Ace shows strong numbers in Q3

Describing its third-quarter performance as record-breaking, Oak Brook, Illinois-based Ace Hardware Corp. reported total revenues of $1.13 billion for the third quarter of 2014, an increase of 9.1%, from the third quarter of 2013.

Net income was $37.3 million for the third quarter of 2014, up 8.4%.

“The company’s growth continues to be broad, with more than half of the 23 merchandising categories realizing double-digit growth for the year,” said Ace president and CEO John Venhuizen. “Our top- and bottom-line performance for the entire year has been largely driven by wholesale efficiency, retail growth from our outstanding owners and a surge of 152 new domestic stores -- more than half of which were competitor conversions.” 

Ace reported its best thrid quarter in its 90-year history.

Venhuizen added that the members' accrued patronage distribution is up 48% compared with a year ago.

Same-store sales at some 3,000 Ace retailers that share daily POS data were up 3.7% for the quarter, and up 4.1% for the first nine months of the year. 

Retail revenues from Ace Retail Holdings, representing the operation of the Westlake Ace Hardware chain, were $55.1 million in the third quarter of 2014. This is an increase of 1.1% from the third quarter of 2013, which resulted from increases across many departments with paint, tools and electrical showing the largest increases. During the third quarter of 2014, same-store sales at ARH were up 1.3% versus the prior year and are up 4.3% for the first nine months of 2014.

Ace added 48 new stores and canceled 22 stores in the third quarter of 2014 for a net increase in store count of 26. This brought the company’s total global store count to 4,903 at the end of the third quarter of 2014, an increase of 138 stores from the third quarter of 2013.