Somero Enterprises (LSE:SOM) — Interim Results

0:15 Simply type in your questions and press send. Before we begin, I would like to submit the following poll, and I would now like to hand you over to CEO Tim Averkamp. Good afternoon. Welcome, and thank you for joining us. We're pleased to be here with you today to review our first half twenty twenty six results. I'm Tim Averkamp, CEO of SOMERO, and presenting alongside of me is Enzo Liqauzy, our CFO. Here's how we'll run through the slide deck today. I'll open with some context on the business and our key messages, then cover our governance update. And then we'll take you through the first half financials in detail. I'll come back to the strategic plan update and then close on the outlook. We've kept time at the end for questions. Before we get into the numbers, a brief word on our fortieth anniversary.

1:06 SOMERO was founded in 1986, and this year marks forty years of continuous operation. Very few businesses in our industry reach forty years, and fewer still while defining the category they operate in. That longevity isn't sentiment. It's evidence. We have sustained a global business that has successfully navigated through multiple construction cycles, and the standards that customers build to today are the standards that SOMERO helped create. That legacy is the foundation for the next forty years. The discipline, innovation, and closest to the customer that got us here are exactly what delivered this first half. This is what we are investing behind today through new products in our strategic plan. With that as the backdrop, let me briefly frame who SOMERO is.

1:56 For those newer to the story, here's a quick overview of SOMERO. We created the laser screed category and still lead it. Our promise is three words, faster, flatter, fewer. Our equipment lets contractors place better floors with higher productivity and fewer people. That reach is global with customers in more than 90 countries served from six locations, including our headquarters and training institute in Florida and manufacturing operations in Michigan. And that model goes well beyond the machines. Parts, service, and training keep customers productive and give us aftermarket recurring revenue alongside the equipment sales. There's more information on our products and financial profile in the appendix. That's who we are. Let me turn to the key messages we want you to take away with today.

2:46 Three things stand out from the first half. First, a strong return to growth. Revenue was up 22% to $48,700,000. Markets did stabilize, but this result is above all about our own execute execution, winning new customers, converting the pipeline, and holding price and cost discipline as we scaled. Growth was broad based across every region in most product lines, and it dropped through to the bottom line. Delivering 22% growth against ongoing macro uncertainty is genuinely strong outcome and reflects the actions this team has taken. Second, our strategy is firmly in action, and it is working. Fortify, innovate, and amplify are how we run the business day to day, and the results are measurable.

3:33 New customers are now 28% of direct machine revenue, up from around 21% a year ago. That is deliberate share gain, not a market effect. Recent launches are gaining traction across the range, and proactive shareholder engagement has strengthened our governance and our board. This is the execution engine behind the numbers you just saw. And third, that momentum gives us the confidence to upgrade our full year 2026 guidance to around $95,000,000 of revenue, delivering $19,500,000 of adjusted EBITDA. Customer activity is steady, and customer backlogs are healthy, and we enter the second half with real momentum behind us. We stay alert to tariffs, interest rates, and geopolitical conflicts, particularly in Europe, but we are managing through them. The fundamentals are firmly intact, and we are well positioned to outperform as conditions improve.

4:24 Let me start with governance because that's the foundation that everything else sits on, and it's been a real focus for us this year. At the end of August, we published an r and s announcement regarding the governance and board update. We announced a review of our governance arrangements and legal constitution in June, then consulted directly with shareholders, including our largest holder. That consultation is complete, and I wanna thank them. Their feedback has helped us shape where we landed. Two changes came out of that consultation. First, moving towards majority voting in uncontested director elections. And second, moving from a three year staggered term to a two year staggered reelection. Both raise the bar in accountability. These will go to shareholders for a vote at a special meeting to be scheduled soon.

5:13 Alongside that, our board refreshes in process with a search for a new independent nonexecutive director wrapping up very soon. We are deliberately shifting the balance towards independence while maintaining continuity and deep industry knowledge around the table as our shareholders have asked. The point I'd leave you with is this. It's a very positive one. We listened. We acted, and now we have a framework with stronger accountability and a more effective board. Let's walk through the changes in board evolution. As previously announced, Larry Horse will step down as nonexecutive director. Howard Homan takes on the role of chief commercial officer and transitions off the board as a director. This is a deliberate move to put his commercial experience where it drives the most value, closer to the customers, the channel, and our growth initiatives.

