August 19, 2008

San Francisco, CA-based Building Materials Holding Corp., a provider of building materials and construction services to professional residential builders and contractors, reported sales of $385 million for the second quarter of 2008, a decrease of 41% from the same quarter a year ago. The company reported a net loss of $31.9 million compare to a profit of $19.4 million for second quarter 2007.
 
For the six months ended June 30, 2008, sales decreased 38% to $728 million from the same period of 2007. BMHC reported a loss of $65.8 million for the first half of the year, compared to profit of $14.5 million the prior year.
 
Sales were significantly impacted by continued weakness in new home construction, with single-family building permits in the U.S. down 43% for …

Atlanta, GA-based The Home Depot, a home improvement retailer, reported sales of $21 billion for the second quarter of 2008, a 5.4% decrease from the same period 2007. Profit was $1.2 billion, down 25% from second quarter 2007.
 
For the first six months, sales were down 4.5% to $40.7 billion as compared to the first half of 2007. Profit was $2.6 billion, a decrease of 40% from the prior year.
 
The company’s fiscal 2007 contained 53 weeks of operations, which shifted the company’s 2008 fiscal calendar. Because of this shift, and given the seasonal nature of its business, second quarter sales, on a like for like calendar basis, were negatively impacted by $160 million.
 
At the end of the second quarter, Home Depot operated a total of 2,257 retail …

Norandex Building Materials Distribution, Hudson, OH, a distributor of exterior siding, windows, and doors, has opened two new branch locations in Portland, OR, and Austin, TX. This announcement comes just weeks after Norandex acquired two locations in the Baton Rouge, LA, area.
 
We are in the midst of one of the biggest strategic growth initiatives this company has ever undertaken,” said Brian Chambers, Norandex president and CEO. “Late last year, we devised a growth plan that includes a focus on extending our customer base by helping them be more successful in the market, enhancing our product offering, and expanding our market coverage.”
 
In Portland, Norandex has acquired limited assets from Crown Building Materials. Norandex will service the former customers …