Greenbrier Cos. releases fiscal 4Q results

The Greenbrier Cos. Wednesday released results for the company’s fiscal fourth quarter ended August 31, with net earnings of $7.7 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $6.1 million, also 33 cents per diluted share, in the prior year’s fourth quarter.

Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Greenbrier said the fourth-quarter results include earnings of $11.9 million, net of tax, or 50 cents per diluted share, related to a special non-cash item for the release of the liability related to the 2008 deconsolidation of the Company’s former subsidiary, TrentonWorks. Net earnings for the prior year’s fourth quarter included tax benefits of $6.8 million, or 37 cents per diluted share.

Fourth-quarter revenue of $181.4 million was down from $230.4 million in the comparable 2009 quarter. For the full fiscal 2010 year, revenue was $764 million, compared with $1.018 billion in fiscal year 2009, which Greenbrier attributed to “lower manufacturing production levels and lower wheel sales volumes.”

The company ended the fiscal year with $99 million of cash and $105 million of committed additional borrowing capacity. Net debt was reduced by $2 million during the fourth quarter and $76 million during the year.

Greenbrier said new railcar deliveries in the fourth quarter of 700 units was down from the 900 units in the fourth quarter of 2009. Total new railcar deliveries were 2,500 units in fiscal year 2010, compared to 3,700 units in fiscal year 2009. The company’s new railcar manufacturing backlog as of August 31 was 5,300 unitswith an estimated value of $420 million. Subsequent to year end, additional orders for 3,200 units with an aggregate value of $200 million were received.

President and CEO William A. Furman said, “In our fiscal 2010, economic forces continued to impede profit and EBITDA goals. However, we achieved all four of our other key objectives identified at the beginning of the year.

“First, we arrived at a satisfactory conclusion regarding the GE new railcar contract modification in the first quarter,” Furman said. “Second, we improved the operational efficiency of our facilities, while maintaining the flexibility to respond to market demand. One example of this flexibility occurred in the fourth quarter when we seamlessly shifted 175 workers from marine barge construction to new railcar production in support of new railcar orders and to address softness in the marine market. Third, we produced positive operating cash flow, reduced net debt by $76 million, and strengthened our balance sheet. Finally, our fourth objective was to further leverage our integrated business model. The competitive advantages of this model were successfully demonstrated with receipt of recent new railcar and railcar refurbishment orders which utilized our strengths in engineering and leasing to quickly take down transactions.

“The outlook for our new railcar manufacturing operations in North America continues to improve significantly,” Furman said. “We now have five production lines dedicated to new railcar manufacturing, compared to two lines less than six months ago. We are well-positioned for the upturn, as rail traffic continues to improve and the economy continues to recover. In the very near term, we anticipate that reduced demand for wheel services and marine vessels will limit earnings.”