AECOM reports fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2024 results

Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2024 Highlights:

  • Reflecting as reported performance from continuing operations, fourth quarter revenue increased 7% to $4.1 billion, operating income increased 194% to $236 million, net income increased 396% to $168 million and diluted earnings per share increased 421% to $1.25. Full year revenue increased 12% to $16.1 billion, operating income increased 155% to $827 million, net income increased 343% to $506 million and diluted earnings per share increased 358% to $3.71.
  • Full year net service revenue2 (NSR) reached an all-time high and included strength across the Company’s largest end markets and geographies.
    • Delivered 8% growth in the design business, driven by 9% growth in the Americas.
  • Earnings exceeded previously-increased guidance and set new records.
    • Fourth quarter adjusted1 EBITDA4 and adjusted1 EPS increased by 15% and 26%, respectively.
    • For the full year, adjusted1 EBTDA4 and adjusted1 EPS increased 14% and 22%, respectively.
  • Delivered record margins that exceeded guidance as the Company realized the benefits of its ongoing investments in high-margin organic growth and its continuous improvement initiatives.
    • The adjusted EBITDA margin5 was 16.7% in the fourth quarter and 16.0% for the full year, reflecting an increase of 140 basis points and 100 basis points, respectively.
    • The segment adjusted1 operating margin3 was 16.7% in the fourth quarter; for the full year, the margin was 15.8%, which exceeded guidance of 15.6%.
  • Design backlog7 increased by 5% and total backlog increased 3% to a new record.
    • Design book-to-burn8 in the fourth quarter was 1.2x, including 1.2x in both the Americas and International segments.
    • The Company’s pipeline of opportunities increased by 10% and achieved a new high, driven by robust funding across all of its largest markets.
    • The Company’s design win rate of 50% remains at an all-time high and was even higher on larger pursuits.
  • Free cash flow6 exceeded prior guidance and achieved a new high of $708 million, a 20% increase from the prior year
    • Free cash flow represented 10% of net service revenue.

Fiscal 2025 Financial Guidance

  • AECOM expects to deliver record net service revenue and profitability, margins and continued strong cash flow conversion, including:
    • Organic NSR2 growth of 5% to 8%.
      • Expect phasing to follow a normal seasonal pattern with accelerating growth as the year progresses.
    • Adjusted1 EBITDA4 of between $1,170 million and $1,210 million, reflecting an increase of 9% at the mid-point over fiscal 2024.
    • An adjusted EBITDA margin5 of 16.3%, representing a 30 basis point increase from fiscal 2024.
    • Adjusted1 EPS of between $5.00 and $5.20, reflecting an increase of 13% at the mid-point compared to fiscal 2024.
    • 100%+ free cash flow6 conversion.
  • Other assumptions incorporated into guidance:
    • An average fully diluted share count of 134 million, which reflects only shares repurchased to-date, though the Company intends to continue repurchasing stock that would provide a benefit to per share earnings.
    • An adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 24% for the full year.
      • The Company expects to maintain an approximately 24% tax rate for the next several years.
  • See the Regulation G Information tables at the end of this release for a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.

Long-Term Financial Framework for Value Creation

  • The Company’s long-term financial framework includes expectations to deliver annually:
    • Organic NSR2 growth of 5% to 8%.
    • At least 20 to 30 basis points of adjusted EBITDA margin5 expansion.
    • At least 100% conversion of adjusted net income to free cash flow6.
    • Double-digit adjusted EPS1 and free cash flow6 per share growth.
  • The Company also expects to achieve an at least 17% adjusted EBITDA margin5 exiting fiscal year 2025 and an at least 25% ROIC9 over the long term.

Cash Flow, Balance Sheet and Capital Allocation Update

  • Fourth quarter operating cash flow of $299 million and free cash flow6 of $275 million, contributed to full year free cash flow6 of $708 million, an increase of 20% from the prior year.
    • Full year free cash flow represented 10% of net service revenue, reflecting the high quality of the Company’s earnings.
  • The Company returned approximately $560 million to shareholders through repurchases and dividends in the year.
  • The Board of Directors approved an increase to its share repurchases authorization to $1 billion and an 18% increase to its quarterly dividend program to $0.26 per share.
  • The Company has increased its annual dividend by an average of 20% over the last three years, delivering on its commitment to increase the value of its per share dividend by double digits annually.
  • Since the initiation of its repurchase program in September 2020, the Company has repurchased $2.2 billion of stock, which represents approximately one-third of the Company’s market capitalization at the time it began repurchases.

“We delivered strong results that reflect the strength of our strategy and our competitive advantage, including exceeding the mid-points of our previously-increased EBITDA and EPS guidance and generating record free cash flow,” said Troy Rudd, AECOM’s chief executive officer. “As our largest markets now have certainty following recent elections, several growth opportunities are emerging. In the U.S., our largest market, the incoming Trump Administration’s emphasis on a strong economy requires a foundation of world-class infrastructure, which plays to our strengths. Importantly, we are investing at record levels to create new higher-margin platforms, in business development and in technical excellence, which positions us for continued success. This is evident in our consistently high win rate, record backlog and pipeline, as well as our expectation for another year of strong financial performance, including double-digit EPS growth.”

“By winning what matters and creating record visibility through our backlog and pipeline, we are in an advantaged position to capitalize on the tremendous growth opportunities in front of us,” said Lara Poloni, AECOM’s president. “The newly-created Water and Environment Advisory business expands our addressable market in the high-value and higher-margin white space between our existing technical services and traditional consulting and advisory services, creating another path for competitive differentiation and value creation.”

“With our strong 2024 results, we have compounded earnings per share by 21% annually since fiscal 2020, including 22% growth in fiscal 2024,” said Gaurav Kapoor, AECOM’s chief financial and operations officer. “Our record backlog and pipeline, including a 1.2x book-to-burn in the design business in the fourth quarter, gives us confidence in delivering on our 2025 guidance. When coupled with our disciplined capital allocation and the Board approved increases to our share repurchase authorization and dividend program, we are committed to delivering continued strong earnings growth, cash flow and return on invested capital over the long term.”

Business Segments

Americas

Revenue in the fourth quarter was $3.2 billion, an 8% increase from the prior year. Full year revenue was $12.5 billion, a 14% increase from the prior year.

Net service revenue2 in the fourth quarter was $1.1 billion and included 8% growth in design revenue. Full year net service revenue2 was $4.2 billion. The fourth quarter growth rate included a 50 basis point headwind due to the impacts from Hurricane Helene in September.

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