The second quarter of 2024 brought several highlights for Vulcan Materials Co., as the company reported increases in gross profit, adjusted EBITDA and aggregate pricing.
Total revenue and aggregate shipments were down from April through June, though, with the company attributing these decreases to challenging weather conditions throughout the quarter.
“Our aggregates-led business delivered another quarter of earnings growth and margin expansion,” says Tom Hill, Vulcan Materials chairman and CEO. “Even with significant rainfall disrupting construction activity and operating efficiencies, our aggregates cash gross profit per ton increased 12 percent. These results demonstrate our consistent execution and the durable characteristics of our business.
“The construction environment remains supportive of continued aggregates price growth, and our focus remains on compounding aggregates unit profitability to drive earnings growth and strong cash generation,” Hill adds.
Alongside the company’s increase in cash gross profit per ton of aggregate to $10.92 per ton, the segment’s gross profit increased 6 percent in the second quarter to $529 million.
Pricing growth also remained strong in the second quarter, with all markets realizing year-over-year growth. Freight-adjusted selling prices increased 12 percent compared to a year earlier, according to Vulcan.
Despite the pricing increases, aggregate shipments decreased 5 percent in the second quarter and total revenue dipped 4.6 percent in that time. According to the company, heavy rainfall throughout the quarter in key markets such as Texas and across the Southeast, was a key factor in these decreases.
These weather conditions also impacted operating efficiencies and contributed to the year-over-year increase in freight-adjusted unit cash cost of sales in the quarter.
Hill’s outlook for the second half of the year remains positive, though.
“Significant weather disruptions throughout the first half of the year impacted both construction activity and operating efficiencies, resulting in adjustments to our aggregates volume and cost outlook for the full year,” he says. “Despite the challenging environment, aggregates cash gross profit per ton has increased double-digits this year, and we expect this trend to continue for the remainder of the year. The pricing environment remains positive, and overall demand fundamentals continue to underpin long-term growth.”
