Prepared remarks
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the North American Construction Group conference call regarding the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. The company wishes to confirm that today's comments contain forward-looking information and that actual results could differ materially from a conclusion, forecast or projection contained in that forward-looking information. Certain material factors or assumptions were applied in drawing conclusions or in making forecasts or projections that are reflected in the forward-looking information. Additional information about those material factors is contained in the company's most recent management's discussion and analysis, which is available on SEDAR and EDGAR as well as on the company's website at nacg.ca. I will now turn the conference call over to Jason Veenstra, CFO.
Thanks, Jenny, and good morning, everyone. I'll start today's call with brief commentary on the financials, then pass the call to Barry for his operational and forward-looking comments, and we'll conclude as per usual with Q&A. Starting on Slide 4. We delivered $93 million of EBITDA in the second quarter, translating into year-over-year improvements in both adjusted earnings and margin performance. Combined revenue was up $86 million from last year, with IMC contributing $91 million of revenue in the quarter. Excluding IMC, Australia was up organically 15% in the quarter on commission growth assets and strong execution. Offsetting these increases was the year-over-year impact of the divestiture of the ultra-class haul trucks in Canada. The $456 million of total combined revenue finished off a strong first half foundation of over $875 million, supporting our 2026 combined revenue midpoint of $1.7 billion. Moving to Slide 5. Australia posted 13.6% gross profit margin and Canada delivered a combined adjusted margin of approximately 7% despite difficult seasonal conditions early in the quarter in both regions. These results reflected disciplined project execution, improved internal maintenance capability, lower repair costs and the implementation of continued fleet efficiency initiatives, and importantly, are trending in the right direction heading into the second half of 2026. Moving to Slide 6. Q2 EBITDA and EBIT were both up meaningfully from the prior year quarter on the acquisition of IMC and a more typical quarter from the Fargo joint ventures. Direct adjusted G&A was $15 million, or 3.8% of reported revenue, well below our 5% targeted threshold, demonstrating operating leverage on stronger revenue. Depreciation as a percent of combined revenue dropped to 13% from 16% last year as IMC's lower capital intensity resulted in the combined number being lower than our expected range midpoint of 15%. All told, adjusted EPS of $0.32 was generated by solid operational performance. Interest expense increased to $18.9 million from $14.1 million last year, reflecting the financing of our strategic expansions in Australia. Our average cost of debt for the quarter remained consistent at 6.4%. Moving to Slide 7. The business produced $78 million of operating cash flow before working capital, generated by EBITDA performance, net of cash interest. Free cash flow generation was $23 million after a $13 million positive working capital change in the quarter. Moving to Slide 8. Net debt increased $191 million to $1.1 billion, reflecting the acquisition of IMC and growth capital equipment purchased during the quarter. Trailing 12 net debt leverage is reported at 2.9x, but importantly, is not yet benefiting from 12 months of IMC EBITDA. Based on our second half run rate, we are operating at a 2.6x leverage ratio with the plan to decrease that moving forward. Senior secured debt remains steady at 1.7x based on the $200 million of senior unsecured notes we raised in the quarter and the impact of unsecured debt that partially funded the IMC acquisition. With those comments on the financials, I'll pass the call to Barry.
