Great Lakes Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results, Beating Expectations

This quarter, analysts were expecting Great Lakes Dredge & Dock’s revenue to grow 57.6% year on year to $184.6 million, a reversal from the 26% decrease it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings were expected to come in at $0.18 per share.

Third quarter net income of $8.9 million
Third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $27.0 million
Record dredging backlog of $1.21 billion at September 30, 2024

HOUSTON, Nov. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (“Great Lakes” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: GLDD), the largest provider of dredging services in the United States, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

Third Quarter 2024 Highlights

• Revenue was $191.2 million
• Total operating income was $16.7 million
• Net income was $8.9 million
• Adjusted EBITDA was $27.0 million
• Record dredging backlog of $1.21 billion

Management Commentary

Lasse Petterson, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Great Lakes had a solid third quarter with strong project performance and substantial project wins in the bid market. During the quarter, Great Lakes was awarded $543.0 million of new work, including three port deepening projects capturing 81% of the third quarter capital market and six beach renourishment projects capturing 79% of the quarter’s coastal protection market. The largest project bid in the quarter was the Sabine-Neches Contract 6 Deepening project, won by Great Lakes, with awarded base and open options totaling $235 million. We ended the third quarter with a record backlog of $1.21 billion and an additional $465.0 million in low bids and options pending, which provides us utilization and revenue visibility well into 2026. Post quarter end, Great Lakes was awarded two projects for a total of $90 million, which were in low bids pending award at the end of the third quarter.

Also included in our backlog are two Liquified Natural Gas (“LNG”) projects that were awarded in 2023, the Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 project and the Brownsville Ship Channel project for Next Decade Corporation’s Rio Grande LNG project, which is the largest project undertaken in Great Lakes’ history. Dredging began on both capital projects in the third quarter. We continue to tender bids on several pending LNG projects in an effort to diversify and expand our client base.

We continue to make progress on our new build program. Our newest 6,500-cubic-yard-capacity hopper dredge, the Galveston Island, was successfully placed into operation in the first quarter and has shown solid project performance. Her sistership, the Amelia Island, is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2025. These dredges will work on projects that redevelop and improve our shorelines, which are subject to continual damage due to storms, rising waters and the effects of climate change.

We remain steadfast in our long-term strategy to enter the U.S. offshore wind market. The Acadia, the first U.S.-flagged Jones Act compliant vessel designed for subsea rock installation, is anticipated to be delivered in the latter half of 2025. Great Lakes has secured contracts for Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 and Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind projects.

Offshore wind is pivotal for the U.S. to achieve its decarbonization and clean energy objectives, and we expect this will lead to significant long-term growth opportunities for Great Lakes. Additionally, the Acadia is well-suited for international offshore wind projects, as well as rock protection for pipelines in the oil and gas, carbon capture, telecommunications, and power cable sectors. We are actively pursuing and bidding on numerous other projects for the Acadia, both domestically and internationally, with work planned for 2026 and beyond.

Post quarter end, we signed a vessel reservation agreement for the Acadia, and are currently negotiating a second vessel reservation agreement, with two different offshore wind developers for projects in the United States with planned installations through 2029. These reservation agreements further demonstrate the unique proposition we bring to the U.S. offshore wind market and provide visibility for potential utilization for years to come.

In the second quarter, Great Lakes entered into a $150 million second-lien credit agreement with Guggenheim Credit Services, LLC, for an aggregate principal amount of $100 million and a delayed draw term loan facility in the aggregate amount of $50 million, which is available to the Company for a period of 12 months following the closing date of the agreement. The financing provides Great Lakes with additional liquidity to help us complete our new build program and provides the financial flexibility to pursue other financing alternatives, including Title XI. In the third quarter S&P Global Ratings upgraded Great Lakes’ credit rating to “B-” from “CCC+”, which further demonstrates the improvements we have made this year to our balance sheet, cash flows and overall performance.

The Company has had strong 2024 results so far with exceptional project performance and utilization and the robust bid market has allowed us to successfully add to our backlog with work expected through 2026. With continued strong government support, our substantial backlog, enhanced fleet, strategic initiatives, and recent successes we have had with the Acadia, we firmly believe our company is well-prepared for the future.”