5:59 I wanna thank them both. Larry, for many years of service and counsel, including his time as chairman, and Howard, for his contribution around the board table, which continues in this new executive role. There are two seats in play. As I mentioned, the search for a new independent nonexecutive director to succeed Larry is expected to wrap up in the coming weeks. We're also working towards filling the seat that Howard vacates. We will update the market on both of these as they conclude. Taken together, these moves strengthen the board. Bob Schauer as chairman, with Tom Anderson and Ann Ellis, brings continuity, industry knowledge, and a track record of independent oversight. The two additions noted will add fresh perspective and lift the nonexecutive share, sharpening independence and accountability.

6:44 Enzo and I continue as executive directors, and the executive team is otherwise unchanged. The result is a board equipped to steward the strategic plan and to hold the management team accountable for delivering long term shareholder value. With the governance work in good shape, let me hand it over to Enzo to take you through the highlights of the first half. Thanks, Tim. The first half saw growth return across every territory and most product lines with recent new and next generation products contributing meaningfully to revenue. That growth came with real operating leverage reflected in the increase in profit margin, which converted efficiently into operating cash flow. And with the strong cash balance and disciplined allocation framework, we returned over $9,000,000 to shareholders while continuing to invest in the business.

7:33 In looking at the overall market, the stabilization trend we pointed to in late twenty twenty five has continued. Project activity and customer backlogs have picked up with some customers reporting backlogs well into 2027, and broad leading market indicators continuing to signal improvement, albeit gradual. As you can see in the graphic on this slide, the market is bifurcated between growth and data center related work, which today accounts for approximately seven to 10% of total private nonresidential construction and ongoing declines in most other segments. We expect that demand for AI led infrastructure will continue to translate into demand for our products.

8:19 And while the other segments have not yet returned to growth, the declines are lessening, and excess industrial capacity is shrinking. We believe that this sets the stage for continued market expansion in the coming years. That said, we balance the market outlook with lingering uncertainty around interest rates, strict immigration policy, tariffs, and geopolitical conditions. While our customers report a positive low outlook, they remain cautious. Lastly, we have not seen any changes in the competitive landscape, and we maintain a dominant market share. With that backdrop, we'll now turn to the financial highlights for the first half of the year. H one twenty twenty six revenue was up to 48,700,000, up 22% compared to the prior year and that is the primary driver of all the improvements on this slide.

9:12 We held gross margin at approximately 53% and through significant operating leverage, increased profitability and operating cash flow. After returning over $9,000,000 to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, we ended the period with a healthy cash balance just under $30,000,000 This positions us well to continue organically funding our strategic initiatives and capital allocation priorities. Moving on to the regional performance, North America remains by far our largest market at 80% of group revenue. Revenue increased 22% to 38,900,000, led by our boomed and write on screens. Those are the machines used for larger projects that were most heavily impacted during the down cycle, so it's encouraging to see that volume return.

10:02 Our customers report steady activity and robust backlogs, and we're seeing improvement in large project starts. Aside from the data center, work driving demand, as I mentioned, we also benefited from a broadening of our customer base. Direct machine revenue from new customers was 28% of total direct machine revenue in North America, up from 19% in h one twenty twenty twenty five. The introduction of the Hammerhead, which is intended to target customers at the broader end of the market, and expanding our dealer network have also contributed to new customer acquisitions with 65% of hammerheads sold through dealers going to new customers. Tim will cover this a bit more later in the presentation.

10:49 Turning to Europe. Revenue increased 41% to 4,900,000. That was driven by increased activity across approximately 12 countries in the region. Although data center activity is also up in Europe, the underlying market remains somewhat constrained and private investment cautious as macroeconomic and geopolitical concerns continue. Nevertheless, Europe Europe remains a focus with significant long term growth potential as wide placement, flatness specification spreads across the region, and as we deepen penetration in existing countries. Direct machine revenue from new customers was 28% against 38% a year ago. Due to the relatively modest size of the business in this region, a small shift in volume can have a significant impact on this ratio.

11:41 Although the competitive landscape is more intense in Europe, there is no evidence that our market share has changed. On the dealer side, of the hammerhead sold to dealers in Europe, 45% went to new customers, again demonstrating that the hammerhead design and dealer strategy are materializing into a broader customer base. Our service center in Belgium continues to support local repair, service, parts, and training, which underpins the aftermarket sales and keeps us close to customers. Moving on to Australia, revenue increased 12% to 2,400,000. The market continues to face severe shortages of skilled tradesmen, persistent inflation, and tight monetary policy.

12:28 Against that backdrop, the growth in the first half was solid. Direct machine revenue from new customers was 16% compared to 25% a year again. Like Europe, given the relative size of the business in Australia, a couple of machine sales can skew the ratio from period to period. Our focus remains on broadening market awareness and expanding the dealer network, and we continue to see opportunity to deepen up penetration of our small line machines converting manual labor. Finally, rest of world. Rest of world includes Latin America, India, China, Middle East, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Revenue increased 7% to 2,500,000 driven primarily by higher sales in Latin America.

