Q1 2024 Willdan Group Inc Earnings Call
They are really in I'll call. It four areas first waste to energy, where we have.
Front end consulting where our last acquisition was <unk> three.
It looks pretty good it's a fractured market there are a lot of opportunities and we're picking through them to find the right match for will then.
Speaker Change: Understood and then was.
Speaker Change: Was there any sulfur contribution during the quarter.
Speaker Change: There was Moshe we had two software sales I've pointed out there's one on the east coast and one on the West coast that are both confidential clients. So they didn't wishes to release their name that's why we didn't press release them.
Speaker Change: It's a good contribution and we didn't break out the revenue number but good contribution just like we saw actually a year ago last year, where we had that big Exelon contract.
Speaker Change: Is that already kind of resulting in incremental kind of deal flow coming through well Dan or this is something that happens you know down the road.
Speaker Change: Those results kind of those trends kind of reflected in and better kind of deal flow.
Speaker Change:
Speaker Change: Understood. Thanks.
Speaker Change: Thank you as a reminder, that star one to be placed into question queue. Our next question is coming from Craig Irwin from Roth and Kim Your line is now live.
Speaker Change: Hum.
Craig Edward Irwin: 19% growth organic growth in the quarter is a really solid number. So you did mention that the two unnamed contracts from our integral analytics, but can you maybe.
Craig Edward Irwin: To acknowledge a growth rate that might be a little better than the top end at $2 80 like you suggested in your in your forecast trading that revenue.
Speaker Change: Yeah, Great question Craig.
Speaker Change: First organic growth it was a little higher than even we expected and it was good across the board. In addition to those software sales really all of the units did a little better than we than we expected and it was right out of the gate. It wasn't from any one contribution that we saw this kind of performance.
Speaker Change: But we really started out well it was across the board.
Speaker Change: Got good business drivers and will revisit guidance again next quarter.
Speaker Change: Excellent excellent and then my second question is about hiring and training of new employees with this with this nice organic growth that you've had with.
Speaker Change: With the the strength you are starting to show again in software business.
Speaker Change: You know it.
It's not just integral analytics, but D. Three it's multiple things that are working for you.
Speaker Change: Necessary employment levels over the next couple of years.
Speaker Change: We have a good reputation and we're a good place to work we are attracting a lot of new graduates.
Speaker Change: Especially out of graduate schools, who want to join US we're attracting a lot of people from private equity firms, who don't like that kind of environment.
Speaker Change: Out of the government and out of the utility. So all three of those sources are where we're finding our people hasnt been an impediment.
Speaker Change: And.
Speaker Change: I think we're in a good spot to be able to continue to recruit recruit that kind of talent to keep up with this growth.
Speaker Change: Excellent and then last question for me it is cash flow right your cash from operations almost 27.
Speaker Change: $7 million in this quarter, Yeah, I think I have to look in the ancient history to see if there was anything I ever at this time in that in the first quarter, but I doubt it.
Speaker Change: Can you maybe talk about you know cash needs for this year do you see you know investments in working capital or other items or is this new sort of.
Speaker Change: Discipline that you're bringing to the whole organization just squeezing the balance sheet for cash and give me an opportunity to maybe operate a little leaner.
Speaker Change: Well, we're certainly trying to do that and we've had some success in that we've been working at that for a while and we're able to reduce that DSO level that we've got invested in it. So so we have been able to squeeze some extra cash out of the thing when we look at what we expect I guess for cash flow from.
Speaker Change: <unk> for the year, we're certainly hoping that we can approximate something close to the EBITDA targets that we're going to achieve.
Speaker Change: And so we certainly think you know our revenues are going to ramp up from this first quarter number during the course of the year, that's going to need some working capital, but thankfully less than what we have used in the past and we expect it to end the year with that with the cash from operations something.
Speaker Change: The target EBITDA numbers.
Speaker Change: Excellent well congratulations on another solid quarter I'll hop back in the queue.
Speaker Change: Thank you we've reached end of our question and answer session I'd like to turn the floor back over for any further or closing comments.