Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q4 2024 Aecon Group earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star one-one on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To start a question, please press star one one again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your speaker for today, Adam Borgatti. Please go ahead.
Thank you, Lisa. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for participating in our Year-End 2024 Results Conference Call. This is Adam Borgatti speaking. Joining me today are Jean-Louis Servranckx, President and CEO; Jerome Julier, Executive Vice President and CFO; and Alistair MacCallum, Senior Vice President, Finance. Our earnings announcement was released yesterday evening, and we posted a slide presentation on our website, which we'll refer to during the call. Following our call, we'll be glad to take questions from the analysts and ask that the analysts keep to one question and a follow-up before getting back into the queue. As noted on slide two, listeners are reminded that the information we're sharing with you today includes forward-looking statements, and the statements are based on assumptions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
Although Aecon believes the expectations reflected in these statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the expectations will prove to be correct. With that, I'll hand the call over to Jerome.
Thanks, Adam. Good morning, everyone. Before we move into the financial discussion, I'll briefly touch on recent actions on the trade front. Aecon is carefully monitoring the developments and assessing the potential effects on our procurement and purchasing. We're taking a cautious stance here given the impact these measures and countermeasures may have on the cost of materials, the financial picture of our clients, and their decisions to advance projects. I'll speak to our consolidated results, review the results by segment, and address Aecon's financial position before turning the call over to Jean-Louis. Consistent with prior quarters, we provided additional information to help clarify the underlying results, excluding impacts from fixed-price legacy projects and divestitures. We have detailed reconciliation tables included on slides 15, 16, and 17 in the conference call presentation. Turning now to slide three.
On a reported basis, revenue for the year of CAD 4.2 billion was 401.09% lower compared to 2023. Adjusted EBITDA of CAD 83 million compared to CAD 143 million last year. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA in 2024 was negatively impacted by CAD 273 million in legacy project losses compared to CAD 215 million in 2023. Operating loss of CAD 60 million compared to an operating profit of CAD 241 million in 2023. In addition to the items just noted, lower year-over-year operating profit was driven by a decrease in other income of CAD 186 million, primarily due to a lower year-over-year gain related to the sale of 49.9% interest in Skyport of CAD 133 million, and the lower gain on the sale of Aecon Transportation East, or ATE, of CAD 28 million.
Excluding the impact on legacy projects and divestitures on an adjusted basis, revenue for the year was CAD 4.2 billion compared to CAD 3.8 billion in 2023, and adjusted EBITDA of CAD 349 million compared to CAD 355 million last year. Diluted loss per share for the year was CAD 0.95 compared to diluted earnings per share of CAD2.10 in 2023. Reported backlog of CAD 6.7 billion at the end of 2024 compared to backlog of CAD 6.2 billion a year ago. New contract awards of CAD 4.7 billion were booked in the year compared to CAD 4.5 billion in the previous year. The reported 2024 awards include CAD 275 million of backlog acquired at the time of acquisitions of United Engineers and Constructors, Ainsworth Power Construction, and Extreme Closed. Now looking at results by segment and turning to slide four, construction, revenue of CAD 4.2 billion in 2024 was CAD 352 million, or 8% lower than the previous year.
The largest decrease in revenue occurred in industrial operations, driven by a decreased activity on mainline pipeline work following the achievement of substantial completion on a large project in the third quarter of 2023, partially offset by a higher volume of field construction work at wastewater treatment and industrial facilities in 2024. Revenue also decreased in urban transportation solutions as three LRT projects near completion and in civil operations, largely from a decrease in road building construction work after the sale of ATE in the second quarter of 2023. Partially offsetting these decreases were higher revenue in nuclear, driven by an increased volume of refurbishment work in Ontario and in the United States, and in utility operations, primarily from an increased volume of electrical transmission work in the U.S., and an increase in battery storage system work, partially offset by a decreased volume of telecommunication and gas distribution work.
