Q2 2025 Altus Group Ltd Earnings Call

Speaker #3: Good afternoon and welcome to Altus Group's Q2 2025 financial results conference call and webcast. All participants are now listen-only mode. After the speakers' remarks, we'll conduct a question-and-answer session.

Speaker #3: To ask a question at that time, you'll need to press star, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

Speaker #3: I would now like to turn the call over to Camilla Bartosiewicz, Chief Communications Officer. Thank you. Please go head.

Speaker #4: Thank you, Julian. Hi, everyone, and welcome to the conference call and webcast discussing Altus Group's Q2 results for the period ended June 30th, 2025.

Speaker #4: Our press release, MDNA Financial Statements, and the slides accompanying our prepared remarks are all available on our website, and as required, have been filed to Cedar Plus after market close this afternoon.

Speaker #4: I'm joined today by our CEO, Jim Hannon, and our CFO, Pavan Chhabra. Some of our remarks on this call and in our disclosure may contain forward-looking information that is based on certain assumptions and therefore subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.

Speaker #4: Please refer to our forward-looking information disclaimer and ay's materials. Please be reminded that Altus Group uses their non-GAAP financial measures, ratios, total segments measures, capital management measures, and supplementary and other financial measures as defined in national instrument 5212.

Speaker #4: We believe that these measures may assist investors in assessing an investment in our shares, as they provide additional insight into our performance. Readers are cautioned that they are not defined performance measures and do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS, and may differ from similar computations as reported by other entities.

Speaker #4: And accordingly, may not be comparable to financial measures as reported by those entities. These measures should not be considered an isolation or a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Speaker #4: An explanation of these measures is detailed in today's IR materials as well. I would also like to point out that unless other specified, we will be referring to percentage and basis point growth rates on today's call on a constant currency basis over the same period in 2024.

Speaker #4: With that, I'll bring over to you, Pavan.

Speaker #5: Thanks, Camilla, and thank you all for joining us today. We're pleased with our Q2 results, which reflects the team's continued focus on driving recurring revenue growth, expanding margins, and building momentum in new bookings.

Speaker #5: Let me walk through some of the key highlights for the quarter. Recurring revenue was up, anchored by strength of our software offerings and came within our guidance range.

Speaker #5: Consolidated revenue was modestly lower, primarily due to softer performance in the appraisals and development advisory segment. We delivered margin expansion across both business segments, marking our fourth consecutive quarter of consolidated margin improvement.

Speaker #5: Profit from continuing operations increased meaningfully underscoring the quality of our earnings. Adjusted EBITDA rose 55.7% year over year, driven by strong operating performance. Corporate costs benefited from a 6.2 million foreign exchange gain in the quarter, a one-time item that was anticipated in our full-year outlook.

Speaker #5: Excluding this impact, earnings and margins still showed strong growth year over year. Adjusted EPS came in at 50 cents, a significant improvement over the prior year, supported by higher profit and a lower share count following our buyback program.

Speaker #5: Cash provided by operating activities and free cash flow were down year over year, due to the option absence of contributions from the property tax business, which was divested in January.

Speaker #5: Including the impact of the divestiture, both metrics showed strong growth. Turning to the analytics business segment, total revenue growth was led by Argus Intelligence, offset by lower non-recurring revenue, as we've been winding down some non-core services.

Speaker #5: We're pleased with the consistent improvements in adjusted EBITDA, which reflect higher quality revenue, operating efficiencies, and continued cost optimization efforts. Recurring revenue is a key metric for our performance.

Speaker #5: Argus and VMS revenue streams have very low churn, with retention rates above 100%. Q2 recurring revenue was up 3.7%, in line with our guidance.

Speaker #5: Argus Enterprise, now Argus Intelligence, delivered double-digit growth in Q2. VMS growth was modest, as expected this quarter. Our margins continue to expand, increasing by 290 basis points this quarter.

Speaker #5: The improvement reflects a combination of factors, solid revenue growth, ongoing portfolio optimization, enhanced delivery through an enhanced delivery efficiency through our global service center, benefits from restructuring initiatives, and disciplined expense management.

