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L.B. Foster (FSTR) Q4 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates

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L.B. Foster Company (FSTR - Free Report) logged loss (as reported) from continuing operations of $4.09 per share for the fourth quarter of 2022, wider than a loss of 3 cents per share a year ago.

Barring one-time items, earnings were 3 cents per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of a penny per share.

The company recorded revenues of $137.2 million for the quarter, up around 21% year over year. It surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $128.1 million.

New orders were $137.8 million in the fourth quarter, up around 45% year over year.

 

L.B. Foster Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

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 10% year over year in the fourth quarter, driven by strength in the Rail Products business and the acquisition of Skratch Enterprises Ltd.

Sales from the Precast Concrete Products segment climbed roughly 81% year over year mainly due to the VanHooseCo Precast asset acquisition and increased demand in the legacy precast business.

Steel Products and Measurement segment’s sales rose around 4% year over year on higher sales in the Coatings and Measurement business, partly masked by declines in the Fabricated Steel Products business.

FY22 Results

Loss (as reported) from continuing operations for full-year 2022 was $4.25 per share, compared with earnings of 33 cents per share a year ago. Revenues dropped around 3% year over year to $497.5 million for the full year.

Financials

L.B. Foster ended 2022 with cash and cash equivalents of around $2.9 million, down around 72% year over year. Long-term debt was roughly $91.8 million, up roughly 195% year over year.

Net operating cash flow was $8.3 million for the reported quarter.

Outlook

The company noted that it is optimistic in the near and longer-term prospects for its core end markets of freight and transit rail and general infrastructure.

L.B. Foster sees sales for 2023 in the range of $540-$570 million, Adjusted EBITDA is forecast in the band of $27-$31 million for the year.

The company’s board also authorized the repurchase of up to $15 million of its common stock through Feb 2026.

Price Performance

L.B. Foster’s shares have declined 20% in the past year compared with industry’s 14.2% growth.

 

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

 

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

L.B. Foster carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks worth considering in the basic materials space include Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD - Free Report) , Olympic Steel, Inc. (ZEUS - Free Report) and Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) .

Steel Dynamics currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STLD's current-year earnings has been revised 20.1% upward in the past 60 days. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Steel Dynamics’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 11.3%, on average. STLD has rallied around 82% in a year.

Olympic Steel currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ZEUS's current-year earnings has been revised 60.6% upward in the past 60 days.

Olympic Steel’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 26.2%, on average. ZEUS has rallied around 78% in a year.

Nucor currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE’s current-year earnings has been revised 10.7% upward in the past 60 days.

Nucor beat Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.7% on average. NUE’s shares have gained roughly 32% in the past year.

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