On an adjusted basis, construction revenue was CAD 4.1 billion in 2024 compared to CAD 3.8 billion last year. New contract awards of CAD 4.7 billion in 2024 compared to CAD 4.4 billion in the previous year. Backlog at the end of 2024 was CAD 6.6 billion compared to CAD 6.1 billion at the end of 2023. Turning to slide five, adjusted EBITDA of CAD 34 million compared to CAD 99 million last year. The largest driver of the decrease was negative gross profit on the four fixed-price legacy projects of CAD 273 million in 2024 compared to negative gross profit of CAD 215 million in 2023.
Other than the impact of fixed-price legacy projects in 2024, lower operating profit in the balance of the construction segment was largely driven by lower gross profit margin in civil operations and urban transportation solutions, and partially offset by higher operating profit in nuclear operations from higher volume and gross profit margin and industrial due to higher gross profit margin. Other items contributing to the reduction in operating profit include an increase in acquisition-related transaction costs that were expensed in the year, an increase in amortization expense related to acquisition-related intangible assets from the and United transactions in 2024, and a decrease in other income driven by lower gains on the sale of property, buildings, and equipment, primarily in utility operations. On an adjusted basis, adjusted EBITDA was CAD 307 million in 2024 compared to CAD 326 million in 2023.
Turning now to slide six, concessions adjusted EBITDA for the year was CAD 87 million compared to CAD 90 million last year, and operating profit of CAD 24 million compared to CAD 174 million last year. 2024 adjusted EBITDA in the concession segment benefited from greater activity on certain progressive and collaborative projects, as well as higher fees on major transit and transportation projects nearing construction completion. Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated to be impacted in 2025 as these projects begin to shift to early stages of their respective operations and maintenance and concession phases, and as new projects start to ramp up. Lower operating profit in the quarter was primarily due to the Skyport transaction that was previously mentioned, which resulted in gains on sale of CAD 133 million.
On slide seven, we've brought together the adjusted information to exclude the impact of legacy projects and divestitures to provide insight into this underlying performance we've been discussing. As previously mentioned, on an adjusted basis, revenue in 2024 was CAD 4.2 billion compared to CAD 3.8 billion in 2023. Adjusted EBITDA was CAD 349 million in 2024 compared to CAD 355 million in the previous year. For the construction segment, on an adjusted basis, adjusted EBITDA was CAD 307 million in 2024, representing a 7.4% margin. Turning to slide eight, at the end of 2024, Aecon held cash and cash equivalents of CAD 123 million, excluding the cash held in joint operations. In addition, at December 31, 2024, Aecon had committed revolving credit facilities of CAD 850 million, of which CAD 153 million was drawn and CAD 4 million was utilized for letters of credit. Drawn credit is entirely at the Aecon utilities level.
Aecon has no debt or working capital credit facility maturities until 2027, except for equipment loans and leases in the normal course. Aecon's next quarterly dividend of CAD 0.19 per share will be paid on April 2, 2025, to shareholders of record on March 21, 2025. At this point, I'll turn the call over to Jean-Louis to address our business performance and outlook.
Thank you, Jerome. Turning to slide nine, Aecon continues to build resiliencies through a balanced and diversified work portfolio while enhancing execution capabilities and project selection to play to our strengths. In 2024, roughly 45% of Aecon's construction revenue was generated from the utilities and nuclear sectors, compared to 39% in 2023. Our self-performed capabilities and one Aecon approach help to maximize value for clients through improved cost certainty and schedule, while offering a broad range of services from development, engineering, investment, and construction to longer-term operations and maintenance to cover the full infrastructure value chain. We are embracing new opportunities to grow in areas linked to the energy sector and in US and international markets. These opportunities are intended to diversify Aecon's geographic presence, provide new growth vectors, and deliver more consistent earnings through economic cycles.
