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L.B. Foster Company Ends 2024 with Continuing Profitability Growth and Strong Cash Flow; Approves New, 3-Year $40 million Stock Repurchase Plan
FSTRL.B. Foster pany(FSTR) Newsfilter·2025-03-04 13:00

Core Insights - L.B. Foster Company reported strong cash generation and improved profitability in Q4 2024, with rail segment sales up 14.2% and gross margins increasing by 300 basis points to 22.2% [2][4][9] - The infrastructure segment faced challenges, with sales down 25.2% and gross margins decreasing by 90 basis points to 22.6% due to lower pipeline coating volumes [2][4][13] - The company achieved a net loss of 0.3millioninQ42024,animprovementfromalossof0.3 million in Q4 2024, an improvement from a loss of 0.5 million in the prior year [4][26] - Free cash flow was stronger than expected, allowing for debt reduction and an increase in share repurchases, totaling 300,302 shares or approximately 3% of outstanding shares [2][4][5] Financial Performance - Q4 2024 net sales were 128.2million,adecreaseof5.0128.2 million, a decrease of 5.0% from the prior year, while full-year 2024 net sales totaled 530.8 million, down 2.4% [4][12] - Gross profit for Q4 2024 was 28.6million,flatcomparedtotheprioryear,withagrossprofitmarginof22.328.6 million, flat compared to the prior year, with a gross profit margin of 22.3%, reflecting a 100 basis point improvement [4][6] - Selling and administrative expenses decreased by 10.4% in Q4 2024, contributing to improved operating income of 3.1 million [4][6][14] Segment Analysis - Rail, Technologies, and Services segment saw net sales of 79.2millioninQ42024,up14.279.2 million in Q4 2024, up 14.2% year-over-year, with gross profit increasing by 31.7% [7][9] - Infrastructure Solutions segment reported net sales of 49.0 million in Q4 2024, down 25.2% from the previous year, with a significant decline in gross profit [10][13] - New orders for the Rail segment decreased by 8.5%, while the Infrastructure segment saw a 14.9% increase in new orders [7][10] Guidance and Strategic Outlook - The company provided 2025 financial guidance, expecting net sales between 540millionand540 million and 580 million and adjusted EBITDA between 42millionand42 million and 48 million [3][4] - The guidance reflects a projected 34% growth in adjusted EBITDA driven by 5.5% organic sales growth, supported by federal infrastructure investment [2][3] - A new three-year $40 million share repurchase program was authorized, indicating confidence in future performance [5][4]