Mueller Industries, Inc. (MLI) has reported 20 percent rise in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has earned $17.32 million, or $0.30 a share in the quarter, compared with $14.44 million, or $0.25 a share for the same period last year. Revenue during the quarter went up marginally by 0.04 percent to $472.16 million from $471.98 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 325 basis points over the previous year period to 16.10 percent. Total expenses were 93.79 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 95.98 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 219 basis points in operating margin to 6.21 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $29.32 million, compared with $18.96 million in the previous year period.
Regarding the outlook, Greg Christopher, chief executive officer of Mueller Industries said, "As we turn the corner to 2017 we are well positioned for growth. Of particular importance are the benefits we began to realize in the fourth quarter in our brass rod business from the completion of our multi-year modernization investment. This investment positions us well for the recovery of the industrial markets.
Operating cash flow falls marginallyMueller Industries, Inc. has generated cash of $157.78 million from operating activities during the year, down 1.15 percent or $1.83 million, when compared with the last year. The company has spent $53.06 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $190.81 million in the last year. It has incurred net capital expenditure of $27.19 million on net basis during the year, up 16.73 percent or $3.90 million from year ago.
The company has spent $22.56 million cash to carry out financing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $41.26 million in the last year period.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $351.32 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, up 27.82 percent or $76.47 million from $274.84 million on Dec. 26, 2015.
Working capital increases
Mueller Industries, Inc. has recorded an increase in the working capital over the last year. It stood at $675.33 million as at Dec. 31, 2016, up 14.27 percent or $84.36 million from $590.97 million on Dec. 26, 2015. Current ratio was at 4.08 as on Dec. 31, 2016, up from 3.82 on Dec. 26, 2015.
Debt moves up
Mueller Industries, Inc. has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $227.36 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, up 5.26 percent or $11.35 million from $216.01 million on Dec. 26, 2015. Total debt was 15.71 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 16.13 percent on Dec. 26, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was almost stable at 0.24 as on Dec. 31, 2016, when compared with the last year. Interest coverage ratio improved to 14.54 for the quarter from 11.22 for the same period last year. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
