FOSTER L B CO — Call Transcript 2026

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the fourth quarter 2025 L.B. Foster Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during this session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Lisa Durante. Please go ahead, ma'am. Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to L.B. Foster's fourth quarter of 2025 earnings call. My name is Lisa Durante, the company's Director of Financial Reporting and Investor Relations. Our President and CEO, John Kasel, and our Chief Financial Officer, Bill Thalman, will be presenting our fourth quarter operating results, market outlook, and business developments this morning. We'll start the call with John providing his perspective on the company's fourth quarter and full year 2025 performance. Bill will then review the company's fourth quarter financial results. John will discuss perspectives on market developments and company outlook in his closing comments. We'll then open up the session for questions. Today's slide presentation, along with our earnings release and financial disclosures, were posted on our website this morning and can be accessed on our investor relations page at lbfoster.com. Our comments this morning will follow the slides in the earnings presentation. Some statements we are making are forward-looking and represent our current view of our markets and business today. These forward-looking statements reflect our opinions only as of the date of this presentation, and we undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revisions to these statements in light of new information, except as required by securities laws. For more detailed risks, uncertainties, and assumptions relating to our forward-looking statements, please see the disclosures in our earnings release and presentation. We will also discuss non-GAAP financial metrics and encourage you to carefully read our disclosures and reconciliation tables provided within today's earnings release and presentation as you consider these metrics. With that, let me turn the call over to John. Thanks, Lisa. Hello, everybody. Thank you for joining us today for our fourth quarter earnings call. I'll begin my comments on slide five, covering the highlights of the quarter. During last year's quarter's reporting cycle, we indicated that our increased backlog should deliver a strong fourth quarter, and I'm pleased to report we wrapped up 2025 with exceptional sales growth, robust profitability expansion, and strong cash generation. Truly a fantastic finish to the year. Net sales of $160.4 million were up 25.1% over last year. This was the highest fourth quarter sales since 2018. Both segments delivered significant sales growth in Q4, with rail up 23.7% and infrastructure up 27.3%. Gross profit was up 10.6%, while gross margins of 19.7 were down 260 basis points due to weaker rail margins, primarily related to our TS&S business in the U.K., coupled with greater volume of rail product sales. We delivered strong leverage of SG&A expenses, which were down $1.3 million or 5.2% from last year's quarter. The Q4 SG&A percentage of sales improved 470 basis points to 14.4%. Adjusted EBITDA of $13.7 million was up a remarkable $6.4 million or 89%, with the increased gross profit and lower SG&A expenses delivering the improvement versus last year. In line with our seasonal working capital cycle, we also delivered a strong quarter of cash generation, with operating cash totaling $22.2 million. Cash was deployed with capital expenditures at $2.4 million. Stock repurchases came in at $3.3 million and further reduction in net debt of $16.9 million to end the quarter's balance at $38.4 million. As a result of lower debt levels and improved profitability, our gross leverage ratio improved to 1.0x, down from 1.6x at the start of the quarter and 1.2x last year. I'll now turn to slide six to cover some of the key highlights of the 2025 full year results. Sales of $540 million were up 1.7%, with the full year growth achieved as a result of strong fourth quarter. Infrastructure delivered a strong year with sales up 14.9%. Rail sales were down 6.5% due to those related U.S. government funding impact at the start of 2025. We continued our proactive scale down measures with our business in the U.K. Adjusted EBITDA of $39.1 million was up $5.5 million over last year and substantially lower SG&A expenses, partially offset by slightly lower adjusted margins. Operating cash flow also improved in 2025, totaling $35.6 million and up $13 million over last year. We deployed this cash to fund $10.4 million in CapEx, reduce net debt $6.1 million, and fund $14.4 million in stock repurchases under our stock buyback program, which reduced our outstanding shares 5.4% in 2025. New orders net of $540.9 million were up 6.8% year-over-year, and overall backlog increased 1.8% to $189.3 million, with substantial improvements realized across our rail business. I'm very proud of what our team has accomplished in 2025, especially the strong finish in the fourth quarter. Their disciplined execution of strategic playbook continues to manifest in improving profitability and returns, and has positioned us well for expected growth in 2026 and beyond. I'll turn it over to Bill to cover the financial details for the quarter and year. I'll come back in the end with closing comments on our markets and outlook for 2026. Over to you, Bill. Thanks, John. Good morning, everyone. I'll begin my comments covering the fourth quarter highlights on slide eight. As always, the schedules in the appendix provide more information on our financial results, including the non-GAAP disclosure reconciliations. Fourth quarter net sales of $160.4 million increased 25.1% with higher organic volumes realized in both rail and infrastructure. While gross profit grew 10.6%, gross margins declined 260 basis points to 19.7% due to the weaker results in the U.K., coupled with unfavorable sales mix in the rail segment, partially offset by improvements realized in infrastructure. More to come on segment sales and margins in a minute. SG&A as a percentage of sales of 14.4% was down 470 basis points due to lower personnel and administrative costs despite the substantially higher sales volumes. I'll mention here that we completed a further restructuring of our U.K. rail business in the fourth quarter. The total restructuring charge in Q4 was $2.2 million, with $1 million recorded in gross margin and $1.2 million recorded in SG&A. We expect this program, which included staff reductions and two facility closures, to deliver approximately $1.5 million-$2 million in run-rate savings in 2026. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $13.7 million, up 89% versus last year due to the higher sales volumes and the resulting improved gross profit, coupled with the lower SG&A expenses. I'll cover cash flow performance along with segment orders and backlog later in the presentation. We like to remind everyone of the financial performance seasonality we typically see over the year reflected on slide nine. Our sales and profitability are typically strongest in the second and third quarters, with the first and fourth quarters a bit weaker. This is due to the construction season for our customers in the spring and summer months. The phasing was skewed a bit in 2025, with the abnormally soft Q1 start for the rail business related to the DOGE government funding impacts, with both segments having an exceptionally strong fourth quarter. Combined Q2 and Q3 sales and profitability as a percentage of the full year are slightly lower than what we would typically see with the strong performance in Q4. As we've seen over the last three years, free cash flow is strongest in the second half of the year as working capital needs unwind in line with the end of the construction season. I'll next cover segment details starting with rail on slide 10. Rail fourth quarter revenues totaling $98 million were up 23.7% over last year. The increase was driven by higher volumes in Friction Management and rail products, up 41.6% and 31.1% respectively. I'll note that the rail product sales in Q4 was the highest fourth quarter on record, and Friction Management was strong all year, delivering 19% growth for 2025. Partially offsetting were lower TS&S sales down 24.7% due to our downsizing actions in the U.K., coupled with softer demand in both the U.K. and North American markets. Rail margins of 17.8% were down 440 basis points, due primarily to lower sales volumes, higher costs, unfavorable sales mix, and the $1 million restructuring costs associated with our downsizing efforts in the U.K. Rail margins were also adversely impacted by the dilutive impact of higher rail product sales volumes. While rail orders were softer in the quarter, rail backlog was up 55.3% year-over-year, with substantial gains realized across all three business units. Turning to infrastructure solutions on slide 11, segment revenue increased $13.4 million, or 27.3%, with sales growth realized in both business units. Steel product sales were up 58.2%, led by a 206.5% improvement in Protective Coatings. Precast Concrete also continued its strong run, with sales up 18.7% for the quarter and 19.9% for the year. Infrastructure gross margins were up 20 basis points to 22.8%, with gains in steel products offsetting lower precast margins. Higher sales volumes and improved business mix drove steel product margins up, while Precast Concrete margins were weaker due to unfavorable sales mix, coupled with a $600,000 increase in startup costs related to our new facility in Florida. Finally, the lower infrastructure backlog reflects the $19 million Summit order cancellation reported back in Q3, as well as lower open orders for both bridge forms and Precast Concrete. We started last year with an elevated backlog for infrastructure, especially for Precast Concrete. This year reflects a normal level that we expect will increase in the coming months as we enter the construction season. I'll briefly cover the full year highlights on slide 12. As John mentioned, 2025 sales were up 1.7% with the strong Q4 results delivering sales growth for the full year. Infrastructure realized sales growth in every quarter in 2025, while rail achieved growth in the fourth quarter only due to the weaker start to 2025. 2025 adjusted EBITDA was $39.1 million, up $5.5 million compared to last year, driven by substantially lower SG&A expenses, partially offset by lower margins resulting from the weakness in rail. It should be highlighted that the 2025 results included approximately $2.2 million in startup costs related to our new precast facility in Florida. In addition, reported gross margins in SG&A reflect the costs and charges associated with the U.K. automated material handling product line exit announced in Q2 and the U.K. restructuring completed in Q4. Such costs totaled $1.4 million and $2.2 million, respectively. Finally, I'll mention here that the year-over-year decline in net income was driven primarily by last year's federal valuation allowance release, coupled with a relatively higher effective tax rate this year due to higher U.K. pre-tax losses not being tax effective. We expect our effective tax rate to be substantially lower in 2026, with an improved outlook for the U.K., which John will touch on in his closing remarks. I'll now cover our liquidity and leverage on slide 13. We've successfully managed our leverage and debt levels in line with our business profitability and capital allocation priorities. The chart on slide 13 reflects a consistent pattern of steady improvement over time. In 2025, we generated $35.6 million in operating cash flow and $25.2 million in free cash flow. Over the last three years, our average free cash flow was approximately $28 million, excluding the Union Pacific settlement payments, which were completed at the end of 2024. As a result, we've maintained significant financial flexibility while also executing our capital allocation priorities. Our capital-light business model, along with the modest cash tax requirements provided by our federal NOL, further enhances our cash generation and financial flexibility to fund our capital allocation priorities, which I'll now cover on slide 14. Managing our debt and leverage levels remains our top capital allocation priority, and we maintain a disciplined, prudent approach to capital allocation with leverage in mind. At the end of 2025, the gross leverage ratio for our revolving credit facility was just under 1x, a low point in recent years and at the low end of our target range of 1.0x-1.5x. Seasonal working capital needs are expected to elevate our debt and leverage somewhat in early 2026, but we should stay around our target range and realize improvements in the second half of the year in line with our normal cash cycles. Capital spending in 2025 totaled $10.4 million or 1.9% of sales. We have several targeted organic growth programs within our Precast Concrete business that we expect will increase the CapEx rate of sales to 2.7% in 2026. Share repurchases are an important capital allocation priority for us, and we have $28.7 million remaining to spend on our buybacks under the most recent authorization approved in February of 2025. We repurchased approximately 121,000 shares for $3.3 million in Q4, and we repurchased just over 1 million shares or approximately 9% of the shares outstanding at an average price of just under $23 per share since restarting the program back three years ago. Finally, we also continue to evaluate tuck-in acquisitions to add breadth to our growth platforms, primarily in the Precast Concrete market space. My closing comments will refer to slides 15 and 16, covering orders, revenues, and backlog trends by business. The trailing 12-month book-to-bill ratio at the end of Q4 was 1:1, improved from Q4 last year, but down from Q3 with the strong Q4 sales. Rail order rates have begun to recover with the TTM ratio at 1.11:1. I'll highlight that Friction Management orders were up 58.4% in Q4. Lower net orders in infrastructure drove the lower trailing 12-month ratio to 0.87:1. Summit order cancellation reported in Q3 was the primary driver of the decline. Lastly, the consolidated backlog reflected on slide 16 totaled $189.3 million. Up $3.4 million over last year, with substantial improvements across all rail businesses, partially offset by lower infrastructure backlog. The shifts in the backlog suggest a stronger start for our rail business in 2026 compared to last year, with infrastructure growth developing later in the year after the strong results achieved in 2025. John will cover some additional backlog details and developments in his closing remarks. I'll wrap up by saying we're very pleased with our financial performance in 2025 and excited about the prospects for further progress in 2026. Thanks for your time this morning. Back to you, John. Thanks, Bill. I'll begin my closing remarks on slide 18, reviewing developments in our key end markets. Starting with rail segment, we're seeing favorable trends in bidding activity that give us optimism that we will return to growth in 2026. The federal government programs that fund our customers' repair and maintenance projects are active and flowing, and we expect that this will provide a tailwind for demand for rail products in U.S. for the foreseeable future. Of course, we'll monitor developments in Washington and respond to any changes in funding should they occur. Turning to rail technologies, Friction Management had a phenomenal year in 2025, with 19% sales growth, noting that this growth was all organic, and we continue to invest our commercial technology capabilities for this important growth platform and expect continuing long-term growth aligned with our customers' focus on safety, fuel savings, and operating performance. The Total Track Monitoring product line was somewhat flat in 2025, but we're expecting improved demand in 2026, with the commercialization of some new technologies to improve rail safety and operating ratios. The U.K. market environment remains extremely challenging. We've taken significant actions in the last three years to reposition this business and expect it will lead to improved results in 2026. We also see some market trends worth mentioning for our infrastructure segment. Starting with civil construction, activity remains robust, particularly in the southern part of the U.S., which is bolstering demand for Precast Concrete products. Demand for our Envirokeeper water management solution is increasing, with some large projects wins already in our backlog. These improvements are partially offsetting softer demand for our CXT buildings in the short term. This product line had a record year in 2025. Bidding activity is starting to pick back up. The softer residential real estate market has impacted demand for our Envirocast wall system product line in our new Florida facility. We remain optimistic that a lower interest rate environment and a favorable population trends will improve demand in the future. Within steel, our Protective Coatings product line sales improved 42.7% in 2025, with the renewed interest in U.S. oil and gas production. We expect these favorable trends to continue into 2026 as well. A quick comment on tariffs. As in the case for most domestic markets, the impact of rising tariffs is being absorbed and managed by supply chain and commercial teams. I can confidently say that tariffs have had a minor impact on our business. In summary, we expect the start to 2026 to be stronger than last year. We believe we are well positioned to benefit from the infrastructure-based investment plans for years to come. Turning to slide 19, I'll wrap up today's call with an overview of our 2026 financial guidance. I'll start by highlighting the significant progress we have made since we launched our strategic transformation back in 2021. While last year's sales were up only 5% since 2021, adjusted EBITDA has more than doubled and free cash flow is up $30 million. The capital deployed in the business is also much lower, significantly improving financial results. Our 2026 guidance anticipates continuing sales growth, profitability expansion, and strong cash generation while investing in our growth platforms. Bill mentioned earlier that our backlog was approximately $189 million at year-end, up 1.8% versus last year. While the increase is modest, there are some important shifts in the backlog that should be highlighted in their support for our optimism in 2026. Starting with the rail backlog, which is up $34.5 million versus last year. The increase is driven in part by stronger North American demand for both rail products and Friction Management. Rail products backlog is up $10.6 million, while Friction Management is up $7.6 million. The balance of the increase was realized within our TS&S, with the U.K. business securing a $20 million multiple year order last year. The higher executable backlog for rail should translate into a better start for 2026 versus last year's weaker first half when the pause in federal funding curtailed rail customer project work. While infrastructure backlog is down $31.1 million, the majority of decline is due to the Summit order cancellation. In addition, the Precast Concrete backlog is down $5.4 million, with slightly lower CXT building backlog to start 2026 after a record year in 2025 for this product line. As a reminder, our precast business grew 19.9% in 2025. This impressive growth was all organic. I'm pleased to report that project pipelines are robust and bidding activity is picking up in both segments. During the first two months of 2026, overall backlog is up about 15% from year-end, with solid gains realized in both segments. Our 2026 guidance reflects 3.7% sales growth, with 11.3% growth in adjusted EBITDA, both at the midpoints of the range. Free cash flow is expected to remain robust at the midpoint of $20 million, with a slightly higher CapEx rate of 2.7% of sales as we invest in organic programs, primarily in Precast Concrete. In summary, our 2026 guidance reflects our expectation of another solid year in improvement in financial performance while investing for future growth along our strategic priorities. I'll close today's call by thanking our team for a fantastic 2025. It was a challenging year in many ways, but our team was resilient, and we finished the year strong. In fact, one of the best quarters we've seen in recent years. We're carrying that positive momentum into 2026. I'm coming up on my fifth year anniversary as CEO in July. I could not be more proud of what our team has achieved over those five years. I look forward to greater accomplishments in 2026 and beyond. Thank you for your time and continuing interest in L.B. Foster. I'll turn it back to the operator for the Q&A session now. Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. One moment for our first question. Our first question will come from the line of Liam Burke with B. Riley Securities. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thank you. Good morning, John. Good morning, Bill. Morning, Liam. John, you're it looks like with the orders in both Friction Management rail products that the that segment will look a little more normal than it did in 2025, based on the U.K. problems and DOGE opening the year. The only thing we're seeing is maybe track monitoring flat, but that's project-based. Is there anything else that would keep you from having a more normal year in rail products this year? No. Well, thanks, Liam, for joining us today. I think you hit it on the head. You know, we finished the year down about $189 million. The reason being we delivered. All the executable backlog, with our channel partners, you know, we had our billings were fantastic. The bookings really picked up here, as I mentioned, up 15% since the end of the year, with equal weighting, I would say, through our rail products and the infrastructure precast business. This is, as you mentioned, we're back to normal. We feel, in fact, we were closer back to normal in the fourth quarter last year, bidding activity and the need is there today. Our team feels very good about the start to the year and our ability to see that guidance, you know, the increased revenue that we're looking for in profitability. It's kind of refreshing to have that now compared to where we were just a year ago. Great. Thank you. On concrete, you have the order cancellation, you have normal quarter-to-quarter variability anyway. You touched on order activity being pretty solid in the first quarter. Do you anticipate better cadence for concrete as we get into the third and fourth quarter or second and third quarter this year? Yeah, same, you know, same. We're starting to pick up some nice backlog as well as on the entire infrastructure side and steel as well, which had a very strong back end of the year. We're starting to see the energy business, our specific facilities down in Texas as well as Birmingham starting to build a backlog. Precast is we were a little light coming into the year because of the building side, but, you know, we've pretty much shored that up in the first two months already. Again, our facilities are basically running at capacity right now, for at least the first half of the year. We'll see definitely pick up to the second half year, especially in areas like Florida, with our new facility to really come online. We'll be excited about that. Great. Thank you, John. Thanks, Liam. Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone. Our next question comes from the line of Julio Romero with Sidoti & Company. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thanks. Hey, good morning, John, Bill, Lisa. Maybe to start. Morning, Julio. Hey, good morning. Hey, maybe to start, on the 2026 guidance ranges that imply, you know, sales growth of about flattish to 7% on the sales line and then, EBITDA growth of 5%-18%, I believe. Can you just talk about what the puts and takes are, you know, that you think can get you to the high and the low end of those ranges? Yeah. Well, I think Liam hit it right there. It's about work and backlog and less disruptions. The need is, you know, we're an infrastructure company in the right market right now with the industrials. Our customers need our product. We're feeling, you know, much different about the start of the year than we were last year. Order book is strong and the bidding activity is good as we've seen it in recent years. We feel good about bringing the revenue in. Now we gotta really shore up some things. We had some, you know, as we mentioned, some things in the U.K. We've done now three years of really rightsizing that business to protect the company and protect the margins. We feel good with what's going on specifically here on the rail side. Our FM business, as I mentioned, when you look at our growth platforms here, Julio, you look at precast as well as rail, you know, both of them up respectively, you know, 20% in the fourth quarter. All the activity we talked about was all organic. It really bodes well for the capital that we're bringing into the company. You know, as I mentioned, that we took up the capital as a percent of sales a little higher this year, 2.7%, because we feel very, very good about the opportunities we have in front of us. The reality is we have to increase capital now to stay up with the need, specifically on the rail side and precast side. We're backfilling some of the work that we need to do on the coding side as well. You know, right now we're really focused on producing the backlog and executing well, coming into, you know, the first quarter and first half of the year. In much different position we were just one year ago today. Absolutely. Thank you for that answer. I was just hoping to go a little bit deeper into the cadence of the quarter-to-quarter rail revenues expected in 2026. Obviously difficult to foresee any DOGE-like events kind of driving delays for your customers. Yeah. -an event like that, you know, you mentioned you feel better about rail, right now than maybe this time one year ago. Just speak about, you know, the confidence of the quarter-to-quarter cadence. Yeah. on your rail top line. Well, remember we're a construction seasonal company too, right? You know, as far as rail, they really don't get in and do much as far as refurbishments until the weather improves heading into, you know, second and third quarter, right? Right now it's about bringing us orders and we're providing them the materials for them to get on track and do what they need to do to shore up things in the second, third quarter. We're looking at more of a typical bell curve, if you will, this year, with the highest revenues coming in Q2 and Q3, Julio. You know, unlike what we had to do this year, we'll, you know, make it all happen in the fourth quarter. We're gonna see a, you know, quite a bit more work and activity in sales happen in the first half of the year, specifically, you know, in Q2 and then continuing in Q3 compared to what we had just last year. When the customers come and the need is there, you know, we pivot, and we do very well executing. I think it's gonna be look like a much more normal year this year, on the rail side, including on the precast side. We feel very good about the performance we're having coming out of our concrete group. You know, we've done a good job of stabilizing our acquisition that we made back in 2023, we're starting to really move product to the East Coast. We had a record year in our Hillsboro facility. The plant manager there, Jason Busby, just done an outstanding job, you know, with record revenue coming out of that facility. We feel very, very good about what we see specifically with our growth platforms, and their ability to perform and do it more consistently this year than getting in the hole like we had last year and having to come out of it on the fourth quarter like we did, and we communicated to the market. I think the other thing that we're really focused on is our debt. You know, for us to be down to one time to really manage the working capital of debt you see here today, as well as the cash generation, we're very pleased with the really focus on, you know, bringing the cash back to the shareholders and getting our debt to something where we finish the year at 1.0x. We're very proud of all those activities. Absolutely, and fair point about the inherent seasonality of construction, you know, in your business. I guess I'm just asking because you had such a, you know, funky, for lack of a better word, sales cadence in 25 on the revenue line, you know, thinking about the year-over-year growth rates for rail in 26, I mean, is it fair to expect, you know, year-over-year sales growth in the, in the first half of 26? Would you expect the year-over-year growth rates to be more weighted, or you know, I guess just help us think about that given how? Yeah. The fact that the 2025 comps are so skewed. Yeah. Let me give you a little color, and then I'll Bill will give you a few specifics. Last year, remember DOGE, right? This time last year, the POs were curtailed, because basically much of what we see, especially on the rail product side, 55% of what we have flows through the government. There were just a number of projects that we're looking for, that didn't happen. We were basically in a waiting game. The need was still there, but the funds as well as the POs weren't flowing. It really put us behind the eight ball, if you will, for the first half of the year. We were able to make it up, for the most part in the second half year because we have very good supply chain partners, and our ability to flex our workforce and get the product out to customer. The good news is that demand and requirement has continued now from the fourth quarter in, into the first quarter of this year. That's where things are completely different. We're getting the POs, the bidding activity is there, and most importantly, the need is there. You know, we're in the maintenance and refurbishment part on the rail side, so the needs to the market are there, and the good news is we're there to deliver. Maybe Bill can give a little more color on the- Phasing. on the phasing. Bill? Yeah. Julio Romero, I guess the way I would look at it is if you just take, you know, what you would layer out as a run rate in terms of your outlook for rail. You know, if you convert that to a normal seasonality that we would typically see, you're probably gonna find that there's gonna be some growth in rail in Q1. Stronger growth in Q2 and Q3 just based on the normal seasonality. With extraordinarily strong Q4, you know, the growth would, you know, potentially not be as strong there or potentially, you know, not covering the extraordinarily strong Q4 that we had. On the infrastructure side, I'd say, as John mentioned, the backlog's improving, but we started the year with a little lighter backlog. I would say that it's still gonna be a solid year of growth, but that's probably gonna be more towards the second, third, and fourth quarters of the year as opposed to getting off to a strong start like we did last year. I think John mentioned our backlog was elevated at the beginning of the year with a strong buildings backlog. We executed against that in last year's Q1. Infrastructure may be a little lighter, but strong sales growth to start the year for rail. Super helpful. Thank you. Thank you, Bill and John for that. I guess just last one before I turn it over is just wanted to comment on, you know, you really did have really extraordinarily strong free cash flow in the fourth quarter. Mm-hmm. If you could just speak to the drivers of that and how much of a function of that is kind of the structural things you've done as an organization. Well, if you look in the last couple of years, we do that pretty frequently, how we manage the fourth quarter, right? Because of their working cycle needs. We have a big lift in working cycle related to raw materials coming in Q2, Q3 because of the seasonality, and that's our largest sales. We're bringing in materials. We do a good job of moving those materials out and then collecting on our bills in the fourth quarter. We got a really good team that makes those things come together and make those things happen. We did the same thing last year, you know, 1.2x, we finished the year and we finished this year. The last year being the year of 2024. Of course, we finished this year at 1.0x. We're good at it. We wanna make sure that we keep that focus. At the end of the day, it's also about making sure that we're delivering to our customer. Behind all this is, you know, it's good quality systems, on time deliveries, and make sure that we don't have customers that have reasons not to pay us. There's also a very good performing part of this that makes sure that when we ship something, it doesn't come back. We have delighted customers. Great. Thank you for all the color. I'll pass it on. Thanks, Julio. Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes on the line of Justin Bergner with GAMCO Investors. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Good morning. Hi, Justin. A lot's been covered, I just want to delve into some areas that maybe would be good to get some more clarity on. The Total Track Monitoring, could you provide some, you know, just discussion as to the puts and takes there, in the fourth quarter and looking forward? All right. You know, we mentioned it was somewhat flat last year related to the activity. That is true. We've been doing quite a bit of work behind the scenes and continue to work on technology innovation, which I mentioned in today's call. We have some things that are coming to the market to help shore up what that business is and keep bringing in next generation of product for condition monitoring to the marketplace. Our team was very active and we had a significant job that we were working on abroad last year, too. It took away a little bit of our time and attention to the North American market. We feel very good about where we're at today. We've built up that team. We have spent our available SG&A to bring the technical resources out here in the U.S., moving from the U.K. We're really set up well to deliver our Mark IV application. As we've been talking about this rockfall installation that we're seeing, pretty, well, significant excitement in the marketplace today. Last year was really getting ourselves shored up to make this happen and make sure we support it, make sure we had our operating centers ready to perform. We're looking for big things out of that group in 2026 and beyond. Got it. Secondly, the Protective Coatings business, I mean, should we expect double-digit type growth there in 2026? Yeah, I think we're gonna be right up to it. It's, you know, I think what's going on right now in the world related to energy and the need for more energy here in the U.S. is probably going to continue to put us in a better position as far as volume and activity for the balance of the year. Again, we've spent some money in those facilities. We brought in some new equipment to make us more efficient, to be able to produce more product. As those orders come in, we're gonna be ready to deliver in a big way that we haven't done in years past. Okay, great. Then lastly, the headwinds to EBITDA in the quarter, I mean, you mentioned the U.K. rail business, but I guess your adjusted EBITDA adds back a lot of the restructuring expenses. In light of that- Yeah. That's right. ... any clarity on sort of even after adding back those restructuring expenses, you know, what caused the fourth quarter to be a little bit light, versus your expectations? Yeah. First of all, as far as the U.K., I mean, this has been a three-year plan now, really getting ourselves aligned to the market needs over there because it's been changing, it's been dynamic. It was a big part of our growth initially, as it is, that market has changed, we've been pivoting and adapting our business to those needs. I think we've done a very good job of rightsizing the business, and the materials handling part of that was the last step that we've done, getting ourselves in position at end of year strong, much stronger over there than where we were just a year ago. Bill, maybe you could give a little additional color or would you? Yeah. would like as far as Q4, other inputs and takes. Yeah. Yeah. Justin, you know, as John mentioned, it's been three years of restructuring and downsizing effort there. What we're seeing coming through in the fourth quarter is basically what I would call us wrapping up those final steps of us of those downsizing efforts. The margin impacts were as a result of the lower sales volume. There was definitely manufacturing de-leveraging that occurred as a result of that, some higher costs that came through. We also had some longer-term legacy commercial contracts that we resolved within the quarter. That all in resulted in a headwind for margins in the U.K. in the fourth quarter. I guess what I'd like to highlight is we're seeing improvement on a run-rate basis moving into 2026 already, and we expect that to continue to improve as we go into the year. Got it. That's very helpful. If I could throw in one last one, just the, infrastructure backlog, you mentioned it was up from the end of the year. Is it up modestly or is it up material? I mean, you know, Yeah. Obviously, you're only one month away from the end of the quarter. I mean, should we expect to see- Yeah. a nice uptick in the backlog. Yeah. for infrastructure? We are up 15% since the end of the year. Gotcha. All right. So, uh. Thanks so much for taking me. Yeah. Thanks, Justin. Thanks for joining us today. Thank you. I'm showing no further questions, I would like to hand the conference back over to John Kasel for closing remarks. Thank you, Michelle, and thank you for joining us today. I'd like you to leave you with one thing that, you know, we mention sometimes, but I think is really, really important to the culture and fabric of our company. I mentioned that, you know, in July will be my fifth year as CEO of the company. One of the things that the leadership team here has really been focusing on is our culture. L.B. Foster is, it is, we're in our 124th year. That really says, you know, something about the company and a lot of people have worked here for, you know, their entire career. What really makes us tick is, you know, is our value system. First and foremost is our focus on the people and safety, our safety results. The last two years have been respectfully the best years we have had in the 124 years as far as safety performance, which, you know, it's not just the number, it's all the activity and the focus and the attention to our people, the process, putting money back in the facilities, the yards, and letting people know that they're important. When you have all those things come together, you're a more profitable company, and you're really providing the value to shareholders, and I think that's something that's sustainable. I'd like to recognize Ben McClellan. Ben started with the company just about 25 years ago. In October, he'll hit 25 years. Ben is the Director of Environmental Health and Safety. He's basically been in that role since he joined the company. Let's just say 25 years ago, L.B. Foster was not what it is today. We had, we were, you know, we did not have great safety performance. There was a lot of effort and a lot of activities to make that happen, but the reality is it took time, it took dedication, it took focus, it brought in new skill sets. Ben was always there, and he was always pulling the levers as well as, you know, keeping the pieces together. I'd just like to thank Ben for all your efforts, all your focus, all your drive, and really putting L.B. Foster at the forefront of being world-class. world-class in, you know, how we do things and to be an extension of our, not just the shareholders, but, you know, our customers as well. Thank you for your time today, and look forward to meeting or hooking up with you after we finish Q1 results. Take care. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

Speaker 7: Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the fourth quarter 2025 L.B. Foster Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during this session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Lisa Durante. Please go ahead, ma'am. Good day, and thank you for standing by. good day and thank you for standing by Welcome to the fourth quarter 2025 L.B. welcome to the fourth quarter 2025 l.b Foster Earnings Conference Call. foster earnings conference call At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. at this time all participants are in a listen-only mode After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. after the speaker's presentation there will be a question-and-answer session To ask a question during this session, you will need to press star one one on your telephone. to ask a question during this session you will need to press star one one on your telephone You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. you will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. to withdraw your question please press star one one again Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. please be advised that today's conference is being recorded I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Lisa Durante. i would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today lisa durante Please go ahead, ma'am. please go ahead ma'am

Speaker 6: Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to L.B. Foster's fourth quarter of 2025 earnings call. My name is Lisa Durante, the company's Director of Financial Reporting and Investor Relations. Our President and CEO, John Kasel, and our Chief Financial Officer, Bill Thalman, will be presenting our fourth quarter operating results, market outlook, and business developments this morning. We'll start the call with John providing his perspective on the company's fourth quarter and full year 2025 performance. Bill will then review the company's fourth quarter financial results. John will discuss perspectives on market developments and company outlook in his closing comments. We'll then open up the session for questions. Today's slide presentation, along with our earnings release and financial disclosures, were posted on our website this morning and can be accessed on our investor relations page at lbfoster.com. Thank you, operator. thank you operator Good morning, everyone, and welcome to L.B. good morning everyone and welcome to l.b Foster's fourth quarter of 2025 earnings call. foster's fourth quarter of 2025 earnings call My name is Lisa Durante, the company's Director of Financial Reporting and Investor Relations. my name is lisa durante the company's director of financial reporting and investor relations Our President and CEO, John Kasel, and our Chief Financial Officer, Bill Thalman, will be presenting our fourth quarter operating results, market outlook, and business developments this morning. our president and ceo john kasel and our chief financial officer bill thalman will be presenting our fourth quarter operating results market outlook and business developments this morning We'll start the call with John providing his perspective on the company's fourth quarter and full year 2025 performance. we'll start the call with john providing his perspective on the company's fourth quarter and full year 2025 performance Bill will then review the company's fourth quarter financial results. bill will then review the company's fourth quarter financial results John will discuss perspectives on market developments and company outlook in his closing comments. john will discuss perspectives on market developments and company outlook in his closing comments We'll then open up the session for questions. we'll then open up the session for questions Today's slide presentation, along with our earnings release and financial disclosures, were posted on our website this morning and can be accessed on our investor relations page at lbfoster.com. today's slide presentation along with our earnings release and financial disclosures were posted on our website this morning and can be accessed on our investor relations page at lbfoster.com Our comments this morning will follow the slides in the earnings presentation. Some statements we are making are forward-looking and represent our current view of our markets and business today. These forward-looking statements reflect our opinions only as of the date of this presentation, and we undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revisions to these statements in light of new information, except as required by securities laws. For more detailed risks, uncertainties, and assumptions relating to our forward-looking statements, please see the disclosures in our earnings release and presentation. We will also discuss non-GAAP financial metrics and encourage you to carefully read our disclosures and reconciliation tables provided within today's earnings release and presentation as you consider these metrics. With that, let me turn the call over to John. Our comments this morning will follow the slides in the earnings presentation. our comments this morning will follow the slides in the earnings presentation Some statements we are making are forward-looking and represent our current view of our markets and business today. some statements we are making are forward-looking and represent our current view of our markets and business today These forward-looking statements reflect our opinions only as of the date of this presentation, and we undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revisions to these statements in light of new information, except as required by securities laws. these forward-looking statements reflect our opinions only as of the date of this presentation and we undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revisions to these statements in light of new information except as required by securities laws For more detailed risks, uncertainties, and assumptions relating to our forward-looking statements, please see the disclosures in our earnings release and presentation. for more detailed risks uncertainties and assumptions relating to our forward-looking statements please see the disclosures in our earnings release and presentation We will also discuss non-GAAP financial metrics and encourage you to carefully read our disclosures and reconciliation tables provided within today's earnings release and presentation as you consider these metrics. we will also discuss non-gaap financial metrics and encourage you to carefully read our disclosures and reconciliation tables provided within today's earnings release and presentation as you consider these metrics With that, let me turn the call over to John. with that let me turn the call over to john

Speaker 2: Thanks, Lisa. Hello, everybody. Thank you for joining us today for our fourth quarter earnings call. I'll begin my comments on slide five, covering the highlights of the quarter. During last year's quarter's reporting cycle, we indicated that our increased backlog should deliver a strong fourth quarter, and I'm pleased to report we wrapped up 2025 with exceptional sales growth, robust profitability expansion, and strong cash generation. Truly a fantastic finish to the year. Net sales of $160.4 million were up 25.1% over last year. This was the highest fourth quarter sales since 2018. Both segments delivered significant sales growth in Q4, with rail up 23.7% and infrastructure up 27.3%. Thanks, Lisa. thanks lisa Hello, everybody. hello everybody Thank you for joining us today for our fourth quarter earnings call. thank you for joining us today for our fourth quarter earnings call I'll begin my comments on slide five, covering the highlights of the quarter. i'll begin my comments on slide five covering the highlights of the quarter During last year's quarter's reporting cycle, we indicated that our increased backlog should deliver a strong fourth quarter, and I'm pleased to report we wrapped up 2025 with exceptional sales growth, robust profitability expansion, and strong cash generation. during last year's quarter's reporting cycle we indicated that our increased backlog should deliver a strong fourth quarter and i'm pleased to report we wrapped up 2025 with exceptional sales growth robust profitability expansion and strong cash generation Truly a fantastic finish to the year. truly a fantastic finish to the year Net sales of $160.4 million were up 25.1% over last year. net sales of $160.4 million were up 25.1% over last year This was the highest fourth quarter sales since 2018. this was the highest fourth quarter sales since 2018 Both segments delivered significant sales growth in Q4, with rail up 23.7% and infrastructure up 27.3%. both segments delivered significant sales growth in q4 with rail up 23.7% and infrastructure up 27.3% Gross profit was up 10.6%, while gross margins of 19.7 were down 260 basis points due to weaker rail margins, primarily related to our TS&S business in the U.K., coupled with greater volume of rail product sales. We delivered strong leverage of SG&A expenses, which were down $1.3 million or 5.2% from last year's quarter. The Q4 SG&A percentage of sales improved 470 basis points to 14.4%. Adjusted EBITDA of $13.7 million was up a remarkable $6.4 million or 89%, with the increased gross profit and lower SG&A expenses delivering the improvement versus last year. In line with our seasonal working capital cycle, we also delivered a strong quarter of cash generation, with operating cash totaling $22.2 million. Gross profit was up 10.6%, while gross margins of 19.7 were down 260 basis points due to weaker rail margins, primarily related to our TS&S business in the U.K., coupled with greater volume of rail product sales. gross profit was up 10.6% while gross margins of 19.7 were down 260 basis points due to weaker rail margins primarily related to our ts&s business in the u.k coupled with greater volume of rail product sales We delivered strong leverage of SG&A expenses, which were down $1.3 million or 5.2% from last year's quarter. we delivered strong leverage of sg&a expenses which were down $1.3 million or 5.2% from last year's quarter The Q4 SG&A percentage of sales improved 470 basis points to 14.4%. the q4 sg&a percentage of sales improved 470 basis points to 14.4% Adjusted EBITDA of $13.7 million was up a remarkable $6.4 million or 89%, with the increased gross profit and lower SG&A expenses delivering the improvement versus last year. adjusted ebitda of $13.7 million was up a remarkable $6.4 million or 89% with the increased gross profit and lower sg&a expenses delivering the improvement versus last year In line with our seasonal working capital cycle, we also delivered a strong quarter of cash generation, with operating cash totaling $22.2 million. in line with our seasonal working capital cycle we also delivered a strong quarter of cash generation with operating cash totaling $22.2 million Cash was deployed with capital expenditures at $2.4 million. Stock repurchases came in at $3.3 million and further reduction in net debt of $16.9 million to end the quarter's balance at $38.4 million. As a result of lower debt levels and improved profitability, our gross leverage ratio improved to 1.0x, down from 1.6x at the start of the quarter and 1.2x last year. I'll now turn to slide six to cover some of the key highlights of the 2025 full year results. Sales of $540 million were up 1.7%, with the full year growth achieved as a result of strong fourth quarter. Infrastructure delivered a strong year with sales up 14.9%. Cash was deployed with capital expenditures at $2.4 million. cash was deployed with capital expenditures at $2.4 million Stock repurchases came in at $3.3 million and further reduction in net debt of $16.9 million to end the quarter's balance at $38.4 million. stock repurchases came in at $3.3 million and further reduction in net debt of $16.9 million to end the quarter's balance at $38.4 million As a result of lower debt levels and improved profitability, our gross leverage ratio improved to 1.0x , down from 1.6x at the start of the quarter and 1.2x last year. as a result of lower debt levels and improved profitability our gross leverage ratio improved to 1.0x down from 1.6x at the start of the quarter and 1.2x last year I'll now turn to slide six to cover some of the key highlights of the 2025 full year results. i'll now turn to slide six to cover some of the key highlights of the 2025 full year results Sales of $540 million were up 1.7%, with the full year growth achieved as a result of strong fourth quarter. sales of $540 million were up 1.7% with the full year growth achieved as a result of strong fourth quarter Infrastructure delivered a strong year with sales up 14.9%. infrastructure delivered a strong year with sales up 14.9% Rail sales were down 6.5% due to those related U.S. government funding impact at the start of 2025. We continued our proactive scale down measures with our business in the U.K. Adjusted EBITDA of $39.1 million was up $5.5 million over last year and substantially lower SG&A expenses, partially offset by slightly lower adjusted margins. Operating cash flow also improved in 2025, totaling $35.6 million and up $13 million over last year. We deployed this cash to fund $10.4 million in CapEx, reduce net debt $6.1 million, and fund $14.4 million in stock repurchases under our stock buyback program, which reduced our outstanding shares 5.4% in 2025. Rail sales were down 6.5% due to those related U.S. government funding impact at the start of 2025. rail sales were down 6.5% due to those related u.s government funding impact at the start of 2025 We continued our proactive scale down measures with our business in the U.K. we continued our proactive scale down measures with our business in the u.k Adjusted EBITDA of $39.1 million was up $5.5 million over last year and substantially lower SG&A expenses, partially offset by slightly lower adjusted margins. adjusted ebitda of $39.1 million was up $5.5 million over last year and substantially lower sg&a expenses partially offset by slightly lower adjusted margins Operating cash flow also improved in 2025, totaling $35.6 million and up $13 million over last year. operating cash flow also improved in 2025 totaling $35.6 million and up $13 million over last year We deployed this cash to fund $10.4 million in CapEx, reduce net debt $6.1 million, and fund $14.4 million in stock repurchases under our stock buyback program, which reduced our outstanding shares 5.4% in 2025. we deployed this cash to fund $10.4 million in capex reduce net debt $6.1 million and fund $14.4 million in stock repurchases under our stock buyback program which reduced our outstanding shares 5.4% in 2025 New orders net of $540.9 million were up 6.8% year-over-year, and overall backlog increased 1.8% to $189.3 million, with substantial improvements realized across our rail business. I'm very proud of what our team has accomplished in 2025, especially the strong finish in the fourth quarter. Their disciplined execution of strategic playbook continues to manifest in improving profitability and returns, and has positioned us well for expected growth in 2026 and beyond. I'll turn it over to Bill to cover the financial details for the quarter and year. I'll come back in the end with closing comments on our markets and outlook for 2026. Over to you, Bill. New orders net of $540.9 million were up 6.8% year-over-year, and overall backlog increased 1.8% to $189.3 million, with substantial improvements realized across our rail business. new orders net of $540.9 million were up 6.8% year-over-year and overall backlog increased 1.8% to $189.3 million with substantial improvements realized across our rail business I'm very proud of what our team has accomplished in 2025, especially the strong finish in the fourth quarter. i'm very proud of what our team has accomplished in 2025 especially the strong finish in the fourth quarter Their disciplined execution of strategic playbook continues to manifest in improving profitability and returns, and has positioned us well for expected growth in 2026 and beyond. their disciplined execution of strategic playbook continues to manifest in improving profitability and returns and has positioned us well for expected growth in 2026 and beyond I'll turn it over to Bill to cover the financial details for the quarter and year. i'll turn it over to bill to cover the financial details for the quarter and year I'll come back in the end with closing comments on our markets and outlook for 2026. i'll come back in the end with closing comments on our markets and outlook for 2026 Over to you, Bill. over to you bill

