Martin Marietta Materials appeal of a recent Delaware court ruling will be heard May 31, the day before Vulcan Materials holds its annual shareholders' meeting.

Reuters reported Friday that the hearing for the appeal has been delayed from May 25 to May 31.

Raleigh-based Martin Marietta had planned to nominate four independent directors to Vulcan's board at the June 1 shareholders' meeting. But a Delaware judge recently ruled that Martin Marietta violated a 2010 confidentiality agreement with Vulcan in making its hostile takeover bid in December.

The judge in the case denied Martin Marietta’s request for a stay pending a ruling the appeal, which forced Martin Marietta to move ahead with terminating the company's exchange offer to merge with Vulcan.

If Martin Marietta loses its appeal, it will be prevented from pursuing any activities related to the merger for four months.

Martin Marietta Materials stock fell 8 percent on Wednesday after a well-known hedge-fund manager said at a New York conference that the Raleigh company had problems.

“Recent earnings benefited from one-time fiscal stimulus that is about to wind down,” said David Einhorn, co-founder of Greenlight Capital, according to Bloomberg News.

The stock’s sudden drop triggered a circuit breaker that halted trading of the company’s shares.

Einhorn, who was in negotiations last year to buy a share of the New York Mets, is known for his activist nature and for publicly criticizing stocks that he has shorted – meaning he has bet that the stock will fall. A year ago he called for Microsoft’s board to replace CEO Steve Ballmer.

Martin Marietta issued a statement Wednesday saying its recent financial performance made it different from other companies targeted by short sellers.

“Unlike companies often targeted by shorts, Martin Marietta has come through a challenging period for the industry by carefully managing capital and making disciplined operational decisions,” the statement said.

“We are profitable and have a solid balance sheet, which will allow us to capitalize on positive industry trends and positions us well for the future.”

Martin Marietta Materials announced late Monday that it is terminating the company's exchange offer to merge with rival Vulcan Materials in accordance with the ruling by the Delaware Court of Chancery.

The action was expected after the judge, Leo Strine Jr., ruled on May 4 that Martin Marietta violated a 2010 confidentiality agreement with Vulcan.

Martin Marietta is appealling the ruling, however. A decision on the appeal is likely to come before Vulcan's June 1 annual shareholders' meeting.

Raleigh-based Martin Marietta had planned to nominate four directors to Vulcan's board.

Vulcan Materials said Monday that a Delaware judge's ruling will order Martin Marietta Materials to withdraw its exchange offer and its proposal to put forward nominees to Vulcan's board.

Vulcan sent out a draft proposal of the final order to be issued by the Court of the Chancery in Delaware. The order follows a post-trial opinion issued May 4 by the judge in the case, Leo E. Strine, Jr.

In his opinion, Strine said Raleigh-based Martin Marietta violated a 2010 confidentiality agreement between the two companies and called for a four-month injunction that would prevent Martin Marietta from engaging in any activities related to a proposed merger.

Martin Marietta has said it will appeal Strine's ruling. 

The proposed final order says Martin Marietta shall also terminate and withdraw all regulatory filings related to its $4.7 billion hostile takeover bid.

The four-month suspension would prevent Martin Marietta from putting forward four nominees to Vulcan's 10-member board of directors at Vulcan's annual shareholders' meeting on June 1.

Martin Marietta Materials posted a wider first quarter loss than Wall Street analysts expected Tuesday but the Raleigh company raised its guidance for the rest of the year after sales increased 21 percent.

Company officials also said they would proceed with plans to nominate four directors to rival Vulcan Materials Board of Directors on June 1. Martin Marietta said it spent $25.9 million in the quarter on its efforts to merge with Vulcan.

Martin Marietta initiated its $4.7 billion takeover of its larger rival in December, and the companies have been trading lawsuits and public barbs ever since.

Excluding business development expenses and acquisition expenses, Martin Marietta reported a loss of 30 cents per diluted share in the quarter, compared to a loss of 39 cents during the same period a year ago.