Speaker #5: We're making steady progress toward our FY 2026 margin target of approximately 35%, and remain confident in our ability to sustain this trajectory. Our analytics new bookings metrics reflect new and incremental business.

Speaker #5: Recurring new bookings were up 64%, reflecting significant growth at both Argus and VMS. Revenue in our appraisals and development advisory segment came in below guidance, reflecting softer market conditions across both businesses.

Speaker #5: The appraisals business, which operates exclusively in Canada, was particularly impacted by muted transaction activity, and ongoing uncertainty related to tariffs. Despite these headwinds, our performance continues to improve, driven by a deliberate focus on higher margin value-added engagements.

Speaker #5: Adjusted EBITDA increased by 6.6%, with 130 basis point expansion in margins, supported by enhanced delivery efficiency through our offshore global shared services team. The Canadian commercial real estate market remains stable through Q2, but continues to navigate a challenging environment shaped by tariff uncertainty, inflationary pressures, and evolving monetary policy.

Speaker #5: These factors are contributing to a more cautious lending landscape. While we anticipate stronger momentum in the US market in the second half of the year, Canadian transaction activities are expected to remain subdued until market conditions stabilize.

Speaker #5: In the meantime, we remain focused on disciplined execution and driving margin improvements across the segment. Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with $382.7 million in cash and $157.3 million in bank debt, resulting in a funded debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 1.26X.

Speaker #5: We returned $101.7 million to shareholders through our share buyback program this quarter. Fully utilizing our current NCIB and reducing our outstanding share count to 43.2 million.

Speaker #5: Year to date, we've repurchased approximately $3.3 million shares, representing $179 million in gross proceeds. We're pleased with the strength of our cash conversion, which continues to be driven by disciplined working capital management and a focused effort on improving operational efficiencies across the business.

Speaker #5: With profitability and earnings quality continuing to improve, we are well positioned to deliver consistent cash flow generation and support long-term growth. With that, I'll turn it over to Jim.

Speaker #2: Thanks, Pavan. As Pavan outlined, the team delivered other strong quarter, both financially and operationally. We made progress against our growth initiatives, and we're positioning Altus as the essential intelligence platform for CRE performance.

Speaker #2: To reiterate and call out some of highlights from the quarter, recurring revenue growth was fueled by double-digit growth in Argus Enterprise, which is now Argus Intelligence.

Speaker #2: We expect this latest upgrade cycle and new product introductions to drive double-digit growth for the next several years. Our transition to Argus Intelligence is proceeding as planned, with clients renewing on the platform and adding new capabilities.

Speaker #2: We now have 1,900 clients contracted on Argus Intelligence, including a ramp of portfolio manager and benchmark manager products. Our asset-based pricing model continues to be well received, and by design, is translating to a growing user base in the Argus ecosystem.

Speaker #2: As clients migrate to Argus Intelligence, they have the choice to stay on per-seat pricing or move to asset-based pricing which allows clients to add users with no additional costs.

Speaker #2: New recurring bookings were strong, both for software and VMS. We're now on three consecutive quarters of recurring new bookings above the $20 million mark.

Speaker #2: We returned capital to shareholders by repurchasing $101.7 million of our shares in Q2, exhausting our 2025 buyback program for the year. We reduced our outstanding shares by 6.5% year over year.

Speaker #2: And as Pavan pointed out, our operational improvements and ongoing portfolio simplification translate to higher quality earnings compared a year ago. This has been, and will continue to be, a driver of cash flow improvements.

Speaker #2: Turning our business outlook, we're refining our guidance here at the mid-year mark. Notably, we're increasing our consolidated margin range while modestly lowering revenue. To be lear, we're calling up the low end of our adjusted EBITDA guidance.

Speaker #2: Our business unit forecasts are still at the low end of our original revenue range. That said, and in the spirit of being prudent, we're lecting the continued uncertainty around the macroeconomic environment.

