Conrad Industries braces for Mississippi River flooding

Conrad Industries, Inc.(OTC Pink Sheets: CNRD.PK), which has three shipyards in southern Louisiana and one inTexas, said today that rising water levels had forced it to temporarily discontinued operations at its Morgan City shipyard, located on the Atchafalaya River outside the protection of the levee system.

Conrad commented on the challenges presented by the rising waters of the Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya River as it reported first quarter 2011 results that included net income of $3.7 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.58 compared to net income of $1.7 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.27 during the first quarter of 2010.  The Company’s financial reports are available at www.otcmarkets.com.

Conrad’s backlog was $112.3 million at March 31, 2011 compared to $89.5 million at December 31, 2010 and $48.9 million at March 31, 2010. 

Johnny Conrad, President and CEO stated, “Our vessel construction segment continued the improvements that began during the third and fourth quarters of 2010 with the increases in our backlog. The repair segment was negatively affected by the slow-down in activity in the Gulf of Mexico related to the Deepwater Horizon incident and the resulting continued uncertainties surrounding the issuance of drilling permits by the Department of the Interior and new regulations related to drilling operations.”  

“Although we continue to be optimistic about the long-term prospects of our business and market conditions are much improved compared to last year, there still remains some uncertainty about our shorter-term demand and margins, particularly in our repair segment. The increase in our backlog gives us more confidence in our vessel construction segment but the continued uncertainty in Gulf of Mexico oil and gas activity hampers visibility in our repair segment.”

Mr. Conrad further commented, “Adding to our short-term uncertainty is the potential adverse impact on our business of the rising water levels along the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers. Three of our four shipyards are located in South Louisiana, one along the Atchafalaya River in Morgan City and the other two in Amelia along the Intracoastal Waterway. We have temporarily discontinued operations at our Morgan City shipyard which is located on the Atchafalaya River outside the protection of the levee system and have taken steps to safeguard our assets and to mitigate the effects of this situation on our operations. Vessels under construction and key pieces of our equipment have been moved to our other shipyards. Production personnel, as well as support and administrative staff, have been relocated to our other facilities in the area.  

“The Atchafalaya River at Morgan City is forecasted to continuously rise to crest on May 25, 2011 and then slowly recede,” said Mr. Conrad. “Our two yards along the Intracoastal Waterway may also be impacted by rising water levels but at this time are operational and have taken on the work moved from Morgan City.  Although we do not anticipate any significant flooding at the yards, there may be limits on the ability of vessels to access the yards.  We cannot predict with any certainty the potential impact of the rising waters on our operations but we believe that our existing plan and efforts will produce the best results under the circumstances for our facilities, customers, vendors, employees and shareholders.”

May 11, 2011