Strong sales at Beacon

A slew of new locations and acquisitions pushed sales to a record fourth-quarter level at Herndon, Va.-based Beacon Roofing Supply.

Total sales increased 6.3% in the quarter to $726.5 million, up from $683.6 million in the same quarter last year. Net income for the fourth quarter was $24.2 million, down from $24.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

Paul Isabella, the company’s president CEO said: “Again this quarter we were able to demonstrate our focus on driving top line revenue growth with a 6.3% increase in sales. Almost two thirds of that growth was due to the success of our 26 new greenfields that we opened in the current year." 

The company completed three acquisitions in August and October that, for next year, will add over $88 million to the revenue base, Isabella said.

“We continue to experience pressure on our gross margins which are down slightly from last quarter and from last year,” he said. “The soft residential market, coupled with heightened competition, has continued to put pressure on our market pricing. We continue to invest heavily to grow the business through the opening of the new greenfield branches. As a result, we are well positioned to continue to see sales growth. Recognizing the challenges we face from gross margin pressure, in 2015 we will continue our focus on driving more leverage through our operating cost structure and work to lower our overall operating costs as a percentage of sales.”

For the full year, total sales increased 3.8% to $2.33 billion, also an annual record. Net income for the full year was $53.8 million, down 25.8% from $72.6 million.