Granite predicts year of growth

Granite saw a sharp rise in revenues towards the end of 2013 yet still ended fiscal year 2013 in the red, with a net loss of US$ 36.4 million, compared with a net income of US$ 45.3 million in 2012.

The US contractor’s losses were due in part to the completion of its 2010 Enterprise Improvement Plan in the fourth quarter of 2013, which resulted in US$ 52.1 million of restructuring and impairment charges related to assets in the Real Estate and Construction Materials segments.

However, business for the year showed marked improvement, with 2013 revenues up 8.8% to US$ 2.3 billion. This was pushed up by a strong fourth quarter, which saw revenues jump 18.5% to US$ 598.1 million.

The firm also announced it was holding a contract backlog of US$ 2.5 billion, as at December 31, 2013, compared to US$ 1.7 billion for 2012. Contract wins for the year included the Tappan Zee Bridge project in New York, the IH-35E highway reconstruction project in Texas and the I-40/440 project in North Carolina.

"Our teams finished the year with a continued focus on improving execution across all of our businesses. Our backlog entering 2014 is excellent, and the bidding pipeline is as large and robust as we have ever seen," said James H. Roberts, president and CEO of Granite Construction Incorporated.

Construction revenues in 2013 increased 27.1% to US$ 1.3 billion, up from US$ 1 billion in 2012. Meanwhile, large project construction revenue for the year decreased 9.9% to US$ 777.8 million from US$ 863.2 million in 2012.

Looking ahead, Roberts expects 2014 to be a year of growth. He said: "Trends in company backlog, project funding and financing, and private construction all have improved since last year, and diversification opportunities in power, tunnel, and underground also are providing Granite with solid footing for growth.

"This year, we expect to bid on more than US$ 13 billion of large projects, and, beyond 2014, we are tracking an additional US$ 20 billion in large projects. Funding and financing stability is critical to improve progress on important infrastructure investment, at federal, state and local levels.”