Willdan Group Reports Fourth Quarter/Full Year 2022 Results and Provides 2023 Outlook

Willdan Group, Inc. (“Willdan”) (Nasdaq: WLDN) today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 30, 2022 and outlook for 2023.

“In the fourth quarter, we achieved organic revenue growth of over 20% over the prior year,” said Tom Brisbin, Willdan’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our energy efficiency, construction management, and civil engineering businesses, all performed very well in the fourth quarter and we successfully navigated several CA IOU contract changes. This fourth quarter momentum, and our start to the new year, underlies our expectation that 2023 will be a strong year.”

Fourth Quarter 2022 Highlights

• Consolidated contract revenue was $113.3 million compared to $92.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, a 23% increase.
• Net revenue* was $64.6 million compared to $51.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, a 25% increase.
• Net loss of $(0.4) million compared to a net loss of $(0.9) million in the fourth quarter of 2021, a 52% improvement.
• Adjusted EBITDA* was $11.8 million compared to $9.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, a 25% increase.
• GAAP EPS was $(0.03) per diluted share compared to $(0.07) per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2021, a 57% improvement.
• Adjusted Diluted EPS* was $0.36 per share compared to $0.47 per share in the fourth quarter of 2021, a 23% decrease.

Fiscal Year 2022 Highlights

• Consolidated contract revenue was $429.1 million compared to $353.8 million in 2021, a 21% increase.
• Net revenue* was $226.6 million compared to $201.5 million in 2021, a 12% increase.
• Net loss of $(8.4) million compared to a net loss of $(8.4) million in 2021.
• Adjusted EBITDA* was $23.3 million compared to $27.5 million in 2021, a 15% decrease.
• GAAP EPS was $(0.65) per diluted share compared to $(0.68) per diluted share in 2021, a 4% improvement.
• Adjusted Diluted EPS* was $0.88 per share compared to $1.55 per share in 2021, a 43% decrease.

Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Targets

• Net revenue* growth between 7% and 9%.
• Adjusted Diluted EPS* between $1.24 per share and $1.32 per share.
• Adjusted EBITDA* between $35 million and $39 million.

*See “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.

The financial targets above assume no change in the current economic environment and do not include the effects of any acquisitions that may take place during fiscal year 2023. Certain components of the financial targets provided are subject to quarterly fluctuations.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Conference Call

Willdan will be hosting a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2022 financial results today, at 5:30 p.m. Eastern/2:30 p.m. Pacific. To access the call, listeners should dial 877-407-2988 (or 201-389-0923) approximately five minutes prior to the scheduled start time. The conference call will be webcast simultaneously on Willdan’s website at ir.willdangroup.com and selecting “Events & Presentations”.

A replay of the conference call will be available through Willdan’s website at ir.willdangroup.com and selecting “Events & Presentations”.

An Investor Report containing supplemental financial information can also be accessed through Willdan’s website at ir.willdangroup.com and selecting “Stock Information”.

About Willdan Group, Inc.

Willdan is a nationwide provider of professional, technical and consulting services to utilities, government agencies, and private industry. Willdan’s service offerings span a broad set of complementary disciplines that include electric grid solutions, energy efficiency and sustainability, engineering and planning, and municipal financial consulting. For additional information, visit Willdan's website at www.willdan.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

“Net Revenue,” defined as contract revenue as reported in accordance with GAAP minus subcontractor services and other direct costs, is a non-GAAP financial measure. Net Revenue is a supplemental measure that Willdan believes enhances investors’ ability to analyze Willdan’s business trends and performance because it substantially measures the work performed by Willdan’s employees. In the course of providing services, Willdan routinely subcontracts various services. Generally, these subcontractor services and other direct costs are passed through to Willdan’s clients and, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and industry practice, are included in Willdan’s revenue when it is Willdan’s contractual responsibility to procure or manage such subcontracted activities. Because subcontractor services and other direct costs can vary significantly from project to project and period to period, changes in revenue may not necessarily be indicative of Willdan’s business trends. Accordingly, Willdan segregates subcontractor services and other direct costs from revenue to promote a better understanding of Willdan’s business by evaluating revenue exclusive of subcontract services and other direct costs associated with external service providers. A reconciliation of Willdan’s contract revenue as reported in accordance with GAAP to Net Revenue is provided at the end of this press release. A reconciliation of targeted contract revenue for fiscal year 2023 as reported in accordance with GAAP to targeted Net Revenues for fiscal year 2023, which is a forward-looking non-GAAP financial measure, is not provided because Willdan is unable to provide such reconciliation without unreasonable effort. The inability to provide a reconciliation is due to the uncertainty and inherent difficulty of predicting the subcontractor services and other director costs that are subtracted from contract revenues in order to derive Net Revenues. While subcontractor costs have increased recently, subcontractor costs can vary significantly from period to period. Subcontractor costs and other direct costs were 43.0% and 47.2% of contract revenue for the quarter ended December 30, 2022 and fiscal year 2022, respectively, and 43.8% and 43.0% for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 and fiscal year 2021, respectively.