Speaker 1: Thanks, John. Good morning, everyone. I'll begin my comments covering the fourth quarter highlights on slide eight. As always, the schedules in the appendix provide more information on our financial results, including the non-GAAP disclosure reconciliations. Fourth quarter net sales of $160.4 million increased 25.1% with higher organic volumes realized in both rail and infrastructure. While gross profit grew 10.6%, gross margins declined 260 basis points to 19.7% due to the weaker results in the U.K., coupled with unfavorable sales mix in the rail segment, partially offset by improvements realized in infrastructure. More to come on segment sales and margins in a minute. Thanks, John. thanks john Good morning, everyone. good morning everyone I'll begin my comments covering the fourth quarter highlights on slide eight. i'll begin my comments covering the fourth quarter highlights on slide eight As always, the schedules in the appendix provide more information on our financial results, including the non-GAAP disclosure reconciliations. as always the schedules in the appendix provide more information on our financial results including the non-gaap disclosure reconciliations Fourth quarter net sales of $160.4 million increased 25.1% with higher organic volumes realized in both rail and infrastructure. fourth quarter net sales of $160.4 million increased 25.1% with higher organic volumes realized in both rail and infrastructure While gross profit grew 10.6%, gross margins declined 260 basis points to 19.7% due to the weaker results in the U.K., coupled with unfavorable sales mix in the rail segment, partially offset by improvements realized in infrastructure. while gross profit grew 10.6% gross margins declined 260 basis points to 19.7% due to the weaker results in the u.k coupled with unfavorable sales mix in the rail segment partially offset by improvements realized in infrastructure More to come on segment sales and margins in a minute. more to come on segment sales and margins in a minute SG&A as a percentage of sales of 14.4% was down 470 basis points due to lower personnel and administrative costs despite the substantially higher sales volumes. I'll mention here that we completed a further restructuring of our U.K. rail business in the fourth quarter. The total restructuring charge in Q4 was $2.2 million, with $1 million recorded in gross margin and $1.2 million recorded in SG&A. We expect this program, which included staff reductions and two facility closures, to deliver approximately $1.5 million-$2 million in run-rate savings in 2026. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $13.7 million, up 89% versus last year due to the higher sales volumes and the resulting improved gross profit, coupled with the lower SG&A expenses. SG&A as a percentage of sales of 14.4% was down 470 basis points due to lower personnel and administrative costs despite the substantially higher sales volumes. sg&a as a percentage of sales of 14.4% was down 470 basis points due to lower personnel and administrative costs despite the substantially higher sales volumes I'll mention here that we completed a further restructuring of our U.K. rail business in the fourth quarter. i'll mention here that we completed a further restructuring of our u.k rail business in the fourth quarter The total restructuring charge in Q4 was $2.2 million, with $1 million recorded in gross margin and $1.2 million recorded in SG&A. the total restructuring charge in q4 was $2.2 million with $1 million recorded in gross margin and $1.2 million recorded in sg&a We expect this program, which included staff reductions and two facility closures, to deliver approximately $1.5 million-$2 million in run- rate savings in 2026. we expect this program which included staff reductions and two facility closures to deliver approximately $1.5 million-$2 million in run- rate savings in 2026 Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $13.7 million, up 89% versus last year due to the higher sales volumes and the resulting improved gross profit, coupled with the lower SG&A expenses. adjusted ebitda for the quarter was $13.7 million up 89% versus last year due to the higher sales volumes and the resulting improved gross profit coupled with the lower sg&a expenses I'll cover cash flow performance along with segment orders and backlog later in the presentation. We like to remind everyone of the financial performance seasonality we typically see over the year reflected on slide nine. Our sales and profitability are typically strongest in the second and third quarters, with the first and fourth quarters a bit weaker. This is due to the construction season for our customers in the spring and summer months. The phasing was skewed a bit in 2025, with the abnormally soft Q1 start for the rail business related to the DOGE government funding impacts, with both segments having an exceptionally strong fourth quarter. Combined Q2 and Q3 sales and profitability as a percentage of the full year are slightly lower than what we would typically see with the strong performance in Q4. I'll cover cash flow performance along with segment orders and backlog later in the presentation. i'll cover cash flow performance along with segment orders and backlog later in the presentation We like to remind everyone of the financial performance seasonality we typically see over the year reflected on slide nine. we like to remind everyone of the financial performance seasonality we typically see over the year reflected on slide nine Our sales and profitability are typically strongest in the second and third quarters, with the first and fourth quarters a bit weaker. our sales and profitability are typically strongest in the second and third quarters with the first and fourth quarters a bit weaker This is due to the construction season for our customers in the spring and summer months. this is due to the construction season for our customers in the spring and summer months The phasing was skewed a bit in 2025, with the abnormally soft Q1 start for the rail business related to the DOGE government funding impacts, with both segments having an exceptionally strong fourth quarter. the phasing was skewed a bit in 2025 with the abnormally soft q1 start for the rail business related to the doge government funding impacts with both segments having an exceptionally strong fourth quarter Combined Q2 and Q3 sales and profitability as a percentage of the full year are slightly lower than what we would typically see with the strong performance in Q4. combined q2 and q3 sales and profitability as a percentage of the full year are slightly lower than what we would typically see with the strong performance in q4 As we've seen over the last three years, free cash flow is strongest in the second half of the year as working capital needs unwind in line with the end of the construction season. I'll next cover segment details starting with rail on slide 10. Rail fourth quarter revenues totaling $98 million were up 23.7% over last year. The increase was driven by higher volumes in Friction Management and rail products, up 41.6% and 31.1% respectively. I'll note that the rail product sales in Q4 was the highest fourth quarter on record, and Friction Management was strong all year, delivering 19% growth for 2025. Partially offsetting were lower TS&S sales down 24.7% due to our downsizing actions in the U.K., coupled with softer demand in both the U.K. and North American markets. As we've seen over the last three years, free cash flow is strongest in the second half of the year as working capital needs unwind in line with the end of the construction season. as we've seen over the last three years free cash flow is strongest in the second half of the year as working capital needs unwind in line with the end of the construction season I'll next cover segment details starting with rail on slide 10. i'll next cover segment details starting with rail on slide 10 Rail fourth quarter revenues totaling $98 million were up 23.7% over last year. rail fourth quarter revenues totaling $98 million were up 23.7% over last year The increase was driven by higher volumes in Friction Management and rail products, up 41.6% and 31.1% respectively. the increase was driven by higher volumes in friction management and rail products up 41.6% and 31.1% respectively I'll note that the rail product sales in Q4 was the highest fourth quarter on record, and Friction Management was strong all year, delivering 19% growth for 2025. i'll note that the rail product sales in q4 was the highest fourth quarter on record and friction management was strong all year delivering 19% growth for 2025 Partially offsetting were lower TS&S sales down 24.7% due to our downsizing actions in the U.K., coupled with softer demand in both the U.K. and North American markets. partially offsetting were lower ts&s sales down 24.7% due to our downsizing actions in the u.k coupled with softer demand in both the u.k and north american markets Rail margins of 17.8% were down 440 basis points, due primarily to lower sales volumes, higher costs, unfavorable sales mix, and the $1 million restructuring costs associated with our downsizing efforts in the U.K. Rail margins were also adversely impacted by the dilutive impact of higher rail product sales volumes. While rail orders were softer in the quarter, rail backlog was up 55.3% year-over-year, with substantial gains realized across all three business units. Turning to infrastructure solutions on slide 11, segment revenue increased $13.4 million, or 27.3%, with sales growth realized in both business units. Steel product sales were up 58.2%, led by a 206.5% improvement in Protective Coatings. Rail margins of 17.8% were down 440 basis points, due primarily to lower sales volumes, higher costs, unfavorable sales mix, and the $1 million restructuring costs associated with our downsizing efforts in the U.K. rail margins of 17.8% were down 440 basis points due primarily to lower sales volumes higher costs unfavorable sales mix and the $1 million restructuring costs associated with our downsizing efforts in the u.k Rail margins were also adversely impacted by the dilutive impact of higher rail product sales volumes. rail margins were also adversely impacted by the dilutive impact of higher rail product sales volumes While rail orders were softer in the quarter, rail backlog was up 55.3% year-over-year, with substantial gains realized across all three business units. while rail orders were softer in the quarter rail backlog was up 55.3% year-over-year with substantial gains realized across all three business units Turning to infrastructure solutions on slide 11, segment revenue increased $13.4 million, or 27.3%, with sales growth realized in both business units. turning to infrastructure solutions on slide 11 segment revenue increased $13.4 million or 27.3% with sales growth realized in both business units Steel product sales were up 58.2%, led by a 206.5% improvement in Protective Coatings. steel product sales were up 58.2% led by a 206.5% improvement in protective coatings Precast Concrete also continued its strong run, with sales up 18.7% for the quarter and 19.9% for the year. Infrastructure gross margins were up 20 basis points to 22.8%, with gains in steel products offsetting lower precast margins. Higher sales volumes and improved business mix drove steel product margins up, while Precast Concrete margins were weaker due to unfavorable sales mix, coupled with a $600,000 increase in startup costs related to our new facility in Florida. Finally, the lower infrastructure backlog reflects the $19 million Summit order cancellation reported back in Q3, as well as lower open orders for both bridge forms and Precast Concrete. We started last year with an elevated backlog for infrastructure, especially for Precast Concrete. Precast Concrete also continued its strong run, with sales up 18.7% for the quarter and 19.9% for the year. precast concrete also continued its strong run with sales up 18.7% for the quarter and 19.9% for the year Infrastructure gross margins were up 20 basis points to 22.8%, with gains in steel products offsetting lower precast margins. infrastructure gross margins were up 20 basis points to 22.8% with gains in steel products offsetting lower precast margins Higher sales volumes and improved business mix drove steel product margins up, while Precast Concrete margins were weaker due to unfavorable sales mix, coupled with a $600,000 increase in startup costs related to our new facility in Florida. higher sales volumes and improved business mix drove steel product margins up while precast concrete margins were weaker due to unfavorable sales mix coupled with a $600,000 increase in startup costs related to our new facility in florida Finally, the lower infrastructure backlog reflects the $19 million Summit order cancellation reported back in Q3, as well as lower open orders for both bridge forms and Precast Concrete. We started last year with an elevated backlog for infrastructure, especially for Precast Concrete. finally the lower infrastructure backlog reflects the $19 million summit order cancellation reported back in q3 as well as lower open orders for both bridge forms and precast concrete. we started last year with an elevated backlog for infrastructure especially for precast concrete This year reflects a normal level that we expect will increase in the coming months as we enter the construction season. I'll briefly cover the full year highlights on slide 12. As John mentioned, 2025 sales were up 1.7% with the strong Q4 results delivering sales growth for the full year. Infrastructure realized sales growth in every quarter in 2025, while rail achieved growth in the fourth quarter only due to the weaker start to 2025. 2025 adjusted EBITDA was $39.1 million, up $5.5 million compared to last year, driven by substantially lower SG&A expenses, partially offset by lower margins resulting from the weakness in rail. It should be highlighted that the 2025 results included approximately $2.2 million in startup costs related to our new precast facility in Florida. This year reflects a normal level that we expect will increase in the coming months as we enter the construction season. this year reflects a normal level that we expect will increase in the coming months as we enter the construction season I'll briefly cover the full year highlights on slide 12. i'll briefly cover the full year highlights on slide 12 As John mentioned, 2025 sales were up 1.7% with the strong Q4 results delivering sales growth for the full year. as john mentioned 2025 sales were up 1.7% with the strong q4 results delivering sales growth for the full year Infrastructure realized sales growth in every quarter in 2025, while rail achieved growth in the fourth quarter only due to the weaker start to 2025. 2025 adjusted EBITDA was $39.1 million, up $5.5 million compared to last year, driven by substantially lower SG&A expenses, partially offset by lower margins resulting from the weakness in rail. infrastructure realized sales growth in every quarter in 2025 while rail achieved growth in the fourth quarter only due to the weaker start to 2025 2025 adjusted ebitda was $39.1 million up $5.5 million compared to last year driven by substantially lower sg&a expenses partially offset by lower margins resulting from the weakness in rail It should be highlighted that the 2025 results included approximately $2.2 million in startup costs related to our new precast facility in Florida. it should be highlighted that the 2025 results included approximately $2.2 million in startup costs related to our new precast facility in florida In addition, reported gross margins in SG&A reflect the costs and charges associated with the U.K. automated material handling product line exit announced in Q2 and the U.K. restructuring completed in Q4. Such costs totaled $1.4 million and $2.2 million, respectively. Finally, I'll mention here that the year-over-year decline in net income was driven primarily by last year's federal valuation allowance release, coupled with a relatively higher effective tax rate this year due to higher U.K. pre-tax losses not being tax effective. We expect our effective tax rate to be substantially lower in 2026, with an improved outlook for the U.K., which John will touch on in his closing remarks. I'll now cover our liquidity and leverage on slide 13. We've successfully managed our leverage and debt levels in line with our business profitability and capital allocation priorities. In addition, reported gross margins in SG&A reflect the costs and charges associated with the U.K. automated material handling product line exit announced in Q2 and the U.K. restructuring completed in Q4. in addition reported gross margins in sg&a reflect the costs and charges associated with the u.k automated material handling product line exit announced in q2 and the u.k restructuring completed in q4 Such costs totaled $1.4 million and $2.2 million, respectively. such costs totaled $1.4 million and $2.2 million respectively Finally, I'll mention here that the year-over-year decline in net income was driven primarily by last year's federal valuation allowance release, coupled with a relatively higher effective tax rate this year due to higher U.K. pre-tax losses not being tax effective. finally i'll mention here that the year-over-year decline in net income was driven primarily by last year's federal valuation allowance release coupled with a relatively higher effective tax rate this year due to higher u.k pre-tax losses not being tax effective We expect our effective tax rate to be substantially lower in 2026, with an improved outlook for the U.K., which John will touch on in his closing remarks. we expect our effective tax rate to be substantially lower in 2026 with an improved outlook for the u.k which john will touch on in his closing remarks I'll now cover our liquidity and leverage on slide 13. i'll now cover our liquidity and leverage on slide 13 We've successfully managed our leverage and debt levels in line with our business profitability and capital allocation priorities. we've successfully managed our leverage and debt levels in line with our business profitability and capital allocation priorities The chart on slide 13 reflects a consistent pattern of steady improvement over time. In 2025, we generated $35.6 million in operating cash flow and $25.2 million in free cash flow. Over the last three years, our average free cash flow was approximately $28 million, excluding the Union Pacific settlement payments, which were completed at the end of 2024. As a result, we've maintained significant financial flexibility while also executing our capital allocation priorities. Our capital-light business model, along with the modest cash tax requirements provided by our federal NOL, further enhances our cash generation and financial flexibility to fund our capital allocation priorities, which I'll now cover on slide 14. Managing our debt and leverage levels remains our top capital allocation priority, and we maintain a disciplined, prudent approach to capital allocation with leverage in mind. The chart on slide 13 reflects a consistent pattern of steady improvement over time. the chart on slide 13 reflects a consistent pattern of steady improvement over time In 2025, we generated $35.6 million in operating cash flow and $25.2 million in free cash flow. in 2025 we generated $35.6 million in operating cash flow and $25.2 million in free cash flow Over the last three years, our average free cash flow was approximately $28 million, excluding the Union Pacific settlement payments, which were completed at the end of 2024. over the last three years our average free cash flow was approximately $28 million excluding the union pacific settlement payments which were completed at the end of 2024 As a result, we've maintained significant financial flexibility while also executing our capital allocation priorities. as a result we've maintained significant financial flexibility while also executing our capital allocation priorities Our capital-light business model, along with the modest cash tax requirements provided by our federal NOL, further enhances our cash generation and financial flexibility to fund our capital allocation priorities, which I'll now cover on slide 14. our capital-light business model along with the modest cash tax requirements provided by our federal nol further enhances our cash generation and financial flexibility to fund our capital allocation priorities which i'll now cover on slide 14 Managing our debt and leverage levels remains our top capital allocation priority, and we maintain a disciplined, prudent approach to capital allocation with leverage in mind. managing our debt and leverage levels remains our top capital allocation priority and we maintain a disciplined prudent approach to capital allocation with leverage in mind At the end of 2025, the gross leverage ratio for our revolving credit facility was just under 1x, a low point in recent years and at the low end of our target range of 1.0x-1.5x. Seasonal working capital needs are expected to elevate our debt and leverage somewhat in early 2026, but we should stay around our target range and realize improvements in the second half of the year in line with our normal cash cycles. Capital spending in 2025 totaled $10.4 million or 1.9% of sales. We have several targeted organic growth programs within our Precast Concrete business that we expect will increase the CapEx rate of sales to 2.7% in 2026. At the end of 2025, the gross leverage ratio for our revolving credit facility was just under 1x, a low point in recent years and at the low end of our target range of 1.0x-1.5x. at the end of 2025 the gross leverage ratio for our revolving credit facility was just under 1x a low point in recent years and at the low end of our target range of 1.0x-1.5x Seasonal working capital needs are expected to elevate our debt and leverage somewhat in early 2026, but we should stay around our target range and realize improvements in the second half of the year in line with our normal cash cycles. seasonal working capital needs are expected to elevate our debt and leverage somewhat in early 2026 but we should stay around our target range and realize improvements in the second half of the year in line with our normal cash cycles Capital spending in 2025 totaled $10.4 million or 1.9% of sales. capital spending in 2025 totaled $10.4 million or 1.9% of sales We have several targeted organic growth programs within our Precast Concrete business that we expect will increase the CapEx rate of sales to 2.7% in 2026. we have several targeted organic growth programs within our precast concrete business that we expect will increase the capex rate of sales to 2.7% in 2026 Share repurchases are an important capital allocation priority for us, and we have $28.7 million remaining to spend on our buybacks under the most recent authorization approved in February of 2025. We repurchased approximately 121,000 shares for $3.3 million in Q4, and we repurchased just over 1 million shares or approximately 9% of the shares outstanding at an average price of just under $23 per share since restarting the program back three years ago. Finally, we also continue to evaluate tuck-in acquisitions to add breadth to our growth platforms, primarily in the Precast Concrete market space. My closing comments will refer to slides 15 and 16, covering orders, revenues, and backlog trends by business. Share repurchases are an important capital allocation priority for us, and we have $28.7 million remaining to spend on our buybacks under the most recent authorization approved in February of 2025. share repurchases are an important capital allocation priority for us and we have $28.7 million remaining to spend on our buybacks under the most recent authorization approved in february of 2025 We repurchased approximately 121,000 shares for $3.3 million in Q4, and we repurchased just over 1 million shares or approximately 9% of the shares outstanding at an average price of just under $23 per share since restarting the program back three years ago. we repurchased approximately 121,000 shares for $3.3 million in q4 and we repurchased just over 1 million shares or approximately 9% of the shares outstanding at an average price of just under $23 per share since restarting the program back three years ago Finally, we also continue to evaluate tuck-in acquisitions to add breadth to our growth platforms, primarily in the Precast Concrete market space. finally we also continue to evaluate tuck-in acquisitions to add breadth to our growth platforms primarily in the precast concrete market space My closing comments will refer to slides 15 and 16, covering orders, revenues, and backlog trends by business. my closing comments will refer to slides 15 and 16 covering orders revenues and backlog trends by business The trailing 12-month book-to-bill ratio at the end of Q4 was 1:1, improved from Q4 last year, but down from Q3 with the strong Q4 sales. Rail order rates have begun to recover with the TTM ratio at 1.11:1. I'll highlight that Friction Management orders were up 58.4% in Q4. Lower net orders in infrastructure drove the lower trailing 12-month ratio to 0.87:1. Summit order cancellation reported in Q3 was the primary driver of the decline. Lastly, the consolidated backlog reflected on slide 16 totaled $189.3 million. Up $3.4 million over last year, with substantial improvements across all rail businesses, partially offset by lower infrastructure backlog. The trailing 12-month book-to-bill ratio at the end of Q4 was 1:1, improved from Q4 last year, but down from Q3 with the strong Q4 sales. the trailing 12-month book-to-bill ratio at the end of q4 was 1:1 improved from q4 last year but down from q3 with the strong q4 sales Rail order rates have begun to recover with the TTM ratio at 1.11: 1. rail order rates have begun to recover with the ttm ratio at 1.11 1 I'll highlight that Friction Management orders were up 58.4% in Q4. i'll highlight that friction management orders were up 58.4% in q4 Lower net orders in infrastructure drove the lower trailing 12-month ratio to 0.87 : 1. lower net orders in infrastructure drove the lower trailing 12-month ratio to 0.87 1 Summit order cancellation reported in Q3 was the primary driver of the decline. summit order cancellation reported in q3 was the primary driver of the decline Lastly, the consolidated backlog reflected on slide 16 totaled $189.3 million. lastly the consolidated backlog reflected on slide 16 totaled $189.3 million Up $3.4 million over last year, with substantial improvements across all rail businesses, partially offset by lower infrastructure backlog. up $3.4 million over last year with substantial improvements across all rail businesses partially offset by lower infrastructure backlog The shifts in the backlog suggest a stronger start for our rail business in 2026 compared to last year, with infrastructure growth developing later in the year after the strong results achieved in 2025. John will cover some additional backlog details and developments in his closing remarks. I'll wrap up by saying we're very pleased with our financial performance in 2025 and excited about the prospects for further progress in 2026. Thanks for your time this morning. Back to you, John. The shifts in the backlog suggest a stronger start for our rail business in 2026 compared to last year, with infrastructure growth developing later in the year after the strong results achieved in 2025. the shifts in the backlog suggest a stronger start for our rail business in 2026 compared to last year with infrastructure growth developing later in the year after the strong results achieved in 2025 John will cover some additional backlog details and developments in his closing remarks. john will cover some additional backlog details and developments in his closing remarks I'll wrap up by saying we're very pleased with our financial performance in 2025 and excited about the prospects for further progress in 2026. i'll wrap up by saying we're very pleased with our financial performance in 2025 and excited about the prospects for further progress in 2026 Thanks for your time this morning. thanks for your time this morning Back to you, John. back to you john

