Good morning, and welcome to the Lindsay Corporation fiscal fourth quarter and full year 2026 earnings conference call. All participants will be in listen only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on a touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Randy Wood, CEO and President. Please go ahead.
Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our fiscal 2026 fourth quarter and full year earnings call. With me today are Alicia Pfeifer and Brett Coburn, our Co-Interim Chief Financial Officers. I want to begin by recognizing our global teams for their strong execution, resilience, and operational discipline throughout the year as we remain focused on our priorities, strengthening operational performance, improving our cost structure, and making targeted investments that enhance our competitive position and support long-term growth. From expanding our agricultural technology offerings and manufacturing capabilities to pursuing strategic acquisitions and developing new infrastructure solutions, our actions are designed to position Lindsay to generate sustainable value through the market cycle. In irrigation, we executed extremely well in project markets while remaining disciplined in challenging North America and Brazil markets. In infrastructure, our team continued to leverage improving market fundamentals and stable financing conditions to deliver growth.
That same operating discipline is reflected in our safety performance. Safety is a core One Lindsay value, and this year we achieved a total recordable incident rate below 1.0, representing a world-class level of performance. Our Norfolk, Olathe, France, and Italy operations each achieved perfect safety records for the year. I am extremely proud of these accomplishments and grateful to our employees around the world for their continued commitment to work safely every day. We also strengthened our financial position by actively managing pricing, implementing structural cost reductions, and driving operational efficiencies. In June, we executed a global restructuring plan focused on streamlining operations and simplifying the organization. We expect these actions to generate $8 million in net annualized cost reductions after reinvesting a portion of the savings in our highest priority growth initiatives.
The resulting leaner operating model should improve efficiency and drive stronger operating leverage as market conditions improve. In North America, we saw encouraging signs of improvement in the fourth quarter, with irrigation revenues increasing 11%, driven primarily by higher unit volumes and storm damage. Improving commodity prices also supported stronger customer sentiment early in the quarter, with corn moving above $5 per bushel. While commodity prices have receded recently and market conditions remain below what we would consider mid-cycle, the improvement we saw during the quarter reinforces our confidence that demand can recover as farm economics strengthen. For that recovery to become more sustained, growers will need greater forward visibility and improved net farm income. Until then, we expect irrigation equipment investment to remain relatively subdued. Our agricultural technology business continued to build momentum, reflecting strong execution against our innovation strategy.
Annual recurring revenue grew approximately 11% year-over-year, extending our five-year CAGR to more than 15%. Through solutions such as FieldNET and FieldNET Advisor, we are expanding our relationships with growers beyond the initial equipment sale, providing technology that helps customers improve productivity, optimize water usage, and make more informed operating decisions. The continued growth of this business demonstrates our ability to build recurring revenue streams, deepen customer relationships, and create additional opportunities for long-term growth. In Brazil, near-term irrigation demand continues to be constrained by high interest rates, limited credit availability, and softer crop economics, with election-related uncertainty also contributing to some delayed purchasing decisions. However, we are seeing encouraging signs of underlying demand. Expectations for drier conditions in the north are increasing grower interest in irrigation, and quotation activity has improved year-over-year.
We view this as a positive leading indicator, although a more meaningful recovery will depend on improvement in financing conditions and grower economics. In the MENA region, our team completed all scheduled equipment shipments despite ongoing regional uncertainty, and we recognized approximately $70 million of revenue during the fiscal year. The remaining balance is for services revenue in the region, which we expect to recognize over the next 12 months- 24 months. Our ability to provide equipment, technology, and ongoing service support is an important differentiator in these large-scale projects. We also believe this services-based model deepens our customer relationships and generates longer-term revenue. As our install base expands, we see opportunities for additional technology adoption, aftermarket products, and ongoing services, extending the value of these projects beyond the initial equipment sale.
In infrastructure, we continue to deliver solid growth and strong operating performance driven by our road safety products business. This marked our third consecutive quarter of growth as continued road infrastructure investment supported healthy demand. While the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act expired at the end of September, funding has been extended through the end of the calendar year. Looking ahead, as the BUILD America 250 Act progresses, we remain confident in the underlying infrastructure funding environment and the long-term growth opportunity it provides for our business. We are also encouraged by the momentum in Road Zipper leasing and continue to pursue additional project opportunities. Turning to our outlook.
