Good day, and welcome to Orion Group Holdings Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions] On today's call, management will provide prepared remarks and then we will open up the call for your questions. [Operator Instructions] Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Margaret Boyce, Investor Relations for Orion. Please go ahead, ma'am.

Thank you, operator, and thank you all for joining us today to discuss Orion Group Holdings fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results. We issued our earnings release after market last night. It is available on the Investor Relations section of our website at oriongroupholdingsinc.com. I'm here today with Travis Boone, Chief Executive Officer of Orion; and Scott Thanisch, Chief Financial Officer. On today's call, management will provide prepared remarks and then we'll open up the call for your questions. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that today's comments will include forward-looking statements under the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as will, be, intend, believe, expect, anticipate or other comparable words and phrases. Statements that are not historical facts, such as statements regarding the current and expected status of our negotiations regarding a replacement credit facility and our expectations regarding the filing of our audited financial statements tomorrow, with a going concern are forward-looking statements. Our actual financial condition and results of operations may vary materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Discussion of the factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements are contained in our SEC filings, including our reports on Form 10-Q. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Travis. Travis, please go ahead.

Thank you, Margaret. And thank you all for joining our fourth quarter and year-end 2022 conference call. Here with me today is Scott Thanisch, our Chief Financial Officer. We have a lot of ground to cover today, so let's get started. I'll begin with our strategic plan to put Orion on the right course for improved performance and then Scott will discuss operations and financials. In the six months since Scott and I joined Orion, we formed a great partnership and have been busy dividing and conquering our workload. We both continue to be impressed by the talent and energy of our team and are excited about the enormous opportunity ahead of us. Today, we have a much deeper understanding of our company's strengths and our opportunities for improvement. We believe our recent financial results barely scratched the surface of Orion's potential and we are confident our business will continue to improve in 2023. In fact, 2023 is off to a great start. We are building great momentum. Since the beginning of the year, we announced contract wins totaling over $582 million including on Friday afternoon when we were awarded a $448 million contract with the United States Navy to build a dry dock at Pearl Harbor as part of the joint venture. The overall contract for the JV is $2.8 billion. We've secured concrete lands in our Dallas and Houston market of around $100 million and won our largest diving services contract in our history, a $20 million project. Our year-end backlog combined with our recent wins comprises almost $1 billion of work to complete in the next few years. You may recall on our November earnings call, I mentioned that we were bidding on our largest projects ever in both concrete and marine. And with the win on…

Thank you, Travis, and good morning, everyone. We believe there is significant opportunity to generate profitable growth and create value for all of our Orion stakeholders. To achieve that, we are focused on optimizing our concrete operations, fixing what's not working and continuously improving the things that are. At the same time, we're employing a business development strategy designed to win good projects at attractive margins. And finally, we are investing in our people and our assets to be ready for the growth opportunities in front of us. As Travis mentioned, we're implementing a disciplined project bidding and delivery strategy. And we're pursuing opportunities where our capabilities and expertise differentiate us. By focusing on our strengths, we will be better positioned to win quality projects at strong margins. In the enhancements we are making in our project management practices, will enable us to deliver these projects with improved financial performance consistently. We recognize that good information is critical to making strategic and timely decisions in a dynamic environment like the one we operate in. We're making the necessary investments in systems, tools and training to achieve better business outcomes. This includes investing in upgraded project management systems that will promote visibility to project level performance and provide consistent and effective controls across our segments and our projects. We're implementing PM training and hiring experienced individuals to run projects more effectively. And we will leverage our vast operational and financial data repository to identify trends, spot issues and provide business intelligence to our teams at every step in the project lifecycle, from business development to final delivery. As Travis indicated, we're acting swiftly to put the right structure and processes in place. Many of our new initiatives are underway and we are beginning to see positive results. One of the changes…

Thanks, Scott. You can probably tell that we are excited about what is going on in our business. We are building strong momentum. Many of our strategic initiatives are well underway and real progress is happening every day. Our people share my enthusiasm and they are embracing change. There is a whole new excitement in the business. Our leadership team and our Board are fully committed to generating greater levels of profitability and value creation for all of our stakeholders. I want to thank our shareholders for your support and our many dedicated employees for their efforts as we work together to execute our operational transformation.

