Vulcan Appoints New Senior VP

Vulcan Materials Company (VMC - Analyst Report) recently announced the appointment of John McPherson as the Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development.

Mr. McPherson presently serves as the Director (senior partner) of McKinsey & Company and supervises the company’s Human Capital Practice. Previously, he has also served as the managing partner of the company’s Dallas office. Mr. McPherson began his career at Goldman Sachs & Co., a part of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS - Analyst Report) after completing his MBA from Stanford University.

The new appointee is expected to join Vulcan in mid-October of 2011 upon the completion of his current obligations with McKinsey & Company and its clients. He will also be included in the company’s executive committee and will report to Donald M. James, the Chairman and CEO of the company.

The new appointment made by Vulcan is expected to strengthen its senior management team; thereby helping the company to improve is business going forward. Vulcan management believes that Mr. McPherson will put into play all his experience and expertise in chalking strategies to enhance the company’s performance and pursue long-term investments.

Based in Birmingham, Alabama, Vulcan Materials is engaged in the production, distribution and sale of construction aggregates, and other construction materials and related services in the U.S. and Mexico. It is the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates and a leading producer of other construction materials.

In the last reported quarter, Vulcan realized adjusted earnings of $9 million or 7 cents per share from continuing operations compared with $5 million or 3 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Net sales dropped 5.1% to $657.5 million from $692.8 million in the corresponding quarter of 2010. The year-over-year decline was primarily attributed to lower-than- expected demand, inclement weather conditions in the month of April, partly offset by stronger demand for public infrastructure projects in some markets and price rise across all the segments. Total revenues amounted to $702 million, including delivery revenues of $44.5 million.

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