HOUSTON, Jan. 8, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orion Marine Group, Inc. (NYSE:ORN) (the "Company"), a heavy civil marine contractor serving the infrastructure sector, today is providing its investors with an update on the Company's outlook and end markets.
Market Outlook
As 2014 concludes and the Company begins a new year, it is pleased with both its strong levels of asset utilization during the fourth quarter of 2014 and its bid market outlook for 2015. As mentioned previously, improved asset utilization, partially as a result of an increase in US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) lettings, benefited the Company in the fourth quarter. Also, as expected, the expansion project for the Port of Houston was a solid contributor to utilization in the fourth quarter.
During the fourth quarter the Company bid on approximately $290 million worth of opportunities and was successful on approximately $60 million, representing a win rate of approximately 21%. Additionally, the Company currently has approximately $230 million worth of bids outstanding, of which it is the apparent low bidder on approximately $50 million. The Company reminds investors that the timing and size of awards can and does affect the win rate in any particular quarter. The Company remains pleased with its level of bid opportunities currently in its tracking database and believes there is and will continue to be ample opportunity to support continued growth.
As the Company looks towards 2015, it believes that market opportunity exists to support continued growth. While there are some gaps to fill in project schedules in the first half of the year, the Company believes there are sufficient bid opportunities to see full year growth in 2015.
Federal & State Update
The Company was pleased that Congress funded the Federal Government, including the Corps, for the balance of its fiscal 2015 year, prior to the expiration of the continuing resolution last month. This should allow the Corps to put projects out for bid on a more consistent, predictable schedule over the course of the next nine months. Preliminary advertisement schedules provided by the Corps for fiscal 2015 indicate the Company may see increased bid opportunities year over year. Additionally, the Company continues to see a steady level of bid opportunities from state departments of transportation related to bridge construction, ferry landings, maintenance and repair.
Local & Private Update
Port expansion and infrastructure improvements continue to be a source of strong bid opportunities for the Company. As the use of waterborne transportation to move goods and people steadily continues to increase along with general vessel size, the Company expects demand for deepening projects, infrastructure improvements and maintenance services to remain strong for the foreseeable future.
Private sector opportunities continue, as demand for expanded waterside infrastructure remains strong. With a portion of this demand being driven by energy related customers, the Company is closely monitoring the market for any effect the recent drop in oil and gas prices may have on future bid opportunities. The Company has not seen a drop off in the amount of work it is currently tracking and expects demand to remain strong for the foreseeable future as year over year the amount of bid activity in this sector has increased. The Company believes this is a function of record levels of domestic energy production coupled with a lack of growth in the country's refining capacity and the waterside infrastructure that supports it. The Company will continue to closely monitor the market for any impact the energy markets may have on its future bid activity.
About Orion Marine Group
Orion Marine Group, Inc. provides a broad range of heavy civil marine construction and specialty services on, over and under the water in the Continental United States, Alaska, 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 of waterways, channels and ports, environmental dredging, and specialty services. The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
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, 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 dates, expected project duration, estimated project completion dates, anticipated revenues, and contract options, which may or may not be awarded in the future, including the statements set forth above in this press release. 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, which awards are in the sole discretion of 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.
For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements (including our current expectations, estimates or forecasts), please refer to the risk factors described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 27, 2014, and other risk factors that may be described in documents subsequently filed with the SEC from time to time by the Company. All such documents are available on the Company's website at www.orionmarinegroup.com or at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.