Tecnoglass Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Record revenue and backlog: Second-quarter revenue rose 15.6% year over year to $295.3 million, while backlog increased 15.6% to a record $1.4 billion. The book-to-bill ratio remained above 1.0 for the 23rd consecutive quarter.
  • Positive Sentiment: Broad-based demand and market-share gains continued, with multifamily and commercial revenue up 15.7% and single-family residential revenue up 15.4%. Management cited strong quoting activity, geographic expansion, a growing dealer network, and momentum in its vinyl product line.
  • Negative Sentiment: Profitability was pressured by a 77% year-over-year increase in all-in U.S. aluminum costs, Colombia’s 23% minimum-wage increase, a stronger Colombian peso, and tariffs. Adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 17.5% from 31.2%, and the company identified foreign exchange as the primary reason for reducing its outlook.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Tecnoglass narrowed its 2026 guidance to $1.08 billion-$1.12 billion of revenue and $220 million-$230 million of adjusted EBITDA, while expecting third-quarter revenue to decline sequentially to about $280 million because $15 million-$20 million of residential orders were pulled forward before May pricing actions. Management expects pricing benefits and automation savings to increasingly offset tariff impacts, with full offset targeted for 2027.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Second-quarter operating cash flow was limited to approximately $4.4 million by seasonal tax payments, tariff-related payments, inventory purchases, and working-capital needs. The company ended the quarter with about $360 million of liquidity, 0.6x net leverage, and $80 million-$95 million of planned 2026 capital expenditures.
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Earnings Conference Call
Tecnoglass Q2 2026
00:00 / 00:00

There are 8 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good day, and welcome to the Tecnoglass Incorporated second quarter 2026 conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key, followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference call over to Mr. Brad Cray, Investor Relations. Mr. Cray, the floor is yours, sir.

Speaker 1

Thank you for joining us for Tecnoglass' second quarter 2026 conference call. A copy of the slide presentation to accompany this call may be obtained on the investors section of the Tecnoglass website. Our speakers for today's call are Chief Executive Officer, José Manuel Daes, Chief Operating Officer, Chris Daes, and Chief Financial Officer, Santiago Giraldo. I'd like to remind everyone that matters discussed in this call, except for historical information, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding future financial performance, future growth, and future acquisitions. These statements are based on Tecnoglass' current expectations or beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances.

Speaker 1

Actual results may vary in a material nature from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, and/or regulatory factors, and other risks and uncertainties affecting the operation of Tecnoglass' business. These risks, uncertainties, and contingencies are indicated from time to time in Tecnoglass' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The information discussed during the call is presented in light of such risks. Further, investors should keep in mind that Tecnoglass' financial results in any particular period may not be indicative of future results. Tecnoglass is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, or otherwise. I will now turn the call over to José Manuel, beginning on slide number four.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Brad. Thank you everyone for participating on today's call. We are pleased to report another period of record revenue that demonstrates the strength and resilience of our business with robust double-digit growth in both our single-family residential and multifamily and commercial businesses. Our backlog is at another record level. We continue to gain market share. The strength of our platform continues to differentiate us in the market. That includes the quality of our products, our vertically integrated low-cost model, and our deep customer relationships. As we discussed last quarter, we expected the cost pressure from tariffs to hit ahead of the offsetting benefit from our pricing actions and other efficiency measures. That played out as anticipated. We have spent years building the flexibility to operate through shifting cost and trade conditions.

Speaker 2

That model lets us respond faster than most companies in our industry facing those same cost pressures. Demand remains strong even with our own pricing actions now flowing into orders. Our industry-leading advantages are truly hard to replicate. Our geographic expansion is gaining traction with strong reception of our recently launched Legacy line and our West Coast showroom on track to open in late September to support growing demand and marking our seventh U.S. showroom opened in the past few years. Our vinyl line continues to build momentum, and our automation program is advancing on schedule. Subsequent to quarter end, we completed our redomiciliation from the Cayman Islands to the United States in July. This further aligns our corporate structure with our U.S. listing, enhances index eligibility, and broadens our potential investor base.

