Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Kevin Berryman: The other thing, Louis, though, ’21 was the high point. So I would say that the underlying business is returning. We had some other events in 2021 that accelerated the margin a little bit higher. We had some one-off closeouts which were pretty strong. But I think in 2023, the underlying is getting back up well into the 8s, I would say. So maybe not all the way back up to the — I think we were at 9% in 2021 but we’re going to get underlying to be quite consistent with 2021.

Operator: Your next question comes from Michael Dudas with Vertical Research.

Michael Dudas: Maybe for Bob or Kevin, you call out in your CMS the improved in — the book-to-bill but also the gross margin book-to-bill. Maybe you can talk a little bit about P&PS and PAC in a similar light? Or do you want to give out the actual numbers? And how much is — as you look into timing of awards and ramp up and some of the utilization issues that you or fit in ’22, is that more of mid- to later ’23 to show some much better for FX better growth as we move towards the end of ’23?

Kevin Berryman: I’m sorry, Mike, you were breaking up. I was having trouble understanding you. I apologize.

Michael Dudas: So first, Kevin, I’m just talking about like your book to bill, you talked about the CMS gross margin book-to-bill. Maybe you could highlight in PP&S and PAC similar just the observations relative to what’s in backlog, what do you anticipate in new orders? And maybe the timing of those orders relative to your outlook for 2023?

Kevin Berryman: Yes. Okay, got that. All right. Thanks, Mike. So look, People & Places continue to show good margin profile and backlog as well. So I think that’s obviously, a very critical part of our strategy. When we think about delivering more value-added solutions, the margin is it’s got to come with it. So the backlog margin profile is better in People & Places and also it’s better in PA as well. And the dynamic of PA relative to the Q4 number really was effectively the continued utilization we — to get up to around 20%. We fell a little bit short of that but it’s continuing to improve and we would expect that we’ll get back up to those more normalized levels that we saw over the course of ’22 — early ’22 relative to the margin profile there.

Operator: Your next question is from the line of Jamie Cook with Credit Suisse.

Jamie Cook: Congrats, Bob. And congrats, Steve. I guess first question, over the long term, can you just talk to — on CMS, can you talk to the strategic importance of CMS to the portfolio? And if margins continue to sort of underperform, would you consider sort of other options? Or do you see a path over time to get to, I think, the margin improvement targets that you laid out in the 2024 targets like how long before we get there? And then my second question, Kevin, the cash flow generation that you’re implying for 2023, it’s quite strong and your balance sheet is in good shape. So just trying to understand how you’re looking at — how you’re thinking about the M&A profile versus share repurchase?