“Adjusted EBITDA,” defined as net income plus interest expense, income tax expense, stock-based compensation, interest accretion, depreciation and amortization, transaction costs, gain on sale of equipment, and tax benefit distribution, is a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure used by Willdan’s management to measure Willdan’s operating performance. Willdan believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful because it allows Willdan’s management to evaluate its operating performance and compare the results of its operations from period to period and against its peers without regard to its financing methods, capital structure and non-operating expenses. Willdan uses Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate its performance for, among other things, budgeting, forecasting and incentive compensation purposes.

Certain items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA are significant components in understanding and assessing a company’s financial performance, such as a company’s costs of capital and stock-based compensation, as well as the historical costs of depreciable assets. A reconciliation of net income as reported in accordance with GAAP to Adjusted EBITDA is provided at the end of this press release.

“Adjusted Net Income,” defined as net income plus stock-based compensation, intangible amortization, interest accretion, transaction costs, deferred tax valuation, and tax benefit distribution, each net of tax, is a non-GAAP financial measure.

“Adjusted Diluted EPS,” defined as net income plus stock-based compensation, intangible amortization, interest accretion, transaction costs, deferred tax valuation, and tax benefit distribution, each net of tax, all divided by the diluted weighted-average shares outstanding, is a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS are supplemental measures used by Willdan’s management to measure its operating performance. Willdan believes Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS are useful because they allow Willdan’s management to more closely evaluate and explain the operating results of Willdan’s business by removing certain non-operating expenses. Reconciliations of net income as reported in accordance with GAAP to Adjusted Net Income and diluted EPS as reported in accordance with GAAP to Adjusted Diluted EPS are provided at the end of this press release.

Willdan’s definitions of Net Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS have limitations as analytical tools and may differ from other companies reporting similarly named measures or from similarly named measures Willdan has reported in prior periods. These measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP, such as contract revenue, net income and diluted EPS.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical, including statements regarding Willdan’s intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations, representations, projections, estimates, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements regarding Willdan’s ability to capitalize on increased energy efficiency spending in large markets and expected benefits from its acquisitions and the impact of Covid-19 on Willdan’s business. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that Willdan’s actual results could differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from its expectations include, but are not limited to, Willdan’s ability to adequately complete projects in a timely manner, Willdan’s ability to compete successfully in the highly competitive energy services market, Willdan’s reliance on work from its top ten clients; changes in state, local and regional economies and government budgets; Willdan’s ability to win new contracts, to renew existing contracts and to compete effectively for contracts awarded through bidding processes; Willdan’s ability to make principal and interest payments on its outstanding debt as they come due and to comply with financial covenants contained in its debt agreements; Willdan’s ability to manage supply chain constraints, labor shortages, rising interest rates, and rising inflation; Willdan’s ability to obtain financing and to refinance its outstanding debt as it matures; Willdan’s ability to successfully integrate its acquisitions and execute on its growth strategy; Willdan’s ability to attract and retain managerial, technical, and administrative talent and the extent to which the Covid-19 pandemic and measures taken to contain its spread ultimately impact Willdan’s business, results of operation and financial condition.

All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Willdan, or persons acting on its behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements and risk factors disclosed from time to time in Willdan’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 30, 2022, as such disclosures may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports Willdan files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including subsequent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. Willdan cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Willdan disclaims any obligation to, and does not undertake to, update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release unless required by law.

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