GLDD Reports Revenue Increase For 2020
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD) reported a 3.1 percent revenue increase for 2020 over 2019 in its quarterly and full-year earnings announcement February 17.
The Houston-based provider of dredging services reported $733.6 million in revenue for the year, up $22.1 million from 2019. The company’s gross profit percentage also increased, to 23.3 percent from 21.6 percent in 2019. And net income from continuing operations was $66.1 million, a $10.4 million or 18.7 percent increase from a year ago.
For the fourth quarter, GLDD reported revenues of $172.1 million, an increase of $7.8 million over the same period a year ago. The increase was caused by higher domestic capital, maintenance and rivers and lakes revenue, offset partially by lower coastal protection and foreign revenue, the company said. Net income from continuing operations for the quarter was $10.6 million, compared to $14.8 million a year earlier, the company said.
“This year the COVID pandemic posed a significant challenge to us all,” said Lasse Petterson, GLDD president and CEO. “During the year, we implemented a number of changes to meet and manage the challenges that impacted so many facets of our lives. We were fortunate to be able to continue working as a federally designated ‘critical infrastructure’ company throughout the year.
“Great Lakes had another exceptional year financially as we continued to act on our long-term strategic plan, despite the pandemic’s impact on some of our projects,” Petterson continued. “Our record calendar year financial performance was a result of a strong domestic dredging market and our continued focus on improving project performance. We ended the year with full-year net income from continuing operations of $66.1 million and adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations of $151.1 million. Our strong cash flow and improved balance sheet allowed us to not only withstand the economic storm as a result of the pandemic, but positioned us well to invest in our future.
“In 2020, we contracted to build a new mid-size hopper dredge, we upgraded several large cutter dredges, we decided to move our headquarters to Houston to be closer to our markets and clients, and we invested in our shareholders through a $75 million share repurchase program.”
The domestic dredging market remained strong in 2020, despite many pandemic-related obstacles, Petterson said, adding that the Corps of Engineers bid market ended the year at $1.8 billion.
“In September, we were awarded a $105 million contract for the continuation of our work on the Jacksonville Florida Harbor Deepening Project,” he said. “This important project contributes to our backlog of capital, coastal protection and maintenance work as we enter 2021. In addition, in the fourth quarter we were pleased to announce the signing of the largest contract in Great Lakes’ history for dredging on the Brownsville LNG project, which will enter backlog if a notice to proceed is received.
“We expect the dredging market to remain strong in 2021, driven by project work that will include large-scale port deepening projects along the East and Gulf coasts, as well as coastal protection projects, including the renourishment of coastal beaches that have been impacted by the recent major hurricane events.
“To meet the increased demand of the U.S. dredging market, in June 2020, Great Lakes announced the build of a highly automated new mid-sized hopper dredge that will increase the capabilities of our hopper fleet in the coastal protection and maintenance markets (WJ, June 15, 2020). In addition to the build, we continue to upgrade our existing domestic dredges, which we believe will improve working efficiency and capabilities to meet future market demands.
Petterson also noted that the company had relocated its corporate offices to Houston in October and opened regional offices in Jacksonville, Fla., and New York, N.Y.
“These moves put us closer to clients and key markets for dredging and offshore wind, which we believe will allow us to continue to grow in the future. We also believe that the development of offshore wind generation in the U.S. presents an exciting new opportunity for the company,” he said.
“… Although we enter a new year still being challenged by the pandemic, we are confident that the decisions we made over the past year positioned Great Lakes well going into 2021. We continue to remain focused on strong project performance while ensuring the safety and continued protection of our crew members and employees. Great Lakes looks forward to working closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to ensure safe and successful execution and completion of projects that are critical to protecting our nation’s coastlines and strengthening our infrastructure, and to support our energy clients in building and securing our energy supply. We remain confident in our strategy and will continue to utilize our strengths to drive shareholder value and returns.”
GLDD reported it had $559.4 million backlog as of December 31, 2020. Low bids and options pending award totaled $472.3 million. The backlog at the end of 2019 was $589.4 million.
