FreightCar America, Inc. Reports Quarterly Net Income Per Diluted Share of $0.73 on Sales of $162.1 Million
Tuesday October 30, 8:00 am ET
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FreightCar America, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAIL - News) today reported financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2007. For the third quarter of 2007, sales were $162.1 million and net income was $8.7 million, or $0.73 per diluted share. For the third quarter of 2006, the Company had sales of $395.8 million and net income of $36.8 million, or $2.88 per diluted share.
EBITDA was $12.9 million in the third quarter of 2007, compared with EBITDA of $57.5 million in the third quarter of 2006. The decline in net income and EBITDA continues to reflect lower volume and the impact of a more competitive pricing environment. EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. A reconciliation of the Company’s net income to EBITDA is set forth in the supplemental disclosure attached to this press release.
“As the North American railcar market has remained challenging, we are committed to our efforts to control costs while expanding the revenue base through diversification. The optimization of production at our low cost facilities and continued focus on cost control were pivotal to this quarter’s profitability. We continue to evaluate the manufacturing network for opportunities to achieve cost parity among our different facilities and lower the cost structure,” said Chris Ragot, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Orders for railcars totaled 1,262 units in the third quarter of 2007, down from 2,262 units ordered in the second quarter of 2007, compared with orders of 357 units for the same period in 2006. The backlog of unfilled orders was 4,930 units at September 30, 2007, compared with 5,589 units at June 30, 2007 and 12,176 units at September 30, 2006.”
”During the third quarter, we completed our $50 million share buy-back program. In addition, we restructured our revolving credit facility to, among other things, reduce cost and increase the borrowing availability under the facility to $100 million.”
Mr. Ragot further stated, “While the North American railcar market has contracted this year, we believe that the long-term fundamental trends in our industry remain strong. We continue to focus on growth opportunities through strategic initiatives, both internationally and domestically, to enhance shareholder value.”
For the nine months ended September 30, 2007, sales were $679.9 million and net income was $43.1 million, or $3.49 per diluted share. In comparison, for the nine months ended September 30, 2006, the Company had sales of $1,054.0 million and net income of $94.8 million, or $7.41 per diluted share.
The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) to discuss the Company's third quarter financial results. To participate in the conference call, please dial (800) 230-1093. Interested parties are asked to dial in approximately 10 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 Tuesday, October 30, 2007 until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on November 6, 2007. To access the replay, please dial (800) 475-6701. The replay pass code is 890142. 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.
Things at RAIL are not as bad as many analysts thought. It appears RAIL has profitably diversified their business beyond coal cars. And while the backlog has dropped, their are still orders to be filled. |
