Granite revenues hold firm

US contractor Granite Construction Inc has seen revenues hold steady for the third quarter of 2012, as the firm recorded total revenue of US$ 728.5 million, compared with US$ 728.6 million in Q3, 2011.

The company reported decreases in construction segment revenue offset by growth in large project revenue.

Gross profit margin for the third quarter was 13.9%, up from 12.9% a year ago. Operating income also recorded a slight gain for the quarter, at US$ 61.4 million compared with US$ 60.4 million in the prior year. Net income hit US$ 37.1 million, up on US$ 36.5 million in the same period 2011.

However, the California-based construction firm also saw a drop in contract backlog, which stood at US$ 1.6 billion as at September 30, 2012 compared with $1.8 billion a year ago. New awards for the quarter included a US$ 27.6 million highway project and a US$ 24.2 million private-sector solar project, both in California.

"Granite's third quarter results reflect a continuation of the strong performance and momentum we have been seeing from our Large Project segment offset by ongoing competitive headwinds in the Construction and Construction Materials segments," said James H. Roberts, Granite's president and chief executive officer. "We continue to follow a well-developed plan to strengthen and grow our business, which includes diversifying and leveraging our core capabilities in the federal, water and power markets."

Granite also updated its year-end forecast and now expects revenue of US$ 900 to US$ 950 million from its large project segment, US$ 1 to US$ 1.05 billion from construction and US$ 210 to US$ 220 million from construction materials.