13:14 We have a relatively small base of business in each individual geography. As such, trading will fluctuate from period to period, which is further exacerbated by the geopolitical conditions in The Middle East. Moving on to product performance, this slide sets out comparable sales by major product category. The headline is growth across most all product categories. Boom screeds and ride on screeds increased 3345% respectively, primarily driven by volume benefiting from improving market conditions and contributions from new and next generation products. Our large line boom screens have been on a decline as larger scale projects were most affected by higher interest rates and tariffs. Therefore, it's encouraging to see that that downward trend has reverted back to growth.

14:04 The three d profiler system, which expands our machines capabilities to screed contours, grew similarly. Increasing recurring revenue in a is a strategic focal point as we look to offset cyclicality in machine sales. And although the increase in aftermarket parts and service is modest, we are in the midst of implementing a number of initiatives aligned with our strategic framework, which are at various stages and all geared at driving recurring revenue. Tim will discuss this more in the presentation. Next, we'll take a look at revenue through the p and l. Picking up with gross profit, which increased 22%, we held gross margins at around 53%, overcoming supplier steel and aluminum surcharges and tariffs through manufacturing efficiencies and component sourcing actions.

14:56 Total operating expenses were 17,600,000, up only moderately in the context of the revenue growth, which underscores the operating leverage of our variable cost structure and resulted in an increase of 72% in operating income. Other income, which is primarily favorable foreign exchange impact and net interest income, took income before taxes to 9,100,000. The effective tax rate was 26.3% against 47%, reflecting the nonrecurring deferred tax valuation charge last year. This all nets down to 6,700,000 on net income against 2,600,000 last year. Now turning our attention to the balance sheet.

15:43 The balance sheet remains very healthy. We ended the first half with net cash of just under 30,000,000 against 33,000,000 at the end of last year. That movement is entirely a return of capital, which we'll all cover in the coming slides. Accounts receivable fell 20% to 5,600,000 on strong collection. The majority of our sales are paid in advance, so generally receivables stay stay low relative to revenue. Inventory increased 5% to 22,200,000, supporting new product introductions and second half demand. Stockholder equity stands at 79,800,000 against total liabilities of just 12,500,000 remaining unlevered and flexible to deploy capital to maximize returns.

16:34 Turning to the cash flow, the business is generally highly cash generative and the first half bears that out. Strong profits coupled with efficient working capital led to a 76% increase in operating cash flow. The net working capital outflow was largely the inventory build I mentioned mentioned earlier. Capital expenditures remain modest against our typical run rate of around 2,000,000 a year, and we have no major capital projects planned. On financing, we paid 3,400,000 of dividends, was the 2025 ordinary dividend. The prior period also included supplemental dividend, which we've shifted to share purchases in 2026. And this segues into the next slide about our capital allocation framework.

17:22 We first prioritize a strong balance sheet, ensuring sufficient cash to support our cyclical business. Secondly, we invest in the business where we can get the greatest return on invested capital. Being a capital light business, investments in the business are primarily in the form of strategic hire and initiatives. Next, we consider options to create shareholder value either through strategic acquisitions or returning capital to shareholders via dividends or share buybacks, weighing a number of factors including acquisition prospects, market conditions, and our share price just to name a couple. Our ordinary dividend policy has remained unchanged, and that is 50% payout of adjusted net income. The board has declared an interim dividend of 5¢ per share, which is up from last year at 4¢ a share, and is payable on October 16 to shareholders of record as of September 18.

18:22 As we assess alternative options for deploying capital, at present, we believe that we can maximize shareholder value returns by buying back shares. As such, we completed 5,800,000 in the first half against 800,000 in the prior period, reducing our outstanding share count by 4.5%. We added a further $6,000,000 to the authorization for the rest of 2026. Stepping back a moment, through the end of h one twenty twenty six, we've returned a total of a $180,000,000 to shareholders over the company's lifetime while maintaining a strong balance sheet. That is the track record behind this framework, and it leaves us with the capacity to keep investing. In summary, the company financial health remains robust and cash generative.

19:11 Now I'll hand it back to Tim for the strategic plan update. Thanks, Enzo. Let me turn to our strategic plan and where we stand today. We introduced SOMERO three point o to investors last September and walked through it again with our full year results in March. So now I wanna focus on execution. The three pillars, Fortify, Innovate, and Amplify, are deliberately unchanged. That's important. The pillars drive consistency and focus. What has changed is the depth. The plan is now embedded in how we operate day to day, owned by leaders and teams across the organization, and it drives where we spend our time and our capital. The first half gave us a clear clearer read on that execution. With volumes recovering despite some of the pressures, we can see the initiatives working. Let's start with the first pillar, Fortify.

