Vancouver-based steel pipe manufacturer Northwest Pipe Co. reported a loss of $14 million in its fourth quarter in an earnings report released late Tuesday.
That fourth-quarter loss, amounting to $1.47 per share, compared to a profit of $2.4 million, or 25 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. The company posted revenue of $102.2 million in the most recent fourth quarter.
For the year, the company’s loss widened to $17.9 million, or $1.88 per share. Revenue for the year was reported as $403.3 million.
The latest loss was due in part to a $16.1 million non-cash impairment charge the company reported in 2014. Excluding that charge, earnings were 21 cents per share for the quarter.
Sales in both its water transmission and tubular products divisions increased by 19 percent year over year, the company reported. Within the water transmission division, the company said the 5.4 percent one-year increase in sales was due to growth from its acquisition of steel fabricator Permalok Corp. in early 2014. Permalock fabricates steel pipes using its patented interlocking pipe joining system.
But that increase was partially offset by a decrease in base revenues in the division “due to the continued weakness in municipal markets,” the company said. Northwest Pipe is a large provider of products for municipal water systems.
In a conference call to investors, company president and CEO Scott Montross said the company is facing stiff foreign competition and is a participant in a legal fight against South Korea and Turkey over low-price steel imports. In July, the U.S. Commerce Department imposed tariffs of up to 16 percent on South Korean steel for the alleged dumping of steel in the U.S. at unfair prices. South Korea is fighting the ruling.
Overall, declines in steel and gasoline prices are reshaping the competitive environment, he said. The company continues to obtain a majority of its steel domestically and hopes to continue that practice, Montross said.
Montross said he expects revenue to be flat for the current quarter but told investors that the company has positioned itself for growth largely through acquisitions. Northwest Pipe has engaged a strategic firm to help it focus its search for a target acquisition, he said. “This is a high priority for Northwest Pipe,” he said.
The company’s shares have declined 26 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $22.24, a slight drop for the day and a decrease of 41 percent in the last 12 months.
