Eagle Materials Inc. reported financial results for fiscal year 2024 and the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, including record revenue of $2.3 billion, up 5% and record net earnings of $477.6 million, up 3%. For the fourth quarter, the company is reporting revenue of $476.7 million, up 1% and net earnings of $77.1 million, down 23%.
Fiscal 2024 revenue in the Heavy Materials sector, which includes Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, as well as Joint Venture and intersegment Cement revenue, was $1.5 billion, a 12% increase. Heavy Materials annual operating earnings increased 18% to $350.8 million, primarily because of higher Cement net sales prices.
Fiscal 2024 revenue from Concrete and Aggregates increased slightly to $240.0 million, reflecting higher Concrete sales prices and Aggregates sales volume as well as the contribution of approximately $7 million from the acquired aggregates business in Kentucky. Concrete and Aggregates reported fiscal 2024 operating earnings of $12.4 million, down 32%, because of lower Concrete sales volume and higher input costs primarily related to concrete raw materials.
Fourth quarter Concrete and Aggregates revenue was $48.7 million, a decrease of 8%, due to lower Concrete sales volume. Revenue included the contribution of approximately $1 million from the acquired aggregates business in Kentucky. The fourth quarter operating loss was $1.0 million, reflecting lower Concrete sales volume due to difficult weather conditions during the quarter, most notably in its Austin and Kansas City concrete markets.
Fiscal 2024 Cement revenue, including Joint Venture and intersegment revenue, was up 14% to $1.2 billion, and Cement operating earnings increased 21% to $338.3 million. These increases reflect higher Cement sales volume and net sales prices as well as the contribution of approximately $39 million of revenue from the Stockton Import Terminal acquired in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
The average annual net Cement sales price for the year increased 12% to $150.99 per ton. Cement sales volume for the year was up 2% to 7.3 million tons. Excluding the sales volume from the acquired Stockton Import Terminal, Cement sales volume declined 2%.
Fourth quarter Cement revenue, including Joint Venture and intersegment revenue, was up 6% to $227.6 million, reflecting higher Cement sales prices as well as the contribution of approximately $9 million of revenue from the Stockton Import Terminal acquired in the first quarter of the fiscal year. Operating earnings declined 18% to $37.3 million, reflecting lower organic sales volume and higher operating costs, namely approximately $7 million in maintenance costs, partially offset by higher net sales prices. The increase in maintenance costs was a result of its proactive approach to maintenance during a seasonally slower quarter.
The average net Cement sales price for the quarter increased 5% to $154.59 per ton. Cement sales volume for the quarter was up 2% to 1.3 million tons. Excluding the sales volume from the acquired Stockton Import Terminal, Cement sales volume declined 3%, primarily as a result of adverse weather conditions, particularly in January.
Commenting on the annual results, Michael Haack, President and CEO, said, “We are pleased to announce another year of superior performance at Eagle. We achieved record financial results and made strong progress on our strategic priorities. During the fiscal year, we expanded gross margins by 50 bps to 30.3%, reported record earnings per share of $13.61, generated operating cash flow of $564 million, and repurchased 1.9 million shares of our common stock for $343 million. We also recently initiated several growth investments in our Heavy Materials business which we expect to be in line with our capital return standards and to strengthen our low-cost producer position. We ended the year with debt of $1.1 billion and a net leverage ratio (net debt to Adjusted EBITDA) of 1.3x, giving us substantial financial flexibility that supports disciplined capital allocation and sustainable long-term growth. Our results and financial position reflect the talent and dedication of our employees and our culture of continuous improvement.
“Employee health and safety and environmental stewardship remain paramount objectives, and we achieved milestones in these areas over the year. Our safety performance continued to outpace the industry average, and we had a 10% increase in hazard observation reporting, which is the most useful leading indicator to prevent incidents. We also increased the production and sale of blended cement products, including Portland Limestone Cement, to 75% of our total manufactured product sales, advancing our efforts to reduce the carbon intensity of our cement.
“In February 2024, we meaningfully enhanced our disclosures related to all our environmental, health and safety initiatives. Our updated and expanded Corporate Sustainability Report is available on our website.
“Recently, we announced the planned start-up this summer of a slag-cement facility in Houston which will have a manufacturing capacity of 500,000 tons to meet increasing demand in the fast-growing Texas market. The slag-cement facility will be operated through Texas Lehigh Cement Company, our 50/50 joint venture with Heidelberg Materials. And, last week we announced a $430 million investment to modernize and expand our Mountain Cement facility in Wyoming, which we expect will add 500,000 tons of production, lower the plant’s manufacturing costs by approximately 25%, and reduce the carbon intensity of the facility. The project is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2026.
Haack concluded, “While in the fourth quarter both Cement and Concrete and Aggregates results were affected by adverse weather conditions and Cement results by increased maintenance costs, we expect underlying fundamentals to remain solid in our markets during fiscal 2025. Large-scale infrastructure spending and domestic manufacturing projects should support strong demand for cement. We also anticipate increased residential construction activity as mortgage rates stabilize and the well-documented housing supply shortage continues. We remain positioned to capitalize on these market dynamics given our geographical footprint across the U.S. heartland and fast-growing Sun Belt region. Our financial strength and flexibility are the key factors that should enable us to drive shareholder returns through shifting macroeconomic cycles.”