19:58 Under Fortify, our focus is on reinforcing the foundation of the business. Starting with operational excellence, We have a highly successful operations team that demonstrates great agility while also embraces continuous improvement. Lean, visual management, success, and workplace organization are now part of how we run the plant rather than initiatives we talk about. The balance scale on the left side left hand side of the slide shows one example of that output. On one side are the cost pressures, input inflation, supplier surcharges, and to a lesser extent, tariffs. On the other side are the actions that are within our control, efficiency gains on the floor, sourcing and supplier negotiations, and aligning our cost to demand. As you can see, the two pans of the scale sit level, and that's the point.

20:46 We we were able to counterbalance the pressures deliberately, holding gross margin around 53% while volumes grew. The pressure did not reach the bottom line, and the margin profile you expect from us is unchanged. Two things I would emphasize. First, this is repeatable rather than a one off cut because it comes in how we run the operations every day. Second, we did it without hollowing out the business, which is why we could respond as quickly as we did when activity picked up. The second area is organizational development. Strategy does not execute itself. Our people do. So we treat investment in them with the same discipline as investment in the plant or in new products. That means continued investment in training and development, structure cross functional collaboration so teams solve problems together rather than in silos, and succession planning that builds bench strength at every level, not just at the top.

21:37 We are deliberately developing the next generation of leaders internally. For investors, the point is engagement and retention. This is a specialized business, and the know how sits with our people. An engaged, well trained team is what has allowed us to respond quickly when activities picked up, and it's what protects continuity of execution through the cycles. Every element of the strategic plan runs through the organization, so this is the capability that makes the rest of it deliverable. Staying with Fortify, let me turn to how we support customers. Customer support is foundational to SOMERO and one of our most notable competitive advantages. Our customers are on job sites where downtime is expensive, so our twenty four seven technical support, training, and field service teams matter enormously to them.

22:22 We've been expanding what we offer around the machine. Service agreements and fleet management let customers plan for preventative maintenance around their jobsite calendar rather than reacting to a breakdown. Telematics gives both sides visibility on machine health and uptime. That shifts the relationship from reactive repair towards partnership. This feeds a broader area of focus, growing our aftermarket recurring revenue. Service and parts are less dependent on the capital equipment cycle. They carry attractive margins that deepen the customer relationship. Training sits alongside that. Our on-site contractor training is now complemented by a structured education through the SOMERO CONCORETE INCITUE, which we've now extended into Europe, with facilities in Belgium and Chesterfield in The UK.

23:09 Belgium is worth the word, because it has evolved. We stood it up around Brexit as a staging location for machines, and we are now building out the parts, service, training there. Coursework is underway at Chesterfield, and over time, we expect this to support higher utilization for customers and dealers and stronger aftermarket engagement for SOMERO. From a broader perspective, globally in the first half of the year, we ran nearly 60 classroom courses for more than 270 participants, in addition to delivering on-site training to crews at more than 90 companies across five regions. Anyone can sell a machine. Very few can support that machine globally, around the clock, for the life of the machine, and across the customer's fleet. This is where we separate from the competition.

23:55 That's Fortify. Let's move to innovate. Innovation has been core to SOMERO since our inception, and it's the second pillar. We cover both of these boom screens in detail with our full full year results, so I'll focus on how they have been received. The next generation s 15 e z launched in the summer of twenty twenty five builds on a proven platform with advanced automation and precision control, superior maneuverability for tighter job site access and higher uptime. The s 22 e z plus launched at World of Concord in January is a significant advancement of our flagship platform. With more than 30 new features focused on automation, ease of use, and connectivity, it came directly out of our customer feedback. What matters now is the market response, and it has been strong.

24:42 BoomStreet sales were up 17,600,000, 33% versus one year ago. These next two generation products were a meaningful part of that increase. That's innovation at the top of our range. Now let me show you what we've done at the other end of the market. We've talked about these two products before, so I'll focus on why they matter strategically. Historically, SOMERO has served the larger end of the market. These two products are deliberately aimed at the other end. Hammerhead opens the small to mid sized segment with a more accessible entry point. And Viper, which debuted at the World of Concrete, goes lower still, a compact walk behind built for small pores and tight job sites. That expands our total addressable market. There are more than 40,000 concrete contractors in The United States.

