MasTec, Inc. (NYSE:MTZ) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Andy Kaplowitz: Thanks for that Jose. And then you got a couple of questions on Communications, but maybe just following up. You continue to book backlog in that business. So, maybe talk about your conviction level in continued growth toward that $4 billion near-term number you’ve talked about? Has anything changed there in your view? And why is it that you continue to sort of be so much more bullish than maybe some of your customers are talking about in terms of their CapEx trends?

Jose Mas: What we’re seeing in the business is a very large program build plans, right? So, we’ve got a number of customers that have tremendous plans over the next couple of years in terms of significantly expanding their networks. We’re not publicly talking about them. We’re not mentioning customers’ names, but we’re in the middle of negotiations. We’re in the middle of awards and we feel really good about not just what that means for quite frankly the second half of 2023 but what it means for 2024 and 2025. And I think that’s only going to ramp up in discussions with them. As more federal dollars become available, I think we’re going to see even more of that. So, again, I think that business is incredibly healthy. I think we’re just starting to see the beginning of what that business is going to ultimately become.

We continue to see new players break into that market in addition to the existing core players. So, again, we’re just really bullish in that space. We think that space is going to have continued solid growth. We think we’re trying to manage our growth appropriately. We’re not taking everything that’s in front of us. We’re trying to manage into that growth into a way where we can continue to have margin appreciation, while we’re growing. And I think we’ve executed to that so far.

Andy Kaplowitz: Appreciate it Jose.

Jose Mas: Thanks Andy.

Operator: Next question will come from Adam Thalhimer with Thompson Davis. Please go ahead.

Adam Thalhimer: Hey good morning guys.

Jose Mas: Good morning Adam.

Adam Thalhimer: Hey Jose, can you give us some insight into your on the Clean Energy side, can you give us some insight into your conversations with customers? And would you say that any of your customers are at all concerned about getting the construction resources they need for the next few years?

Jose Mas: I think the customers that understand the market are very concerned. And if our customers aren’t concerned they should be, because the amount of work that’s out there, the amount of demand that’s going to be out there, is in my mind going to somewhat dwarf the industry’s capability of delivering it. I think that’s why, we — for a long time, we’ve been talking about scale and how scale matters. I think it’s a huge differentiator for us. And yes, we have a number of customers today that are committing to long-term resources, trying to commit to long-term resources, trying to lock up resources. It’s a huge shift in the market. And I think it’s one that we’ll continue to demonstrate as 2023 plays out and more importantly, in the 2024 and 2025.

I think one of the things that’s really critical to think about is we’re really not going to see the significant benefits of IRA until 2025. So, we’re still waiting for the bonus or guidance that should be coming out hopefully later this quarter. But the reality is, it’s IRA is going to have an impact in the business in late 2023 and 2024, but the majority of the impact is going to be felt in 2025 and beyond. And I think when you kind of put all those numbers in perspective and you kind of model out what the industry is going to need to accomplish, it’s pretty significant. And it’s why we continue to invest and keep positioning ourselves to take advantage of what we think is going to be really healthy growth rates for a long time.