Speaker 2

We also expect to complete the purchase of the land for the potential new U.S. facility in the coming weeks. As we discussed last quarter, we continue to advance discussions with state and local authorities on incentives that will support the economics of the potential project, and we are working to finalize the remaining terms. Tecnoglass has been built over many years with a focus on high-quality products, customer service, and operational excellence. That discipline continues to underpin the business today. Over the long term, we expect this model to keep generating durable cash flow, which supports our ability to return capital to shareholders. It also lets us keep investing in the growth initiatives that will drive long-term value. We remain as confident as ever in our ability to continue building long-term value for our shareholders. I will now turn the call over to Chris to provide additional operating highlights.

Operator

Thank you, José Manuel. Moving to slide numbers five and six. Our backlog grew 15.6% year-over-year to another record of $1.4 billion. Our backlog has shown consistent sequential growth every quarter since 2021, and our book-to-bill ratio of 1.1 extends our track record to 23 consecutive quarters above 1.0 times. Multifamily and commercial revenues grew 15.7% year-over-year to a record $168.8 million, reflecting consistent execution on an expanding project pipeline and continued market share gains, including growing contributions from projects beyond Florida. The strength of our backlog is supported by several key factors. First, we experienced virtually no project cancellations as we typically install windows in buildings that are already well advanced into the construction process. Second, our mix has shifted toward larger, high-end projects such as luxury condominiums and upscale lodging, which have been less sensitive to interest rate fluctuations.

Operator

Third, the continued geographic diversification of our project portfolio is driving our expansion in untapped markets. Florida represented approximately three-quarters of backlog in the second quarter versus approximately 80% in the first quarter and nearly 90% in the year-ago quarter, reinforcing our geographic expansion. Importantly, while this reflects strong growth in new markets, our Florida pipeline remains healthy, and we continue to expect strong demand trends in the Florida market through the balance of the year. Moving to slide number seven. Single-family residential revenues grew 15.4% year-over-year to a record $126.5 million. This performance was driven by continued market share gains through geographic expansion, growing contributions from our vinyl product line, and healthy order activity, including strong orders placed ahead of our May pricing actions.

Operator

As a reminder, approximately 65%-70% of our single-family revenues are tied to repair and remodel demand, which is more resilient and less correlated with mortgage rates. We see multiple avenues to continue gaining share. Our dealer network has expanded over 20% in the last 12 months, supported by our high-quality products and efficient 5-6-week lead times. We have generated approximately $15 million of single-family residential revenues outside of Florida year to date, on pace with our original target of roughly $30 million for the full year. Our Los Angeles showroom is on track to open in late September, which will be our fifth showroom outside of Florida and seventh overall, bringing our Legacy Lite aluminum window line to the West Coast market.

Operator

Our vinyl line continues to gain traction, contributing to this quarter's record results as we continue scaling across our footprint with this product that has more than doubled our addressable market. Turning to slide number eight. Despite a mute residential market, Tecnoglass has consistently outperformed industry benchmarks, with our single-family revenues growing at a roughly 40% organic CAGR since entering the market in 2018, while total U.S. residential improvement spending is expected to grow 5.1% this year. From a regional perspective, the South Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, and South Central census divisions, where our business is more concentrated, are projected to be among the strongest-performing regions for residential construction spending in 2026. This geographic alignment between our platform and strong markets, combined with our expanding dealer base and the ongoing vinyl ramp, underpins our confidence in achieving our double-digit revenue growth guidance, which is well above expected end market growth.

Operator

I will now turn the call over to Santiago to discuss our financial results and full-year outlook.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Cristian. Turning to the drivers of revenue on slide number 10. Total revenues for the second quarter increased 15.6% year-over-year to a record $295.3 million. Growth was broad-based, with continued execution on our record backlog in multifamily and commercial and ongoing market share gains in single-family residential, aided by orders placed ahead of our May pricing action. An estimated $15 million-$20 million of residential orders were pulled into the second quarter ahead of the May price increase. Order levels have since returned to a more normalized growth trend. Looking at the profit drivers on slide number 11. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2026 was $51.7 million, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.5%, compared to $79.8 million or 31.2% in the prior year quarter. Second quarter gross margin was 37.3%, compared to 44.7% in the prior year quarter.

