PowerFleet, Inc. (AIOT) Q4 FY2026 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good day, everyone. Welcome to PowerFleet's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host, David Wilson, Chief Financial Officer. The floor is yours.

Thanks, operator. Good morning, everyone. This presentation contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to PowerFleet's beliefs, plans, goals, objectives, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions and future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond PowerFleet's control and which may cause its actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be forward-looking statements. For example, forward-looking statements include statements regarding prospects of additional customers, potential contract values, market forecasts, projections of earnings, revenues, synergies, accretion or other financial information, emerging new products and plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations, including growing revenue, controlling operation costs, increasing production volumes and expanding business with core customers. The risks and uncertainties referred to above are not limited to risks detailed from time to time in PowerFleet's filings with the SEC, including PowerFleet's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2025. These risks could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of PowerFleet, unless otherwise required by applicable law, PowerFleet assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this presentation and expressly disclaims any obligation to do so, whether a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Now I'll turn the call over to PowerFleet's CEO, Steve Towe. Steve?

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I'm here with key members of the leadership team and we're excited to walk you through what has been a defining year for PowerFleet. Before we get into the quarter, I want to take a few minutes to step back and talk about the journey because the context really matters, and it's helpful to orient investors to fully understand what this team has delivered and why we feel confident about where we go from here. 2 years ago, we set a very clear strategy for PowerFleet. We said we would use consolidation to build scale. We said we would invest that scale into technology differentiation. And we said we would run this business with the kind of financial discipline that compares value for shareholders over time. That was the thesis, and I'm pleased to stand and tell you we're delivering [ insight ] planning for. Within 18 months, we restructured the global operating model, unified the product road map under Unity, centralized core functions and delivered more than $34 million in annualized cost synergies on time and info. And importantly, we didn't do that at the expense of growth. We did it while simultaneously accelerating organic revenue performance, expanding margins and winning at a level in the enterprise market that the heritage power fleet could simply never have achieved, and that was delivered. On technology differentiation, and this is where reading the future value of the company sits, Unity has become the system of work for some of the world's largest and most demanding enterprises. Independently, we received validation the differentiation we've built in AI video on-site safety, data highway ingestion and the unified operations layer is what makes us truly mission-critical for our customers. And you can see that differentiation showing up directly in the commercial performance of the business. We've secured landmark enterprise wins, Fortune 500 accounts across energy, mining, food and beverage, logistics manufacturing. And we're now winning Tier 1 public sector contractor to scale that simply wasn't possible 2 years ago. Our AI video pipeline compounded through the year. Our onsite solutions saw rapid adoption, cross-sell revenue accelerated. Customers are leaning in because Unity solves everyday operational challenges, improving safety, enhancing visibility, boosting efficiency, all through one integrated platform. Next slide. So let me frame the year through these 3 priorities we set ourselves and executed against. The first, durable revenue growth. We've proven that the combined business is delivering consistent, high-quality organic growth anchored in recurring cash revenue. The second, compounding EBITDA growth. We've demonstrated that as the top line scale, the operating model we've built is converting that growth into expanding margins and compounding profitability. And the third, driving towards sustainable free cash flow. We've proved the pivot showing that this business is moving from an investment and integration phase into a cash-generative model that strengthens the balance sheet and compare shareholder value. Let me take you through each one. Next slide, please. Starting with revenue. Services revenue, which is really the engine of the business, grew to $360 million and now represents 81% of our total revenue, up from 76% in FY '25. That shift in mix is deliberate and is significant because every percentage point of that shift brings higher margins, greater predictability, and strong customer lifetime value. Total revenue increased to $444 million. And what is most encouraging is the growth acceleration we saw as the year progressed. In Q4, total revenue grew 11% year-over-year and service revenue grew 14%. That's the exit rate we've been taking to investors, and we've delivered it. The trajectory is clear. The quality of the growth is high and the durability of the recurring revenue base gives us real visibility and confidence heading into [ FY '26 ]. Next slide, please. On the customer side, we signed multimillion contracts with 2 of the world's largest brands, a top 3 global food and beverage company and a major global manufacturer, both choosing our differentiated on-site solutions. These are exactly the kind of large-scale enterprise wins that the heritage PowerFleet of 2 years ago could not have competed for letter alone one. And then, of course, there's the South African treasury contract, the single largest win in our company's history. We've anticipated 5-year total contract value of between $100 million to $120 million once fully implemented. This is being powered by Unity safety solution and our AI video capabilities in partnership with MTN. That is a transformational piece of business for powerfully. And I'll talk more about how that's progressing when we get to our FY '27 growth multipliers. On the solutions side, our AI video bookings grew more than 50% in FY '26, meaning including outpacing market growth. Our onsite revenue grew 39% and powered by North America sales acceleration. These are the 2 highest ARPU, highest differentiation parts of our portfolio and the fact that they're driving such strong growth tells you the strategy is working where it matters most. And on retention, Q4 was our strongest retention quarter in the last 2 years, driven by Unity's differentiated solutions and the deeper, stickier customer relationships we're building. That's an important proof point as it speaks to the rarity of what we're delivering to our customers. Next slide. Turning to EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA for FY '26 grew 44% to $97 million, with margins expanding 330 basis points to 21.9%. And in Q4, adjusted EBITDA grew 42% year-over-year to $26.4 million, with margins hitting 23.1%, 5 percentage point increase year-over-year. The compounding effect was the result of disciplined synergy execution, a deliberate shift towards high-margin repair and services and an operating model that is built to generate expanding leverage as the top line scales. And what's particularly pleasing is that we've achieved this while simultaneously investing in growth in our go-to-market capabilities, in our channel partnerships and currently in the South African deployment. We've made a deliberate choice to be good steward of investment opportunity. And even with those investments, we still delivered meaningful adjusted EBITDA expansion. This is a solid indication of the inherent leverage in this model. Next slide, please. And the third priority, free cash flow. This is where FY '26 represents a genuine inflection point for the business. We generated $4.1 million of free cash flow in the second half, a meaningful swing from the $13.7 million use of cash in the first half. Operating income reached $11 million, an $18 million improvement from FY '25 when we were in an operating loss position. And net leverage improved to 2.47x down from 3.39x. That's almost a full turn of deleveraging within the fiscal year. We've been very clear with investors throughout this year that as we move through the final stage of integration and stood up investments to support large-scale growth opportunities, there will be periods of elevated cash use. This was a temporary and necessary cost of building the business we have today. What the second half trajectory demonstrates is that the true underlying cash generation of this model is now coming through and will continue to strengthen as we scale into FY '27. Next slide, please. So with that context, let me now turn to what lies ahead. We've delivered the FY '26 plan. We've proven the thesis. And we now have the scale of the differentiation, the operating model and the financial foundation to step forward confidently from here. FY '27 is about building further momentum. Next slide, please. This slide captures the strategic levers we've assembled to drive future shareholder value creation, and they frame why we are seeing such a compelling multiyear opportunity. First, our warehouse and on type solution to the category-defining wage. This is where we have true differentiation where win rates are highest and where we're opening doors into the largest enterprises in the world. We deliver a unique data set for the industry through AI-powered safety and compliance across the full operational environment, on-site and over the road in a single platform. Second, we now have the high-impact channels to markets such as AT&T, [indiscernible] MTN with additional partnerships in development. These are force multipliers that can create meaningful growth expansion with our proportional increases in our cost base. The channel Flywheel is beginning to turn. Third, Unity capitalizes on a powerful industry tailwind. Enterprises are consolidating fragmented point solutions and data into unified operating platforms. That is exactly what the data highway was built to deliver. We're not fighting the market, we're navigating a successful path. Fourth, our proprietary operational data creates a defensible moat. As customers integrate more deeply into Unity, ingesting data from ERP, HR, safety, maintenance and IoT systems, the stickiness compounds. Our data highway helps us to become mission-critical embedded in our customers' workflows and making it increasingly difficult for us to be displaced. And finally, the compounding EBITDA growth opportunity remains substantial. With services at 81% of revenue and growing, the cost optimization program still delivering and with scale benefits compounding as the top line accelerates, there is meaningful further margin expansion ahead. Next slide. Our priorities for FY '27 are consistent and clear. Amplify revenue growth, continue to compare adjusted EBITDA growth and enhance the balance sheet. On revenue, we're doubling down on the 2 differentiators that are driving the most traction on site and AI video. These solutions now represent 65% of our pipeline, up from 50% entering FY '26. We're seeing these differentiators play out in real wins, with some of our largest customers expanding to adopt Unity's full solution stack. And we're going to replicate these top-tier deal successes through extended direct sales capacity, expanded go-to-market channels and the growing bank of referenceable customer outcomes. On adjusted EBITDA, you'll hear more on this from Melissa shortly, but the key point is we see a clear path to further meaningful efficiency gains that support continued adjusted EBITDA expansion, while freeing capacity for reinvestment in growth. And on the balance sheet, we're doubling down on working capital improvement. We have a finance partner network in place for customer financing aligned with industry best practice. We're making a material shift towards annual and first quarter in advanced customer payment terms. And the operating leverage in this model means higher conversion of EBITDA to cash as the revenue growth compares. This creates a virtuous cycle, deleveraging, reduced cash interest costs and compounding returns for shareholders. Next slide, please. Over and above core execution, we have significant growth multiplier entering FY '27. First, the South African treasury deal. 60,000 assets are now moving to the deployment planning phase. This meaningful new revenue contribution is expected to contribute in growth in late FY '27 and wholeheartedly in FY '28 and is a powerful validation of Unity's capabilities at Tier 1 core. Secondly, a new partnership with Accenture. Accenture has selected powerfully to a strategic safety solutions innovation partner and is now recommending our end-to-end Unity portfolio. This opens a significant new enterprise go-to-market channel that dramatically extends our reach into large-scale digital transformation programs globally. And lastly, a story I'm particularly proud of FEMSA is the largest Coca-Cola franchise bottler in the world. They first came to PowerFleet for connected intelligence that would deliver efficiency and control across their on-road operations. subsequently adding AI video to drive elevated safety performance. The next step in that relationship is on time. FEMSA is now adding PowerFleet's onsite solutions to their deployment to manage the safety and compliance of their warehouse operations, which is our land and expand motion working exactly as intended. A customer that trusted us with their on-road operations is now trusting us with their end-to-end estates. That pattern replicated across our enterprise base is one of the most important growth opportunities we have. Each one of these is a high conviction, high-impact growth driver. Taken together, they give us real confidence in the acceleration opportunity ahead. With that, I'll hand over to Melissa to walk through our optimization and efficiency progress.