In North America, elevated fuel and fertilizer costs continue to pressure farm economics, but a sustained improvement in net farm income and customer confidence would provide an important catalyst for broader recovery in irrigation investments. We continue to see Brazil as one of the most compelling long-term growth markets for global irrigation. Although financing availability and election uncertainty remain important factors in near-term demand, the underlying fundamentals continue to support our confidence in the market's long-term growth potential. Consistent with that view, we have signed a definitive agreement to acquire Setorial Irrigação, a leading Brazilian manufacturer of hose reel and irrigation equipment. This targeted investment builds on our existing capabilities in the region and advances two strategic priorities, capitalizing on growth opportunities in Brazil and creating incremental value for customers through a broader portfolio of irrigation solutions.
We believe hose reels are a natural complement to our Zimmatic center pivots, particularly for smaller and irregularly shaped fields and applications such as sugarcane, where Setorial has strong customer relationships. Over time, we see opportunities to leverage our existing dealer network to expand Setorial's reach, introduce Zimmatic solutions to Setorial customers, and grow the business across Latin America. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the coming months. Our success in MENA continues to reinforce our confidence in the long-term opportunity in the region, supporting food security and water conservation. While the project pipeline remains active, we do not currently anticipate any large project awards to begin delivery in fiscal 2027. In infrastructure, we expect continued growth in road safety products, supported by ongoing infrastructure investment and new product introductions.
We expect Road Zipper leasing to remain generally in line with fiscal 2026, while the project pipeline remains active with a number of opportunities under development. Our major capital investment at the Lindsay, Nebraska facility continues to progress with our next generation galvanizing operation expected to be online before calendar year end. Together with our tube mill investment, these capabilities are designed to improve safety, increase capacity and productivity, and provide greater operating flexibility across the cycle. We believe the added capacity also creates new growth opportunities by enabling us to expand our contract manufacturing business and serve growing demand for galvanizing services throughout the Midwest. Lastly, I want to thank Alicia and Brett for their leadership and commitment as interim co-CFOs. Together with our board, we have made strong progress in our CFO search and are very pleased with the caliber of candidates we have evaluated.
We are now in the final stages of the process and expect to announce our selection in the coming weeks. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Alicia to discuss our fiscal fourth quarter and full year financial results. Alicia?
Thank you, Randy, and good morning, everyone. Total revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 were $161.6 million, an increase of 5% compared to the fourth quarter last year. Net earnings for the quarter were $11.3 million, or $1.10 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $10.8 million, or $0.99 per diluted share in the fourth quarter last year. Total revenues for the full year 2026 were $635.9 million, a decrease of 6% compared to the prior year. Net earnings were $55.7 million compared to $74.1 million in the prior year. Earnings per share were $5.33 per diluted share, a decrease of 21% compared to the prior year. Full year results reflected lower revenues in both segments as the irrigation segment was negatively impacted by the lower comparative project size in the MENA region and lower sales volumes in North America and Brazil.
Full year 2026 infrastructure results were affected by lower Road Zipper System project sales, as the prior year included a $20 million project that we did not expect to repeat in 2026, partially offset by sales growth of road safety products. Turning to our quarterly segment results. Irrigation segment revenues for the fourth quarter increased 4% to $133.7 million compared to the prior year. North America irrigation revenues for the fourth quarter increased 11% to $55.4 million. The increase in revenues resulted primarily from higher unit sales volume while average selling prices were comparable to the prior year. Higher unit sales volumes were supported by near term improvement in agricultural commodity prices, which strengthened demand, and slightly higher storm damage replacement volume compared to the prior year. In international irrigation markets, revenues for the fourth quarter were $78.3 million, a level that was comparable to prior year.