Thanks, Jason, and good morning, everyone. As Jason just outlined, our first half performance was stronger than expected entering the year and gives us the confidence to raise our full year revenue outlook. More importantly, the quarter reinforced that North American Construction Group is in an inflection point. The strategic groundwork we have put in place is increasingly translating to measurable growth, stronger earnings visibility and a more resilient operating profile. Our operating platform continues to evolve, and there's even more opportunity ahead of us. We are now seeing clear evidence that our broader geographic reach, expanded capabilities and operating discipline are working together. Our focus is to convert that opportunity into quality earnings and free cash flow through consistent execution across all operations. On Slide 11 summarizes the three strategic building blocks supporting our growth. First, scaling toward a national Tier 1 contractor platform in Australia; secondly, securing infrastructure awards across North America; and third, expanding mining services in Canada and the United States. These are distinct markets, but the underlying model is consistent. We established a position where our equipment, people and execution capabilities create the right to win. We then deepen our customer relationship, expand the scope of work and allocate capital where we can earn attractive returns. The regional updates that follow are proof that this strategy is gaining further traction. On Slide 12, Australia remains our primary growth engine. Revenue has increased approximately 31% compound annual rate from the first half of 2024 through the first half of 2026, and first half 2026 revenue was 14% above the second half of 2025. This momentum reflects the scale we have added through MacKellar and IMC, supported by favorable operating conditions and strong market demand. Together, MacKellar and IMC give us a broader national presence and the capability to pursue larger, more comprehensive scopes across all of Australia. IMC's new eight-bay Muchea workshop is another important step. It expands our maintenance capacity and supports our equipment rebuild program as well as the larger projects we expect to pursue over time. The strategic value extends beyond scale. We are increasing our exposure to lower capital unit rate work and diversifying across gold, lithium, iron ore, nickel and other critical minerals. This combination will support more consistent utilization and a better balance of growth and returns. This integration is also benefiting from a close alignment in safety, culture, core values and maintenance capabilities, which is critical to sustaining performance as the business expands. As of June 30, our Australian operations had approximately $3.4 billion of contractual backlog and a further $3.9 billion bid pipeline, supported by approximately $278 billion of public infrastructure spending and a $242 billion major project pipeline. This gives us meaningful runway as we continue building the platform. Turning to Slide 13. In Northern Canada, where I want to focus on our infrastructure discussion for today's call. Our strategy is to position capital and capabilities where our operating experience provides a clear advantage. Nuna is a strong example with a fleet of approximately 230 heavy equipment assets. New equipment is arriving to Nunavut during the third quarter, increasing capacity and mechanical availability at an established mine site. We expect that expansion to drive approximately 20% site level revenue growth with our ownership stake providing NACG exposure to Nuna's growing earnings contribution. At the same time, we are executing a land-and-expand strategy across priority mining regions. The Yukon infrastructure award and three initial projects in Ontario established footholds from which we can pursue larger follow-on scopes. Our ability to safely deliver on time, on budget with zero deficiencies is how we earn the opportunity to do more for these customers. Nuna's deep remote operating expertise, established infrastructure and indigenous partnerships are difficult to replicate. Those capabilities position us well as critical minerals, defense and nation building investment advances across Northern Canada. With approximately $5 billion of opportunities in the regional pipeline, we see a significant pathway to long-term growth while remaining disciplined in how we pursue it. Turning to Slide 14. In the oil sands, customer demand is shifting towards more equipment-intensive work as haul distances lengthen and operating requirements broaden. This creates an attractive opportunity for North American that can provide reliable fleet availability and consistent service, but it has also required a disciplined operating plan. During the second quarter, we formally identified 260 multi-life heavy equipment assets as our target fleet and aligned our maintenance and operations team around clear objectives. Mechanical availability is a primary operating measure with a medium-term target of 70%. Improving reliability reduces downtime, provides greater schedule certainty and allows us to capture visible demand more efficiently. This is not simply about increasing activity. It's about improving the quality of earnings. We are concentrating on investment for assets and scopes that meet our return thresholds with incremental investments targeting IRRs above 40% and a clear line of sight towards gross profit margins in the 15% range. Better fleet performance, selective capital allocation and operating discipline are the levers that we will translate strong customer demand into resilient margins. Turning to Slide 15. This shows the depth of our diversity and the opportunity set. Our total bid pipeline exceeds $12 billion with approximately $3.6 billion currently in active tender and procurement. The active pipeline is balanced geographically with approximately $1.8 billion in Australia and $1.8 billion in North America. It is also balanced by type with 54% in mining services and 46% in infrastructure across 14 resource categories. Expected award timing is weighted across the second half of 2026 and into 2027 with additional opportunities beyond that period. We do not need every project to move forward to create meaningful growth. Our priority is to convert the opportunities where our capabilities provide a clear advantage and where the risk-adjusted returns meet our standards. Turning to Slide 16, our outlook. Record contractual backlog of approximately $3.8 billion as of June 30 underpins our full year expectations. Based on stronger-than-expected revenue in the first half, including a quarterly revenue record for Q2, we are raising our combined revenue guidance to a range of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion. The new midpoint of $1.7 billion is $100 million above our prior midpoint and approximately 14% above our full year 2025 results. We are growing. We continue to expect adjusted EBITDA of $380 million to $420 million and free cash flow of $110 million to $130 million. At the midpoint, that represents $400 million of adjusted EBITDA and $120 million of free cash flow. In Australia, we expect optimal dry seasonal conditions in Queensland to support MacKellar while IMC activity ramps up in Western Australia. In the oil sands, utilization should improve following the spring breakup, supported by fleet optimization and incremental project scopes. At Nuna, we expect the seasonally strong third quarter to be followed by fourth quarter uplift from the Nunavut fleet expansion. Taken together, our first half performance, record backlog and identifiable second half operating drivers support the raised revenue outlook and our continued confidence in the adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow ranges. Our job is now straightforward, safely execute with discipline, improve the quality of earnings and convert the opportunity embedded across the platform into sustainable shareholder value. Lastly, I'm extremely pleased to announce that our Chairman, Martin Ferron, has confirmed that our CEO search is going very well, and we plan to announce our new CEO in the coming weeks. That concludes the Q2 presentation, and we would be happy to take any questions you may have.
