While it did not generate much chatter Monday during a quarterly earnings call focused on strong numbers, BWX Technologies is in the running for billions more in government contracts across the Department of Energy weapons complex over the next year.
Having already won the $21-billion, 15-year Savannah River Integrated Mission contract for liquid waste cleanup at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, BWX Technologies (BWXT) is seeking to “grow in government nuclear markets,” the company wrote in its second quarter earnings presentation.
This includes contract procurements at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, the Paducah Site in Kentucky, and the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Pantex Plant in Texas, BWXT said in the materials.
On the earnings front, net income for the quarter ended June 30 rose to $74.6 million, or $0.82 per diluted share, from $59.3 million, or $0.62 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter, BWXT said in a Monday press release.
Quarterly revenue was $554 million, up 10% over the $505 million taken in during the second quarter 2021.
The Lynchburg, Va., naval nuclear reactor supplier and Department of Energy contractor attributed the second-quarter result to business performance and good timing — some anticipated third quarter revenue rolled in during the second quarter, the company said.
Government Operations segment operating income was $83.8 million during the quarter, up from $72.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Government Operations revenue was $437 million, up from $405 million the prior year.
The Commercial Operations operating income was $12.9 million, a big jump from the $5.6 million recorded a year ago. The segment’s revenue during the recent quarter was $119 million, up from $102 million a year ago.
“BWXT delivered a strong second quarter despite a few operational challenges,” president and CEO Rex Geveden said in the release, pointing to some supply chain difficulties and labor shortages in the company’s flagship naval reactor business. The company now reports results of that business in the Government Operations segment.
“Impressive operational performance in commercial power, nuclear medicine and uranium processing offset some challenges for naval component production at certain facilities within Government Operations,” Geveden said.
The BWXT CEO also touted the $300-million Project Pele micro-reactor prototype contract with the Department of Defense. The micro-reactor will be demonstrated at DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory. It will be a transportable micro-reactor that can be used for off-grid and remote military applications, according to BWXT.