Speaker 3

The year-over-year change in gross margin was primarily driven by several factors. This includes elevated U.S. aluminum costs, with the average all-in U.S. aluminum price up approximately 77% year-over-year. Higher labor costs related to the 23% minimum wage increase in Colombia at the beginning of the year and a Colombian peso that appreciated approximately 14% year-over-year. The quarter also included approximately $0.7 million in severance costs related to headcount reductions under our efficiency and automation initiatives. These collective pressures were partially offset by operating leverage on record volume. The May pricing actions began flowing into orders late in the quarter with the revenue benefit beginning in the third quarter. SG&A expenses were $73.5 million, or 24.9% of total revenues, compared to $53.1 million, or 20.8% of total revenues in the prior year quarter.

Speaker 3

The increase primarily reflected approximately $17 million of expenses associated with the Section 232 tariffs on finished aluminum windows, along with higher transportation and commission expenses associated with our revenue growth and higher personnel expenses from annual salary increases, coupled with a stronger peso. This was nearly a full quarter carrying the new 10% tariff. We provide a closer look at the margin dynamics on slide number 12. Aluminum was at a record high for the quarter. The average all-in U.S. aluminum price, which combines the LME benchmark and the Midwest Premium, was up approximately 77% year-over-year. Costs have come down from this year's peak in May. The peso has continued to strengthen, and at approximately 3,200 to the dollar is currently at its strongest level since June 2019, running stronger than the assumptions in our prior outlook scenarios.

Speaker 3

On average, a 5% movement in the Colombian peso impacts our gross margins by approximately 120 basis points. We will continue to be opportunistic in adding foreign exchange hedges where possible, in addition to reducing our peso expenses in line with our ongoing automation-related headcount reduction. I will walk through how our pricing flows into results. On the residential side, our May actions included a 7% adjustment. Those orders started getting invoiced right at the end of the second quarter. The benefit begins in the third quarter and builds through September as more of what we ship reflects those actions. In commercial and multifamily, pricing flows through over a longer time horizon. What we are invoicing today out of backlog was priced well before May, the benefit reaches revenue as we book and execute additional projects.

Speaker 3

That starts in late 2026 on smaller, quick turnaround jobs and in late 2027 on larger projects. Putting that together, we expect third quarter gross margin to be roughly flat or slightly higher when compared to the second quarter, with improved pricing helping offset a stronger peso and continued high aluminum costs. Now examining our cash flow and balance sheet on slide numbers 13 and 14. Cash provided by operating activities of approximately $4.4 million in the second quarter reflected the seasonal timing of annual income tax payments for our Colombian subsidiaries, which totaled approximately $26 million during the quarter, along with tariff-related payments and continued strategic purchases of U.S.-sourced aluminum as part of our supply chain resilience and tariff mitigation strategy. Capital expenditures of $35.4 million in the quarter included scheduled payments related to previously announced capacity and automation investments. Our balance sheet remains solid.

Speaker 3

We ended the quarter with total liquidity of approximately $360 million and no significant debt maturities until the end of 2030. With a net leverage ratio of 0.6 times, we maintain a conservative leverage profile that provides significant financial flexibility to continue investing in growth and returning capital to shareholders. Our disciplined investments in operational excellence and our vertically integrated platform have consistently delivered superior returns relative to the broader industry, supported by our leading profitability and working capital management. We expect these trends to continue generating cash flows to support our history of balanced, high-return capital deployment. Moving to our outlook on slide 16. Based on our first half performance and the visibility provided by our order book, we are narrowing our full year 2026 revenue outlook to a range of $1.08 billion-$1.12 billion, with adjusted EBITDA in the range of $220 million-$230 million.

Speaker 3

This factors in our expectation for third quarter revenues to step down sequentially from the record second quarter, primarily reflecting some revenue pulled forward ahead of the implemented price increases. That said, we expect year-over-year growth in each of the remaining quarters of 2026 and reiterate our expectation for double-digit revenue growth for the year, supported by a solid production schedule and a growing benefit from pricing. Our automation and efficiency program reduced headcount by 10% as of the end of June, with additional automation expected to be operational by year-end, providing incremental headcount efficiency. We are executing this program while preserving our capacity to serve a strong order book. We believe these actions are strengthening our cost structure and competitive position for years to come.