Questions and answers
Your first question is from Joseph Reagor from ROTH Capital Partners.
Congrats on a strong quarter. So on the increased revenue guide, is this part of it that there are some flow-through costs that have raised revenue but have also raised costs, which is why the EBITDA guide didn't change? Or is there something else we should read into there?
Joe, that's a good way to look at it. It's really a first half impact when we look at revenue and how strong it was in the first half and then EBITDA being consistent with what we expected for the first half. So yes, it's a cost conclusion there.
Okay. And then a follow-up on that. With higher diesel costs right now, is that something that will flow through your model? It won't press too hard on your margins, but would potentially push you guys towards the higher end of the revenue guide?
No, there's no impact to us either on revenue or EBITDA margin. For the vast majority of our operations, it's a flow-through.
Your next question is from Adam Thalhimer from Thompson, Davis.
Congrats on a nice quarter. The fuel services contract that you won in July, can you give some more color on that and comment if you see additional opportunities similar to that award?
Yes, it's a great win for us. That business has been up till now solely servicing our own gear with odds and ends with different other contractors, truck here or there. We've been looking to win something like that for a while, so it was very exciting to win it. Going forward, there are other opportunities coming up where some of these contracts are nearing the end of what was contracted out four to five years ago. We're in a very good position to take advantage of that, and we look forward to winning one, two, or maybe even three more of these as they come online.
And that was not included in the Q2 backlog, correct?
Actually, it is, Adam. It is part of the $3.8 billion backlog.
Okay. Well, still $5 million of spend for $135 million backlog is a pretty good trade.
Excellent contract. And as Barry mentioned, it definitely is opening doors for additional ones. It's a lot less capital intensive, as you alluded, with the $5 million.
And then a quick update. Can you just give a quick update on IMC integration, how that's going? And how you think the margin profile of that business is going to trend over time?
The IMC integration is going really well. The beauty about IMC is they are very like-minded in how we operate in Canada. They are very good operators, which is what attracted us to them. They view equipment rebuilds in a very structured way and have been executing unit rate work for many years. As far as the margins go, they're not quite as high as what we would expect on the equipment rental side in the Queensland business because a lot of the work they do is unit rate work. However, there is opportunity to go higher because of the unit rate style contracts. The better we perform, the better the margin is.
And your next question is from Tim Monachello from ATB Cormark Capital Markets.
I'm just wondering if you can dig in a little bit more on the equipment optimization strategy in the oil sands. So you've identified 260 fleet assets. What are you doing with the remainder? And can you talk about some capital investments within that fleet? What type of investments need to be made there? And how do you expect that in terms of CapEx in '26 and '27 coming through?
On the fleet we've identified, and just to clarify, that's on multi-life assets — the large assets. That's the fleet we see vision for active work in the oil sands where we can take advantage of additional work coming out. As for the remainder, we're in no rush to dispose of assets. Some of those assets are smaller and were underutilized, but with the activity in the oil sands and opportunities we're seeing through Nuna, we expect to bring some of those units back because they are smaller and can be put to work. If someone offers the right price for assets we don't need, we'd consider that. There are also opportunities to move some units to Australia; we've already sent half a dozen units that way because it made good sense based on IMC's structure and rebuild philosophy. For capital spend required this year to get availability up above the 70% mechanical availability target, we're probably in the $50 million range for 2026 to get us where we need to be.
What has to happen with those assets? I was under the impression that they're all in pretty good working condition, so I'm a little surprised you have to invest more in those. Could you provide some context?
Because these are multi-life assets with 20-plus year lives, they come up when component change-outs are scheduled, and those are not small-dollar items. Some of these components are million-dollar items. It's a matter of being in the cycle where we need to replace components and ensure these machines are in tip-top shape. When we win work, we need to execute as planned, satisfy the client's needs and meet our margin targets.
More generally, in the oil sands, are you seeing an inflection in demand alongside higher crude prices?
Yes, absolutely. There's a lot of excitement in the oil sands. We're getting more offers every day asking if we can do various scopes. It's an exciting time. Over the last couple of years it's been a bit of a lull, but now it's full steam ahead with capital projects and volume to be moved. As haul distances lengthen, more trucks are required to move the same volume, which creates opportunity for us. We're extremely excited about the oil sands right now.
