it's been driven by some of the Eastern US market activity out of the AVL side. The power and energy group here in Canada is doing a nice job in a number of projects.
Speaker #2: Yeah, you mentioned sorry, Arthur, you mentioned also the power system side, and that sort of thing. I think certainly you get some good color out of the AVL disclosure that John and I provided in the order backlog.
Speaker #2: And so forth to give you a sense of where that's headed. Maybe John can talk a little bit about the timing on that backlog and so forth.
Speaker #2: But I'd say it's been driven by some of the Eastern US market activity out of the ABL side. The power and energy group here in Canada is doing a nice job in a number of projects, but I'd say the data center forecast in Canada is certainly lagging the US activity.
John Doolittle: But I'd say the data center forecast in Canada is certainly lagging the US activity. I think there is certainly some interest starting to develop, but I would say it's still early days here in the Canadian marketplace for that particular activity. Yeah, I'd just say on AVL, the backlog is about just over CAD 425 million. And as I said, we would expect that to roll out over the course of 2025. And that accounts for the largest chunk of the growth in the power system order bookings. Got it. Maybe just to follow up on that AVL backlog. So it sounds like duration is kind of normal course, but the growth in the backlog, is that largely reflective of the ramp-up in the Charlotte facility, or is a lot of that also coming from the Hamilton facility as well? It's a combination of both. It's a combination of both.
John Doolittle: But I'd say the data center forecast in Canada is certainly lagging the US activity. I think there is certainly some interest starting to develop, but I would say it's still early days here in the Canadian marketplace for that particular activity. Yeah, I'd just say on AVL, the backlog is about just over CAD 425 million. And as I said, we would expect that to roll out over the course of 2025. And that accounts for the largest chunk of the growth in the power system order bookings. Got it. Maybe just to follow up on that AVL backlog. So it sounds like duration is kind of normal course, but the growth in the backlog, is that largely reflective of the ramp-up in the Charlotte facility, or is a lot of that also coming from the Hamilton facility as well? It's a combination of both. It's a combination of both.
Speaker #2: I think there is certainly some interest starting to develop, but I would say it's still early days here in the Canadian marketplace for that.
Speaker #2: particular activity. Yeah, I'm just saying
Speaker #5: on ABL, the backlog is about 400 just over 425 million and, as I said, we would expect that to roll out over the course of 2025.
Speaker #5: And that accounts for the largest chunk of the growth in the power system order
Speaker #5: bookings. Got it.
Speaker #8: Maybe just to follow up on that ABL backlog. So, it sounds like duration is kind of normal course, but the growth in the backlog—is that largely reflective of the ramp-up in the Charlotte facility?
Speaker #8: Or is a lot of that also coming from the Hamilton facility as
Speaker #8: Well? It's a combination of both.
Speaker #5: It's a combination of both. Just strong orders on both. And we decide based on capacity where we're going to fulfill those orders. So they kind of come in centrally, and then we decide where to place them.
Speaker #5: It's a combination of both. Just strong orders on both. And we decide based on capacity where we're going to fulfill those orders. So they kind of come in centrally, and then we decide where to place them.
John Doolittle: Just strong orders on both. We decide based on capacity where we're going to fulfill both orders. So they kind of come in centrally, and then we decide where to place them. Got it. And at this point in time, is that, I guess, backlog and kind of the revenue that you're seeing, is that largely reflective of kind of volume across the business, or is there some element of pricing in there as well that we should be keeping in mind? It's largely reflective of volume at this point. And then last one for me on the revaluation of the commitment liability. Can you just remind us which KPIs this might be based on? And is there anything to keep in mind as it relates to potential future revaluations? Yeah, I mean, as we talked about when we acquired AVL, we acquired 60% of the business.
John Doolittle: Just strong orders on both. We decide based on capacity where we're going to fulfill both orders. So they kind of come in centrally, and then we decide where to place them. Got it. And at this point in time, is that, I guess, backlog and kind of the revenue that you're seeing, is that largely reflective of kind of volume across the business, or is there some element of pricing in there as well that we should be keeping in mind? It's largely reflective of volume at this point. And then last one for me on the revaluation of the commitment liability. Can you just remind us which KPIs this might be based on? And is there anything to keep in mind as it relates to potential future revaluations? Yeah, I mean, as we talked about when we acquired AVL, we acquired 60% of the business.
