Valmont Industries Declares 2020 and Q4 Earnings

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Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE: VMI), provider of engineered products and services for infrastructure development and irrigation equipment and services for agriculture, last week reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 26, 2020.

Valmont’s Engineered Support Structures Segment accounts for 32.1 percent of sales, which covers poles, towers and components for wireless communication markets, engineered access systems, integrated structure solutions for smart cities, and highway safety products. Wireless communication structures and components sales of $50.4 million were similar to last year’s record fourth-quarter sales. Higher volumes in Europe and favorable pricing in all regions were offset by slightly lower volumes in North American markets. 

In the Utility Support Structures Segment, making up for 33.9 percent of sales, sales of $271.0 million grew 16.9 percent year-over-year, led by higher volumes from strategic capacity additions in existing North American operations, and higher sales of global generation products. Volume increases were partially offset by the negative sales impact of lower steel costs when compared to last year. 

“We achieved strong sales and earnings growth this quarter as we remained highly focused on execution and pricing across the portfolio, despite an extraordinary macroeconomic environment,” said Valmont President/CEO Stephen Kaniewski.

“Sales growth was driven by strong demand in the Utility Support Structures segment, including significantly higher sales of renewable energy products. Performance in both the Engineered Support Structures and Coatings segments continued to improve,” Kaniewski said. “We recognized another quarter of solid operating cash flows, driven by our strategic priorities for working capital management. Significantly higher sales in the Utility Support Structures and Irrigation segments were partially offset by lower sales in the Engineered Support Structures and Coatings segments due to COVID-19 impacts; excluding $22.2 million of unfavorable currency impacts, sales grew 5.4 percent,” he said.

Capital expenditures were $107.0 million, including $42.0 million for strategic investments, which included capacity expansions in existing North American operations, a greenfield expansion in Pittsburgh, PA in the Coatings segment, and technology investments to support global market growth.

Valmont deployed $75.3 million of cash for strategic acquisitions, including $15.9 million inclusive of two acquisitions in the Irrigation segment: Solbras and PrecisionKing™, and $59.4 million for the remaining stakes in AgSense® and Torrent® Engineering and Equipment.

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