ADF Group Q4 2026 Earnings Report

ADF Group EPS Results

• Actual EPS: C$0.23
• Consensus EPS: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

ADF Group Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $78.79 million
• Expected Revenue: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

ADF Group Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q4 2026
• Date: 4/16/2026
• Time: Before Market Opens
• Conference Call Date: Thursday, April 16, 2026
• Conference Call Time: 10:00AM ET

ADF Group (TSE:DRX) is a North American leader in the design and engineering of connections, fabrication, including the application of industrial coatings, and installation of complex steel structures, heavy steel built-ups, as well as in miscellaneous and architectural metals for the non-residential infrastructure sector. ADF Group Inc. is one of the few players in the industry capable of handling highly technically complex mega projects on fast-track schedules in the commercial, institutional, industrial and public sectors. The Corporation operates two fabrication plants and two paint shops, in Canada and in the United States, and a Construction Division in the United States, which specializes in the installation of steel structures and other related products.

ADF Group Q4 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Negative Sentiment: Revenues fell to CAD 258.7 million (down from CAD 339.6M) and gross margin dropped to 23.1% from 31.6%, driven by U.S. tariff-related higher raw material costs, project delays and an unfavorable project mix.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted EBITDA declined to CAD 43.5 million (16.8% of revenues) and net income fell to CAD 26.3 million (EPS CAD 0.93) versus CAD 66.8 million a year ago, reflecting the margin compression and inclusion of Groupe LAR in SG&A.
• Positive Sentiment: The Groupe LAR acquisition has added CAD 20 million of revenue and CAD 2 million to gross margin since closing, and ADF plans ~CAD 35 million of CapEx to expand and modernize the LAR plant to drive synergies and stronger margins in FY2028.
• Negative Sentiment: New U.S. tariff changes impose a 10% tariff on the commercial invoice value (including profit) for U.S. projects fabricated in Terrebonne, representing roughly a ~5% hit to margins on affected work and adding material market uncertainty.
• Positive Sentiment: Order backlog remains robust at CAD 561.1 million (plus CAD 157.3M of recently announced contracts, including a 4‑year hydroelectric master contract), and the company expects revenue growth in FY2027 though early‑year margins may stagnate.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the ADF Group results for the fiscal year ended January 31st, 2026. Note that at this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. Also note that this call is being recorded on Thursday, April 16th, 2026. I would like to turn the conference over to Jean-François Boursier, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Thank you. Good morning. Welcome to ADF's conference call covering the 12-month period ended January 31st, 2026. I am with Pierre Paschini, President and Chief Operating Officer of ADF, who will be available to answer your question at the end of the call. I will first update you on our full year results, which were disclosed earlier this morning by press release, and then proceed with a quick update about our operations, including our recent new contracts announcement and the recent U.S. tariffs change. This said, let me remind you that some of the issues discussed today may include forward-looking statements. These are documented in ADF Group's management report for the 2026 fiscal year, which will be filed with SEDAR in the coming days.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

On this very call a year ago, and in spite of exceptional results, we were confirming the significant uncertainties that the then recently announced U.S. tariffs were bringing to our markets and operations. A year later, and considering all the tariffs-related turmoil, we can confirm that we, without a doubt, closed our fiscal 2026 with exceptional results and in a much better position to face these uncertainties in light of Groupe LAR's acquisition. Revenues for the fiscal year ended January 31st, 2026, reached CAD 258.7 million, compared to CAD 339.6 million last year. As a percentage of revenues, the gross margin went from 31.6% in fiscal 2025 to 23.1% during the fiscal year ended January 31st, 2026. As just mentioned, fiscal 2025 was an exceptionally good year with a favorable project mix.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

The fiscal 2026 results have been impacted by the U.S. tariffs, both directly with higher raw material costs and indirectly with delays in project signing and fabrication start. As such, and as already mentioned in previous calls, ADF implemented a work-sharing program at its Terrebonne, Québec facility earlier this year, which reduced fabrication hours but also enabled ADF to reduce the cost impact, although not entirely, considering that the Canadian employment program compensated some of these reduced hours. The Groupe LAR acquisition added CAD 20 million in revenue since its acquisition was finalized on September 18, 2025, and added CAD 2 million to our consolidated gross margin for the same period. Adjusted EBITDA totaled CAD 43.5 million or 16.8% of revenues, compared with CAD 91.3 million or 26.9% of revenues a year ago.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

