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| Statement |
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| Pricing will be strong and it should fall within our guidance range |
| Tom Hill Well, as I said, I think we're in a very, very good place from a pricing perspective based on the fundamentals that we're seeing and also the Vulcan Way of Selling those tools help us dramatically and did work |
| So I think today the fundamentals for pricing is very, very good and I think embedded in those fundamentals are three crew changes that we are seeing in our markets |
| Highways, steady growth wins race and we will continue to see that ramp up and we feel good about it |
| I'm excited about what Vulcan Materials will achieve in 2024 |
| Our fourth quarter results again demonstrated the benefits of that focus and our aggregates-led business |
| We delivered a 27% year-over-year improvement in adjusted EBITDA |
| Margin expansion in each of our three primary product lines and another 90 basis points of sequential improvement in our trailing 12 months return on invested capital |
| In the Aggregates segment continued pricing momentum coupled with moderating inflationary costs resulted in $9.92 of aggregate cash gross profit per ton, a 21% improvement over prior year |
| I mean, as you referenced, I think we're really well positioned to be able to fund all of our capital allocation priorities in 2024 |
| The fourth quarter performance marks 19 of 20 quarters over the past five years of sequential improvement in trailing 12 month aggregate unit profitability |
| So, I think we feel very good about full year guidance |
| I know it's a little bit more favorable than the preliminary outlook you offered on the 3Q call and you spoke to some broad gauge deformation, getting better as you move through year of operational improvements helping as well |
| Aggregates freight adjusted price improved 14% in the quarter, pushing the year-to-date average selling price to $19 per ton, $2.60 per ton increase over the prior year |
| We do expect to see some expansion in cash gross profit margins, and also in per unit profitability given the markets where we've retained our concrete businesses |
| That said we should still see healthy double-digit earnings growth |
| So Asphalt is in a very good place and we like our story there |
| Price momentum remains healthy and we expect freight-adjusted aggregate price to grow from 10% to 12% for the full year |
| Inflationary cost pressures continue to moderate and we expect freight-adjusted unit cash cost to increase mid-single-digit in 2024 resulting in an attractive mid-teens improvement and cash gross profit per ton |
| So we are in a really good place in pricing – price good place as we’ve been historically and you couple that with the tools and disciplines of Vulcan with selling I think our future looks very good |
| We expect another year of attractive growth in adjusted EBITDA and strong cash generation in 2024, despite a shift in construction demand environment |
| Vulcan markets have low housing inventory levels and favorable demographics driving the need for additional housing |
| It's not a matter if it to twin and so that visibility to growing demand on the public side is really good for pricing |
| We continue to ship on numerous large manufacturing projects, which we offer customers a differentiated solution with our advantage footprint and logistics capabilities |
| Philip Ng And then double-digit pricing there I like the new norm going forward? Tom Hill I feel good about pricing |
| One using inflationary pressures, but two you're starting to see improving operating efficiencies from the Vulcan Way of Operation |
| Anthony the balance sheet is really well positioned to fund all of our capital allocation priorities in 2024, particularly M&A growth |
| Well, I think if I have to go back and look at it, ours is a three pronged strategy to growth and it's very effective and has provided us with double-digit revenues and EBITDA for the last three years and will again in 2024 |
| Coupling our anticipated unit profitability growth was the demand backdrop I just described at midpoint of our guidance we project delivering a fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth in adjusted EBITDA |
| I'm very proud of our teams what they have and will achieve |
| Statement |
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| So, overall volumes will be challenged in the first quarter |
| We continue to see distinct trends across various categories of private non-residential construction, which we anticipate will result in a year-over-year decline in shipments to this end market |
| Light commercial activity is expect to remain weak as uncertainty in the macro economy and higher interest rates persist |
| On volume, as we talked about in November, we're predicting a modest decline in demand for ‘24 |
| Our expectations in 2024 for a modest decline and same-store volumes, which were about 4 million cubic yards in 2023 |
| Obviously opposite has been weak, but last year the right size was pretty weak |
| On the demand side, we continue to expect a moderate decline in 2024 with aggregate shipments forecasted land within a range of flat to down 4% for the full year |
| Tom Hill Yeah, I think what you're seeing there is the Vulcan Way of Operating inefficiencies in those plants |
| I think it’s been fairly weak for us |
| At the same time I think multifamily, as everybody knows will be challenged |
| Ready mix, I'd call it virtually flat with the private side challenge - some challenged markets do know that affects the ready mix business, but it's not a bad performance based on some of the private challenge we had |
| Where do we go from here? And I guess my other question on the last is, I think we’ve all been sort of worried about the implications and some this light non-residential activity sort of more interest rates central instructors hitting your business |
| So, that slow and steady improvement in public isn't bad particularly when you're compounding unit margins like we are |
| Moderating Warehouse starts from recent historical high levels are expected to be biggest headwind to private non-residential construction |
| You saw it you saw the cost and the fourth quarter was up 7% and that's down from what we've been seeing is low-double-digit in prior quarters |
| Maybe a little better - big some a little bigger than mid-range, but I think that as far as the timing is concerned I think ‘23 was abnormally, I guess, quiet and it was because there was so much insecurity about what we're going to fall off the cliff is there going to be a recession and so when you have all those unknowns, people tend to slow down both buyers and sellers and I think the fact you got that behind you, you'll see some catch up in 2024 |
| So, probably a modest decline in volumes for ’24 |
| But one thing about 2024, where we expect relatively flat gross margins with the weight of the non-cash fixed cost on the volume challenges that Tom mentioned really driven by private non-res |
| I think it was like the third quarter where it start to come down |
| So what we're seeing is the impact of inflation started to dampen |
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