Astec Industries (NASDAQ: ASTE) reported Q4 EPS of $0.61, $0.04 better than the analyst estimate of $0.57. Revenue for the quarter came in at $317 million versus the consensus estimate of $314.98 million.

• In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company recorded charges totaling $90.6 million resulting from a write-off related to the Hazlehurst wood pellet plant, an inventory valuation adjustment, the exit of a subsidiary business in Germany and an impairment of goodwill. The following financial information for the fourth quarters and full years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 excludes all of the impact of wood pellet plant activity, as well as the other fourth quarter 2018 charges, on the Company’s results during those periods:
• Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2018 were $317.0 million compared to $306.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, a 3.3% increase. Domestic sales increased 3.5% to $248.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2018 from $239.8 million for the same period of 2017.
• Net income for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $14.0 million or $0.61 per diluted share, compared to net income of $13.2 million or $0.57 per diluted share for the same period of 2017, an increase in earnings per share of 7.0%.

Commenting on the quarterly and full year results, Richard J. Dorris, Interim Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased with the 17.4% growth in adjusted earnings for the full year. Our core businesses remain strong and we continue to gain positive momentum. While results in our Infrastructure Group for the fourth quarter and year reflect our decision to exit the wood pellet plant business and a decrease in international sales, we are optimistic about opportunities for this segment in the coming year. We saw a good mix of activity across commercial and private construction driving performance in our Aggregate and Mining Group both domestically and internationally for the year, while 2018 sales growth in our Energy Group was driven by improved domestic sales. While we remain focused on execution in our individual segments, we continue to make progress in our strategic sourcing initiative and anticipate it will yield positive results in our procurement operations once it is completed in the second quarter. We are also working to identify further manufacturing cost optimization opportunities and look forward to providing more details as we move forward with these projects.”

Mr. Dorris continued, “During the past year, Astec’s Board and management team have taken decisive steps to improve the Company’s financial performance and ensure capital is directed to the areas that we believe will drive the greatest value for all shareholders. We made decisions to exit the wood pellet plant business, recording a write-off of our Hazlehurst plant in the fourth quarter, and discontinued operations at our underperforming subsidiary in Germany. While these actions resulted in one-time charges being recognized in the fourth quarter, we are confident these actions have strengthened our business for the future. We remain focused on executing our strategy and growing our leadership position in the manufacturing of equipment for the infrastructure, aggregate, mining and energy industries.”

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