Martin Marietta Materials announces 2009 results

Martin Marietta Materials Inc. announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2009. Items of note from the company's report included the following:

Fourth quarter 2009
• Net sales of $327.8 million, compared with $413.5 million for the 2008 fourth quarter.
• Heritage aggregates product line volume down 24 percent and pricing down 1 percent.
• Earnings from operations of $14.5 million, compared with $60.4 million for the prior-year quarter.

Full year 2009
• Net sales of $1.497 billion, compared with $1.860 billion for the prior year.
• Heritage aggregates product line volume down 23 percent and pricing up 2 percent.
• Earnings from operations of $187.6 million.

Ward Nye, president and CEO of Martin Marietta Materials, said, “In 2009, Martin Marietta Materials successfully navigated the most difficult economic environment we have seen in our industry since the Great Depression. However, because of our ability to achieve positive pricing growth and by maintaining our discipline and focusing on controlling the corporation’s costs, we were able to remain profitable and generate significant cash flows despite the 15th consecutive quarter of declining shipment volume.” -- Posted by Darren Constantino