ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., March 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MYR Group Inc. (“MYR”) (NASDAQ: MYRG), a holding company of leading specialty contractors serving the electric utility infrastructure, commercial and industrial construction markets in the United States and western Canada, today announced its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 financial results.Highlights for Fourth Quarter 2019Fourth quarter revenues of $571.1 millionFourth quarter net income attributable to MYR Group Inc. of $12.8 million, or $0.76 per diluted shareRecord backlog of $1.5 billionManagement Comments
Rick Swartz, MYR’s President and CEO said, “We finished 2019 with strong financial results in the fourth quarter, and full year revenues of $2.07 billion, setting a record high for the fifth consecutive year. Our backlog of $1.5 billion at the end of 2019, a new record high, demonstrates that efforts to expand our service offerings across a wider footprint and continually improve customer value are translating to diverse opportunities in the United States and western Canada. We anticipate continued market strength and growth opportunities for both our Transmission & Distribution and Commercial & Industrial segments as we further enhance our leadership position in the electrical construction industry.”Fourth-Quarter Results
MYR reported fourth-quarter 2019 revenues of $571.1 million, an increase of $124.8 million, or 27.9 percent, compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. Specifically, our Transmission and Distribution (“T&D”) segment reported record quarterly revenues of $311.0 million, an increase of $53.7 million, or 20.9 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2018, primarily due to an increase in revenue on small- to medium-sized transmission projects. Our Commercial and Industrial (“C&I”) segment reported fourth-quarter 2019 revenues of $260.1 million, an increase of $71.0 million, or 37.5 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2018, primarily due to incremental revenues from the acquisition of CSI Electrical Contractors, Inc (“CSI”).Consolidated gross profit increased to $68.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to $47.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Gross margin increased to 12.1 percent for the fourth quarter of 2019 from 10.6 percent for the fourth quarter of 2018. The increase in gross margin was primarily due to better than anticipated productivity and a favorable claim settlement. The increase in gross margin was partially offset by inclement weather and labor inefficiencies for which we are in ongoing negotiations to receive reimbursement. Changes in estimates of gross profit on certain projects, resulted in gross margin decreases of 0.5 percent and 1.7 percent for the fourth quarters of 2019 and 2018, respectively.Selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) increased to $48.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to $30.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. The period-over-period increase was primarily due to the acquisition of CSI, along with higher incentive compensation and other employee-related expenses to support the growth in our operations. As a percentage of revenues, SG&A increased to 8.4 percent for the fourth quarter of 2019 from 6.7 percent for the fourth quarter of 2018.Income tax expense was $5.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2019, with an effective tax rate of 29.9 percent, compared to an income tax expense of $3.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, which represented 26.1 percent of pretax income. The increase in the effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to the fourth quarter of 2018 was primarily due to the impact of foreign earnings and the associated impact of the global intangible low tax income (“GILTI)”.For the fourth quarter of 2019, net income attributable to MYR Group Inc. was $12.8 million, or $0.76 per diluted share attributable to MYR Group Inc., compared to $10.7 million, or $0.64, for the same period of 2018. Fourth-quarter 2019 EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, was $31.4 million, or 5.5 percent of revenues, compared to $26.6 million, or 6.0 percent of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2018.Full Year
MYR reported record revenues of $2.071 billion for the full year of 2019, an increase of $540.0 million, or 35.3 percent, compared to $1.531 billion for the full year of 2018. Specifically, the T&D segment reported revenues of $1.134 billion, an increase of $241.3 million, or 27.0 percent, from the full year of 2018, primarily due to an increase in revenue on small- to medium-sized transmission and distribution projects. The C&I segment reported full year of 2019 revenues of $936.7 million, an increase of $298.6 million, or 46.8 percent, from the full year of 2018, primarily due to increases in volume across all project sizes and incremental revenues from the acquisitions of CSI, and the Huen Companies in the second half of 2019 and 2018, respectively.Consolidated gross profit was $214.2 million in the full year of 2019, compared to $167.1 million in the full year of 2018. The increase in gross profit was due to higher revenues, partially offset by lower margins. Gross margin decreased to 10.3 percent for the full year of 2019 from 10.9 percent for the full year of 2018. The decrease in gross margin was primarily due to inclement weather on certain projects and material delays associated with a substantially completed joint venture project in which we own the majority controlling interest, which were partially offset by net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest. The joint venture project, along with other acquired projects, are subject to margin guarantees for which an offset is recognized in other income. Gross margin was also negatively impacted by certain projects with changes in estimates relating to inclement weather conditions and labor inefficiencies for which we are in ongoing negotiations to receive reimbursement. These margin decreases were partially offset by better than anticipated productivity on certain projects, a favorable claim settlement and successful change order negotiations. Changes in estimates of gross margin on certain projects, including those discussed above, resulted in gross margin decreases of 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent for the full years of 2019 and 2018, respectively.SG&A increased to $156.7 million for the full year of 2019, from $118.7 million for the full year of 2018. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to the acquisitions of CSI and the Huen Companies, along with higher incentive compensation and other employee-related expenses to support the growth in our operations. As a percentage of revenues, SG&A decreased to 7.6 percent for the full year of 2019 from 7.8 percent for the full year of 2018.Income tax expense was $14.2 million for the full year of 2019, with an effective tax rate of 28.2 percent, compared to an expense of $11.8 million for the full year of 2018 with an effective tax rate of 27.3 percent. The increase in the tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2019 was primarily due to foreign earnings and the associated impact of GILTI.For the full year of 2019, net income attributable to MYR Group Inc. was $37.7 million, or $2.26 per diluted share attributable to MYR Group Inc., compared to $31.1 million, or $1.87, for the same period of 2018. Full-year 2019 EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, was $101.2 million, or 4.9 percent of revenues, compared to $86.6 million, or 5.7 percent of revenues, for the full year of 2018.Backlog
As of December 31, 2019, MYR’s backlog was $1.50 billion, compared to $1.37 billion as of September 30, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, T&D backlog was $469.9 million, and C&I backlog was $1.029 billion. Total backlog at December 31, 2019 increased $352.6 million, or 30.7 percent, from the $1.147 billion reported at December 31, 2018.Balance Sheet
As of December 31, 2019, MYR had $260.6 million of borrowing availability under its credit facility.Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement MYR’s financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), MYR uses certain non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation to the nearest GAAP measures of all non-GAAP measures included in this press release can be found at the end of this release. MYR’s definitions of these non-GAAP measures may differ from similarly titled measures used by others. These non-GAAP measures should be considered supplemental to, and not a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP.
MYR believes that these non-GAAP measures are useful because they (i) provide both management and investors meaningful supplemental information regarding financial performance by excluding certain expenses and benefits that may not be indicative of recurring core business operating results, (ii) permit investors to view MYR’s performance using the same tools that management uses to evaluate MYR’s past performance, reportable business segments and prospects for future performance, (iii) publicly disclose results that are relevant to financial covenants included in MYR’s credit facility and (iv) otherwise provide supplemental information that may be useful to investors in evaluating MYR.Conference Call
MYR will host a conference call to discuss its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 results on Thursday, March 5, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. Central time. To participate in the conference call via telephone, please dial (877) 561-2750 (domestic) or (763) 416-8565 (international) and enter conference ID 1989856, at least five minutes prior to the start of the event. A replay of the conference call will be available through Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, by dialing (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406 and entering conference ID 1989856. MYR will also broadcast the conference call live via the internet. Interested parties may access the webcast through the Investor Relations section of MYR’s website at www.myrgroup.com. Please access the website at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The webcast will be available until Thursday, March 12, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.About MYR
MYR is a holding company of leading specialty contractors serving the electric utility infrastructure, commercial and industrial construction markets throughout the United States and western Canada who have the experience and expertise to complete electrical installations of any type and size. Their comprehensive services on electric transmission and distribution networks and substation facilities include design, engineering, procurement, construction, upgrade, maintenance and repair services. Transmission and distribution customers include investor-owned utilities, cooperatives, private developers, government-funded utilities, independent power producers, independent transmission companies, industrial facility owners and other contractors. Commercial and industrial electrical contracting services are provided to general contractors, commercial and industrial facility owners, local governments and developers throughout the United States and western Canada. For more information, visit myrgroup.com.Forward-Looking Statements
Various statements in this announcement, including those that express a belief, expectation, or intention, as well as those that are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements may include projections and estimates concerning the timing and success of specific projects and our future production, revenue, income, capital spending, segment improvements and investments. Forward-looking statements are generally accompanied by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “encouraged,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “objective,” “outlook,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “project,” “remain confident,” “should,” “unlikely,” or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. The forward-looking statements in this announcement speak only as of the date of this announcement; we disclaim any obligation to update these statements (unless required by securities laws), and we caution you not to rely on them unduly. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and assumptions about future events. While our management considers these expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements in this announcement should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect MYR’s business, particularly those mentioned in the risk factors and cautionary statements in Item 1A of MYR’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in any risk factors or cautionary statements contained in MYR’s subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K.MYR Group Inc. Contact:
Betty R. Johnson, Chief Financial Officer, 847-290-1891, [email protected]Investor Contact:
David Gutierrez, Dresner Corporate Services, 312-780-7204, [email protected]Financial tables follow…





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