Increases in project sales in the MENA region and higher sales volume in other developed markets were largely offset by the decrease in volumes from Brazil. In the MENA region, as Randy Wood mentioned, we completed equipment delivery for the $80 million project during the quarter. Total irrigation segment operating income for the fourth quarter was $17.3 million, comparable to the prior year. Operating margin was 12.9% of sales compared to 13.7% of sales last year. The decrease in operating margin resulted from higher input costs, which were partially offset by reductions in operating expenses compared to the prior year. For the full fiscal year, total irrigation segment revenues decreased 5% to $541.5 million. North America irrigation revenues of $262.1 million decreased 4%, primarily due to lower unit sales volume compared to the prior year, as weaker agricultural commodity pricing continued to weigh on farm incomes and demand.
International irrigation revenues of $279.3 million decreased 5%, primarily a function of the smaller overall project scale in the MENA region and the lower sales volumes in Brazil. The favorable impact of foreign currency translation was approximately $12.1 million compared to the prior year. International irrigation revenues exceeded North America irrigation revenues for the second consecutive fiscal year, highlighting the value of our geographic diversification and the strong growing demand for irrigation outside of North America. Operating income in the irrigation segment for the full fiscal year was $80.1 million, a decrease of 17% compared to the prior year, and operating margin of 14.8% of sales, compared to 17.1% of sales in the prior year.
The decrease in operating income resulted primarily from lower revenues, where the decrease in operating margin was a function of lower unit volume and the resulting lower fixed cost absorption, as well as higher input costs. Infrastructure segment revenues for the fourth quarter increased 13% to $27.8 million.
The solid increase in revenues resulted primarily from higher sales of road safety products, which were partially offset by lower Road Zipper System sales and lease revenues compared to the prior year. Infrastructure segment operating income for the fourth quarter increased 41% to $5 million. Infrastructure operating margin for the quarter was 17.9% of sales, up compared to 14.4% of sales in the fourth quarter last year. Higher operating income and operating margin resulted from higher revenues and a more favorable margin mix of revenues compared to the prior year. For the full fiscal year, infrastructure segment revenues decreased 13% to $94.4 million.
The decrease was primarily due to a $20 million Road Zipper System project in the prior year that did not repeat. Infrastructure operating income for the full fiscal year was $16 million compared to $26.3 million in the prior year. Operating margin for the year was 17% of sales, compared to 24.3% of sales in the prior year. The decrease in operating income and operating margin resulted from the non-repeat of last year's project sale. Excluding the impact of the large Road Zipper project sale in the prior year, revenue and operating income for the infrastructure business increased 11% and 12%, respectively, compared to the prior year. Turning to the balance sheet and liquidity. Our total available liquidity at the end of the fourth quarter was $239.8 million, which included $189.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and $50 million available under our revolving credit facility.
Free cash flow for the year was 62% of net earnings and included capital expenditures of $40.2 million. As Randy Wood mentioned in his opening remarks, we have entered into a definitive agreement to purchase 100% of Setorial. We expect to fund the transaction with cash on hand, and closing is subject to the fulfillment of customary conditions expected to occur in the upcoming months. During fiscal 2026, we returned $96.1 million to shareholders, including $80.7 million of share repurchases and $15.4 million of dividends, representing approximately 173% of net earnings. During the year, our board of directors approved a new share repurchase program of up to $150 million. Our repurchases this year exhausted a prior $250 million authorization and leave $100 million available under this current program. Our strong balance sheet and cash flow generation provide the flexibility to execute against our capital allocation priorities.
We remain focused on deploying capital where we believe it can generate attractive long-term returns, including investments in productivity, innovation, and strategic growth opportunities while continuing to return capital to shareholders. We believe this balanced approach reflects our commitment to maintaining financial discipline and creating sustainable shareholder value throughout the cycle.
This concludes my remarks, and I will now turn the call over to the operator to take your questions.
Thank you. We will now begin the question- and- answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star then two. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question comes from Nathan Jones with Stifel. Please go ahead.
Good morning. This is Adam Farley on for Nathan.
Hi, Adam.