Thanks, Steve. Turning now to our progress on optimization and efficiency, which continues to be a key area of focus and execution for the business. Over the past 2 fiscal years, we've delivered $34 million in annualized synergies across the integration program, and that's a significant achievement on the entire team is proud of. In our November earnings call, I outlined our pivot from integration into optimization in order to efficiently drive profitability and growth. I shared that among our priorities, which you can see on this slide, we would continue to evolve our organizational model, optimize our resource mix, expand AI and automation and continue to unlock economies of scale in our vendor spend base. We're now 6 months into executing against that agenda, and I want to share where we're focused. The first area of progress is simplification across the organization. We've continued to evolve our spans and layers within our organizational design, ensuring we have clear accountability and appropriate management breadth across the business. At the same time, we're further centralizing and streamlining core functions within G&A as well as our customer-facing units such as implementation, removing duplication and driving consistency within the operating model. The goal here is to ensure we're structured at scale and efficiency across the global company footprint. The second area is continued product line rationalization, where we're further consolidating partners and hardware SKUs across the business. Simplifying the portfolio reduces complexity and improves our margins. and the effects are cumulative, fewer supply chain variables, a more efficient cost base and a more focused go-to-market motion. And the third area is expanding our AI, automation and self-service capabilities to drive efficiency in our cost to serve. We're working with a third-party partner to augment our support functions with AI and automated capabilities improving responsiveness and efficiency while freeing our teams to focus on higher-value customer interactions. Alongside these 3 areas, we continue to reduce the number of operating business systems we use across the company and to consolidate our vendor spend, both of which contribute directly to our efficiency target. Collectively, we expect these initiatives to deliver $12 million in annualized efficiency in FY '27. These moves will result in a small increase in operating costs in the first half of the year, to deliver the expected EBITDA efficiencies for full year FY '27 in the second half. This is the natural next chapter integration built the foundation and optimization is how we convert that foundation into sustained margin expansion and reinvestment capacity for growth. I'll now turn the call over to David to cover the full financial results and look ahead to FY '27. David?

