Beacon Q1 sales move ahead
Beacon reported first quarter net sales from continuing operations increased 11.4% to $1.58 billion from first quarter 2020 net sales of $1.42 billion.
The increase stemmed from strong residential roofing and complementary products growth combined with recent price increases. Sales were partially offset by softer demand from non-residential categories, the company said.
Residential roofing product sales increased 21.2%, non-residential roofing product sales decreased 3.3%, and complementary product sales increased 8.8% compared to the prior year.
The Herndon, Va.-based building products distributor also posted a net income from continuing operations of $47.4 million compared to a net loss of $24 million in the prior first quarter.
But combined with discontinued operations, Beacon’s losses widened to $220.5 million for the first quarter. Results include a non-cash charge of $355 million ($264 million net of tax) related to the planned sale of the company’s Interior Products business.
CEO and President Julian Francis said the company remains on track to complete the sale of its Interior Products business later this month. Beacon is selling the business to affiliates of American Securities LLC, a U.S. private equity firm, for the cash purchase price of $850 million.
Beacon operates more than 500 locations in the United States and Canada. The sale of its interior products business includes 81 branch locations.
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The Bottom Line: Beacon’s continuing operations swing to a profit of $47.4 million fueled by strong residential roofing sales.
What the CEO said: “First quarter results represent an impressive example of the underlying potential of our company,” said Julian Francis. “Leveraging a robust residential demand environment, we produced the strongest quarterly organic sales growth in nearly five years, and our focus on sales effectiveness, pricing execution, productivity initiatives and expense management drove Adjusted EBITDA margins to the highest Q1 level in over a decade.”
Company info: Beacon’s full first quarter 2021 report is available here.