Speaker #8: Got it. And at this point in time, is that, I guess, backlog and kind of the revenue that you're seeing, is that largely reflective of kind of volume across the business?
Speaker #8: Or is there some element of pricing in there as well that we should be keeping in
Speaker #8: mind? That's
Speaker #5: largely reflective of volume at this point.
Speaker #8: And then last one for me on the revaluation of the commitment liability. Can you just remind us which KPIs this might be based on?
Speaker #8: And is there anything to keep in mind as it relates to potential future
Speaker #8: revaluations? Yeah, I
Speaker #5: mean, as we talked about when we acquired ABL, we acquired 60% of the business. And then the other 40% we're going to acquire over time through 2031.
John Doolittle: And then the other 40%, we're going to acquire over time through 2031. And that 40% is structured so that, to the extent the business does better than we anticipated in the business case, then there'll be a higher multiple and a payout. And so the business is doing very well. So we took a look at the liability at the end of the year and revaluated it upwards from CAD 42 million to CAD 50 million. And that's why that CAD 7 million expense was booked in 2025. And you'll see that as a separate line item in the P&L. And we'll evaluate that on a regular basis as we move forward, track how the business is doing, and estimate that liability. And you'll see that recognized, and we'll talk about it on the calls. Great. Thank you. Thanks, Arthur. And your next question comes from the line of Krista Friesen with CIBC Capital Markets.
John Doolittle: And then the other 40%, we're going to acquire over time through 2031. And that 40% is structured so that, to the extent the business does better than we anticipated in the business case, then there'll be a higher multiple and a payout. And so the business is doing very well. So we took a look at the liability at the end of the year and revaluated it upwards from CAD 42 million to CAD 50 million. And that's why that CAD 7 million expense was booked in 2025. And you'll see that as a separate line item in the P&L. And we'll evaluate that on a regular basis as we move forward, track how the business is doing, and estimate that liability. And you'll see that recognized, and we'll talk about it on the calls. Great. Thank you. Thanks, Arthur. And your next question comes from the line of Krista Friesen with CIBC Capital Markets.
Speaker #5: And that is that 40% is structured so that, to the extent the business does better than we anticipated in the business case, then there'll be a higher multiple and a payout.
Speaker #5: And so the business is doing very well. So we took a look at the liability at the end of the year and revalued it upwards from 42 to 50 million.
Speaker #5: And that's why that 7 million expense was booked in 2025. And you'll see that as a separate line item in the P&L. And we'll evaluate that on a regular basis as we move forward, track how the business is doing, and estimate that liability and you'll see that recognized and we'll talk about it on the
Speaker #5: calls. Great.
Speaker #8: Thank you.
Speaker #2: Thanks,
Speaker #2: Arthur. And your next
Speaker #1: question comes from the line of Christopherison with CIBC. Please go ahead.
John Doolittle: Please go ahead. Hi. Thanks for taking my question. I was just wondering if you could speak to kind of where you're at in the mining cycle right now as we think about product support coming in relative to the orders delivered over the last couple of years, and also acknowledging that I believe you called out decent bookings in the quarter for your mining business too. Yeah, I'd say I would say we're sort of midway. Like you mentioned, some of the larger fleets we've talked about over the last several quarters. And it does take 2 to 3 years to really get the equipment and the hours and utilization up to a point where we do more than just preventative maintenance and routine things.
John Doolittle: Please go ahead. Hi. Thanks for taking my question. I was just wondering if you could speak to kind of where you're at in the mining cycle right now as we think about product support coming in relative to the orders delivered over the last couple of years, and also acknowledging that I believe you called out decent bookings in the quarter for your mining business too. Yeah, I'd say I would say we're sort of midway. Like you mentioned, some of the larger fleets we've talked about over the last several quarters. And it does take 2 to 3 years to really get the equipment and the hours and utilization up to a point where we do more than just preventative maintenance and routine things.
Speaker #6: Hi. Thanks for taking my question. I was just wondering, if you could speak to kind of where you're at in the mining cycle right now, as we think about product support coming in relative to the orders delivered over the last couple of years, and also acknowledging that I believe you called out decent bookings in the quarter for your mining business too.