Turning now to slide ten, demand for Aecon services across our markets continues to be strong. With backlog of CAD 6.7 billion at the end of 2024, recurring revenue programs continuing to see robust demand, and a strong bid pipeline, Aecon believes it is positioned to achieve further revenue growth in 2025 and over the next few years, and is focused on achieving improved profitability and margin predictability. Of note, year-end backlog excludes the recently announced award for the Scarborough Subway Extension Transit Project and the design phase for the refurbishment of four units at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, comprising CAD 3.3 billion in total, which will be added to our backlog in the first quarter of 2025. Remaining backlog to be worked off on the three remaining legacy projects was CAD 121 million, or 2% of total backlog, at December 31, 2024.
We remain focused on driving this project to substantial completion, with two currently expected to be substantially complete in mid-year 2025 and the final project by the end of the third quarter of 2025. Trailing 12-month recurring revenue was CAD 1 billion in 2024, comparable to the previous year, and up over 30% versus two years ago, taking into account the divestitures of ATE and the 49.9% interest in Skyport in prior periods on a like-for-like basis. Recurring revenues are typically executed on a non-fixed-price basis, with the majority being over and above our reported backlog figures.
Turning to slide 11, development phase work is underway on a number of major projects in which Aecon is a participant, including the GO Extension on Corridor Works project, the Darlington New Nuclear Project, the Contrecoeur terminal expansion, the US Virgin Islands Airport Redevelopment Project, the Winnipeg North End Treatment Plant Project, and the Overdanson Dam Project. These projects are being delivered using collaborative progressive design-build models, with the majority expected to move into construction phase in 2025. As a reminder, none of the anticipated work from this progressive design-build project is yet reflected in backlog. Turning to slide 12, Aecon is focused on achieving solid execution on its projects and selectively adding to backlog through a disciplined bidding approach that supports long-term margin improvement in the construction segment.
Revenue in 2025 is expected to be stronger than 2024 due to an opening backlog of CAD 6.7 billion, combined with recent new awards in the first quarter, the impact of business acquisitions completed in the second half of 2024, solid recurring revenue, and a strong bid pipeline. Revenue growth is expected in most of the construction sectors as progressive design-build projects move into the construction phase in 2025 and 2026. In addition, capital expenditures in 2025 are expected to be modestly higher than in 2024. In the concession segment, there are a number of opportunities to add to the existing portfolio of Canadian and international concessions in the next 12 to 24 months. Results in recent years were negatively impacted by the four legacy projects.
However, the recent Coastal GasLink pipeline settlement, along with the additional write-downs on the fixed-price legacy project in 2024, are anticipated to lead to improved profitability and margin predictability, especially as the remaining three projects move closer to substantial completion. Until the remaining three projects are complete and the related claims have been resolved, there is a risk that this could also occur in future periods. As such, the completion and satisfactory resolution of claims on the remaining three legacy projects with the respective clients remains a critical focus for Aecon and its partners. Finally, turning to slide 13, the year 2024 was a period of significant progress for Aecon, marked by several positive developments. As previously mentioned, we successfully reached a settlement for the Coastal GasLink pipeline project while continuing to make steady progress in completing and satisfactorily resolving claims on the three remaining legacy projects.
At the same time, we further de-risked our business by adding new collaborative projects into our development pipeline while transitioning the Scarborough Subway Extension project from the development phase into the implementation phase under a target price contract. We also strengthened our operation through three key strategic acquisitions: Extreme Power Line, Ainsworth Power Construction, and United Engineers and Constructors, allowing us to capitalize on significant opportunities in the utilities, nuclear, and conventional power sectors across North America. With that, we are pleased to once again welcome the teams from Extreme, Ainsworth Power Construction, and United as we work together to safely drive future growth. We are excited about the momentum we have built and remain focused on executing our strategy to drive long-term shareholder value. Thank you. We will now turn the call over to analysts for questions.
Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. We also ask that you please wait for your name and company to be announced before proceeding with your question. One moment while we take the first question. Our first question will be coming from the line of Kyle Brock of ATB Capital Markets. Your line is open.
Good morning, guys. It's Kyle on for Chris. Your EBITDA from concessions came in a bit lighter than we had been expecting. As we look into 2025, how should we be thinking about the expected EBITDA contribution from the segment, particularly as the portfolio evolves in the second half?
