Universal Forest Products Inc. (NASDAQ: UFPI), Grand Rapids, MI, reported sales for the first quarter of $554 million, effectively unchanged from the previous year. Net earnings were $7.2 million, up 38 percent from the same period in 2013.
“We focused successfully on improving the performance of our framing operations, and that was the primary driver of our increased profitability in the first quarter,” said CEO Matthew J. Missad. “We remain well-positioned in construction, and in each of our business markets, for the rebound we believe will occur as the weather breaks.”
With home improvement and building projects delayed by the adverse weather in the first quarter, sales in the company’s retail and construction businesses declined slightly year-over-year in the first quarter while sales in its industrial business increased.
The company’s selling prices were affected by a 5 percent drop in the lumber market relative to the first quarter of 2013. Unit sales overall increased 3 percent.
