Ace nets significant income in Q2

Ace Hardware Corporation managed to secure a 6.5% year-over-year revenue increase in the second quarter, but with a quarterly net income that was the second highest in company history, its bottom line made news on Wednesday.

Ace netted total income of $57.5 million in the second quarter, which secured near-record status despite being $9.0 million below last year's figure.

The co-op pulled in revenues of $1.4 billion in the second quarter, an increase of $86.2 million year-over-year. Sales were particularly strong in outdoor living, electrical and lawn and garden.

Same-store sales were also up during the first half of 2015, increasing 6.5% for the roughly 3,000 Ace retailers who share daily retail sales data.

Meanwhile, sales for Ace Retail Holdings LLC was up 7.2% thanks to increases in customer count and average transaction size.

"Ace’s record second quarter revenues for the second consecutive year were a direct result of the hard and effective work of our great people and world class retailers," said John Venhuizen, president and CEO. "While our net income declined from last year, we are still far ahead of our plan and believe the investments we are making are a significant driver of the impressive 4.6% increase in retail same-store-sales for the quarter.”

An impressive balance sheet was not the only accomplishment on Ace's books.

The company was also recently recognized as one of the National Retail Federation's 2015 fastest growing retailers, and it was ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction" for the ninth consecutive year according to J.D. Power.

The co-op also had an additional four stores to account for in the second quarter, having added 31 new stores and canceled 27. That's up 30 stores from the second quarter of 2014.