Martin Marietta rides pricing gains to second-quarter records

By Kevin Yanik| July 31, 2023

Aggregate shipments dipped in the second quarter at Martin Marietta, but the nation’s No. 2 crushed stone producer nevertheless established quarterly records in revenue and profitability.

Pricing gains once again played a role in Martin Marietta’s performance, with the company increasing aggregate pricing 18.6 percent in the second quarter.

Martin Marietta’s second-quarter aggregate shipments dropped 5.7 percent, but the company’s gross profit tied to aggregates jumped 20.7 percent to a quarterly record of $370.9 million.

“Martin Marietta delivered exceptional performance across nearly every safety, financial and operational measure in the second quarter,” says Ward Nye, chairman and CEO of Martin Marietta, whose company ranks No. 3 in the nation in sand and gravel production. “These impressive results, despite lower aggregates shipments, demonstrate the success of our value-over-volume commercial strategy and the durability of our business model through various macroeconomic conditions.

“Our second-quarter results, together with our expectations for an even stronger next six months, underpin our revised full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $2.0 to $2.1 billion – a 28 percent increase at the midpoint as compared with the prior year,” Nye adds.

Companywide, Martin Marietta’s total revenues were up 10.9 percent in the second quarter to $1.82 billion. The company’s building materials business consisting of aggregates, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and paving generated $1.74 billion of that – a second-quarter record.

The company’s second-quarter gross profit was up 31.8 percent to $560 million.

“As record-setting public funds for infrastructure and manufacturing begin to enter the U.S. economy, we continue to expect that aggregates demand will accelerate in the second half of 2023,” Nye says. “This well-chronicled increased investment should largely offset the current residential construction air pocket, which we expect to bottom in the third quarter of 2023.

“This scenario, combined with continued commercial momentum and moderating cost inflation, should contribute to a record-setting year in 2023 and provide a solid foundation for an even brighter 2024 and beyond,” he adds.