Watsco, Inc., Coconut Grove, FL, an independent distributor of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration products, reported sales for the second quarter 2009 were $405 million, down 21% from second quarter 2008. Profit declined 37.5% to $16.3 million.
For the first six months, sales were $696 million, a 22% decline over 2008. Profit decreased 55.2% to $15.1 million.
Lower demand due to economic conditions, new housing declines and a late start to the cooling season offset gains from a richer mix of high-efficiency air conditioning systems.
"We are pleased to see the continued trend toward high-efficiency and environmentally-friendly air conditioning systems, especially in this current economic backdrop," said Albert H. Nahmad, president and CEO. "We experienced higher unit sales, increased pricing and higher selling margins in this product category, representing 26% of this quarter’s unitary equipment sales. This speaks well of their acceptance and benefits offered to homeowners. We expect movement toward high-efficiency to accelerate once market conditions for replacement air conditioning normalize to historical levels and pent-up demand begins to unwind."
