Accuride Corporation’s (NYSE: ACW) fourth-quarter 2011 adjusted EBITDA was $24.3 million, an increase of $11.9 million, or 96 percent, over the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010.
The company’s fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA margin was 10 percent, compared to 7.1 percent in the same quarter of 2010. Cash and cash equivalents were $56.9 million at quarter end. Free cash flow was $18.2 million for the quarter.
Sales from continuing operations were $242.5 million, compared with $175.7 million in the same period in 2010, an increase of 38 percent, with each business segment posting double-digit gains. Net income for the quarter was $4.1 million.
“Increasing production volumes, driven by rapidly recovering Class 8 truck and trailer demand, helped drive our fourth quarter performance and gave us solid momentum going into 2012,” said Accuride President and CEO Rick Dauch. “The increased demand had the greatest impact on the performance of our Accuride Wheels business and validates our decision to expand our aluminum wheel capacity. In addition, our margins are beginning to reflect the impact of greater operating efficiencies and working capital performance as we execute our ‘Fix and Grow’ strategy.”
Net sales from continuing operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, were $936.1 million, compared with $674 million in the prior year, an increase of 38.9 percent. The sales growth resulted from the continued strong demand from the company’s commercial vehicle customers, as well as the benefits of increased pricing in the company’s Gunite and Brillion businesses. The Company reported a fully diluted loss per share of $0.36 for the year ended December 31, 2011.
Included in the loss per share was $0.30 related to losses recognized as part of the sale of assets of the company’s Fabco Automotive and Bostrom Seating businesses, and acquisition costs related to the assets in Camden, South Carolina. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations for fiscal-year 2011 was $80.9 million, compared to $49.6 million in the prior year, an increase of 63.1 percent. Cash was $56.9 million at year end, while free cash flow was negative $59.9 million for the year which included $58.4 million of capital expenditures.
“2011 represented a year of transformation for Accuride,” Dauch continued. “Our new leadership team has developed and is executing a ’Fix and Grow’ strategy aimed at restoring our reputation as a dependable supplier to our customers and as a reliable, profitable investment for our shareholders. In an effort to increase our focus on our core wheel and wheel-end systems businesses we divested non-core businesses and acquired new aluminum wheel production capacity in Camden, South Carolina. We also developed and began the execution of a two year, $110 million capital investment program to restore operational excellence in our core businesses. This means that we will have production capacity available where and when our customers need it, using more standardized processes to achieve higher levels of product quality and reliability.”
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