The year-over-year decrease comes from the previously explained gross margin variances and by the selling administrative expenses, which at CAD 23.2 million, were CAD 1.1 million higher than a year ago. All of the increase being explained by the inclusion of Groupe LAR in our consolidated SG&As. We closed our January 31st, 2026 fiscal year with a mostly non-monetary foreign exchange gain of CAD 2.1 million, compared to a CAD 5.6 million loss a year ago. Most of this variance coming from the end-of-year mark-to-market valuation of our FX contracts outstanding at both year ends. Year to date, ADF posted net income of CAD 26.3 million, or CAD 0.93 basic and diluted per share, compared with a net income of CAD 66.8 million a year ago, or CAD 1.84 basic and diluted per share.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Cash flows from operating activities generated CAD 49.4 million, while we invested CAD 11.1 million in CapEx, mostly for equipment maintenance at both our plants in Terrebonne, Québec and in Great Falls, Montana. We plan to invest close to CAD 35 million for our 2027 fiscal year, the majority of this amount being for our Groupe LAR plant expansion and modernization. In parallel, we are presently negotiating financing packages for these investments. We will be able to provide further updates on our next call. As of January 31st, 2026, working capital stood at CAD 104.8 million, just CAD 4.4 million lower than last year. Also on January 31st, 2026, cash and cash equivalents stood at CAD 62.7 million, which is actually CAD 2.7 million higher than a year ago, even considering the conclusion of our NCIB and the acquisition of Groupe LAR.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Yesterday, the board of directors approved the payment of a semiannual dividend of CAD 0.02 per share, which will be paid on May 15, 2026, to shareholders of record as at April 27, 2026. We closed the year with an order backlog of CAD 561.1 million as at January 31st, 2026, excluding the new contracts totaling CAD 157.3 million announced last week. The ending backlog included CAD 138.2 million of contracts from Groupe LAR, which also excludes last week's announcement. Quickly looking at the fourth quarter results, ADF recorded revenues of CAD 78.8 million, up CAD 1.4 million from the fourth quarter of 2025 fiscal year. Fourth quarter revenues this year did include CAD 13.8 million coming from Groupe LAR. The gross margin as a percentage of revenues stood at 21.5% for the fourth quarter ended January 31st, 2026, compared with 31% for the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2025.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

The margin decrease between these two quarters is primarily explained by the mix of products and fabrication, including lower margins coming from the LAR projects. We recorded a net income of CAD 6.4 million during the last quarter of fiscal 2026, compared with net income of CAD 9.1 million for the corresponding period of fiscal 2025, with minimal impact coming from LAR, which basically broke even for the quarter. Because the corporation carries out contracts that vary in complexity and in duration, upward and downward fluctuation may occur from quarter to quarter. In light of this, revenue and order backlog growth must be analyzed over several quarters, not just from one period to the next.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

As mentioned at the beginning of the call, the situation was bleak a year ago, and we're definitely very satisfied with how everything turned out, including our overall financial results, our ending balance sheet and cash situation, and with the conclusion of the LAR acquisition. As we have seen as recently as two weeks ago with the latest tariffs announcement, we are still in for more surprises and sadly, uncertainties. Talking about these last tariffs modifications, we can now confirm that for the time being, our U.S. projects fabricated in Terrebonne will now be impacted by a 10% tariff which is applied on the value of the commercial invoice, including profit, and this in spite that the steel used to fabricate this project comes from U.S. mills.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Although not ideal, we can say that our recent backlog shift from U.S. to Canadian projects, aided by our July 2025 long-term contract and Groupe LAR acquisition, reduced what could have been a much higher cost increase for ADF. Additionally, we are working with our U.S. clients to alleviate some of these additional costs. This said, what this latest announcement definitely brings is additional uncertainties to our market as it confirms the unpredictability of the overall trade situation. Nevertheless, as we announced last week, we are still focusing on the elements that we do control, and as such, we have been able to further increase our backlog. The largest of the series of new contracts in terms of values and duration is for the fabrication and delivery of various heavy steel structures for a project in the hydroelectric sector in Québec.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

