Pasadena-based engineering, environmental and infrastructure services firm Tetra Tech Inc. has garnered a $33 million contract from the United States Army Corps of Engineers to design a new navigation lock on the Illinois River.
Separately, the company reported record-high quarterly and full fiscal year revenue and project backlog last week.
The river navigation lock contract was announced Nov. 14; it was awarded by the Great Lakes and Ohio River division of the Army Corps of Engineers.
The navigation lock is one of eight on the Illinois Waterway system connecting Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River on the west side of the state; most of the locks are on the Illinois River. These locks adjust water levels to minimize elevation changes for ships navigating the waterways; most of the locks are over a century old.
Tetra Tech has been called on to design a new 1,200-foot lock on the Illinois River, about twice as long as the existing lock chamber. The aim is to reduce wait times for ships by more than 70%, accommodate larger vessels and improve overall safety. The project is a top priority of the Army Corps’ navigation and ecosystem sustainability program.
“The USACE Rock Island District maintains navigable waterways that are essential to the transportation of goods throughout the Midwest,” Dan Batrack, Tetra Tech’s chief executive, said in the announcement. “Tetra Tech looks forward to using our ‘leading with science’ approach to design systems that improve critical infrastructure, support public safety, and enhance the resilience and reliability of U.S. waterborne transportation supply chains.”
Record revenue
Even before this Army Corps contract hit Tetra Tech’s books, Tetra Tech reported record-high revenue for both the quarter and fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
For the quarter, the company posted revenue of $1.06 billion, not including dollars that were passed through to subcontractors. For the fiscal year, revenue reached a record $3.75 billion.
Net income for the quarter was $53.6 million; for the full fiscal year net income was $273 million.
Another key measure for engineering firms like Tetra Tech is project backlog: the dollar value of projects and/or contracts that the company has been awarded but has not yet started working on. As of Sept. 30, that backlog figure stood at a record high of $4.79 billion, up 28% from the same date last year.
“As we completed fiscal year 2023, our differentiated ‘leading with science’ approach to the water, environment and sustainable infrastructure markets generated the highest financial results of any quarter and year in our history,…(with) all-time high results in revenue, earnings and backlog,” Batrack said in the company’s earnings release.
“Our clients are continuing to increase funding for water and environmental programs, including climate change mitigation and adaptation to address water security, coastal flooding, energy transition and biodiversity protection,” Batrack continued. “With our market leadership in these key areas, we booked nearly $2 billion in new orders in the fourth quarter and increased our backlog by more than $1 billion over last year.”
