Great Lakes Provides an Update to Q4 2022

HOUSTON, Dec. 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (“Great Lakes” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: GLDD), the largest provider of dredging services in the United States, announced an update on its fourth quarter 2022 operations.

Revenues and gross profit margins for fourth quarter 2022 are expected to be lower than previously anticipated. These results were impacted by the earlier than expected retirement of the Terrapin Island hopper dredge, significant weather delays on several projects in the northeast and some project production issues. Additionally, unexpected drydocking scope increases resulted in additional costs and delays for the hopper dredges Ellis Island and Padre Island. The Padre Island is now out of drydock and in operation and the Ellis Island is out of drydock and  expected to be in operation before year end. 

General and administrative expense and net interest expense are expected to remain relatively flat from the prior quarter.

Lasse Petterson, President and Chief Executive Officer at Great Lakes commented, “This has been a challenging year driven by an extremely slow bid market in the first half of 2022, rampant inflation, supply chain delays and more than the usual number of differing site conditions on projects. We are proactively taking steps to minimize the impact of these external factors as we are rationalizing older assets like the previously announced retirement of the Terrapin Island, cold stacking several of our oldest and least productive dredges and aggressively reducing other costs.

Looking forward to 2023, we expect bidding activity to be more in line with previous years as several large capital projects that were expected to bid in 2022 are now expected to bid in the first half of the year and our LNG prospects are moving toward final investment decisions. We are on track with our fleet modernization program and our newbuild hopper dredge, the Galveston Island, is on schedule to be operational in the second quarter of 2023. As we see the bid market start to recover in 2023, we can quickly reactivate the cold stacked vessels to take advantage of the improving market. We believe we are proactively taking the right steps adjusting to the current market conditions and expect to see their positive effects as we go into next year.”

The Company
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (“Great Lakes” or the “Company”) is the largest provider of dredging services in the United States. In addition, Great Lakes is fully engaged in expanding its core business into the rapidly developing offshore wind energy industry. The Company has a long history of performing significant international projects. The Company employs experienced civil, ocean and mechanical engineering staff in its estimating, production and project management functions. In its over 132-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.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking" statements, including, but not limited to, the statements regarding revenue and gross margin projections, as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA") or in releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), all as may be amended from time to time. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Great Lakes and its subsidiaries, or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking language, such as the words “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project,” “may,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “seeks,” “are optimistic,” or “scheduled to,” or other similar words, or the negative of these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable language, or by discussion of strategy or intentions. These cautionary statements are being made pursuant to the Exchange Act and the PSLRA with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the "safe harbor" provisions of such laws. Great Lakes cautions investors that any forward-looking statements made by Great Lakes are not guarantees or indicative of future performance. Important assumptions and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements with respect to Great Lakes include, but are not limited to: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related responsive measures, including productivity impacts and increased expenditures; our ability to obtain and retain federal government dredging and other contracts, which is impacted by the amount of government funding for dredging and other projects and the degree to which government funding is directed to the Corps and certain other customers, which in turn could be impacted by extended federal government shutdowns or declarations of additional national emergencies; our ability to qualify as an eligible bidder under government contract criteria and to compete successfully against other qualified bidders in order to obtain government dredging and other contracts; cost over-runs, operating cost inflation and potential claims for liquidated damages, particularly with respect to our fixed cost contracts; the timing of our performance on contracts and new contracts being awarded to us; significant liabilities that could be imposed were we to fail to comply with government contracting regulations; increasing costs to operate and maintain aging vessels and comply with applicable regulations or standards; increasing costs of fleet improvements to remain competitive; equipment or mechanical failures; impacts to our facilities and suppliers from pandemics, epidemics or outbreaks of infectious disease affecting our markets; market or supply chain disruptions as a result of war or insurrection; impacts to our supply chain for procurement of new vessel build materials: our international dredging operations; instability and declining relationships amongst certain governments in the Middle East and the impact this may have on infrastructure investment, asset value of such operations, and local licensing, permitting and royalty issues; capital and operational costs due to environmental regulations or extreme weather events; market and regulatory responses to climate change; contract penalties for any projects that are completed late; force majeure events, including natural disasters, pandemics and terrorists’ actions; changes in the amount of our estimated backlog; significant negative changes to large, single customer contracts; our ability to obtain potential financing for the construction of new vessels, including our new offshore wind vessel; potential inability to secure contracts to utilize new offshore wind vessel; unforeseen delays and cost overruns related to the construction of new vessels, including potential mechanical and engineering issues and unforeseen changes in environmental regulations; any failure to comply with Section 27 of the Jones Act provisions on coastwise trade, or if those provisions were modified or repealed; fluctuations in fuel prices, particularly given our dependence on petroleum-based products; impacts of nationwide inflation on procurement of new build materials; our ability to obtain bonding or letters of credit and risks associated with draws by the surety on outstanding bonds or calls by the beneficiary on outstanding letters of credit; acquisition integration and consolidation, including transaction expenses, unexpected liabilities and operational challenges and risks; divestitures and discontinued operations, including retained liabilities from businesses that we sell or discontinue; potential penalties and reputational damage as a result of legal and regulatory proceedings, including a pending criminal proceeding in Louisiana; any liabilities imposed on us for the obligations of joint ventures, partners and subcontractors; increased costs of certain material used in our operations due to newly imposed tariffs; unionized labor force work stoppages; any liabilities for job-related claims under federal law, which does not provide for the liability limitations typically present under state law; operational hazards, including any liabilities or losses relating to personal or property damage resulting from our operations; our ability to identify and contract with qualified MBE or DBE contractors to perform as subcontractors; our substantial amount of indebtedness, which makes us more vulnerable to adverse economic and competitive conditions; restrictions on the operation of our business imposed by financing covenants; impacts of adverse capital and credit market conditions on our ability to meet liquidity needs and access capital; our ability to maintain or expand our credit capacity; limitations on our hedging strategy imposed by statutory and regulatory requirements for derivative transactions; foreign exchange risks, in particular, as it relates to the new offshore wind vessel build; losses attributable to our investments in privately financed projects; restrictions on foreign ownership of our common stock; restrictions imposed by Delaware law and our charter on takeover transactions that stockholders may consider to be favorable; restrictions on our ability to declare dividends imposed by our financing agreements and Delaware law; significant fluctuations in the market price of our common stock, which may make it difficult for holders to resell our common stock when they want or at prices that they find attractive; changes in previous recorded net revenue and profit as a result of the significant estimates made in connection with our methods of accounting for recognized revenue; maintaining an adequate level of insurance coverage; our ability to find, attract and retain key personnel and skilled labor; disruptions, failures, data corruptions, cyber-based attacks or security breaches of the information technology systems on which we rely to conduct our business; and impairments of our goodwill or other intangible assets. For additional information on these and other risks and uncertainties, please see Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of Great Lakes' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.¹

Although Great Lakes believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by such forward looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from a projection or assumption in any forward-looking statements. Great Lakes' future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and inherent risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date hereof and Great Lakes does not have or undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, unless otherwise required by law.

For further information contact:
Tina Baginskis
Director, Investor Relations
630-574-3024