25:29 The large majority have historically been below the size where our traditional products made sense. These two products bring that group into reach, the reach of SOMERO, without competing with our core range. We are already seeing it in the numbers. Ride on screen sales were up 45% in The US. 65% of the hammerheads sold through our dealers went to customers who had never bought from SOMERO before. In Europe, 45% of dealer units went to new customers. The photo on the bottom left brings that to life. This is taken from the job site of the contractor who was the winner of the Hammerhead raffle at the World of Concrete this year. They are a small operator in the Northwest United States who had been focused on residential work. They were considering stepping up to his degree to take on larger, more efficient jobs but had difficulty with the return on investment.

26:18 That core is for a 40 by 40 foot carport. Before the Hammerhead, they would have screeded this job by hand. Straight feedback from feedback from the contractor is the Hammerhead is a game changer for a small business like ours. The important point is that these are entry points, not endpoints. The arrows on the pyramid show this. New customers come in at the residential and light commercial end and move up the range as their work grows, not only with a laser screen, but with our parts, service, and training alongside of them. Underpinning all of this range is technology, and that's where I'll go next. I touched on telematics when we talked about customer support, and it's worth a moment here because it's becoming a genuine part of how we serve customers. Telematics is now standard in the large boom screens, so every machine that goes into the field adds to a connected installed base.

27:08 It is still an early stage, but the base grows with each delivery. To add to this, we are currently underway with the development of a small machine offering. That technology turns machine data into insight. We can see what a machine may need before the customer has to give us a call. We can diagnose that machine remotely rather than sending the technician to the site. For a contractor with a poor schedule, support is in minutes and hours, not days. The value shows up in two places. First, improved uptime and utilization because our customers make money when the machine is running. Second, as a direct enabler of Fortify, it strengthens our twenty four seven support. Allows It us to have proactive conversations about parts and preventative maintenance. This is a long term build, and the value compounds as the connected fleet grows.

27:56 Now let's turn towards our innovation pipeline. The products we have just discussed did not appear overnight, and they are not the end of the story. Our pipeline is active and robust. We continue to invest in research and development across all of our platforms, focused on our customers' needs and where they are going. We've also strengthened the capability behind it. We've expanded product management. We've added depth in software engineering, which matters more each year as our machines become more automated and connected. A launch is just the beginning of a product's life, not the end of the project. We stay with the product in the aftermarket, supporting customers and refining it as we learn how it performs in the field. What underpins all of it is the engagement, the years of r and d experience, and the direct input from customers and dealers behind each product.

28:43 There is more to come. That covers innovate, so let me turn to Amplify. We've spoken about Amplify before, so I wanna focus on what we've added and what those additions are producing. We have grown the global dealer network by 23% to 37 dealers, 16 dealers with approximately 50 locations in North America, 14 dealers in Europe, and the balance across Latin America, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Seven were added this year, five in the first half. We've been deliberate about it. We want genuine reach, proximity, and real aftermarket support, not a longer list of names. Our dealers largely carry the ride on and walk behind streets, nine forties, the four eighty fives, Hammerheads, and Vipers, where local coverage and quick response matters most, while the larger machines continue to be sold direct.

29:31 We have also expanded our product specialist group to accelerate Hammerhead adoption. Coverage is how you win territory. More boots on the ground means we are closer to the contractor and respond faster where local competitors have a proximity advantage. On the outputs, new customers now represent about 28% of direct machine revenue, like it's 21% last year. That's the clearest measures that the expanded coverage is working. Aftermarket parts and service revenue was $9,100,000, up 9%. And we have an ecommerce platform in development for parts. The intent is simple, easy, anytime ordering so a customer can find and order what they need whenever they need it. That improves our connectivity to them and is a direct driver of aftermarket growth. Everything I've described here is organic. The other way we can amplify our reach is inorganic through acquisition opportunities. So I'll hand it over to Enzo to set out the bar that we would apply.

30:25 I set out our capital allocation priorities earlier, so I won't repeat them. What I wanna share with you now is how we think about acquisitions. As you know, SOMERO has grown organically for the most part and dominates a niche market. And while opportunities to continue to grow organically remain, we wanna be mindful of other opportunities that can help curb our cyclicality or accelerate expansion of the total addressable market. However, we're not looking to scale for the sake of scale. Anything we look at must be synergistic and pass strategic filters, seven of which are presented in this slide. In addition, it must make clear financial sense and be accretive to our existing business over time. Importantly, we will not excessively lever the balance sheet up to do a deal.

31:15 As I mentioned, our top capital allocation priority is to maintain a strong balance sheet. Over the past year, we have built a process to source, screen, and diligence opportunities against these filters and the discipline to say no when something does not clear them. And nothing proceeds on management's judgment alone. Any opportunity we believe clears this framework and our financial hurdles goes to the board to be reviewed and tested before any decision is made to proceed. Although no transaction is imminent at this time, we've established the capacity, the process, and governance to act, and we will be patient and selective about when we do. And with that, I'll hand it back to Tim to close the prepared presentation. Thanks, Anzo.

