The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014 reported net earnings of $16 million, or 51 cents per share, for its fiscal first-quarter 2014 ending Nov. 30, 2013, missing Wall Street consensus estimates of 53 cents per share.
First-quarter revenue of $490 million exceeded estimates of $481 million. The company said operating margins "expanded by 240 bps year-over-year and outperformed our model by 70 bps (gross margins outperformed by 20 bps while SG&A margin outperformed by 50 bps)."
The new railcar backlog as of Nov. 30 was 13,500 units with an estimated value of $1.43 billion (average unit sale price of $106,000), compared with 14,400 units with an estimated value of $1.52 billion (average unit sale price of $106,000) on Aug. 31, 2013, the company said.
New railcar deliveries totaled 3,700 units for the quarter, compared with 3,500 units for the quarter ended Aug. 31. Received orders for 2,500 new railcars valued at $230 million during the quarter.
Subsequent to quarter end, Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Greenbrier received orders for another 1,100 units valued at approximately $130 million, the company said.