Nurturing And Exploiting A Healthy Balance Sheet

headshot of Jayme Brooks, Limbach
Courtesy of Limbach Holdings
"My mantra is 'spend it like your own' and 'every dollar counts,' says Jayme Brooks, CFO of growth-minded midcap Limbach Holdings.

Limbach Holdings, a Warrendale, Pennsylvania, company that maintains and revitalizes HVAC, electrical and plumbing infrastructure in buildings, has doubled its share price over the past year. A series of small acquisitions, funded by operational cash flow, has helped, but so has a crystal-clear approach to financial management.

Heading up that approach is Limbach’s CFO Jayme Brooks, a CPA who joined the 120-plus-year-old company in 2019 after 14 years at Capstone Turbine. At Limbach, Brooks has fortified and positioned the balance sheet as a competitive advantage and played a significant role in converting newly acquired companies to Limbach’s systems and processes.

Our Katie Kuehner-Hebert spoke with Brooks about her current priorities, including margin improvements, the company’s cash-conscious culture and investor communications.

How do you see the role of the CFO evolving?

I have been a CFO for almost 10 years. Looking back, the role used to be squarely focused on the financials, budgeting and funding operations—CFOs swam in their lane. The role has evolved, and today’s CFOs have their hands in virtually every aspect of the company. I think this trend will continue. I’ve heard of the CFO described as the chief future officer; we’re constantly looking forward.

How have you built a balance sheet into a strategic advantage for Limbach?

First, you have to build a healthy balance sheet, starting with changing the cash management culture. My mantra is “Spend it like it’s your own” and “Every dollar counts.” It’s about getting people to understand that (1) every dollar adds up, (2) we can leverage our buying power, (3) there are efficiencies at every level of the organization if you look for them and, of course, (4) there is a critical link between effective cash management and business performance.

Today, we have a strong balance sheet and a revolving bank facility with favorable terms to support organic growth investments and strategic acquisitions.

What is your primary focus now?

Partnering closely with our CEO and senior leadership team to execute our growth strategy, which includes organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Regarding organic growth, we are transitioning our business to higher margin building systems solutions and working directly with owners [of existing buildings]. That has required significant change management to retrain people from construction-type jobs to sales and service.

We also have a disciplined acquisition strategy and have made three successful acquisitions in just over a year to expand our footprint and service offerings. With each acquisition, we do a postmortem to get more effective and efficient on every aspect of the process, from sourcing to due diligence to integration.

I also dedicate significant time to investor relations, which is especially important to a small-cap growth company like Limbach. We have invested time and money into our investor and public relations programs, yielding great results. We need to consistently communicate a straightforward story around our strategic business shift for investors to appreciate the company’s potential and how it creates shareholder value. That is starting to be reflected in our market cap, which has increased more than 130 percent in the past year.

What do you find most challenging and rewarding about your Limbach job?

The most challenging aspect of my job is staying ahead of the rapid pace of change and growth at our company. Working for a small-cap company that is growing quickly, I wear a lot of hats; I need to roll up my sleeves and dig in every day.

The most rewarding aspect of my job is seeing the people who work for me learn and get to the next place. It’s gratifying to delegate to someone on my team and then watch them excel and move the needle for the company. Seeing people grow and take on more responsibility is very fulfilling. I see my role as grooming the people who work for me to get to the next level or to do my job someday.


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