Thank you, Mel, and good morning, everyone. As you saw in our press release, we closed fiscal 2026 with a strong fourth quarter, demonstrating that our model is working and scaling. For the full year, revenue grew 22% to $443.8 million and adjusted EBITDA grew 44% to $97 million. Just as importantly, we turned the corner on GAAP operating profitability, generating $19.6 million in operating income for the year, up from an operating loss a year ago. This is a strong indication of the business converting durable recurring revenue growth into compounding profitability. Of note, the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2026 were the first periods that fully reflected the combined businesses on a like-for-like basis. Today, I'll start with our results for the quarter, adding full year context where it's useful, then I'll walk through the operating expense and profitability and then our balance sheet and cash flow, and I'll close with our outlook for fiscal 2027. Next slide. Total revenue for the fourth quarter was $114.5 million, up 11% year-over-year and up 1% sequentially. This was high-quality growth led by our recurring services revenue. Services revenue totaled $92.9 million, up 14% year-over-year and now represents more than 81% of total revenue. This high-margin revenue stream is the true engine of the business. Product revenue for the quarter was $21.5 million, broadly stable on a year-over-year basis. Consistent with that strategy, product is increasingly a deployment vehicle for recurring services rather than [indiscernible] in itself. The contrast between these 2 lines is deliberate and is the key to our profitability story as the mix tilts towards recurring services every incremental dollar of revenue carries a higher margin and converts more efficiently to adjusted EBITDA. This dynamic is reflected in our revenue growth this quarter at 11%, translating into adjusted EBITDA growth of 42% because the growth came from the highest quality, highest margin part of the revenue base. The rest of remarks on profitability follow directly from this dynamic. Next slide. Now into profitability and margins, where gross profit for the quarter was $64.7 million, a GAAP gross margin of 57%, up roughly 4 points from a year ago. The expansion is being driven by a richer mix of recurring services. Moving down the income statement. GAAP income from operations was $11 million and operating margin of approximately 10% compared to an operating loss in the prior year quarter. This swing of $18 million year-over-year is the clearest single proof point that operating leverage and cost synergy from integrations are now flowing through to the bottom line. GAAP net loss for the quarter narrowed to $2.7 million, a substantial improvement from a net loss of $12.4 million a year ago. For the full year, GAAP net loss improved by 60% and to $20.6 million, and full GAAP operating income was $19.6 million compared to an operating loss of $25.9 million in fiscal 2025. The remaining gap between our positive operating income and our net loss is almost entirely interest expense on our debt. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $26.4 million, up 42% year-over-year. with adjusted EBITDA margins expanding more than 5 points to 23%. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA was $97 million, up 44% at a margin of approximately 22%. The year-over-year improvement reflects organic revenue growth, the realization of cost synergies and disciplined operating expense management. Next slide. Now let me turn to a few key efficiency measures centered on adjusted EBITDA to revenue ratios that we use to measure the health of the business. We are continuing to perform well on both the gross margin and expense to revenue ratios. On a total revenue basis, gross margin was a steady 67% when compared to last year. While the mix of revenue improved, Services gross margin was impacted by immaterial out-of-period adjustments in cost of sales. We expect gross margin for services on a total basis to continue to expand in fiscal 2027. Moving to OpEx where our continued focus on cost management and operating efficiency is evident across each component. In sales and marketing, we're investing intentionally because this spend is closely tied to revenue growth. We are actively managing the ratio appropriately while continuing to support top line momentum. At the same time, remain focused on reducing overhead, which is reflected in the improving G&A ratio down 6 points year-over-year to 21%. As an innovative technology company, our R&D spend may fluctuate modestly, but we expect it to remain around the high single-digit range on a gross basis and approximately 4% on a net basis. Next slide. Now to the balance sheet, where our progress on deleveraging is one of the year's most important achievements. Through a combination of adjusted EBITDA growth and disciplined cash management, we reduced our leverage ratio by roughly a full turn to 2.47x over the course of the year. A step change that materially strengthens our financial position and gives us increased flexibility to invest behind our growth priorities. Next slide. Free cash flow, which we define as operating cash flow less net capital expenditures and capitalized software development was negative $9.5 million for the full year, representing a $27.6 million improvement from a negative $37.1 million in fiscal 2025. Importantly, the full year result understates the momentum we built during the year. Free cash flow was negative $13.7 million in the first half before swinging to a positive $4.1 million in the second half, a $17.8 million improvement within the year. Q3 and Q4 were both free cash flow positive, meaning the business is exiting the year with a firmly positive trailing run rate. As you can see, cash generation is not perfectly linear quarter-to-quarter. We do see seasonal working capital dynamics. And in the near term, we are deliberately funding investment and working capital ahead of the large South African agreement ramp. But the trajectory is clear as adjusted EBITDA compounds and integration-related costs roll off our free cash flow conversion improves and our leverage continues to decline. Next slide. Now let me turn to our outlook for fiscal 2027. Our priorities for the year center on 3 objectives: accelerating recurring services growth, continue to expand margins and reducing leverage. For the full year, we expect revenue to be in the range of $485 million to $490 million, representing growth of approximately 10% at the midpoint and with services revenue exceeding $400 million. We expect adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $122 million to $125 million, representing approximately 27% growth at the midpoint and continued margin expansion to roughly 25%. We expect positive free cash flow in the range of $30 million to $35 million. Next slide. Now more detail on free cash flow generation, where we start with adjusted EBITDA of $123 million. Our core earnings panel before capital allocation decisions, such as deleveraging. From there, CapEx is the largest use of cash at $52 million, reflecting continued investment in the business to support growth. Interest expense takes another $24 million, a function of our current debt structure. Taxes account for another $8 million and restructuring and other costs, largely tied to the cost restructuring program that Mel covered earlier, had another $8 million as we work through synergy capture. Working capital is a modest $4 million source of cash. Given timing variables associated with the South Africa agreement we are presenting its balance sheet impact as a separate component of free cash flow for transparency. Importantly, favorable payment terms are expected to help mitigate the upfront investment in-vehicle device CapEx. That brings us to operating free cash flow of $33 million, and the solid foundation is integration costs wind down and leverage decreases. Some additional context on our guidance. where financial performance is expected to build progressively throughout the year, driven by 2 factors. As covered earlier by Steve, the commencement of the South Africa National Treasury contract in the second quarter, with revenue and margin contribution accelerating sequentially through year-end and as covered by Mel the next wave of our productivity and cost optimization initiatives, which require upfront investment in the first half and are expected to yield meaningful savings beginning in the second half. Together, these dynamics are expected to drive sequential margin improvement in each quarter of fiscal 2027 as we exit the year generating GAAP net income. Next slide. To conclude, fiscal 2026 was a year of integration and proving out the model. We brought the business together, delivered the cost synergies we committed to, grew revenue 22% and adjusted EBITDA of 44% and turn GAAP operating income positive and cut our leverage by roughly a full turn. We exit the year with clean comparables, accelerating recurring revenue and a line marked public sector win poised to ramp. Looking out over the next 3 years, our objective is straightforward. Sustainable revenue growth and profitable, cash-generative scaling that creates durable long-term shareholder value. The entire PowerFleet team is focused and motivated to execute against these goals. Now back to Steve. Steve?

Thank you, David. We can say with confidence that FY '26 was the year we achieved our 2-year strategic milestones set out for the initial stages of the combination thesis. In FY '27, the opportunity in front of this business across geographies, verticals and the full modularity of the Unity Suite is the largest it has ever been. And we have the team, the platform and the financial foundation to go capture it responsibly and at scale. I want to thank our colleagues around the world for their extraordinary effort this year. The depth and pace of change they've navigated while delivering these results is remarkable. I want to thank our customers for their continued trust and our shareholders for their confidence in what we're building. The best is very much ahead of us. Operator, let's open the line for questions.

[Operator Instructions] Your first question is coming from Scott Searle with ROTH Capital.

Nice to see that the work over the past couple of years is translating its way into the P&L and the outlook. I think maybe, Steve, just to hop in from a top line perspective, I'd love to see the guide this year. It implies about 11% growth in services for the year. But I think I've heard a couple of things such as South Africa ramping up in the back half of this year. But meanwhile, near term, the opportunity pipeline seems like it's being driven by warehouse and AI camera. I'm wondering if you could provide a little bit more color in terms of the opportunity pipeline. I think you referenced that it's larger and higher quality, but how we should expect to see things ramping over the course of this year and what the key swing factors are in terms of AI camera, warehouse in South Africa kicking in?

