Fourth quarter operating income increased by 25% over the prior year to $72 million and increased by 15% to $255 million for the full year. On an adjusted basis1, operating income increased by 25% to $72 million in the fourth quarter and increased by 15% to $256 million for the full year. The fourth quarter adjusted operating margin on NSR2 increased by 100 basis points to 10.0%, which marked the achievement of the Company’s target to deliver a double-digit margin in the International business. The full year adjusted operating margin increased by 60 basis points over the prior year to 9.2%.
Backlog
Total backlog in the design business increased by 12%6 over the prior year to $21.4 billion, which set a new record, and included strong growth in both the Americas and International regions. This performance contributed to a full year book-to-burn ratio of 1.3 in the design business. Design backlog also included a record level of contracted backlog that provides for significant visibility into growth in the coming year. Total backlog of $41.2 billion marked a 2% increase over the prior year.
Balance Sheet
As of September 30, 2023, AECOM had $1.3 billion of total cash and cash equivalents, $2.2 billion of total debt and $957 million of net debt (total debt less cash and cash equivalents). Net leverage8 was 0.9x.
Tax Rate
The effective tax rate was 16.2% in the fourth quarter and 26.3% in the full year. On an adjusted1 basis, the effective tax rate was 25.2% and 25.5% in the full year. The adjusted tax rate was derived by re-computing the quarterly effective tax rate on adjusted net income9. The adjusted tax expense differs from the GAAP tax expense based on the taxability or deductibility and tax rate applied to each of the adjustments.
Conference Call
AECOM is hosting a conference call tomorrow at 8 a.m. Eastern Time, during which management will make a brief
presentation focusing on the Company's results, strategy and operating trends, and outlook. Interested parties can listen to the conference call and view accompanying slides via webcast at https://investors.aecom.com. The webcast will be available for replay following the call.
1 Excludes the impact of certain items, such as restructuring costs, amortization of intangible assets, non-core AECOM Capital and other items. See Regulation G Information for a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the comparable GAAP measures. |
2 Revenue, less pass-through revenue; growth rates are presented on a constant-currency basis. |
3 Reflects segment operating performance, excluding AECOM Capital and G&A. |
4 Net income before interest expense, tax expense, depreciation and amortization. |
5 Free cash flow is defined as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures, net of proceeds from disposals of property and equipment. |
6 On a constant-currency basis. |
7 Return on invested capital, or ROIC, reflects continuing operations and is calculated as the sum of adjusted net income as presented in the Company’s Regulation G Information and adjusted interest expense, net of interest income, divided by average quarterly invested capital as defined as the sum of attributable shareholder’s equity and total debt, less cash and cash equivalents. |
8 Net leverage is comprised of EBITDA as defined in the Company’s credit agreement dated October 17, 2014, as amended, and total debt on the Company’s financial statements, net of total cash and cash equivalents. |
9 Inclusive of non-controlling interest deduction and adjusted for financing charges in interest expense, the amortization of intangible assets and is based on continuing operations. |
About AECOM
AECOM (NYSE: ACM) is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy, and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this communication other than statements of historical fact are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of federal and state securities laws, including any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives for future operations, profitability, strategic value creation, risk profile and investment strategies, and any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, and the expected financial and operational results of AECOM. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in any of our forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results, performance and achievements, or industry results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: our business is cyclical and vulnerable to economic downturns and client spending reductions; limited control over operations that run through our joint venture entities; liability for misconduct by our employees or consultants; failure to comply with laws or regulations applicable to our business; maintaining adequate surety and financial capacity; potential high leverage and inability to service our debt and guarantees; ability to continue payment of dividends; exposure to political and economic risks in different countries, including tariffs; currency exchange rate and interest fluctuations; retaining and recruiting key technical and management personnel; legal claims; inadequate insurance coverage; environmental law compliance and adequate nuclear indemnification; unexpected adjustments and cancellations related to our backlog; partners and third parties who may fail to satisfy their legal obligations; AECOM Capital real estate development projects; managing pension cost; cybersecurity issues, IT outages and data privacy; risks associated with the expected benefits and costs of the sale of our Management Services and self-perform at-risk civil infrastructure, power construction and oil and gas construction businesses, including the risk that any contingent purchase price adjustments from those transactions could be unfavorable and result in lower aggregate cash proceeds and any future proceeds owed to us under those transactions could be lower than we expect; as well as other additional risks and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements set forth in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement.
Non-GAAP Financial Information
This press release contains financial information calculated other than in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The Company believes that non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted EPS, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net/operating income, adjusted tax rate, net service revenue and free cash flow provide a meaningful perspective on its business results as the Company utilizes this information to evaluate and manage the business. We use adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS to exclude the impact of certain items, such as amortization expense and taxes to aid investors in better understanding our core performance results. We use free cash flow to present the cash generated from operations after capital expenditures to maintain our business. We present net service revenue (NSR) to exclude pass-through subcontractor costs from revenue to provide investors with a better understanding of our operational performance. We present adjusted operating margin to reflect segment operating performance of our Americas and International segments, excluding AECOM Capital.
