Project completions lead to lower 1Q renevues for Pernix Group
LOMBARD - Global construction company Pernix Group, said the completion of key projects led to a decrease in consolidated revenues in the first quarter of 2015.
The company's consolidated revenue in the first quarter of 2015 was $10.6 million, down from $15 million in the same period of 2014. Construction segment revenue declined from $13.6 million to $9.3 million, due primarily to substantial completion of the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center at the Sather Air Base (Sather) project in early 2014 and reduced activity at the Niger Embassy rehabilitation project and Freetown Embassy rainwater (Freetown) project, the company said. However, the company said revenue increased from a higher level of activity on the Texas A&M University Engineering Activities Building and the Engineering Research Building along with work at the Kinoya Power Station expansion project in Fiji.
Revenue from the company's Power segment remained consistent period over period at approximately $1.3 million. During the quarter, there was higher demand for power at our plants in Fiji, offset by lower fees at our Vanuatu operations.
Gross profit decreased $3 million to $900,000 in the first quarter of 2015 as compared to the comparable period in 2014 due to the completion of the Sather project as noted above and project delays and redeployment costs due to the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone which impacted the Freetown project.
Despite the losses, Pernix Group President and CEO Nidal Z. Zayed was optimistic of ongoing work the company is involved with
"We are making excellent progress on our new projects," Zayed said. "No matter the size of contract, every project receives management's utmost attention in order to maintain our excellent record of customer satisfaction, quality and safety.
"Due to customer delays in project awards our current backlog is unusually low. These delays have been out of our control," he added. "Nonetheless, we continue to execute on our plan and I am confident that we will achieve our revenue and cash flow targets for the rest of the year."