Greenbrier Tries to Make Shareholders Forget Icahn Offer

Greenbrier reported second-quarter fiscal 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The railcar maker posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.49 on revenue of $423.2 million. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.37 on revenue of $415.4 million. Second-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.37 and $442.91 million in revenue.

On a GAAP basis, Greenbrier’s diluted EPS totaled $0.45, which excludes the “if converted” impact of out-of-the-money bonds due in 2018.

Greenbrier’s CEO said:

Our strategy is to diversify our product offerings, shift production to our lower cost manufacturing footprint in Mexico, and increase throughput in our lease syndication and management services businesses. … We intend to liberate $100 million of capital by no later than the end of our fiscal 2014 by selling non-core or underperforming operations, particularly in our underperforming Wheel Services, Refurbishment & Parts segment, reducing working capital and refining our leasing model to take more of our assets and debt off the balance sheet in a tax efficient manner. We intend to redeploy this $100 million of liberated capital to invest in new opportunities, pay down debt, or return to shareholders.

Greenbrier’s total backlog at the end of its first quarter was 11,700, up by 2,000 from the end of the first quarter.

In its outlook statement the company said it would build 13,000 units in the 2013 fiscal year, but that annual revenues, adjusted EBITDA and EPS “will be similar to fiscal 2012,” when the company posted revenues of $1.81 billion and EPS of $1.91. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $1.92 on revenues of $1.89 billion.

Greenbrier also said it will try to sell its wheel services and parts business, but margins in that division fell from 9.5% in the first quarter to 7.9% in the second quarter, even as revenue was flat at $112 million. There is every likelihood that a buyer exists for the business, but the price is not likely to be very appealing.

The company’s shares were up about 3.2% in after-hours trading last night, at $22.50 in a 52-week range of $13.10 to $23.08. Shares posted that high yesterday before closing at $21.80. Shares are inactive this morning. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $21.10 before today’s report.