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Julio Romero from Sidoti & Company. Please proceed.

Hi, good morning. Thanks so much for taking the questions. I guess to start on the three point strategic plan, very encouraging to hear. Can you maybe elaborate on any hard timeline or quantifiable targets for the strategic plan either from a margin or dollar perspective? And then secondly, how do you guys think about measuring progress for investors relating to that plan?

As far as timeline where this is going to be an ongoing process, I'd say -- as we said a few minutes ago, there's a lot of work to do. It's going to take some time to get the ship turned around, so to speak. So we're not being too specific on how long it's going to take us or -- but for sure in the next we're working on it right now and we're going to continue working on it. It will be a continual process, let's say, for several months here as we make these changes in how we do things and work toward the goals that we've set.

And I guess I'll add to that. Yes, for metrics in terms of how to track progress, I would say that we're really trying to improve all of the metrics associated with our business. So this quarter, we've had some great wins that will display an increasing backlog, which is certainly a good sign of things to come. You should see increases in our gross margins as we execute our plans to improve the concrete business. And as the higher margin business that we've won recently begins to be worked through our results. And then we will see increasing cash flow as we work to execute our jobs with precision and without taking on additional cost that were not included in our original plans and we'll see our cash improve also from the benefit of some cost optimization as we grow our business and really improve the efficiency and scale of our operation.

Got it.

Our next question comes from the line of Joe Gomes from Noble Capital. Please proceed.

Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted to talk a little bit more, maybe we could drill down some into the new contract over at Pearl Harbor. Maybe you could kind of give us what is the scope of work there for you guys? Is the backlog of Orion's total portion of the $2.8 billion award or could there be more there? Is it front or back end loaded? And is there potential for additional wins under this IDIQ?

Yes. So we're -- first of all, our piece of it is roughly $450 million and the scope that we are doing as part of the JV is very specific. We're working kind of early on a large amount of temporary works to set the project up to be completed. It's, I'm generally speaking, the portion that we're doing is pile driving, something that we do day-in and day-out, every day. It's pretty normal work for us and we're really good at it. So it's a lot of pile driving that we're doing on the project. And as far as the expectation of other work in this contract, absolutely yes. There'll be other task orders that come along that if it makes sense to pursue, we will. And we'll definitely be looking for opportunities under this contract over the coming years.

Okay. Sorry.

Sorry, Joe, just going to add on that. Another thing is that the Navy plans to make a lot of investment, especially in the Pacific theater. And this is one project that's starting off some of those investments, executing this project well sets us up well to compete for other business in that overall program of the Navy. So that's another aspect of this that we're excited about.

Great. And then one more, if I may -- you mentioned that you completed all the contracts in Central Texas in the fourth quarter?

No. We haven't completed them yet. No, yes, those contracts do kind of continue most are being worked in the first quarter of this year, but there's some that continue to about midyear. So over the course of the first couple of quarters, we'll be finishing those out and then those that Central Texas results will be completely behind us at that point.

Okay, great thanks.

Thanks, Joe.

Our next question comes from the line of Alex Rygiel from B. Riley Securities. Please proceed.

Hi, Alex.

Your line is open, sir. Mr. Alex Rygiel?

Sorry about that guys.

Hi, Alex.

Good morning. As it relates to the higher cost on a marine construction project, is that project finished? And can you be more precise on what the higher costs were due to?

Yes, so that project is not quite finished, but it's a very near completion in terms of what drove the higher costs. Our expectations on the site conditions there were a little bit different. And so that's an aspect that really drove cost. But also some of the project controls that we'll be investing in are designed to catch and track cost to make sure that we're on top of what we know. And on that particular project, we don't have those systems yet and there were some bills that we had that kind of lagged our overall pace of work there. So we had some of those kind of concentrated the end there that really pulled down the margins on that job.

