UT Still in Hunt for Next LANL Management Contract
The University of Texas has not suspended work on its bid to manage the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a spokesperson for the Austin-based institution said.
“Bid preparation is in progress and will be reviewed by the Board of Regents later this month,” a University of Texas spokesperson wrote in a Nov. 10 email to Weapons Complex Morning Briefing.
The UT Board of Regents raised some eyebrows last week when, instead of voting as scheduled to approve the university’s bid to manage the laboratory, it postponed any action on the plan to Nov. 27.
Bids are due Dec. 11. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) solicited proposals for the next LANL management contract Oct. 18. The University of Texas is spending $4.5 million to prepare its offer.
The lab-management portion of the contract calls for more than $20 billion in work, including options, over 10 years. Annual lab-management fees for the winning bidder could be as high as $50 million, according to the NNSA’s final solicitation.
Los Alamos is now run by Los Alamos National Security: a coalition led by longtime lab manager University of California, senior industry partner Bechtel National, and industry teammates AECOM and BWXT Technologies. The NNSA decided not to renew the incumbent’s contract after a number of safety failures, including an underground radiation leak in 2014 at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. The Department of Energy blamed the leak on a poorly packaged drum of waste from LANL.
The University of California’s Board of Regents officially approved its bid for the follow-on LANL management contract Wednesday.
No Clues on LANL Leanings in AECOM Quarterly Call
Amid reports of rising revenue and a record-strong backlog in its fiscal fourth quarter, AECOM remained silent about whether it would seek to be part of the management of the Los Alamos National Laboratory under a new Department of Energy contract slated for award next spring.
AECOM on Monday reported about $4.9 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30, which marked the end of the company’s 2017 fiscal year. That was up from $4.32 billion in the same period a year ago. Revenue for the past 12 months landed at $18.2 billion, up from $17.41 billion for fiscal 2016, the company said in its earnings release.
AECOM’s management services division, which includes its DOE business, recorded $890 million in revenue during the just-completed quarter, which was relatively flat with the $887 million reported during the same period one year ago.
The company recorded $88 million in net income for the quarter, $0.55 per share. The full-year numbers were $339 million and $2.13.
When it comes to lining up business, AECOM achieved record full-year wins of $23.2 billion, resulting in an all-time-high backlog of $47.5 billion driven by management services as well as the company’s design and consulting services group. The latter group serves clients in the transportation, water, and energy industries. These two groups tend to have particularly high margins, AECOM executives said.
Some government contracts the company expected to be awarded in the past 12 months have not yet been realized, according to management. One such contract mentioned in passing on the call involves DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
AECOM is part of incumbent LANL manager Los Alamos National Security, which includes Bechtel National, BWXT Technologies, and senior partner, the University of California. The contract is set to expire Sept. 30. DOE is now seeking bidders for a potentially 10-year follow-on pact, slated for award in the spring. Bids are due Dec. 11, but AECOM has been quiet about its intentions. The statement of work for the potentially $20-billion-plus contract includes construction projects that are wheelhouse work for the Los Angeles-based engineering company.
