Northwest Pipe Company announced that it has filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31st 2011. The company has also announced that it will broadcast its first quarter 2011 earnings conference call on May 12th 2011 PDT via live internet webcast.

Sales for the quarter ended March 31st 2011 increased by 38.7% to USD 111.5 million as compared to USD 80.4 million in the quarter ended March 31st 2010. Gross profit was USD 15.6 million in the first quarter of 2011, an increase of USD 6.5 million from USD 9.1 million in the same quarter of 2010. Net income for the first quarter of 2011 was USD 3.6 million as compared to USD 1.1 million for the same period in 2010.

Water Transmission sales increased by 11.3% to USD 58.6 million in the first quarter of 2011 from USD 52.7 million in 2010. The increase in sales was due to a 23% increase in selling prices, partially offset by a 10% decrease in volume. Water Transmission gross profit increased to USD 10.2 million in the first quarter of 2011 from USD 6.7 million in the same quarter of the prior year. Water Transmission sales and gross profit was favorably impacted by the mix of contracts produced during the quarter.

Tubular Products sales increased 90.7% to USD 52.8 million in the first quarter of 2011 from USD 27.7 million in the first quarter of 2010, driven by increases in tons sold and selling prices per tonne. The most significant increase in demand was for energy pipe resulting from increases in natural gas and oil drilling operations. This enabled us to utilize the additional capacity brought into production in Bossier City, Louisiana over the course of 2010. Tubular Products gross profit increased to USD 5.4 million in the first quarter of 2011 from USD 2.4 million in the same quarter of 2010. While gross profit increased with the increase in sales, it was tempered by higher steel costs as selling prices did not increase as rapidly as steel costs in the first quarter of 2011.

As of March 31st 2011, the backlog of orders was approximately USD 258 million, with the Water Transmission segment representing approximately USD 194 million and the Tubular Products segment representing approximately USD 64 million. The backlog includes confirmed orders, including the balance of projects in process, and projects for which the company has been notified that they have been the successful bidder even though a binding agreement has not been executed.