GREENBRIER: Wagon manufacturer The Greenbrier Companies has announced net earnings of $151·8m on revenue of $2·5bn for the year to August 31 2018, with adjusted net earnings of $133·9m and adjusted EBITDA of $318·2m, or 12·6% of revenue.
A total of 20 900 wagon units were delivered, and orders received for 21 900 units valued at $2·2bn, up 30% on the previous year and approaching record level achieved in 2015. Around 30% of orders were from outside the USA.
‘Greenbrier delivered solid results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2018’, said Chairman & CEO William A Furman on October 26. He said the North American market was improving, with the number of wagons in storage declining and deliveries in 2019 and 2020 forecast to exceed 60 000 units a year.
‘Greenbrier ended the year with a robust balance sheet, ample liquidity and low levels of debt, positioning us for strong operating cash flow in fiscal 2019’, Furman said. ‘Our strategy to diversify internationally is succeeding. Greenbrier has firmly established commercial and manufacturing operations on four continents.’
He said US trade policy was favourable to Greenbrier's international business, with progress on a North American free trade agreement and ‘congressional action that blunts the advancement of state-owned enterprises and supports free markets for railcar manufacturing and its vast supply chain’.