Speaker 2: Thanks, Bill. I'll begin my closing remarks on slide 18, reviewing developments in our key end markets. Starting with rail segment, we're seeing favorable trends in bidding activity that give us optimism that we will return to growth in 2026. The federal government programs that fund our customers' repair and maintenance projects are active and flowing, and we expect that this will provide a tailwind for demand for rail products in U.S. for the foreseeable future. Of course, we'll monitor developments in Washington and respond to any changes in funding should they occur. Turning to rail technologies, Friction Management had a phenomenal year in 2025, with 19% sales growth, noting that this growth was all organic, and we continue to invest our commercial technology capabilities for this important growth platform and expect continuing long-term growth aligned with our customers' focus on safety, fuel savings, and operating performance. Thanks, Bill. thanks bill I'll begin my closing remarks on slide 18, reviewing developments in our key end markets. i'll begin my closing remarks on slide 18 reviewing developments in our key end markets Starting with rail segment, we're seeing favorable trends in bidding activity that give us optimism that we will return to growth in 2026. starting with rail segment we're seeing favorable trends in bidding activity that give us optimism that we will return to growth in 2026 The federal government programs that fund our customers' repair and maintenance projects are active and flowing, and we expect that this will provide a tailwind for demand for rail products in U.S. for the foreseeable future. the federal government programs that fund our customers' repair and maintenance projects are active and flowing and we expect that this will provide a tailwind for demand for rail products in u.s for the foreseeable future Of course, we'll monitor developments in Washington and respond to any changes in funding should they occur. of course we'll monitor developments in washington and respond to any changes in funding should they occur Turning to rail technologies, Friction Management had a phenomenal year in 2025, with 19% sales growth, noting that this growth was all organic, and we continue to invest our commercial technology capabilities for this important growth platform and expect continuing long-term growth aligned with our customers' focus on safety, fuel savings, and operating performance. turning to rail technologies friction management had a phenomenal year in 2025 with 19% sales growth noting that this growth was all organic and we continue to invest our commercial technology capabilities for this important growth platform and expect continuing long-term growth aligned with our customers' focus on safety fuel savings and operating performance The Total Track Monitoring product line was somewhat flat in 2025, but we're expecting improved demand in 2026, with the commercialization of some new technologies to improve rail safety and operating ratios. The U.K. market environment remains extremely challenging. We've taken significant actions in the last three years to reposition this business and expect it will lead to improved results in 2026. We also see some market trends worth mentioning for our infrastructure segment. Starting with civil construction, activity remains robust, particularly in the southern part of the U.S., which is bolstering demand for Precast Concrete products. Demand for our Envirokeeper water management solution is increasing, with some large projects wins already in our backlog. These improvements are partially offsetting softer demand for our CXT buildings in the short term. The Total Track Monitoring product line was somewhat flat in 2025, but we're expecting improved demand in 2026, with the commercialization of some new technologies to improve rail safety and operating ratios. the total track monitoring product line was somewhat flat in 2025 but we're expecting improved demand in 2026 with the commercialization of some new technologies to improve rail safety and operating ratios The U.K. market environment remains extremely challenging. the u.k market environment remains extremely challenging We've taken significant actions in the last three years to reposition this business and expect it will lead to improved results in 2026. we've taken significant actions in the last three years to reposition this business and expect it will lead to improved results in 2026 We also see some market trends worth mentioning for our infrastructure segment. we also see some market trends worth mentioning for our infrastructure segment Starting with civil construction, activity remains robust, particularly in the southern part of the U.S., which is bolstering demand for Precast Concrete products. starting with civil construction activity remains robust particularly in the southern part of the u.s which is bolstering demand for precast concrete products Demand for our Envirokeeper water management solution is increasing, with some large projects wins already in our backlog. demand for our envirokeeper water management solution is increasing with some large projects wins already in our backlog These improvements are partially offsetting softer demand for our CXT buildings in the short term. these improvements are partially offsetting softer demand for our cxt buildings in the short term This product line had a record year in 2025. Bidding activity is starting to pick back up. The softer residential real estate market has impacted demand for our Envirocast wall system product line in our new Florida facility. We remain optimistic that a lower interest rate environment and a favorable population trends will improve demand in the future. Within steel, our Protective Coatings product line sales improved 42.7% in 2025, with the renewed interest in U.S. oil and gas production. We expect these favorable trends to continue into 2026 as well. A quick comment on tariffs. As in the case for most domestic markets, the impact of rising tariffs is being absorbed and managed by supply chain and commercial teams. I can confidently say that tariffs have had a minor impact on our business. This product line had a record year in 2025. this product line had a record year in 2025 Bidding activity is starting to pick back up. bidding activity is starting to pick back up The softer residential real estate market has impacted demand for our Envirocast wall system product line in our new Florida facility. the softer residential real estate market has impacted demand for our envirocast wall system product line in our new florida facility We remain optimistic that a lower interest rate environment and a favorable population trends will improve demand in the future. we remain optimistic that a lower interest rate environment and a favorable population trends will improve demand in the future Within steel, our Protective Coatings product line sales improved 42.7% in 2025, with the renewed interest in U.S. oil and gas production. within steel our protective coatings product line sales improved 42.7% in 2025 with the renewed interest in u.s oil and gas production We expect these favorable trends to continue into 2026 as well. we expect these favorable trends to continue into 2026 as well A quick comment on tariffs. a quick comment on tariffs As in the case for most domestic markets, the impact of rising tariffs is being absorbed and managed by supply chain and commercial teams. as in the case for most domestic markets the impact of rising tariffs is being absorbed and managed by supply chain and commercial teams I can confidently say that tariffs have had a minor impact on our business. i can confidently say that tariffs have had a minor impact on our business In summary, we expect the start to 2026 to be stronger than last year. We believe we are well positioned to benefit from the infrastructure-based investment plans for years to come. Turning to slide 19, I'll wrap up today's call with an overview of our 2026 financial guidance. I'll start by highlighting the significant progress we have made since we launched our strategic transformation back in 2021. While last year's sales were up only 5% since 2021, adjusted EBITDA has more than doubled and free cash flow is up $30 million. The capital deployed in the business is also much lower, significantly improving financial results. Our 2026 guidance anticipates continuing sales growth, profitability expansion, and strong cash generation while investing in our growth platforms. In summary, we expect the start to 2026 to be stronger than last year. in summary we expect the start to 2026 to be stronger than last year We believe we are well positioned to benefit from the infrastructure-based investment plans for years to come. we believe we are well positioned to benefit from the infrastructure-based investment plans for years to come Turning to slide 19, I'll wrap up today's call with an overview of our 2026 financial guidance. turning to slide 19 i'll wrap up today's call with an overview of our 2026 financial guidance I'll start by highlighting the significant progress we have made since we launched our strategic transformation back in 2021. i'll start by highlighting the significant progress we have made since we launched our strategic transformation back in 2021 While last year's sales were up only 5% since 2021, adjusted EBITDA has more than doubled and free cash flow is up $30 million. while last year's sales were up only 5% since 2021 adjusted ebitda has more than doubled and free cash flow is up $30 million The capital deployed in the business is also much lower, significantly improving financial results. the capital deployed in the business is also much lower significantly improving financial results Our 2026 guidance anticipates continuing sales growth, profitability expansion, and strong cash generation while investing in our growth platforms. our 2026 guidance anticipates continuing sales growth profitability expansion and strong cash generation while investing in our growth platforms Bill mentioned earlier that our backlog was approximately $189 million at year-end, up 1.8% versus last year. While the increase is modest, there are some important shifts in the backlog that should be highlighted in their support for our optimism in 2026. Starting with the rail backlog, which is up $34.5 million versus last year. The increase is driven in part by stronger North American demand for both rail products and Friction Management. Rail products backlog is up $10.6 million, while Friction Management is up $7.6 million. The balance of the increase was realized within our TS&S, with the U.K. business securing a $20 million multiple year order last year. Bill mentioned earlier that our backlog was approximately $189 million at year-end, up 1.8% versus last year. bill mentioned earlier that our backlog was approximately $189 million at year-end up 1.8% versus last year While the increase is modest, there are some important shifts in the backlog that should be highlighted in their support for our optimism in 2026. while the increase is modest there are some important shifts in the backlog that should be highlighted in their support for our optimism in 2026 Starting with the rail backlog, which is up $34.5 million versus last year. starting with the rail backlog which is up $34.5 million versus last year The increase is driven in part by stronger North American demand for both rail products and Friction Management. the increase is driven in part by stronger north american demand for both rail products and friction management Rail products backlog is up $10.6 million, while Friction Management is up $7.6 million. rail products backlog is up $10.6 million while friction management is up $7.6 million The balance of the increase was realized within our TS&S, with the U.K. business securing a $20 million multiple year order last year. the balance of the increase was realized within our ts&s with the u.k business securing a $20 million multiple year order last year The higher executable backlog for rail should translate into a better start for 2026 versus last year's weaker first half when the pause in federal funding curtailed rail customer project work. While infrastructure backlog is down $31.1 million, the majority of decline is due to the Summit order cancellation. In addition, the Precast Concrete backlog is down $5.4 million, with slightly lower CXT building backlog to start 2026 after a record year in 2025 for this product line. As a reminder, our precast business grew 19.9% in 2025. This impressive growth was all organic. I'm pleased to report that project pipelines are robust and bidding activity is picking up in both segments. During the first two months of 2026, overall backlog is up about 15% from year-end, with solid gains realized in both segments. The higher executable backlog for rail should translate into a better start for 2026 versus last year's weaker first half when the pause in federal funding curtailed rail customer project work. the higher executable backlog for rail should translate into a better start for 2026 versus last year's weaker first half when the pause in federal funding curtailed rail customer project work While infrastructure backlog is down $31.1 million, the majority of decline is due to the Summit order cancellation. while infrastructure backlog is down $31.1 million the majority of decline is due to the summit order cancellation In addition, the Precast Concrete backlog is down $5.4 million, with slightly lower CXT building backlog to start 2026 after a record year in 2025 for this product line. in addition the precast concrete backlog is down $5.4 million with slightly lower cxt building backlog to start 2026 after a record year in 2025 for this product line As a reminder, our precast business grew 19.9% in 2025. as a reminder our precast business grew 19.9% in 2025 This impressive growth was all organic. this impressive growth was all organic I'm pleased to report that project pipelines are robust and bidding activity is picking up in both segments. During the first two months of 2026, overall backlog is up about 15% from year-end, with solid gains realized in both segments. i'm pleased to report that project pipelines are robust and bidding activity is picking up in both segments. during the first two months of 2026 overall backlog is up about 15% from year-end with solid gains realized in both segments Our 2026 guidance reflects 3.7% sales growth, with 11.3% growth in adjusted EBITDA, both at the midpoints of the range. Free cash flow is expected to remain robust at the midpoint of $20 million, with a slightly higher CapEx rate of 2.7% of sales as we invest in organic programs, primarily in Precast Concrete. In summary, our 2026 guidance reflects our expectation of another solid year in improvement in financial performance while investing for future growth along our strategic priorities. I'll close today's call by thanking our team for a fantastic 2025. It was a challenging year in many ways, but our team was resilient, and we finished the year strong. In fact, one of the best quarters we've seen in recent years. We're carrying that positive momentum into 2026. Our 2026 guidance reflects 3.7% sales growth, with 11.3% growth in adjusted EBITDA, both at the midpoints of the range. our 2026 guidance reflects 3.7% sales growth with 11.3% growth in adjusted ebitda both at the midpoints of the range Free cash flow is expected to remain robust at the midpoint of $20 million, with a slightly higher CapEx rate of 2.7% of sales as we invest in organic programs, primarily in Precast Concrete. free cash flow is expected to remain robust at the midpoint of $20 million with a slightly higher capex rate of 2.7% of sales as we invest in organic programs primarily in precast concrete In summary, our 2026 guidance reflects our expectation of another solid year in improvement in financial performance while investing for future growth along our strategic priorities. in summary our 2026 guidance reflects our expectation of another solid year in improvement in financial performance while investing for future growth along our strategic priorities I'll close today's call by thanking our team for a fantastic 2025. i'll close today's call by thanking our team for a fantastic 2025 It was a challenging year in many ways, but our team was resilient, and we finished the year strong. it was a challenging year in many ways but our team was resilient and we finished the year strong In fact, one of the best quarters we've seen in recent years. in fact one of the best quarters we've seen in recent years We're carrying that positive momentum into 2026. we're carrying that positive momentum into 2026 I'm coming up on my fifth year anniversary as CEO in July. I could not be more proud of what our team has achieved over those five years. I look forward to greater accomplishments in 2026 and beyond. Thank you for your time and continuing interest in L.B. Foster. I'll turn it back to the operator for the Q&A session now. I'm coming up on my fifth year anniversary as CEO in July. i'm coming up on my fifth year anniversary as ceo in july I could not be more proud of what our team has achieved over those five years. i could not be more proud of what our team has achieved over those five years I look forward to greater accomplishments in 2026 and beyond. i look forward to greater accomplishments in 2026 and beyond Thank you for your time and continuing interest in L.B. thank you for your time and continuing interest in l.b Foster. foster I'll turn it back to the operator for the Q&A session now. i'll turn it back to the operator for the q&a session now