Speaker #2: This uncertainty has kept some of our VMS clients on the sidelines, longer than we anticipated at the beginning of the year. As we've demonstrated over this last several years, we run the company with multiple paths to achieving our EBITDA, and this year's no different.

Speaker #2: Overall, there's a growing sense of optimism in our client base. Transaction volumes are stabilizing, and transactions dollar volumes are increasing. Capital is available, and valuations are improving across most sectors of CRE.

Speaker #2: All good signs for the fourth quarter and next year. And with the operating and product enhancements we've been driving, we're strongly positioned for the future.

Speaker #2: We remain confident in our ability to drive double-digit revenue growth and about 35% adjusted EBITDA margins in fiscal 2026 at the analytics segment. We expect a continual ramp of revenues in Q3 at analytics.

Speaker #2: Q4 benefits from favorable seasonality, pricing actions, and a large number of Argus renewals. We remain bullish on the long-term prospects for Altus Group, driven by strong secular trends in commercial real estate market, compelling new product innovations, a refined pricing model which drives client adoption, and exceptionally strong balance sheet and, of course, a dedicated team committed delivering value.

Speaker #2: So finally, before I open up the line for questions, I just want to are that our next investor day will be on November 20th in New York.

Speaker #2: That's a change from what I said last quarter. So ou're going to have some scheduling conflicts. But stay tuned for more details, and we hope you can join us.

Speaker #2: Okay, let's open up the line for questions now, Julian.

Speaker #3: Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question, please press star, followed by the number one on your ephone keypad. Our first question comes from Yuriy Link from Canaccord Genuity.

Speaker #3: Please go ahead. line is open.

Speaker #6: Good evening, guys.

Speaker #2: Yuriy.

Speaker #6: Hey, Jim. The you mentioned in the prepared remarks that the FX pickup in corporate costs in the quarter was included in prior guidance. Yet you're still, ou know, increasing the guidance range on a consolidated basis.

Speaker #6: So is that further cost reductions on the corporate line or, you know, how do we get there?

Speaker #2: Yuriy, I'll answer it, then I'll hand it over to Pavan. As I said, we always have multiple paths to make our numbers. We're watching the top line closely at all times.

Speaker #2: We're always listening to our clients who at the beginning of the year were extremely optimistic. This past quarter, a bunch of them were very optimistic.

Speaker #2: In their comments, and then in their caveats around their ranges, they said, assuming you know stability, we said, let's factor it into our top line.

Speaker #2: But we do have we are as always we have an operating plan, and then we throttle expenses up or down based on where we're seeing revenue coming in.

Speaker #2: So we knew that at the last in May, at the last guidance, that we would probably affect this transaction, which would drive a efit.

Speaker #2: So it was part of our multiple paths to get to the number. Pavan, you want to comment on the transaction?

Speaker #5: Yes. It's so we converted some

Speaker #4: Canadian dollars to USD, so there's 6.2 is just related to the FX trade. It's not a constant currency number in regard to that. In regard to that, so it's really just a function of the fact of being effective in regards to our money management.

Speaker #4: Again, part of our plan in regards to our opening cash ballots at the beginning of the year when we divested the property tax business, and part of the contemplation as we were thinking about four-year guidance as well.

Speaker #4: So it was really just, you know, good timing given the relative weakness of the US dollar in the quarter to pull the trigger on it this quarter.

Speaker #2: And that weakness occurred before the main call.

Speaker #4: Yeah.

Speaker #6: Okay. So you're you're leaving your the segment's EBITDA margin guidance is unchanged, but the consolidated is up. And. That's

Speaker #2: Yeah.

Speaker #6: going to be reflected in the lower corporate costs, right, in going ward?

Speaker #4: Yeah. So that FX hits the corporate line period, so it doesn't impact the segments.

Speaker #6: Okay. The bookings number, I mean, strong, but can you just confirm that I'm looking at Apple's to Apple's? Did we did you guys change the definition this year?

Speaker #6: Maybe just refresh my memory on that.

