Vulcan Materials' turnover increased by 8.1 per cent in 2014 to US$2994.2m and the EBITDA rose by 28.1 per cent to US$99.7m.
After a net interest charge 20.2 per cent higher at US$242.7m, there was pre-tax profit of US$298.8m compared with a US$3.7m loss in 2013 and at the net level there was a jump from a US$24.3m profit to US$204.9m. Capital expenditure, which had jumped from US$93.4m to US$275.4m in 2013, declined by 18.3 per cent in 2014 to US$224.9m and is forecast to be in the region of US$250m in 2015.
The turnover from aggregates increased by 15.9 per cent to US$2346.4m as aggregates shipments recovered and advanced by 11.3 per cent to 147.31Mt (162.38Mst). The freight-adjusted average price improved by 2.3 per cent to US$12.18/t. The final quarter registered volume growth in excess of 14 per cent in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Unfavourable weather conditions led to flat volumes in Georgia and a nine per cent reduction in California. The group is expecting volumes to increase by between around 11 per cent on average in most of its markets and prices are forecast to improve by around six per cent to give a 35 per cent increase in gross profit.
Turnover in concrete declined by 20.3 per cent to US$375.8m, reflecting the disposal of the ready-mixed concrete operations in Florida and southern Georgia to Cementos Argos during the first quarter of 2014, and ready-mixed concrete volumes came down by 22.2 per cent to 2.85Mm³, but the average price was 6.8 per cent higher at US$130.09/m³. The concrete operations generated a profit of US$2.2m compared with a US$24.8m loss in the previous year, helped by the increased rising housebuilding.
