Eagle Materials reports cement revenues up 3% in 1QFY22

Eagle Materials Inc's financial results for the first quarter of FY22, ended 30 June 2021 saw revenue in the Heavy Materials sector, which includes cement, concrete and aggregates, joint venture and intersegment cement revenue, reach US$315m, a three per cent YoY improvement. Heavy Materials operating earnings also increased three per cent to US$67.9m primarily because of improved cement sales prices.

Cement revenue, including Joint Venture and intersegment revenue, was up three per cent to US$270.3m. Operating earnings were also up three per cent to a record US$62.5m. These increases reflect improved cement quarterly sales prices, partially offset by lower cement sales volume. The average net cement sales price for the quarter was up seven [er cent to US$116.34 per tonne. Cement sales volume for the quarter was down two per cent to 2Mt, mainly because of heavy rainfall in Texas during the quarter.

Concrete and aggregates revenue increased two per cent to US$44.8m, reflecting improved concrete and aggregates prices, partially offset by lower aggregates sales volume. First quarter operating earnings decreased one per cent to US$5.3m, reflecting lower aggregates sales volume partially offset by improved concrete and aggregates net sales prices.

Revenue in the Light Materials sector, which includes gypsum wallboard and paperboard, increased 25 per cent to US$191.3m, reflecting higher wallboard sales volume and price.

Commenting on the first quarter results, Michael Haack, president and CEO, said, "Fiscal 2022 is off to a good start for Eagle. In the first quarter we achieved record revenue of US$47m and net earnings per diluted share of US$2.25. These results reflect strong market demand in both of our major business lines and exceptional operational execution by our team. Our wallboard business continues to benefit from robust residential construction activity across our markets, and our Cement business benefited from sustained high levels of infrastructure spending. Gross margin increased to 26.6 per cent, an improvement of 260 basis points over the prior year, in spite of heavy rainfall in our Texas markets, which resulted in lower Cement sales volume, and additional Cement maintenance costs this quarter compared with a year ago."

Mr Haack continued, “We expect underlying market conditions to remain strong as the US economy recovers, and we are well-positioned to continue to benefit from this growth.”