Operational Update

• Revenue was $191.2 million, an increase of $74.0 million from the third quarter of 2023. The higher revenue in the third quarter of 2024 was due primarily to higher capital, coastal protection, and maintenance project revenues, offset partially by a decrease in rivers and lakes project revenue.
• Gross profit was $36.2 million, an improvement of $27.2 million compared to the gross profit from the third quarter of 2023. Gross margin percentage increased to 19.0% in the third quarter of 2024 from 7.7% in the third quarter of 2023 due to improved project performance and higher capital and coastal protection revenue in the current year quarter.
• Operating income was $16.7 million, which is a $21.8 million improvement compared to the prior year third quarter. The year over year increase is primarily due to a $27.2 million increase in gross profit offset by higher general and administrative expense driven by higher accrued year-to-date incentive pay as a result of improved operational performance this year.
• Net income for the quarter was $8.9 million, which is a $15.1 million improvement compared to a net loss of $6.2 million in the prior year third quarter. The increase is a result of improved operating results, partially offset by an increase in net interest expense and income tax provision.
• At September 30, 2024, the Company had $12.0 million in cash and cash equivalents and total long-term debt of $412.5 million, with no draws outstanding against our $300 million revolver.
• At September 30, 2024, the Company had $1.21 billion in dredging backlog as compared to $1.04 billion at December 31, 2023. Dredging backlog does not include approximately $465.0 million of low bids and options pending award and approximately $44.9 million of performance obligations and $12.7 million in options pending award related to offshore wind contracts.
• Total capital expenditures for the third quarter of 2024 were $38.4 million compared to $46.6 million for the third quarter of 2023. Capital expenditures in the quarter included $19.4 million for the construction of the subsea rock installation vessel, the Acadia, $13.6 million for the Amelia Island, and $5.4 million for maintenance and growth.

Market Update

The Biden Administration and Congress continue to provide strong support for the dredging industry. The 2024 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill provided a record $8.7 billion to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”), including $5.6 billion for Operations and Maintenance and $2.8 billion for the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Additionally, the 2023 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act allocated $1.5 billion for infrastructure repairs and beach renourishment projects. The increased budget and additional funding have supported a strong bid market for 2024, with a robust beach renourishment market and several capital projects.

The 2025 Corps’ budget is expected to be another record appropriation. On June 28, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives (the “House”) Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee passed their 2025 Appropriations Bill providing the Corps with a budget of $9.96 billion, which is $2.7 billion above the President’s Budget request. The bill includes $5.7 billion for Operations and Maintenance projects, of which $3.1 billion is from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. On August 1, 2024, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its draft of the 2025 Energy and Water spending bill which provides $10.3 billion in total funding for the Corps. On September 25, 2024, President Biden approved a continuing resolution through December 20, 2024, for the Corps’ Fiscal 2025 budget.

The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) is renewed every two years and authorizes funding for Corps’ projects related to flood protection, dredging, and ecosystem restoration. WRDA 2022 included funding for deepening New York and New Jersey shipping channels to 55 feet and the Coastal Texas Protection and Restoration Program, which aims to protect the Texas Gulf Coast from hurricanes. WRDA 2024 has strong bipartisan support, having been approved by key Senate and House committees. The House bill, passed on July 22, 2024, while the Senate bill was approved on August 1, 2024. Currently, the two chambers are working to reconcile the differences on their respective versions of the bill and, once completed, the final version will be sent to the President to be signed into law.

We believe that Great Lakes has established a unique business position in the U.S. offshore wind market in subsea rock installation. The U.S. offshore wind market reached historic milestones in the first quarter of 2024, with two commercial-scale offshore wind farms becoming operational and supplying power to the grid in New York and Massachusetts. New Jersey awarded 3.7 gigawatts (“GW”) of Power Purchase Agreements in January 2024. On September 6, 2024, Massachusetts awarded 2.7 GW in total, which included 1.1 GW on the SouthCoast Wind project, 0.8 GW on New England Wind 1, and up to 0.8 GW on the Vineyard Wind 2 project, with Rhode Island awarding the remaining 0.2 GW on the SouthCoast Wind project. These projects are estimated to power over 125,000 Rhode Island homes and 1.4 million Massachusetts homes.

