Carpenter has reported net sales of US$2,226.7 million in 2015, compared with US$2,173.0 million in 2014.
Net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2015 were US$558.0 million, and net sales excluding surcharge were US$463.0 million, a decrease of US$25.9 million (or 5%) from the same quarter last year, on 14% lower volume.
‘We are pleased with the progress we have made on the initiatives outlined during our third quarter earnings call,’ said Tony Thene, Carpenter's president and CEO. ‘Our efforts are reflected in the operating cost performance improvements and in further reductions in inventory during the quarter. There is no doubt that more work remains. The focus of our ongoing efforts continues to be on executing our improvement plans for workplace safety, customer satisfaction, operating cost performance and working capital management.
Below expectations
‘Our performance in fiscal year 2015 was below our expectations; however, we have taken actions that have yielded some early positive results and a markedly changed mindset. Those actions supported US$194 million of positive free cash flow generation in the second half of fiscal year 2015, which has been redeployed to purchase approximately US$154 million of our shares to date.
‘As we look to the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, the significant decline in the Energy market remains a primary concern. This weakness will amplify the seasonal volume decline we typically experience in the first fiscal quarter of each year.’
This story is reprinted from material from Carpenter, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