32:03 Let me pull this together. Number one, the first half delivered a clear return to growth. The growth was broad based across our regions and most product lines rather than driven by any one area. Revenue was up 22%, and because that growth came with real operating leverage, adjusted EBITDA was up 59%. Growth that converts to profit is what matters. It also converted to cash. We remain debt free with net cash of $29,600,000. And in the first half, we returned $9,200,000 through $5,800,000 of buybacks and $3,400,000 of dividends. Number two, our strategy is in action rather than on paper. Between our new products and brought and a broader dealer and customer coverage, we are reaching contractors we simply were not reaching you for.

32:48 And we have strengthened our governance with a consultation complete. The constitutional changes go into a shareholder vote, and the board refreshes in process. Lastly, number three. Looking ahead, we are upgrading our full year 2026 guidance to approximately $95,000,000 of revenue, delivering 19,500,000 of adjusted EBITDA and $29,000,000 of year end net cash, assuming the additional share repurchases is fully executed. That implies a second half broadly in line with the first at a similar margin. As such, this is an upgrade built on momentum rather than a back end weighted assumption. Before we close, I wanna thank our employees. These results are a direct reflection of their contribution, and I'm grateful for their effort and commitment. Let me finish with one last slide on why we believe SOMERO is a compelling investment.

33:36 Our investment case rests on six core strengths. They reinforce one another, and they have been built and tested over forty years across multiple construction cycles. We lead the category we created. We keep that lead through innovation and protected technology built around what contractors face on the job site across more than 20 products. We go to market as a total solutions provider. Equipment and expertise with parts, service, and consultative support is one model, which is what keeps customers with us over the long term. Behind all of it is a long tenured leadership team. That depth is a large part contributor as to why the initiatives that we have covered today have moved as quickly as they have. We sell into markets worldwide. Certainly, The US is the largest market, but we do get balance when any one market slows.

34:23 All this shows up in strong and consistent financial performance, highly cash generative and debt free with a track record of investing in the business while returning cash to shareholders. Disciplined execution and expanding opportunity, that's how I'd summarize this first half. And with that, Anzo and I are happy to take questions. That's great. Thank you very much indeed for your presentation. Ladies and gentlemen, please do continue to submit your questions using the q and a tab call Please would like to remind you that recording of this presentation along with a copy of the slides and the published can be accessed via investor dashboard. Tim Enzo, if I may now move us straight onto the q and a session.

35:09 And we have received a number of questions on capital allocation, so let's start with these. What minimum cash balance does the board consider appropriate, and how does it balance share buybacks, ordinary and special dividends, and capital investment? How does SOMERO's share valuation and existing capacity influence those decisions? Thank you for the question. I'll take that. So we're we're continuously assessing our cash balance based on outlook of cash needs to invest in the business organically and potentially inorganically. We do wanna maintain a very healthy dividend. That's one of the attractive investment themes for SOMERO over the years, and so, we will continue that.

35:54 At the same time, we also recognize that share buybacks are becoming a greater, preference for shareholders in in general and reflecting on the stock price where it is, it's an attractive opportunity for us to maximize returns. In terms of cash balance and what we'll maintain, again, that sort of depends on market conditions, outlook. Historically, we've maintained a minimum of 20 to $25,000,000 on the balance sheet in part to have some cash reserves to offset or prepare for any downturns. But now we also wanna maintain that reserve to take advantage of any opportunities from an m and a standpoint that might arise.

36:39 I'll just add to that really, you know, continued, very deliberate on our approach and conservative on how we look at things, and it's a dynamic scale that we look at over time. Perfect. Thank you. Switching gears to questions on acquisitions. Could you outline the strategic and financial criteria a potential acquisition would need to meet, including how you define the cost of capital used for the ROIC test? Can you also comment on the current pipeline of opportunities? Yes. Certainly. So, you know, in our presentation, we laid out some broad stroke criteria from a strategic standpoint and from a financial standpoint. And first and foremost, any opportunity that we consider needs to be synergistic and would be complementary to our business. So we're not necessarily looking at any transformational type of acquisition.

37:31 Obviously, SOMERO has a great business. We want to protect and grow that business going forward. So anything we would consider will be complementary, be it expanding our addressable market or introducing new technology to our our products, geographic expansion. So a number of benefits that we could augment our existing business and drive or accelerate growth going forward. You know, financial criteria, obviously, we've always been very disciplined and conservative in our ways. So it would also need to pass financial criteria, be it, you know, accretive to revenue, cash flow. In terms of our working capital or cost of capital, excuse me, generally in the range of 10 to 15% is where we seem to to fluctuate.

