Logistec Corporation, a marine and environmental services provider, announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2012.
Consolidated revenues totalled $250.9 million in 2012, an increase of $26.2 million or 11.7 per cent over 2011. The marine services segment posted revenues of $143.2 million in 2012, a higher level of activity when compared to the $132.9 million reported for 2011. Higher volumes of bulk cargo and increased activity in the USA, following the acquisition of CrossGlobe Transport, Ltd., contributed to this revenue growth. The environmental services segment delivered a very strong performance in 2012, as revenues increased by $15.9 million or 17.3 per cent over 2011 to reach $107.6 million. The growth derives from a high overall level of activity, more specifically revenue from Niedner woven hoses and Aqua-Pipe® services.
In 2012, Logistec achieved a consolidated profit attributable to owners of the Company of $16.1 million, compared to $17.6 million in 2011. The 2011 figures included two non-operating items, which had a net after tax positive impact of $5.3 million. These included a gain on partial disposal of an investment, partly offset by an impairment loss on goodwill. If these items are excluded, profit increased by some $4 million or 31 per cent in 2012. The marine services segment posted a profit before income taxes of $13.7 million, down by $0.6 million over $14.3 million in 2011. The environmental services segment recorded a profit before income taxes of $10.5 million, up by $1.3 million over $9.2 million in 2011.
During the fourth quarter of 2012, consolidated revenues totalled $67.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, up by $1.5 million over the same period of 2011. This increase can be explained by strong activity in the marine services segment in the fourth quarter, although it was partly offset by slower business in the environmental services segment. The consolidated profit attributable to owners of the Company amounted to $6.6 million, up by $3.6 million from the fourth quarter of 2011.
Outlook
“We are optimistic we will be able to further develop our cargo-handling activities in 2013. In the USA, we are seeing some improvement in the building sector of the economy and this should bode well for construction materials, namely lumber and metals. We will further advance our development initiatives in the area of biomass and mining. To that effect, significant capital expenditures have been made to upgrade and specialize a portion of our Brunswick (GA) facility to handle biomass, namely wood pellets and woodchips. Customers have committed volumes to our facility and we feel strongly that the export market is growing quickly.
With respect to mining, we are closely following the development of the mining sector in the Province of Québec and the Arctic and, with our cargo-handling and transportation businesses, we are well positioned to serve this developing customer base. Although there has been a slowdown based on weaker growth in China and lower-priced commodities, the sector continues to develop selectively.
We are also optimistic about our environmental services segment. In 2013, we intend to build on our Aqua-Pipe® technology and grow our services both in Québec, where we install our structural lining, and outside of the Province, where we work through a select group of licensees. Although municipalities are somewhat financially constrained, there remains a huge need to repair underground drinking water pipes in North America. It has been shown that 40 per cent of North America’s drinking water is lost through existing infrastructure and this statistic is getting worse every year. Traditional methods of excavation and rebuilding are far costlier repair methods and our technology thus bodes well for the future. Our site remediation services are also promising given the continued desire to clean up the environment. We have built a strong team of experts who can find solutions for virtually all types of environmental contaminants and are expanding our services geographically, with the Arctic and France showing new revenue in the last few years. Finally, our woven-hose manufacturing business, which was purchased to secure the growing needs of our aqueduct rehabilitation services, continues to diversify its customer base. In 2013, it successfully launched a new product for the shale gas industry, a market which is expected to undergo strong growth in the coming years,” indicated Madeleine Paquin, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“All in all, we are confident we will continue to develop both our marine and environmental services segments, on the strength of our highly dynamic team of experts who are customer-oriented and consistently bring value to a growing customer base,” concluded Ms. Paquin.