Ace reports record Q1 sales, profits

Ace Hardware Corp., based in Oak Brook, Ill., reported record Q1 2022 revenue of $2.2 billion and record first quarter net income of $119.8 million.

The company reported Q1 revenue of $2.2 billion, an increase of $181.8 million, or 8.9%, from the first quarter of 2021.

Ace Hardware reported net income was $119.8 million for the first quarter of 2022, an increase of $14.4 million, from the first quarter of 2021.

Increases were seen across most departments with outdoor power equipment, lawn and garden and plumbing showing the largest gains, said Ace.

The approximately 3,500 Ace retailers who share daily retail sales data reported a 1.4% increase in U.S. retail same-store-sales during the first quarter of 2022. Estimated retail price inflation of 9.5% helped drive a 10% increase in average ticket. Same-store transactions were down 7.8%.

The Bottom Line: Ace Hardware sales for the first quarter moved ahead nearly 9%, at $2.2 billion.

What the CEO said: “Our first quarter increases in revenue and income brings our two-year stacked growth to nearly 51% and 205%, respectively. Revenue growth from the 54 new stores we added in the first quarter was real and incremental. The remainder of the first quarter revenue growth, however, was not as it was the result of ongoing inflation,” said John Venhuizen, president and CEO.

Ace added 50 new domestic stores in the first quarter of 2022 and cancelled 11 stores. The company’s total domestic store count was 4,790 at the end of the first quarter of 2022 which was an increase of 110 stores from the first quarter of 2021.

On a worldwide basis, Ace added 54 stores in the first quarter of 2022 and cancelled 11, bringing the worldwide store count to 5,626 at the end of the first quarter of 2022, said the company.

Company info: Click HERE to read the Q1 2022 financial report from Ace Hardware.