Speaker 3

Our revised guidance accounts for prevailing high aluminum costs and a stronger than expected Colombian peso that has provided a higher than anticipated headwind to margins versus our prior assumptions. Being said, we continue to be highly encouraged with demand trends and our ability to grow well above industry rates. Within our guidance range, the primary factors remain the timing of project invoicing from our commercial backlog, the pace of residential end market activity, expansion into new geographies and vinyl, and the trajectory of aluminum costs and foreign exchange. As pricing initiatives and incremental automation savings are realized, we remain committed to fully offsetting the tariff impact in 2027. We expect capital expenditures in the range of $80 million-$95 million.

Speaker 3

This now includes the previously disclosed $20 million-$25 million for the purchase of the land related to the potential new U.S. facility, which we expect to complete in the coming weeks. Executing the land purchase preserves our optionality as the feasibility study continues. If we decide to move forward with construction, the project would proceed in phases, with each stage evaluated based on demand trends, return profiles, and overall market conditions. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the durability of our business model and the strength of our competitive position. We are executing on a record backlog and gaining share in new and existing geographies. With a growing national presence in single-family residential and a solid balance sheet, we remain confident in our ability to deliver on our objectives and outperform the market for years to come. With that, we will be happy to answer your questions.

Speaker 3

Operator, please open the lines for questions.

Operator

Thank you, sir. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your touchtone phone. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you'd like to withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Again, it is star, then one to ask a question. At this time, we'll just pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question we have will come from Julio Romero of Sidoti & Company. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Thanks. Hey, good morning.

Speaker 3

Good morning.

Speaker 4

Hey, good morning. To start on the guidance adjustment. How much of the EBITDA guide reduction is on the stronger Colombian peso versus the aluminum side, versus other costs?

Speaker 3

Most of it, Julio. If you look at what we told you guys a quarter ago, the peso was at about COP 3,600, COP 3,700. We were estimating that it could stay flattish from there. It has strengthened down to an all-time high since seven years ago. It went down to COP 3,200. While as on the aluminum front, it's been stable since then. Nothing really surprising on the aluminum front. It's more on the FX side.

Speaker 4

Got it. Just to clarify, FX by far the biggest lever here?

Speaker 3

Yes.

Speaker 4

Okay. That's helpful. On the gross margin that you mentioned, Santiago, that should be flat or slightly higher than two Q. What kind of revenue step up relative to the second quarter does that imply?

Speaker 3

No, if you look at what we said, there is actually $15 million-$20 million of orders that came in ahead of the price increase in May, right? What we're actually seeing is Q3 revenues in the range of $280 million or so. Still quite a bit of growth year-on-year, but step down from Q2 based on that pull forward.

Speaker 4

Got it. Last one for me is just on the commercial. I like how you described it into two buckets. Can you just kind of help us think about the rough split between the quick turnaround that hits in late 2026 and the larger projects in late 2027? Thanks so much.

Speaker 3

Yeah. The light orders really account for about $12 million-$15 million per month in terms of revenues. By year-end, that will still have some of the older pricing in Q3, but in Q4, you start seeing some of that getting invoiced with the newer pricing. You get the benefit at year-end, and obviously all of 2027. On the larger commercial stuff, we estimate that you start seeing the new pricing Q2, Q3, and that's obviously the rest of the commercial segment revenues. You can kind of back into it with the range that I gave you of $12 million-$15 million on the light commercial side.

Speaker 4

Thanks very much. I'll hop back into queue.

Speaker 3

Thank you.

Operator

Next, we have Sam Darkatsh of Raymond James.

Speaker 5

Good morning, José Manuel, Chris, Santiago. How are you?

Speaker 3

Good morning.

Speaker 2

Good morning.

Speaker 5

A few questions, thank you for the granularity around the third quarter expectations based on obviously a bunch of moving parts. Back of the envelope math, Santiago, I'm coming up with somewhere in the $45 million to $50 million range for EBITDA in the third quarter, is that roughly accurate or am I missing some things on the OpEx line?

Speaker 3

I would say slightly higher. At the higher end of that, I would expect somewhere close to Q2. Again, you have better pricing that is flowing through, obviously worse effects based on current conditions versus Q2. Right? At the end of the day, we're not expecting a step down sequentially Q3 versus Q2. The expectation is that we can get to somewhat of a flattish EBITDA result for Q3.

Speaker 5

Are 3Q single-family sales expected to be down because of the pull forward and then it rebounds in the fourth quarter? What's contemplated?

