L.B. Foster (FSTR) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
L.B. Foster Company FSTR logged second-quarter 2023 earnings of 32 cents per share compared with the year-ago quarter's earnings of 18 cents. Earnings per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents.
The company recorded revenues of $148 million for the quarter, up around 12.5% year over year. Revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $140.7 million.
New orders were $183.7 million in the second quarter, up around 30% year over year.
L.B. Foster Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
L.B. Foster Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | L.B. Foster Company Quote
Segment Highlights
Sales from the Rail, Technologies, and Services segment rose around 12% year over year in the second quarter to $91.6 million.Organic sales increased 17% and acquisitions contributed 0.8%. However, divestitures resulted in a 5.8% decrease. Strong performance in Rail Products and Global Friction Management boosted organic sales but U.K. Technology Services and Solutions saw a decline.
Precast Concrete Products Segment sales were $33.9 million, up 43.4% year over year. Organic growth was 12.8%. The acquisition of VanHooseCo Precast, LLC contributed 30.6%.
Net sales from the Steel Products and Measurement Segment for the second quarter were $22.6 million, down 13.6% year over year. Organic growth was 2.4%, offset by a 16% decrease due to divestitures. Protective Coatings drove organic growth, while Fabricated Steel Products declined.
Financials
L.B. Foster ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of around $3.9 million, down around 49.4% year over year. Long-term debt was roughly $89.4 million, up roughly 81.6% year over year.
Cash used by operating activities was $10.3 million for the reported quarter.
Outlook
Due to enhanced profitability in year-to-date performance, FSTR revised its 2023 financial outlook. Adjusted EBITDA is now projected to range from $28 million to $32 million, up from the prior guidance of $27 million to $31 million. Despite divestiture effects, strong order rates and a record backlog kept the 2023 net sales guidance unchanged at $520 million to $550 million.
Price Performance
L.B. Foster’s shares have gained 7% in the past year compared with the industry’s 31.5% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
L.B. Foster currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS and PPG Industries, Inc. PPG, both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and TimkenSteel Corporation TMST, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS’s current-year earnings is pegged at $3.43, indicating year-over-year growth of 200.9%. CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 10%. The company’s shares have rallied 57.8% in the past year.
The consensus estimate for PPG’s current-year earnings has been revised 3.5% upward in the past 60 days. PPG beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.3% on average. The company’s shares have risen roughly 4.6% in the past year.
The consensus estimate for TimkenSteel's current-year earnings has been revised 2.3% upward over the past 60 days. TimkenSteel’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 18.8%, on average. TMST shares have risen around 25.3% in a year.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
L.B. Foster Company (FSTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Timken Steel Corporation (TMST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
