Strong Q4 earnings for UFP

2/19/2020
Universal Forest Products, Inc., (UFP Industries) reported fourth quarter 2019 net sales of $998 million, up 1% from fourth quarter 2018 net sales of $988.1 million.

UFP said lower lumber prices reduced gross sales by 5% during the fourth quarter.

For the full year, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company reported net sales of $4.42 billion, down roughly 1.5% from sales of $4.49 billion in 2018.

Profits for the fourth quarter increased more than 22% to $38.7 million compared to net earnings of $31.6 million for the corresponding period a year ago. Full-year net earnings increased 20% to $182.4 million from net earnings of $152.4 in 2018.


On Jan. 1 the former Universal Forest Products, Inc. began doing business under the name UFP Industries. The company said the move reflects UFP’s growing diversity of products and markets. The company will seek shareholder approval for the change to its corporate name at its annual meeting of shareholders in April. The company also realigned its organizational structure, creating three market-focused segments: UFP Construction, UFP Industrial and UFP Retail.

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The bottom line: While commodity prices hold back sales, UFP’s earnings soar more than 22% to $38.7 million in the fourth quarter.

What the CEO said:  “The hard-working employees of UFP Industries marked our 65th year in business by producing the best fourth quarter and year in our history,” said UFP CEO Matthew Missad. “Our record profitability is the result of increased unit sales, our ability to leverage fixed costs, and increased sales of our higher-margin, value-added products, which continue to comprise a greater portion of our product mix. We also generated record operating cash flow, allowing us to fund our strategic growth initiatives, further strengthen our balance sheet and return even more capital to our shareholders.”

Regarding the company’s performance and outlook for 2020, Missad said, “Although our results indicate we are performing well, we believe we can continue to improve and have made changes to do so.” added

“Our new structure is intended to bring even greater alignment with our customers and allow for quicker introduction of new, value-added products. It also will help us more effectively allocate capital to grow and improve our business. We are truly excited about the future of UFP Industries.”

Company info: UFP Industries’ full fourth quarter 2019 report can be read here.
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