Ferguson, the world’s largest plumbing products distributor, reported fiscal 2023 first-quarter sales of approximately $7.9 billion, a 16.6% increase over the same quarter in 2021.

Organic revenue growth was 12.7% in FY 1Q, with a further 2.7% contribution from acquisitions and 1.5% from an additional sales day, partially offset by a 0.3% adverse impact from foreign exchange rates, Ferguson said. Inflation in the first quarter was approximately 15%.

Gross margin  (30.5%) and operating margin (10.5%) were down slightly compared with the same quarter last year.

“Our associates continued to deliver a strong performance in the first quarter, demonstrating the core strengths of Ferguson,” CEO Kevin Murphy said. “Their focus on taking care of our customers’ complex projects drove strong growth and continued market share gains. At the same time, we appropriately managed costs to position the business for macro economic headwinds. Strong cash generation in the quarter and a strong balance sheet enabled us to continue to invest for organic growth, consolidate our fragmented markets through acquisitions and return capital to shareholders. We remain well positioned with balanced exposure to both residential and non-residential end markets and an agile business model. Our financial guidance continues to reflect market outperformance, both organically and from acquisitions, and we remain confident in the fundamental strength of our end markets over the longer term.”

Ferguson ranks No. 4 on MDM’s 2022 list of Top Industrial Distributors.

For the quarter, reported operating profit was $831 million, 12.4% ahead of last year, while adjusted operating profit of $864 million increased 12.6% compared to last year.

Ferguson’s U.S. business grew net sales by 17.4%, while Canadian net sales grew by 3.6%.

The company completed one acquisition during the quarter, which included several locations of Monark Premium Appliance, a distributor of appliances serving builders, designers, developers and homeowners, Ferguson said.

Ferguson reported $28.6 billion in sales for all of fiscal 2022.