Very helpful. And then kind of to follow-up on that last comment or question related to the Navy dry dock. Understand this is sort of a new market for you. Can you talk about establishing a workforce over there and how you're going about doing that? And what kind of contract risks are there in this?

So couple of things when Orion first started back in 1994 as Orion a lot of multiple of our first contracts that we completed, were actually in Hawaii. So it's not necessarily a new market for us, but it's new in recent years. Let's say, so we have - worked in Hawaii before now. As far as established kind of let's say reestablishing our presence there. We have a team going over to Hawaii this week and their sole focus is preparing this job. We're using a lot of our current resources that we have already in the company, but we're over there right now looking for additional resources to kind of bolster the team at the local level because work in Hawaii is different than working in Washington or somewhere else. So we know we need to be there locally. We're also going to be relying on our partners, Hawaiian dredging as part of our team. They're a local company. So, we'll be working with them pretty extensively as we're kicking off the project and that sort of thing. So it's kind of an all hands on deck at this point. There's a lot of work to do to get the project kicked off and working successfully.

And then just to follow-up on that. Can you help us to understand sort of the credence of revenue recognition from that project?

Yes, so as Travis kind of mentioned, we're all hands on deck right now, getting ready for mobilization and thinking about procurement and people and resources. And I guess percentage of completion accounting on the project and looking at that a little further down the list. But certainly as soon as we develop a better idea of the start dates and how we're collaborating with our joint venture partners on the timing. We'll have a better view of that, but it's just a little early right now to know exactly how much of that contract will flow in 2023.

Very helpful, thank you good luck.

Thanks, Alex.

Our next question comes from the line of Dave Storms from Stonegate Capital Markets. Please proceed.

Good morning, gentlemen, and thank you for taking my call. Just hoping we could start with how you're bringing some marine leadership over to concrete. And if you could talk a little bit more about any other synergies you see between the two segments that you might be able to take advantage of going forward?

Sure, yes. So - you heard us mention we recently moved over our kind of our number two person on the marine side of the business over to lead the concrete business. And that that happened actually fairly naturally. It was - he was already kind of leaning in and working with the concrete team and it was going very well. And so and we've decided we're going to leverage his kind of expertise in establishing rigor and discipline on the marine side of things that he's done over the last few years into the concrete side of the business and he had great report with the team. And so, we moved him over and he's done a - he's off to a great start, has done a great job of working with the team on the concrete side of the business. And bringing some of the, as I said, the rigor and discipline that he had hoped to establish on the marine side of the business into the concrete side of the business. So, I think we're going to see great results there. Some of the issues, we had in concrete its tweaks here and there with how we were delivering projects. How we were doing some things. And I think, we're well on our way to seeing results from him being in concrete.

Yes and I'll add just in terms of other synergies, we see as opportunities in that, business probably one of the most exciting ones is revenue synergies, because those businesses have historically not really pursued joint projects or been working together a lot. And certainly the marine business does have projects where a lot of concrete is laid. And so, more opportunity to grow our concrete business with those joint explorations and pursuits. And on the cost side, there's a lot of opportunity for us to do things more efficiently in our corporate offices as we start to standardize and use the same systems and processes between the two segments. There's opportunities to leverage a better mix of our equipment as we - with our equipment team manage two businesses instead of just the marine business, which is where most of their attention is focused today. And we see plenty of opportunity for us to identify additional cost savings within our concrete and our marine business by joining up our procurement function and really driving material and input savings through better procurement practices. So I think it's a pretty large set of opportunities and we'll be going after all of them.

That's very helpful. One follow-up, if I could just with those cost savings, is there a role where that helps drive your bids to be more competitive and secure more wins or is that kind of - by translating more to just strictly margin enhancement?

