Martin Marietta finished 2018 strong, and expects 2019 to be even better.
The company, which recently released its 2018 full-year report, detailed how 2018 revenues increased 7 percent from 2017 to a record $4.2 billion and that adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) increased 9 percent from the previous year to an all-time high of $1.1 billion.
EBITDA was driven by a modest improvement in heritage building materials shipments, solid pricing gains and value-enhancing acquisitions, according to the company.
“We produced record results for the seventh consecutive year and concluded 2018 with the best heritage safety performance in our company’s history,” says Ward Nye, chairman, president and CEO of Martin Marietta. “These accomplishments demonstrate our commitment to operational excellence and the successful execution of our strategic plan.
“Even more noteworthy, we extended our lengthy history of record performance without meaningful shipment growth from our heritage building materials business,” Nye adds. “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.”
Martin Marietta expects 2019 to be another record year for the company.
“The fundamentals of our business and underlying demand trends remain strong across our geographic footprint,” Nye says. “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 Sun Belt should continue to bolster private-sector construction activity, he adds.
“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,” Nye says. “These trends, combined with an improved pricing outlook, underscore the strength of our markets and the near-term growth trajectory of our business.”
For 2019, Martin Marietta anticipates construction growth in its 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,” Nye says. “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.”