Speaker 7: Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. One moment for our first question. Our first question will come from the line of Liam Burke with B. Riley Securities. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you As a reminder to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. as a reminder to ask a question please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. to withdraw your question please press star one one again One moment for our first question. one moment for our first question Our first question will come from the line of Liam Burke with B. our first question will come from the line of liam burke with b Riley Securities. riley securities Your line is open. your line is open Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 5: Thank you. Good morning, John. Good morning, Bill. Thank you. thank you Good morning, John. good morning john Good morning, Bill. good morning bill

Speaker 2: Morning, Liam. Morning, Liam. morning liam

Speaker 5: John, you're it looks like with the orders in both Friction Management rail products that the that segment will look a little more normal than it did in 2025, based on the U.K. problems and DOGE opening the year. The only thing we're seeing is maybe track monitoring flat, but that's project-based. Is there anything else that would keep you from having a more normal year in rail products this year? John, you're it looks like with the orders in both Friction Management rail products that the that segment will look a little more normal than it did in 2025, based on the U.K. problems and DOGE opening the year. john you're it looks like with the orders in both friction management rail products that the that segment will look a little more normal than it did in 2025 based on the u.k problems and doge opening the year The only thing we're seeing is maybe track monitoring flat, but that's project-based. the only thing we're seeing is maybe track monitoring flat but that's project-based Is there anything else that would keep you from having a more normal year in rail products this year? is there anything else that would keep you from having a more normal year in rail products this year

Speaker 2: No. Well, thanks, Liam, for joining us today. I think you hit it on the head. You know, we finished the year down about $189 million. The reason being we delivered. All the executable backlog, with our channel partners, you know, we had our billings were fantastic. The bookings really picked up here, as I mentioned, up 15% since the end of the year, with equal weighting, I would say, through our rail products and the infrastructure precast business. This is, as you mentioned, we're back to normal. We feel, in fact, we were closer back to normal in the fourth quarter last year, bidding activity and the need is there today. No. no Well, thanks, Liam, for joining us today. well thanks liam for joining us today I think you hit it on the head. i think you hit it on the head You know, we finished the year down about $189 million. you know we finished the year down about $189 million The reason being we delivered. the reason being we delivered All the executable backlog, with our channel partners, you know, we had our billings were fantastic. all the executable backlog with our channel partners you know we had our billings were fantastic The bookings really picked up here, as I mentioned, up 15% since the end of the year, with equal weighting, I would say, through our rail products and the infrastructure precast business. the bookings really picked up here as i mentioned up 15% since the end of the year with equal weighting i would say through our rail products and the infrastructure precast business This is, as you mentioned, we're back to normal. this is as you mentioned we're back to normal We feel, in fact, we were closer back to normal in the fourth quarter last year, bidding activity and the need is there today. we feel in fact we were closer back to normal in the fourth quarter last year bidding activity and the need is there today Our team feels very good about the start to the year and our ability to see that guidance, you know, the increased revenue that we're looking for in profitability. It's kind of refreshing to have that now compared to where we were just a year ago. Our team feels very good about the start to the year and our ability to see that guidance, you know, the increased revenue that we're looking for in profitability. our team feels very good about the start to the year and our ability to see that guidance you know the increased revenue that we're looking for in profitability It's kind of refreshing to have that now compared to where we were just a year ago. it's kind of refreshing to have that now compared to where we were just a year ago

Speaker 5: Great. Thank you. On concrete, you have the order cancellation, you have normal quarter-to-quarter variability anyway. You touched on order activity being pretty solid in the first quarter. Do you anticipate better cadence for concrete as we get into the third and fourth quarter or second and third quarter this year? Great. great Thank you. thank you On concrete, you have the order cancellation, you have normal quarter-to-quarter variability anyway. on concrete you have the order cancellation you have normal quarter-to-quarter variability anyway You touched on order activity being pretty solid in the first quarter. you touched on order activity being pretty solid in the first quarter Do you anticipate better cadence for concrete as we get into the third and fourth quarter or second and third quarter this year? do you anticipate better cadence for concrete as we get into the third and fourth quarter or second and third quarter this year

Speaker 2: Yeah, same, you know, same. We're starting to pick up some nice backlog as well as on the entire infrastructure side and steel as well, which had a very strong back end of the year. We're starting to see the energy business, our specific facilities down in Texas as well as Birmingham starting to build a backlog. Precast is we were a little light coming into the year because of the building side, but, you know, we've pretty much shored that up in the first two months already. Again, our facilities are basically running at capacity right now, for at least the first half of the year. We'll see definitely pick up to the second half year, especially in areas like Florida, with our new facility to really come online. Yeah, same, you know, same. yeah same you know same We're starting to pick up some nice backlog as well as on the entire infrastructure side and steel as well, which had a very strong back end of the year. we're starting to pick up some nice backlog as well as on the entire infrastructure side and steel as well which had a very strong back end of the year We're starting to see the energy business, our specific facilities down in Texas as well as Birmingham starting to build a backlog. we're starting to see the energy business our specific facilities down in texas as well as birmingham starting to build a backlog Precast is we were a little light coming into the year because of the building side, but, you know, we've pretty much shored that up in the first two months already. precast is we were a little light coming into the year because of the building side but you know we've pretty much shored that up in the first two months already Again, our facilities are basically running at capacity right now, for at least the first half of the year. again our facilities are basically running at capacity right now for at least the first half of the year We'll see definitely pick up to the second half year, especially in areas like Florida, with our new facility to really come online. we'll see definitely pick up to the second half year especially in areas like florida with our new facility to really come online We'll be excited about that. We'll be excited about that. we'll be excited about that

Speaker 5: Great. Thank you, John. Great. great Thank you, John. thank you john

Speaker 2: Thanks, Liam. Thanks, Liam. thanks liam

Speaker 7: Thank you. As a reminder to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone. Our next question comes from the line of Julio Romero with Sidoti & Company. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you As a reminder to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone. as a reminder to ask a question please press star one one on your telephone Our next question comes from the line of Julio Romero with Sidoti & Company. our next question comes from the line of julio romero with sidoti & company Your line is open. your line is open Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 3: Thanks. Hey, good morning, John, Bill, Lisa. Maybe to start. Thanks. thanks Hey, good morning, John, Bill, Lisa. hey good morning john bill lisa Maybe to start. maybe to start

Speaker 2: Morning, Julio. Morning, Julio. morning julio

Speaker 3: Hey, good morning. Hey, maybe to start, on the 2026 guidance ranges that imply, you know, sales growth of about flattish to 7% on the sales line and then, EBITDA growth of 5%-18%, I believe. Can you just talk about what the puts and takes are, you know, that you think can get you to the high and the low end of those ranges? Hey, good morning. hey good morning Hey, maybe to start, on the 2026 guidance ranges that imply, you know, sales growth of about flattish to 7% on the sales line and then, EBITDA growth of 5%-18%, I believe. hey maybe to start on the 2026 guidance ranges that imply you know sales growth of about flattish to 7% on the sales line and then ebitda growth of 5%-18% i believe Can you just talk about what the puts and takes are, you know, that you think can get you to the high and the low end of those ranges? can you just talk about what the puts and takes are you know that you think can get you to the high and the low end of those ranges

Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, I think Liam hit it right there. It's about work and backlog and less disruptions. The need is, you know, we're an infrastructure company in the right market right now with the industrials. Our customers need our product. We're feeling, you know, much different about the start of the year than we were last year. Order book is strong and the bidding activity is good as we've seen it in recent years. We feel good about bringing the revenue in. Now we gotta really shore up some things. We had some, you know, as we mentioned, some things in the U.K. We've done now three years of really rightsizing that business to protect the company and protect the margins. Yeah. yeah Well, I think Liam hit it right there. well i think liam hit it right there It's about work and backlog and less disruptions. it's about work and backlog and less disruptions The need is, you know, we're an infrastructure company in the right market right now with the industrials. the need is you know we're an infrastructure company in the right market right now with the industrials Our customers need our product. our customers need our product We're feeling, you know, much different about the start of the year than we were last year. we're feeling you know much different about the start of the year than we were last year Order book is strong and the bidding activity is good as we've seen it in recent years. order book is strong and the bidding activity is good as we've seen it in recent years We feel good about bringing the revenue in. we feel good about bringing the revenue in Now we gotta really shore up some things. now we gotta really shore up some things We had some, you know, as we mentioned, some things in the U.K. we had some you know as we mentioned some things in the u.k We've done now three years of really rightsizing that business to protect the company and protect the margins. we've done now three years of really rightsizing that business to protect the company and protect the margins We feel good with what's going on specifically here on the rail side. Our FM business, as I mentioned, when you look at our growth platforms here, Julio, you look at precast as well as rail, you know, both of them up respectively, you know, 20% in the fourth quarter. All the activity we talked about was all organic. It really bodes well for the capital that we're bringing into the company. You know, as I mentioned, that we took up the capital as a percent of sales a little higher this year, 2.7%, because we feel very, very good about the opportunities we have in front of us. The reality is we have to increase capital now to stay up with the need, specifically on the rail side and precast side. We feel good with what's going on specifically here on the rail side. Our FM business, as I mentioned, when you look at our growth platforms here, Julio, you look at precast as well as rail, you know, both of them up respectively, you know, 20% in the fourth quarter. we feel good with what's going on specifically here on the rail side. our fm business as i mentioned when you look at our growth platforms here julio you look at precast as well as rail you know both of them up respectively you know 20% in the fourth quarter All the activity we talked about was all organic. all the activity we talked about was all organic It really bodes well for the capital that we're bringing into the company. it really bodes well for the capital that we're bringing into the company You know, as I mentioned, that we took up the capital as a percent of sales a little higher this year, 2.7%, because we feel very, very good about the opportunities we have in front of us. you know as i mentioned that we took up the capital as a percent of sales a little higher this year 2.7% because we feel very very good about the opportunities we have in front of us The reality is we have to increase capital now to stay up with the need, specifically on the rail side and precast side. the reality is we have to increase capital now to stay up with the need specifically on the rail side and precast side We're backfilling some of the work that we need to do on the coding side as well. You know, right now we're really focused on producing the backlog and executing well, coming into, you know, the first quarter and first half of the year. In much different position we were just one year ago today. We're backfilling some of the work that we need to do on the coding side as well. we're backfilling some of the work that we need to do on the coding side as well You know, right now we're really focused on producing the backlog and executing well, coming into, you know, the first quarter and first half of the year. you know right now we're really focused on producing the backlog and executing well coming into you know the first quarter and first half of the year In much different position we were just one year ago today. in much different position we were just one year ago today

Speaker 3: Absolutely. Thank you for that answer. I was just hoping to go a little bit deeper into the cadence of the quarter-to-quarter rail revenues expected in 2026. Obviously difficult to foresee any DOGE-like events kind of driving delays for your customers. Absolutely. absolutely Thank you for that answer. thank you for that answer I was just hoping to go a little bit deeper into the cadence of the quarter-to-quarter rail revenues expected in 2026. i was just hoping to go a little bit deeper into the cadence of the quarter-to-quarter rail revenues expected in 2026 Obviously difficult to foresee any DOGE-like events kind of driving delays for your customers. obviously difficult to foresee any doge-like events kind of driving delays for your customers

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 3: -an event like that, you know, you mentioned you feel better about rail, right now than maybe this time one year ago. Just speak about, you know, the confidence of the quarter-to-quarter cadence. -an event like that, you know, you mentioned you feel better about rail, right now than maybe this time one year ago. -an event like that you know you mentioned you feel better about rail right now than maybe this time one year ago Just speak about, you know, the confidence of the quarter-to-quarter cadence. just speak about you know the confidence of the quarter-to-quarter cadence

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 3: on your rail top line. on your rail top line. on your rail top line