Speaker #2: No, we absolutely stuck to the definition. It's driven by the upgrade cycle to Argus Intelligence. So last year, there was if there was any there was some price that in renewals that would not have shown as a booking because that's how we've defined our bookings.

Speaker #2: This year, though, at the renewal, customers are converting from Argus Enterprise to Argus Intelligence, which gives them new feature functionality which drives a bigger price uplift.

Speaker #2: So that is helping the bookings throughout this year. Actually, for the next for the next couple of years, it'll help the bookings.

Speaker #6: Okay. Okay. I'll I'll hop back in the queue, guys. Thank ou.

Speaker #2: Thank you.

Speaker #3: Our next question comes from Stephen McCloud from BMO. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Speaker #7: Thank you. Good evening, everyone. I just wanted to follow up just quickly with respect to the corporate costs. Is this a one-time FX gain, or will you see a step change lower in your corporate costs for the balance of the year?

Speaker #4: Yeah, we continue to be focused on driving corporate cost efficiencies. That's part of the game. As we talked about it in the past, there were some compliance-related spend that we had in corporate that changed its trajectory and, in, this FX is really just, you know, we knew we had cash at the beginning of the year.

Speaker #4: And so there's not going to be a there's not going to be continuation in regard to this. It's ally just a it's a one-time okay.

Speaker #6: Okay. I see. So this isn't this isn't a new level. This is just a one-time benefit from the transaction. In this

Speaker #4: Yeah.

Speaker #6: quarter.

Speaker #4: The one-time benefit that you saw this quarter, it doesn't there's not another benefit for the rest of the year.

Speaker #6: Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that's great. And then and then maybe just looking at the recurring new bookings number, which, you know, Jim, you ioned you said was driven by both Argus and VMS.

Speaker #6: Is there a way to break down kind what the what drivers were between those two businesses?

Speaker #2: There is. They were both very strong for VMS. So Steve, ou know we're when we do investor day, we will roll out the new reporting for '26.

Speaker #2: And as we've been saying, when we do that, we'll move way from bookings overall as a metric. But until then, we said we would for transparency, we continue report it.

Speaker #2: So VMS funds are there's new funds popping up. There's debt funds popping up. There's some closed-end funds that we moved into that help drive the growth for VMS.

Speaker #2: There are about equal in the very, very strong range. As far as growth rates go.

Speaker #6: Okay. Okay. That's that's helpful. And then just maybe finally, as it relates to you know, you talked about the grade cycle with respect to Argus Intelligence.

Speaker #6: You know, having with that is there a way to kind of get a sense of where you are in that cycle? I mean, I assume you're still at the very based on, you know, the release of the products and you're still on the very front end of that of that upgrade cycle.

Speaker #6: Can you just talk about sort of where you sit and how you expect that to drive growth going forward?

Speaker #4: Yeah, I'm glad. And again, you ow we've done a pretty significant base of clients that are going through the upgrade cycle from Argus Enterprise to Argus Intelligence.

Speaker #4: I would say in terms of relative magnitude, there's a large portion that happens in 2025. And if you were to break 2025 down even further, a big a large portion or a large cohort is in Q4 of 2025, which would provide tailwinds into 2026.

Speaker #4: But there is a cohort, a significant cohort in '26 and '27 as well, too. So, you know, these these renewals are these transitions to Argus Intelligence are happening on a renewal cycle.

Speaker #4: They have a mix of one-year contracts and some three-year contracts, which gives us more durability in regards to the continued uplift we're going get from the transition.

Speaker #6: Okay. That's that's helpful color. Thanks, Pavan. Okay. Thanks, guys. I'll get back with you. Thank you.

Speaker #2: Go for it, yeah. The renewals will the will flow as Pavan said, the majority through through '25, and then but they do flow into '26 and '27.

Speaker #2: So we know by client when the renewal are. So it flows into each of those years. And we said we were expecting a mid-teens price uplift, which we are achieving.

Speaker #2: On the renewals.

Speaker #6: Okay. That's that's great color. Thanks, Jim.

