ARI reports “strong” 3Q earnings

St. Charles, Mo.-based American Railcar Industries, Inc. has reported "strong" third-quarter earnings of $35.6 million, or 98 cents per share, up 17% from earnings of $30.3 million in the third quarter of 2012.

Revenue of $198.9 million was up from $168.2 million in the comparable quarter a year ago, beating Wall Street consensus estimates of $177 million, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. analyst Steve Barger.

The company also noted year-to-date performance, spanning nine months, with earnings of $106.7 million in that period, up 33% from $80.3 million in the comparable period in 2012. Revenue of $553.4 million in the nine month period rose fro $504 million in 2012.

“Demand for certain railcar types in North America remained strong,” President andn Interim CEO Jeff Hollister said during a conference call Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013. “The industry reported approximately 12,640 railcars were delivered and approximately 12,750 railcars were ordered during the third quarter of 2013, producing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.0. Industry backlog was approximately 73,840 railcars at September 30th, 2013, which is the highest since December 2007. The global inside industry forecast for North America expects new railcar deliveries to be approximately 51,790 in 2013 with tank railcars representing approximately 51% of deliveries.

“The industry reported about approximately 7,580 tank railcars were delivered and 5,140 were ordered during the third quarter of 2013. Industry backlog for tank railcars we 58,910 as of September 30th, 2013, representing approximately 80% of the total industry backlog. Approximately 90% of the total industry backlog is for tank and covered hopper railcars,” Hollister said.

Prior to the conference call, Hollister noted that the company last month had “accepted a multi-year order from Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP for 2,750 plastic pellet covered hopper railcars for delivery from 2014 through 2016.”

Said KeyBanc Capital Markets’ Barger, “We continue to think that ARII should drive solid results driven by a favorable mix of attractively-priced tank cars in backlog.”