Over the past year, the building materials and construction industries have suffered due to a historically weak housing market, led by a lack of demand for single-family homes. Dallas-based Builders FirstSource (BFS), MDM’s No. 1 Building Materials/Construction Distributor in 2022, is among those affected by the industry-wide decline, based on the first-quarter 2023 financials it reported May 3.

The leading building materials distributor reported 1Q net sales of $3.9 billion, a decrease of 31.6% year-over-year. The drop in sales was primarily driven by the decline in single-family starts and commodity deflation, partially offset by growth from acquisitions, according to a news release.

Gross profit margin increased 300 basis points year-over-year to 35.3%, driven by increased multi-family value-added product category mix, BFS said. Net income decreased 47.8% to $333.8 million, while cash from operating activities was $654.4 million, up $474.6 million year-over-year, and free cash flow was $554.5 million, up $423 million compared to 1Q 2021.

BFS’s sales were down sequentially compared to 4Q 2022, when the company posted sales of $4.4 billion.

“We are proud of our results for the first quarter given the challenging macro backdrop,” BFS CEO Dave Rush said in the release. “We were able to exceed our forecasts through the strength of our product portfolio, continued execution of our strategic priorities, and the tireless effort of our team members. Our best-in-class end market exposure and distribution footprint, in addition to our unrelenting focus on operational excellence, are guiding us through this complex operating environment. We remain committed to enhancing our customer relationships by being the easiest to do business with.”