Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) stock rose 3.82% (As on April 13, 11:24:03 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company posted better than expected results for the fourth quarter of FY 23. For the quarter ended January 31, 2023, Argan achieved net income of $13.6 million compared to $2.2 million, for last year’s comparable quarter. EBITDA for the quarter ended January 31, 2023 increased to $11.2 million from $3.3 million for last year’s comparable period. As of January 31, 2023, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $325.5 million and net liquidity was $236.2 million; furthermore, the Company had no debt. The $115.0 million reduction in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments from January 31, 2022 reflected the expected cash flow cycles of two significant projects, net income, the payment of dividends and the repurchase of shares. However, during the fourth quarter, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments increased by $38.8 million.

AGX in the fourth quarter of FY 23 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $1, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share by 29 cents. The company had reported 5.4 percent fall in the adjusted revenue growth to $118.78 million in the fourth quarter of FY 23, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue by $3.67 million. The reduction is primarily related to decreased revenues from the Guernsey Power Station, the Maple Hill Solar energy and the Equinix data center projects compared to the comparable prior year quarter, partially offset by increasing revenues at several projects including the Kilroot Power Station, the ESB FlexGen peaker plants and the Trumbull Energy Center. For the quarter ended January 31, 2023, the Company reported consolidated gross profit of approximately $20.0 million, or gross margin of 16.9% compared to gross margin of 17.7% for the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year.

Additionally, the company has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.25 per share of common stock, payable April 28, 2023 to stockholders of record at the close of business on April 20, 2023. The Company paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.25 per share of common stock for a total of $1.00 per share during Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022, respectively. During Fiscal 2023, the Company repurchased 1,855,714 shares of common stock at a cost of $68.2 million, including the repurchase of 134,699 shares of common stock at a cost of $5.0 million during the three months ended January 31, 2023.