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

Marc Bianchi: Okay. Thanks. And maybe Paul just if you could is the finance lease number in the first quarter of 37 a good number to assume for the remainder of the year or any guidance on what we should assume for the year there?

Paul Dimarco: Yes, that’s a reasonable number. I think we’ve said before about $150 million is the expectation on the finance leases for the full year.

Marc Bianchi: Super. Thank you so much. I’ll turn it back.

Paul Dimarco: Thanks.

Operator: Next question will come from Avi Jaroslawicz with UBS. Please go ahead.

Avi Jaroslawicz: Hey, good morning, everyone. Avi on for Steve Fisher. Just when we – good morning, so when we think of the near-term potential for Power Delivery, you got the margins going to double-digit to low teens. Just how much of that margin expansion would be from absorption at higher revenue levels versus some of the project mix you were talking about versus other operational improvements?

Jose Mas: Well I think it’s all of it. When we – one of the points that we talked about earlier was margin dispersion, especially amongst that business because we’ve made a lot of acquisitions, right? I think it’s much tighter than it’s ever been since we’ve acquired those businesses. But – and I think it’s different, right? We don’t necessarily operate as different units. We’ve tried to create geographical clusters where we can operate under one entity. But we still see a wide range of margins. And while that may not seem overly positive at first, we think that that actually shows the opportunities for improvement in the business. So while margins aren’t as dispersed, they still run anywhere on the low end from six to 12.

And what that tells us is there’s tremendous opportunities to continue to fix a number of those areas that need improvement. So I do think a portion of that comes from improvements in underperforming markets to this day. Again, although, we’re really satisfied with the progress that we’ve made. And I think that’s only added by the change of project mix and the ability to grow revenues and absorb some of your fixed costs faster. So I think it’s a combination of all. I don’t think we only need to rely on new projects for margin expansion. I think there’s margin expansion available to us both within our base business and then obviously with some of the newer opportunities.

Avi Jaroslawicz: Okay. Appreciate that. And then in terms of the near-term potential for the Oil and Gas segment, so you mentioned some of the fuels and carbon capture opportunities as being catalysts. So wondering if you could talk about what you’re seeing in that part of the market? What would the scale of some of the projects that you’re maybe starting to see the time line, who’s developing these projects? Just any kind of color you might have.

Jose Mas: Well, I think there’s a lot of activity on multiple fronts. I still think we’re hopeful, that we start seeing those projects in 2024 and activity starts in 2024. We’ve been in very prolonged discussions with a number of players. We’re — one of our hesitations and talking about it a lot more publicly is just, having strong assurances of when those projects will start. But I think over the coming quarters you’re going to hear us talk a lot more about that.

Avi Jaroslawicz: Understood. Thank you.

Jose Mas: Thanks.

Operator: Our last question will come from Sean Eastman with KeyBanc. Please go ahead.

Sean Eastman: Hi guys. Thanks for fitting me in here. I just wanted to come back to the Communications outlook. Maybe just through the lens of the bridge to the $4 billion kind of near-term potential, just so I understand it is the message that it’s really largely the rural broadband opportunity that bridges us to that number, or help me understand exactly what you guys are trying to communicate there?