Aeries Technology, Inc (AERT) Q3 FY2026 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good day, and welcome to Aeries Technology Third Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Earnings Call. Joining us today are Aeries Chief Executive Officer; Ajay Khare; and Chief Financial Officer, Daniel Webb. The call will review the results for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, and outlined strategic priorities that are shaping the next stage of our growth. Before we begin, please note that today's discussion contains forward-looking statements including Aeries expectations regarding future performance and market opportunities. Actual results may differ materially. Please refer to the SEC filings and the earnings press release for a full discussion of risks and uncertainties. Additionally, this call will include certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are available in our earnings release and on our website. And with that, I'll now turn the call over to Ajay.

Thank you. Good morning, and thank you for joining our third quarter fiscal 2026 Earnings Call. Quarter 3 financial year 2026, that is the quarter ended December 2025, was another strong quarter for Aeries. We delivered stable revenue, improving margins and disciplined execution with a significant improvement in adjusted EBITDA compared to prior year quarters. Our results reflect continued stability across our client base and strong delivery performance in India and Mexico. The quarter also benefited from ongoing efficiency improvements, scale GCC operations and increasing adoption of our AI and automation capabilities across both new and existing clients. For the quarter, revenue was $17.5 million, adjusted EBITDA was $2.5 million and adjusted EBITDA margin was approximately 14.1%, representing a meaningful turnaround from a negative adjusted EBITDA in the prior year quarter. These results are consistent with our expectations and reinforce the progress we have made in creating a more predictable and efficient operating model. We continue to show positive operating cash flow for the third consecutive quarter, which speaks to the strong trajectory we have built over the past year and the discipline we are applying in cost management. Our automation initiatives continue to improve throughput and productivity across clients. During the quarter, we also saw continued momentum across our AI-led transformation and GCC practices. We made several announcements on the significant strides we have made in automation, advancements in our API implementations and recognition of our GCC set of capabilities by analyst firms. These reinforced themes we have consistently discussed with our investors over the past several quarters, the dual strength of our GCC delivery model and our target DI execution. Together, they will trust with our clients and support both revenue visibility and long-term margin expansion. We also continue to see strong engagement across the private equity ecosystem and multiple industry sectors. The pattern remains consistent with what we have shared past quarter. When we deliver imaginable value to portfolio company or enterprise client, it strengthens our position across our broader portfolio network and creates additional opportunities. Several of the client deals we have signed this year are still in their infant phase. As they move towards steady state, we expect a more meaningful contribution in financial year 2027. This growing base of multifunction and multiyear engagement gives us confidence in our forward visibility. Our near shore presence in Mexico continues to scale as well and recent engagements within the private equity ecosystem further strengthen our long-term positioning. We continue to forge strategic relationships with our clients and some of them have now matured into multiyear engagement across multiple business functions. These examples highlight the durability of our client relations and the recurring nature of our model. Operationally, we continue to streamline our delivery model and strengthen the capabilities needed for our next phase of growth. These improvements position us well as existing client engagement expanding to scope and size and as more programs move into steady state. Our ability to execute consistently at scale is also supported by the stability of our delivery teams, highlighted by our third Great Place to Work Certification, which reflects strong and consistent talent retention and engagement across our core delivery locations. Looking ahead to fiscal 2027, which runs from April 2026 to March 2027, we believe we have strong visibility into our revenue and profitability profile. A significant portion of next year's revenue is anchored in multiyear contracts, which have been signed already. This is the expansion and our implementation transitioning into production. Based on this visibility, we expect fiscal 2027 revenue in the $80 million to $84 million range with adjusted EBITDA of $10 million to $12 million. This outlook reflects the current scale of our contract programs, the ramp up, ramp of recently signed engagement and operating leverage we are seeing in the business today. With that, I will hand over to Daniel for further details.

Thanks, Ajay. Q3 was a quarter where the underlying operating improvements in our business became more visible on our financial results. While revenue remained broadly stable year-over-year, our profitability and cash generation improved meaningfully, reflecting stronger utilization, automation-driven productivity and continued cost discipline across the organization. Financial results for the third quarter fiscal year 2026 quarter ended December 30, 2025, revenue of $17.5 million compared to $17.6 million in the prior year period. Net income of $1.2 million versus $2.0 million in Q3 FY '25, reflecting nonoperating and below EBITDA items. Adjusted EBITDA, $2.5 million compared to adjusted EBITDA loss of $2 million in Q3 of fiscal year 2025, marking a significant year-over-year improvement. Gross margin, 19.1%. Adjusted EBITDA margin, 14.1%. Operating cash flow positive for the third consecutive quarter at $2.4 million. This margin expansion reflects the operating leverage in our model as delivery utilization improved and automation scale across active client programs, incremental efficiency gains translated into profitability. Importantly, these improvements were achieved while maintaining service quality and execution discipline across both India and Mexico. We also delivered positive operating cash flow for the third consecutive quarter, underscoring improved conversion of earnings into cash and greater stability in working capital. This consistent cash generation reinforces the durability of improvements we are making across our delivery and operating model. Based on our performance for the third quarter and execution momentum we're seeing across the business, we are increasing our current full year fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to a range of $7 million to $8 million compared to our prior guidance of $6 million to $8 million. This reflects strong operating performance, improved delivery utilization and continued benefits from automation-driven productivity initiatives. Looking ahead, our visibility continues to strengthen. A significant portion of our fiscal 2027 outlook is supported by signed contracts with clients that are actively expanding with us. Several programs are still in the early phases. And as they progress towards steady state, we expect further contribution to both revenue and profits. As Ajay noted, our fiscal 2027 outlook covering the period from April 2026 through March 2027, is in $80 million to $84 million range with adjusted EBITDA of $10 million to $12 million. This outlook is supported by signed contracts, active program ramp-ups and improved margin profile we are demonstrating in fiscal 2026. Importantly, many of the programs contributing to fiscal 2027 are already operational or in advanced stages of ramp-up, which lessens execution risk and supports the durability of its outlook. Our balance sheet remains healthy, and we are well positioned to continue executing our growth strategy while improving profitability and cash flow as the business scales. Thank you.

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.