L.B. Foster reports Q2 EPS 32c vs. 18c last year

Reports Q2 revenue $148M vs. $131.5M last year. John Kasel, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Our second quarter results reflect the continuing favorable impact of our strategic transformation. Net sales growth was a robust 12.6% and we saw strong gains in Precast Concrete and Rail, Technologies, and Services. All segments generated organic sales growth in the quarter. Momentum in our segments generated by our business portfolio actions and profitability initiatives drove gross margins up 410 bps year over year to 21.8%, which translated into a 72.9% increase in adjusted EBITDA, with the adjusted EBITDA margin of 7.2% representing the highest quarterly result achieved since the second quarter of 2020. We’re pleased to see the expected benefits of our strategy execution coming through in the results. As previously announced, we completed the sale of our Ties business at the end of the second quarter. Cash proceeds received at closing were $2.4 million and were used to pay down our revolving credit facility. Net debt at quarter end was $85.6 million, in line with our expectations as we funded working capital to support strong sales and order book growth. We also initiated our first actions under the Board-approved share buyback program, repurchasing approximately 0.5% of the outstanding shares during the quarter. We’re focused on our objective of executing a balanced approach to capital allocation while managing our leverage.” Mr. Kasel concluded, “We can confidently report that the expected tailwinds from the numerous government infrastructure investment programs have begun to translate into increasing orders and backlog in the majority of our businesses. Despite some isolated weakness in the U.K. market, the consolidated book-to-bill ratio for the quarter was 1.24:1.00, with all segments expanding their order books in the quarter. With our record $290.1 million backlog and the prospects for a multi-year infrastructure super cycle in front of us, we remain optimistic in our outlook for 2023 and beyond. Against this backdrop, we’re raising our profitability outlook for 2023 and maintaining our sales guidance despite the sale of the Ties business. We look forward to reporting our continuing progress in the coming quarters.”