Earnings

NWPX's Signed Pipe Backlog Fell To $264 Million Even As One $57 Million Job Lifted Sales To A Record

A confidential water-pipe project drove record third-quarter sales while revolver debt rose to $18.5 million after the Serpentix purchase.

NWPX Infrastructure, which makes steel water pipe and precast concrete products, posted record third-quarter sales of $179.4 million, up 18.7% from a year earlier, but its signed pipe backlog shrank to $264 million. A single $57 million confidential project supplied $31.0 million of the quarter's revenue, according to the company's 10-Q filed Thursday.

One job, and a thinner backlog

Backlog in the Water Transmission Systems segment, which makes large-diameter steel pipe, stood at $264 million at September 30, down from $305 million at June 30. The segment's sales rose 27.0% to $131.9 million, with the company citing a 19% rise in selling price per ton and a 7% rise in tons produced.

The confidential project, awarded earlier in 2026 and described by the company as unique and infrequent, has contributed $39.4 million over the first nine months. In the second quarter filing it had added $8.4 million.

The company expects to recognize about 34% of its remaining performance obligations in 2026 and 47% in 2027. The prior quarter's filing showed 53% and 33%.

In its earnings release, the company also cited a record $435 million of backlog including confirmed orders, meaning projects where it has been told it won the bid but no binding agreement exists yet. CEO Scott Montross said the figure came "even after recognizing $31.0 million in revenue associated with our NDA project".

Precast volume slips, acquisitions fill in

Precast sales edged up 0.6% to $47.5 million. Boughton and Serpentix together added $2.1 million, while volume at legacy facilities fell 9%. The second quarter had shown an 11% volume drop.

Net income rose to $18.2 million, or $1.86 per diluted share, against $13.5 million a year earlier. Gross profit was $38.2 million, a 21.3% margin that matched last year's.

The company says demand for precast has held up by expanding business with commercial construction contractors. Montross said he was encouraged by the data center business within Precast.

Borrowing to buy Serpentix

The company completed its purchase of Serpentix, a Colorado maker of conveyor systems used in wastewater plants and factories, on September 2 for about $51.5 million. Serpentix added $27.8 million of goodwill, lifting the balance to $83.3 million from $55.5 million. All of the acquisition's figures are provisional.

Revolver borrowings stood at $18.5 million at September 30, after none at June 30. Cash fell to $6.1 million from $19.3 million at June 30, and the company has about $105 million of additional borrowing capacity. Contract liabilities, which are customer advances, jumped to $44.7 million from $8.8 million at the end of 2025.

The company's market value was $961 million at Thursday's close.

The Serpentix price allocation can change for up to a year from its September 2 close, and the company's annual goodwill impairment test is set for November 30.