Martin Marietta Materials Inc. reported record results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2018. The company is reporting total revenues of $1,020,218 for the fourth quarter, and $4,244,265 for the year.
Ward Nye, chairman, president and CEO of Martin Marietta, stated, “Our industry-leading safety and record financial performance in 2018 can be best summarized as challenges faced and challenges met. We produced record results for the seventh consecutive year and concluded 2018 with the best heritage safety performance in our company’s history. These accomplishments demonstrate our commitment to operational excellence and the successful execution of our strategic plan. Full-year revenues increased 7 percent to a record $4.2 billion and adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, and Depreciation and Amortization) increased 9 percent to an all-time high of $1.1 billion, driven by a modest improvement in heritage Building Materials shipments, solid pricing gains and value-enhancing acquisitions. We also delivered record net earnings and earnings per diluted share (after adjusting for the one-time benefit in 2017 of the 2017 Tax Act on earnings metrics) for the full year.
“Even more noteworthy, we extended our lengthy history of record performance without meaningful shipment growth from our heritage Building Materials business,” Nye stated. “Weather, contractor capacity and logistics disruptions challenged both our company and the industry throughout the year, resulting in aggregates volumes, on a comparable basis, that remained only modestly above 2010 trough levels. Our proven ability to successfully manage short-term external disruptions makes us highly optimistic about our business and ability to achieve both continued profitability growth and shareholder value creation in 2019 and beyond.
“Looking ahead, we expect 2019 to be another record year for Martin Marietta,” Nye said. “The fundamentals of our business and underlying demand trends remain strong across our geographic footprint. We believe the combination of continued private-sector strength and the long-awaited arrival of increased public-sector activity in our key geographies will drive shipment, pricing and profitability growth in 2019. Leading employment and population growth across the Sunbelt should continue to bolster private-sector construction activity. Further, after a decade of underinvestment, infrastructure activity is poised for meaningful growth as evidenced by an acceleration in public lettings and contract awards in our key states of Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. These trends, combined with an improved pricing outlook, underscore the strength of our markets and the near-term growth trajectory of our business.”
Nye concluded, “We are confident in Martin Marietta’s outlook given our leading market positions, disciplined pricing strategy and proven execution of our strategic plan. For 2019, we anticipate construction growth in our key regions to outpace the nation as a whole, driven by attractive employment growth, population trends and favorable momentum from state Departments of Transportation. Additionally, widespread customer optimism and growing contractor backlogs support increased demand for our construction materials. With both the ability and capacity to meet future market demand, Martin Marietta remains committed to world-class attributes across our business – including safety, efficiency and operational excellence – and is well-positioned to deliver enhanced long-term value for our shareholders.”