Recent contract wins and acquisitions helped Vectrus make a big comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter with surging revenue and profits, the Colorado Springs-based defense contractor said Tuesday.
Revenue during the April-to-June quarter jumped more than 40% from a year ago to nearly $471 million. Profits soared more than 14 times during the same period from $1.11 million, or 9 cents a share, to $15.9 million, or $1.35 a share. A major adjustment to a defense contract in Europe and delays in starting contracts triggered by the pandemic slashed the company’s second-quarter earnings last year.
“Our business continues to advance on all fronts to deliver solid results in the second quarter,” Vectrus CEO Chuck Prow said Tuesday on a conference call with investors and stock analysts.
Much of the growth came from a $242 million Navy contract Vectrus won during the quarter to provide supplies and services worldwide to support humanitarian and disaster relief, military exercises and operations in the Middle East. The company also received a work order to support a major military exercise just completed in Asia. The contract wins helped to boost the company’s contract backlog by $400 million from the previous quarter to $4.9 billion.
The rest of the revenue gain resulted from two acquisitions Vectrus completed late last year. Vectrus bought HHB Systems, a Virginia-based defense contractor specializing in systems engineering and technical assistance, and Zenetex, another Virginia defense contractor that specializes in providing management and technology services for federal and defense industry clients.
Revenue for the first half of the year was up 31.6% from the same period last year to $904.8 million, while earnings nearly tripled from $9.78 million, or 83 cents a share, to nearly $28 million, or $2.37 a share.
Based on the first-half gains, Vectrus boosted its annual revenue and earnings forecast. The company boosted its revenue forecast by $65 million to between $1.75 billion and $1.78 billion and its profit forecast by 21 cents to between $3.78 and $4.18 a share. Vectrus earned $3.14 a share last year on revenue of nearly $1.4 billion.
By Wayne Heilman [email protected]
August 10, 2021