Trex revenues grow 9% in Q1

Trex got off on a good foot in 2016 thanks to a strong first quarter that brought solid top- and bottom-line growth to the company.

Net sales for the first quarter were $132 million, 9% above last year's $121 million.

Meanwhile, net income came in at $23.4 million, up 33% from last year's $17.6 million.

Additionally, a gross margin of 43.8% represented a 390 basis point increase from the 39.9% reported in the first quarter of 2015.

“First quarter results represented an exceptionally strong start to 2016 thanks to several factors that came together in the period,” commented James Cline, president and CEO.

“Revenue growth was in line with our expectations and demonstrated the success of our strategy to build market share for Trex’s high-performance outdoor living products. The company’s recent market recognitions for brand and green building, together with our new, targeted advertising and marketing campaigns, position us to further advance our growth initiatives. In support of our growth strategy, we successfully launched Trex University in the first quarter, an interactive educational and training center for dealers, distributors and contractors."

“Operating leverage drove significant upside in our first quarter results. The combination of lower input costs and manufacturing cost savings resulted in a substantial expansion in gross margin to 43.8% for the quarter. At the same time, we made a strategic decision to defer a portion of our marketing spend to the second quarter, which reduced SG&A as a percentage of sales to 15.7% from 17.0% in the comparable period last year."