WSP Global Inc.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to WSP's third quarter 2023 results conference call. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Quentin Weber, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Mr. Weber.

Thank you and good morning. We hope that you're all doing well and thank you for joining the call today. We will be discussing our Q3 2023 performance followed by a Q&A session. Joining us this morning are Alexandre Lerue, our President and CEO, and Anna Michaud, our CFO. Please note that this call is also accessible on our website via webcast. During the call, we will be making some forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ from those expressed or implied. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any of these statements. Relevant factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements are listed in our MD&A for the quarter that ended September 30th, 2023, which can be found on CDAR and on our website. In addition, during the call, we may refer to certain non-IFRS measures. These measures are also defined in RMDNA for the quarter that ended September 30, 2023. RMDNA includes reconciliations of non-IFRS measures to the most directly comparable IFRS measures. Management believes that these non-IFRS measures provide useful information to investors regarding the corporation's financial condition and results of every operation as they provide additional key metrics of its performance. These non-IFRS measures are not recognized under IFRS. do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and may differ from similarly named measures as reported by other issuers, and accordingly may not be comparable. These measures should not be viewed as a substitute for the related financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS. I will now turn the call over to Alexandre.

Thank you, Quentin, and good morning, everyone. Let me start by saying that I'm proud of the strong results we continue to deliver this year. These results are in line with our improved financial outlook issued in August, which, as a reminder, increased our adjusted EBITDA guidance by more than $100 million, representing over $1.9 million for the full year. I would like to emphasize the following three highlights. First, we generated solid organic growth in net revenues across all of our reportable segments. Second, our backlog remains healthy, and at record level with approximately 12 months of revenues and a backlog organic growth of 7.2% in the first nine months of 2023. And lastly, we are staying through to our margin expansion strategy and delivering an adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.1%, which represents a 50 basis point increase when compared to the same quarter last year. More specifically on organic growth and net revenues, the momentum continued to be positive and was more pronounced in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. As for backlog and order intake, we benefit from the various stimulus programs being deployed across our key geographies as well as global trends such as energy transition and decarbonization, which continue to require our strategic expertise. Significant contracts were awarded in Canada, and our order intake was strong in the Americas and India. I will be sharing a couple of examples in a few moments. During the last quarter, we provided additional visibility on our U.S. soft backlog, and the upward trend we were witnessing has persisted. As a reminder, soft backlog represents contract awards not yet included in our reported backlog, mainly because of pending funding confirmation. Our sub-backlog in the U.S. grew by approximately 50% year on year and 30% since the beginning of 2023. This positive dynamic applies in all our core sectors. There is a notable increase in demand for our market-leading expertise in data centers, sustainable infrastructure, and renewable projects, and awards across multiple WSP verticals and disciplines. On margin expansion, more specifically, we are making great progress, which is the direct result of a focused strategy. We are therefore making notable headway towards attaining our stated long-term vision of delivering a 20% EBITDA margin. Before I go over our recent events and recognitions for the third quarter, I would like to take a moment to discuss the leadership announcement we made yesterday. After a career spanning nearly 35 years, Lou Cornell has decided to retire from executive life in 2024 to enjoy a quality time with his family. I thank Lou for his contribution to WSB and wish him a gratifying next chapter in his life. We have initiated the search process for Lou's successor. Going back to Q3, It was marked by the first anniversary since our acquisition of Woody and I, which significantly increased our capacity in the earth and environment segment. Integration is on plan, and we continue to find opportunities to scale our service offerings even further. WSP's leadership in the sector is well acknowledged, and I wanted to take a moment to share three prestigious recognitions we recently received. The first was by the engineering news record known as ENR Annual Survey. We ranked first amongst the top 225 international design firms for the third consecutive year. It is an honor to have once again secured the top spot in this esteemed list. Our strong overall performance is a great testament to our unwavering commitment to innovation, sustainability, and addressing today's pressing global challenges. We also made Times Magazine's list of the world's best companies in 2023. We are one of only four Canadian-based companies on this year's list and the only one in the engineering sector. This recognition takes into consideration employee satisfaction, revenue growth, ESG data, disclosures, and impact. Lastly, we were recognized by Fortune magazine and rented a place on the Fortune's Change the World list. This honor serves to recognize WSP for leading positive change through our activities and business strategies. We are extremely proud to be the only firm in our space to have been granted this distinction. Such recognitions are only attainable thanks to the collective effort of our teams around the world. I'm proud of their accomplishment, and it is a privilege to work in an industry that is at the forefront of the energy transition and global trends. Let me begin by focusing on the EV transition as an example. We are feeling a rapid acceleration of EV-related activity and growing opportunities. In fact, this year's Energy Outlook North America forecast projected that the US and Canada are expected to invest $12 trillion in renewables and grid infrastructure by 2050. We also see similar investment globally. We know that the robust electric vehicle market in North America and the substantial increase in government fundings for the EV battery market in Canada are motivating global clients to choose Ontario and Quebec for their facilities. WSP has expertise in place to support the full EV battery supply chain. We are also already providing a range of services, including site selection, environmental permitting, due diligence, engineering design, and project management support for the manufacturing of battery parts and battery assembly plants, as well as electric vehicle assembly plants. Project wins to date in 2023 have been robust and we are well positioned to continue increasing our revenue stream in this sector. Another transition that is important to highlight is water and clean energy. This is a sector benefiting from a strong market momentum and in which we are well positioned to deliver. WSP was recently selected to design the Mersey title in the UK. This is a barrage with an expected capacity of at least one gigawatt and is the largest publicly led renewable project in the country. Mercy Title will likely generate enough power for up to 1 million homes, create thousands of local jobs in the green economy, and make the regions a worldwide center of excellence. In addition to clean energy, the barrage is expected to provide protection against sea level rise and help create and enhance natural habitats. Additionally, we constantly make efforts to attract the best professionals in our fields of expertise and enable our talent to work on fascinating and complex projects. We continue to leverage our internal global network of professionals, and one recent project I was impressed with was when our healthcare teams from around the globe joined forces to chart the decarbonization journeys of nine healthcare systems across six continents. Decarbonization is a preoccupation for all of us, and at WSP, we firmly believe in the power of uniting to tackle the biggest challenges. Members of our team across our platform work together to propose solutions aimed at reducing the healthcare sector's carbon footprint, which represents almost 5% of global carbon emissions. I want to also underscore the work WSP is completing on the New Zealand-North Auckland line. This critical route was severely damaged after Cyclone Gabriel. Because we take great pride in assisting clients in all facets of sustainability and climate resilience, our geotechnical and stormwater teams were thrilled to be selected to head the remediation work. They work relentlessly to provide a resilient railway line and embankment stability for future extreme weather events and operational surface water drainage. Our world continues to be impacted by natural disasters, and I firmly believe WSP has an important role to play to support communities. With close to 150,000 active projects per year in a multiple of sectors, We are committed to executing work that supports a sustainable and a society taking pride in our leadership role to contribute to a low-carbon world and expedite the green transition. On that note, let me turn over to Alain, who will go over our strong future results in more detail.