Speaker 3

Yeah

Speaker 5

in the single family in the third quarter?

Speaker 3

Yes. That's correct. On single family, you now have some of the better pricing flowing through. Not all, but as we move into the quarter, you'll start invoicing all of it with the better pricing. You do have the step down based on the orders that were pulled ahead of the price increase for Q2. You do have some reduction, but then it steps up based on the better pricing toward the end of Q3 and all of Q4.

Speaker 5

Got it. My final question, if I could. Noticed no share repurchase of a material basis in the second quarter, unlike the three quarters prior. I think you still have $100 million available for authorization. What are your thoughts in terms of second half repo and why the pause temporarily?

Speaker 3

Working capital. If you look at Q2, you have the seasonal effect of tax payments. We also have been doing pre-purchasing of U.S. aluminum to secure supply. From an AR perspective, obviously, we're growing 15% year-on-year, so there's working capital demands. That is not unusual that Q2 would be the one that uses the most working capital because of the factors that I just mentioned. Then on top of that, having to pre-purchase U.S. aluminum doesn't help. We expect cash flow from operations to improve in the second half of the year. Obviously, depending on what we continue to see from a working capital perspective, obviously, we still have some CapEx to invest. Yes, we do still have $100 million remaining on that authorization.

Speaker 3

Depending on what the board wants to do, I would assume that the cash flow is better in the second half of the year to do some of that as well.

Speaker 5

Very helpful. Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen.

Speaker 3

Thank you.

Operator

Again, as a reminder, if you'd like to participate in today's Q&A, please press star then one on your touch-tone phone. Again, that is star then one to ask a question. The next question we have comes from Tim Wojs of Baird.

Speaker 6

Hey, everybody. Good morning. Nice job.

Speaker 2

Good morning.

Speaker 6

I know there's a lot of moving pieces with pricing and tariffs and just kind of the macro. If you look at kind of the underlying demand environment today versus maybe where we were three, six months ago, how would you describe it, both in Florida and kind of outside of Florida?

Speaker 7

The demand is really high. It is surprisingly high everywhere across the U.S. How do we assess the demand? Because the quoting progress that we have is unbelievable. We have to even hire new people for quoting because the demand for new jobs is crazy. In Florida and outside of Florida. Surprisingly, New York is coming back really strong also. Demand is there.

Speaker 6

Okay. I guess when you think about kind of the peso and the aluminum costs, I think you've kind of opportunistically hedged the peso in the past, and I don't think you've done anything on aluminum. Any kind of changes, Santiago, to those philosophies?

Speaker 3

Yeah. On the aluminum front, we shouldn't have really much of volatility for the second half of the year. We have already kind of pre-bought the rest of the year, kind of a flattish levels. What's going to move the needle here is what happens with the peso. It appreciated quite rapidly ahead of the presidential elections that turn out as a pro-business result. I think that increased a lot of confidence into the country and strengthened the peso. That happened really fast. At this point, we are not hedged. We don't want to enter into hedges right now at a level that is the lowest we've had in the last seven years. Right? To the extent that we see some normalization, we'll try to be opportunistic. As of now, we don't have any hedges the rest of the year.

Speaker 3

I think that the main variable from here on out is what happens on that front rather than what happens with the raw material cost.

Speaker 6

Okay. Just to kind of circle back on the tariff offsets, it sounds like everything is pacing to plan in terms of pricing and automation offsetting the tariffs. Is that still the case?

Speaker 7

Yes. This is Christian Daes. We have done so many moves and automation in the plant that within the next six months, we're going to be able to really become more profitable and be more efficient. We are starting to see the results. The new machinery has started to come in, I really believe that this exercise is going to be really good for the company because at the end of it, we're going to be a much stronger and efficient company.

Speaker 6

Very good. Thank you guys for the time.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Tim.

Operator

Well, showing no further questions at this time. We will go ahead and conclude our question and answer session. I would now like to turn the conference call back over to Mr. José Manuel for any closing remarks. Sir?

Speaker 2

Well, thanks everyone for participating on today's call, we're going to have much better news for the rest of the year, and especially for the years ahead. Thank you.

Operator

We thank you, sir, for your time today and the rest of the management team. The conference call is now concluded. At this time, you may disconnect your lines. Thank you. Take care, and have a great day, everyone.