Net income for the quarter totalled $18.7m, an increase over the second quarter (Q2) 2019 income of $14.4m.
Q3 orders of $286.2m included record order levels for LNG fuelling stations, lasers and hydrogen, contributing to a record backlog of $755.6m. Chart received 33 orders greater than $1m in the quarter.
Reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.51 increased from $0.41 in Q2 2019. Adjusted EPS of $0.77, a 13.2% increase from Q2 2019 reflected Chart’s broad-based execution of order pipeline and margin expansion activities.
Q3 highlights
Q3 was a record-breaking quarter for LNG fuelling station orders, with 19 stations booked in total, compared to three in Q3 2018.
The quarter also saw speciality market orders of $46m, 56% high than the same quarter of 2018, and 54% higher than Q2 2019, with record order levels in lasers and hydrogen. Speciality market sales of $40m in the quarter were 6% higher than the prior year.
September was the highest order month of the quarter for E&C Cryogenics and E&C FinFans which trends well for Chart’s 2020 outlook. In Q3, Chart extended its agreements with two of its three customers, covering over $85m of associated total annual revenue.
On 1st July (2019) Chart completed the acquisition of the Air-X-Changers business and identified target cost synergies totalling $29m to be achieved within the first 12 months of ownership. In the first quarter of ownership, Chart achieved over $12m of the synergies, and have completed the facility consolidations, eight months ahead of schedule.
Chart completes acquisition of Harsco Air-X-Changers
“Our margin expansion activities from the past nine months, exceeding scheduled synergies from recent acquisitions, and our multiple aspects of growth potential with no heavy reliance on any one single application or end market positions us to deliver approximately $5.00 of projected adjusted earning per share in 2020, before any additional big LNG orders,” said Jill Evanko, Chart’s President and CEO.
“Further, we expect $1bn of additional big LNG related orders in the second half of 2020 which extends our upcycle for revenue and earnings through 2023.”
2020 outlook
Chart expects a blended market growth of 1% to 2%, with D&S markets averaging 3% growth and base E&C markets experiencing negative to flat trend in 2020. The E&C markets of Chart’s natural gas processing and air cooler upstream are expected to decline in 2020, partially offset by single digit growth in downstream, refining/processing and petrochemical markets.
Total revenue growth is expected to be 21% to 24%, with 13% and 15% organic growth including Calcasieu Pass (7% to 9% organic excluding Calcasieu Pass), resulting in an expected base revenue between $1,615m and $1,680m.