Speaker #2: Yeah, I'd say I would say we're sort of midway, like you mentioned, some of the larger fleets we've talked about over the last several quarters.
Speaker #2: And it does take two to three years to really get the equipment and the hours, and utilization up to a point where we do more than just preventative maintenance and routine things.
Speaker #2: And so I'd say we're about, let's say, on average halfway through that type of cycle before we start to see component replacement opportunities and so forth.
John Doolittle: So I'd say we're about, let's say, on average, halfway through that type of cycle before we start to see component replacement opportunities and so forth. The activity levels in the mining sector are pretty strong, and the hours continue to build, but it does take some time, I think. And again, as we mentioned earlier, when you look at the order book and how we're seeing things develop over time, we continue to be cautiously optimistic, but we're very mindful of the fact that every deal is unique, and we have to earn our way into those opportunities. I think the one area I would notice as we look at the sector over the long cycle, one of the areas we're also looking at is similar to one of our customers today is running autonomous solutions.
John Doolittle: So I'd say we're about, let's say, on average, halfway through that type of cycle before we start to see component replacement opportunities and so forth. The activity levels in the mining sector are pretty strong, and the hours continue to build, but it does take some time, I think. And again, as we mentioned earlier, when you look at the order book and how we're seeing things develop over time, we continue to be cautiously optimistic, but we're very mindful of the fact that every deal is unique, and we have to earn our way into those opportunities. I think the one area I would notice as we look at the sector over the long cycle, one of the areas we're also looking at is similar to one of our customers today is running autonomous solutions.
Speaker #2: The activity levels in the mining sector are pretty strong, and the hours continue to build, but it does take some time. I think, and again, as we mentioned earlier, when you look at the order book and how we're seeing things develop over time, we continue to be cautiously optimistic.
Speaker #2: But we're very mindful of the fact that every deal is unique, and we have to earn our way into those opportunities. I think the one area I would note as we look at the sector over the long cycle—one of the areas we're also looking at, similar to one of our customers today, is running autonomous solutions.
Speaker #2: And I think when it comes to technology and the evaluation of those offers, I think that's also another factor that may play into opportunities down the road.
John Doolittle: I think when it comes to technology and the evaluation of those offers, I think that's also another factor that may play into opportunities down the road. But again, these types of projects take time. And the customer needs to get comfortable with the technology adoption and the benefits. Thanks. That's great color. And maybe just on the AVL acquisition, obviously, you've been quite successful and a lot of growth there. Are there other sort of adjacent areas like this that you're looking at in terms of M&A kind of in the near to medium term here? I would say at this stage, Chris, one of the reasons we really like the AVL acquisition, as we often talk about when it comes to M&A, is complementary scope, if you will, that really fits well with, say, the engine business, the power and energy business.
John Doolittle: I think when it comes to technology and the evaluation of those offers, I think that's also another factor that may play into opportunities down the road. But again, these types of projects take time. And the customer needs to get comfortable with the technology adoption and the benefits. Thanks. That's great color. And maybe just on the AVL acquisition, obviously, you've been quite successful and a lot of growth there. Are there other sort of adjacent areas like this that you're looking at in terms of M&A kind of in the near to medium term here? I would say at this stage, Chris, one of the reasons we really like the AVL acquisition, as we often talk about when it comes to M&A, is complementary scope, if you will, that really fits well with, say, the engine business, the power and energy business.
Speaker #2: But again, these types of projects take time, and the customer needs to get comfortable with the technology adoption and the benefits.
Speaker #6: Thanks. That's great color. And maybe just on the ABL acquisition, obviously, I've been quite successful in a lot of growth there. Are there other sort of adjacent areas like this that you're looking at in terms of M&A kind of in the near to medium term here?
Speaker #2: I would say at this stage, Chris, one of the reasons we really like the ABL acquisition is we often talk about when it comes to M&A is complementary scope, if you will, that really fits well with, say, the engine business, the power and energy business.
Speaker #2: And so from that perspective, I would say we're very mindful of the space, the level of investment required, the capital going into the market, but also the supply chain.
