BlueLinx Holdings Inc., Atlanta, GA, distributor of building products in North America, reported sales fell 30.5% to $957.1 million. The company recorded a net loss for the quarter of $189,000, compared with a profit of $9.8 million in the same period a year ago.
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We continued to operate in a challenging business environment during the first quarter,” CEO Stephen Macadam said. “The ongoing cyclical decline in housing starts and lower wood-based structural product prices, the key grades of which ended the quarter about 26% below year-earlier levels, combined to make the first quarter a continuation of one of the weakest business environments our industry has experienced in many years.”
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Macadam said that BlueLinx does not see any signs of significant recovery in its housing-related business, but also does not see signs of significant further deterioration.
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“Our overall end-use markets appear generally weak, but stable. Wood-based structural product prices are showing some stability, but remain near their manufacturing costs and sharply below year-ago levels,” Macadam said. “We do not expect wood-based structural product prices to show any sustained recovery until demand returns with the recovery of the home construction sector.”