Sure. Thanks, Scott. So I think you'll remember that we put forward that we were investing more in sales and marketing in the back half. So we're seeing improved productivity. We're seeing, as identified in the in the script in terms of increasing AI video and warehouse pipeline. So all of those vectors are super strong, and that's the future value of the business. So that, combined with the productivity increases from the maturity of that sales investment, the continued ramp of our partnerships, which are amplifying through the quarters, you will see a sequential growth in revenue step-by-step quarter-by-quarter. There's opportunity for upside. Obviously, as we continue to improve our win rates, as we get better as an organization, then I think there's a lot more opportunity ahead. And then incremental to that, obviously, is the South African contract. So we're being conservative in terms of rollout time scales. We articulated that there was 60,000 vehicles plus and you'll remember originally, we talked about 100,000 being kind of the barometer in terms of vehicle deployments. So we've already got 60,000 in deployment planning. So that will start to click in and phasing. But naturally, we are a little bit cautious. These are very complex in terms of their implementations. So that will hit the back half of 2027 and then wholeheartedly into 2028. So if we think about the core vectors of the business, the on-site business is growing substantially. It was our strongest every year, strongest ever pipeline, strongest ever win rates. We're outpacing the pipeline growth in terms of AI video. And then we have not only the South Africa contract but also the ability for some of these other partnerships to deliver more. So we also mentioned about Accenture, which is a great business development and opportunity in itself. So very strong indications. We're always conservative by nature. But all the proof points that I would want in terms of are those investments paying off, we're starting to see the green shoots.

Steve, maybe just to quickly follow up on that. I want to make sure that we're seeing sequential growth over the course of this year. And then it sounds like we've got some other opportunities that sort in the MNOs have been early, I think, in their training process. So it sounds like that kicks in over the course of this year, South Africa towards the end of the year. And then it sounds like Accenture as well as new. Does that start to contribute this year?

Scott, so before sort of Steve answers the specifics there, maybe let me just give you a quick high-level overview in terms of fiscal 2027, both from a top line in a second. So from a bottom line standpoint as well. So in essence, it's built around 3 things: first, the revenue expectations grounded in the playbook we've already proven. Adjusted EBITDA expectations reflect real operating leverage and intend repeat execution story. In terms of what we delivered this year, obviously, we're incredibly proud of what we delivered this year in terms of the momentum, both from a top and a bottom line standpoint. So when we talk about fiscal '27, we're not asking investors believe in a theoretical plan. We've already shown that we can execute this type of transformation. That said, this is still a business in transformation, not a steady state one, the year will not move in a perfectly straight line quarter-to-quarter, and that is one of the reasons we provide annual guidance, not quarterly guidance. We believe annual guidance gives a more accurate view of how we run the business and how we -- how value is created. Revenue adjusted EBITDA did not accrue evenly across quarters and managing to a quarterly number could distort the decisions we make. Our focus is on making the right decisions to create long-term shareholder value. We do ever want to give investors helpful context on expected timing and progression of our key financial measures across the first half and the second half of fiscal 2027. Our revenue expectations are built on a proven foundation. We expect the fiscal 2027 first half and second half revenue split to be broadly similar to the 48%, 52% split we delivered in fiscal 2026 with revenue building as the year progresses. More specifically, we expect first quarter fiscal '27 revenue to grow sequentially at a rate broadly in line with the average sequential growth rate we delivered during the second half of fiscal '26, with growth then accelerating from the second quarter onwards. That progression is supported by increased go-to-market investments, expected pipeline conversion, the Accenture partnership and the South African rand. We've demonstrated that these investments can drive strong growth, and we expect the same playbook to support fiscal '27. On adjusted EBITDA, the progression will be less linear than revenue. Revenue growth should drive EBITDA expansion through operating leverage, but the quarterly cadence will also be shaped by the timing of our investments and cost actions. First, as Steve mentioned earlier, we are making incremental go-to-market investments early in the year to support stronger revenue growth as it progresses. There was a natural timing lag between these investments, the cost comes first, while the productivity and revenue contribution build over time a sales productivity ramps. Second, as Melissa discussed, we are investing early in fiscal '27 to unlock meaningful efficiencies. Together, these investments create some near-term margin pressure with first quarter adjusted EBITDA margin expected to be about 1 percentage point lower than fourth quarter '26. We expect the returns to build later in the year as sales productivity improves, revenue ramps and cost savings begin to flow through. The timing of these cost savings is the key difference versus fiscal '26. In fiscal '26, the majority of annualized cost savings were realized in the first 4 months of the year, which drove a meaningful adjusted EBITDA step-up in the second quarter. In fiscal '27, the majority of the savings are expected to begin flowing through from the start of the third quarter. That shifts more of the adjusted EBITDA benefit to the second half of the year. That timing is the primary reason we expect fiscal '27 first half to second half adjusted EBITDA build to be a couple of points more second half weighted than the 46%, 54% split we delivered in fiscal '26. So the key message is simple. First, our revenue expectations are built on a proven foundation. Second, our adjusted EBITDA expectations reflect clear operating leverage even though the quarterly progression will not be linear and third, the strength of execution story is evident in the financial results. Fiscal '27 is designed to build on that playbook and further compound growth, margin expansion and cash generation. A couple of other final points that will be helpful in terms of key EBITDA revenue measures, we expect gross margin to be close to 70% for the year from an EBITDA standpoint. SG&A spend for the year to be close to 40% of revenue and expense R&D consistent at about 4% of revenue. And then from a GAAP income standpoint, we expect to be GAAP income positive in the second half. And then for cash flow, we expect cash flow to be approximately 90% of the guide coming in the second half of the year. So I just wanted to share that, Scott. It's just helpful in terms of people thinking about the ramps that we discussed on the call and in the release. And now I'll hand it back to Steve for your specific questions.