38:23 And so any deal would have to at least exceed that threshold, if not, you know, above that as well. You know, we we we laid out the financial and strategic framework to allow us the flexibility long term and give us sufficient leeway. I think there was a question on pipeline. I think, Lance, did a good job laying out in the presentation overall as our focus over the past year is year has really been building the process and the discipline behind it. You know, we continue to look at opportunities. There's nothing that's imminent right now, and so we'll continue to focus and be ready if an opportunity shows itself. Thank you. Moving on. Where are you seeing the strongest demand today? Data centers, manufacturing, warehouses, infrastructure, or other commercial construction, And which end markets do you think have the longest runway?

39:12 Yeah. So in the presentation, we we we provided a market update, and clearly, data centers and data center related facilities is certainly a tailwind. That segment has grown 22% year over year. And although some of the other segments have not returned to growth yet, there is activity around warehousing, establishing facilities for that final mile of delivery. Speed to customer is obviously an ongoing theme. Long term, certainly, AI is going to continue as a trend. And our customers are generally agnostic to the end application. The same customer will do a warehouse or manufacturing facility or a data center. So at the end of the day, we're agnostic to the end end application.

40:02 But we do see that some of these other markets that have, you know, have been slower in the past couple of years are starting to bottom and should start entering recovery here, hopefully, in the not too distant future. Thank you. Understood. Next question here asks, if you look through the unusually strong post COVID period and the soft environment more recently, how do you think about a normalized mid cycle level of revenue and profitability for SOMERO? Yeah. It's a good question. I'll I'll start with that, and, Angela, you can add to that. I think very difficult really to predict what the new cycle looks like. If you go back even before the financial crisis in the 2008 time nine prime time frame, there was historically a very repeatable construction equipment cycle, probably over three cycles. And as we know during COVID, that's really changed as well beyond that. And so I think it's where we are today. We certainly see upside. We end all talked about some of the end markets that our customers are using the product for, so we see growth there.

40:57 Certainly from a profitability, we've demonstrated that as as the business grows and we scale with that, we can add directly to the bottom line overall. Yeah. I guess the other element that I would add to that aside from market growth, really entering a new customer segment for us, which is sort of at the bottom end of the market, which is much broader. You know, historically, SOMERO has served the very top of the market customers that are doing data centers or Amazon warehouses, you know, real high profile complex projects. And then the folks at the bottom end of that that pyramid, you know, the the entry point in terms of price and ROI just wasn't, you know, wasn't enough there for them to make an investment. So what our recent launch of the Hammerhead, which is priced to target this customer segment and designed for simplicity, so it's less less complex, and the expansion of our dealer network really is getting us to a new customer segment that we wouldn't otherwise attract. As I mentioned in the presentation, our percentage of revenue from new customer increased in the first half of this year to 28% from 18% the same period last year in The US.

42:11 So that's indicative of that strategy kind of materializing and bearing fruit. It's a great point. It's really expanding our overall total addressable market that would exist today. Thank you both. Next up, with your very high market share, what do you believe is the hardest part of the business for a competitor to replicate? Yeah. I think what we talked about through the presentation is really our customer service support and our intimacy with the customers. The knowledge that we have and how we support customers is really key. I talked about in the presentation, you know, our customers are doing these jobs, in the middle of the night in a lot of cases, and it's critical for them to be up and running. So, the service and support, really the efforts that we have around Fortify, you know, improving our service agreements, including fleet management, really making it even closer, adding to our training portfolio.

42:58 And then on the Amplify side, adding more dealer coverage, more boots on the ground to serve those customers is really key. So I think we've got a motor around the business today, but we'll make that even stronger. It's difficult to replicate with the years experience that we have in the field. Thank you. Following from that, an investor asks, provide an update on competitive position of the company relative to its competitors, including market share and margin profile, if there's anything there that you'd like to add. Yeah. I'll take that one. We haven't seen any significant changes in the competitive landscape period over period. As we had mentioned in earlier, reports, you know, a couple years back, some of the Chinese manufacturers were making some their way into into European countries and Spain and Portugal in particular.