Okay. Fantastic. And then last one, in Australia, I understand it's a large and diverse market, but we did see a fairly meaningful decline in your stated bid pipeline quarter-over-quarter. Can you talk a bit about what's going on there?
There was one large project we missed on. We were shortlisted between us and the incumbent, and the owner chose the incumbent, likely because replacing the incumbent was too expensive at this time. They've already come back to us asking about the possibility of putting a fleet or two onto that site, so we still see opportunity there. We also missed one in IMC on the west side, but we have another one in our pipeline right now where we are shortlisted and believe we have a very good opportunity to win. The missed large opportunity reduces immediate capital intensity while still offering a chance to increase revenue and margins on that site.
Your next question is from Roman Pshenychnyi from National Bank of Canada.
Congrats on the very good quarter. I just had a quick question on the pro forma free cash flow profile. You've rightsized the fleet and bought a much less capital-intensive asset in IMC. Could you give some color on what the conversion looks like going forward?
Given IMC is about 15% of our business, the conversion target of 30% remains. That's where we think we can operate when the business is at a run rate and working capital is neutral. We've been there before and expect to be there this year. We don't think IMC will have a meaningful impact on that conversion target.
Do you see the 30% conversion holding for next year as well? I know it's hard to predict working capital, so just curious.
There's no reason why we can't. With our margin initiatives, we should hopefully be able to increase that ratio next year, but 30% is a good placeholder for modeling.
Your next question is from Sean Jack from Raymond James.
Just wanted to ask a quick question for Australia. With this increase in unit rate work from IMC, should we expect this type of contract to become more popular in the broader segment? Or is this isolated to IMC?
Unit rate work has been prevalent in Western Australia and is typical for the type of mine site civil scopes IMC performs. Much of IMC's work has been unit rate because their scopes are more detailed than simple load-haul-place. You'll also see it in remediation on mine sites. I would expect the status quo to remain; it's not something that will necessarily change dramatically across the broader segment.
Perfect. Next, regarding nation-building projects and increasing demand in Canada and the United States, you touched on a growing bid pipeline in Canada. Any additional commentary on levels of excitement or demand beyond what's already captured in your bid pipeline?
We've captured most of what excites us in the bid pipeline. I'm particularly excited about the opportunities in front of Nuna. Because of their positioning and the small wins they've picked up in the last three to six months, they are well placed for larger follow-on projects across Nunavut, Northern Quebec, Ontario and the Northwest Territories. We need those bigger projects to come to RFP so we have the chance to win them and then execute.
Your next question is from Chris Thompson from CIBC.
Just a couple of questions. On the salaries and wages quarter-over-quarter increase, could you provide a bit more color on what's behind that?
Primarily, that increase is related to IMC. They have a G&A function, and that is reflected in the salaries and wages and cost of sales mix.
I note the third-party rentals were meaningfully higher in Q2 in COGS along with salaries and wages. Is that a run rate we should expect going forward?
No. The third-party rentals tend to be temporary. Often we take on jobs quicker than we can mobilize our own fleet, so we use third-party rentals to start. As we bring our own fleet in, those costs decline and margins improve. You'll see margins improve as projects progress and our fleet replaces rentals.
Is that primarily an Australia-driven increase then?
Yes, primarily Australia.
And the capital spend in Australia on the growth side, does that include the IMC piece?
Yes. IMC was acquired on April 7 and came with the balance sheet as disclosed. Growth at that lithium mine came through our growth capital spending.
Regarding sustaining capital, you guided to $60 million to $70 million for 2026. H1 is already at $84 million, granted some growth activity. How should we expect that sustaining number to trend through the balance of the year?
We're still just a little north of $200 million. As Barry mentioned on the oil sands slide, given the inflection of demand and our strategy to run more efficiently in the oil sands with mechanical availability well north of 70%, that's why we're seeing the total move from a little under $200 million to above $200 million for the year. Australia is on track as agreed with those operating teams. The change is really a reflection of commitment to the oil sands and getting that operation running more efficiently.
There are no further questions at this time. I will now pass the call back over to Barry Palmer, President and CEO, for closing comments.
Thanks, Jenny, and thanks again, everyone, for joining us today. As always, we remain focused on disciplined execution and look forward to providing our next update with our third quarter results.
This now concludes the North American Construction Group conference call regarding the second quarter ended June 30, 2026. You may now disconnect your lines.