Trex Company Conference Call Highlights

Trex Company

reported its third quarter earnings on Monday. Shares of the company are up 6%. Below are some key highlights from its conference call: • Since the end of Q3, inbound orders have remained strong. • Accordingly, we are forecasting sales of $70 million, a 10% year-over-year increase. • We're on track for record sales for the full year, close to $390 million or 13% more than our prior high set last year. • Regarding our use of cash, our first priority will be to use our free cash flow to execute on the strategic initiatives. • Our second priority is share repurchases. • The board has authorized an additional purchase of 2 million shares of our common stock. • This authorization will position us to pursue opportunistic share buybacks to deliver further value to our shareholders. • Our third quarter and year-to-date 2014 financial results reflect record sales and record earnings for the company. • We recorded net income of $9 million or $0.28 per share in the third quarter of 2014, compared to a net loss of $15 million or $0.45 per share in 2013. • We recorded net income of $36 million or $1.10 per share for the nine-month period in 2014, compared to net income of $20 million or $0.56 per share in 2013. • The company recognized $23 million of charges in the third quarter of 2013, and $25 million for the nine-month period. • For the third quarter, we recognized net sales of $96 million. • We had strong order demand in the third quarter reflecting stronger demand from our existing distributor and dealer network and our successful market share growth initiatives. • 2014 earnings before taxes were $58 million, a 31% increase over last year's underlying results. • The 2014 effective tax rate was 37.6% compared to 1.5% in 2013. • Inventory was $15 million at September 30, 2014, a $4 million year-over-year increase.