Citing work delays, Mueller Co. reports 33% drop in profits

Springfield-based stainless steel manufacturer Paul Mueller Co. (OTC: MUEL) reported a roughly 33% drop in third-quarter profits, with company officials citing work delays during the three-month period.

The company's net income was $4.9 million, a drop from $7.3 million in the same quarter of 2024, according to a news release. Diluted share earnings dropped to $5.25 from $7.77 year over year.

"Most of our large projects are recorded using the over-time method of revenue recognition which recognizes revenue and profit based on either the cost or hours worked compared to the estimated total cost or hours to complete," Mueller Co. officials said in the release. "In the third quarter, we fell behind on two large pharmaceutical jobs as we encountered some challenging fabrication tasks. We pulled resources from other areas of the company and increased outside contract labor to get back on schedule. Although these projects are still profitable, this disruption in production in the third quarter caused us to change our opinion about the estimated cost of completing these two jobs.

"Since we use over-time revenue recognition, these adjustments in our estimate to completion had a negative effect on third-quarter earnings.”

Mueller Co.'s net sales during the third quarter dipped slightly to $61.4 million from $62.1 million a year earlier. As of Sept. 30, the company had $193 million in assets and a $250.4 million backlog.

The company's over-the-counter stock was trading at $465 as of 10:24 a.m., compared with a 52-week range of $168 to $575 per share.