Carriage Services' Q1 Cemetery Revenue Up 6% to $34.4M; $100M Equity Plan
Carriage Services' Q1 revenue dipped slightly to $106.1 million, while cemetery revenue climbed 6% to $34.4 million and adjusted EBITDA rose 2.4% to $33.8 million despite a 5.8% drop in funeral volume. The company cut leverage to 4.0x and launched a $100 million at-the-market equity offering to fund acquisitions.
1. First Quarter Financial and Sales Metrics
Carriage Services reported total Q1 revenue of $106.1 million, down $0.9 million year-over-year, with cemetery revenue rising 6% to $34.4 million driven by 10% higher preneed sales production and an 11% increase in average preneed interment price. Financial revenue grew 15.7% on an 8% rise in insurance-funded preneed funeral contracts sold.
2. Profitability and Leverage
Adjusted consolidated EBITDA increased 2.4% to $33.8 million, expanding margins by 100 basis points to 31.8% despite a 5.8% decline in comparable funeral volume. GAAP diluted EPS fell to $0.84 from $1.34, and adjusted EPS decreased 10.4% to $0.86 due to a higher tax rate, while leverage improved to 4.0x from 4.2x.
3. Equity Offering and Growth Strategy
The company initiated an at-the-market equity offering program to raise up to $100 million of common stock, designed to provide flexible capital for accretive strategic acquisitions, balance sheet optimization, leverage reduction, and lower interest expense without immediate funding needs.