urban-gro, Inc. (NASDAQ:UGRO) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

As it relates to line of sight, as of right now, we don’t anticipate any additional delays. However, look, those three came up with weeks notice at the end of the year. We don’t anticipate any now but you never know what could happen, of course. As I had started early with that answer, as we have many more projects that we’re working on at the same time, it won’t have as material of a impact if one of them pushes. As for tracking the delays in the ERP, that’s really — the delays will come through our project management office. And then we have a online portal, project management portal that’s build time, both viewable from the client and then from our team, and we’ll see it through there first. On the ERP, that’s mostly tied to timely tabulation of results.

And we have taken actions since we had that disappointment and the service is coming in under where we had forecast even as late as the middle of December. And so I do not anticipate us to be off on the services again with a guide. When I talk about sequential, we have contracts that really are executed over the next two to four months from a construction standpoint. They’re in the project management portal and we know exactly when they’ll be executed. So we’re very confident, of course, in Q1 with two days left. And then as we go forward into Q2 and beyond, it’s not completely baked. But with the contracts we have as long as everything proceeds like it should then we don’t anticipate issues sequentially improving the top and bottom line. And we definitely realize that we’ve got to walk the talk and earn confidence back in our ability to predict quarters.

Eric Des Lauriers: Thanks for taking my questions.

Dick Akright: And Eric, just commenting on it, as evidenced, the backlog for construction design build is really quite large and we are getting much better insight and visibility into how those projects, costs on those projects are starting to come into site over the course of 2024. So that’s just really improving with the new ERP system that we’ve put in place, much improvement on that even just over the last six weeks. So anyway, just wanted to add that comment.

Operator: Next question comes from Scott Fortune with ROTH MKM.

Scott Fortune: Just a little bit of follow-up on Eric, on kind of provide a little more color on the backlog here and ongoing discussions or opportunities kind of outside the CEA and those different industries. Just kind of highlight some of the different industries. And then even within the CEA, because how much is –is the backlog coming from CEA versus non-CEA of that $110 million? And then just unpack a little bit more of the color, the strength of the end markets you’re seeing. Anything kind of on industries or categories of the projects you’re seeing the strength in? Just a little more color on that would be great.

Brad Nattrass: Dick, do you want to start on the backlog?

Dick Akright: So from a backlog perspective, what we have is, and I’m sorry, I’m getting to it now. But of the $110 million substantial amount is coming in from the CEA sector. We do have some large construction design build projects that are in the backlog. As of December 31st, 70% is from CEA. A large portion of the construction is now comprised of some CEA projects. And so that makes up the biggest part of the backlog for the year. On the commercial side, it’s tended to be the existing contracts that are — the existing customers that were in place with the company that when we acquired it, which was a large CPG customer, but we’re expanding that out into healthcare and additionally into some secondary education customers that are part of that backlog.

Scott Fortune: And just kind of a quick follow-up. Do you see the backlog switching a little bit, going out more diversified to the CPG healthcare as you build out? Just kind of little bit color on those opportunities.

Brad Nattrass: I’ll take that one. So in the CEA side, Scott, when we’re building on the cultivation facility that can take us as long as six quarters. On the commercial side, if it’s a manufacturing facility or some recreational buildings or a laboratory, those can be completed in as quick as two or three quarters. What we had underestimated in the first year in commercial is when we’re verbally awarded a project to when the contract is officially signed or a PO is sent that period is not a week, for example, like it could be in the CEA space like we’re used to. It can be up to months. And so those projects, once they do start, we’re ready. They verbally told us what exactly to do and steps so we can immediately hit the ground running, recognize cost, recognize revenue and get going quickly.

So they’re done relatively quickly once they’re signed. So the time frame is a lot less. And in In terms of these end markets, as Dick mentioned, post secondary, we have multiple architecture and engineering contracts right now between $400,000 and $800,000 high margin projects that we’re working on. In healthcare, we work on both sometimes the design of hospitals, all design, no build there. But then on some smaller healthcare facilities like an MRI facility or something like that, so that would be done relatively quickly over three quarters as well. So there’s strength there. Laboratories, we’re seeing strength on laboratories. And then also on retail, nothing to talk about right now any further on that, but some good strong retail opportunities as well for us.