John Doolittle: And so from that perspective, I would say we're very mindful of the space, the level of investment required, the capital going into the market, but also the supply chain. So when we look at that, I would say anything that we'd look at today would be around traditional parts of our business that would be complementary and broaden the service and product offer to our customer. I think from an AVL perspective, again, it's helping to support the execution delivery of the units that we need to provide and the supply chain. Within these units, we have a number of components like plenums, exhaust, SCRs for scrubbing emissions, paneling, and switchgear and so forth, which a lot of that we can do ourselves today through our power and energy group.
John Doolittle: And so from that perspective, I would say we're very mindful of the space, the level of investment required, the capital going into the market, but also the supply chain. So when we look at that, I would say anything that we'd look at today would be around traditional parts of our business that would be complementary and broaden the service and product offer to our customer. I think from an AVL perspective, again, it's helping to support the execution delivery of the units that we need to provide and the supply chain. Within these units, we have a number of components like plenums, exhaust, SCRs for scrubbing emissions, paneling, and switchgear and so forth, which a lot of that we can do ourselves today through our power and energy group.
Speaker #2: So when we look at that, I would say anything that we'd look at today would be around traditional parts of our business that would be complementary and broaden the service and product offer to our customer.
Speaker #2: I think from an ABL perspective, again, it's helping to support the execution delivery of the units that we need to provide and the supply chain.
Speaker #2: Within these units, we have a number of components like plenums, exhaust SCRs for scrubbing emissions and paneling and switchgear and so forth, which a lot of that we can do ourselves today.
Speaker #2: Through our Power and Energy group. And so that's where our focus would be—just to make sure that whatever we're looking at is a complementary part of the business that we have a much better understanding.
John Doolittle: And so that's where our focus would be, would be just to make sure that whatever we're looking at is a complementary part of the business that we have a much better understanding of. Thanks. That makes sense. Congrats on the quarter. I'll leave it there. Yep. Thanks, Krista. And your next question comes from the line of Steve Hansen with Raymond James. Please go ahead. Yeah, good morning, guys. Thanks for the time. John, I think you referenced the new dividend structure for AVL that's going to be coming up here. How do we think about modeling that? I understand your ownership stake, but I think you referenced would be based on it'd be based on trailing earnings. Is there a catch-up to be had in the front quarters as we think about the trailing 2025, or how should we think about that sort of cadence of expense? Yeah.
John Doolittle: And so that's where our focus would be, would be just to make sure that whatever we're looking at is a complementary part of the business that we have a much better understanding of. Thanks. That makes sense. Congrats on the quarter. I'll leave it there. Yep. Thanks, Krista. And your next question comes from the line of Steve Hansen with Raymond James. Please go ahead. Yeah, good morning, guys. Thanks for the time. John, I think you referenced the new dividend structure for AVL that's going to be coming up here. How do we think about modeling that? I understand your ownership stake, but I think you referenced would be based on it'd be based on trailing earnings. Is there a catch-up to be had in the front quarters as we think about the trailing 2025, or how should we think about that sort of cadence of expense? Yeah.
Speaker #2: of.
Speaker #6: Thanks.
Speaker #6: That makes sense. Congrats on the quarter. I'll
Speaker #6: leave it there. Yep.
Speaker #2: Thanks,
Speaker #2: Chris. And your next
Speaker #1: question comes from the line of Steve Hansen with Ringman James. Please go ahead.
Speaker #7: Yeah. Good morning, guys. Thanks for the time. John, I think you referenced the new dividend structure for ABL that's going to be coming up here.
Speaker #7: How do we think about modeling that? I know I understand you're ownership stake, but I think you referenced would be based on it would be based on trailing earnings.
Speaker #7: Is there a catch-up to be had in the front quarters as we think about the trailing 25? Or how should we think about that sort of cadence of
Speaker #7: Is there a catch-up to be had in the front quarters as we think about the trailing 25? Or how should we think about that sort of cadence of expense?
Speaker #5: Yeah. So Steve, the way I laid it out was that there will be dividends paid in 2026. I would expect there to be a dividend paid in the first quarter.
