Orion Marine Group, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2010 Results

HOUSTON, Nov. 4, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orion Marine Group, Inc. (NYSE:ORN) (the "Company"), a leading heavy civil marine contractor, today reported net income for the three months ended September 30, 2010, of $7.1 million or $0.26 diluted earnings per share (based on 27,094,326 diluted shares outstanding). These results compare to net income of $5.4 million or $0.22 diluted earnings per share (based on 24,678,251 diluted shares outstanding) for the same period a year ago.

"Our bid markets remain strong and there continues to be good drivers for long-term growth," said Mike Pearson, Orion Marine Group's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Overall we are pleased with the third quarter as revenue exceeded our goal of $90 to $95 million and EBITDA margins were within our goal range of 16% to 18%. I am pleased to say that this was the first quarter in our company's history in which we exceeded $100 million in quarterly revenues."

Financial highlights of the Company's third quarter 2010 include:

Third Quarter 2010

• Third quarter 2010 contract revenues were $100.0 million, an increase of 22.8%, as compared with third quarter of 2009 revenues of $81.5 million. Third quarter revenues exceeded the Company's stated third quarter 2010 goal range of $90-$95 million as a result of favorable conditions including the acceleration of project schedules.
   
• Gross profit for the quarter was $18.4 million which represents an increase of $2.4 million as compared with the third quarter of 2009. Gross profit margin for the quarter was 18.4%, which was lower than the prior year period of 19.6%.  During the third quarter 2010 gross profit margin was impacted by lower self-performance resulting from changes in the mix of contracts as compared to the prior year period.
   
• The Company self-performed approximately 79% of its work as measured by cost during the third quarter 2010 as compared with 83% in the prior year period. Self performance was lower than the Company's historical average due to changes in the mix of contracts as compared to the prior year period.
   
• Selling, General, and Administrative expenses for the third quarter 2010 were $7.0 million as compared to $7.7 in the prior year period.  SG&A was slightly lower than initially expected as a result of adjustments to incentive compensation.  
   
• The Company's third quarter 2010 EBITDA was $16.4 million, representing a 16.4% EBITDA margin, which compares to third quarter 2009 EBITDA of $13.2 million, or a 16.2% EBITDA margin. 

Backlog of work under contract as of September 30, 2010 was $217.3 million which compares with backlog under contract at September 30, 2009 of $224.3 million. The Company reminds investors that backlog can fluctuate from period to period due to the timing and execution of contracts. Given the typical duration of the Company's projects, which range from three to nine months, the Company's backlog at any point in time usually represents only a portion of the revenue it expects to realize during a twelve month period. Backlog consists of projects under contract that have either (a) not been started, or (b) are in progress and not yet complete, and the Company cannot guarantee that the revenue projected in its backlog will be realized, or, if realized will result in earnings. 

"Backlog remains solid as we continue to see good demand for our services," said Mark Stauffer, Orion Marine Group's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "We remain comfortable with the future outlook and are pleased with the bid opportunities we see."

2010 Outlook

The Company remains comfortable with its previously stated full year 2010 revenue goal of between $360 to $370 million.  The Company reminds investors that there can be fluctuations in quarter to quarter results due to the timing and mix of projects and factors outside of the Company's control. Also, the Company remains comfortable with its full year 2010 EBITDA margin goal of between 16% - 18%. 

2011 Outlook

Looking at 2011, the Company expects to continue to see positive long-term trends in port expansion, U.S. infrastructure updates, coastal and wetland restoration projects, expansion in the cruise industry and projects involving dredging services.  Currently the Company is tracking approximately $5 billion of future bid opportunities and continues to see strong bidding activity across its markets and geographic areas.

"2011 is shaping up to be another good year for Orion Marine Group," said Mr. Pearson. "We have a good backlog headed into next year and we are tracking increased bid market opportunities. Additionally, in 2011 we will get a full year benefit from the two new dredges we recently commissioned and expect our operations in the Pacific Northwest to begin to contribute more to our results. Given the current market environment and the benefits just mentioned, we think it is reasonable to see our full year revenue grow around 10% as compared to the full year 2010.   Actual results could be lower than our expectation if there is additional pricing pressure on larger jobs, smaller than expected international opportunities, reduced bridge work opportunities, or unforeseen delays in port development. However, even if these negative factors were to occur, we still believe we could see minimal growth in 2011 revenues. On the positive side, actual results could exceed our full year revenue expectation if there is an easing of pricing pressures on the East Coast, passage of a new highway funding bill, better than expected lettings from the Army Corps of Engineers as a result of Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund legislation, better than expected international opportunities, or the acceleration of port expansion projects in our market areas.  We expect full year 2011 EBITDA margins to be in the 16% to 18% range."

