Knife River Corp. reported elevated first-quarter revenue along with a higher seasonal loss, but president and CEO Brian Gray remains encouraged by the outlook for the company.
Quarterly revenue was up 7 percent to $353.5 million at Knife River. The company’s net loss in the quarter was $68.7 million – a mark that’s 44 percent higher than the prior-year period.
Gray says the company’s seasonal loss in the first quarter was in line with expectations.
“Knife River remains on track to have our most profitable year in history – including record revenue, net income and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization),” Gray says. “We made substantial investments in the first quarter to prepare for a successful 2025. That includes closing on the acquisition of Strata Corp., which we expect will positively impact our financial results starting in the second quarter.”
According to Knife River, a $14.6 million increase to its contracting services revenues – along with price increases on asphalt, aggregates and ready-mixed concrete – drove its 7 percent revenue increase.
The company’s gross profit in aggregates decreased year over year, though, due to pre-production activities and site improvements.
“We continued to invest in our ‘Competitive EDGE’ strategy,” Gray says. “Our process improvement teams helped us optimize prices during the quarter while also preparing our materials operations for the busy year ahead. We identified and implemented plant improvement opportunities we expect will increase operating margins this year.”
Gray says Knife River’s business fundamentals remain strong. The company anticipates record financial results in 2025.
“In the current economic environment, our business has been relatively insulated from any direct impact from tariffs,” he says. “It is unclear at this time how economic uncertainties will affect downstream private work, as project owners evaluate interest rates and trade policy.
“However, Knife River has a resilient business model, with the ability to flex between public and private work, along with a proven record of successfully navigating through business cycles. Our outlook for the year does not include any significant impacts related to uncertainty in the private market, and we expect to have more clarity when we report our second-quarter results.”
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