Arcosa Inc. Sees Strong Second-Quarter Growth In Barge Unit

Barge-maker Arcosa Inc. announced strong second-quarter results on August 2, with revenues increasing 23 percent and net income up 41 percent.

Arcosa was spun off from Trinity Industries Inc. last year. Besides its barge-making business, it has construction and energy divisions.

Its transportation division announced a second-quarter revenue increase of 26 percent to $115.3 million. The company said in a press release that transportation margin performance “was largely consistent with the company’s expectations,” due to $1.3 million of start-up expenses from the reopening of its Louisiana barge facility and lower pricing of components on a sales agreement.

The barge business booked orders worth $32 million in the quarter, added to $203 million worth of orders in the first quarter. By the end of June, the barge backlog totaled $349.7 million compared with a backlog of $230.5 million at the end of 2018. The company said that about 54 percent of the backlog is expected to be delivered in 2019, with the balance in 2020.

“This was another quarter of solid growth for Arcosa as we executed on our strategic plan,” said Antonio Carillo, president and CEO. “All three segments contributed to revenue and adjusted EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] growth in the second quarter. We achieved higher-than-expected margins in our energy equipment segment, the ramp-up in our barge business continues on track and out construction products markets remain healthy despite challenging weather conditions.”

The company said it had upwardly adjusted its 2019 revenue guidance to a range of $1.75 billion to $1.80 billion. Its guidance for 2019 full year EBITDA was adjusted slightly upward  to a range of $230 million to $240 million.