The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. on Jan. 8 reported financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended Nov. 30, 2024 that CEO and President Lorie L. Tekorius termed “impressive … delivering exceptional bottom-line performance and ROIC (return on invested capital) within our long-term range.”
Net earnings were $55 million, or $1.72 per diluted share, on revenue of $876 million. The company achieved an operating margin of $112 million, or 12.8% of revenue; and grew its lease fleet by 1,200 units to 16,700 units, maintaining a lease fleet utilization of nearly 99%. Quarterly new railcar orders of 3,800 units valued at $520 million and deliveries of 6,000 units resulted in a new railcar backlog of 23,400 units with an estimated value of $3.0 billion.
Greenbrier generated EBITDA of $145 million, or 16.6% of revenue. The company’s board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, payable on Febr. 19, 2025 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 29, 2025, “representing Greenbrier’s 43rd consecutive quarterly dividend.” The board also renewed and extended $100 million share repurchase authorization through Jan. 31, 2027.
Greenbrier’s complete first fiscal quarter financial statement can be downloaded below.
“Greenbrier achieved impressive results in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, delivering exceptional bottom-line performance and ROIC within our long-term range,” said Tekorius. “The ongoing expansion of the lease fleet and the resulting recurring revenue is very encouraging. Our strong aggregate gross margin for the quarter was driven by a product mix weighted to more profitable railcar types and continued optimization in our manufacturing processes and capacity. We continue to streamline our business with the combination of our Manufacturing and Maintenance Services segments into one reportable segment, part of a strategic organizational alignment that commenced one year ago. While we observe demand easing slightly for certain railcar types and in some markets, we are affirming our full-year guidance and expect demand to increase as 2025 progresses. We are dedicated to executing our strategy to deliver strong performance, reduced cyclicality and enhanced long-term shareholder value. Our results demonstrate our ability to thrive even in less-than-optimal business conditions. With a leading market position, a healthy backlog of new railcar orders, increasing predictability in growing areas of our business and a continued focus on operational efficiencies, we anticipate sustainable results across various market conditions.”
Effective Sept. 1, 2024, Greenbrier combined its Maintenance Services and Manufacturing segments into a single reportable segment, Manufacturing, “to better reflect the company’s comprehensive operations that allow it to streamline production processes and resources to better serve customers.” Additionally, the company renamed the Leasing & Management Services reportable segment to Leasing & Fleet Management “to reflect the realignment of the company’s organizational and reporting structure. These changes had no impact on the company’s consolidated results of operations or financial position. Prior period segment results have been recast to reflect the company’s new reportable segments.
Based on “current trends and production schedules,” Greenbrier affirmed its Operating Metric guidance and updating Capital Expenditure guidance for fiscal 2025:
