Huttig sales grow 13 percent in Q1

Company achieves net sales of $198 million for quarter.

Huttig Building Products, Inc., a leading domestic distributor of millwork, building materials and wood products, has reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.

“I am pleased with the continued progress we made in executing our strategic growth initiatives in the quarter,” said Jon Vrabely, Huttig’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are seeing the results of our strategic investments as our first quarter revenues increased 13% over the prior year quarter. Looking forward, we will continue to focus on executing our growth plans, improving our gross margins, and managing our working capital.”

Net sales were $198.0 million in the first quarter of 2018, which was $22.3 million, or 13 percent, higher than the first quarter of 2017.  The increase in net sales was primarily attributed to an 8 percent increase in new residential construction activity as well as growth derived from the execution of our strategies.

Millwork product sales increased 4 percent in the first quarter of 2018 to $95.3 million, compared to $91.9 million in the first quarter of 2017. Building products sales increased 26 percent in the first quarter of 2018 to $85.5 million, compared to $68.1 million in the first quarter of 2017, primarily attributed to higher sales of the Huttig-Grip product line. Wood product sales increased 10 percent in the first quarter of 2018 to $17.2 million, compared to $15.7 million in the first quarter of 2017.

Gross margin was $38.7 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to $35.5 million in the first quarter of 2017.  The increase in gross margin was largely due to higher overall sales volumes. As a percentage of sales, gross margin was 19.5 percent in the first quarter of 2018, compared to 20.2 percent in the first quarter of 2017. The reduction in gross margin percent was primarily attributed to an increase in direct sales volume, as well as the proportional increase in building product sales as compared to the growth of other higher margin product categories.

Operating expenses increased $2.2 million to $39.2 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to $37.0 million in the first quarter of 2017.  The increase was primarily driven by higher personnel costs, which increased $1.7 million, as a result of hiring additional sales and warehouse personnel related to the execution of our strategic growth initiatives. As a percentage of sales, operating expenses decreased to 19.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to 21.1 percent in the first quarter of 2017.

Net interest expense was $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2017.  The increase was primarily due to higher average outstanding borrowings on our credit facility as well as higher interest rates in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2017.

We recognized a benefit from income taxes of $1.1 million and $1.2 million for the quarters ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

As a result of the foregoing factors, we reported a net loss of $0.5 million from continuing operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to a net loss of $0.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017.

Adjusted EBITDA was $1.4 million for the first quarter 2018 compared to $0.1 million for the first quarter 2017.

Learn more at www.huttig.com

Share This!

CONTRACTOR SUPPLY MAGAZINE

The December 2024/January 2025 of Contractor Supply magazine is here!

Our cover story, A Diamond on the Rough, visits the family-owned Esch Construction Supply. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, the company sells and services anything that will cut, grind, drill or polish concrete.

Also in this issue are a 2024 STAFDA show report and Industry Updates on Abrasives Discs and Wheels; Grinders and Sanders; Cold Weather PPE and Heaters; Jobsite Lighting and Ladders, Lifts and Scaffolds.

This digital edition, sponsored by BECK AMERICA Inc., is fully searchable and contains live links to every advertiser and new product listing. Click away!

Read the Articles                                       Read the Digital Edition