Northwest Pipe Reports 2010 Results and Announces 2010 Conference Call

VANCOUVER, WA--(Marketwire - March 22, 2011) - Northwest Pipe Company (NASDAQ: NWPX) today announced that it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010. The Company also announced that it will broadcast its 2010 earnings conference call on Tuesday, March 22, 2011, at 10:00 am PDT via live internet webcast.

Full Year 2010 Results

Sales for the year ended December 31, 2010 were $386.8 million compared to $278.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. Net loss for 2010 was $1.4 million or $0.15 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $7.3 million or $0.79 per diluted share for 2009.

Water Transmission sales increased to $221.3 million in 2010 from $210.4 million in 2009 reflecting increased sales volume partially offset by a decrease in selling prices. Water Transmission gross profit increased to $20.7 million in 2010 from $16.1 million in 2009 due to increased volume which lowered unit costs as compared to 2009.

Tubular Products sales increased to $165.5 million in 2010 from $68.3 million in 2009, reflecting a significant increase in sales volume partially offset by a small decline in selling prices. Tubular Products gross profit increased to $12.3 million in 2010 from a loss of $4.4 million in 2009, as a significant increase in volume, particularly for our energy products, improved the recovery of fixed costs resulting in improved gross margin.

As of December 31, 2010 the Company's backlog of orders was $258 million compared to $222 million as of December 31, 2009.

Outlook

"We expect Water Transmission sales to remain stable in 2011 as compared to 2010," said Richard Roman, president and chief executive officer of the Company. "We expect Tubular Products sales in 2011 will be significantly stronger than 2010 primarily due to the additional capacity brought into production in Bossier City over the course of 2010."

Conference Call

The Company will broadcast its 2010 earnings conference call on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 10 am PDT via live internet webcast. The conference broadcast can be accessed at the Investor Relations section of the Company's website located at http://www.nwpipe.com. For those unable to attend the live broadcast, a replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of the website or by dialing 800-839-1117 passcode 6301 approximately one hour after the event and will remain available for 30 days.

About Northwest Pipe Company

Northwest Pipe Company manufactures welded steel pipe and other products in two business groups. Its Water Transmission Group is the leading supplier of large diameter, high-pressure steel pipe products that are used primarily for water infrastructure in North America. Its Tubular Products Group manufactures smaller diameter steel pipe for a wide range of products including energy, construction, agriculture, industrial and traffic signpost systems. The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington and has ten manufacturing facilities across the United States and Mexico.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release by Richard A. Roman are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our business, management's beliefs, and assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of important factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, those that could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by us include changes in demand and market prices for our products, product mix, bidding activity, the timing of customer orders and deliveries, production schedules, the price and availability of raw materials, excess or shortage of production capacity, international trade policy and regulations and other risks discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010 and from time to time in our other Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release. If we do update or correct one or more forward-looking statements, investors and others should not conclude that we will make additional updates or corrections with respect thereto or with respect to other forward-looking statements.

                          NORTHWEST PIPE COMPANY
              CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited)
    (Dollar and share amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)


                                                      --------------------
                                                           Year Ended
                                                          December 31,
                                                      --------------------
                                                        2010       2009
                                                      ---------  ---------

Net sales:
  Water transmission                                  $ 221,251  $ 210,396
  Tubular products                                      165,499     68,258
                                                      ---------  ---------
    Net sales                                           386,750    278,654

Cost of sales:
  Water transmission                                    200,576    194,287
  Tubular products                                      153,176     72,681
                                                      ---------  ---------
    Total cost of sales                                 353,752    266,968

Gross profit:
  Water transmission                                     20,675     16,109
  Tubular products                                       12,323     (4,423)
                                                      ---------  ---------
    Gross profit                                         32,998     11,686

Selling, general, and administrative expense             27,994     20,095
                                                      ---------  ---------

Operating income/(loss)                                   5,004     (8,409)

Other income                                               (413)    (1,905)
Interest income                                            (943)      (754)
Interest expense                                          7,934      5,057
                                                      ---------  ---------

Loss before income taxes                                 (1,574)   (10,807)

Provision for income taxes                                 (140)    (3,530)
                                                      ---------  ---------

Net loss                                              $  (1,434) $  (7,277)
                                                      =========  =========

Basic loss per share                                  $   (0.15) $   (0.79)
                                                      =========  =========

Diluted loss per share                                $   (0.15) $   (0.79)
                                                      =========  =========

Shares used in per share calculation:
  Basic                                                   9,278      9,235
                                                      =========  =========
  Diluted                                                 9,278      9,235
                                                      =========  =========




                          NORTHWEST PIPE COMPANY
        CONDENSED SELECTED BALANCE SHEET AND OTHER DATA (Unaudited)
                      (Dollar amounts in thousands)


                                                  December 31, December 31,
                                                      2010         2009
                                                  ------------ ------------
Assets:
  Cash and cash equivalents                       $         51 $         31
  Trade and other receivables, net                      66,474       38,733
  Costs and estimated earnings in excess of
   billings on uncompleted contracts                    45,533       37,509
  Inventories                                           80,887       74,866
  Other current assets                                  23,755       28,666
                                                  ------------ ------------
    Total current assets                               216,700      179,805
  Property and equipment, net                          171,766      163,432
  Other assets                                          46,739       48,000
                                                  ------------ ------------
    Total assets                                  $    435,205 $    391,237
                                                  ============ ============

Liabilities:
  Current portion of long-term debt               $      6,801 $      6,122
  Accounts payable                                      28,463       30,039
  Accrued liabilities                                   11,448       11,630
  Billings in excess of cost and estimated
   earnings on uncompleted contracts                    14,808        9,670
                                                  ------------ ------------
    Total current liabilities                           61,520       57,461
  Note payable to financial institution                 68,000       19,403
  Long-term debt, less current portion                  25,517       32,319
  Other liabilities                                     34,522       35,755
                                                  ------------ ------------
    Total liabilities                                  189,559      144,938

Stockholders' equity                                   245,646      246,299
                                                  ------------ ------------
    Total liabilities and stockholders' equity    $    435,205 $    391,237
                                                  ============ ============

Contact Information: CONTACT: Robin Gantt Chief Financial Officer 360-397-6250