Stephen Wherry
Analyst · SER Asset Management. Please proceed with your question
Thank you, John, and good morning, everyone. On today’s call, I will be reviewing our second quarter results as compared to the prior year. 2019 second quarter total revenue was $44.4 million, an increase of $6.9 million, or 18.3% compared to the same period last year. The increase in total revenue was primarily attributable to increases in real estate development operations. Electrical construction revenue in the 2019 second quarter was $39.2 million, an increase of $3 million, or 8.3% from $36.2 million for the same period in 2018, primarily due to increases in projects awarded and work completed in the Mid-Atlantic region as a result of service line expansion and continued growth in both non-MSA and MSA customer project activity. As expected, revenue from real estate development operations increased to $5.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 from $1.3 million in the same period in 2018 due to the increase in the number of units sold. Gross margin on electrical construction operations decreased to 14.5%, compared to 19.1% for the same period in 2018. Comparing the year-over-year second quarter results, depreciation and amortization expenses increased approximately $736,000, or 36.8% to $2.7 million. This increase was mainly due to the increase in capital expenditures to support revenue growth in electrical construction operations. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $230,000, or 10.9% to $2.3 million, mainly due to selling expenses in our real estate development operations. Operating income was $1.6 million in the 2019 second quarter, compared to $3.4 million in the same 2018 period. The decrease was primarily attributable to lower electrical construction margins, as well as higher depreciation and SG&A expenses partially offset by real estate development operations sales activity. Net income decreased to $819,000, or $0.03 per share for the 2019 second quarter from $2.2 million, or $0.08 per share in the same period of 2018. Cash provided by our operating activities in the period ended June 30, 2019, totaled $11.5 million, compared to the year-ago period of $1.8 million. The increase in operating cash flows is primarily attributable to the completion of sales of properties within our real estate development operations. EBITDA for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 was $4.5 million, compared to $5.4 million for the same period of 2018. Total backlog at June 30, 2019 increased $53.4 million, or 36.5% to $199.5 million, compared to $146.1 million as of June 30, 2018. At the end of the second quarter, our 12-month total electrical construction backlog increased 24.7% to $106.7 million, compared to $85.5 million one year ago, mainly due to the increase in MSA project activity, partially offset by adjustments to existing MSA backlog estimates. Our provision for income taxes was $482,000 in the second quarter of 2019 versus $1 million in the same period last year. Our current effective tax rate for the second quarter is 37.1%, compared to 32.5% in the same period last year. The effective tax rate for both the comparable periods differs from the federal statutory rate of 21% primarily due to non-deductible expenses and state income taxes. At June 30, 2019, we had approximately $15 million of cash and cash equivalents; $35.8 million of funded debt; $33.4 million of working capital; and an $18 million revolving line of credit, of which $17.4 million was available for borrowing. Total capital expenditures for the six months ended June 30, 2019 was $14.3 million, compared to $7.6 million in the same period a year ago. This increase was due to a combination of factors, including equipment purchased for expansion efforts, continued fleet upgrades and the decision to purchase equipment coming off master lease during the first six months of 2019. Our updated CapEx projection for the 2019 full-year is $19.2 million. This concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, please open the call to questions.