Business
L.B. Foster Company Reports Tempered Second Quarter Results after Strong First Quarter; Updates 2024 Financial Guidance and Stock Repurchase Program; Continues Enterprise Restructuring Aligned with Growth Strategy
Second quarter net sales of $140.8 million down 4.9% year over year (organic1 down 3.4%); net sales up 13.3% sequentially over the first quarter.Gross profit
About this update from L.b. Foster Company
[{"type":"text","content":" Second quarter net sales of $140.8 million down 4.9% year over year (organic1 down 3.4%); net sales up 13.3% sequentially over the first quarter.Gross profit of $30.5 million down 5.4% year over year; gross margins were flat at 21.7%.Second quarter net income of $2.8 million down $0.7 million, or 19.4%, from the prior year; second quarter adjusted EBITDA1 of $8.1 million down $2.5 million, or 23.8%, from the prior year.Net debt1 of $83.2 million down $2.5 million from the prior year quarter end and Gross Leverage Ratio1 of 2.7x up 0.2x over last year's comparable quarter end. Second quarter new orders1 were $171.0 million, down $12.7 million from last year, but up sequentially $38.6 million, or 29.2%. The trailing twelve month book-to-bill ratio1 was 0.93 : 1.00.Backlog1 was $249.8 million, down $40.3 million from last year's record high (including $6.9 million from divestitures and product line exits); backlog increased sequentially $27.5 million, or 12.4%.The Company continued an enterprise restructuring program aligned with its long-term strategy to reduce costs and enable investment in its growth platforms. The recently-announced restructuring action is expected to be completed in second half of 2024 and, along with net enterprise attrition, is expected to impact approximately 40 salaried employees, or 7%, of salaried workforce. Annual run rate savings are expected to be $4.5 million, with $2.0 million expected in 2024. Charges associated with the restructuring are expected to be approximately $1.5 million in the 2024 second half.Full year 2024 financial guidance adjusted to reflect uncertain market conditions as well as the timing of larger orders that are expected to impact working capital needs in the business. Net sales now expected to range from $525.0 million to $550.0 million; adjusted EBITDA expected to range from $34.0 million to $37.0 million; free cash flow1 expected to be breakeven with capital spending at 2.5% of sales Revised adjusted EBITDA guidance at the mid-point represents approximately 12% growth year over year, down from approximately 15% per previous guidance. The updated guidance reflects the expected favorable impact of the announced restructuring program, with restructuring charges to be excluded from adjusted EBITDA.The Company announced that its Board of Directors approved a modification to the pr...