St. Lawrence Cement Reports Increased Earnings for 1997.MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 1998--St. Lawrence Lawrence. 1 City (1990 pop. 26,763), Marion co., central Ind., a residential suburb of Indianapolis, on the West Fork of the White River. It has light manufacturing. 2 City (1990 pop. 65,608), seat of Douglas co., NE Kans. Cement cement, binding material used in construction and engineering, often called hydraulic cement, typically made by heating a mixture of limestone and clay until it almost fuses and then grinding it to a fine powder. (ME:ST.A.) (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). :ST.A.) reports significantly increased earnings in 1997. The improvement is mainly attributable to strong cement sales, continuing cost-containment initiatives and successful integration of business acquisitions made over the last two years. For the fourth quarter of 1997, net earnings amounted to $12.1 million compared with $11.5 million in 1996, an increase of 6 percent. Operating profit Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. for the year amounted to $95.7 million in 1997, compared to $76.6 million in 1996, an increase of 25 percent. This performance follows upon an increase of 27 percent reported in 1996 compared to 1995. Net earnings for 1997 amounted to $42.1 million or $.95 per share, compared to $16.2 million or $.37 per share the previous year. The 1996 earnings included an $18.2 million one-time one-time adj. 1. or one·time a. Occurring or undertaken only once: a one-time winner in 1995. b. after-tax af·ter-tax also af·ter·tax adj. Relating to or being that which remains after payment, especially of income taxes: after-tax profits. charge related to the closure of the Beauport Beauport (bōpôr`), city (1991 pop. 69,158), S Que., Canada, on the St. Lawrence River. It is a suburb of Quebec city. Settled in 1634, it is one of the oldest communities in Canada. , Quebec Quebec, city, Canada Quebec, Fr. Québec, city (1991 pop. 167,517), provincial capital, S Que., Canada, at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers. cement plant. Operating cash flow Operating cash flow Earnings before depreciation minus taxes. Measures the cash generated from operations, not counting capital spending or working capital requirements. totaled $99.8 million in 1997, compared to $73.8 million a year ago, and endorses the decision of the Board of Directors to double the quarterly dividend on St. Lawrence Cement common shares to ten cents Ten Cents has several meanings:
For the year, sales reached $828.6 million, an increase of 4 percent over 1996. Sales increased in the cement, aggregates and concrete product lines by 10 percent, 18 percent and 7 percent, respectively. However, construction services revenue declined by 5 percent compared to 1996 levels, due to the completion of large infrastructure projects. The increase in aggregates reflects the acquisitions of Les Entreprises Lagace by the Quebec and Maritimes Division in July July: see month. , 1996 and Gormley Gormley may refer to:
Ontario, city (1990 pop. 133,179), San Bernardino co., S Calif., near Los Angeles, in a region of vineyards; inc. 1891. Division in May, 1997. Throughout the coming year, the Company intends to extend its cost-containment and efficiency improvement initiatives at all its major facilities and to focus upon higher-margin sales opportunities through specific customer service initiatives. In this way, St. Lawrence Cement expects to further enhance profitability from 1997 levels. St. Lawrence Cement is a leading producer and supplier of products and services for the construction industry. The company produces and sells cement, concrete, aggregates and construction services. It operates in Canada Canada (kăn`ədə), independent nation (2001 pop. 30,007,094), 3,851,787 sq mi (9,976,128 sq km), N North America. Canada occupies all of North America N of the United States (and E of Alaska) except for Greenland and the French islands of and on the eastern seaboard of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and employs 2,500 people. -0-
ST. LAWRENCE CEMENT INC.
PRESS INFORMATION SHEET
RESULTS TO DECEMBER 31, 1997
(in thousands of dollars)
1997 1996 PERCENT CHANGE
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1. SALES BY QUARTER
FIRST 82,376 77,100 +6.8
SECOND 205,196 205,708 -0.2
THIRD 305,019 277,056 +10.1
FOURTH 235,997 235,873 +0.1
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YEAR TO DATE 828,588 795,737 +4.1
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2. OPERATING PROFIT (LOSS)
BY QUARTER
FIRST (14,891) (14,639) -1.7
SECOND 32,207 27,946 +15.2
THIRD 48,134 38,013 +26.6
FOURTH 30,223 25,231 +19.8
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YEAR TO DATE 95,673 76,551 +25.0
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3. NET EARNINGS (LOSS)
BY QUARTER
FIRST (12,898) (12,481) -3.3
SECOND 16,864 (6,133) N/A
THIRD 26,012 23,309 +11.6
FOURTH 12,112 11,456 +5.7
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YEAR TO DATE 42,090 16,151 +160.6
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4. NET EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE
BY QUARTER
FIRST (0.29) (0.28) -3.6
SECOND 0.38 (0.14) N/A
THIRD 0.59 0.53 +11.3
FOURTH 0.27 0.26 +3.8
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YEAR TO DATE 0.95 0.37 +156.8
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5. OPERATING CASH FLOW
BY QUARTER
FIRST (2,896) (3,441) +15.8
SECOND 29,434 17,838 +65.0
THIRD 32,108 32,653 -1.7
FOURTH 41,173 26,760 +53.9
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YEAR TO DATE 99,819 73,810 +35.2
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6. OPERATING CASH FLOW
PER SHARE BY QUARTER
FIRST (0.07) (0.08) +12.5
SECOND 0.67 0.41 +63.4
THIRD 0.73 0.74 -1.4
FOURTH 0.93 0.60 +55.0
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YEAR TO DATE 2.26 1.67 +35.3
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7. SHARES BY QUARTER
(WEIGHTED AVERAGE)
FIRST 44,227,569 44,367,200 -0.3
SECOND 44,241,070 44,254,297 -
THIRD 44,243,402 44,066,988 +0.4
FOURTH 44,262,547 44,078,339 +0.4
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YEAR TO DATE 44,244,750 44,178,234 +0.2
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TOTAL ISSUED
TO DATE 44,433,270 44,230,847 +0.5
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8. DIVIDEND PER SHARE
DECLARED BY QUARTER
FIRST 0.05 0.05 -
SECOND 0.05 0.05 -
THIRD 0.10 0.05 +100.0
FOURTH 0.10 0.05 +100.0
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YEAR TO
DATE TOTAL 0.30 0.20 +50.0
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-0- Certain previously reported quarterly figures have been reclassified to conform with the presentation adopted in the fourth quarter. -0- CONTACT: St. Lawrence Cement Inc., Montreal Montreal (mŏn'trēôl`), Fr. Montréal (môNrāäl`), city (1991 pop. 1,017,666), S Que., Canada, on Montreal island, surrounded by St. Lawrence River and Rivière des Prairies. Nicole Jarry Jarry may refer to: In places:
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