John Doolittle: So Steve, the way I laid it out was that there will be dividends paid in 2026. I would expect there to be a dividend paid in Q1. And the way you should think about that is there are a couple of components. One is 2025 earnings before amortization as one input. Then the other input is, of course, we operate businesses on a called standalone basis. And so AVL is in growth mode, and there are certain cash requirements that accompany that growth mode. And so we've got to take into account historical earnings plus cash needs going forward. And those things will factor into any dividend that we pay on AVL in Q1 and as we move forward. Okay. But it'll be a quarterly regulated dividend, is that what I understand? Or it will be TBD. TBD.
John Doolittle: So Steve, the way I laid it out was that there will be dividends paid in 2026. I would expect there to be a dividend paid in Q1. And the way you should think about that is there are a couple of components. One is 2025 earnings before amortization as one input. Then the other input is, of course, we operate businesses on a called standalone basis. And so AVL is in growth mode, and there are certain cash requirements that accompany that growth mode. And so we've got to take into account historical earnings plus cash needs going forward. And those things will factor into any dividend that we pay on AVL in Q1 and as we move forward. Okay. But it'll be a quarterly regulated dividend, is that what I understand? Or it will be TBD. TBD.
Speaker #5: And the way you should think about that is, there are a couple of components. One is 2025 earnings before amortization—that's one input. Then the other input is, of course, we operate businesses on a, call it, standalone basis.
Speaker #5: And so ABLs in growth mode and there are certain cash requirements that company that growth mode. And so we've got to take into account historical earnings plus cash needs going forward.
Speaker #5: And those things will factor into any dividend that we pay. On ABL, in the first quarter and as we move forward.
Speaker #7: Okay. But it'll be a quarterly, regular-rated.
Speaker #7: dividend. Is that understandable? The
Speaker #5: GBD, we're looking at 2025 results right now. And focusing on that. And then we'll be evaluating it as we move through 2026.
John Doolittle: We're looking at 2025 results right now and focusing on that. And then we'll be evaluating it as we move through 2026. Okay. Helpful. Just switching over to the core equipment group. I know, Mike, you referenced good availability out there in the market, but the margins do look to be continuing to soften here on, again, the ex-AVL business. Is that a pattern that we can expect to start stabilizing here as we look at sort of that core underlying, or how do you think about the margin profile going forward? Thanks. Yeah, I think, Steve, I think a couple of things to think about. We always talk about the factors affecting your margin. I think availability has been pretty strong over the last several quarters. And certainly, that plays in. But I think an important part for us is how you think about mix.
John Doolittle: We're looking at 2025 results right now and focusing on that. And then we'll be evaluating it as we move through 2026. Okay. Helpful. Just switching over to the core equipment group. I know, Mike, you referenced good availability out there in the market, but the margins do look to be continuing to soften here on, again, the ex-AVL business. Is that a pattern that we can expect to start stabilizing here as we look at sort of that core underlying, or how do you think about the margin profile going forward? Thanks. Yeah, I think, Steve, I think a couple of things to think about. We always talk about the factors affecting your margin. I think availability has been pretty strong over the last several quarters. And certainly, that plays in. But I think an important part for us is how you think about mix.
Speaker #7: Okay. Helpful. Just switching over to the core equipment group. I know Mike, you referenced a good availability out there in the market. But the margins do look to be continuing to soften here.
Speaker #7: Again, the ex-ABL business. Is that a pattern that we can expect to start stabilizing here as we look at sort of that core underlying?
Speaker #7: Or how do you think about the margin
Speaker #7: profile going forward? Thanks. Yeah.
Speaker #2: I think, Steve, I think a couple of things to think about. We always talk about the factors affecting our margin. I think availability has been pretty strong over the last several certainly, that plays in.
Speaker #2: But I think an important part for us is how you think about mix. And so when you think of, say, John's comments, we talked a little bit about decent new equipment deliveries.
John Doolittle: And so when you think of, say, John Doolittle's comments, we talked a little bit about decent new equipment deliveries. However, we didn't see a lot of mining deliveries. And again, usually, mining is higher value, tighter margin, just given the nature of the product. And so even within the new equipment segment, I would say think about the mix. And what we're talking about there, used was not bad in the quarter. If you look at our used revenues, it was up 4% versus last year, I think, roughly. And so that can give us a little bit to consider there. And rental was improved, up 5%. And so those things, when you think of the overall balance and then the margins within those segments, that's really the right way to think about how we go forward. Availability, I think, is strong.
