Bouncing back from asset write-downs in the second quarter, EMCOR Group Inc. reported net income of $133 million in 2020 on revenue of $8.8 billion, down from $325 million and $9.2 billion, respectively, in 2019.

But that much profit is good, the company stated, when the challenges of the pandemic are taken into account

"I don’t think any of us could have imagined this high level of performance when we started to understand the impact of COVID-19 on our operations in March 2020,” EMCOR chief executive Tony Guzzi said in a conference call with investors.

EMCOR’s operating income for all of 2020 was $257 million, or 2.9% of revenue, compared to $461 million, or 5% of revenues, for the 2019 full-year period.

But non-GAAP operating income for the 2020 full-year period was $489.6 million, or 5.6% of revenues, excluding the $232.8 million non-cash impairment charges recorded in the second quarter of 2020.

The Norwalk, Conn.-based public company (EME-NYSE) said it booked most of its loss based on the write-down of the value of its industrial-contracting assets. The contracting asset value took the hit because forecasts saw lower revenue and profits, and higher financing costs ahead.

Under generally accepted accounting principles, the non-cash “impairment” of assets must be recorded against operating income.

Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2020 totaled $2.28 billion, a decrease of 5.1% compared to $2.40 billion for the fourth quarter of 2019, the company reported.

Though many companies in the architecture, engineering and construction industry have seen work orders sag in the pandemic, EMCOR seems to have proven its resilience.

“We delivered these results because we have diversity in demand for our services,” Guzzi said. “These results are a testament to our skilled employees and our subsidiaries.”

Guzzi said in the face of the pandemic, the company innovated its processes, including greater use of BIM and prefabrication.

And noticing the dislocation from the pandemic wrought by lower demand in the downstream oil-and-gas sector, a key sector served by the company, EMCOR lowered costs while maintaining quality, Guzzi said.