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The advantages of deregulation exceed damage to possible financing cuts out of Washington, at least for an infrastructure contractor.
On the last call from Aecom’s earnings on February 4, CEO Troy Rudd addressed concerns about the minds of many observers in the industry surrounding President Donald Trump’s federal bureaucracy approach In the first weeks of its administration.
Troy rudd
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Starting the base of Dallas Tax income of the first quarter of the contractor Report, Rudd alluded to the recent steps of Elon Musk to Dissolve the North -American Agency for International Developmentas well as the push of administration to Evisar the Environmental Protection AgencyBoth of which Aecom counts as customers.
“Our business is highly diverse, eliminating confidence in any unique market or customer,” Rudd said. “The EPA and USAID represent only 50 basic points of our 12 -month income and reflect a similar proportion in our pipeline and backlog.” On the contrary, he said that most of the governing work of companies are from the Department of Defense, where it provides for a strong growth in funding in the new regime.
The impulse of the infrastructure continues
Rudd also addressed Trump’s push to take a funding break for both infrastructure and work investment law, as well as the law of reducing inflation. Trump’s executive orders to suspend funding for federal aid have been blocked in court, at least for the moment.
Rudd said that the projects linked to the IRA, which fund many clean energy initiatives that were a priority of former President Joe Biden, were not a material part of the firm’s business. And despite confusion for the continuous financing of IIJA The projects, Rudd, expressed their confidence in the future of the infrastructure sector under the new administration, especially taking into account Trump’s promises to allow reform.
“In the last two weeks, there has been a lot to digest,” said Rudd. “But … there are still investments in infrastructure in the United States”
He urged investors to step back and consider the macro environment.
“If we look at the goals of the current administration, they study economic development in the United States,” said Rudd. “And if your agenda is a long -term economic development in the United States, it means that it will be supported by infrastructure, be it energy infrastructure, water infrastructure [or] Transportation infrastructure. “”
He continued to say that Trump’s promise to cut off the bureaucracy of government would not only encourage more projects to come to the market, but it was also likely to accelerate them.
“If there is an environmental reform that allows reform, there will certainly be more work to do because this should accelerate projects,” said Rudd. “So, we look widely in the United States and see that we are aligned with the goals around the infrastructure.”
Higher benefits, income and backward
This optimistic perspective was also reflected in the financial results of the company.
AECOM reported $ 167 million in profits during the three months ending on December 31, 77% more than a year ago. This income was a higher income of $ 4.0 million, a 3% increase over the same period in 2023. The backlog was also more than $ 23.9 billion, a gain of 2.3% compared to a year before.
“Looking forward, we provide for opportunities arising from the commitments of the new administration with our robust economy supported by prudent deregulation and promoting the energy independence that the United States positions as an attractive destination for investment and capital growth,” he said Rudd. “World class infrastructure is in the heart of these goals.”
Analysts asked if the company had landed new business in the wake of the wildfires of Palisades and Eaton in Los Angeles, as Aecom has long focused on disaster recovery projects. It was also between one A good handful of contractors identified as equipped To help rebuild at the beginning of the tragedy.
Rudd replied that while he couldn’t talk to his customers, his company was willing to help.
“We do not call individual projects … and, of course, without discussion with our customers,” Rudd said. “But … for the last decade, we have participated in the recovery of more than 700 climate disasters. Therefore, this is really a part of our business, which continues to support communities as they recover.”
