Quixote Corporation Reports Record Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Year-End Sales and Earnings
16 August 2000
Quixote Corporation Reports Record Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Year-End Sales and Earnings
CHICAGO - Quixote Corporation today reported record results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2000.Net sales for the fourth quarter increased 24% to $28,186,000, compared with $22,775,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999. Operating profit rose 21% to $7,485,000 in the fourth quarter from $6,184,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999. Net earnings increased 15% to $4,451,000, or $0.58 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter compared with $3,869,000, or $0.47 per diluted share, in the prior year.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2000, net sales increased 16% to $83,770,000 from $71,987,000 for fiscal 1999. Operating profit of $15,289,000 for fiscal 2000 rose 22% from $12,483,000 in fiscal 1999. Earnings from continuing operations rose 18% to $8,919,000, or $1.10 per diluted share, from $7,562,000, or $0.92 per diluted share, in the prior year period. Net earnings for fiscal 2000 rose 14% to $8,919,000, or $1.10 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $7,802,000, or $0.95 per diluted share, last year. Net earnings in fiscal 1999 included a gain from discontinued operations of $240,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, due to the reversal of certain accruals resulting from the favorable outcome of some legal proceedings and other matters.
The Company also noted that net earnings in both the current quarter and fiscal year reflect a higher income tax rate of 38% compared to a 37% rate for last year's fourth quarter and a 36% rate for all of fiscal 1999.
Leslie J. Jezuit, Quixote's Chief Executive Officer, said, "The fourth quarter represents our 12th consecutive quarter of record net sales and earnings. The fourth quarter's revenue growth of 24 % also marked our strongest quarterly growth this year. There were three main factors driving our success in fiscal 2000. First, the Company continued to see dramatic growth and acceptance of its core line of crash cushions led by its newer reusable products, the Safe-Stop truck mounted attenuator and the QuadGuard family of crash cushions. Sales of all TMAs, including the Safe-Stop TMA introduced earlier this year, increased 91% in the fourth quarter with sales of the Safe-Stop TMA now accounting for 31% of all TMA sales."
Mr. Jezuit continued, "Strong international sales, the second factor driving our success, accounted for $3.1 million in revenue for the fourth quarter, a 53% increase from last year. Our Australian subsidiary, created during our second quarter, made a strong contribution in the fourth quarter, and we continued to expand our presence in Europe and Asia. There is a strong need throughout the international community for our advanced highway safety devices and we believe we are well positioned to play a major role in this large market for years to come. The third factor driving our success, our advanced sensing and measuring products serving the intelligent transportation systems market, grew 16% in the fourth quarter and we believe these products have substantial growth prospects across a wide range of applications."
Philip E. Rollhaus, Jr., Quixote's Chairman, commented, "We are extremely encouraged by our strong operating performance in the fourth quarter and fiscal year. We believe our record results reflect increasing demand for our products as federally funded projects under the "Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century" hit full stride. We also remain committed to, and believe that, the continued development and acquisition of advanced technologies for highway safety will provide important growth opportunities. This past year we developed a revolutionary computer-controlled anti-icing system, the FreezeFree(TM), which uses automatic sensors to dispense anti-icing chemicals before icing occurs on bridges and roads. Another new product, the IMS Impact Monitoring System, combines advanced sensing devices and wireless technology with our traditional crash cushion products. The IMS provides immediate notification to highway authorities when a crash cushion is impacted, allowing authorities to quickly detect the existence and severity of an impact. These products demonstrate how the advanced technologies we develop for the ITS market not only result in new products, but also enhance and expand the applications of our crash cushion and attenuation products.
Mr. Rollhaus concluded, "We are well positioned for fiscal 2001. We closed the fourth quarter of fiscal 2000 with a strong backlog of $10.6 million. With our superior products and technologies, coupled with our international expansion, Quixote will continue to be the leader in the transportation safety industry."
Quixote Corporation, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Energy Absorption Systems, Inc. and the TranSafe Corporation, is the world's leading manufacturer of energy-absorbing highway crash cushions, truck-mounted impact attenuators, computerized highway advisory radio transmitting systems, electronic wireless measuring and sensing devices, flexible post delineators and other highway safety products and services.
Quixote Corporation
Earnings Summary
Three Months Ended Twelve months ended
June 30, June 30,
2000 1999 2000 1999
---- ---- ---- ----
Net sales $ 28,186,000 $ 22,775,000 $ 83,770,000 $ 71,987,000
Cost of sales 13,259,000 10,954,000 42,659,000 38,354,000
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Gross profit 14,927,000 11,821,000 41,111,000 33,633,000
Operating expenses:
Selling &
administrative 6,872,000 5,279,000 24,208,000 19,606,000
Research &
development 570,000 358,000 1,614,000 1,544,000
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
7,442,000 5,637,000 25,822,000 21,150,000
Operating profit 7,485,000 6,184,000 15,289,000 12,483,000
Other income
(expense)
Interest income 8,000 15,000 31,000 91,000
Interest expense (315,000) (306,000) (932,000) (1,029,000)
Other 1,000 244,000 (3,000) 273,000
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
(306,000) (47,000) (904,000) (665,000)
Earnings before
income taxes 7,179,000 6,137,000 14,385,000 11,818,000
Provision for
income taxes 2,728,000 2,268,000 5,466,000 4,256,000
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Earnings from
continuing
operations 4,451,000 3,869,000 8,919,000 7,562,000
Earnings from
discontinued
operations, net
of income taxes 240,000
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
Net earnings $ 4,451,000 $ 3,869,000 $ 8,919,000 $ 7,802,000
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Per share data
- basic:
Earnings from
continuing
operations $0.59 $0.48 $1.13 $0.95
Net earnings $0.59 $0.48 $1.13 $0.98
Average common
shares
outstanding 7,481,556 8,056,622 7,868,554 7,986,094
Per share data
- diluted:
Earnings from
continuing
operations $0.58 $0.47 $1.10 $0.92
Net earnings $0.58 $0.47 $1.10 $0.95
Average common
shares
outstanding 7,678,639 8,298,994 8,124,623 8,227,775
Quixote Corporation
Balance Sheet Data
As of June 30, As of June 30,
2000 1999
---- ----
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,524,000 $ 2,153,000
Accounts receivable, net 20,210,000 17,078,000
Inventories 10,072,000 8,537,000
Other current assets 2,513,000 3,029,000
------------ ------------
34,319,000 30,797,000
------------ ------------
Net property, plant and equipment 15,001,000 15,599,000
Intangible assets and other 23,944,000 25,378,000
------------ ------------
$ 73,264,000 $ 71,774,000
============ ============
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt $ 630,000 $ 722,000
Accounts payable 2,613,000 3,300,000
Dividends payable 1,117,000 1,128,000
Income taxes payable 727,000 691,000
Accrued expenses 5,907,000 4,693,000
Liabilities of discontinued
operations 1,198,000 1,684,000
------------ ------------
12,192,000 12,218,000
------------ ------------
Long-term debt, net 15,596,000 11,901,000
Other long-term liabilities 2,360,000 1,673,000
Shareholders' equity
Common stock 153,000 151,000
Capital in excess of par value
of stock 33,830,000 32,929,000
Retained earnings 27,565,000 20,884,000
Treasury stock (18,432,000) (7,982,000)
------------ ------------
43,116,000 45,982,000
------------ ------------
$ 73,264,000 $ 71,774,000
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