Hey, Kyle. It's Jerome here. Thanks for the question. I think we previously talked about the 2024 had a lot of benefit in the concession segment with regards to development and construction fees earned as projects were in flight on the construction side. As those projects move into completion, there will be a natural headwind against that, right? Our perspective remains consistent, which is going into 2025, we will not see that pickup on the concession side. The counter item that is going to help offset it, but not to a significant degree, would be to continue to work on the USVI projects, which we are targeting to hopefully kind of move into the second half of 2025.
Beyond that, it is clearly a headwind on the concessions front from 2025, but as expected, just given the amount of revenue that was generated with the development fees and then the concession revenue associated with the construction projects.
Thanks. That's very helpful. Then shifting to the legacy projects, with the CAD 36 million reforecast in the quarter and the completion of the LRTs moving a bit to the right, do you still feel good about the CAD 125 million loss bucket? Any color there would be appreciated. Thanks.
Yes, I would take this one. Yes, we do, is the answer. I mean, we are in line with the information we gave at the end of Q2 2024. Mainly speaking, I mean, on our three remaining legacy projects, Gordie Howe International Bridge is perfectly on schedule and perfectly under control for a substantial completion still forecasted for September 2025. Eglinton and Finch, our two LRTs in Toronto, we are now very happy to see that all stakeholders are working towards the same direction, and we are getting ready to have revenue service demonstration around May and June and to get Zoom's project substantially completed around mid-year 2025. So far, in front of the information that we gave you, we are in line.
Thank you. One moment for the next question. Our next question will be coming from the line of Krista Friesen of CIBC. Your line is open.
Hi. Thanks for taking my question. I was just wondering if you can speak to how we should be thinking about margins in the construction segment in 2025 and if there's any puts and takes there that we should be considering.
Thank you, Krista. Good question. From a margin perspective on the construction side, given the seasonality of the business, we do try to think of things on effectively a rolling basis. 2024 overall margins, adjusting out legacy projects and adjusting out divestiture impacts, roughly 7.5%. This is a kind of good margin profile, not an exceptional one. It is one that we are going to try to continue to work on from an overall perspective. That being said, I think we just need to be cognizant that is a pretty good result to put up. I think for us, it is about maintaining it in this range and trying to really push the teams to operate efficiently to try to kind of inch that upwards, right? I think right now, in 2023, we have really good results supported by some very strong project closeouts.
2024, we're in flight and transitioning. 2025, we're just going to try to push that number up a little bit more.
Great. Thank you. Maybe just a higher-level question, how you're thinking about capital allocation and M&A this year and any kind of difference between the Canadian market and U.S. market and kind of just what you're seeing there.
Sure. Capital allocation perspective remains consistent. First priority is the strength of the balance sheet. We think about it in two ways. One is at the Aecon Group level, where we have the effectively undrawn revolver at the top of the house. Then one is at the Aecon Utilities level, where the small ticket short cycle nature of the work and its own credit facility where we have the majority of our drawings to support the M&A program. We maintain a strong balance sheet. The next flow is to ensure that operationally the business has what it needs to execute the work programs that we have in front of it. Our outlook noted that our capital expenditures are anticipated to be slightly higher in 2025 versus 2024.
This is largely just around building resiliency for the overall business across the various sectors where we operate and spread across all operating regions where we execute programs. The dividend program, we've held the dividend flat this quarter and this year. The perspective there being we've got a pretty robust dividend as it stands today. We have our MCIB to execute tactically as we see appropriate. Finally, from an M&A standpoint, we continue to have a lot of active discussions across both the utility side of the house and the balance of the Aecon business. Within Canada, we have very strong operations. We have the market relatively well covered. We could continue to tactically look to infill, right? I think the APC transaction in December was a great example of that. Again, just strengthening an area where we already had a good presence.
Look, in 2024, the teams were quite active both on the utility side and on the balance of the Aecon side with Extreme and United. I think building out our capability and filling in our geographies will continue to be a priority from that perspective.
Great. Thank you. I'll jump back in the queue.