Speaker #3: Our next estion comes from Richard Say from National Bank Financial. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Speaker #8: Yes. Thank you. Hey, guys. On page 7 of your deck, you kind of outline a number of things that contributed to your margin improvement.

Speaker #8: So as you look ahead to this sort of mid-30s target, can you sort of help us rank how each of those items may contribute to that improvement going forward?

Speaker #4: Yeah. So I believe we're calling out revenue growth, portfolio optimization, GSE, benefits from restructuring at expense growth moderation. You know, so as we highlighted in regards to our 2026 guidance, we are anticipating double-digit growth in regards to analytics revenue, so there's going to a meaningful revenue growth contribution aspect to it.

Speaker #4: I would assume that this is probably structured in the order of magnitude here. Portfolio optimization, you saw a part parts of that in regards to the divestiture of property tax.

Speaker #4: You saw the divestiture of the fairways guarantees business associated with finance active. We continue to focus on profitable growth for appraisals and debt advisory.

Speaker #4: Which continues to drive portfolio optimization for us. GSE is a is a big component of our of our operating efficiency strategy. This is really about leveraging our tools and technology and standardizing them in a in a much more efficient way offshore, leveraging not only great talent that we have in our Hyderabad office, but but also just leveraging the the the the the arbitrage from a from a pricing perspective.

Speaker #4: So that is going to be a aningful contribution from a from a margin perspective. Look, again, we're we've we've ioned we're we're very comfortable in the concept of of shrinking to grow.

Speaker #4: Restructuring activities is to make sure that we've got the right alignment. We're we're we're anchoring around matrix organizations, which gives us abilities to to continue to scale without adding significant headcount.

Speaker #4: And so that is an ongoing focus for us. And and we're good stewards of the business. And so we realize that there are market-related pressures.

Speaker #4: That that potentially gate the the timing of revenue. And so we continue to be very prudent in regards to in regards to our expense management elements.

Speaker #4: But but I would say, ou know, top-line growth, portfolio optimization, global service center efficiencies kind in that order are are are key components of our growth.

Speaker #4: And ultimately, the operating efficiencies that we're gaining across the business is really using our technology internally and driving more data to the platform.

Speaker #4: From a from a systematic perspective, we're also putting a lot of focus on on GNA. And and and Jim and I have talked about in in the past, you know, we've had a lot of we've had a lot of moving parts in this business.

Speaker #4: But but we're putting very particular focus in regards to to driving our GNA lower. It's a high number, and and and we're we're aware of it.

Speaker #4: Look, we've been a product of acquisitions over the years. And there's a lot of opportunity for us to continue to go aggressively after after GNA as as an opportunity for us for for margin expansion.

Speaker #4: So I would rank I would rank that in terms expense growth moderating as as a as a big focus area for us. So I think you asked for ranking.

Speaker #4: It sounds like I'm putting all of them as rank one here, but they're all important initiatives for us. Each of them has a very specific execution plan associated with it.

Speaker #4: We're in the we're in this we're currently working on our 2026 operating plan efforts and and all all five of these focus are are kind of core to to what we're ing.

Speaker #4: And it's reiterates the fact that we continue to have multiple paths to be able to achieve our our margin growth and and and, you ow, these five and just a brief description that I gave you just highlights just a few of them that we're looking at.

Speaker #6: Okay. Great. I just have one other question. You know, I understand fully that you're getting benefit from, you know, price through this upgrade cycle from enterprise to intelligence.

Speaker #6: But are there any metrics that you could share to help us better understand the uptake of your expanding product portfolios, you know, something like, you know, the customer base has an average of X products or modules.

Speaker #6: This year versus, the same sort of comparative number in the prior year. Just so we can kind of get a sense of, you know, how that, that upsell process is working.

Speaker #2: So Richard, when you think about analytics, there's there's the two main franchises that move the needle. And it's it's Argus Enterprise to Argus Intelligence, right, as one and VMS as the other.

Speaker #2: When you look at the number of attached products after that, it's very different personas across our clients who buy the different solutions. So of course, we know what the we know which every client how many products they have, but it's not a go-to-market motion of it's a straight cross-sell to same buyer.

