Universal Forest Products posts second quarter results

Universal Forest Products, Inc. (UFPI) posted their financial results for the second quarter of 2017, and showing a 23 per cent increase of net sales over the same quarter of 2016, alongside double-digit gains in each of its markets. Net earnings also experienced a slight increase over 2016 results, and are company records.

Other highlights include a growth of 13 per cent in the retail market, and a 17 per cent upward bump in construction sales, both over the same period in 2016.

“Many companies would be satisfied with our second-quarter performance. Not us. We are excited about our sales growth, yet disappointed that we only had a modest growth in profits. We won’t make excuses and will aggressively pursue our goal to convert more of our sales revenue into earnings growth. I am confident that the great people of Universal will overcome challenges such as the lumber market volatility that occurred in the second quarter and continue to improve,” Matt Missad, CEO of UFPI, said. “We are excited about the second half of 2017 and look forward to returning to more normal lumber market conditions as the details of the Canadian softwood lumber agreement become known. We expect to see the benefits of our investments in acquisitions, new product development and our international division. We also expect to see the benefits of our efforts to manage costs, as acquisitions such as idX Corp. continue to implement cost-saving synergies ahead of schedule.”