In June 2024, Equinor and Ørsted finalized power deals with New York State Energy Research & Development Authority for the Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind projects. Great Lakes has secured rock installation contracts for both projects, and expects to be using the rock installation vessel, the Acadia, to protect and stabilize foundations and cables for these projects with a combined capacity of 1.7 GW. On July 17, 2024, New York’s Governor Hochul announced the start of construction on the Sunrise Wind project which is expected to provide power to approximately 600,000 New York homes.  Additionally, in July 2024, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the construction and operation of two offshore wind energy facilities, New England Wind 1 and 2, which also are estimated to power close to a million homes. Atlantic Shores 1 and 2 Construction and Operations Plans were approved in October for 2.8 GW, which is expected to power more than 1 million New Jersey homes.

The U.S. offshore wind development and operational pipeline expanded by 53% over the past year, now boasting a potential generating capacity of approximately 80.5 GW by 2035. This growth is attributed to new leasing areas and heightened sector investment.

Conference Call Information

The Company will conduct a quarterly conference call, which will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. C.S.T (10:00 a.m. E.S.T.). Investors and analysts are encouraged to pre-register for the conference call by using the link below. Participants who pre-register will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call. Pre-registration may be completed at any time up to the call start time.

To pre-register, go to https://register.vevent.com/register/BI597f0aa2b02d4d84a95557b710d6eec6.

The live call and replay can also be heard at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/ykthkeg2 or on the Company’s website, www.gldd.com, under Events on the Investor Relations page. A copy of the press release will be available on the Company’s website.

Use of Non-GAAP measures

Adjusted EBITDA, as provided herein, represents net income (loss) from continuing operations, adjusted for net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, debt extinguishment, accelerated maintenance expense for new international deployments, goodwill or asset impairments and gains on bargain purchase acquisitions. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure derived in accordance with GAAP. The Company presents Adjusted EBITDA as an additional measure by which to evaluate the Company’s operating trends. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is a measure frequently used to evaluate performance of companies with substantial leverage and that the Company’s primary stakeholders (i.e., its stockholders, bondholders and banks) use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate the Company’s period to period performance. Additionally, management believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides a transparent measure of the Company’s recurring operating performance and allows management and investors to readily view operating trends, perform analytical comparisons and identify strategies to improve operating performance. For this reason, the Company uses a measure based upon Adjusted EBITDA to assess performance for purposes of determining compensation under the Company’s incentive plan. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, amounts determined in accordance with GAAP including: (a) operating income as an indicator of operating performance; or (b) cash flows from operations as a measure of liquidity. As such, the Company’s use of Adjusted EBITDA, instead of a GAAP measure, has limitations as an analytical tool, including the inability to determine profitability or liquidity due to the exclusion of accelerated maintenance expense for new international deployments, goodwill or asset impairments, gains on bargain purchase acquisitions, net interest and income tax expense and the associated significant cash requirements and the exclusion of depreciation and amortization, which represent significant and unavoidable operating costs given the level of indebtedness and capital expenditures needed to maintain the Company’s business. For these reasons, the Company uses operating income (loss) to measure the Company’s operating performance and uses Adjusted EBITDA only as a supplement. Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled to net income (loss) in the table of financial results. For further explanation, please refer to the Company’s SEC filings.

The Company

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation is the largest provider of dredging services in the United States, which is complemented with a long history of performing significant international projects. In addition, Great Lakes is fully engaged in expanding its core business into the rapidly developing offshore wind energy industry. The Company employs experienced civil, ocean and mechanical engineering staff in its estimating, production and project management functions. In its over 134-year history, the Company has never failed to complete a marine project. Great Lakes owns and operates the largest and most diverse fleet in the U.S. dredging industry, comprised of approximately 200 specialized vessels. Great Lakes has a disciplined training program for engineers that ensures experienced-based performance as they advance through Company operations. The Company’s Incident-and Injury-Free® (IIF®) safety management program is integrated into all aspects of the Company’s culture. The Company’s commitment to the IIF® culture promotes a work environment where employee safety is paramount.

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