PVF and industrial supplies distributor Core & Main reported its 2023 fourth quarter and full year financial results on March 19, showing a modest annual sales gain and another year of considerable profit, along with solid 4Q sales gains.

For its 2023 fourth quarter — which spanned Oct. 30-Jan. 28 — the St. Louis-based company posted sales of $1.44 billion that increased 4.8% year-over-year. Gross margin decreased 40 basis points YoY to 26.7%, while net profit of $76 million trailed the $84 million of a year earlier and adjusted EBITDA dipped 2.4% to $160 million.

Core & Main said that net sales increased primarily due to volume growth and acquisitions, with growth for PVF (67% of revenue) and storm drainage products (15% of revenue) benefitting from higher volumes primarily related to acquisitions. Meanwhile, the overall dip in gross margin was primarily attributed to normalization of larger prior year benefits from strategic inventory investments during an inflationary environment.

For the full year, Core & Main posted 2023 total sales of $6.702 billion — a company record — while gross margin ticked up 10 bps to 27.1%. The company’s 2023 net profit of $531 million trailed the $581 million of a year earlier and adjusted EBITDA slid 2.7% to $910 million (on margin of 13.6%, down 50 bps).

“Fiscal 2023 was an exceptional year for Core & Main given the extraordinary performance we achieved during the preceding two years and considering the softer market conditions that have followed,” Chairman and CEO Steve LeClair said in the company’s earnings release.

Core & Main noted that, during 2023, it opened four new locations in underserved markets and closed 10 acquisitions during and after the year. Those acquisitions represented a company investment of $780 million. The company has already announced three acquisitions so far in 2024, including Winchester, VA-based Eastern Supply (closed Feb. 12); Denver, CO-based Dana Kepner Co. (closed March 7); and Portland, OR-based AFC West Inc. (announced March 18).

Looking ahead, Core & Main’s fiscal 2024 outlook included projected net sales of $7.40 billion to $7.60 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of $925 million to $975 million on adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.5% to 12.8%.

“We expect end market volumes to improve in fiscal 2024, providing a foundation for us to gain market share through the execution of our product, customer and geographic expansion initiatives,” LeClair added. “We expect the M&A we completed during and after the year to contribute 6% to 7% of our sales growth in fiscal 2024. We anticipate price contribution will be roughly flat for the year and we expect another 30 to 50 basis points of gross margin normalization from our fiscal 2023 fourth quarter results.

On MDM’s 2023 Top Distributors Lists, Core & Main was No. 9 for Industrial Supplies and No. 1 for Industrial PVF.