Beacon Roofing Supply, a Peabody, Mass.-based roofing materials distributor, reported sales in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30 increased 14.9% to $597.2 million from $493.8 million in the year-earlier period, in good part because of "an unusually large rise in prices" for roofing products in late summer.
Residential roofing product sales jumped 36.8%, and sales of nonresidential roofing products grew 6.6%. Beacon noted that it was able to pass along manufacturers' increases in product prices, and that there was "strong re-roofing activity" in storm-impacted areas of the country.
The distributor reported fourth-quarter net income of $24.9 million, a 120% increase from $11.3 million in the same period a year ago. For the full year ended Sept. 30, Beacon's net income rose 59% to $40.3 million from $25.3 million. Full-year sales increased 8.4% to $1.78 billion in 2008 from $1.65 billion, mostly as a result of acquisitions and an increase of 1.3% in existing-market sales that were mostly due to the same factors mentioned for the fourth quarter, Beacon said.
Stock Building Supply recorded an operating loss of about $60 million in its fiscal first quarter ended Oct. 31, Stock's U.K.-based parent, Wolseley Plc, reported. That loss at America's second-biggest LBM operation came on a 20% decline in sales, and was 10 times worse than it posted in the year-earlier quarter. Wolseley also said it initiated head count reductions in its fiscal first quarter totaling around 3,400. On Oct. 23, Stock announced it will close 86 facilities, cut 3,000 jobs, and exit 16 markets in six states.
