Blue Bird Corporation (NASDAQ: BLBD) reported Q4 EPS of $0.70, $0.11 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.81. Revenue for the quarter came in at $331.6 million versus the consensus estimate of $321.08 million.

“We are pleased with our record fourth quarter and strong full year performance, as we were able to improve profitability over last year despite substantial steel cost headwinds,” said Phil Horlock, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Bird Corporation. “We achieved significant structural cost reductions through our Transformational Initiatives to improve quality, reduce costs, and increase capacity. We expect continued gains in FY2019 from the implementation of these initiatives as well as the pricing we took to offset rapidly-increasing commodity costs late in FY2018. We are on track to achieve our Adjusted EBITDA margin target of 10%+ by FY2020. In support of this target, we are pleased to announce our FY2019 full-year revenue guidance of $990 - $1,025 million and Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $80 - 85 million.

“Blue Bird is once again the first major OEM to offer new, industry-leading alternative-fuel products this year, with our all-electric school bus and our ultra-low NOx propane bus, and most recently, our ultra-low NOx CNG Type C bus. Our product leadership focus continues to be the design of differentiated and innovative products that customers want and value, as demonstrated by our continued growth in alternative-fuel bus sales. These buses accounted for 38% of our total sales this year, representing a 4 pt. increase over last year, and a 70% market share in the fastest growing segment of the school bus market.

“Despite the significant capital investments that we made this year, we continue to generate positive cash flow, with net cash provided by operating activities of $48.4 million and Adjusted Free Cash Flow of 40.2 million. As we look to fiscal 2019, we are projecting full year Adjusted Free Cash Flow of $24 - $28 million as we continue to invest in new products and our production facility, led by our all-new robotic paint shop, which we expect to complete in mid-2019.”

GUIDANCE:

Blue Bird Corporation sees FY2019 revenue of $990-1.025 billion, versus the consensus of $1.01 billion.

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