Sure, David. So yes, in terms of Accenture, Scott, so it's a business development relationship just kicking off. It's a relationship where Accenture or looking to really cement themselves as an AI and digital transformation partner with some of the largest clients that you can imagine around the world. And as part of that stuff stable in that portfolio, they're wanting PowerFleet solutions to be part of that. So it will take a while to ramp as these things do. We've just literally launched in the last kind of 4 to 6 weeks. So it's more kind of, again, a back-end loaded stroke FY '27 stroke '28 opportunity. but significant opportunity. I think another significant proof point where the quality of our data, the accuracy or data, the uniqueness of the data sets we have, particularly where we have both warehouse and over-the-road mobile resource data is important to some of the largest clients and integration partners in the world.

Great. Very helpful. And if I could, and then I'll get back in the queue. Dave, just to follow up on the free cash flow for the year. I think you just indicated that's very back-end loaded. I'm wondering if you could address just the CapEx timing of that as well, big CapEx number. I think that was related to South Africa, but you also mentioned some other financing alternatives on the front. I wonder if you could provide a little bit of color on that front. And then in terms of the potential use of cash, just think about debt reduction and further delevering or there some other things that you're thinking about?

Yes. Thanks, Scott. So in terms of the CapEx, we are presenting the balance sheet impact as a separate component of CapEx. For the year, it is very modest. But in terms of timing, there is a timing impact that is pretty significant. So in the first half of the year, we will be investing, as Steve referred to earlier, we've got a backlog of close to 60,000 vehicles to go implement, which is obviously fantastic. The IVD, the [indiscernible] called investment will happen first. But in terms of payment terms, we're negotiating with these large public entities, we have line of sight to get paid on a unit advances. So there will be a significant cash outflow for the vehicle devices. But as and when they are implemented and installed, we do expect to see sort of significant cash coming in, in terms of annual advanced payments that will largely offset that. So that's a key reason why cash is lower in the first half than the second half. The other key driver is what Melissa covered earlier in terms of rationalizing the cost base, there's obviously a cost attached to doing that. That is going to be something we'll be executing in the first half and we'll get the returns in the second half. So that's a sort of a key driver that's happening there. And then to your final point in terms of driving improved cash flow. It's as much about improved cash flow as it is about actually landing more deals. So particularly when you think about on-site in terms of that piece of our business, an ability for key customers to actually get access to vendor financing. I think, is going to improve our win rate and the size of the pipe we can generate. In terms of how that structure that will bring cash in more quickly. We'll also be doing that in terms of what other large players in the industry do in terms of on-road in terms of allowing customers to, in essence, find a way to pay us more quickly from an advance payment and advance standpoint. So important changes, important shifts will have a positive impact in terms of absolute cash generation in fiscal 2027.

And David, just cover the other part of Scott's question like uses of capital. Yes.

Yes. So in terms of usage, obviously, an obvious one is paying down the debt. So that's clearly line of sight there. We have a meaningful portion of the debt that is a revolver based. So that is an action we can take. There's also a lot of inbound questions from investors in terms of as you start to generate meaningful cash, just given where the stock is trading, are there more shareholder-friendly avenues available to you. So we're clearly sympathetic to that ultimately, a board decision, but this is a board that is focused on how do we maximize shareholder value, shareholder returns. So it's only something that the Board would want to think through in terms of potential stock repurchase programs, those types of things as things progress over time.

Your next question is coming from Anthony Stoss with Craig Hallum.

Congrats on the 14% recurring revenue growth especially. So Steve, on the South African contract, I'm curious, it sounds like you're starting at AI safety video, is there room for expansion within that contract? And if there is, how quickly do you think that would happen? And then the second part of my question is, why did Accenture choose you? Was it for the in-warehouse solutions? Or is it for Unity? I'd love to hear more on both those fronts.

Great questions, Tony. So in terms of the South Africa contract, we have the ability to sell more services. I think there was guardrails around the initial tender, there's a lot of opportunity both in one-off services and other future revenues. And we're already seeing requests for broader plays in terms of the data requirements that we've been able to have. That will take a while to kick in. Obviously, you're deploying major enterprises with large-scale deployments. So we have to get our feet with in terms of doing that. But we're very, very encouraged about potential amplification of those accounts once they are installed. So it really is a stellar opportunity for us to sell broader concepts, more integrated data plays and more visibility to the end clients. So we couldn't be happier with that. And then in terms of Accenture I think a couple of things. So in terms of the uniqueness of the data sets that we have, particularly based around the warehouse. So the connected warehouse space is very, I think, key and ripe for digital transformation. I mean, you'll remember our [ Pepsi ] video that we put out in November where they were saying they were doing a lot with spreadsheets and pen and paper. So there's a big drive there. And I think in terms of AI transformation, People ask me about the defensibility of the company. And I think the likes of Accenture choosing us rather than trying to use AI to create those data sets themselves is key testament to the proprietary data that we keep. So I think the quality of that data. And then thirdly, they're very excited by the integration possibilities and the automation possibilities of the data highway from a unit perspective. So all those things are key and apparent. And then the strategies that we've always had around you're able to -- once you get the data highway in, you're able to connect multiple devices, whether that's on the road, it's in the yard, it's wherever it is. to provide much deeper levels, much stronger levels of mission-critical data, and that was another key piece of that. So again, very proud of having the opportunity. We've now got to maximize that opportunity. but I think it's another key tenant in that, just the different level of capability that we now seem to have and the fact that we can stand side by side with some of these major organizations.

Next question is coming from Dylan Becker with William Blair.