43:47 And and that really hasn't changed ever ever since then. You know, the the moat around the business that Tim referred to, that barrier of entry, is really difficult for a competitor to replicate. And that's where SOMERO, aside from the products, the quality, but where SOMERO shines is that consultative service that we provide to customers, their support. You know, a lot of these cores occur overnight because of weather conditions and other factors. If a machine doesn't perform as intended on a job site and, you know, the the machine needs to be pulled, that delays the entire project and can cause the the contractor significant financial ramifications. Therefore, having a company like SOMER that's available twenty four seven, seven days a week, you can have a technician on the line within ten minutes, and we can troubleshoot 85 to 90% of problems in the field just by the phone. And if we need to deliver a part, we can do so overnight.

44:48 No other, you know, competitor can provide that level of service. And then you add on top of that the training, the level of expertise that we have, it's a it's a pretty deep, mode. And we continue to focus on it to make it even deeper and wider, to to make that barrier of entry for our competitors even more challenging. And we continue to focus on being the technology leader, right, making sure we stay ahead of the game, which is really key for us. Great question. Thank you. Perfect. Thank you. Another one here asks, what is the typical payback period for a contractor contractor purchasing a SOMERO machine, and how important is ROI in in the purchasing decision? Great question. I'll take that in reverse. The ROI is very important. I I mentioned earlier when we talked about the hammerhead and targeting a new customer segment where they couldn't justify an ROI on our other equipment that could range, say, 3 to $600,000.

45:45 And so coming out with a a product that's properly priced where, you know, depending on their utilization, they can justify that ROI. Generally, it's one to two year. Again, it depends on on utilization in terms of payback, or it could it could even be less. It just come it really depends on the utilization, the size of the project, and and, obviously, the the the type of product it is. That's really where our strength shows. Again, we have over 20 different products that are available. When our teams work with the customers, we can help them define what the right solution is. Right? We're not just selling them x or y. We've got multiple terms that really fit the application and what their needs are. Thank you. Next question here asks, I appreciate you assemble your machines in The US, but wondered if you imported parts from China and have therefore be been hit by tariffs.

46:38 Yeah. Good question. We we have hit been hit by tariffs, but to a lesser extent than a lot of the other OEMs. 85 to 90% of our components are sourced domestically. We do bring some components in from Canada, Mexico, and some electronics from China, but the vast majority are domestic. And therefore, you know, through some other cost saving initiatives and increasing our price on the equipment, which we do on an annual basis, we've been able to mitigate some of the incremental tariff and surcharge costs. Thank you. And staying on equipment here, how much of equipment demand is replacement demand versus customers adding capacity? What does the normal replacement cycle look like? Yeah. The majority of our sales are, fleet emissions.

47:26 We do obviously have quite a bit of replacements. Generally, the life of a a piece of equipment, again, kind of, depends on utilization, but it ranges between seven and ten years. The smaller equipment, at the bottom end of that range, the larger equipment at the higher end of the range, And it also depends on geography. In the in The US, customers like to keep their fleets fresh, and they're more apt to upgrade to new technology. Whereas outside The US, customers will hold the equipment a little longer, and they'll only buy when they absolutely need to. Thank you. And perhaps a couple of more questions as we reach the hour. How much was gross margin change driven by pricing versus costs? We we typically put through a low single digit price increase year over year, really intended to mitigate typical inflation from year to year.

48:20 And and so we did the same for for this year. We were able to maintain gross margins at about 53% similar to to last year as we were able to garner some cost savings, engineered savings, process improvements, lean manufacturing, which will be an ongoing process for us. So it's not a one and done program. Thank you very much. And the last question is, the guide assumes a slight sequential decline in revenue and profits, yet the messaging has been very positive on momentum and market. What is the disconnect? Yeah. We're we're setting out a a conservative estimate. You know, there's a a question mark around second half performance in Europe as we reflect on the impact of The Middle East and the cost of fuel trickling throughout that region. You know, The US, we think, is gonna be very strong.

49:16 The first couple of months here of the second half have been very strong. And so we we we consider the guidance that we've issued conservative, and we'll update the market when we're confident that it it may be any different. That's great, Tim. And so thank you for adjusting those questions for investors today. But, Tim, before we direct investors to provide you with a feedback, which is particularly important to yourself and the company, could I please just ask you for a few closing comments? Yeah. Thank you. Hey. Thanks for all of your interest today and SOMERO and for joining us today. We're encouraged by our strong first half performance and the positive momentum we continue to see across the business while remaining mindful of the broader macroeconomic environment. With strong financial performance, a solid balance sheet, disciplined execution of our strategic priorities, and a clear focus on long term value creation, we believe SOMERO is well positioned for the future. Thanks again.

50:09 Fantastic. Thank you once again for updating investors today. Could I please ask investors not to close this session as you now be automatically redirected to provide you feedback, which will help the company better understand your views and expectations. On behalf of the management team, we would like to thank you for attending today's presentation, and good afternoon.