This project is a four-year master contract for Groupe LAR. Since the acquisition, we've been able to grow LAR backlog, and we are still active as the hydroelectric market delivers its expected growth. We are on the verge of breaking ground in Métabetchouan for our Groupe LAR plant expansion and modernization, which is a key step in our continued growth. In light of all of this, we do anticipate revenue growth for our fiscal year ending January 31st, 2027, despite the ongoing challenge of finalizing contracts with our U.S. customers that would normally be carried out at our plant located in Terrebonne, Québec. However, given that the capital investment that I just mentioned will not have a significant operational impact in the fiscal year ending January 31st, 2027, we expect margins to somewhat stagnate in the first quarters of fiscal year 2027, especially when adding the recently announced tariff change.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

This trend will be reversed as the integration of Groupe LAR continues, and we complete the projects inherited at the time of Groupe LAR's acquisition. The acquisition of Groupe LAR, the new Canadian/U.S. allocation of our order backlog, and the optimal utilization of our fabrication facility in Great Falls, Montana, allow us to still look forward to fiscal year 2027 with optimism, allowing us to continue our orderly growth despite tariff uncertainties. Thank you all for your interest and confidence in ADF. Pierre and I will now be happy to answer your questions.

[Operator]

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, if you do have any questions, please press star followed by one on your touch-tone phone. You will then hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press star followed by two. If you're using your speakerphone, you will need to lift the handset first before pressing any keys. Thank you. Please go ahead and press star one now if you have any questions. First question will be from Nicholas Cortellucci at Atrium. Please go ahead.

[Nicholas Cortellucci, Co-Founder and Equity Research Analyst at Atrium]

Good morning, gentlemen. Thanks for taking my questions here.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Morning, Nick.

[Pierre Paschini, President and COO at ADF Group]

Morning.

[Nicholas Cortellucci, Co-Founder and Equity Research Analyst at Atrium]

Morning. First thing I was wondering about was the new four-year contract. What does the timing look like on that for getting started?

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Most of the volume, that contract will not have much impact in our FY 2027. Most of the fabrication will start next year. It's going to be four years, but with limited impact or close to no impact on our revenues this year for FY 2027.

[Nicholas Cortellucci, Co-Founder and Equity Research Analyst at Atrium]

Okay, thank you. Are you guys seeing anything in these growth markets you're going after, maybe being nuclear or data centers, anything like that?

[Pierre Paschini, President and COO at ADF Group]

Yeah, we're looking at a couple of those projects. Like I say, right now we're bidding on some stuff for data centers and stuff like that. With the tariffs right now, and that new 10%, we need to be a bit more competitive. It's going to cost us 5% on our margin. There's a lot of work out there, so I think it's feasible that we should be able to get some work by the end of the year.

[Nicholas Cortellucci, Co-Founder and Equity Research Analyst at Atrium]

Okay, thank you. Regarding the CapEx plan and operational efficiencies for LAR, how do you see that playing out, kind of sequential improvements throughout the year here?

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Well, the construction will occur this year. The expansion itself will not really happen this year, so we shouldn't see too much efficiency gain margin-wise in FY 2027 because the plant will be up and running only late in the first quarter of next fiscal year. As I mentioned earlier, and besides the expansion and the new equipment, we are working with LAR on optimizing the synergies between the two entities, and we're still in that process. That, as I mentioned, should start to transpire on our actual margin, probably more so in the second half of the year. Lastly, as I also mentioned, with the acquisition, there was a backlog that was in place that had a certain margin profile in it.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Obviously, you can understand that last year, while LAR was trying to cope with their situation and as we were negotiating, they were still trying to get business and maybe not have the same leverage in negotiating contract that they normally do. Some of the contracts that were signed in the past months might not have carried the usual margin. They are still positive, they're still good. As you saw from the number I'm giving, it's definitely not the same level of margin. It did have a downward impact on our overall consolidated margin. That said, it's added volume. The good news is that we are growing. As we had mentioned, we're seeing huge potential from LAR on the hydroelectric side. We've been pretty successful in signing new contracts, actually, probably even better than we had anticipated.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

We're still seeing lots of opportunities going forward, but obviously for all of that to work out, we do need to have a successful expansion. We're obviously spending a lot of time on not only finalizing the bids and making sure that the construction starts on time and the entire project is on time so that we meet our deadline. Once that all pans out, FY 2028 and the following years will really start showing the full positive impact of that acquisition, along with what we hope will be a return to normal to our more ADF regular structural work as we see what will come out of the U.S.

