Aggregate sales contribute to quarterly growth at Eagle Materials

Eagle Materials experienced a 10 percent revenue improvement in its heavy materials sector in the second quarter, with sales totaling $346.1 million.

Eagle Materials’ heavy materials sector includes aggregates, cement and concrete.

The company says operating earnings in the sector increased slightly to $68.1 million, primarily because of higher cement sales prices that were partially offset by a decrease in cement sales volume and the effects of the equipment downtime experienced by a joint venture.

Aggregate and concrete revenue increased 38 percent in the quarter to $61.6 million. Eagle Materials says the improvement is the result of higher pricing and the contribution of roughly $11 million from a recently acquired business in northern Colorado. In aggregates and concrete, first-quarter operating earnings jumped 7 percent to $5.7 million due to higher net sales prices.

“Our results this quarter exceeded our expectations, as our portfolio of businesses performed well, and we executed on the opportunities available to us,” says Michael Haack, president and CEO of Eagle Materials. “We achieved record revenue of $561 million and adjusted EPS (earnings per share) of $2.82, and we expanded gross margins by 30 bps (basis points) to 26.9 percent. Construction activity remained healthy across our markets, and we realized broad pricing gains across our portfolio again this quarter.”