Conrad Industries Inc. announced yesterday that its second quarter financial results and backlog as of June 30 were down compared to a year ago.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2015, Morgan City, La.-based Conrad had net income of $1.2 million and earnings per diluted share of 21 cents compared to net income of $6.8 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.14 during the second quarter of 2014. The shipyard had net income of $5.2 million and earnings per diluted share of 89 cents for the six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to net income of $13.2 million and earnings per diluted share of $2.21 for the six months ended June 30, 2014. Results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 included research and development tax credits of $800,000 and $1.7 million respectively.
Conrad’s backlog was $131.7 million on June 30, down from $180.2 million at Dec. 31, 2014 and $173 million at June 30, 2014.
“While we remain optimistic about the long-term prospects for our business, we continue to experience near term challenges,” Johnny Conrad, president and CEO, said in a statement. We have experienced a decline in demand for inland tank barges primarily used to transport petroleum products produced from shale plays, and also a delay by our customers in placing orders for the larger projects that we expected to convert to backlog. Although bid activity has been good and we are pursuing various opportunities, we have not signed contracts as anticipated, which is leading to gaps in our production schedules. The decline in demand and underperformance on some of our newer jobs have resulted in a decline in revenue, margins and profits.
”Conrad added that the company has seen a softer repair market, “which we believe is due primarily to the decline in crude oil prices. These factors negatively impacted our results for the first six months of 2015, and we currently expect these factors to negatively impact our financial performance during 2015, compared to 2014, and possibly through the first six months of 2016. We plan to continue to be responsive to changing market conditions and look for ways to continue to enhance shareholder value.”
Conrad, established in 1948, designs, builds and overhauls tugboats, ferries, liftboats, barges, offshore supply vessels and other steel and aluminum products for both the commercial and government markets. The company provides both repair and new construction services at its five shipyards located in southern Louisiana and Texas.