[Nicholas Cortellucci, Co-Founder and Equity Research Analyst at Atrium]

Right. Okay. Thank you. That kind of CAD 2 million gross margin from LAR, that's kind of a backwards-looking number and the new contracts, from what I get, that you guys are signing are more up to that ADF standard or getting closer to it?

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Well, pushing that way. Obviously, there are things we need to do to further improve, including the actual operations. Obviously with the new equipment, they'll definitely be able to be more efficient with the work, so that helps. This is something that ADF has been really good at doing over the years, is maintain our equipment as efficient as possible and always invest to be as optimal as we could be from an efficiency standpoint. There are things we can do now. There are definitely things that will further. There's definitely going to be a huge step with the new equipment and the expansion, but working and definitely negotiating with not only higher margins, but also with more favorable payment terms and overall conditions.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

We're really putting, I think we've been talking for a number of years about how careful we are on contract signing and our risk management. We're putting all our processes in place so that we bid projects both for LAR and ADF or actually for LAR the same way and with the same due diligence that we did for our ADF bids. So that should all translate into better terms and better margins.

[Nicholas Cortellucci, Co-Founder and Equity Research Analyst at Atrium]

Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. Just last one here from the tariff commentary you had there. I think the summary is that you guys qualify for the 10% tariff because the steel is purchased from U.S. steel mills, but because it's being applied to the total value, it's a net negative.

[Pierre Paschini, President and COO at ADF Group]

Well, it's been applied to the fabrication and the material, even though it's from the States.

[Nicholas Cortellucci, Co-Founder and Equity Research Analyst at Atrium]

Yeah.

[Pierre Paschini, President and COO at ADF Group]

We're penalized, $300 a ton basically, which amounts to maybe 5% on the margin. Depends on the kind of margin, depends on the work. There's a lot of work in the States right now. Most of the plants are busy, so we'll be able to charge a bit more and compensate for that 5%. That's what I think. Right now, the bigger guys out there, five or six of the biggest companies, they're busy for the next two years, which is a good sign for us because there's more work coming up. We'll see. I think there's an opportunity because, cashflow-wise and financial-wise, we're very sound. It's just a question of hitting the right job with the right margin.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Just to further explain on the tariffs, Nick. With the previous, there were tariffs, but more specifically on the steel and the aluminum, if we're buying our steel from U.S. mills, there were basically no tariffs. We had the exemption. Now, in spite of buying all the steel, there is that additional 10%, and that 10% applies not just on the material, but on the commercial invoice, including profit. I think it just highlights the fact that it is still nobody knows, and there were no advance notice. From all we understood, things were sort of moving along, and then all of a sudden you've got coming out of nowhere that 10% announcement that nobody saw coming.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

As I mentioned on the call, we're not thrilled with it, but obviously the moves we made over the past year are definitely paying off because the same 10% announcement with our old setup, 85% volume, and the majority of the Terrebonne fabrication going to U.S., that announcement could have had the potential of being a really significant negative impact on us. Luckily, considering the mix, the portion of volume fabricated in Terrebonne going to the U.S. is much lower. As I mentioned also, we will be working really hard with our clients. We think we've got a couple of opportunities maybe to pass some of those costs along to the clients. For the upcoming contracts, as Pierre just explained, well, we'll have that discussion. Obviously, everybody is in the same boat. This is not something that's just specific to ADF.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

All the Canadian steel manufacturer have the same tariffs, and actually all Canadian fabricators doing businesses with the U.S. have the same that have steel and aluminum in their components have the same impact. As we've always did, we'll negotiate, make sure that it makes sense. It's just that it won't reduce the time the negotiation of signing new contracts will take. It's too bad because we're starting slowly but surely. I think everybody was starting to get used to the setup. As I mentioned, the announcement that happened just reconfirmed to everybody that we're still in an unknown and uncertain situation.

