Building products company Builders FirstSource, Inc.(Nasdaq: BLDR), Dallas, TX, reported sales for the first quarter were $319.7 million, up 45.7 percent compared to first quarter 2012. The building products company recorded a net loss of $11.8 million for the quarter, compared to a net loss of $19.2 million a year ago.
"Our sales increase once again exceeded the increase in residential construction activity, as actual single-family housing starts in the South Region increased 27.4 percent and single-family units under construction increased 23.2 percent," CEO Floyd Sherman said.
"Though our sales growth for the quarter was very positive, the commodity lumber price inflation we experienced during the quarter once again placed significant downward pressure on gross margins," said Chad Crow, senior vice president and CFO. "Subsequent to setting first quarter customer pricing in late December, commodity lumber prices increased 20 percent through the end of the first quarter. While we were able to obtain price increases from many of our customers during the quarter, they were not enough to offset the continued commodity price inflation. For the quarter, we estimate commodity lumber inflation negatively impacted gross margin by 1.8 percentage points."
