Both quarterly and annual net earnings rose at BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., in 2021, and the company told investors this week it is optimistic that it may yet nab a major nuclear-weapon sites management contract that has become embroiled in controversy.
The company also said transition is going well for a BWXT-led team that will handle waste management at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2021, were $117 million, or $1.26 per diluted share, which beat net income of $65.7 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, in the prior-year period, BWXT said. For the entire year, net income in 2021 was $306 million, or $3.24 per diluted share, compared with net income of $279 million, or $2.91 per diluted share, in 2020.
On the revenue front, BWXT pulled in fourth quarter 2021 revenue of $592 million up 6% from the $557 million in the fourth quarter 2020. For all of 2021, the company’s revenue was over $2.1 billion, relatively flat with 2020 revenue.
Going forward, BWXT is reorganizing its three segments down to two, according to the latest earnings press release.
“We remain focused on driving our multi-faceted growth strategy by using nuclear technology to solve some of our customers’ most challenging problems through two distinct customer-based reporting segments: Government Operations and Commercial Operations,” CEO Rex Geveden said.
Government Operations includes the legacy Nuclear Operations and Nuclear Services Groups, while Commercial Operations includes the legacy Nuclear Power Group. Government Ops includes BWXT manufacturing of Naval nuclear reactor parts for U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers. It also includes BWXT’s joint ventures that handle environmental remediation and other nuclear work at multiple U.S. government facilities.
The flagship Nuclear Operations Group (NOG) segment that includes the Navy nuclear business took in $453 million in revenue for the fourth quarter 2021, a 6% increase from the prior-year figure of $426 million. The full-year 2021 segment revenue was over $1.6 billion, a 1% decrease compared with 2020 revenue of about $1.65 billion.
Revenue for the Nuclear Power Group segment was $114 million for the fourth quarter 2021, up 7% from the year-ago period, driven by higher fuel production and fuel handling, according to the release and accompanying slide presentation.
In October, a BWXT-led team, Savannah River Mission Completion, was awarded the long-term liquid waste management contract at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, potentially worth $21 billion over a 10-year ordering period. “We are currently in transition” on the Savannah River contract, Geveden said during the Tuesday evening conference call with financial analysts. All milestones are on track, he added.
In addition, groups led by BWXT and Bechtel challenged the National Nuclear Security Administration award of a new management contract for the Pantex Plant in Texas and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee to Fluor-led Nuclear Production One.
“We remain optimistic” about the BWXT team’s package and await a final ruling, Geveden said.
BWXT guidance for 2022 anticipates earnings per share in the range of $3.05 to $3.25 under non-generally accepted accounting principles.
