Universal forest products, inc. (ufpi) reports 4th
quarter 2014 results
Grand rapids, mich.--(business wire)--universal forest products, inc. (nasdaq: ufpi) today announced 2014 results, including fourth-quarter net sales of $620.1 million, up 17.9 percent over results for the fourth quarter of 2013. net earnings attributable to controlling interests in the fourth quarter of 2014 were $9.3 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, up 16.5 percent over the same period of 2013. the company reported 2014 annual net sales of nearly $2.7 billion, a 7.7 percent increase over the previous year, and 2014 annual net earnings attributable to controlling interests of $57.6 million, or $2.86 per diluted share, up 33.6 percent over 2013. for the fourth quarter of 2014, the company saw double-digit sales increases in each of its markets. the results reflect an increase in overall unit sales of 14 percent and an increase in commodity prices that impacted selling prices by four percent. acquisitions made during the quarter contributed to sales growth, particularly to the industrial market. “our people continue to impress with their results. although 2014 started slow, we were able to finish strong with double-digit growth in both sales and profits,” said ceo matthew j. missad. “we are seeing growth both with existing customers and with new customers as we continue to build our new product pipeline. i’m pleased that our focus on bringing new products to market resulted in approximately $150 million in new product sales in 2014.” “in addition, we closed on five acquisitions in 2014, including two in the industrial market in the fourth quarter, which contributed positively to our results. we are committed to executing our growth strategies to drive more value for our shareholders,” missad added. missad said the company continues to work on improving profits, noting that it was able to post strong results in q4 in spite of the unusually early harsh winter weather, which hampered productivity. by market, the company posted the following 2014 gross sales results: retail fourth quarter: $204.9 million, up 22 percent over the fourth quarter of 2013 year: $1.0 billion, up 10 percent over 2013 the company saw healthy sales growth to big box and independent retailers, reflecting improved consumer spending, healthy comparable store sales increases for the big box customers in recent quarters, and share gains with big box and independent retailers alike. the company continues to focus on diversifying its product offering, creating new products and improving upon existing products, as well as enhancing service to customers to grow business in this market. construction fourth quarter: $224.4 million, up 10 percent over the fourth quarter of 2013 year: $885.3 million, up 2 percent over 2013 this market includes residential and manufactured housing, commercial construction and concrete forming. manufactured housing and site built construction (including multifamily and single-family) each saw gains in their most recently reported results. the company’s concrete forming sales continue to be strong and provide a promising opportunity for growth and profitability for the foreseeable future. through focused sales, innovation and diversification efforts and by growing business selectively, the company expects to continue on a long-term path of improving profitability in this market. industrial fourth quarter: $198.6 million, up 24.0 percent over the fourth quarter of 2013 year: $783.8 million, up 12.0 percent over 2013 this market includes packaging, material handling and related products and applications for industrial customers. industrial production was up 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014 over the same period of 2013, according to the federal reserve’s most recently released data. manufacturing output rose 0.3 percent in december of 2014, its fourth consecutive monthly gain. the company continues its successful focus on adding customers and products, expanding its offering of products and services, and adding capacity. the company also continues to expand its reach into non-wood packaging materials and seeks to offer complete packaging solutions to industrial customers. 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, february 19, 2015. 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 (800) 706-7745 and internationally at (617) 614-3472. use conference pass code 89137708. the conference call will be available simultaneously and in its entirety to all interested investors and news media through a webcast at http://www.ufpi.com. a replay of the call will be available through march 15, 2015, domestically at (888) 286-8010 and internationally at (617) 801-6888. use replay pass code 43745004. universal forest products, inc. universal forest products, inc. is a holding company with subsidiaries throughout north america and in australia that supply wood, wood composite and other products to three robust markets: retail, construction and industrial. the company is headquartered in grand rapids, mich., and is celebrating its 60th year. for more information about universal forest products, inc., or its affiliated operations, 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. supplemental sales data market classification
