U.S. Concrete Updates Second Quarter 2008 Earnings Guidance and Announces Earnings...

U.S. Concrete Updates Second Quarter 2008 Earnings Guidance and Announces
Earnings Release and Conference Call Schedule

HOUSTON, July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. Concrete, Inc.
(Nasdaq: RMIX) today announced that its second quarter 2008 earnings from
continuing operations are expected to be approximately $0.08 -- $0.09 per
diluted share, which is below the Company's previously issued guidance. As
discussed below, the Company plans to release its final second quarter 2008
results on August 6, 2008, which will remain subject to completion of the
Company's quarterly closing procedures.
U.S. Concrete's President and Chief Executive Officer, Michael W. Harlan,
stated, "Beginning in May, our ready-mixed concrete sales volumes began to
fall below our expectations, resulting in an approximate nine percent volume
shortfall and resulting in lower second quarter profitability. As compared to
the second quarter of 2007, on a same-plant-sales basis, ready-mixed concrete
sales volumes were down approximately six percent. Except for our west Texas
operations, all regions experienced greater volume declines than anticipated.
Our average ready-mixed concrete selling price improved 2.6 percent from the
comparative quarter last year. However, our raw materials spread (revenue
less materials costs) declined, driven by higher aggregate costs and increased
diesel fuel costs. As a result, we expect second quarter EBITDA to be in the
range of $18.5 million to $19.5 million. We face a challenging environment
for sales volumes and we expect to see continued quarterly decreases in demand
on a year-over-year basis for the balance of the year. We are aggressively
managing our costs and capital spending in light of these economic
conditions."
This earnings outlook update is in accordance with the Company's practice
to update guidance if it is reasonably certain that earnings per share will be
outside its latest published estimates. In addition to second quarter
financial results, the Company's outlook for the third quarter of 2008 will be
discussed in its regular quarterly press release and conference call.
The Company defines EBITDA as net income (loss) plus the provision for
income taxes, net interest expense and noncash impairments, depreciation,
depletion and amortization. The Company has included EBITDA in this press
release because it is widely used by investors for valuation and comparing the
Company's financial performance with the performance of other building
material companies. The Company also uses EBITDA to monitor and compare the
financial performance of its operations. EBITDA does not give effect to the
cash the Company must use to service its debt or pay its income taxes and thus
does not reflect the funds actually available for capital expenditures. In
addition, the Company's presentation of EBITDA may not be comparable to
similarly titled measures other companies report. The second quarter 2008
EBITDA used in this release of approximately $18.5 million to $19.5 million is
calculated as follows: net income (estimated to be approximately $3.0 million
to $3.5 million), plus the provision for income taxes (estimated to be
approximately $2.0 million to $2.5 million), net interest expense (estimated
to be approximately $6.5 million) and noncash impairments, depreciation,
depletion and amortization (estimated to be approximately $7.0 million).
EBITDA should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, cash
flow from operations as determined in accordance with GAAP. All amounts
provided above in this section have been rounded to the nearest million-dollar
amount.
EARNINGS RELEASE AND CONFERENCE CALL SCHEDULE
The Company intends to release its second quarter results on Wednesday,
August 6, 2008, at 6:00 a.m., Eastern time. In conjunction with the release,
U.S. Concrete has scheduled an investor conference call for the same day,
which will be broadcast live over the Internet at 10:00 a.m., Eastern time
(9:00 a.m., Central time). The call can be accessed live via phone by dialing
(303) 262-2053 and asking for the U.S. Concrete call 10 minutes prior to the
start time or live over the Internet by logging on to U.S. Concrete's Web site
at http://www.us-concrete.com.
A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through
Wednesday, August 13, 2008, and may be accessed by calling (303) 590-3000 and
using the passcode 11117576#. An archive of the Webcast will be available
shortly after the call on the Company's Web site at http://www.us-concrete.com
within the investor relations section of that site.
U.S. Concrete services the construction industry in several major markets
in the United States through its two business segments: ready-mixed concrete
and concrete-related products; and precast concrete. The Company has 133
fixed and eight portable ready-mixed concrete plants, eight pre-cast concrete
plants, one concrete block plant and seven producing aggregates facilities.
During 2007 (including acquired volumes), these plant facilities produced
approximately 7.5 million cubic yards of ready-mixed concrete, 2.7 million
eight-inch equivalent block units and 3.8 million tons of aggregates. For
more information on U.S. Concrete, visit http://www.us-concrete.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains various forward-looking statements that are
based on management's belief as well as assumptions made by, and information
currently available to, management. These forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any
obligation to update these statements and cautions you not to rely unduly on
them. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the
statements regarding: second quarter 2008 expected earnings from continuing
operations; expected EBITDA (and the estimated components for the calculation
of EBITDA) for the second quarter of 2008; expected ready-mixed concrete sales
volumes and average ready-mixed concrete selling prices for the second quarter
of 2008; and expectations of continued declines in ready-mixed concrete sales
volumes and quarterly demand declines on a year-over-year basis. Although
U.S. Concrete believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that those expectations
will prove to have been correct. Such statements are subject to certain risks,
uncertainties and assumptions, including, among other matters: general and
regional economic conditions; the level of activity in the construction
industry; the ability of U.S. Concrete to effectively integrate the operations
of acquired companies; development of adequate management infrastructure;
departure of key personnel; access to labor; union disruption; competitive
factors; government regulations; exposure to environmental and other
liabilities; the cyclical and seasonal nature of U.S. Concrete's business;
adverse weather; the availability and pricing of raw materials; and general
risks related to the industry and markets in which U.S. Concrete operates.
Should one or more of these risks materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
expected. These risks, as well as others, are discussed in greater detail in
U.S. Concrete's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
U.S. Concrete's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2007, and the Company's subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
SOURCE U.S. Concrete, Inc.

Robert D. Hardy, CFO of U.S. Concrete, Inc., +1-713-499-6222