Speaker 2: Well, remember we're a construction seasonal company too, right? You know, as far as rail, they really don't get in and do much as far as refurbishments until the weather improves heading into, you know, second and third quarter, right? Right now it's about bringing us orders and we're providing them the materials for them to get on track and do what they need to do to shore up things in the second, third quarter. We're looking at more of a typical bell curve, if you will, this year, with the highest revenues coming in Q2 and Q3, Julio. You know, unlike what we had to do this year, we'll, you know, make it all happen in the fourth quarter. Well, remember we're a construction seasonal company too, right? well remember we're a construction seasonal company too right You know, as far as rail, they really don't get in and do much as far as refurbishments until the weather improves heading into, you know, second and third quarter, right? you know as far as rail they really don't get in and do much as far as refurbishments until the weather improves heading into you know second and third quarter right Right now it's about bringing us orders and we're providing them the materials for them to get on track and do what they need to do to shore up things in the second, third quarter. right now it's about bringing us orders and we're providing them the materials for them to get on track and do what they need to do to shore up things in the second third quarter We're looking at more of a typical bell curve, if you will, this year, with the highest revenues coming in Q2 and Q3, Julio. we're looking at more of a typical bell curve if you will this year with the highest revenues coming in q2 and q3 julio You know, unlike what we had to do this year, we'll, you know, make it all happen in the fourth quarter. you know unlike what we had to do this year we'll you know make it all happen in the fourth quarter We're gonna see a, you know, quite a bit more work and activity in sales happen in the first half of the year, specifically, you know, in Q2 and then continuing in Q3 compared to what we had just last year. When the customers come and the need is there, you know, we pivot, and we do very well executing. I think it's gonna be look like a much more normal year this year, on the rail side, including on the precast side. We feel very good about the performance we're having coming out of our concrete group. You know, we've done a good job of stabilizing our acquisition that we made back in 2023, we're starting to really move product to the East Coast. We're gonna see a, you know, quite a bit more work and activity in sales happen in the first half of the year, specifically, you know, in Q2 and then continuing in Q3 compared to what we had just last year. we're gonna see a you know quite a bit more work and activity in sales happen in the first half of the year specifically you know in q2 and then continuing in q3 compared to what we had just last year When the customers come and the need is there, you know, we pivot, and we do very well executing. when the customers come and the need is there you know we pivot and we do very well executing I think it's gonna be look like a much more normal year this year, on the rail side, including on the precast side. i think it's gonna be look like a much more normal year this year on the rail side including on the precast side We feel very good about the performance we're having coming out of our concrete group. we feel very good about the performance we're having coming out of our concrete group You know, we've done a good job of stabilizing our acquisition that we made back in 2023, we're starting to really move product to the East Coast. you know we've done a good job of stabilizing our acquisition that we made back in 2023 we're starting to really move product to the east coast We had a record year in our Hillsboro facility. The plant manager there, Jason Busby, just done an outstanding job, you know, with record revenue coming out of that facility. We feel very, very good about what we see specifically with our growth platforms, and their ability to perform and do it more consistently this year than getting in the hole like we had last year and having to come out of it on the fourth quarter like we did, and we communicated to the market. I think the other thing that we're really focused on is our debt. We had a record year in our Hillsboro facility. we had a record year in our hillsboro facility The plant manager there, Jason Busby, just done an outstanding job, you know, with record revenue coming out of that facility. the plant manager there jason busby just done an outstanding job you know with record revenue coming out of that facility We feel very, very good about what we see specifically with our growth platforms, and their ability to perform and do it more consistently this year than getting in the hole like we had last year and having to come out of it on the fourth quarter like we did, and we communicated to the market. we feel very very good about what we see specifically with our growth platforms and their ability to perform and do it more consistently this year than getting in the hole like we had last year and having to come out of it on the fourth quarter like we did and we communicated to the market I think the other thing that we're really focused on is our debt. i think the other thing that we're really focused on is our debt You know, for us to be down to one time to really manage the working capital of debt you see here today, as well as the cash generation, we're very pleased with the really focus on, you know, bringing the cash back to the shareholders and getting our debt to something where we finish the year at 1.0x. We're very proud of all those activities. You know, for us to be down to one time to really manage the working capital of debt you see here today, as well as the cash generation, we're very pleased with the really focus on, you know, bringing the cash back to the shareholders and getting our debt to something where we finish the year at 1.0x . you know for us to be down to one time to really manage the working capital of debt you see here today as well as the cash generation we're very pleased with the really focus on you know bringing the cash back to the shareholders and getting our debt to something where we finish the year at 1.0x We're very proud of all those activities. we're very proud of all those activities

Speaker 3: Absolutely, and fair point about the inherent seasonality of construction, you know, in your business. I guess I'm just asking because you had such a, you know, funky, for lack of a better word, sales cadence in 25 on the revenue line, you know, thinking about the year-over-year growth rates for rail in 26, I mean, is it fair to expect, you know, year-over-year sales growth in the, in the first half of 26? Would you expect the year-over-year growth rates to be more weighted, or you know, I guess just help us think about that given how? Absolutely, and fair point about the inherent seasonality of construction, you know, in your business. absolutely and fair point about the inherent seasonality of construction you know in your business I guess I'm just asking because you had such a, you know, funky, for lack of a better word, sales cadence in 25 on the revenue line, you know, thinking about the year-over-year growth rates for rail in 26, I mean, is it fair to expect, you know, year-over-year sales growth in the, in the first half of 26? i guess i'm just asking because you had such a you know funky for lack of a better word sales cadence in 25 on the revenue line you know thinking about the year-over-year growth rates for rail in 26 i mean is it fair to expect you know year-over-year sales growth in the in the first half of 26 Would you expect the year-over-year growth rates to be more weighted, or you know, I guess just help us think about that given how? would you expect the year-over-year growth rates to be more weighted or you know i guess just help us think about that given how

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 3: The fact that the 2025 comps are so skewed. The fact that the 2025 comps are so skewed. the fact that the 2025 comps are so skewed

Speaker 2: Yeah. Let me give you a little color, and then I'll Bill will give you a few specifics. Last year, remember DOGE, right? This time last year, the POs were curtailed, because basically much of what we see, especially on the rail product side, 55% of what we have flows through the government. There were just a number of projects that we're looking for, that didn't happen. We were basically in a waiting game. The need was still there, but the funds as well as the POs weren't flowing. It really put us behind the eight ball, if you will, for the first half of the year. Yeah. yeah Let me give you a little color, and then I'll Bill will give you a few specifics. let me give you a little color and then i'll bill will give you a few specifics Last year, remember DOGE, right? last year remember doge right This time last year, the POs were curtailed, because basically much of what we see, especially on the rail product side, 55% of what we have flows through the government. this time last year the pos were curtailed because basically much of what we see especially on the rail product side 55% of what we have flows through the government There were just a number of projects that we're looking for, that didn't happen. there were just a number of projects that we're looking for that didn't happen We were basically in a waiting game. we were basically in a waiting game The need was still there, but the funds as well as the POs weren't flowing. the need was still there but the funds as well as the pos weren't flowing It really put us behind the eight ball, if you will, for the first half of the year. it really put us behind the eight ball if you will for the first half of the year We were able to make it up, for the most part in the second half year because we have very good supply chain partners, and our ability to flex our workforce and get the product out to customer. The good news is that demand and requirement has continued now from the fourth quarter in, into the first quarter of this year. That's where things are completely different. We're getting the POs, the bidding activity is there, and most importantly, the need is there. You know, we're in the maintenance and refurbishment part on the rail side, so the needs to the market are there, and the good news is we're there to deliver. Maybe Bill can give a little more color on the- We were able to make it up, for the most part in the second half year because we have very good supply chain partners, and our ability to flex our workforce and get the product out to customer. we were able to make it up for the most part in the second half year because we have very good supply chain partners and our ability to flex our workforce and get the product out to customer The good news is that demand and requirement has continued now from the fourth quarter in, into the first quarter of this year. the good news is that demand and requirement has continued now from the fourth quarter in into the first quarter of this year That's where things are completely different. that's where things are completely different We're getting the POs, the bidding activity is there, and most importantly, the need is there. we're getting the pos the bidding activity is there and most importantly the need is there You know, we're in the maintenance and refurbishment part on the rail side, so the needs to the market are there, and the good news is we're there to deliver. you know we're in the maintenance and refurbishment part on the rail side so the needs to the market are there and the good news is we're there to deliver Maybe Bill can give a little more color on the- maybe bill can give a little more color on the-

Speaker 1: Phasing. Phasing. phasing

Speaker 2: on the phasing. Bill? on the phasing. on the phasing Bill? bill

Speaker 1: Yeah. Julio Romero, I guess the way I would look at it is if you just take, you know, what you would layer out as a run rate in terms of your outlook for rail. You know, if you convert that to a normal seasonality that we would typically see, you're probably gonna find that there's gonna be some growth in rail in Q1. Stronger growth in Q2 and Q3 just based on the normal seasonality. With extraordinarily strong Q4, you know, the growth would, you know, potentially not be as strong there or potentially, you know, not covering the extraordinarily strong Q4 that we had. On the infrastructure side, I'd say, as John mentioned, the backlog's improving, but we started the year with a little lighter backlog. Yeah. yeah Julio Romero , I guess the way I would look at it is if you just take, you know, what you would layer out as a run rate in terms of your outlook for rail. julio romero i guess the way i would look at it is if you just take you know what you would layer out as a run rate in terms of your outlook for rail You know, if you convert that to a normal seasonality that we would typically see, you're probably gonna find that there's gonna be some growth in rail in Q1. you know if you convert that to a normal seasonality that we would typically see you're probably gonna find that there's gonna be some growth in rail in q1 Stronger growth in Q2 and Q3 just based on the normal seasonality. stronger growth in q2 and q3 just based on the normal seasonality With extraordinarily strong Q4, you know, the growth would, you know, potentially not be as strong there or potentially, you know, not covering the extraordinarily strong Q4 that we had. with extraordinarily strong q4 you know the growth would you know potentially not be as strong there or potentially you know not covering the extraordinarily strong q4 that we had On the infrastructure side, I'd say, as John mentioned, the backlog's improving, but we started the year with a little lighter backlog. on the infrastructure side i'd say as john mentioned the backlog's improving but we started the year with a little lighter backlog I would say that it's still gonna be a solid year of growth, but that's probably gonna be more towards the second, third, and fourth quarters of the year as opposed to getting off to a strong start like we did last year. I think John mentioned our backlog was elevated at the beginning of the year with a strong buildings backlog. We executed against that in last year's Q1. Infrastructure may be a little lighter, but strong sales growth to start the year for rail. I would say that it's still gonna be a solid year of growth, but that's probably gonna be more towards the second, third, and fourth quarters of the year as opposed to getting off to a strong start like we did last year. i would say that it's still gonna be a solid year of growth but that's probably gonna be more towards the second third and fourth quarters of the year as opposed to getting off to a strong start like we did last year I think John mentioned our backlog was elevated at the beginning of the year with a strong buildings backlog. i think john mentioned our backlog was elevated at the beginning of the year with a strong buildings backlog We executed against that in last year's Q1. we executed against that in last year's q1 Infrastructure may be a little lighter, but strong sales growth to start the year for rail. infrastructure may be a little lighter but strong sales growth to start the year for rail

Speaker 3: Super helpful. Thank you. Thank you, Bill and John for that. I guess just last one before I turn it over is just wanted to comment on, you know, you really did have really extraordinarily strong free cash flow in the fourth quarter. Super helpful. super helpful Thank you. thank you Thank you, Bill and John for that. thank you bill and john for that I guess just last one before I turn it over is just wanted to comment on, you know, you really did have really extraordinarily strong free cash flow in the fourth quarter. i guess just last one before i turn it over is just wanted to comment on you know you really did have really extraordinarily strong free cash flow in the fourth quarter

Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. mm-hmm

Speaker 3: If you could just speak to the drivers of that and how much of a function of that is kind of the structural things you've done as an organization. If you could just speak to the drivers of that and how much of a function of that is kind of the structural things you've done as an organization. if you could just speak to the drivers of that and how much of a function of that is kind of the structural things you've done as an organization

Speaker 2: Well, if you look in the last couple of years, we do that pretty frequently, how we manage the fourth quarter, right? Because of their working cycle needs. We have a big lift in working cycle related to raw materials coming in Q2, Q3 because of the seasonality, and that's our largest sales. We're bringing in materials. We do a good job of moving those materials out and then collecting on our bills in the fourth quarter. We got a really good team that makes those things come together and make those things happen. We did the same thing last year, you know, 1.2x, we finished the year and we finished this year. The last year being the year of 2024. Well, if you look in the last couple of years, we do that pretty frequently, how we manage the fourth quarter, right? well if you look in the last couple of years we do that pretty frequently how we manage the fourth quarter right Because of their working cycle needs. because of their working cycle needs We have a big lift in working cycle related to raw materials coming in Q2, Q3 because of the seasonality, and that's our largest sales. we have a big lift in working cycle related to raw materials coming in q2 q3 because of the seasonality and that's our largest sales We're bringing in materials. we're bringing in materials We do a good job of moving those materials out and then collecting on our bills in the fourth quarter. we do a good job of moving those materials out and then collecting on our bills in the fourth quarter We got a really good team that makes those things come together and make those things happen. we got a really good team that makes those things come together and make those things happen We did the same thing last year, you know, 1.2x , we finished the year and we finished this year. we did the same thing last year you know 1.2x we finished the year and we finished this year The last year being the year of 2024. the last year being the year of 2024 Of course, we finished this year at 1.0x. We're good at it. We wanna make sure that we keep that focus. At the end of the day, it's also about making sure that we're delivering to our customer. Behind all this is, you know, it's good quality systems, on time deliveries, and make sure that we don't have customers that have reasons not to pay us. There's also a very good performing part of this that makes sure that when we ship something, it doesn't come back. We have delighted customers. Of course, we finished this year at 1.0x . of course we finished this year at 1.0x We're good at it. we're good at it We wanna make sure that we keep that focus. we wanna make sure that we keep that focus At the end of the day, it's also about making sure that we're delivering to our customer. at the end of the day it's also about making sure that we're delivering to our customer Behind all this is, you know, it's good quality systems, on time deliveries, and make sure that we don't have customers that have reasons not to pay us. behind all this is you know it's good quality systems on time deliveries and make sure that we don't have customers that have reasons not to pay us There's also a very good performing part of this that makes sure that when we ship something, it doesn't come back. there's also a very good performing part of this that makes sure that when we ship something it doesn't come back We have delighted customers. we have delighted customers

Speaker 3: Great. Thank you for all the color. I'll pass it on. Great. great Thank you for all the color. thank you for all the color I'll pass it on. i'll pass it on

Speaker 2: Thanks, Julio. Thanks, Julio. thanks julio

Speaker 7: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question comes on the line of Justin Bergner with GAMCO Investors. Your line is open. Please go ahead. Thank you. thank you One moment for our next question. one moment for our next question Our next question comes on the line of Justin Bergner with GAMCO Investors. our next question comes on the line of justin bergner with gamco investors Your line is open. your line is open Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 4: Good morning. Good morning. good morning

Speaker 2: Hi, Justin. Hi, Justin. hi justin

Speaker 4: A lot's been covered, I just want to delve into some areas that maybe would be good to get some more clarity on. The Total Track Monitoring, could you provide some, you know, just discussion as to the puts and takes there, in the fourth quarter and looking forward? A lot's been covered, I just want to delve into some areas that maybe would be good to get some more clarity on. a lot's been covered i just want to delve into some areas that maybe would be good to get some more clarity on The Total Track Monitoring, could you provide some, you know, just discussion as to the puts and takes there, in the fourth quarter and looking forward? the total track monitoring could you provide some you know just discussion as to the puts and takes there in the fourth quarter and looking forward

