Dive Brief:
- Los Angeles-based contractor Tutor Perini posted a loss of $32.5 million in the third quarter, or $0.63 per share, compared to a profit of $0.30 a year ago. It widely missed analysts’ expectations for profits of $0.11 per share, according to stock-analysis site SeekingAlpha.
- The firm’s $1.07 billion in revenue was 9% lower than the $1.18 billion it reported a year ago, but was $116.6 million higher than analysts’ expectations.
- Tutor Perini’s backlog was $8.35 billion at the end of the quarter, a slight decrease from the $8.41 billion it reported a year ago. Meanwhile, the firm generated operating cash flow of $72.6 million, compared to using $21.3 million a year ago.
Dive Insight:
The results, announced Nov. 2, marked Tutor Perini’s third consecutive quarterly loss in 2022, which the company attributed to reduced execution activities on a transportation project in the Northeast, as well as two adverse legal rulings, including one that was reversed against it.
“Although we were disappointed with our third-quarter earnings, we remain encouraged by the progress we are continuing to make in resolving disputed matters and collecting significant amounts of associated cash,” said Ronald Tutor, chairman and CEO, in a statement.
Tutor’s third quarter remarks were similar to those he made after the firm’s Q2 loss, when he said, “everything that could go wrong in the second quarter went wrong, but none of it repeats itself.”
He told analysts then that the company would clean up its costs in the second half of 2022 and into 2023, and pulled the company’s previously issued earnings guidance.
But the firm’s efforts to address its project execution issues and settle its legal disputes during the third quarter didn’t result in a positive outcome for its actual operating results. Tutor Perini reiterated its decision not to provide guidance for the remainder of 2022 after issuing its third quarter numbers.
Looking ahead
As a positive, Tutor emphasized that the firm’s project awards for the Capital Beltway around Washington, D.C., and the Raritan River Bridge in New Jersey, which have a combined value of $4.5 billion, were not yet included in the company’s backlog numbers.
On a conference call with investment analysts following the earnings release, Tutor again pointed to the future for improved performance.
“We continue to look forward to returning to more consistent and solid earnings per share results next year,” Tutor said during the call. “We think next year will be the beginning of a run a very successful earnings.”