My first question is going to be around price cost. In recent months, we have seen renewed inflation with increases in material prices, freight, et cetera. Do you anticipate being price cost neutral in dollars, maybe at the margin line or somewhere in between? Is there any type of timing dynamics that we should consider maybe here in the near term?
Yeah. Good morning, Adam. This is Alicia. I think just in terms of pricing, we continue to pass along input cost increases to our customers. It is pretty clear our operating margins continue to be impacted. I think in the fourth quarter, specifically in North America, increased volume moving through the facility certainly helped from a favorable volume and fixed cost absorption perspective. Just however, in the market, it is challenging to be able to keep up with the pricing in terms of covering the rising costs. Typically, when we do price, there is a delay in terms of how quickly that pricing becomes realized. Assuming we start to see some stabilization in input costs, we would anticipate it to take a couple of quarters for price realization to actually flow through.
Okay, that is helpful. Looking at domestic irrigation. Maybe here in the near term, how should we think about the market, just given the moves and the commodity prices? Should we expect that sentiment to maybe oscillate with crop prices here in the short term? Are there other factors involved that maybe help as well?
Yeah, Adam, this is Randy Wood. I think a couple of perspectives on that one. I think we were pleased in the fourth quarter that when we did see some positive movement on commodity price, we saw a very near-term move in demand and volume. I think the demand for us in the quarter, we did see some storm damage lift. I was really pleased that we also saw some volume outside of the traditional storm volume market. It does look like customers had a bump in sentiment. They were willing, some guys maybe sold some crop at that $5+ level and felt like they had locked in a profit, so they were willing to spend some of that. I think we have said pretty consistently when farm economics improve, we are going to see that volume. Right now there is a lot of that pent-up demand developing.
Now, obviously, commodity prices have come back here recently, and I would not say that there is a lot of optimism in the market. Right now we have got a lot of guys looking at their tax situation, planning for year-end, planning with accelerated depreciation. I think it would be really tough to say that the market has turned and we are back on the upswing. I think that the language we used in the prepared remarks was subdued, and I think that is probably going to continue until we see a little more sustainable level of commodity price support and a little more sustained level of net farm income.
Great. Thank you for taking my questions.
Thanks, Adam.
Thank you. The next question comes from Brian Drab with William Blair. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thanks. Hi, Randy, Alicia, Brett.
Morning, Brian.
Morning. First, on the international business. You made a point in the prepared remarks to say that you don't expect a large project to start shipping in fiscal 2027. I wonder if you could just talk about the dynamics that are driving that comment. Obviously, I guess it has to do with the volatility in the region. Then, can you do anything to set the bar for us for where you think that means international irrigation revenue goes in 2027? Because it kind of looks like if you just take that project out, then you're down pretty significantly, like double digits, maybe around 20% year-over-year in fiscal 2027, all else equal.
Yeah. The volume internationally related to projects, obviously, we want to be as transparent as we can with what we see. We still see active projects across the MENA region, whether it's North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia. The tricky part is these things don't start and end within a quarter. If there's design and engineering specifications, there may be a competitive quoting and bidding process. Once you know you've won the project, then you move into confirm letter of credit, and these can take months from the time you see the project to the time it's closed and we're talking to you guys about a confirmed project that we're going to recognize in revenue.
I think right now on the front end of all of that, we do see projects in that part of the world that are real people, real pieces of land, real geographies, where we believe and expect projects are going to be designed and delivered. We've got a track record here of identifying these projects, of winning them and executing them extremely well. So we're at the table for almost anything that we would see in the region. Again, right now, there's several of those in the early stages. There may be project awards within the fiscal year, and if there are, we'll certainly be willing to talk about those. But right now, we don't see one large one that we expect is going to get right to the finish line and be recognized in revenue in fiscal 2027. That was the basis of the comments.
If we look at what it means to 2027 results, I think it's pretty clear that if we had a $70 million project last year that we don't have this year, that's an immediate hole that we've got to cover. And I think we're comfortable saying that we're going to get at least half of that with some smaller projects that we do expect to kind of flow through the funnel. To be honest, anything in that $10 million, $15 million, $20 million range, we're probably not going to identify specifically. That's kind of traditional project volume that we wouldn't talk about. But between smaller projects, some other growth initiatives, whether it's technology or other mature market initiatives, we would expect half of that $70 million we'd cover with some self-help growth projects, Brian. But we don't see another $70 million project coming through in fiscal 2027.