Speaker 2: All right. You know, we mentioned it was somewhat flat last year related to the activity. That is true. We've been doing quite a bit of work behind the scenes and continue to work on technology innovation, which I mentioned in today's call. We have some things that are coming to the market to help shore up what that business is and keep bringing in next generation of product for condition monitoring to the marketplace. Our team was very active and we had a significant job that we were working on abroad last year, too. It took away a little bit of our time and attention to the North American market. We feel very good about where we're at today. We've built up that team. All right. all right You know, we mentioned it was somewhat flat last year related to the activity. you know we mentioned it was somewhat flat last year related to the activity That is true. that is true We've been doing quite a bit of work behind the scenes and continue to work on technology innovation, which I mentioned in today's call. we've been doing quite a bit of work behind the scenes and continue to work on technology innovation which i mentioned in today's call We have some things that are coming to the market to help shore up what that business is and keep bringing in next generation of product for condition monitoring to the marketplace. we have some things that are coming to the market to help shore up what that business is and keep bringing in next generation of product for condition monitoring to the marketplace Our team was very active and we had a significant job that we were working on abroad last year, too. our team was very active and we had a significant job that we were working on abroad last year too It took away a little bit of our time and attention to the North American market. it took away a little bit of our time and attention to the north american market We feel very good about where we're at today. we feel very good about where we're at today We've built up that team. we've built up that team We have spent our available SG&A to bring the technical resources out here in the U.S., moving from the U.K. We're really set up well to deliver our Mark IV application. As we've been talking about this rockfall installation that we're seeing, pretty, well, significant excitement in the marketplace today. Last year was really getting ourselves shored up to make this happen and make sure we support it, make sure we had our operating centers ready to perform. We're looking for big things out of that group in 2026 and beyond. We have spent our available SG&A to bring the technical resources out here in the U.S., moving from the U.K. we have spent our available sg&a to bring the technical resources out here in the u.s moving from the u.k We're really set up well to deliver our Mark IV application. we're really set up well to deliver our mark iv application As we've been talking about this rockfall installation that we're seeing, pretty, well, significant excitement in the marketplace today. as we've been talking about this rockfall installation that we're seeing pretty well significant excitement in the marketplace today Last year was really getting ourselves shored up to make this happen and make sure we support it, make sure we had our operating centers ready to perform. last year was really getting ourselves shored up to make this happen and make sure we support it make sure we had our operating centers ready to perform We're looking for big things out of that group in 2026 and beyond. we're looking for big things out of that group in 2026 and beyond

Speaker 4: Got it. Secondly, the Protective Coatings business, I mean, should we expect double-digit type growth there in 2026? Got it. got it Secondly, the Protective Coatings business, I mean, should we expect double- digit type growth there in 2026? secondly the protective coatings business i mean should we expect double- digit type growth there in 2026

Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we're gonna be right up to it. It's, you know, I think what's going on right now in the world related to energy and the need for more energy here in the U.S. is probably going to continue to put us in a better position as far as volume and activity for the balance of the year. Again, we've spent some money in those facilities. We brought in some new equipment to make us more efficient, to be able to produce more product. As those orders come in, we're gonna be ready to deliver in a big way that we haven't done in years past. Yeah, I think we're gonna be right up to it. yeah i think we're gonna be right up to it It's, you know, I think what's going on right now in the world related to energy and the need for more energy here in the U.S. is probably going to continue to put us in a better position as far as volume and activity for the balance of the year. it's you know i think what's going on right now in the world related to energy and the need for more energy here in the u.s is probably going to continue to put us in a better position as far as volume and activity for the balance of the year Again, we've spent some money in those facilities. again we've spent some money in those facilities We brought in some new equipment to make us more efficient, to be able to produce more product. we brought in some new equipment to make us more efficient to be able to produce more product As those orders come in, we're gonna be ready to deliver in a big way that we haven't done in years past. as those orders come in we're gonna be ready to deliver in a big way that we haven't done in years past

Speaker 4: Okay, great. Then lastly, the headwinds to EBITDA in the quarter, I mean, you mentioned the U.K. rail business, but I guess your adjusted EBITDA adds back a lot of the restructuring expenses. In light of that- Okay, great. okay great Then lastly, the headwinds to EBITDA in the quarter, I mean, you mentioned the U.K. rail business, but I guess your adjusted EBITDA adds back a lot of the restructuring expenses. then lastly the headwinds to ebitda in the quarter i mean you mentioned the u.k rail business but i guess your adjusted ebitda adds back a lot of the restructuring expenses In light of that- in light of that-

Speaker 2: Yeah. That's right. Yeah. yeah That's right. that's right

Speaker 4: ... any clarity on sort of even after adding back those restructuring expenses, you know, what caused the fourth quarter to be a little bit light, versus your expectations? ... any clarity on sort of even after adding back those restructuring expenses, you know, what caused the fourth quarter to be a little bit light, versus your expectations? any clarity on sort of even after adding back those restructuring expenses you know what caused the fourth quarter to be a little bit light versus your expectations

Speaker 2: Yeah. First of all, as far as the U.K., I mean, this has been a three-year plan now, really getting ourselves aligned to the market needs over there because it's been changing, it's been dynamic. It was a big part of our growth initially, as it is, that market has changed, we've been pivoting and adapting our business to those needs. I think we've done a very good job of rightsizing the business, and the materials handling part of that was the last step that we've done, getting ourselves in position at end of year strong, much stronger over there than where we were just a year ago. Bill, maybe you could give a little additional color or would you? Yeah. yeah First of all, as far as the U.K., I mean, this has been a three-year plan now, really getting ourselves aligned to the market needs over there because it's been changing, it's been dynamic. first of all as far as the u.k i mean this has been a three-year plan now really getting ourselves aligned to the market needs over there because it's been changing it's been dynamic It was a big part of our growth initially, as it is, that market has changed, we've been pivoting and adapting our business to those needs. it was a big part of our growth initially as it is that market has changed we've been pivoting and adapting our business to those needs I think we've done a very good job of rightsizing the business, and the materials handling part of that was the last step that we've done, getting ourselves in position at end of year strong, much stronger over there than where we were just a year ago. i think we've done a very good job of rightsizing the business and the materials handling part of that was the last step that we've done getting ourselves in position at end of year strong much stronger over there than where we were just a year ago Bill, maybe you could give a little additional color or would you? bill maybe you could give a little additional color or would you

Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 2: would like as far as Q4, other inputs and takes. would like as far as Q4, other inputs and takes. would like as far as q4 other inputs and takes

Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. Justin, you know, as John mentioned, it's been three years of restructuring and downsizing effort there. What we're seeing coming through in the fourth quarter is basically what I would call us wrapping up those final steps of us of those downsizing efforts. The margin impacts were as a result of the lower sales volume. There was definitely manufacturing de-leveraging that occurred as a result of that, some higher costs that came through. We also had some longer-term legacy commercial contracts that we resolved within the quarter. That all in resulted in a headwind for margins in the U.K. in the fourth quarter. Yeah. yeah Yeah. yeah Justin, you know, as John mentioned, it's been three years of restructuring and downsizing effort there. justin you know as john mentioned it's been three years of restructuring and downsizing effort there What we're seeing coming through in the fourth quarter is basically what I would call us wrapping up those final steps of us of those downsizing efforts. what we're seeing coming through in the fourth quarter is basically what i would call us wrapping up those final steps of us of those downsizing efforts The margin impacts were as a result of the lower sales volume. the margin impacts were as a result of the lower sales volume There was definitely manufacturing de-leveraging that occurred as a result of that, some higher costs that came through. there was definitely manufacturing de-leveraging that occurred as a result of that some higher costs that came through We also had some longer-term legacy commercial contracts that we resolved within the quarter. we also had some longer-term legacy commercial contracts that we resolved within the quarter That all in resulted in a headwind for margins in the U.K. in the fourth quarter. that all in resulted in a headwind for margins in the u.k in the fourth quarter I guess what I'd like to highlight is we're seeing improvement on a run-rate basis moving into 2026 already, and we expect that to continue to improve as we go into the year. I guess what I'd like to highlight is we're seeing improvement on a run- rate basis moving into 2026 already, and we expect that to continue to improve as we go into the year. i guess what i'd like to highlight is we're seeing improvement on a run- rate basis moving into 2026 already and we expect that to continue to improve as we go into the year

Speaker 4: Got it. That's very helpful. If I could throw in one last one, just the, infrastructure backlog, you mentioned it was up from the end of the year. Is it up modestly or is it up material? I mean, you know, Got it. got it That's very helpful. that's very helpful If I could throw in one last one, just the, infrastructure backlog, you mentioned it was up from the end of the year. if i could throw in one last one just the infrastructure backlog you mentioned it was up from the end of the year Is it up modestly or is it up material? is it up modestly or is it up material I mean, you know, i mean you know

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 4: Obviously, you're only one month away from the end of the quarter. I mean, should we expect to see- Obviously, you're only one month away from the end of the quarter. obviously you're only one month away from the end of the quarter I mean, should we expect to see- i mean should we expect to see-

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 4: a nice uptick in the backlog. a nice uptick in the backlog. a nice uptick in the backlog

Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 4: for infrastructure? for infrastructure? for infrastructure

Speaker 2: We are up 15% since the end of the year. We are up 15% since the end of the year. we are up 15% since the end of the year

Speaker 4: Gotcha. All right. Gotcha. gotcha All right. all right

Speaker 2: So, uh. So, uh. so uh

Speaker 4: Thanks so much for taking me. Thanks so much for taking me. thanks so much for taking me

Speaker 2: Yeah. Thanks, Justin. Thanks for joining us today. Yeah. yeah Thanks, Justin. thanks justin Thanks for joining us today. thanks for joining us today

Speaker 7: Thank you. I'm showing no further questions, I would like to hand the conference back over to John Kasel for closing remarks. Thank you. thank you I'm showing no further questions, I would like to hand the conference back over to John Kasel for closing remarks. i'm showing no further questions i would like to hand the conference back over to john kasel for closing remarks

Speaker 2: Thank you, Michelle, and thank you for joining us today. I'd like you to leave you with one thing that, you know, we mention sometimes, but I think is really, really important to the culture and fabric of our company. I mentioned that, you know, in July will be my fifth year as CEO of the company. One of the things that the leadership team here has really been focusing on is our culture. L.B. Foster is, it is, we're in our 124th year. That really says, you know, something about the company and a lot of people have worked here for, you know, their entire career. What really makes us tick is, you know, is our value system. First and foremost is our focus on the people and safety, our safety results. Thank you, Michelle, and thank you for joining us today. thank you michelle and thank you for joining us today I'd like you to leave you with one thing that, you know, we mention sometimes, but I think is really, really important to the culture and fabric of our company. i'd like you to leave you with one thing that you know we mention sometimes but i think is really really important to the culture and fabric of our company I mentioned that, you know, in July will be my fifth year as CEO of the company. i mentioned that you know in july will be my fifth year as ceo of the company One of the things that the leadership team here has really been focusing on is our culture. one of the things that the leadership team here has really been focusing on is our culture L.B. l.b Foster is, it is, we're in our 124th year. foster is it is we're in our 124th year That really says, you know, something about the company and a lot of people have worked here for, you know, their entire career. that really says you know something about the company and a lot of people have worked here for you know their entire career What really makes us tick is, you know, is our value system. what really makes us tick is you know is our value system First and foremost is our focus on the people and safety, our safety results. first and foremost is our focus on the people and safety our safety results The last two years have been respectfully the best years we have had in the 124 years as far as safety performance, which, you know, it's not just the number, it's all the activity and the focus and the attention to our people, the process, putting money back in the facilities, the yards, and letting people know that they're important. When you have all those things come together, you're a more profitable company, and you're really providing the value to shareholders, and I think that's something that's sustainable. I'd like to recognize Ben McClellan. Ben started with the company just about 25 years ago. In October, he'll hit 25 years. Ben is the Director of Environmental Health and Safety. He's basically been in that role since he joined the company. The last two years have been respectfully the best years we have had in the 124 years as far as safety performance, which, you know, it's not just the number, it's all the activity and the focus and the attention to our people, the process, putting money back in the facilities, the yards, and letting people know that they're important. the last two years have been respectfully the best years we have had in the 124 years as far as safety performance which you know it's not just the number it's all the activity and the focus and the attention to our people the process putting money back in the facilities the yards and letting people know that they're important When you have all those things come together, you're a more profitable company, and you're really providing the value to shareholders, and I think that's something that's sustainable. when you have all those things come together you're a more profitable company and you're really providing the value to shareholders and i think that's something that's sustainable I'd like to recognize Ben McClellan. i'd like to recognize ben mcclellan Ben started with the company just about 25 years ago. ben started with the company just about 25 years ago In October, he'll hit 25 years. in october he'll hit 25 years Ben is the Director of Environmental Health and Safety. ben is the director of environmental health and safety He's basically been in that role since he joined the company. he's basically been in that role since he joined the company Let's just say 25 years ago, L.B. Foster was not what it is today. We had, we were, you know, we did not have great safety performance. There was a lot of effort and a lot of activities to make that happen, but the reality is it took time, it took dedication, it took focus, it brought in new skill sets. Ben was always there, and he was always pulling the levers as well as, you know, keeping the pieces together. I'd just like to thank Ben for all your efforts, all your focus, all your drive, and really putting L.B. Foster at the forefront of being world-class. Let's just say 25 years ago, L.B. let's just say 25 years ago l.b Foster was not what it is today. foster was not what it is today We had, we were, you know, we did not have great safety performance. we had we were you know we did not have great safety performance There was a lot of effort and a lot of activities to make that happen, but the reality is it took time, it took dedication, it took focus, it brought in new skill sets. there was a lot of effort and a lot of activities to make that happen but the reality is it took time it took dedication it took focus it brought in new skill sets Ben was always there, and he was always pulling the levers as well as, you know, keeping the pieces together. ben was always there and he was always pulling the levers as well as you know keeping the pieces together I'd just like to thank Ben for all your efforts, all your focus, all your drive, and really putting L.B. i'd just like to thank ben for all your efforts all your focus all your drive and really putting l.b Foster at the forefront of being world-class. foster at the forefront of being world-class world-class in, you know, how we do things and to be an extension of our, not just the shareholders, but, you know, our customers as well. Thank you for your time today, and look forward to meeting or hooking up with you after we finish Q1 results. Take care. world-class in, you know, how we do things and to be an extension of our, not just the shareholders, but, you know, our customers as well. world-class in you know how we do things and to be an extension of our not just the shareholders but you know our customers as well Thank you for your time today, and look forward to meeting or hooking up with you after we finish Q1 results. thank you for your time today and look forward to meeting or hooking up with you after we finish q1 results Take care. take care

Speaker 7: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect. This concludes today's conference call. this concludes today's conference call Thank you for participating. thank you for participating You may now disconnect. you may now disconnect