John Doolittle: And so when you think of, say, John Doolittle's comments, we talked a little bit about decent new equipment deliveries. However, we didn't see a lot of mining deliveries. And again, usually, mining is higher value, tighter margin, just given the nature of the product. And so even within the new equipment segment, I would say think about the mix. And what we're talking about there, used was not bad in the quarter. If you look at our used revenues, it was up 4% versus last year, I think, roughly. And so that can give us a little bit to consider there. And rental was improved, up 5%. And so those things, when you think of the overall balance and then the margins within those segments, that's really the right way to think about how we go forward. Availability, I think, is strong.
Speaker #2: However, we didn't see a lot of mining deliveries. And again, usually mining is higher value tighter margin just given the nature of the product.
Speaker #2: And so, even within the new equipment segment, I would say think about the mix and what we're talking about there. Used was not bad in the quarter.
Speaker #2: If you look at our used revenues, it was up 4% versus last year, I think, roughly. And so that can give us a little bit to consider there.
Speaker #2: And rental was improved, up 5%. And so those things, when you think of the overall balance, and then the margins within those segments, that's really the right way to think about how we go forward.
Speaker #2: Availability, I think, is strong. And so you would expect the market to be competitive in terms of pricing and value. And so we don't I think the wild card there would be continued tension between the trade dynamics here that we're talking about.
John Doolittle: And so you would expect the market to be competitive in terms of pricing and value. And so we don't. I think the wild card there would be continued tension between the trade dynamics here that we're talking about, and if there are more tariffs that come into play. And that can affect commodities like steel and aluminum pricing, and things like that. And that's one thing that we're very cognizant of and monitoring carefully. Okay. Great. And just the last one for me. I know it's a bit niche-y, but is there anything to think about with the weather pattern we're expecting here, higher rental demand on snow removal? Is there anything that really plays from this sort of atypical weather event we're seeing through Q1 here? Yeah, that's a good question, Steve. We have just come through a bit of a blast here in January.
John Doolittle: And so you would expect the market to be competitive in terms of pricing and value. And so we don't. I think the wild card there would be continued tension between the trade dynamics here that we're talking about, and if there are more tariffs that come into play. And that can affect commodities like steel and aluminum pricing, and things like that. And that's one thing that we're very cognizant of and monitoring carefully. Okay. Great. And just the last one for me. I know it's a bit niche-y, but is there anything to think about with the weather pattern we're expecting here, higher rental demand on snow removal? Is there anything that really plays from this sort of atypical weather event we're seeing through Q1 here? Yeah, that's a good question, Steve. We have just come through a bit of a blast here in January.
Speaker #2: And if there are more tariffs to come into play. And that can affect commodities like steel and aluminum pricing and things like that. And that's one thing that we're very cognizant of and monitoring carefully.
Speaker #7: Okay. Great. And just the last one for me. I know it's a bit an issue. But is there anything to think about with the weather pattern we're expecting here?
Speaker #7: Higher rental demand on snow removal? Is there anything that really plays from this sort of atypical weather event we're seeing through the first quarter here?
Speaker #2: Yeah. That's a good question, Steve. We have just come through a bit of a blast here in January. I would generally step back and say, "Look, we live in Canada.
John Doolittle: I would generally step back and say, "Look, we live in Canada, and we deal with the weather conditions. And we've had warm winters and cooler winters. And definitely, we see more snow removal activity, maybe a little bit more on the heating and things like that. But there's also a point where, depending on temperature, our customers are not using heaters, for example, to soften ground when it's very cold, but they are using it in the intermediate sort of temperatures." And so all that to say there's a subtle effect there, but I wouldn't say it's overly material. But certainly, you see the activity out there in the snow banks around our market anyway out here in eastern Canada, which has been positive for us. Okay. Helpful. Thanks. Thanks, Steve. And your next question comes from the line of Yuri Lynk with Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.