Thanks, Krista.
Thank you. One moment for the next question, please. Our next question is going to be coming from the line of Michael Kypreos of Desjardins. Your line is open.
Yes. Thanks for taking my question. Good morning. Maybe going back to CapEx, you mentioned that it's expected to be modestly higher versus last year. Can you maybe explain some of the ongoing dynamics with equipment now that the loonie has fallen so much versus the US dollar? If you're facing any increased costs on that front?
Yeah. Lots to unpack there. Potential for impact there exists. I'd say that we manage our programs pretty thoughtfully. We already have a base. Part of this is effectively parts and repairs. Some of the equipment that we're purchasing comes from geographies where it's not tied to USD as well. I think overall, I'd say the volume of equipment that we're expected to be onboarding is likely a little bit higher. We do have a refresh program. As we onboard new equipment, we offboard all older equipment, and that shares in the same dynamic. On a net basis, maybe a marginal headwind, but overall, not something that we're overly concerned about. Jean-Loius, will you go ahead?
Yeah. Maybe I can jump in a little more generally. I mean, your question was about ForEx. What we can say now is that we have a natural way of hedging because we have more and more revenue in U SD. It helps us. On a broader view, I mean, I imagine your question is also linked with tariffs. To be clear about it, do not expect Aecon to react every day due to the flow of information left and right and up and down. Basically, Aecon is not a manufacturer. Aecon is not an exporter of goods. Aecon is a builder. Most probably, the consequence of all these tariff issues is going to be quite limited for us and maybe reduced to what we call the changing loan, for which we are protected in our contract.
You remember that following COVID, we have been extremely careful on those kind of clauses on our contract, I mean, the protection of our revenue following changing laws. I am not particularly worried. As I said in my introduction to this answer, I mean, we are much more American today. I mean, we are in the United States. Aecon Walks, you probably remember, is a company that we acquired, I mean, early 2019. The revenue was $4 million or $5 million . It is now going to deliver between CAD 150 million and CAD 200 million. Extreme is behaving extremely well. We are extremely happy with this acquisition. United, the last one, is also a very important acquisition for us. All this just means that we are in the United States. We are producing. We have our workshop. We have our engineer. We have our people.
This is important in front of what is happening at the moment between the two countries. My instruction to the team is very clear. No politics, no emotion. Do your work, and everything is going to be fine.
That's very helpful, Jean-Louis. I appreciate it.
Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star 11 on your telephone. One moment for the next question. Our next question will be coming from the line of Michael Tupholme of TD Cowen. Your line is open.
Thank you. Good morning.
Good morning.
Good morning. You have several collaborative projects that have been moving through the development phase. You have talked about some more of these hitting the construction phase in 2025, 2026. Are you able to provide a little bit more detail about how we think about those moving into the construction phase and begin to contribute to revenues?
Yeah. I mean, those collaborative contracts and what we call progressive design-build, I mean, it's a very interesting developing part of our business. Very interesting because it's straight on to our strategy of giving more predictability about our margin. You probably remember when I arrived at Aecon, the share of fixed-price contract was something like 72% within our activity. In line with our strategy, it has now decreased. We are between 35-38%. We have totally inversed the trend between variable price and fixed price. PDBs and collaborative contracts, I mean, is part of this strategy. What happened with Carborough is very important because it's a major one that is now closed commercially. We finalized the development phase, and we reached an agreement toward a target price with our client. It's a big one for Aecon.
It's probably a little over CAD 2.8 billion in terms of activity. The model works. This is why it's so important. It's not the only one. I mean, Pickering, and we have disclosed information about it, is a collaborative contract. I mean, we have in our backlog something like CAD 1 billion for the development phase of Pickering. We are working on other progressive design-build. I mean, DNNP, the SMR, is a collaborative contract. It's a six-year alliance. We expect during the first part of the year 2025 to also go from development phase to construction phase, go to an expansion, although it's a phased progressive design-build due to the fact that it's a brownfield environment. I mean, we are working under operation of the rail network. It's going to be phased.
