Modine Manufacturing Company, a Racine-based manufacturer of thermal management technology and solutions, today reported a fiscal fourth quarter net loss of $1.6 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with a net profit of $15.8 million, or 33 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
Modine’s quarterly net sales dipped to $359.6 million from $388.8 million a year earlier.
“We finished our fiscal year with a solid quarter, our strongest in terms of revenue and adjusted earnings,” said Modine president and chief executive officer Thomas Burke. “We delivered full year earnings per share of $0.40 before impairment and restructuring charges, consistent with our earlier guidance.”
In fiscal 2013, Modine’s sales decreased 12.8 percent to $1.4 billion.
“As we have reported through the entire fiscal year, our annual results were heavily impacted by the weak economic conditions in all of our markets, leading to significantly lower volumes,” Burke said. “However, we actively controlled our costs, limiting the downside impact on margins and significantly reduced SG&A. We benefited in a significant way from our previous restructuring actions, which have resulted in a more competitive cost structure for the company. Although headwinds remain, we see stabilization in some of our markets, and anticipate improving year-over-year comparisons as the fiscal year progresses. Our expectations for fiscal 2014 include growth in South America, sequential improvement in the North American commercial vehicle market, and stabilization in the China off-highway market. Controlling costs will remain a priority and we will continue our focus on free cash flow and improvement in return on average capital employed.”