But as that changes, we'll obviously continue to keep you updated.
Okay. That's great to know. Okay, thank you. And then just one other question for now. You also mentioned in the prepared remarks that the highway funding within the current bill is going to expire at the end of 2026. But there's nuance to that, isn't there? And there's the disbursements that could benefit you can persist quite a ways beyond 2026. Isn't that right? I'm just curious why you made a point to talk about that cutoff.
Yeah, I think the money's going to carry over so that the faucet doesn't get turned off and all of a sudden projects stop. Anything that's in the system is going to carry through and go forward. I think it's just something we keep an eye on, that the funding mechanism is critically important to that business and having any level of uncertainty is certainly something we work very closely with our government officials here in the state and in D.C. So I think it's just a recognition of a potential red flag in the future, Brian. But right now we wouldn't expect that to have any impact and we are still projecting to see some growth in that business through fiscal 2027.
Okay. All right. I will follow up more later. Thanks a lot.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from Ryan Connors with Northcoast Research. Please go ahead.
Good morning. Thanks for taking my call. Wanted to start off, if I could, on the cost reduction side. Can you drill down for us on the exact nature of what those moves were, where they fell from a segment perspective, whether they are operational back office sales? Just curious what the nature of those cost-cutting initiatives.
Yeah. I'll start and then let Alicia provide any additional granularity. It really was all of the above. I think we sat with our leadership team and kind of projected forward understanding some of the project volume that wasn't going to repeat year-over-year. If we assume that there isn't going to be significant recovery in the domestic U.S. market, we wanted to make sure we could continue to maintain business quality and control the things that we could control and really challenged everybody to look at how we're organized, how work gets done, and really restructured and simplified the organization. We took cost out of a number of areas of the business, both on an SG&A basis and a COGS basis, without impacting our ability to continue executing our key strategies.
In fact, some of the savings we generated through restructuring, we're reinvesting in the business. It's really about resource allocation and making sure that we're being smart in how we run the company in the near term. We certainly never want to limit our ability to respond to the recovery when it comes. We certainly don't want to take oxygen away from any of the key initiatives, particularly in channel technology and innovation. I would say across the board, a close look at the business, removing costs where it wouldn't impact our ability to operate or drive execution of our strategies. Really pleased with how everybody contributed. I think we're going to see that flow through on a full year basis. Alicia, any more granularity you'd add?
Yeah, I think the only thing I would add, Ryan, is just making sure it's clear that any of the costs associated with this program were fully realized in the fiscal 2026 results. Those identified savings will immediately start to materialize in fiscal 2027.
Got it. Very helpful. Wanted to talk also about the Setorial acquisition and interesting that it's a hose reel technology. Is there anything we should read into that in terms of how you think the market is moving in Brazil? Should we read that to think that you think hose reels are strategically important in terms of the growth story there? If so, why would that be? I guess I've always viewed that system as being more kind of the not quite as sophisticated or for larger operations as a traditional center pivot.
Yeah, I can take that one. Setorial and hose reels in general, like a lot of other types of mechanized irrigation, have a niche. They have a purpose, and they are better in small, irregular shape fields where center pivots aren't necessarily going to be the best option from a design or cost per acre, cost per hectare perspective. So hose reels certainly have a place. In fact, we've got a very robust hose reel business in Western Europe that we acquired as part of our Lindsay Europe expansion 20+ years ago. So we've got experience in this space. Understand how to design, engineer, manage technology and hose reels. I think Setorial really did two things. I think it expands the irrigation solutions that we can offer all across Latin America, really. But it also gives us another option in Brazil.
