Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based LB Foster Company announced on Thursday that while posting lower numbers during Q4 it still remained positive during the full-year. The net income for Q4 was $6.1 million--$100,000 less than Q4 during fiscal 2010--while net income for the full-year rose to $22.9 million. Net sales also decreased during Q4 by 7.1 percent due to a 23.5 percent decrease in sales in the legacy LB Foster business, partially offset by the inclusion of Portec Rail Products Inc. sales of $27.9 million. However, during the full-year, net sales increased by 24.4 percent which can be attributed to the inclusion of Portec Rail Product sales in 2011 and a 3.1 percent sales increase in the comparable LB Foster business. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) decreased as well during Q4 by 10.5 percent to $12.9 million--compared to $14.4 million in Q4 of fiscal 2010. On the other hand, the EBITDA increased during the full-year by 12.6 percent to $49.1 million.
Robert P. Bauer, LB Foster's president and CEO, had this to say about the results, "Our performance in the fourth quarter was mixed. The rail segment reported strong sales and income, while the softness in the construction segment booking levels and backlog that we reported the last two quarters has negatively impacted sales and income. Portec Rail Products reported a strong quarter and finished the year as we had anticipated."