This is [ Jackson Bogle ] on for Dylan Becker. I wanted to go back to the South African deal. I know we've talked about that a lot, but obviously, it's a very big deal for you guys. Could you maybe walk us through how the deployment derisks over the ramp period. And then on top of that, do you see this as a repeatable template for other public sector or large enterprise opportunities globally? Or do you see this more as like a unique implementation given the size and scale of the deal?

Great question. So first, in terms of the rollout. So the process that we went through was we had to be awarded which we got the award letter, which was what we discussed last time out. We then signed the overall contract, which is all of the kind of key consistent agreements with the National Treasury. And we're now in the process of getting to deployment phases with, as we've said, 60,000-plus vehicles, and we originally said 100,000 would be a good barometer. There's up to 200,000 in terms of the overall estate that we have the opportunity to work with. So as this kind of matures and progresses, you start having conversations, you get into agreements with each different entity, that is the process that we're in. So once we get those confirmed, which we feel very confident about the original 100,000 and I think [indiscernible] that we'll be able to do over time. You're then into that true deployment phase, which takes a number of weeks or a number of months that's dependent on the size and complexity of the organization that you're in. This is recurring revenue. So I mean you're talking $20 million to $30 million of ARR that comes through. And then to the question that came earlier, we're then able to sell multiple one-off and incremental services to that contract. So it's a minimum of 5 years. There is normally a long tail off the back of that. Previously, some of the contracts that we're now replacing were in process for more than 15 years. So it's a very strong and solid base for us to build on as we go through this phase. And then in terms of being able to replicate it, we absolutely see the opportunity in different territories. One of the great things about PowerFleet is its global nature, operating across 6 continents. I think from a credibility factor I mentioned in the prepared remarks that we would have struggled to be able to achieve such a contract previously, we've had our interest in -- with other opportunities and this kind of feeds on itself in terms of your track record and reputation and also the value that you drive. So we only see more of these to come. it is a phenomenally big contract. So we're not expecting lots of wins like that in short order. But I think it's a great proof point, and it gives us a lot of motivation for the future.

Great. That's super helpful. And then maybe on the Unity platform, the on-site safety, you've positioned that on-site safety segment as a key entry point into like the broader enterprise operations. How are you thinking about like the durability of that land and expand motion? And what gives you guys conviction that early on-site wins can convert into those larger multiproduct deals over time?

Yes. So think about what we're doing. So we're delivering safety, compliance, efficiency, maintenance and sustainability services for major enterprises. We talked about the 2, which were previously our largest contract wins ever in the company that also happened in fiscal year '26 with Fortune 500 companies. And when you get into those organizations and you're providing those services and you are making real difference to safety and compliance requirements. The people that are responsible for that are ultimately the C-suite of the organization. And a lot of times, the people who are responsible on a day-to-day basis for that for safety and compliance. In particular, also have the same remit for their mobile resources. So we're already seeing customers who are wanting to bring in third-party data from some of our competitors of OEMs to provide that full holistic view. We call that on-site plus. And then we're also displacing some of those competitors because ultimately, we have the full suite to do it. So we've already proven that model. We're now getting more mature and how we handle that from a sales perspective. So that gives us good confidence that, that is durable because ultimately, we're selling to the safety guys, the C-suite and also to the CIOs in the business. So they have the full data charging problem and the integration automation challenge. So we're getting to a different audiences versus the majority of our competitors. And ultimately, that single pane of glass is seemingly something that is mission critical to a lot of organizations that are struggling to make use of the data sets that they've got. So that's kind of that. And then even if you take the FEMSA opportunity, which is actually the other way, so we started with safety and compliance over the road. And you've heard there that FEMSA are now rolling out the warehouse solution for that exact same reason. So to get that single view across their whole enterprise both nationally and potentially internationally as well.

Your next question is coming from Gary Prestopino with Barrington.

Most of my questions have been answered, but a couple of things here. First of all, with this new contract, this is going to probably in South Africa, it's going to move your South African generated revenues up versus where they have been. Could you maybe talk about the composition of your business in South Africa is that with South African centric based companies, and what's the economic situation over there? And I'm only asking this because there was an article in the Wall Street Journal a couple of months back, where I said that international companies are pulling out of South Africa because of the instability over there with the government and what's going on. So maybe could you address that for us, please?

Yes, Gary, I can take that one up. So the Wall Street Journal article, I recall when it came out. We have a pretty good relationship to say the lease with RMB actually met with some of the leaders that week in terms of the substance behind that there's no real significant sort of shift out. So I think that was overblown to say the least. So just to kill that point. In terms of the business itself, it is primarily centered in South Africa. There's a portion of it, which is a phenomenal franchise business. So from a store and vehicle recovery standpoint, we have the highest recovery rates that is a high-margin, strong cash generation business. People buy based on the brand. So it's a great repeat business. So that is a meaningful portion of our South Africa business. In terms of the remaining business, it's really a mix between sort of large successful enterprises within South Africa as well as global multinationals, both within South Africa and across Africa as a whole. So it's a healthy book of business. It's a strong cash trading book of business. And in terms of are we seeing any sort of significant headwinds, we're not seeing any significant headwinds.

And David, maybe just cover off our composition of revenue because although South Africa is a key part of it. There's a lot more to it. Yes.