Speaker #2: So if the the main thing to focus on is the core Argus Intelligence. On that, for the next two years, we've we've got we have a pickup on portfolio manager and benchmark manager, but the key to ose products, they're both still in very early stages.

Speaker #2: To generate revenue, because the clients need to migrate their models from the cloud at like either from on-prem or from their cloud environment onto the platform to get the benefit of portfolio manager or benchmark manager.

Speaker #2: Right? So they have to be contributing data to to get benchmark manager. So we're just in the the early stages of those clients coming onto Argus Intelligence contract.

Speaker #2: And then migrating their models over, which is a just to the the point of the last question, that's a driver of growth for next year.

Speaker #2: When we think about our growth algorithm for '26 and '27, we break down our growth as about 40% of it will come from a lift in volumes and wallet share expansion of current product sets at current clients.

Speaker #2: About 40% of the growth will come from uplift in pricing, and then about 20% will come from new products in the portfolio next year.

Speaker #2: But it's not from a the products need to be rolled out. It's a the models need to be moved to the platform. To then drive the cross-sell.

Speaker #2: So lots of wrangling.

Speaker #6: Okay. That's that's very helpful.

Speaker #2: Our 25% nominal new new product revenue in it. Because we knew it was about this it was a migration year.

Speaker #6: Okay. Great. Thank you.

Speaker #3: Our next question comes from Paul Traber from RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Speaker #9: Yeah. Thanks, and good noon. And nice nice recurring bookings in the quarter. Could you speak to the duration of those those those bookings, like that that the new the new revenue that you're adding, you know, what's what's the typical duration of it?

Speaker #9: And then you ow really what I'm trying to get a sense of is like the annual uplift that you would see or or or like of like ballpark ARR growth.

Speaker #2: Yeah. So the when when we look at it, on an NRR basis, so looking at client cohort year over year, as I said, we were targeting a mid-teens price uplift.

Speaker #2: We're actually yielding between seat and asset-based pricing into those cohorts. We're we're through the first half, 're yielding a 20% increase. So that's part of it.

Speaker #2: And then the ARR piece of it is it's going to be obviously going to be the function of new logos, and and managing churn as clients go through the migration cycle.

Speaker #2: So on an ARR basis, we so back to the the two core franchises of software and VMS, on a full-year ARR basis last year, both were well north of 100%.

Speaker #2: And I'm sorry. On an NRR basis, they're both well north of 100%. And then the ARR has been outpacing that because of new logos, new funds coming on, new assets coming on.

Speaker #6: Okay. That's that's helpful. The and then just trying to understand the the the outlook for bank half of the year. The the the change in the the the recurring analytics recurring growth.

Speaker #6: Is that you mentioned that it's it's because of VMS. The I assume, though, that you know the the software bookings are are driving growth.

Speaker #6: But is this it just to clarify, like that is masked by by slower a slower assumed growth in VMS, correct?

Speaker #2: That's exactly right.

Speaker #6: Okay. And then and then just on the the the the non-recurring outlook for the year, it looks like Q4, the guidance implies that Q4 non-recurring analytics revenue jumped sequentially.

Speaker #6: What are what does that seasonality or is there another driver in there?

Speaker #2: There can be there's a couple drivers in there. There's there's implementation revenues that are associated with some of the migration. I was just talking about of models.

Speaker #2: And there's the 111 business where we can see a pipeline of non-recurring implementation of it's typically third-party systems. So not business we are actively driving, but an important business for us to support our clients on.

Speaker #2: So it's it's the non-recurring forecast will be a function of the pipeline of the timing of some of those big deals. So those those those 111 deals can be big and lumpy.

All right, thanks for taking the questions.

No further questions.

Hannon for closing remarks.

Well, as always everyone, um, thanks for joining the call. Uh, if there's any follow-up questions, you guys know how to get in contact with us, uh, particularly through Camilla Martin. Um, we always appreciate your time and I hope you all have a great rest of your summer talk soon. Thank you.