Vulcan Materials (VMC) Q3 Earnings Miss, Revenues Beat

Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) VMC reported third-quarter 2021 results, with earnings lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues beating the same. While the top line increased, the bottom line declined on a year-over-year basis, primarily due to energy inflation and disruptive weather witnessed during the reported quarter.

Shares of the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates edged up 2% in the pre-market trading session following third-quarter results.

Chairman and CEO Tom Hill said, "Our aggregates-focused business is built for times like these. We expanded our industry-leading trailing-twelve month unit profitability for the thirteenth consecutive quarter despite a challenging operating environment caused by inflationary pressures and labor constraints. This consistent growth in the underlying business is driven by our execution on Vulcan's four strategic disciplines and is further enhanced by strategic growth through acquisitions and greenfield investments. Since completing the USCR acquisition in late August, our teams are making good progress integrating the businesses across the expanded footprint and are identifying additional opportunities to accelerate our growth and create value for shareholders."

Inside the Headlines

Adjusted earnings of $1.54 per share missed the consensus mark of $1.65 by 6.7%. The company’s bottom line slid 1.3% from the year-ago level.

Total revenues of $1,516.5 million beat the consensus mark of $1,457 million by 4.1% and increased 15.8% year over year.

Vulcan Materials Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Vulcan Materials Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Vulcan Materials Company Quote

Segments in Detail

Aggregates

Revenues from the segment increased 11.8% year over year to $1,172.4 million owing to higher demand across all end-market segments. Aggregate shipments (volumes) were up 8% year over year. Strong demand and a positive pricing environment across the globe supported growth.

For the quarter, freight-adjusted average sales price inched up 3.1% (3.5% on a mix-adjusted basis) from the prior-year level. Freight-adjusted revenues also rose 11.2% from the prior-year quarter to $898 million.

Gross profit of $372 million was up 10% year over year, backed by strong volume and price as well as effective cost-control measures.

Asphalt, Concrete and Calcium

Revenues from the Asphalt segment were $220.7 million, down 6.2% year over year. The segment generated gross profit of $7.1 million, reflecting a decline from $30.2 million a year ago. This was mainly due to the impact of higher energy costs and wet weather conditions that impacted volumes. Asphalt volumes contracted 8% as volume growth in California was offset by lower volumes in Arizona.

Total revenues from the Concrete segment were $219.2 million, up 113.2% year over year. Further, gross profit totaled $14.3 million, up 17.6% year over year. Shipments declined 7% year over year due to fewer large projects during the quarter. Nonetheless, average selling prices increased 2% from the prior-year level.

Total revenues from the Calcium segment were up 8.9% from the prior-year figure to $1.5 million. The segment reported a gross profit of $0.339 million, up from $0.233 million in the prior-year level.

Operating Highlights

Selling, Administrative and General or SAG expenses — as a percentage of total revenues — rose 40 bps to 6.8%. The increase was mainly due to higher overhead expenses related to the USCR business. Also, increased routine business development activities and travel expenses led to the increase.

Adjusted EBITDA was up 4% year over year to $418 million.

Financials

As of Sep 30, 2021, cash and cash equivalents were $135.7 million, down from $1,197.1 million at 2020-end. Long-term debt was $3,874.1 million at September-end, up from $2,772.2 million at 2020-end.

2021 View

For 2021, the company now anticipates adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1.430-$1.460 billion versus $1.380-$1.460 billion expected earlier. This upwardly revised view takes into account the earnings contribution from U.S. Concrete and the recent trends in demand, price as well as cost inflation.

Zacks Rank

Vulcan Materials currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Construction Stocks to Bet on

Some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Construction sector include Tri Pointe (NYSE:TPH) Homes Inc. TPH, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc (NYSE:J). J and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) Inc. TOL. While Tri Pointe sports a Zacks Rank #1, the other two stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Earnings for Tri Pointe, Jacobs, and Toll Brothers are expected to grow 80.2%, 13.9%, and 80%, respectively, for the current year.

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