AZZ Inc. ( AZZ ) shares are trading lower today. The company reported first-quarter FY25 sales growth of 5.7% Y/Y to $413.2 million, beating the analyst consensus of $402.05 million.

Metal Coating sales rose 4.7% Y/Y to $176.7 million, and Precoat Metals sales climbed 6.5% to $236.5 million.

Adjusted EPS of $1.46 beat the consensus estimate of $1.30.

The company reported a segment EBITDA margin of 30.9% for Metal Coatings and 20.2% for Precoat Metals business.

In the first quarter, AZZ returned cash to common shareholders through dividend payments totaling $4.3 million. 

The company held $10.5 million in cash and equivalents as of May-end. Operating cash flow for the three months ending May was $71.9 million.

Tom Ferguson, President, and Chief Executive Officer of AZZ, said, “We further reduced debt by $25 million in the quarter, on pace to reach our stated target of $60 – $90 million for the fiscal year.”

“As we communicated last quarter, we are well positioned to take advantage of an increase in infrastructure projects and are pleased to see the rebound in many end markets.  We remain encouraged about our sales prospects driven by the secular tailwinds that exist for non-building construction relating to infrastructure and renewables projects, reshoring of manufacturing, and continued migration to more environmentally friendly pre-painted steel and aluminum.”

FY25 Outlook: AZZ reiterated guidance for sales of $1.525 billion – $1.625 billion (estimate of $1.597 billion) and adjusted EPS Of $4.50 – $5.00 (consensus of $4.88).

Price Action: AZZ shares are down 2.00% at $74.99 premarket at the last check Thursday.