Florida Rock Industries, Inc today announced net income of $30,087,000 or $0.68 per diluted share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2005 versus $32,128,000 or $0.73 per diluted share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2004. The first quarter of fiscal year 2004 included real estate gains from the sale of the balance of the Company’s Naples, Florida closed quarry site which amounted to $8,273,000 of after tax gain or $.19 per diluted share.
Consolidated total sales for the quarter increased 11.3 per cent to $250,928,000 from $225,392,000 in the first quarter of fiscal year 2004. While revenues increased in all three segments, product sale volumes increased only in the concrete segment with cement and aggregate volumes declining year over year 1.9% and 3.5% respectively.
Higher volumes and improved pricing in the concrete segment improved operating profit margins from 9.4 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2004 to 13.6 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2005. In the cement segment, improved pricing increased operating profit margins from 21.2 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2004 to 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of fiscal year 2005.
Commenting on the quarter results, President and CEO John Baker stated: Once again in the first quarter of fiscal year 2005 we were blessed with very favorable weather along with still resilient residential construction and aggressive road building in our Florida market. We credit the excellent performance of our dedicated employees for enabling these results with their continuous improvement work ethic. For the near term, we remain optimistic about our markets. Residential construction is still the strongest driver and it remains vulnerable to any material increases in mortgage rates.
