In the fourth quarter of FY22, the Dallas, Texas-headquartered company's revenue increased by 20% YoY to another record of US$413.1m, with net earnings advancing by 13% to US$74.3m. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations also grew in the fourth quarter, up by 7% YoY to US$132.2m.
Analysing the results, Michael Haack, president and CEO of Eagle Materials, said: “During the fiscal year, we expanded gross margins by 270bps to 27.9%, reported record earnings per share of US$9.14, generated operating cash flow of US$517m and repurchased nearly 4m shares of our common stock for US$590m.”
In the Heavy Materials sector, which includes cement, concrete and aggregates, FY22 revenue saw a six per cent YoY increase to US$1.2bn, with higher cement net sales prices helping to increase annual operating earnings to US$278m, a YoY advance of 10%. Cement revenue alone expanded by 7% to US$1bn, with the average annual net cement sales price up 7% YoY at US$119.13/t. Cement sales volumes for the year were a record 7.5Mt, up 1% from the previous year. Fiscal 2022 revenue from concrete and aggregates saw an uptick of 5% YoY to US$177.1m on the back of higher sales prices and improved concrete volumes. Concrete and aggregates reported operating earnings of US$18.5m, down 3% YoY due to higher operating costs, primarily diesel prices.
The fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 saw cement revenue alone increase by 10% YoY to US$187.4m. Operating earnings rose to US$28.4m, an uptick of 23%, reflecting higher net sales prices and lower operating costs. Cement volumes for the quarter fell 2% YoY to 1.3Mt, while the average net cement sales price improved by 12% to US$126.71/t. Fourth-quarter concrete and aggregates revenue saw a 7% YoY increase to US$37.2m, supported by higher pricing and improved concrete sales volumes. However, lower aggregate sales volumes and increased operating costs led to a 56% decline in fourth-quarter operating earnings to US$1.5m.
“As we begin our new fiscal year, Eagle is well positioned, both financially and geographically, to capitalise on the underlying demand fundamentals that are expected to support steady and sustainable construction activity growth over the near- and long-term,” added Haack. “We expect that infrastructure investment should increase in the latter part of our fiscal year, as federal funding from the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act begins in earnest. And despite recent interest rate increases, housing demand remains strong across our geographies, outpacing the supply of homes. Non-residential construction activity is also picking up.”
