Northwest Pipe Reports Third Quarter Results and Announces Third Quarter Conference Call

VANCOUVER, WA--(Marketwire - November 16, 2010) - Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ: NWPX) today announced that it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 reporting its financial results for that period. The Company has also announced that it will broadcast its third quarter 2010 earnings conference call on Tuesday, November 23, 2010, at 9:00 am PST via live internet webcast.

Third Quarter Results

Sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 were $112.8 million compared to $61.4 million in the third quarter of 2009. Net income for the third quarter of 2010 was $0.7 million or $0.07 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $5.5 million or $0.59 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2009.

Water Transmission sales increased to $59.3 million in the third quarter of 2010 from $47.0 million in the third quarter of 2009 reflecting increases in both sales volume and selling prices. Water Transmission gross profit increased to $7.2 million in the third quarter of 2010 from $.4 million in the third quarter of 2009 due to an increase in selling prices offset by more modest increases in material costs, and an inventory reserve of $3.2 million taken in 2009 compared to a nominal charge taken in 2010.

Tubular Products sales increased to $53.4 million in the third quarter of 2010 from $14.4 million in the third quarter of 2009, reflecting a significant increase in sales volume and a modest increase in selling prices. Tubular Products gross profit increased to $4.2 million in the third quarter of 2010 from a gross loss of $2.7 million in the third quarter of 2009, as a significant increase in volume improved the recovery of fixed costs resulting in improved gross margin.

As of September 30, 2010 the Company's backlog of orders was $251.8 million compared to $222.0 million as of December 31, 2009.

Outlook

"We expect Water Transmission sales to remain stable in the fourth quarter and grow modestly in the first half of 2011 compared to 2010," said Richard A. Roman, president and chief executive officer of the Company. "We expect Tubular Products sales will also be stable in the fourth quarter but we expect sales in the first half of 2011 will be stronger as compared to the first half of 2010 primarily due to the additional capacity brought into production in Bossier City over the course of 2010."

Conference Call

The Company will broadcast its third quarter 2010 earnings conference call on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 at 9:00 am PST via live internet webcast. The conference broadcast can be accessed at the Investor Relations section of the Company's website located at http://www.nwpipe.com. For those unable to attend the live broadcast, a replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of the website or by dialing 866-373-1987 passcode 6301 approximately one hour after the event and will remain available for 30 days.

About Northwest Pipe Company

Northwest Pipe Company manufactures welded steel pipe and other products in two business groups. Its Water Transmission Group is the leading supplier of large diameter, high-pressure steel pipe products that are used primarily for water infrastructure in North America. Its Tubular Products Group manufactures smaller diameter steel pipe for a wide range of products including line pipe, oil country tubular goods, standard and structural pipe and traffic systems. The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington and has ten manufacturing facilities across the United States and Mexico and a subsidiary in Singapore.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release by Richard A. Roman are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our business, management's beliefs, and assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of important factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, those that could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by us include changes in demand and market prices for our products, product mix, bidding activity, the timing of customer orders and deliveries, production schedules, the price and availability of raw materials, excess or shortage of production capacity, international trade policy and regulations and other risks discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and from time to time in our other Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release. If we do update or correct one or more forward-looking statements, investors and others should not conclude that we will make additional updates or corrections with respect thereto or with respect to other forward-looking statements.

                          NORTHWEST PIPE COMPANY
              CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)
    (Dollar and share amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)


                                --------------------  --------------------
                                 Three Months Ended    Nine Months Ended
                                    September 30          September 30
                                --------------------  --------------------
                                  2010       2009       2010       2009
                                ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------

Net Sales:
  Water Transmission            $  59,323  $  46,997  $ 168,068  $ 161,266
  Tubular Products                 53,447     14,380    121,209     52,520
                                ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    Net Sales                     112,770     61,377    289,277    213,786

Cost of Sales:
  Water Transmission               52,081     46,575    149,162    148,065
  Tubular Products                 49,221     17,070    113,783     57,158
                                ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    Total Cost of Sales           101,302     63,645    262,945    205,223

Gross Profit:
  Water Transmission                7,242        422     18,906     13,201
  Tubular Products                  4,226     (2,690)     7,426     (4,638)
                                ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------
    Gross Profit                   11,468     (2,268)    26,332      8,563

Selling, General, and
 Administrative                     7,988      5,170     21,254     14,519
                                ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------

Operating Income/(Loss)             3,480     (7,438)     5,078     (5,956)

Other (income)/expense                138        238       (289)      (583)
Interest Income                      (243)      (147)      (709)      (410)
Interest Expense                    2,206      1,074      5,482      3,592
                                ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------

Income/(Loss) Before Income
 Taxes                              1,379     (8,603)       594     (8,555)

Provision for Income Taxes            686     (3,109)       242     (3,189)
                                ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------

Net Income/(Loss)               $     693  $  (5,494) $     352  $  (5,366)
                                =========  =========  =========  =========

Basic Earnings per Share
 Attributable to Northwest Pipe
 Company                        $    0.07  $   (0.59) $    0.04  $   (0.58)
                                =========  =========  =========  =========

Diluted Earnings per Share
 Attributable to Northwest Pipe
 Company                        $    0.07  $   (0.59) $    0.04  $   (0.58)
                                =========  =========  =========  =========

Shares Used in Per Share
 Calculation:
  Basic                             9,290      9,240      9,273      9,232
                                =========  =========  =========  =========
  Diluted                           9,309      9,240      9,326      9,232
                                =========  =========  =========  =========







                          NORTHWEST PIPE COMPANY
        CONDENSED SELECTED BALANCE SHEET AND OTHER DATA (Unaudited)
                      (Dollar amounts in thousands)


                                                September 30,  December 31,
                                                    2010           2009
                                                ------------- -------------
Assets:
  Cash and Cash Equivalents                     $          37 $          31
  Restricted Cash                                           -             -
  Trade and Other Receivables, Net                     75,723        38,733
  Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of
   Billings on Uncompleted Contracts                   46,412        37,509
  Inventories                                          81,645        74,866
  Other Current Assets                                 26,394        28,666
                                                ------------- -------------
    Total Current Assets                              230,211       179,805
  Property and Equipment, Net                         170,937       163,432
  Other Assets                                         48,334        48,000
                                                ------------- -------------
    Total Assets                                $     449,482 $     391,237
                                                ============= =============

Liabilities:
  Current Maturities of Long-Term Debt          $       6,628 $       6,122
  Accounts Payable                                     31,368        30,039
  Accrued Liabilities                                  12,957        11,630
  Billings in Excess of Cost and Estimated
   Earnings on Uncompleted Contracts                   10,091         9,670
                                                ------------- -------------
    Total Current Liabilities                          61,044        57,461
  Long-Term Note Payable to Financial
   Institution                                         76,513        19,403
  Other Long-Term Debt, Less Current Maturities        27,223        32,319
  Other Liabilities                                    37,290        35,755
                                                ------------- -------------
    Total Liabilities                                 202,070       144,938

Stockholders' Equity                                  247,412       246,299
                                                ------------- -------------
    Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity  $     449,482 $     391,237
                                                ============= =============

Contact Information: CONTACT: Stephanie Welty Chief Financial Officer 360-397-6250