We've talked a lot about Brazil having a long-term growth trajectory. Where we see hose reels in Brazil, they've got great penetration in the sugarcane market. If you look at the growing ethanol business there, sugarcane is going to continue to see good signs of growth. Having a path to those customers now with both hose reels and center pivots, we think gives us a nice position of differentiation. If we can overlay technology like FieldNET and FieldNET Advisor with some of these hose reel companies, we think that creates another growth trajectory for us as well. To me, this is an investment in a growing market in Brazil. It's an investment in expanding our irrigation portfolio that we think is going to give us more meaningful relationships with our customers in that part of the world.
Got it. That's very clear. Then a couple quick housekeeping items. One is going back to the MENA project that as you mentioned, Randy Wood, going to create that hole. But what I did notice was a bit of a change in the language around the residual piece of that. I think that the remaining $10 million, where we, I believe three months ago, you talked about that shipping early in FY 2027, and now it seems like the language is more 12 months- 24 months. Anything we should read into that in terms of that final piece?
Yeah. So the final piece is really related to services, to installation, to maintenance, to FieldNET, some of the technology products as well. We do see some delays in installations there. The good news is we're fully shipped on all the equipment, but those delays on infrastructure in roads, in underground electricity, some of those have kind of delayed how quickly the machines are getting installed and put into operation there. So nothing that operationally shifts other than we're not going to see that revenue as quickly as we thought, because it will come as those installations get completed in the region.
Got it. One last housekeeping on the tax rate. It really jumped in the quarter. I apologize, Alicia, if I missed. I do not think you mentioned that, but I assume that is something special in the quarter and that we are going to revert to a more normal kind of low 20s level as we go into FY 2027.
Yeah, Ryan, this is Brett. I can take that one. Yeah, you are right. It is a one-time item that we expect to normalize out going forward. It just represented a disproportionate impact on the rate this year, just given some annual calculations we finalized, not having visibility to full-year results. But our full-year rate of just over 26% is a solid representation of the full year. Looking forward to next year, we would expect the rate to be kind of normalized back in that 24.5%-25% range.
Super. Thanks for your time.
Thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from Jon Braatz with Kansas City Capital. Please go ahead.
Good morning, everyone. Randy, back to the acquisition of Setorial. How sizable is it? Can you give us some idea, some numbers on the acquisition?
Yeah, it is relatively small, particularly when you look at it on a consolidated basis. But I think, again, if it opens up good synergy opportunities in channel and product mix and some of the customers that have trusted Setorial with their hose reel business that might now trust Lindsay with their Zimmatic center pivot business, that is where we see the opportunity. But the Setorial number on its own is still relatively small, again, particularly on a consolidated basis.
Okay. You talked a little bit about the new galvanizing facility up in Nebraska, and over the last 1.5 years or so, galvanizing has become a hot industry. What are the opportunities to, let us say, bring in outside business to do more with that galvanizing beyond what you need to do internally?
Yeah, we are going to be blessed with some capacity. I think when you look at the step up in capabilities and capacity and automation, we are going to have the ability to bring in some outside products. Anything that we can do for somebody outside of Lindsay obviously is going to absorb overhead and make the Lindsay business more profitable and stronger. We have, to be clear, added resources here. We are working throughout the Midwest market, and you are right, there is some pent-up demand here. We are going to be very uniquely positioned in terms of geography and capabilities to run that through the facility and strengthen the business. That is something that we look forward to keeping you updated on going forward, because I do think it will become a more meaningful part of the story.
Okay. When will that be in place?
We should have zinc in there and melting and be dipping before the end of the year. It may be 30, 60 days before we are fully utilized and up to full capacity, but we will have things going through that facility at the end of the calendar year.
Okay. One last question. Obviously, you did some restructuring in the quarter, but I noticed in the fourth quarter, your R&D, your engineering costs and research were down rather sharply year-over-year and maybe sequentially, too. Was that impacted by the restructuring, so to speak, or how do you see that going forward?
No. Some of that's just calendarization, Jon. There weren't any significant shifts in that part of the company.
Okay. All right. Thank you much.
Thank you. Again, if you have a question, please press star then one. The next question comes from Brett Kearney with American Rebirth Opportunity. Please go ahead.
Hi, good morning, Randy, Alicia. Thanks for taking my question.
Hi, Brett.
