Vulcan Materials Q4 Earnings Surges

(RTTNews) - Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) Thursday announced a surge in fourth quarter net earnings to $88.89 million from $38.02 million a year ago. On a per share basis, earnings surged to $0.67 from $0.29 a year ago.

On average, 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.61 per share. Analysts estimates usually exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter climbed 14 percent to $857.29 million from $755.03 million last year. Wall Street expects $878.88 million.

Tom Hill, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "...Full year 2015 aggregates volume increased 7 percent on a same-store basis in 2015, and we expect a similar level of volume growth in 2016. The pricing environment remains strong as customers see improved backlogs and construction materials suppliers increasingly focus on earning adequate returns on capital deployed. Aggregates pricing increased 7 percent in 2015, and we expect similar growth in 2016... Looking forward, we currently expect 2016 Adjusted EBITDA of between $1.0 and $1.1 billion."

The company looks ahead to 25 percent growth in gross profit and 7 percent increase in aggregate shipments to around 191 million tons in 2016. Analysts expect the company to record earnings of $3.31 per share on revenue of $3.94 billion.