During the company's second-quarter earnings report in May, Beacon Roofing Supply Inc. President and CEO Paul Isabella projected fiscal year growth of 6 percent to 8 percent while saying the company was "optimistic" about future acquisitions.
The Herndon, VA-based distributor of residential and commercial roofing materials and complementary building products lived up to – and even exceeded – those expectations. Crediting a "very good mix of growth drivers," Isabella said all three of the company's product lines grew during fiscal year 2015, with residential up more than 11 percent, complementary up almost 18 percent and commercial up 1 percent.
"Existing same-day sales were up for all three product lines, as well, (and) residential existing sales were up over 7 percent in the quarter," Isabella said. "And this is very encouraging considering market conditions."
The company reported sales of $2.5 billion, up 8.1 percent from the prior year, with half that growth from acquisitions and half from existing business, including greenfields, Isabella said during the earnings call with analysts.
Profit improved for the year and the quarter, the latter of which saw Beacon Roofing close on its $1.1 billion purchase of Roofing Supply Group, Dallas, TX, from investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice – a deal that united the No. 4 and No. 10 companies on the 2015 MDM Market Leaders for Building Materials & Construction Distributors.
The upbeat earnings call was another bright spot for building materials and construction distributors in an otherwise gloomy period for the industry. As the sector sees revenue growth thanks to an improving residential and non-residential construction markets, others are experiencing sagging sales and some are even announcing layoffs.
"As I have said in the past, we’re in a very good market that will continue to grow," Isabella said. "We’re well-positioned to capitalize on this growth with branch count and product placement. We are executing the elements of our strategic plan and we will continue to do so."
