Luxfer reports Q4 EPS (22c) vs. 7c last year

Reports 4Q revenue $95.9M vs. $116.7M last year. CEO Andy Butcher says: “Luxfer’s performance was hampered in 2023 by challenging high raw material prices in magnesium and carbon fiber, coupled with continued weakness in global industrial demand which primarily impacted the second half of the year. Even with these headwinds, the Luxfer team executed effective cost mitigation and cash conservation programs to deliver strong free cash flow in the second half and achieved sequentially lower net debt. I was encouraged that we were able to deliver fourth quarter revenue and adjusted EPS significantly ahead of our previous expectations, giving us good momentum as we enter the new year. In addition, we finished the year and entered 2024 on several notable highs, including signing new agreements with major SCBA customers, confirming insurance coverage for our ongoing legal matter, and anticipating benefit from improved magnesium supply. I am also pleased with the momentum and progress made in our strategic review process, which we announced in October. We have identified key actions, including the initiation of a sale process for Graphic Arts, and I am excited to share these with the investment community here and during our fourth quarter and full year earnings conference call. Looking ahead, we will continue to proactively pursue opportunities to improve profitability and liquidity while delivering a compelling customer value proposition across our markets. While we do not believe the current demand landscape will change immediately for our Elektron business, we expect some gradual improvement, and we feel good about the outlook of our key end markets as we are positioned to capture opportunities linked to the demand for clean energy applications.”