Greenbrier revenues drop 19% in FY2017

The Lake Oswego, Ore.-based railroad transportation equipment manufacturer’s revenues for its fiscal fourth quarter, ending Aug. 31, 2017, increased 39 percent from the previous quarter while fiscal year revenues dipped 19 percent from the year prior.    Lake Oswego, Ore.-based railroad transportation equipment manufacturer the Greenbrier Cos. reported attributable net earnings of $23.7 million for its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Aug. 31, 2017, and net earnings of $116.1 million for the full fiscal year – a 36 percent drop compared to 2016, according to the company’s latest financial statements.
   During the fourth quarter, Greenbrier posted revenues of $611.4 million, an increase of 39 percent from third quarter revenues due to delivery increases, the company said.
   Greenbrier’s new railcar deliveries totaled 5,500 units for the quarter while diversified orders of 2,500 railcars were received and valued at $200 million. In September, orders for another 1,400 units were received, valued at $120 million, said Greenbrier. New railcar backlog as of Aug. 31, 2017 stood at 28,600 units with an estimated value of $2.8 billion.
   For the full fiscal year, Greenbier reported revenues of $2.17 billion, down 19 percent from the $2.68 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2016. New railcar deliveries for 2017 totaled 16,000 units and orders exceeded 16,500 valued at over $1.5 billion across a broad range of railcar types, said Greenbrier. 
   “Greenbrier delivered strong results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2017.  This positive financial performance was achieved by successfully executing on Greenbrier’s strategy to foster and grow its North American business, while simultaneously expanding to global markets,” said Chairman and CEO William A. Furman. “Greenbrier’s earnings exceeded our guidance range for fiscal 2017.  Aggregate gross margin for the year remained healthy at 19.4 percent. Operationally, in a competitive North American freight railcar market, Greenbrier added market share during fiscal 2017, receiving orders exceeding 16,500 railcars valued at $1.5 billion – about double the number and value of railcar orders received in fiscal 2016.  Management services added approximately 70,000 railcars to its managed fleet in the year and an additional 15,000 railcars post quarter end. Greenbrier now provides management services for over 20 percent of the North American fleet,” said Furman. 
   “Financially, we ended the year with a strong balance sheet and liquidity.  The Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend by 4.5 percent to $0.23 per share or an annualized rate of $0.92.  We extended share repurchase authorization through March 2019, and improved the capital efficiency of Greenbrier through a newly formed lease warehouse facility.  Greenbrier’s approach to capital deployment will continue to balance investing in internal projects, funding strategic growth, and returning capital to shareholders.
   “The past year was transformative for Greenbrier, as we diversified our business with increased investments in Europe, Brazil and in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.  Greenbrier will advance its international agenda further in fiscal 2018.  Greenbrier’s backlog of over 28,600 units valued at $2.8 billion is higher now than at the beginning of fiscal 2017, providing visibility into fiscal 2018 and beyond,” said Furman.
   Looking ahead, Greenbrier expects to see more deliveries and greater revenues in fiscal year 2018. Based on industry forecasts, the company expects deliveries to total 20,000- 22,000 units including Greenbrier-Maxion (Brazil) which will account for up to 10 percent of deliveries, while revenues will be $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion with a diluted earnings per share of up to $4.00.