Kirby Corp . (NYSE:KEX) reported Q2 EPS of $0.49, $0.05 better than the analyst estimate of $0.44. Revenue for the quarter came in at $698 million versus the consensus estimate of $672.85 million.
2022 Outlook:
Commenting on the 2022 full year outlook, Mr. Grzebinski said, “We exited the quarter with continued momentum in our businesses. The marine market continues to gain strength and while our second quarter results were impacted by higher fuel costs in marine transportation, we expect to recover these costs during the second half of the year and into 2023. Refinery utilization is near historic highs, our barge utilization is strong in both inland and coastal, and rates are steadily increasing. In distribution and services, despite persistent supply chain constraints and delays, demand for our products and services continues to grow, and we continue to receive new orders in manufacturing. Overall, we see momentum continuing to build, and we expect our businesses to deliver improved financial results in the coming quarters. While all of this is encouraging, we are mindful of economic challenges related to a potential recession and higher interest rates. Labor constraints and inflationary pressures continue to contribute to rising costs across our businesses. In marine, we currently expect that cost escalators and rate recovery mechanisms in some term contracts will continue lagging these cost headwinds in the third quarter and will ultimately be realized later in the year and into 2023. With these factors in mind, we will continue to focus on managing costs and driving cash flow from operations. In the near-term, we intend to use this cash flow to reduce debt and further strengthen our balance sheet as well as opportunistically return capital to shareholders. Also, consistent with our balanced approach to capital allocation, we will continue to evaluate accretive acquisitions and high-return organic growth opportunities to drive continued long-term shareholder value creation.”
In inland marine, favorable conditions are expected to continue going forward, driven by high refinery and petrochemical plant utilization, increased volumes from new petrochemical plants, and minimal new barge construction across the industry. With Kirby’s barge utilization expected to be in the low to mid-90% range and limited new supply in the market, the Company expects further improvements in the spot market, which currently represents approximately 40% of inland revenues. Term contracts are also expected to continue to reset higher to reflect improved market conditions for the duration of the year. Overall, inland revenues are expected to grow by 20% to 25% on a full year basis with continued sequential increases as market conditions remain tight and term contracts renew higher. Material inflation to costs, including high fuel prices, are expected to be continued headwinds but will be mitigated when escalations in contracts occur during the back half of the year and into 2023. Barring further cost inflation and rising fuel costs, the Company expects near term operating margins to be in the low double digits and gradually improve during the second half of the year.
In coastal marine, Kirby expects modestly improved customer demand through the balance of the year with Company barge utilization in the low to mid-90% range. Rates are expected to continue slowly improving, but meaningful gains remain challenged by underutilized barge capacity across the industry. For the full year, with the impact of the Company’s exit from the Hawaii market, coastal revenues are expected flat to up in the low single digits compared to 2021. Revenues and operating margins are expected to be impacted by ongoing planned shipyard maintenance and ballast water treatment installations on certain vessels, with offsets from higher coal shipments. Coastal operating margins for the remainder of the year are expected to remain in the low single digits.
In distribution and services, favorable oilfield fundamentals and strong demand in commercial and industrial are expected to continue in the second half of 2022. In the oil and gas market, high commodity prices, increasing rig counts, and growing well completions activity are expected to yield strong demand for OEM products, parts, and services in the distribution business. In manufacturing, the Company expects demand for new environmentally friendly pressure pumping and e-frac power generation equipment to remain strong, with new orders and increased deliveries of new equipment during the second half of the year. However, ongoing supply chain issues and long lead times are expected to persist in the near-term, contributing to some volatility as deliveries of new products shift between quarters and into 2023. In commercial and industrial, strong markets are expected to yield full year revenue growth in the low double-digit percentage range, with increased activity in power generation, marine repair, and on-highway. In the third quarter, the Company expects to benefit from strong seasonal demand in Thermo King and from the power generation rental fleet. Overall, the Company expects segment revenues to grow 25% to 30% on a full year basis with operating margins in the mid to high-single digits.
Kirby expects 2022 capital spending of between $170 to $190 million. Approximately $5 million is associated with the construction of new inland towboats, and approximately $145 to $155 million is associated with marine maintenance capital and improvements to existing inland and coastal marine equipment and facility improvements. The balance of approximately $20 to $30 million largely relates to new machinery and equipment and facility improvements in distribution and services, as well as information technology projects in corporate. Overall, Kirby expects to generate net cash provided by operating activities of $390 million to $450 million, with free cash flow of $200 million to $280 million in 2022.