Greenbrier stock lost $3.62 a share and settled at $33.76 — a drop of more than 9 percent — the day after the company said it would report unadjusted earnings of 7 to 9 cent per share for the quarter ending Feb. 28. Investment website The Street said the consensus estimate was 42 cent per share.
That drop came on March 22. As of a week later the stock was still below $33 a share.
That followed a longer-term slide in Greenbrier’s stock from above $41 a share, as recently as February. Its 52-week high is currently $64.87.
While Greenbrier’s stock over the long haul can be influenced by factors including expectations for the U.S. economy and freight volumes, the company said the latest earnings disappointment was due to problems at its operations in Romania, increased labor costs and lower railcar build activity at its Gunderson manufacturing facility in Portland and the impact of bad weather and facility closing costs in the railcar repair business.
“Greenbrier is actively addressing these performance issues and will resolve them,” Greenbrier’s Chairman and Chief Executive William Furman said in a statement. The company named a new CEO for its European business, and said a railcar production line at Gunderson reopens in the fiscal third quarter.
The company also said it received orders for 3,800 new railcars worth with nearly $450 million during the quarter, with those orders spread among tank cars, automobile-carrying railcars, and covered hoppers. Its order backlog now stands at 26,000 units valued at $2.7 billion.