I think it will be able to contribute to both. We're out there really pricing our bids based on market dynamics, and the services that we're offering. It's not just a cost plus view. So when we achieve cost savings in our delivery cost, then there's a margin benefit that we can realize from that. But it does also give us the flexibility to at the same margin, give a lower price to the customer and there are certainly ways which we can leverage that ability in the marketplace in certain situations. So, I think you'll see some of both, and there's an opportunity for us to really push forward with those cost savings really quickly. We've got ideas and plans to execute.

That's very helpful. Thank you.

[Operator Instructions] We do have a final question from [John McDermott] from ASI. Please proceed.

Yes, gentlemen. Thanks for the call. Generally, could you give me some feedback on the core of engineers? Letting our bids presently under our administration with the push for ESG, the environmental social push, has it affected dredging bids because of the macro events of large dredging jobs and they're looking at backwater wash and how that's affecting going out of the way it was done before? How do you see the whole ESG and what is the corporate philosophy getting involved in the push from the top of our government on that place.

Sure. Thanks, John. That's a great question. I think the first part of your question was kind of on the timing of the core getting out dredging contracts. It's no secret. There's been a bit of a lag in getting some of the contracts out here in the last few months. I think that's been well documented by some of our competition and as well as other sources. So things have been a little slow on the contract side of things with the core of engineers as I think everyone knows. We have been working with the core. There's contracts come and we think there's -- we should see some more regularity in the contract starting to hit here in the near future in the next few months. We did just win a dredging contract a couple of weeks ago, so we're excited about that. And looking forward to seeing more of those contracts hopefully get a little more regular here going forward. And then as far as the ESG side of things, I think one of the things that on the way it's affecting dredging is kind of the way it's a couple of things. One, the core would like to see more beneficial use of the dredge spoils and instead of just dumping it, finding ways to use more of it. And we're working with them on helping try to find more beneficial use of those dredged spoils. So I think that's whether it's using it for beach replenishment or for marsh creation or other kind of ways of using the dredge spoils instead of just, like I said, just dumping it. So that's one way it's affecting dredging and then the other way is on our equipment. As we mentioned earlier, that's something we got to be making sure that we're trying to keep up with the carbon production of our engines and making sure that we have more -- keep our engines up-to-date and as efficient as we can. So that's really the two ways we're seeing it affecting the dredging business as of now. There's lots of parts and pieces of the beneficial use side of it. But it's -- I would say it's not a -- the focus on ESG is not a hindrance to proceeding with dredging projects or hindrance to this business in any way.

Yes. Thank you.

I think if anything, it's an environment where we can build a Orion story that that resonates with people that are interested in investing in ESG friendly investments because of all the work that we do to maintenance on our beaches, be able to point to the things that we're doing as some of those coastal restoration projects come down. So we think that down the road it can be a good story for us as we start to do more of that work.

And the last hurricane then in Florida, do you anticipate that opening up a lot more, it's been a slow process because of what you described?

As far as the -- as far as recovery work or?

Recovery work from it - yes, the storm that went through Florida one of the worst in the long term.

Definitely. We're anticipating seeing some opportunities later this year as the recovery money starts flowing and work starts happening there. There was the immediate response with -- the emergency response and now it's working into more of the recovery state. And as that goes on, we'll see some opportunities to pursue down there.

The margins look like they could be healthy in the future in the dredging area?

We believe so.

Yes. I think that we've seen that slowdown that we've talked about in some of the dredging opportunities coming out of the Army Corps, but as that starts to break loose and we get back to work and our competitors are getting back to work on a lot of those delayed maintenance projects, we expect to be able to realize those consistent margins as our past experience.

I would now like to turn the call over to Travis Boone for closing remarks.

Thank you all for joining. We appreciate everyone being here. Just kind of in closing, I'll say we're excited about the momentum we're building on the winning side of the business. We're excited about getting our banking arrangements sorted out here in the near future. And we've got a -- and we're well on our path here to get our projects -- to be delivering our projects as we expect. So we're excited. We have the great momentum and we're looking forward to working through 2023 and having a successful year. So everyone have a great day and appreciate your time.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.