Dallas, TX-based Builders FirstSource, Inc. (Nasdaq:BLDR), No. 10 on the list of top building materials/construction distributors, reported sales for the second quarter were $206.4 million, down 2 percent from second quarter 2010. The distributor of building products for residential new construction recorded a loss of $15.5 million for the period, compared to a year-ago loss of $19 million.

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For the first six months, sales declined 1 percent to $369.2 million. The six-month loss was $36.7 million, compared to the year-ago loss of $50.4 million.

In a press release from the company, CEO Floyd Sherman discussed the results and outlook:

\”We are very encouraged by our second quarter results, as our near break-even Adjusted EBITDA was our best operating performance since the third quarter of 2007. While U.S. single-family housing starts and average commodity prices were down 13.1 percent and 20.8 percent, respectively, over this same time period, our sales volume was up slightly, which we believe is indicative of significant market share gains during the quarter.

\”Though there continues to be a significant amount of uncertainty in the macro-economic factors that drive housing demand, we are seeing positive trends in our results in spite of the difficult environment. Due to the temporary momentum created by the expiration of the federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers during the first half of 2010, we expected comparable quarter-over-quarter results to be difficult. However, even though single-family housing starts decreased over 13 percent during the second quarter of 2011, we were able to generate a similar level of sales and higher gross margins, while also lowering our operating expenses.\”