[Nicholas Cortellucci, Co-Founder and Equity Research Analyst at Atrium]

Okay. Understood. Well, I think you guys have definitely made some major improvements, as you said, from where we were at a year ago. Definitely better positioning going into this, and hopefully it all ends up in your guys' favor. Thanks for answering my questions, and I'll hop back into queue.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Thanks, Nick.

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, a reminder to please press star one should you have any questions. Thank you. Next will be Aniss Gamassi at Bastion Asset Management. Please go ahead.

[Aniss Gamassi, Senior Quantitative Investment Analyst at Bastion Asset Management]

Hi. Thank you for taking my question. Maybe just to wrap up the gross margin commentary. As I look at the next fiscal year, you've done 23% this year. Do you expect sort of the full year for next year to be similar, with the first half being lower and the second half maybe higher? Or do you expect the full year overall gross margins to be lower than the current fiscal year?

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Well, we don't provide guidelines, margin guidelines, but suffice to say that, we're definitely not expecting huge improvements. I'd really be satisfied to maintain the same type of margins for the full year, with maybe margin being a bit more sluggish in the first half of the year and improving in the second. I think it will depend on what happens next, how successful we are in signing new contracts and avoiding these new tariffs. Based on what we're seeing now, based on the backlog, I'd be satisfied to maintain or slightly improve year to date on a full year basis, what we've been able to do this year, but really in two steps.

[Aniss Gamassi, Senior Quantitative Investment Analyst at Bastion Asset Management]

Understood. Maybe second question, broader picture question here. We're witnessing sort of a significant acceleration in Canadian infrastructure activity. I'm interested in your perspective on how ADF's current capacity and footprint aligns with the demand shift. Are you seeing this momentum translate into your bidding pipeline within your traditional projects and maybe beyond that, in Canada specifically?

[Pierre Paschini, President and COO at ADF Group]

Yeah. Basically, we're following our customers. These guys like Pomerleau and all the big guys, EBC, EllisDon, they've been chasing us and looking at some work. Right now, we're looking at major work in the Montréal airport, some work in Ontario also. There's some work out west. We're looking basically with the oil right now, which is going up. There's going to be some major investments. We've got our feet in the right place right now, and we know these customers. I think that probably right now we get 57% of our work is here in Canada. Maybe it's going to be more than 50%. We got work in the States, but our plant in Montana right now is busy, but we still can add more work in there.

[Pierre Paschini, President and COO at ADF Group]

I think infrastructure-wise, we can do bridge work, we can do any type of work with our facility here in Terrebonne. Like I say, the work is there, the bids are coming in, and we'll be looking at getting more work on the Canadian side.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Capacity-wise, there's no issue. We still have sufficient capacity, so we've got room to add in Terrebonne. Obv`iously with Copel expansion that we'll be doing this year, we will provide them with the additional capacity. It's definitely not a problem to further grow the backlog with the facilities as they are today.

[Aniss Gamassi, Senior Quantitative Investment Analyst at Bastion Asset Management]

Thank you very much. That was it for me.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Thank you.

[Operator]

At this time, [None-English content], it appears we have no other questions registered. Please proceed.

[Jean-François Boursier, CFO at ADF Group]

Thank you. Before we conclude today's conference call, I would like to remind you that ADF will hold its shareholders meeting on June 9th at 11:00 A.M. Our AGM will be held this year at our corporate office here in Terrebonne, Québec. Financial results for the first quarter ending April 30th, 2026, will also be disclosed during our shareholders meeting. Additional meeting information will be made available in the coming weeks. Thank you again for your interest towards ADF.

[Operator]

Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, this does indeed conclude your conference call for today. Once again, thank you for attending. At this time, we do ask that you please disconnect your lines. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Participants

Executives

• Jean-François Boursier, CFO
• Pierre Paschini, President and COO

Analysts

• Aniss Gamassi, Senior Quantitative Investment Analyst at Bastion Asset Management
• Nicholas Cortellucci, Co-Founder and Equity Research Analyst at Atrium