Trinity Industries Discusses Q4 2012 Results ($TRN $CNRD)

We have mentioned Trinity before on the blog. Here is the Q4 transcript.

"Our Barge business set a new record for annual revenues in 2012 and came close to surpassing the previous record for profits.

The fourth quarter profits increased year-over-year by 38% after adjusting for flood-related insurance settlements in the previous year. The sequential improvement in quarterly profits of 16% was a result of favorable pricing and the mix of barge types delivered.

During the quarter, we secured $193 million in new barge orders which brings our barge backlog to $564 million at the end of December. The movement of petroleum and chemical products continues to create a robust market for tank barges. We now have visibility into 2014 for our tank barge facilities. Demand for our hopper barges continues to show weakness as a result of the reduction in domestic coal usage and the poor grain harvest last season.

In our Inland Barge Group, we expect revenues of between $550 million and $580 million in 2013 with an operating margin in the range of 14% to 16% resulting in operating profit of between $77 million and $93 million for the year. While we expect to report solid results in 2013, at this time our guidance were Inland Barge represents a noticeable step down from the strong performance reported by the group in 2012. The backlog for this business provides good visibility in the tank barge business with the long production runs into 2014. However, as Bill mentioned, weaker demand persists on the dry cargo side leaving some open capacity for hopper barges in 2013."