Argan 3Q Profit Slumps on Weaker Sales

Shares of Argan (AMEX:AGX) slipped Thursday after the company reported a narrowed third-quarter profit, hurt by ailing sales in all of its segments.

The Rockville, MD-based company posted net income of $1.5 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with $2 million, or 14 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the provider of engineering, procurement and construction services was $48.2 million, down 20.5% from $60.67 million a year ago.

Results were impacted by a decline in Gemma, down to $42.7 million from $54.2 million in the year-earlier period, as well as lower revenues from Argan’s other wholly-owned subsidiaries, down to $5.5 million from $6.5 million a year ago.

Argon CEO Rainer Bosselmann said “despite challenging economic times, Gemma continues to show strong cash flow performance,” and the company continues to expect challenges in the coming year.

“Nevertheless, Gemma continues to drive our success,” he said. “As electric utilities and independent power producers look to diversify their power generation options, we see continued interest in gas-fired plants, which are more efficient and produce fewer emissions than coal fired plants.”

Also, Gemma’s renewable power unit has been awarded a contract to design a 200 megawatt wind power facility, much of which will be completed next year.

“Gemma’s wide range of construction experience and power industry expertise position the company well as a market leader for both traditional and alternative energy projects,” Bosselman said.