FreightCar America 3Q earnings much improved

FreightCar America, Inc. reported third-quarter net income of $6.4 million, or 53 cents per diluted share, much better than the loss of $900,000, or 8 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2013.  Chicago-based FreightCar America announced the results late Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014, after the close of trading on Wall Street.

Third-quarter revenue was $190.3 million, up from $75.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

“We were pleased with the company’s continued improved performance in the quarter,” said FreightCar America President and CEO Joe McNeely. “Strong market conditions resulted in record quarterly orders of 7,375 railcars which raised our backlog to over 13,500 railcars, valued at approximately $1.1 billion. Our backlog includes 3,700 coal car rebuilds and over 8,900 new non-coal cars, reflecting the significant progress we have made in our product diversification strategy.

“We continue to expect to deliver approximately 7,000 railcars for the full year 2014. The recent strong order activity will help us carry this momentum into 2015, during which we anticipate delivering 9,000 to 10,000 railcars, which includes approximately 2,600 rebuilds,” McNeely said.

McNeely added, “To support the growth in our non-coal car products, we will invest approximately $10 million through the second quarter of 2015 to increase our production capacity at the Shoals facility.”

FreightCar America said it built 2,354 railcars in the third quarter of 2014, which included 1,554 new and 800 rebuilt railcars. This compares to 937 railcars delivered in the third quarter of 2013, which included 194 new and 743 rebuilt railcars. That compares with ,635 railcars delivered in the second quarter of 2014, which included 835 new and 800 rebuilt railcars. Total manufacturing backlog was 13,514 units on Sept. 30, 2014, compared to 7,129 units on Sept. 30, 2013, and with 8,493 units at June 30, 2014.

KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. analyst Steve Barger, in a note to clients Thursday evening, said FreightCar America’s rebounding performance  “was largely driven by higher railcar deliveries and better product mix (revenue per car in the quarter was $77,099 vs. last year’s $71,444).”

Barger also noted “the company anticipates that the recent strength in orders should allow it to deliver 9,000-to-10,000 railcars in FY15, which includes approximately 2,600 rebuilds.”