Net sales, however, increased 20.6 percent to $350.5 million and Martin Marietta shipped 9.6 percent more materials than it did during the first quarter of 2011.

The company, which provides the materials used to build roads, subdivisions and commercial buildings, is considered a bellwether for the construction industry.

In a letter sent Monday to Vulcan Materials shareholders, Martin Marietta Materials CEO Ward Nye says Vulcan's preliminary proxy statement makes unfounded assertions and misleading statements about Martin Marietta's merger proposal.

Nye says the four nominees Martin Marietta has put forward for Vulcan's board are being attacked unfairly by Vulcan officials, who have questioned their independence.

"Martin Marietta believes that all Vulcan shareholders should know that Vulcan appears to attempting to impugn and to improperly disqualify independent director candidates proposed by Martin Marietta for election to Vulcan's Board," Nye wrote in his letter.

Raleigh-based Martin Marietta is attempting to gather support for its nominees ahead of Vulcan's annual shareholders' meeting, which is set for June 1.

Count Martin Marietta Materials executives among those who were not impressed with Vulcan Materials fourth quarter earnings.

The Raleigh-based company issued yet another report on Tuesday questioning the credibility of the plans Vulcan announced along with its earnings last week.

Those plans include a "Profit Enhancement Plan" that Vulcan says will result in $100 million in cost reductions and additional revenues as well as plans to sell $500 million in assets over the next 12 to 16 months.

Martin Marietta's presentation says Vulcan's moves appear to be crafted solely as a response to Martin Marietta's hostile takeover bid.

Martin Marietta describes the plans as vague and lacking substance, and says Vulcan's planned asset sale is not the best path for the company to improve its performance.

Vulcan Materials reported a narrower net loss in the fourth quarter that beat Wall Street estimates.

The company, which is trying to fend off a hostile takeover bid from Raleigh-based Martin Marietta Materials, also announced plans to sell $500 million in assets over the next 12 to 18 months.

Vulcan reported that, excluding certain charges, it lost 14 cents per share, compared to a loss of 36 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2010. The consensus among analysts who cover the company was a loss of 34 cents per share in the quarter.

Vulcan also announced today a "Profit Enhancement Plan" that the company says will result in $100 million in cost reductions and additional revenues.

Vulcan has lost money in four of its last five quarters, and the company is under pressure to prove to shareholders that it can improve its performance without merging with Martin Marietta.

Martin Marietta Materials announced today that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to discuss in late April any antitrust concerns related to the company's hostile takeover bid of rival Vulcan Materials.

If an agreement with the Department of Justice on a consent order is not reached by then, Martin Marietta will not seek to close the transaction prior to mid-August without the consent of the department.

“Our Timing Agreement with the DOJ is an important development," CEO Ward Nye said in a release. "It underscores our stated expectation that the HSR review process relating to our proposed combination with Vulcan can be concluded on a timely basis."

Nye added that Martin Marietta continues to believe that the deal would not face serious regulatory hurdles.  The proposal calls for each outstanding share of Vulcan stock to be exchanged for 0.5 Martin Marietta shares.
 

Martin Marietta Materials sales increased 8 percent in fourth quarter, the company announced this morning.

The company, which produces rock, gravel and other materials used to build roads, subdivisions and commercial buildings, had sales of $374.8 million for the quarter. Excluding one-time charges, the company reported earnings per share of 52 cents, compared to 33 cents for the same quarter the prior year.

The company's fourth quarter sales were below the consensus among Wall Street analysts of $438 million. But Martin Marietta's 52 cents per share beat Wall Street estimates of 39 cents per share.

Net sales for the year were $1.520 billion, up from $1.476 billion the prior year.

The solid performance in the quarter is likely to bolster Martin Marietta's argument for merging with rival Vulcan Materials.

Raleigh-based Martin Marietta launched a hostile takeover bid in December, and the two companies have been offering dueling narratives about why the deal would be both good and bad.

Martin Marietta's central argument is that it is operating much more efficiently in a difficult economic environment and could apply those efficiencies to Vulcan's operations.