Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE: VMI), a provider of engineered products and services for infrastructure development and irrigation equipment and services for agriculture, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 28, 2019.
Fourth Quarter 2019 Highlights:
- Net Sales of $683.6 million, a decline of 2.0 percent; lower sales in international markets, particularly in Access Systems and international irrigation, were mostly offset by improvement across North American markets, led by Utility Support Structures
- Operating income of $55.0 million or 8.1 percent of sales, compared to $36.3 million or 5.2 percent of sales ($66.1 million adjusted or 9.5 percent of sales) largely due to a $7.5 million operating loss in Access Systems given the extremely weak Australia construction market, and lower international irrigation sales
- Diluted Earnings per Share of $1.66 compared to $0.80 ($1.87 adjusted)
- Finalized an agreement to acquire the remaining 49 percent stake of AgSense® in the Irrigation segment, which is expected to close in first quarter 2020
- Commenced operations at the new European Center of Excellence steel structures facility in Poland, strengthening the Company’s commitment to serve global markets and customers with strategic capital deployment
Full Year 2019 Highlights (all metrics compared to full year 2018 unless otherwise noted):
- Net sales were flat at $2.8 billion
- Value-based pricing strategies, sales from recent acquisitions across all segments, and record sales of wireless communication structures and components, were offset by lower Utility Support Structures sales volumes due to changes in product mix and less available production capacity, and lower international irrigation project sales
- Operating income was $237.7 million or 8.6 percent of sales, compared to $202.3 million or 7.3 percent of sales ($269.4 million adjusted or 9.8 percent of sales)
- Profitability was impacted by lower international irrigation project sales, poor performance in Access Systems for the second half of the year, and the impact of one-time events previously highlighted in 2019
- Diluted Earnings per Share of $7.06 compared to $4.20 ($7.59 adjusted)
- Operating cash flow doubled to $307.6 million, the highest level since 2013
- Capital expenditures were $97.4 million, including $33.0 million for strategic plant expansions and investments in Poland, United Arab Emirates and the U.S. to support global market growth
- Deployed $81.8 million of cash for three strategic acquisitions, Larson Camouflage, United Galvanizing, and Connect-It Wireless, and the final purchase payment for Convert Italia, SpA; 2019 ending cash was $353.5 million
- Returned $95.5 million of capital to shareholders through share repurchases of $62.9 million and dividends of $32.6 million
Reader Interactions