Great Lakes Dredge reports an “exceptional” year, despite pandemic

GLDD investments in its future include order for Jones Act trailing suction hopper dredge. [IMAGE: C-Job Archiects]

The largest provider of dredging services in the U.S., Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (Nasdaq: GLDD) today reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2020.

“Great Lakes had another exceptional year financially as we continued to act on our long term strategic plan, despite the pandemic’s impact on some of our projects,” said CEO and President Lasse Petterson.

FULL YEAR 2020 HIGHLIGHTS

• Revenue was $733.6 million for the full year 2020, a $22.1 million or 3.1% increase over the prior year.

• Gross profit percentage increased to 23.3% in 2020 as compared to 21.6% in 2019.

• Total operating income was $111.8 million, a $13.7 million or 14.0% increase over the prior year.

• Net income from continuing operations was $66.1 million, a $10.4 million or 18.7% increase over the prior year.

• Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $151.1 million as compared to $135.6 million in 2019, a $15.5 million or 11.4% increase over the prior year.

“Our strong cash flow and improved balance sheet allowed us to not only withstand the economic storm as a result of the pandemic, but positioned us well to invest in our future,” Petterson noted. “In 2020, we contracted to build a new mid-size hopper dredge, we upgraded several large cutter dredges, we decided to move our headquarters to Houston to be closer to our markets and clients and we invested in our shareholders through a $75 million share repurchase program.”

STRONG DOMESTIC MARKET

Petterson said that the domestic dredging market remained strong in 2020.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued to advertise new projects as evidenced by the bid market that ended the year at $1.8 billion,” he said. “In September, we were awarded a $105 million contract for the continuation of our work on the Jacksonville Florida Harbor Deepening Project. This important project contributes to our backlog of capital, coastal protection and maintenance work as we enter 2021. In addition, in the fourth quarter we were pleased to announce the signing of the largest contract in Great Lakes’ history for dredging on the Brownsville LNG project, which will enter backlog if a notice to proceed is received. We expect the dredging market to remain strong in 2021 driven by project work that will include large-scale port deepening projects along the East and Gulf coasts, as well as coastal protection projects, including the renourishment of coastal beaches that have been impacted by the recent major hurricane events.”

OFFSHORE WIND

“We also believe that the development of offshore wind generation in the U.S. presents an exciting new opportunity for the company,” said Petterson. “In December, we announced the design and development of the first U.S. flagged Jones Act compliant, inclined fall-pipe vessel for subsea rock installation for the windmill foundations. This vessel would represent a significant critical advancement in building the U.S. logistics infrastructure to support the future of the new U.S. offshore wind industry.”

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