Conference Call Details

Orion Marine Group will conduct a telephone briefing to discuss its results for the third quarter 2010 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time/9:00 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, November 4, 2010. To listen to a live broadcast of this briefing, visit the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.orionmarinegroup.com. To participate in the call, please call the Orion Marine Group Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Conference Call at 866-788-0544; participant code 95193149.

A replay of this briefing will be available on the Web site within 24 hours and will be archived for at least two weeks. 

About Orion Marine Group

Orion Marine Group, Inc. provides a broad range of marine construction and specialty services on, over and under the water along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard, the West Coast, Canada and the Caribbean Basin and acts as a single source turn-key solution for its customers' marine contracting needs. Its heavy civil marine construction services include marine transportation facility construction, marine pipeline construction, marine environmental structures, dredging, and specialty services. Its specialty services include salvage, demolition, diving, surveying, towing and underwater inspection, excavation and repair. The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has an almost 100-year legacy of successful operations.

The Orion Marine Group, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4539

EBITDA and EBITDA Margin

This press release includes the financial measures "EBITDA" and "EBITDA margin". These measurements may be deemed "non-GAAP financial measures" under rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Regulation G. The non-GAAP financial information may be determined or calculated differently by other companies. By reporting such non-GAAP financial information, the Company does not intend to give such information greater prominence than comparable and other GAAP financial information, which information is of equal or greater importance.

Orion Marine Group defines EBITDA as net income before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing EBITDA for the period by contract revenues for the period. The GAAP financial measure that is most directly comparable to EBITDA margin is operating margin, which represents operating income divided by contract revenues. EBITDA and EBITDA margin are used internally to evaluate current operating expense, operating efficiency, and operating profitability on a variable cost basis, by excluding the depreciation and amortization expenses, primarily related to capital expenditures and acquisitions, and net interest and tax expenses. Additionally, EBITDA and EBITDA margin provide useful information regarding the Company's ability to meet future debt repayment requirements and working capital requirements while providing an overall evaluation of the Company's financial condition. In addition, EBITDA is used internally for incentive compensation purposes. The Company includes EBITDA and EBITDA margin to provide transparency to investors as they are commonly used by investors and others in assessing performance. EBITDA and EBITDA margin have certain limitations as analytical tools and should not be used as a substitute for operating margin, net income, cash flows, or other data prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or as a measure of the Company's profitability or liquidity. 

A reconciliation of the Company's future EBITDA margin to the corresponding GAAP measure is not available as these are estimated goals for the performance of the overall operations over the planning period. These estimated goals are based on assumptions that may be affected by actual outcomes, including but not limited to the factors noted in the "forward looking statements" herein, in other releases, and in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-Looking Statements

The matters discussed in this press release may constitute or include projections or other forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the provisions of which the Company is availing itself. Certain forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as 'believes', 'expects', 'may', 'will', 'could', 'should', 'seeks', 'approximately', 'intends', 'plans', 'estimates', or 'anticipates', or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, intentions, estimates, forecasts, assumptions, or goals. In particular, statements regarding future operations or results, including those set forth in this press release (including those under "Outlook" above), and any other statement, express or implied, concerning future operating results or the future generation of or ability to generate revenues, income, net income, profit, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, or cash flow, including to service debt, and including any estimates, forecasts or assumptions regarding future revenues or revenue growth, are forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements also include estimated project start date, anticipated revenues, and contract options which may or may not be awarded in the future. Forward looking statements involve risks, including those associated with the Company's fixed price contracts, unforeseen productivity delays that may alter the final profitability of the contract, cancellation of the contract by the customer for unforeseen reasons, delays or decreases in funding by the customer, and any potential contract options which may or may not be awarded in the future, and are the sole discretion of award by the customer. Past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future results. In light of these and other uncertainties, the inclusion of forward-looking statements in this press release should not be regarded as a representation by the Company that the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, goals, intentions, or objectives will be achieved or realized. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release whether as a result of new developments or otherwise.

Please refer to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on March 9, 2010, which is available on its website at www.orionmarinegroup.com or at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov, for additional and more detailed discussion of risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations, estimates or forecasts.