Beacon Roofing Supply's 2009 fiscal year has gotten off to a strong start. The Peabody, Mass.-based roofing and building products distributor reported sales for the first quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2008, reached $463.3 million. That's a 16.3% increase from the year-earlier fiscal first quarter for the No. 6 company on the 2008 ProSales 100 list of America's biggest LBM operations. The company's net income for the first quarter was $18.6 million compared to $5.2 million in 2008, an increase of 256%. Gross profit in the first quarter was $116 million, up $24.3 million from the equivalent months in 2008.