John Doolittle: I would generally step back and say, "Look, we live in Canada, and we deal with the weather conditions. And we've had warm winters and cooler winters. And definitely, we see more snow removal activity, maybe a little bit more on the heating and things like that. But there's also a point where, depending on temperature, our customers are not using heaters, for example, to soften ground when it's very cold, but they are using it in the intermediate sort of temperatures." And so all that to say there's a subtle effect there, but I wouldn't say it's overly material. But certainly, you see the activity out there in the snow banks around our market anyway out here in eastern Canada, which has been positive for us. Okay. Helpful. Thanks. Thanks, Steve. And your next question comes from the line of Yuri Lynk with Canaccord Genuity. Please go ahead.
Speaker #2: And we deal with the weather conditions. And we've had warm winters and cooler winters." And definitely, we see more snow removal activity, maybe a little bit more on the heating and things like that.
Speaker #2: But there's also a point where, depending on temperature, our customers are not using heaters, for example, to soften ground when it's very cold.
Speaker #2: But they are using it in the intermediate sort of temperatures. And so all that to say there's a subtle effect there. But I wouldn't say it's overly material.
Speaker #2: But certainly, you see the activity out there. And the snow banks around our market anyway out here in eastern Canada, which has been positive for us.
Speaker #7: Okay. Helpful. Thanks.
Speaker #2: Thanks,
Speaker #2: Steve. And your next question comes from
Speaker #1: the line of Eurolink with Canacor Genuity. Please go
Speaker #1: ahead. Hey.
Speaker #8: Good morning,
John Doolittle: Hey, good morning, guys. Hey, Eric. Hey. Hi. Question for John. I just want to make sure I'm modeling the non-cash AVL expenses going forward, referring to the CAD 33 million in the quarter. You mentioned that the amortization portion of that to the backlog pretty much will be exhausted in Q1. But just so I'm clear, that doesn't mean that that CAD 33 million goes to zero, right? There's another component in there related to the commitment to buy the remaining shares of AVL. That's going to continue? And if so, can you help us kind of quantify what that might be? Yeah. A couple of things to think about there. So if you go to page 33 of the financials, you'll see the way the intangibles were broken out for the AVL acquisition. And most of it was allocated to customer order backlog. So we bought backlog in January of 2025.
John Doolittle: Hey, good morning, guys. Hey, Eric. Hey. Hi. Question for John. I just want to make sure I'm modeling the non-cash AVL expenses going forward, referring to the CAD 33 million in the quarter. You mentioned that the amortization portion of that to the backlog pretty much will be exhausted in Q1. But just so I'm clear, that doesn't mean that that CAD 33 million goes to zero, right? There's another component in there related to the commitment to buy the remaining shares of AVL. That's going to continue? And if so, can you help us kind of quantify what that might be? Yeah. A couple of things to think about there. So if you go to page 33 of the financials, you'll see the way the intangibles were broken out for the AVL acquisition. And most of it was allocated to customer order backlog. So we bought backlog in January of 2025.
Speaker #8: guys. Hi. Question for John. I'm just want to make sure I'm modeling the non-cash ABL expenses. Going forward, I'm referring to the 33 million in the quarter.
Speaker #5: Hey, Eric. Hey.
Speaker #8: You mentioned that the amortization portion of that to the backlog is pretty much will be exhausted in Q1. But just so I'm clear, that doesn't mean that that 33 goes to zero, right?
Speaker #8: There's another component in there related to the commitment to buy the remaining shares of ABL that's going to continue. And if so, can you help us kind of quantify what that might be?
Speaker #5: Yeah. A couple of things to think about there. So if you go to page 33 of the financials, you'll see the way the intangibles were broken out for the ABL acquisition.
Speaker #5: And most of it was allocated to customer order backlog. So we bought backlog in January of 2025. And most of that has been sold, has rolled through revenue.
John Doolittle: Most of that has been sold, has rolled through revenue. So you look at it, there was CAD 76 million that was acquired. CAD 75 million of that was amortized through the year. So there's a small piece that's left to be amortized in Q1. Customer relationships is the other piece of intangibles, and that amortizes over 5 years. So the first year was taken in 2025, and the rest of it will be amortized over the next 4 years. And then your last part of the question is related to the 40% that we don't own, and we have an obligation to buy those shares over the course of the next number of years. And so we set up a liability when we bought that 40% based on everything we knew at the time.
