Release Details

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., July 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Universal Forest Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: UFPI) today announced net sales of $1.24 billion and net earnings attributable to controlling interests of $54.5 million, or 88 cents per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 29, 2019. Net earnings were the highest recorded at any time in the company’s history.

“The employees of Universal continue to do a great job growing unit sales, improving our company’s gross profit per unit, and generating robust cash flow despite pressures from rising labor costs and significant fluctuations in the lumber market,” said CEO Matthew J. Missad. “Our strong results are evidence that we are pursuing the right strategies to make our business more efficient and grow through new, value-added products.”

The company’s mix of value-added sales relative to commodity sales improved from 60 percent in the second quarter of 2018 to 67 percent in the second quarter of 2019, and new product sales grew 18 percent over the same period of 2018. Although significantly lower lumber pricing affected the company’s second-quarter net sales, unit sales increased 5 percent over the same period of last year, driven mostly by organic sales growth.

“I am pleased we experienced such strong growth with new products in our retail and industrial markets,” added Missad. “We will continue to closely manage our SG&A expenses, including those needed to grow our value-added products, so that we can better leverage these expenses as we grow revenue.”

Second Quarter 2019 Highlights (comparisons on a year-over-year basis):

• Operating profit of $74.2 million was up 22 percent and net earnings of $54.5 million was up 24 percent
• EBITDA of $90.8 million was up 18 percent
• Net sales of $1.24 billion represented a 4 percent decrease; lower lumber prices contributed significantly to the gross sales reduction as selling prices were down by 9 percent.
• Unit sales grew 5 percent; organic sales accounted for 4 percent of the growth while acquisitions added 1 percent.  
• New product sales were $175.3 million, up 18 percent
• Core SG&A as a percentage of gross profit fell from 54.4 percent in the second quarter of 2018 to 50.7 percent during the same period in 2019.

By market, the Company reported the following second-quarter results.

Retail

• $521 million in gross sales, down 4 percent compared to the second quarter of 2018. A unit sales increase of 6 percent was offset by selling prices that were 10 percent lower. Organic growth was responsible for all of the unit sales increase and was largely driven by sales of Deckorators decking and deck accessories.

Industrial

• $357.3 million in gross sales, up 3 percent over the second quarter of 2018. A unit sales increase of 7 percent was offset by lower selling prices of 4 percent. Acquisitions contributed 6 percent of the unit sales increase; organic growth was responsible for 1 percent.

Construction

• $386.2 million in gross sales, down 10 percent compared to the second quarter of 2018, due to a 14 percent decrease in selling prices and a 4 percent increase in overall unit sales. Unit sales growth was entirely organic, with commercial and residential housing customers each growing at 5 percent and manufactured housing customers growing at 1 percent.

CONFERENCE CALL

Universal Forest Products will conduct a conference call to discuss information included in this news release and related matters at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, July 25, 2019. The call will be hosted by CEO Matthew J. Missad and CFO Michael Cole, and will be available for analysts and institutional investors domestically at 866-518-4547, and internationally at 213-660-0879. Analysts and institutional investors should use conference pass code 1794208. The conference call will be available simultaneously and in its entirety to all interested investors, news media and Universal employees through a webcast at http://www.ufpi.com. A replay of the call will be available through August 25, 2019, at 855-859-2056, 404-537-3406 or 800-585-5367.

UNIVERSAL FOREST PRODUCTS, INC.

Universal Forest Products, Inc. is a holding company whose subsidiaries supply wood, wood composite and other products to three robust markets: retail, construction and industrial.  Founded in 1955, the Company is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., with affiliates throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For more about Universal Forest Products, go to www.ufpi.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended, that are based on management’s beliefs, assumptions, current expectations, estimates and projections about the markets we serve, the economy and the Company itself. Words like “anticipates,” “believes,” “confident,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “likely,” “plans,” “projects,” “should,” variations of such words, and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. These statements do not guarantee future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect facts, circumstances, events, or assumptions that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made. Actual results could differ materially from those included in such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements are the following: fluctuations in the price of lumber; adverse or unusual weather conditions; adverse economic conditions in the markets we serve; government regulations, particularly involving environmental and safety regulations; and our ability to make successful business acquisitions. Certain of these risk factors as well as other risk factors and additional information are included in the Company's reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

This release includes certain financial information not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Because not all companies calculate non-GAAP financial information identically (or at all), the presentations herein may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies.  Management considers EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, an alternative performance measure which may provide useful information to investors.

Brandon Froysland
Director of Finance
(616) 365-1589

Source: Universal Forest Products, Inc.