Ies Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:IESC)

IES Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:IESC)  ($21.8; $463.0M market cap), a holding company that owns and manages diverse operating subsidiaries across a range of infrastructure-related end markets, announced Q4 2019 results:

• Sales of $294.0 million vs $240 million in the prior year

• Non-GAAP EPS of $0.58 vs $0.46 in the prior year

“Since joining IES in March, I’ve been very impressed with the culture, dedication and caliber of the IES team and believe that there is tremendous value that we can create together.  In particular, we are pursuing growth in core markets where we have scale and expertise, such as housing, data centers and industrial facilities, while focusing on margin improvement opportunities, ranging from procurement initiatives to project selection. At the same time, we are continuing to invest in our people with an eye on hiring, training and retaining key talent at all levels of IES. Lastly, we will remain committed to a disciplined capital allocation strategy focused on both completing strategic acquisitions and returning capital to our shareholders...

..While our Commercial & Industrial segment increased revenue by 11% and generated $2.1 million of operating income, margins were affected by inefficiencies on several projects. We are addressing both processes and costs to improve the margins of this segment. Looking ahead to fiscal 2020, our growth momentum, improved backlog and strong balance sheet have us well-positioned to continue to build shareholder value.”

IES Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:IESC)  ($16.57, $351.0M market cap), a holding company that owns and manages diverse operating subsidiaries across a range of infrastructure-related end markets, reported Q4 2018 results:

• Sales of $240.3 million vs $206.6 million in the prior year
• Non-GAAP EPS of $0.46 vs $0.28 in the prior year

“We are pleased with our fiscal 2018 results and our prospects for 2019.  We increased revenue, gross profit and operating income as compared to fiscal 2017, and in particular we experienced continued improvements in each of our segments during the second half of the year.  Looking forward, we are entering 2019 with $482 million in backlog, an increase of 46% compared to the prior year, and believe that the capital we reinvested into our segments and completed acquisitions have us well-positioned to execute on this backlog, increase our market share and continue to capitalize on opportunities available to all four of our segments.

During the year we invested $22 million in working capital in support of accelerating growth, $7 million in bolt-on acquisitions, and $2 million to repurchase our common stock. We believe that our strong balance sheet and available liquidity, as well as expected cash flow from both our legacy and acquired businesses, will support our growth strategy.”

The stock is currently trading a trailing non-GAAP P/E of 14.2 based on the trailing twelve month non-GAAP EPS of $1.16.

IESC ($18.90) announced it has acquired Freeman Enclosure Systems, a manufacturer of custom generator enclosures that are primarily used by data centers and large commercial and industrial facilities.  The press release did not discuss details on the size of the company or structure of the deal.

IESC ($18.60) reported Q1 2017 results:

• Sales of $192.2 million vs $150.8 million in the prior year

• EPS of $0.18 vs $0.27 in the prior year. Last years number includes a tax benefit of $900k were this quarter the company paid $2.6 million in taxes.

• Without taxes, income from continuing operations would have been $6.6 million vs $4.9 million in the prior year

• Backlog of $328 million vs $289 million in the prior year

Quotes from management:

“We are pleased with our first quarter results and how the entire organization continues to execute against our growth strategy.  Our legacy business units continue to show strong organic growth, which, combined with the accretive acquisitions completed to date, resulted in a 37% improvement in operating income compared to the first quarter of the prior year. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic in our ability to execute our stated growth strategy of improving margins, completing accretive acquisitions, maintaining a strong balance sheet and utilizing our NOLs.”

Second Quarter 2016 Results

• Sales of $24.6 million vs $22.3 million
• EPS of $0.67 vs $0.85