John Doolittle: Most of that has been sold, has rolled through revenue. So you look at it, there was CAD 76 million that was acquired. CAD 75 million of that was amortized through the year. So there's a small piece that's left to be amortized in Q1. Customer relationships is the other piece of intangibles, and that amortizes over 5 years. So the first year was taken in 2025, and the rest of it will be amortized over the next 4 years. And then your last part of the question is related to the 40% that we don't own, and we have an obligation to buy those shares over the course of the next number of years. And so we set up a liability when we bought that 40% based on everything we knew at the time.
Speaker #5: So you look at it, there was 76 million that was acquired, 75 million of that was amortized through the year. So there's a small piece that's left to be amortized in Q1.
Speaker #5: Customer relationships is the other piece of intangibles. And that amortizes over five years. So the first year was taken in 2025. And the rest of it will be amortized over the next four years.
Speaker #5: And then your last part of the question is related to the 40% that we don't own. And we have an obligation to buy those shares over the course of the next number of years.
Speaker #5: And so we set up a liability when we bought that 40% based on everything we knew at the time. And we've got to have a look at that on a regular basis to say, "Are we tracking that business plan?
John Doolittle: And we've got to have a look at that on a regular basis to say, "Are we tracking to that business plan? Is AVL doing better than we thought?" And because it's based on an earnings multiple, it could go up, and it could go down. So we have to reevaluate. In this case, it went up a little bit, and that's why we booked the expense. So we'll track that, like I said, going forward. If you see any changes in that valuation number, we'll explain it. Yeah. And just on that purchase piece too, Yuri, I think one of the things we mentioned in prior calls is we're looking to buy out that 40%. We actually have a schedule, like John says, that the last 10% so it's in 10% blocks year over year, and the last piece is expected to be purchased out in early 2031. Okay.
John Doolittle: And we've got to have a look at that on a regular basis to say, "Are we tracking to that business plan? Is AVL doing better than we thought?" And because it's based on an earnings multiple, it could go up, and it could go down. So we have to reevaluate. In this case, it went up a little bit, and that's why we booked the expense. So we'll track that, like I said, going forward. If you see any changes in that valuation number, we'll explain it. Yeah. And just on that purchase piece too, Yuri, I think one of the things we mentioned in prior calls is we're looking to buy out that 40%. We actually have a schedule, like John says, that the last 10% so it's in 10% blocks year over year, and the last piece is expected to be purchased out in early 2031. Okay.
Speaker #5: Is ABL doing better than we thought?" And because it's based on an earnings multiple, it could go up. And it could go down. So we have to reevaluate.
Speaker #5: In this case, it went up a little bit. And that's why we booked the expense. So we'll track that. Like I said, going forward, if you see any changes in that valuation number, we'll
Speaker #5: explain it. Yeah.
Speaker #2: And just on that purchase piece too, Yuri, I think one of the things we mentioned in prior calls is we're looking to buy out that 40%.
Speaker #2: We actually have a schedule like John says that the last 10%. So it's in 10% blocks. Year over year. And the last piece is expected to be purchased out in early 2031.
Speaker #8: Okay.
Speaker #5: Is that help, Yuri?
John Doolittle: Does that help, Yuri? Yeah. Yeah. That's helpful. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would like to turn it back to Mr. John Doolittle for closing remarks. Okay, Ludy. Thanks a lot for hosting us today. Thank you, everyone, for joining, for your questions. That concludes our call. Please be safe. Have a great day, everybody. Thank you. Thank you, presenters. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.
John Doolittle: Does that help, Yuri? Yeah. Yeah. That's helpful. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would like to turn it back to Mr. John Doolittle for closing remarks. Okay, Ludy. Thanks a lot for hosting us today. Thank you, everyone, for joining, for your questions. That concludes our call. Please be safe. Have a great day, everybody. Thank you. Thank you, presenters. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.
Speaker #8: Yeah. Yeah. That's helpful. Thank you.
Speaker #1: Thank you. I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would like to turn it back to Mr. John Doolittle for closing remarks.
Speaker #5: today. Thank you, everyone, for joining for your call. Please be safe. Have a great day, everybody. Thank you.