L.B. Foster Company reported its third quarter 2016 operating results, with sales of $114.6 million, a decrease of 34.9 percent compared to the third quarter of 2015. Rail segment sales in the quarter were down by 35.3 percent.
Net loss for the 2016 third quarter was $6 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, compared to $57.4 million, or $5.60 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2015. Third quarter operating cash flow was $5.3 million compared to $15.6 million in the prior year’s third quarter.
“Our third quarter results reflect the continued weakness in the freight rail and energy markets that make up the majority of our served markets,” said Bob Bauer, L.B. Foster president and CEO. “In addition, lower steel prices continue to have an unfavorable impact on our distribution businesses, which have been losing revenue from declining prices and market weakness.”
“We continue to position our business under the assumption that current market conditions persist, and we remain focused on executing our comprehensive cost management and efficiency initiatives. We have made great progress in aligning our costs with current and expected volumes. Since the first quarter of 2016, we have increased our target for expense reductions and have taken action on over $12.0 million of annual expense reductions,” Bauer added.
“Among the more positive developments, activity in the upstream energy market is clearly improving. As more rigs are put to work and the inventory of drilled but uncompleted wells declines, we are experiencing increased activity in our test and inspection services division. The market outlook for our precast concrete products and our European rail division also continue to look favorable,” concluded Bauer.