We have also closed the development phase and are progressively going to implementation and construction. We have others. I mean, the Winnipeg Wastewater Treatment Plant is also a collaborative one. Over Ha nson, I mean, with the U.S. Corps of Engineers in the United States, that is something like CAD 250 million for Aecon ultimately in construction, is a collaborative one. Contreter in Quebec is a collaborative one. Very important, very good, and perfectly in line with our strategy. As I used to say, there is not a universal contractual mode for every project. Each kind of project has its own favored and optimal way of contracting.
We can see, for example, now that our clients, from time to time, are ready to come back to lump sum job, but taking out from the lump sum everything that depends on stakeholders that is not under our control and putting it on the time and materials or targets. Those are hybrid models that are also very, very interesting. All this is developing quite well and perfectly in line with what we have announced.
Perfect. Thank you. I apologize if I missed this earlier if there was any discussion about this. Just on the subject of tariffs, it does not seem as though there is any real direct exposure, but obviously, people are concerned about potential indirect impacts. Can you just talk a little bit about whether or not you have seen any impact so far as it relates to work you are pursuing? I am thinking more specifically about any customers' comments they may have made or sentiment from the customer side. Just trying to get a sense if there is, from an indirect impact perspective, what may come from this.
Yeah. I'll tackle that one Mike , it's a good question. I think the best way we can answer is that we're monitoring the situation pretty closely. As noted, it's the measures and the countermeasures, non-tariff impacts, changes in procurement, changes in policies of national, subnational, regional governments. All of this is playing out in real time, and we're just watching where it's going to land. In general, the uncertainty that this is causing, potential inflationary impacts could have impacts on our labor force. The ways that this impacts operations is kind of multifaceted. We are being kind of cautious from that perspective. Client behavior may or may not change in association with this. I'd just say that it's something that we're very live to. That's probably all we can really share at this point.
Oh, fair enough. It's obviously early days and very complex. Appreciate that. Lastly, in terms of nuclear-related work, obviously, there's some part of the Pickering Award on the latest refurbishment awards that got added in the fourth quarter and more to come in the first quarter. Can you just speak a little bit about nuclear in general? Obviously, there was a lot of excitement and I think continues to be around the opportunities in that area. Just wondering what you're seeing now in terms of future opportunities, if the level of discussion and opportunity set continues to expand. I'm thinking specifically both about the U.S. and Canada. If you can comment on new build as well, which may be a little further out, just what the thinking there is.
Yeah. I will take this one. A lot of excitement and enthusiasm, although at Aecon, we are extremely happy with our nuclear activity and the way it's growing. As you say, let's split into Canada and U.S. Canada, basically, we have two vectors of growth. The first one is what we call the major component replacement. We are at the moment working on the fourth and last unit of Darlington that should be ready for 2026. I just remind you that the third unit, we completed it five months ahead of schedule, perfectly within the budget. At Bruce, you probably saw that we have added the four last reactors. We are at the moment working on the second one that should be ready next year. Bruce will go up to 2032 now in terms of major component refurbishment.
Pickering is a very nice add-up because it comes exactly at the right moment that we were needing after Darlington. It means that all our teams coming from Darlington, all the lessons learned, I mean, will be directly applicable to Pickering, and we are very happy about it. We are also working on preparing our offers on a collaborative model for the turbine refurbishment. This is for the refurbishment programs. In addition to this, you have the new build. The main one at the moment, the one on the table, is a small modular reactor at Darlington, unit one. We are expecting that OPG will get licensing authorization from the regulators around mid-2025. We are ready to shift from development phase to construction phase. I remind you that it is a four-unit program of 300 MW where Aecon is in charge of all the construction services.
After this, we are also getting ready for the new build of 1,000 MW that will arrive for OPG and for Bruce. Getting ready, I mean, for those big jobs. In the U.S., it's also quite interesting. As I said a few minutes earlier, I mean, we had acquired a Works early 2019, very small company with very specialized welders that we used on our Canadian refurbishment program. Now, this company that has been restructured, that has been nurtured with a lot of processes from Aecon, a lot of knowledge from our nuclear project is growing and is growing quite well. I mean, we are expecting that our activity in the U.S. for nuclear will be between CAD 150 million- CAD 200 million in 2025. We are working for the federal government, Department of Energy on Savannah River. We are working for Dominion.
