05:30 PM EDT, 10/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Adds Outlook for 2024)

North American Construction Group ( NOA ) was up 5.2% in after-hour New York trading after the company on Wednesday reported a better than expected third-quarter adjusted profit as it starts to reap the benefits of last year's Australian acquisition.

In its outlook for 2024, it flagged combined revenue of C$1.4-$1.5 billion, Adjusted EBITDA of $395-$415M, Adjusted EPS of $3.95-$4.15 and free cash flow of $100-$120M.

On capital allocation, it flagged growth spending of $85-$95M and a and a net debt leverage targeting 2.1x.

For its latest third quarter, the company reported an adjusted profit, excluding most one-time items of $31.25 million, or $1.17 per share, in the period, up from $14.3 million, or $0.54, in the year-prior quarter. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected an adjusted profit of $1.09.

Revenue rose to $286.9 million from $196.9 million, primarily driven by strong equipment utilization of 84% in Australia but was also supported by the Canadian heavy equipment fleet which posted an increase from 2024 Q2.

Among other highlights, it said combined revenue of $367.2 million compared favorably to $274.8 million in the same period last year, is a third quarter record, and reflected the best operational quarter to date from the Australian fleet of the MacKellar Group, acquired on October 1, 2023.

The company said its share of revenue from equity consolidated joint ventures was $80.3 million in the quarter, compared to $77.9 million as the increases at the Fargo project in the current quarter were offset by gold mine project scopes in Northern Ontario completed in the prior quarter.

Also, Adjusted EBITDA of $106.4 million and margin of 29.0% compared favorably to the prior period operating metrics of $59.4 million and 21.6%, respectively.

Chief executive Joe Lambert, in a statement said, "The quarterly records set in Australia demonstrate both growth and operational excellence. The recent five-year contract award and the 25 trucks delivered from Fort McMurray have pushed this region to higher than 50% of our overall business and are further indicators of what will be an exciting 2025. In the oil sands region, we are in discussions with producers and expect to secure meaningful contracts in the near term, reaffirming strong client relationships and supporting our targets for next year."

The company's shares were last seen up US$0.89 to US$18.07 after hours. They closed up $0.52 to $23.93 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.