VANCOUVER, WA--(Marketwire - April 28, 2009) - Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ: NWPX) today
reported sales of $81.4 million and per share earnings of $0.28 for the
first quarter ended March 31, 2009. Net income for the quarter was $2.6
million. In the same quarter of 2008, sales were $94.0 million and net
income was $5.0 million. Earnings per share in the first quarter of 2008
were $0.54.
Water Transmission Results
Revenues for the Water Transmission Group were $58.9 million in the first
quarter of 2009 compared to $63.9 million in 2008. First quarter gross
profit in 2009 was $11.3 million, or 19.2% of sales, compared to $14.5
million, or 22.6% of sales in 2008.
"Water Transmission revenues were generally as expected," said Brian W.
Dunham, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "The quarter
was adversely impacted by downtime due to installation of a new mill and
weather-related delays at our plants."
Tubular Products Results
The Tubular Products Group sales were $22.5 million in the first quarter of
2009, compared to $30.1 million in 2008. Gross profit for the quarter was
$1.4 million, or 6.4% of sales, compared to $3.3 million, or 11.1% of sales
for 2008.
"The decline in Tubular Products revenues was also expected," said Dunham.
"The combination of falling demand in our difficult economy and rapidly
declining selling prices led to both lower revenues and lower gross
profits."
Outlook
"Looking ahead, we expect another challenging quarter before seeing
improvement in the second half of the year," continued Dunham. "Our backlog
grew to $205 million during the quarter and, while this is clearly a
positive, we have a greater than usual amount of backlog that is not ready
for current production. The backlog is also uneven across our plants. Some
have substantial backlogs and others are relatively light. Accordingly, we
expect our Water Transmission production will be slow in the second
quarter, similar to the first quarter. We expect another good bookings
quarter which should lead to a higher backlog at June 30th and stronger
production schedules over the last half of the year."
"The Tubular Products business will continue to be challenged until we see
some recovery in the economy in general and in natural gas exploration in
particular," stated Dunham. "At this time, we do not expect to see these
market improvements until at least the second half of the year."
"Our Northwest Pipe Asia subsidiary is off to a good start," said Dunham.
"They delivered and installed a mill for us in our California facility and
are finalizing the installation of another mill for a customer in Asia. We
continue to expect positive but modest results from this group as well as
insights into international projects."
Northwest Pipe is making progress on its new Bossier City, Louisiana
facility. "Equipment installation is continuing at this site," said Dunham.
"We are a little behind schedule but expect to be ready to produce pipe in
August. Obviously, market conditions today do not support full production
from this new operation but we believe that the broad mix of products --
OCTG, line pipe, and standard pipe -- plus some economic recovery, will
enable a phased start up at that time."
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
applications including construction, agricultural, energy, traffic and
other commercial and industrial uses. The Company is headquartered in
Vancouver, Washington and has ten manufacturing facilities across the
United States and Mexico.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release by Brian Dunham and statements in the
"Outlook" section of this press release are "forward-looking" statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, sees,
estimates and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended
to identify such forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect
management's current views and estimates of future economic and market
circumstances, industry conditions, Company performance and financial
results. Actual results could vary materially from the description
contained herein due to many factors, including project delays, changes in
bidding activity, market demand, operating efficiencies, availability and
price of raw materials, availability and market acceptance of new products,
product pricing, competitive environment, and other risks described from
time to time in the Company's reports to the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The forward-looking statements we make today speak only as of
today and we do not undertake any obligation to update any such statements
to reflect events or circumstances occurring after today.
Conference Call
The Company's first quarter 2009 earnings conference call will be held on
Tuesday, April 28, 2009, at 8:00 a.m. PDT 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
listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available at the Investor
Relations section of the Company's website (www.nwpipe.com) or by dialing
866-434-5270 with the password 6301 approximately one hour after the event.
NORTHWEST PIPE COMPANY
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)
(Dollar and share amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
----------------------------
Three Months Ended
March 31
----------------------------
2009 2008
------------- -------------
Net Sales:
Water Transmission $ 58,855 $ 63,869
Tubular Products 22,548 30,134
------------- -------------
Net Sales 81,403 94,003
Cost of Sales:
Water Transmission 47,563 49,416
Tubular Products 21,103 26,802
------------- -------------
Total Cost of Sales 68,666 76,218
Gross Profit:
Water Transmission 11,292 14,453
Tubular Products 1,445 3,332
------------- -------------
Gross Profit 12,737 17,785
Selling, General, and Administrative 7,245 7,961
------------- -------------
Operating Income 5,492 9,824
Interest Expense, Net 1,226 1,806
------------- -------------
Income Before Income Taxes 4,266 8,018
Provision for Income Taxes 1,636 2,971
------------- -------------
Net Income $ 2,630 $ 5,047
============= =============
Basic Earnings per Share $ 0.29 $ 0.56
============= =============
Diluted Earnings per Share $ 0.28 $ 0.54
============= =============
Shares Used in Per Share Calculation:
Basic 9,219 9,087
============= =============
Diluted 9,353 9,307
============= =============
NORTHWEST PIPE COMPANY
CONDENSED SELECTED BALANCE SHEET AND OTHER DATA (Unaudited)
(Dollar amounts in thousands)
March 31 December 31
2009 2008
------------- -------------
Assets:
Cash and Cash Equivalents $ 104 $ 90
Trade and Other Receivables, Net 57,545 75,923
Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess
of Billings on Uncompleted Contracts 98,187 106,234
Inventories 75,411 87,348
Other Current Assets 13,025 12,436
------------- -------------
Total Current Assets 244,272 282,031
Property and Equipment, Net 198,195 194,035
Other Assets 33,924 33,368
------------- -------------
Total Assets $ 476,391 $ 509,434
============= =============
Liabilities:
Current Maturities of Long-Term Debt $ 6,555 $ 6,543
Accounts Payable 26,127 34,109
Accrued Liabilities 10,311 10,111
Billings in Excess of Cost and Estimated
Earnings on Uncompleted Contracts 3,488 8,020
------------- -------------
Total Current Liabilities 46,481 58,783
Long-Term Note Payable to Financial
Institution 58,894 82,065
Other Long-Term Debt, Less Current Maturities 29,377 32,379
Other Liabilities 46,894 44,646
------------- -------------
Total Liabilities 181,646 217,873
Stockholders' Equity 294,745 291,561
------------- -------------
Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity $ 476,391 $ 509,434
============= =============
Contact Information: CONTACT:
Brian Dunham
Chief Executive Officer
360-397-6300
Stephanie Welty
Chief Financial Officer
360-397-6323