We have added a few days ago a very interesting purchase order for Energy Northwest. This is going quite well. In conclusion, always remember that the resiliency and the strength of Aecon is due to the balance of its activity. I mean, I don't want to become an 80% nuclear company. All this has to be balanced, but we are perfectly on our way and very happy with the nuclear activity.
Thank you very much for all that.
Thank you. There is a follow-up question from Frederic Bastien from Raymond James. Your line is open.
Hey, Frederic.
Good morning, everybody. I do not know if this question has been asked before. I suppose it has, but it might have not come from me. Just wondering if data center is an opportunity for you guys from maybe a power transmission perspective.
No, Frederick. I mean, this question has not yet come on the table. Basically, in the data centers, there are two parts. One is a sort of huge workshop where the clients just insert all their equipment that are directly procured by them, plus a lot of AC, air conditioning. We are not going into this. We are late in this market, and Aecon is not really a building or commercial building company. As you say, what is quite interesting is the power that is related with those data centers and two kinds of powers. The first one is to get autonomy of power generation. We are looking at this. The second one is to have a backup, to be perfectly connected to the grid, to the existing grid.
It just means that there is a full sub-market linked with what we call balance of plant and energy. Yes, we are looking at it. It's a little similar to battery storage, you probably remember. I mean, we didn't want to go in the pure battery aspect of it, but we are usually extremely interested, and we are getting very strong in what we call the balance of plant, everything related with energy.
Okay. I mean, the market's really vibrant in the U.S. Are you seeing the potential for Canada to become a major player in data centers?
Not sure. I mean, the U.S. is very much in advance, but there are needs in Canada, and we are getting stronger and stronger in the U.S., as I was explaining, I mean, through our acquisition. United is a very interesting acquisition. First of all, you have noticed it's engineers and constructors. Constructors is because United has a joint venture with Framatome, who is a worldwide leader in steam generation. It is quite important because most of the major component refurbishment of existing nuclear power plants will have to deal with steam generation. United is also an engineering company, pre-construction, feasibility, detailed engineering, everything related with power. Of course, we want to leverage their capacities with the Canadian capacity that we have to be stronger in the United States.
Okay. Thanks. That's helpful. I have a question regarding the construction segment's result. It was highlighted that the gross margins on the civil side were responsible for some of the pressure you experienced. Are you able to comment further on that, provide additional color?
Yeah. Hey, Fred. It's Jerome here. As Jean-Louis previously mentioned, one of the benefits of Aecon's platform is the diversification across the various sectors. On occasion, we have a broad portfolio of civil projects spanning the continent, constructions in outdoor sport. In some instances, some of these projects just don't perform at the same level as others. This would just have been a quarter where some of the project performance on some of the civil works that we're doing, I think partly in kind of the western part of the continent, just didn't perform to the same level as our aspirations, balanced out by other high performance in other areas of the business, right? As Jean-Louis mentioned, nuclear did very, very well. We had a strong margin profile out of our industrial business. Effectively, this was core civil works, just managing through.
Challenging. The projects we execute on are not simplistic things, right? They are meaningful, critical infrastructure projects that are absolutely required, but it's not easy stuff, right? At times, some of these projects can get tough. That was what we saw manifest in the margin profile in Q4.
Okay. Thanks for your answers.
Thanks, Frederic.
Thank you. That does conclude today's Q&A session. I would like to turn the call back over to Adam Borgatti for closing remarks. Please go ahead.
Thanks, Lisa. Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. As always, feel free to reach out with comments and questions to us after. Happy to re-engage as you continue to work through the models and things like that. We have concluded the call today and look forward to chatting next quarter.
Thank you all for joining today's conference call. This concludes today's program. You may disconnect.