Kirby reports 21.8% drop in Q3 revenues

The Houston, Texas-based tank barge operator posted net earnings of $56.8 million and consolidated revenues of $532.6 million for the third quarter, a year-over-year drop of 25.9 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively.    Kirby Corporation posted net earnings of $56.8 million for the third quarter of 2015, a 25.9 percent drop from the third quarter of 2014, according to the company’s most recent unaudited financial statements.
   The tank barge operator decreased diluted earnings per share from $1.34 per diluted share to $1.04 per diluted share.
   Consolidated revenues dropped 21.8 percent from last year’s third quarter to $532.6 million.
   In Kirby’s marine transportation segment, revenues stood at $418.3 million for the quarter, a year-over-year drop of 6.8 percent. Operating income fell 16.5 percent to $93.7 million.
   Both the inland and coastal marine transportation markets maintained a tank barge utilization range between 90-95 percent in the quarter. Although operating conditions for the coastal market remained “seasonally normal,” during the quarter, the inland marine transportation market faced challenging operating conditions due to scheduled lock closures along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and high water conditions at the beginning of the quarter. Lock outage delays and a sharp decline in fuel prices hindered revenue, Kirby said.
   The company’s diesel engine services segment posted revenues of $114.2 million and an operating income of $5.6 million for the quarter, a year-over-year drop of 50.8 percent and 72.0 percent, respectively. The lower revenues and operating income in the diesel engine services segment primarily resulted from a decline in the manufacture and remanufacture of new pressure pumping units, less demand for parts and services in the land-based oilfield service market and severance expenses incurred during the quarter, Kirby said.
   During the quarter, Kirby signed an asset purchase agreement to sell custom compression systems manufacturer and packager UE Compression LLC.
   “Our earnings guidance range for the 2015 fourth quarter is $0.93 to $1.03 per share and we are revising our full year 2015 guidance range to $4.10 to $4.20 per share,” Kirby President and CEO David Grzebinski said in a statement.
   Kirby transports bulk liquid products throughout the Mississippi River System, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, along all three U.S. coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii. The Houston, Texas-based tank barge operator also operates offshore dry-bulk barge and tugboat units, which are responsible for the transportation of dry-bulk cargo throughout the U.S. coastal trade. In addition, Kirby’s diesel engine services segment provides after-market service for medium and high speed diesel engines and reduction gears.