SJ reported a slight revenue decline of 1%, to $1.03B, below estimates of $1.06B. While its EBITDA margin also came down to 18.3% from 19.1% last year. SJ reported an EPS of $1.91, a slight decrease from the same quarter last year of $1.94, beating the estimate of $1.78. It ended the quarter with a net debt/EBITDA of 2.4x, in line with historical averages. It updated its sales objective, expecting sales to be around $3.5B in FY2025, compared to the previous sales goal of $3.6 billion due to macroeconomic challenges, leading to a lower-than-expected organic sales growth in utility poles. The company also completed one acquisition of Locweld – a designer and manufacturer of steel lattice transmission towers and steel poles for $58M. Overall, results came in line with expectations, though a bit weak, but the downward revision in future guidance indicates meaningful uncertainty around future demand due to the tough economic environment.
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