It's been pretty notable the consistent execution of your teams on the project you've had in the Middle East in spite of very fluid situation over there. Wondering whether that factors in on a going forward basis at all, as your teams work potential new projects in the pipeline, both the continuity of project delivery your teams can provide, as well as potentially also your shipping freight costs, given your strategic location in that region of the world, whether that is an element at all going forward.
We are very confident that the skills we've developed through consistent execution, I think it's obvious. If you make mistakes in that part of the world, you get noticed, and if you execute well in that part of the world, you get noticed. I think right now our team has a stellar reputation in that part of the world because of two back-to-back projects, significant projects in a region with a lot of complexity. I don't think flawless is the word I'd use, but they did a pretty darn good job. To me, I think we're proud of that. It does become a differentiator. If you picture a government or private investor investing $70 million, $80 million, $100 million, you want to make sure you're with a partner that has a proven track record, and Lindsay certainly does.
I'm proud of that team again, and I think it does give us a certain element of confidence going forward that when those projects are identified, we're going to be at the table, and we're going to have the opportunity to win those based on historical performance. Relative to geography, I don't want to jinx anything, to be honest with you, but I feel very fortunate with where we are in Turkey right now, and it puts us in a good spot to serve North Africa, the Middle East. As we see recovery in Russia, Ukraine, obviously, that can be a pretty big market that we can service easily from there as well. I like where we're positioned. I like the strength of the team. We've made very specific investments in people and talent and processes there that we'll continue to leverage going forward, Brett.
Terrific. Then just one on Brazil, Randy, given recent engagement with Setorial, I know you guys are always close to the farmer down there. Obviously, interest rates, crop prices, major factors, but curious what you're hearing, feeling from farmers down there in terms of potential meaningful elections coming up in that country this month. I believe one of the candidate's fathers was very supportive of the farm community, not only policy-wise, but infrastructure, help growers expand their fields, and just physical roads to get the crop to market. Just what you're sensing, whether that would move the needle at all for the farm community in Brazil.
Yeah. We are watching the election results fairly closely. I think we're three days away here now from the final runoff. I would say both candidates are pro-agriculture. You can't not be pro-agriculture in that part of the world, as important as it is to GDP and exports. I think both candidates are good for ag. I would say that the candidate that leans to the right, Bolsonaro, the one that you mentioned, is probably preferred by the ag community, and he had a lead coming out of the first round, and I guess we'll see what happens here in a couple of days. But either way, both candidates, I think, are going to be supportive, and maybe the right of center candidate may be perceived as maybe being a little stronger for ag.
I think customers there generally it's like they're on a launch pad and ready to go. We are looking at the El Niño impact. Right now, I mentioned in my remarks quotation volume, particularly in the north, where they're projecting maybe a drier year, whether it's El Niño or Super El Niño. I think they're looking very closely at the irrigation investment maybe being one of the most important investments that they'd have to make this year to protect from weather. Brazil, long term, is obviously a high growth market. We've commented on it, others in the industry have as well. In the near term, we've got to get this election behind us, get some stability, and then I think we could see that market start to warm up again. But I know customers there are ready.
I know that the yield improvement benefits are proven, and weather's going to be a supporting factor this year. We're ready to go.
Excellent. Very helpful. Thank you, Randy.
Thank you, Brett.
Thank you. This concludes our question- and- answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Randy Wood for any closing remarks.
Thank you, operator. As we close today's call, I want to take a moment to reinforce why we remain confident in Lindsay's long-term outlook. We're executing a clear strategy, strengthening our core irrigation and infrastructure businesses, growing recurring technology revenue, expanding in attractive international markets such as Brazil, and allocating capital with discipline. We believe our fourth quarter results demonstrate the operating leverage we're building into the business. Our balance sheet provides flexibility, and we continue to return meaningful capital to shareholders. Our leadership team and board remain focused on delivering sustainable long-term value, and we believe Lindsay is well positioned to benefit as our markets recover. Thank you again for joining us today and for your continued interest in Lindsay. We look forward to updating you on our fiscal 2027 first quarter earnings call.
Thank you. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.