Great Lakes Dredge reports Q2 EPS 14c, consensus 9c

Reports Q2 revenue $193.8M, consensus $177.7M. Lasse Petterson, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Great Lakes delivered a solid second quarter, driven by strong project execution and high equipment utilization. We ended the quarter with revenue of $193.8 million, net income of $9.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $28.0 million, despite four dredges undergoing their regulatory drydocking. Our substantial dredging backlog stood at approximately $1.0 billion as of the end of the second quarter, with an additional $215.4 million in low bids and options pending award, providing expected revenue visibility for the remainder of 2025 and well into 2026. Capital and coastal protection projects account for 93% of our dredging backlog, which typically yield higher margins. Dredging activity for private clients in the Liquefied Natural Gas sector remains strong. In the second quarter, we received notice to proceed for dredging operations on the Woodside Louisiana LNG project. This project has been added to our Q2 2025 backlog, along with two additional options currently included in our Q2 2025 options pending award. Dredging for this project is scheduled to begin in early 2026. Our current backlog also includes two additional major LNG projects awarded in 2023: the Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 Project and the Brownsville Ship Channel Project, part of NextDecade Corporation’s Rio Grande LNG initiative, the latter marking the largest project in our Company’s history. Dredging operations for both projects began in Q3 2024 and are actively ongoing. In the first quarter of 2025, we initiated a $50 million share repurchase program, as we believed our share price did not appropriately reflect the Company’s financial performance and long-term outlook. As of June 30, 2025, we have repurchased 1.3 million shares under the program for a total spend of $11.6 million. In addition, on May 2, 2025, we executed an amendment to our Revolving Credit Facility, increasing the size from $300 million to $330 million, further enhancing our liquidity. All other terms remained the same. Our newbuild program is coming towards completion with our newest hopper dredge, the Amelia Island, expected to be delivered within the next few weeks and plans to immediately go to work when she leaves the shipyard. The Amelia Island and her sister ship, the Galveston Island, which was delivered in early 2024, will primarily work on projects aimed at the redevelopment and enhancement of our shorelines, which are consistently impacted by severe weather. The Acadia, the first U.S.-flagged, Jones Act-compliant subsea rock installation vessel, hit a key milestone with her launch from drydock in July with expected completion in the first quarter of 2026. Upon delivery, the Acadia is expected to immediately commence operations, first on Equinor’s Empire Wind I project and then onto Orsted’s Sunrise Wind project, which will provide full utilization for the vessel for 2026. The Acadia is designed to serve projects in both domestic and international markets focused on safeguarding critical subsea infrastructure, including subsea cables for power transmission, telecommunications cables, oil and gas pipelines and offshore wind developments. The Company had an exceptional first half of 2025, which we expect to continue for the remainder of this year and into 2026 driven by a modernized fleet, superior project execution, and a robust backlog.”