Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2009, and provided a preliminary outlook for 2010.

According to the company, notable items in its fourth-quarter 2009 earnings statement were the following:

For the quarter:

• Net sales of $327.8 million, compared with $413.5 million for the 2008 fourth quarter
• Heritage aggregates product line volume down 24% and pricing down 1%
• Record earnings from operations and operating margin in Specialty Products prior-year quarter
• Earnings from operations of $14.5 million, inclusive of West Group legal reserve, compared with $60.4 million for the
• Group legal reserve decreased 2009 earnings per diluted share by $0.18
• Loss per diluted share of $0.07, compared with earnings per diluted share of $0.60 for the prior-year quarter; West Group legal reserve decreased 2009 earnings per diluted share by $0.18.

For the year:

• Net sales of $1.497 billion, compared with $1.860 billion for the prior year
• Heritage aggregates product line volume down 23% and pricing up 2% costs and a $11.9 million decrease in selling, general and administrative costs)
• Earnings from operations of $187.6 million (inclusive of West Group legal reserve, a $74.0 million decrease in energy
• Record earnings from operations and operating margin in Specialty Products earnings per diluted share by $0.18
• Earnings per diluted share of $1.91, compared with $4.18 for the prior year; West Group legal reserve decreased 2009.

In a press release announcing the fourth-quarter earnings, Ward Nye, president and CEO of Martin Marietta Materials, stated, “In 2009, Martin Marietta Materials successfully navigated the most difficult economic environment we have seen in our industry since the Great Depression.

However, because of our ability to achieve positive pricing growth and by maintaining our discipline and focusing on controlling the Corporation’s costs, we were able to remain profitable and generate significant cash flows despite the 15 volume.

For the year and quarter, respectively, heritage aggregates volume was down 23.0% and 24.3% and, cumulatively, volumes have declined 40% since the peak of the cycle in 2006. Despite increasingly negative pricing pressure during the  course of the year, we still achieved a 2% increase in heritage aggregates pricing.

“With respect to cost containment, our consolidated cost of sales decreased 13.4%, or $41.4 million, for the quarter and 16.6%, or $230.3 million, for the year,’ Nye noted in the written stsatement. “While a $74.0 million reduction in energy costs for the year was the single largest variance contributor, we reduced our cost of sales in every significant category, with the exception of fixed costs related to depreciation and pension.