FreightCar America, Inc. Reports Quarterly Net Income Per Diluted Share of $1.80 on Sales of $322.5 Million
Tuesday May 1, 2007 8:00 am ET
RAIL continues to post increased earnings. A new develop
ment is that RAIL is now manufacturing types of railcars
other than coal cars. So RAIL is diversifying its product
mix and doing it PROFITABLY. The investment community may
catch because of the light shined on the railroad industry by Berkshire Hathaway's
recent purchases of Burlington Northern and Union Pacific.
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ:RAIL - News) today reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2007. For the first quarter of 2007, sales were $322.5 million and net income was $23.0 million, or $1.80 per diluted share. For the first quarter of 2006, the Company had sales of $292.8 million and net income of $21.4 million, or $1.67 per diluted share.
The Company's financial performance reflects increased sales volume of railcar types other than coal-carrying railcars. For the first quarter of 2007, 22% of sales were for non-coal-carrying railcars, compared to sales in the first quarter of 2006, which did not include any non-coal-carrying railcars. EBITDA was $34.7 million in the first quarter of 2007, compared with EBITDA of $34.9 million in the first quarter of 2006. EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. A reconciliation of the Company's net income to EBITDA and information on the use of EBITDA as a non-GAAP financial measure is set forth in the supplemental disclosure attached to this press release.
"Profitability remained strong as we diversified our production mix to include more non-coal-carrying railcar types. Once again this quarter, we benefited from optimizing the production mix at low cost facilities. We will continue to focus on cost controls to drive profitability," said Chris Ragot, President and CEO.
"Orders for new railcars totaled 768 units in the first quarter of 2007, compared with 2,199 units ordered in the fourth quarter of 2006 and 1,031 units ordered in the first quarter of 2006. The backlog of unfilled orders was 6,006 units at March 31, 2007, compared with 9,315 units at December 31, 2006, and 17,794 units at March 31, 2006."
"During this time, our cost reduction activities have significantly increased, including our ongoing evaluation of manufacturing capacities. Our strategic initiative to enhance revenue growth through development of other railcar types is on schedule and we continue to explore other opportunities to enhance shareholder value."
During the first quarter of 2007, the Company repurchased 476,599 shares of common stock under its share repurchase program for an aggregate of $23.5 million.
The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday, May 1, 2007, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) to discuss the Company's first quarter financial results. To participate in the conference call, please dial (800) 230-1085. Interested parties are asked to dial in approximately 10 to 15 minutes prior to the start time of the call.
An audio replay of the conference call will be available beginning at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on May 1, 2007, until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on May 7, 2007. To access the replay, please dial (800) 475-6701. The replay pass code is 870826. An audio replay of the call will be available on the Company's website within two days following the earnings call.
FreightCar America, Inc. manufactures railroad freight cars, with particular expertise in coal-carrying railcars. In addition to coal cars, FreightCar America designs and builds bulk commodity cars, flat cars, mill gondola cars, intermodal cars, coil steel cars and motor vehicle carriers. It is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and has manufacturing facilities in Danville, Illinois, Roanoke, Virginia and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. More information about FreightCar America is available on its website at www.freightcaramerica.com.
This press release may contain statements relating to our expected financial performance and/or future business prospects, events and plans that are "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release. Our actual results may differ materially from the results described in, or anticipated by, our forward-looking statements due to certain risks and uncertainties. These potential risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the cyclical nature of our business; adverse economic and market conditions; fluctuating costs of raw materials, including steel and aluminum, and delays in the delivery of raw materials; our ability to maintain relationships with our suppliers of railcar components; our reliance upon a small number of customers that represent a large percentage of our sales; the variable purchase patterns of our customers and the timing of completion, delivery and acceptance of customer orders; the highly competitive nature of our industry; the risk of lack of acceptance of our new railcar offerings by our customers; and the additional risk factors described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We expressly disclaim any duty to provide updates to any forward-looking statements made in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about FreightCar America is available on its website at www.freightcaramerica.com. |
