Granite files losses but remains confident

US contractor Granite Construction posted a net loss of US$ 22 million for the first quarter of 2013, worse than the same period last year, which saw losses of US$ 11.8 million.

However, despite the decline, the contractor remains confident of growth in 2013, with increases in revenue and backlog, and a stable gross profit margin of 7.9%.

"As expected, we had strong backlog growth in the quarter driven by significant large project awards," said James H. Roberts, Granite president and chief executive officer. "We remain very encouraged by the quality of our backlog and the opportunities to grow the company in 2013 and beyond. We are slated to bid approximately US$ 13 billion of large project work over the next 12 months, of which Granite's share would be approximately US$ 6 billion.”

Total contract backlog at March 31, 2013, was US$ 2.4 billion, up from US$ 1.7 billion at December 31, 2012 and $2.1 billion at March 31, 2012. Q1 2013 backlog included US$ 733 million associated with the Tappan Zee Bridge project in New York.

Revenues for the quarter totalled US$ 378.7 million, compared with US$ 310.2 million in 2012. Revenues included US$ 63.7 million from Kenny Construction Company, which Granite acquired on December 31, 2012.

"Our integration of Kenny is progressing well, meeting our expectations, and reinforcing the continued execution of our strategic plan. We are working successfully to expand our presence into targeted end-markets such as power delivery, water and wastewater infrastructure and tunnelling, all of which have attractive long-term fundamentals,” Mr. Roberts commented.

Looking ahead, Granite’s board is confident of growth in 2013, with expectations for construction segment revenues to achieve US$ 1.25 billion to US$ 1.4 billion.