Vulcan releases fourth-quarter performance results

Vulcan Materials Co. released the company’s performance results for the fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2016.

According to Vulcan, total revenues increased $16 million, or 2 percent, to $873 million, and gross profit decreased $14 million, or 6 percent, to $240 million. Aggregate segment sales increased $4 million, or 1 percent, to $552 million, and aggregate shipments decreased 3.5 percent, or 1.6 million tons, to 43.1 tons.

In addition, Vulcan reported a net income of $112.6 million – results that did not meet Wall Street expectations. The company’s earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains and to account for discontinued operations, came to 69 cents per share, while the average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 83 cents per share.

The quarter-over-quarter decline in aggregate shipments was the result of a ramp-down to the construction season relative to 2015’s strong shipment rates through late December and continued volume weakness in California, Illinois and coastal Texas, Vulcan says. For the quarter, freight-adjusted average sales price for aggregate increased 5 percent, or 60 cents per ton, compared to the same period in 2015. In addition, overall pricing increased 7 percent.

Despite some challenges, aggregate shipments in 2016 rose 2 percent over 2015. According to the company, for 2016, shipments in its other markets grew 10 percent on average.

“Vulcan’s operating momentum remains strong,” says Tom Hill, CEO and chairman of Vulcan. “While our fourth-quarter results reflect a mid-December ramp-down of the construction season in many of our markets, which was earlier than in 2015, our solid full-year results and outlook for 2017 demonstrate a continuation of longer-term trends in volume recovery, price increases and margin expansion.”