Despite a slowdown in infrastructure spending and rising fuel costs, Martin Marietta Materials reported solid third-quarter earnings Tuesday.

The company, which produces rock, gravel and other materials used to build roads, subdivisions and commercial buildings, had sales of $464 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, up 4.6 percent from the same period in 2010.

Excluding one-time charges, the company reported earnings per share of $1.11. That was above the $1.09 a share that was the consensus among analysts who follow the company.

Martin Marietta now expects to ship anywhere from 2 to 4 percent fewer materials in 2011 than it did a year ago. The company’s fuel costs for the quarter rose 16 percent.

Martin Marietta Materials, stung by rising fuel costs and bad weather in late March, reported first quarter earnings today that missed Wall Street estimates.

The Raleigh company, which produces rock, gravel and other materials used to build roads, subdivisions and commercial buildings, had sales of $306.2 million for the quarter that ended March 31, up from $295.6 million in the same period in 2010.

The company reported a loss of 39 cents per share for the quarter, compared to a loss of 54 cents per share in the first quarter of 2010.

That was a wider loss than the 36 cents loss per share expected by Wall Street analysts who cover the company.

Much of Martin Marietta's business is tied to residential, commercial and government construction projects, which makes it a barometer of the broader economy.

The company’s fortunes are also heavily dependent on the weather.

Bad weather during the last two weeks of March – when many state Departments of Transportation initiate road projects – hurt sales in the first quarter, CEO Ward Nye said during a conference call with analysts.

“Part of what we have said forever is this is an outdoor sport, and when the weather does what it does in March and what it did in April, it has an affect on the business,” he said.

Martin Marietta Materials reported Tuesday that sales and profit declined in the fourth quarter as demand for the company's construction materials continued to be hurt by the recession, which has reduced state budgets for road work and curtailed overall construction activity.

The Raleigh company, which produces rock, gravel and other materials, had revenues for the three months that ended Dec. 31 of $374.7 million, down 20 percent from the same quarter in the prior year.

For the year, Martin Marietta revenues dropped 19.5 percent from 2008.

The company reported a loss per diluted share of 7 cents for the quarter, compared with earnings per diluted share of 60 cents for the same quarter in the prior year.

"The infrastructure construction market, which represented 55 percent of 2009 shipments, was weakened as state budgets were negatively impacted by the prolonged recession and further exacerbated by the expiration of the federal highway bill in September 2009," said Ward Nye, Martin Marietta's president and CEO.

Martin Marietta Materials reported
this morning that sales and profit continued to fall during the third
quarter as the slump in construction activity weakens demand for its
products.

The Raleigh company produces rocks, gravel and other construction materials out of nearly 300 quarries in 28 states.

Net
sales for the three months that ended Sept. 30 were $428.6 million,
down 18 percent from the same quarter last year. Earnings per diluted
share were $1.23, down 34 cents from last year.

Martin Marietta again lowered its guidance for the year from $2.70 to $3.30 per share to $2.20 to $2.45 per share.

The company's stock fell 98 cents to $81.27 this morning and is down 20 percent from its recent high on Sept. 17.