Yes. So on a rough and ready basis, about 35% of it comes from North America and 25% of it is sort of the South Africa centric piece. 25% of it would be Europe and EMEA -- sorry, Europe and Middle East. And then in terms of the rest, about 10% of it comes from Australia, and then the 5% is the Rest of the World. So we have a good geographical spread. And clearly, it's -- we have the best footprint in terms of reach globally, with 350 resell partners, those types of things. So we have the best access to the global market than anyone else in our space.

Your next question is coming from Alex Sklar with Raymond James.

Steve or David, a couple of questions on the positive fourth quarter bookings commentary. Can you just provide a little bit more quantitative context on the magnitude of bookings increase exiting the year? Either on an ARR or new ACV perspective versus last year? And then just in terms of the indirect channel, how much did that channel contribute as a percent of the new business in Q4?

Yes. So in terms of 30% is indirect, 70% is direct. So we're seeing an increasing amount of indirect channel business. So that's good in terms of that. Just repeat your first question, if you would.

Yes. There was just some really impressive TCV wins you spoke to, and I'm just curious on a kind of comparable basis adjusted for duration, anything on kind of ARR or ACV versus Q4 of last year FY '26 versus FY '25.

Yes. So I think the one stat that I will give you is that ARR grew 13% year-over-year.

Okay. Great. And David, maybe a follow-up for you. The nice step-up in services gross margin, I heard kind of you continue to expect that to continue into FY '27. Can you just talk about some of the puts and takes just driving that in terms of services mix, the recurring piece within services, device costs? How should those all play into FY '27?

Yes. So from a composite basis, services grows at a faster rate than total revenue. Obviously, we saw a nice increase year-over-year in terms of moving sort of 75% to 81% in terms of that breakout. So we do expect that to continue. In terms of -- as you double-click into services in terms of the growth there, around about 95% of that line is recurring revenue. in terms of how that changes over time. There may be an increase in terms of nonrecurring in the short term just as we work through the South Africa ramp, but nothing material there. And so again, the mix will continue to improve. And then there is underlying operating leverage in the model. So around about 20%, 25% of the cost base you should assume is fixed. So as we scale up, it naturally drives operating leverage there. And then the final point is what Mel discussed in her prepared remarks, there's still work we will be doing and can be done in terms of consolidating the underlying platforms. If you think about the ability to code at scale and speed with we've never had a richer set of opportunities to make a massive impact in terms of just that underlying cost base. So we do expect to see that sort of start to flow through as we work through fiscal 2027. So a long way of saying there's both current trajectory come momentum that works from a mix standpoint as well as there's incremental that as we can pull and will pull that will naturally amplify and extend larges over time, too.

Your next question is coming from Greg Gibas with Northland Securities.

Wondering if you could quantify the net impact on profitability the South African contract will have maybe as implied by your annual guidance. And maybe going back to your commentary around the timing of free cash flow or, I guess, the cadence first half, second half. I mean, I understand kind of rationalizing the cost base and associated costs there, CapEx timing and the South African deal. But as it relates to maybe the go-to-market investments, more of that being recognized probably in the back half as you discuss the pipeline conversion increases. But can you be a little bit more specific on kind of those investments there and timing as it relates to this?

Yes, sorry, sorry, repeat that first question again?

Yes. Quantification of the South African contract on profitability.

So yes, the South Africa contract in terms of margin profile, we've said in the past, it's similar gross margin profile to the typical business that we do. So no significant change there. If you think about it from an operating leverage standpoint, obviously, there's clear operating leverage there, so we get to sort of leverage our existing installed base. So it is accretive from a margin standpoint. And obviously, Steve's walked you through just the timing of the ramp, the quantum of the ramp from an ARR standpoint over time. So that will give you a sense on a go-forward basis. In terms of the cash generation sort of first half to second half, again, there's investments upfront in terms of both the cost out as well as the South Africa business. There is gains happening in the second half. So pretty much consistent with what I shared earlier, Greg, in terms of just the timing of that stuff going through.

I think, David, it's fair to say decline in [indiscernible]. But I think it's fair to say it's patent recognition, right? So if you look at the way the '26 scale, top line and bottom line and cashing, you look the way that David's remarks, I think this is just a very similar trajectory and way of working, which in what is still a transformational business. Still business with lots more opportunity to grow, and we're flexing our muscles and some of that takes some investment in front to do so. But I think if you see the track record that we've now done over the last 2 years, expect the same kind of performance in FY '27.

That's fair. Appreciate it, guys. And I guess just lastly, could you remind us of your net leverage targets? And any rough expectations on when you reasonably can reach the target range?

Yes. So you can see obviously good trend line, great progression, great progress that we did in fiscal 2026. As you look to fiscal 2027, will be comfortably under 2x levered as we exit the year. And in essence, that's the sort of target range is somewhere between 1.5 -- less than -- so 1.5 to 1.75x I think, is a pretty good sweet spot to be shooting for.

There appear to be no further questions in queue at this time. I would now like to turn the floor back over to the CEO, Steve Towe, for closing remarks.

Thanks, everybody, for attending today. I appreciate it was a longer call, but I think there was a lot to actually get through, which was great. And look forward to speaking to you again in about 8 weeks' time from now. I think David, do you just want to say something?

Yes. Just a quick update before we close. So in terms of filing the 10-K, the 10-K, everything is lined up for it to be filed today in terms of material weaknesses, all the material weaknesses are cleared based on where we are today. So some good news as the 10-K comes out during the day today.

So thanks, everyone, and good day. We'll speak soon. Bye-bye.

Thank you. This does conclude today's conference call. You may disconnect your phone lines at this time, and have a wonderful day. Thank you for your participation.