休斯顿公路建筑公司的Sterling Construction Co.的高管可能会密切关注华盛顿的运输资金辩论，因为他们推动新工作恢复挣扎的资产负债表。

Investors and analysts of the publicly held contractor hope so, too, after a series of disappointing quarters fueled by project writedowns and what observers say were management missteps.

最新的公司声明提供了一些关于斯特林为扭转幻灯片的努力的瞥见，但直到3月17日，它才会详细报告其最新结果和未来指导。

In a Feb. 25 article posted on stock-tracking online site Seeking Alpha, investor Igor Novgorodtsev, a Lares Capital LLC hedge fund manager, notes that while Sterling (STRL:NASDAQ) has had a "poor track record of the management overpromising and underdelivering as well as conveniently blaming its predecessors, the payoff, if the management finally keeps its promises, could be tremendous."

The firm ranks at No. 92 on ENR's list of the Top 400 Contractors, based on reported 2013 revenue of $630.5 million, with 98% in transportation work.

2月4日发布的Sterling的早期指导表明，这一消息将是混杂的。它指出的是改进的预订，包括美元金额和毛利率，2013年积压为6亿美元。

But the firm expects a loss of up to $38 million for its fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31,

MacKenna

and up to $70 million for the year, noting continuing problems on three Texas highway projects whose "financial impact did not become entirely clear until late in the fourth quarter," said CEO Peter MacKenna, who adds that the results "represent the final resolution of a difficult period for our Texas operations."

The firm has not disclosed project names or details, but online commenters to Novgorodtsev's article speculate they involve work on the Chisholm Trail Parkway and Manor Expressway, all booked in 2010 and 2011.

According to one commenter—likely an investor—those jobs and several others, were booked without "adequate controls in place for reviewing bid estimates on large projects." The commenter raises concern about potential writedowns on 2012-booked projects that could limit the firm's bonding potential.

Saagar Parikh, an E&C analyst for KeyBanc Capital Markets, said on Feb. 4 he expected Sterling to be "susceptible to cost volatility due to the risk within its backlog," but was "surprised by the magnitude" of the results revision.

Parikh had anticipated a $1.2-million profit.

Sterling was profitable until the recession, said Novgorodtsev, and had "remarkably stable gross profit margin around 10% until 2011."

It then faced stalled state spending and bidding against new kinds of competitors at "rock-bottom prices," he said.

他说，该公司没有退缩以保护其利润，而是继续“收购狂潮”，并继续进行积极的竞标。

MacKenna, a former executive vice president of Skanska USA Civil who was recruited to Sterling in 2012, believes the firm has turned the corner.

In the Feb. 4 statement, he said completion of the troubled projects, improved bookings, resolution of a financial covenant breach and management changes "should translate into a significantly improved financial performance in 2014."

MacKenna has hired a bevy of seasoned executives, from Skanska and other industry firms. They include Peter Holland, formerly a top exec at contractors Satterfield & Pontikes and Parsons, to run its beleaguered Texas unit.

英镑也增加了三个新的独立的可怕ctors, including Paul J. Varello, founder and chairman of Commonwealth Engineering & Construction, which specializes in oil-and-gas and energy sectors, and earlier, Charles Patton, president and chief operating officer of Appalachian Power Co., a unit of utility AEP.

该公司报告说，最近在内华达州和洛杉矶国际机场赢得了项目的胜利，一位观察家表示，它正在关注更大的项目。新利18备用网址

That could include potential in the growing Texas P3 transportation market and work flowing from the $2-billion state bond passed in 2012 for water and wastewater treatment projects.

Keybanc的Parikh说：“我们对美国运输基础设施空间的积极前景有所不同，看到竞标活动的水平增加，价格稳定和奖励活动的初始迹象开始发生。”“最终市场已开始体验国家预算盈余的好处，MAP21支出的流通以及持续的用户费用和特殊税收计划。”