Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:APOG) has announced fiscal 2016 fourth-quarter and full-year results.
“Strong fourth quarter results – with revenues up 6 percent, earnings up 47 percent and operating margin growing 300 basis points to 11 percent – contributed to Apogee achieving an across-the-board record performance in fiscal 2016,” said Joseph F. Puishys, Apogee chief executive officer. “We did what we said we would do three years ago, essentially delivering on our fiscal 2016 goals of $1 billion in revenues at 10 percent operating margin.
“I am pleased that all four of our segments grew revenues and operating margin in fiscal 2016, and that our backlog grew from the end of fiscal 2015 to exceed $0.5 billion for the last three quarters,” he said. “Contributing to our strong earnings growth in fiscal 2016 were improved pricing, mix, productivity and project margins, as well as lower material costs and leverage on increased volume.
“For fiscal 2017, we continue to expect U.S. commercial construction market growth, based on our visibility from backlog, commitments and bidding activity, as well as external market metrics,” said Puishys. “This positive outlook supports our fiscal 2017 guidance for double-digit revenue growth of approximately 10 percent and record earnings of $2.65 to $2.80 per share.”
“For fiscal 2017, we expect another year of strong top- and bottom-line growth, based on our backlog, commitments and bidding activity,” said Puishys. “We expect revenue growth of approximately 10 percent, as we had indicated previously, and earnings of $2.65 to $2.80 per share.
“Apogee expects mid-single digit U.S. commercial construction market growth in fiscal 2017, as market activity, the Architecture Billings Index, office employment and office vacancy rates all show positive momentum,” he said. “With our internal market visibility and external metrics moving in the right direction, we see sustained U.S. non-residential market strength that supports our outlook for growth at least through fiscal 2020.”
Puishys said that capital expenditures for the year are anticipated to be $50 to $60 million as Apogee invests to increase capabilities, productivity and capacity. Gross margin is expected to be greater than 26 percent and operating margin, approximately 11 percent.
“Longer term, we believe our strategies to grow through new geographies, new products and new markets, along with our backlog, bidding activity, and focus on better project selection, productivity and operational improvements, support our fiscal 2018 goals of at least a 12 percent operating margin on revenues of $1.2 to $1.3 billion,” Puishys said.
Apogee hosted a teleconference/webcast on April 7 to discuss the results. The webcast will be archived for replay on the company’s web site.