Sterling Construction Company, Inc. (STRL) saw its loss widen to $6.35 million, or $0.25 a share for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. In the previous year period, the company reported a loss of $1.12 million, or $1.01 a share. Revenue during the quarter grew 10.40 percent to $168.34 million from $152.49 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 391 basis points over the previous year period to 4.10 percent. Operating margin for the quarter stood at negative 3.16 percent as compared to a positive 0.05 percent for the previous year period.
Operating loss for the quarter was $5.32 million, compared with an operating income of $0.07 million in the previous year period.
Paul Varello, Sterling’s chief executive officer, commented, "We delivered strong revenue growth in the fourth quarter as we ramped up on some large awards we won in late 2015 and over the course of 2016, particularly in Utah, Arizona and Colorado. Unfortunately, as we announced several weeks ago, our overall profitability for the quarter was negatively impacted by charges taken on several legacy projects in our Texas market. Notably, the results from our other businesses exceeded profitability targets for the fourth quarter and the full year. Our continued success in growing backlog at attractive margins makes us optimistic about our prospects for both top and bottom line growth in 2017."
For financial year 2017, Sterling Construction Company, Inc. projects revenue to be in the range of $720 million to $750 million. The company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.15 to $0.25.
Debt comes down significantly
Sterling Construction Company, Inc. has recorded a decline in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $5.39 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, down 73.27 percent or $14.79 million from $20.18 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Total debt was 1.79 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 7.55 percent on Dec. 31, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 0.05 as on Dec. 31, 2016, down from 0.21 as on Dec. 31, 2015. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
